There shall be a Department of Finance, the head of which shall
be the Director of Finance, who shall report to the Town Manager.
The Department shall be organized into as many divisions or offices
consistent with the provisions of this Charter as may be deemed necessary
by the Council on recommendation of the Town Manager. The Town Manager
shall appoint the head of such divisions as may be created, except
that the Chief Financial Officer of the School Department shall be
appointed by the Superintendent of Schools. The Chief Financial Officer
of the School Department shall provide all school department financial
information as requested by the Director of Finance of the Town. The
municipal Director of Finance shall be responsible for the integration
of the Town's municipal budget with the School Department's
budget in order to produce a combined comprehensive, unified and complete
master budget to the Town Manager.
The Director of Finance shall have at minimum a bachelor's
degree in business, finance or accounting and shall have a working
knowledge of municipal and school accounting and taxation and shall
have had experience in budgeting and financial control.
The Director of Finance shall receive such annual salary as
may be set by a vote of the Council.
The Director of Finance shall be the Town Treasurer and shall
have charge of the administration of the financial affairs of the
Town. The Finance Director may perform the duties of any office under
his or her supervision, except that of the Tax Collector, and may
consolidate one or more such offices under one person.
The Office of the Finance Director shall:
(a) Maintain a general accounting system for the Town Government and
each of its offices, departments and agencies.
(b) Supervise and be responsible for the disbursement of all monies and
have control in all expenditures to ensure that budget allotments
are not exceeded.
(c) Keep separate accounts for the various departments, including the
Westerly School Department, offices and divisions for which a separate
allocation is made in the Town Budget, each of which accounts shall
show the amount of funds appropriated, the amounts paid therefrom,
the unpaid obligations against it, and the unencumbered balance.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, both the Town Council and the
School Committee shall at all times remain in control of their respective
budgets. Additionally, in no way shall the Department of Finance or
any provision of this Charter be deemed to abrogate the ability of
the Town Council or the School Committee to maintain separate administrative
oversight of its respective budget.
(d) Collect and receive all taxes and special assessments due and payable
to the Town. He shall also receive all license fees, rents, funds,
money receivable by the Town from the State and/or Federal Government,
and from courts and from any department, office and agency of the
Town, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(e) Prepare a Monthly Statement of all receipts and disbursements in
sufficient detail to show the exact cash position and unencumbered
position of the offices, departments, including the Westerly School
Department, and agencies of the Town and to prepare as of the end
of the fiscal year a complete financial statement and report, which
report shall be deemed a public record.
(f) Have custody of all invested funds of the Town Government, or in
possession of such government in a fiduciary capacity and have the
safekeeping of all bonds and notes of the Town and the receipt and
delivery of Town bonds and notes for transfer, registration or exchange.
(g) Prescribe uniform forms of receipts, vouchers, bills and claims to
be used by all departments, offices and agencies of the Town, including
the School Department and the Department of Public Works.
(h) Deposit all funds coming into his hands forthwith in such depositories
as may be designated by resolution of the Council, subject to the
requirements of law as to surety and payment of interest on deposits,
but all such interest shall be the property of the Town and shall
be accounted for and credited to the proper account.
(i) Receive delinquent installments, but no amount received by the Tax
Collector for taxes shall be applied to any current installment until
all previous installments of taxes have been paid.
(j) Upon being sworn into office, give bond to the Town Clerk with sufficient
surety in such amount as the Council may prescribe for the faithful
performance of the duties of his office.