Section 1.  Establishment

Pursuant to 30-A M.R.S. §3001, a Budget Committee is hereby established for the Town of Hope, Maine.

Section 2.  Composition; Election; Qualifications; Terms; Vacancies; Transition.

The Committee shall consist of (5) five members who shall be elected and who shall be registered voters of the Town. The Town Administrator, Municipal Officers, and members of the Hope School Committee may not be a member of the Budget Committee. 

Members shall serve for terms of three years, except that they shall continue in office until their successors are elected.  Expiration of terms shall be such that two expire in a year, then two others the year after that, and one the following year.

Vacancies shall be filled within thirty days by the Municipal Officers, acting upon a Budget Committee recommendation, for the period ending at the next Annual Town Meeting.  Unexpired terms of greater than one year shall be filled by special election at Annual Town Meeting.  Transition from the number and unexpired terms of current Committee members to composition of the Committee specified here shall be accomplished by action of the current Committee at its first meeting held upon adoption of this Ordinance.

Section 3.  Officers; Meetings; Quorum; Procedure.

The Budget Committee shall annually elect a Chair, Vice Chair, and a Secretary from among its members.  The Chair shall call meetings as necessary or when so requested by a majority of the members or the Municipal Officers.  A quorum necessary to conduct Budget Committee business shall consist of three (3)  members.  The Chair or Vice Chair shall preside at all meetings.  The Secretary shall maintain a record of all proceedings, including all correspondence of the Budget Committee.  All meetings and records shall be subject to the Maine Freedom of Access Act, 1 M.R.S.A. §401-410.  The Budget Committee may adopt rules of procedure not inconsistent with this Ordinance.

Section 4.  Powers and Duties; Authority; Recommendations; Official Cooperation.

The Budget Committee shall have the following powers and duties:

1. To review and make recommendations on the Town annual operating budget, as proposed by the Municipal Officers.
2. To review and make recommendations on annual capital expenditures, as proposed by the Municipal Officers.
3. To review and make recommendations on supplemental appropriations and expenditures and on other budgetary actions, as proposed by the Municipal Officers.
4. To make such other recommendations on fiscal and capital investment matters as the Budget Committee may from time to time deem advisable.

 

The Budget Committee’s authority shall be advisory.  Any recommendation on a matter requiring Town Meeting action shall be printed with the corresponding Article in the Warrant or on the ballot, if any, along with such other recommendations as may be included by the Municipal Officers or required by law.  The printed information on the Warrant or the ballot shall indicate the vote by which the Budget Committee decided the recommendation.  The Municipal Officers shall cooperate with and provide the Budget Committee with such information as may be reasonably necessary and available to enable it to carry out its functions under this Ordinance in a timely and efficient way.