[Adopted 9-30-1996 STM, Art. 5]
[Amended 10-27-1997 STM, Art. 6]
The Town Meeting shall create and establish
a committee to be known as the "Capital Improvement Planning Committee,"
composed of a member of the Finance and Advisory Board and six citizens
of the town with experience in the areas of construction, finance,
banking and/or capital planning and development, one citizen to be
chosen by the Town Moderator, one citizen chosen by the Finance and
Advisory Board, one citizen chosen by the School Committee, one citizen
chosen by the Planning Board and two citizens chosen by the Board
of Selectmen, all voting members to be residents of the town and not
currently serving on the Board of Selectmen or School Committee and
shall serve for a term of three years. The Committee shall choose
its own officers. Further, the town's Finance Director and School
Business Manager and member of the Finance Officers Group, to be chosen
by the Finance Officers Group, other than the Finance Director and
School Business Manager, shall serve as nonvoting ex officio members
of the Committee during the term of their employment.
[Amended 5-2-2011 ATM, Art. 27]
The Committee shall study proposed capital projects
and improvements involving major nonrecurring tangible assets and
projects which: are purchased or undertaken at intervals of not less
than five years; have a useful life of at least five years; and cost
over $10,000. All officers, boards and committees, including the Selectmen
and School Committee, on forms prepared by it, information concerning
all anticipated projects requiring Town Meeting action during the
ensuing six years. The Committee shall consider, and report to the
Finance and Advisory Board, the relative need, impact, timing and
cost of these expenditures and the effect each will have on the financial
position of the Town.
The Committee shall prepare an annual report
recommending a Capital Improvement Budget for the next fiscal year,
and a Capital Improvement Program including recommended capital improvements
for the following five fiscal years. The report shall be submitted
to the Finance and Advisory Board for its consideration and approval.
The Board shall submit its approved Capital Budget to the Annual Town
Meeting for adoption by the town.
Such Capital Improvement Program, after it's
adoption, shall permit the expenditure on projects included therein
sums from the department budgets for surveys, architectural or engineering
advice, options or appraisals; but no such expenditure shall be incurred
on projects which have not been so approved by the town through the
appropriation of sums in the current year or in prior years, or for
preliminary planning for projects to be undertaken more than five
years in the future.
The Committee's report and the Finance Board's
recommended Capital Budget shall be published and made available in
a manner consistent with the distribution of the Finance and Advisory
Board Annual Budget Report. The Committee shall deposit its original
report with the Town Clerk.
[Amended 6-15-1998 STM, Art. 10]
The Committee shall consider the capital improvement policies in § 63-23 and the debt policies included in § 63-24 in making its recommendations. The Finance and Advisory Board will also follow, at its discretion, the policies in §§ 63-23 and 63-24. No appropriation for a capital improvement properly authorized at Town Meeting and otherwise valid shall be invalid by reason of the failure by the Committee or the Finance and Advisory Board to follow the Capital Improvement Policies included in § 63-23 and/or the debt policies included in § 63-24.
A.
The town will make all capital improvements in accordance
with an adopted capital improvement program.
B.
The town will develop a multiyear plan for capital
improvements and update it annually.
C.
The town will enact an annual capital budget based
on the multiyear capital improvement plan. Future capital expenditures
necessitated by changes in population, changes in real estate development
or changes in economic base will be calculated and included in capital
budget projections.
D.
The town will coordinate development of the capital
improvement budget with the development of the operating budget. Future
operating budget costs associated with new capital improvements will
be projected and included in operating budget forecasts.
E.
The town will use intergovernmental assistance to
finance only those capital improvements that are consistent with the
capital improvement plan and priorities and whose operating and maintenance
costs have been included in operating budget forecasts.
F.
The town will maintain all its assets at a level adequate
to protect the town's capital investment and to minimize future maintenance
and replacement costs.
G.
The town, as part of its capital planning process,
will project its equipment replacement and maintenance needs for the
next several years and will update this projection each year. From
this projection, a maintenance and replacement schedule will be developed
and followed.
H.
The town will identify the estimated costs and potential
funding sources for each capital project proposal before it is submitted
to Town Meeting for approval.
I.
The town will determine the least costly financing
method for all new projects.
A.
The town will confine long-term borrowing to capital
improvements or projects that cannot be financed from current revenues.
B.
When the town finances capital projects by issuing
bonds, it will pay back the bonds within a period not to exceed the
expected useful life of the project.
C.
On all debt-financed projects, the town will make
a down payment of at least 5% of the total project cost from current
revenues.
D.
Total debt service for general obligation debt will
not exceed 5% of total annual locally generated operating revenue.
E.
Total general obligation debt will not exceed that
provided in the state statutes.
F.
Where possible, the town will use special assessment,
revenue or other self-supporting bonds, instead of general obligation
bonds.
G.
The town will not use long-term debt for current operations.
H.
The town will maintain good communications with bond
rating agencies about its financial condition. The town will follow
a policy of full disclosure about its financial condition. The town
will follow a policy of full disclosure on every financial report
and bond prospectus.
The provisions of this bylaw will not apply
to capital projects and related debt in place prior to the adoption
of this bylaw.
