Town Meeting:Finances

One of the primary functions of the Town Meeting is the appropriation of money to be raised from various sources for the operation of the Town. The primary funding sources are property taxes, borrowing, enterprise funds, state aid, and other revenues. Funds for the fiscal year can be appropriated only by vote of the Town Meeting. The fiscal year begins on July 1 following the Annual Town Meeting and ends June 30 of the following year. Under current practice, Article 4 on the Warrant of the Annual Town Meeting is the Operating Budget of the Town. This budget includes personnel services (salaries of all Town employees, including school personnel) and expenses (supplies, energy, postage, etc.) for all departments of the Town. It also includes the cost of the Town's debt service and funding for the Town's pension system.

Components of the operating budget of the Town are listed as separate line items. A separate vote is taken on a line item if a motion is made to amend, delete, or postpone it or if it is divided into a separate main motion. After each line item has been read, the operating budget is voted as a whole. Other financial articles on the Warrant may involve funds for special projects or capital projects involving major or unusual expenditures. There are also a few standard "housekeeping" articles that ask Town Meeting to approve routine transactions, or to make adjustments in budgets from prior fiscal years.