Capital Planning Committee

CAPITAL PLANNING COMMITTEE CHARGE

Composition:

A nine (9) member committee appointed annually composed of one member of the Board of Selectmen, one member of the Finance Committee, one member of the School Committee, one member of the Planning Board, one member of the Board of Assessors, one member of the Board of Library Trustees, and three (3) at-large members not serving on any of the above named boards or committees.  The Town Administrator shall be a non-voting member.

Charge

The Committee shall be responsible for:

The Committee shall study proposed capital projects and improvements involving major non-recurring tangible assets and projects which are purchased or undertaken at intervals of not less than five (5) years, have a useful life of at least five (5) years, and cost over $10,000.  All officers, boards, committees and commissions shall, by the first Friday in December of each year, submit to the Committee, on forms prepared by it, information concerning all anticipated projects requiring Town Meeting action during the ensuing six (6) years.  This section is also applicable to projects sponsored by the Board of Selectmen.  The Committee shall consider the criticality, relative need, impact, timing and cost of these expenditures, the effect each will have on the financial position of the Town and future maintenance and replacement costs, recognizing the useful life of assets in accordance with the Uniform Massachusetts Accounting System (UMAS) and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB 34) accounting policies and procedures.

The Committee shall prepare an annual report recommending a Capital Improvements Budget for the next fiscal year and a Capital Improvements Program, including recommended capital improvements, for the following five (5) fiscal years.  The report shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for consideration and approval.  The Board of Selectmen shall submit its approved Capital Budget to the Annual Town Meeting for adoption by the Town.

The Committee’s report must include all projects submitted in accordance with Section 2, with the Committee’s recommendation on each of the projects clearly written.  No appropriation for a capital improvement expenditure requested by a department, board, committee shall be voted at a Town Meeting, unless the proposed capital improvement is included in the Committee’s annual report, or the Committee shall first have submitted a supplemental report to the Board of Selectmen in accordance with Section 6, explaining the omission. 

Capital improvements placed on a Town Meeting Warrant by citizen petition are excluded from the provisions of this section.

Such Capital Improvements Program, after adoption, shall permit the expenditure on projects included therein of sums from departmental 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 (5) years in the future.

The Committee’s report and the Board of Selectmen’s recommended Capital Budget shall be published with the Annual Town Meeting Warrant and made available to Town residents in a manner consistent with the Annual Town Report.  The Committee shall deposit its original report with the Town Clerk.

The Committee may amend, add to, or delete from any Capital Budget recommendation previously adopted by the Town if it determines that an extraordinary and unforeseen circumstance occurred after such time information was required to be submitted for consideration at the Annual Town Meeting, and that it must be acted upon before the next Annual Town Meeting.  Any such amendment, addition or deletion shall be explained and submitted in a supplemental Committee report to the Board of Selectmen for consideration and approval, and placement on the next Special Town Meeting Warrant.