• In general, an individual committee does not have a budget unless one is authorized by Town Meeting or at the time of its formation
• If a committee anticipates a need to expend funds, it can request a budget for the next fiscal year through the Town Administrator
• If funds are needed during the fiscal year, the Town Administrator should be contacted
• Unless a committee has funds specifically appropriated to it, the committee should not spend or commit to the spending of any funds without first obtaining guidance from the Town Administrator or Town Accountant

Budget

• If your board or committee already has an established budget, on or about January 1, you will receive a budget package from the Financial Team
• The budget package will include directions for filing; a time frame on which the budget forms must be filled, and other pertinent information
• Your committee’s annual operating budget form should be filled out and returned as instructed in the budget package
• Your board or committee may be asked to meet with the Financial Team to discuss your budget request before the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting Warrant is published
• These meetings usually take place during the months of January and February

Submission and Payment of Bills

All requests for payments of bills must be given to the Town Accountant and all appropriate receipts must be attached.  There are strict laws for collecting, accounting and expending public money.  Any questions regarding expenditures should be directed to the Town Accountant or Town Administrator.

Turning in Receipts

• If your board or committee charges a fee for any of your services or programs, that money must be kept in a secure place and then turned over to the Town Treasurer with a duplicate accounting of the receipts given to the Town Accountant
• To eliminate security problems and facilitate a positive cash flow, plan to turn in whatever money you have on a weekly basis or sooner if the amount exceeds $100.00

Purchases/Public Bidding Requirements

• The Town Administrator should be contacted for assistance and guidance for all purchasing and bidding
• All purchasing must be done in compliance with Massachusetts Public Procurement Law (G.L. c. 30B)
• Committee expenditures will usually not be large enough to require formal bidding; however, the following are general guidelines:
  • Purchases for amounts less than $10,000 do not require formal bids.  Good sound business practices should be followed.
  • Purchase for amounts between $10,000 and $50,000 require three written price quotes and the lowest responsive price quote accepted.
  • Purchases estimated to cost more than $50,000 require formal bidding procedures.
• The provisions of G.L. Chapter 30B apply to the acquisition and disposal of real property and other procurement laws apply to public works contracts and public construction contracts (G.L. c. 30, 39M).

Fundraising

Background Information

The provisions of G.L. c. 44 §53A and a written policy adopted by the Selectboard enable a committee to raise and disburse funds according to specific procedures.

Procedures

In general, all funds received by the committee go into the Town’s General Fund and may not be spent without further appropriation by Town Meeting, unless approved by the Selectboard for deposit into a special revenue account.  Funds held in special revenue accounts may be dispersed without appropriation for special projects pursuant to the purpose for which the funds were originally received.  The Town Administrator should be contacted by the committee for guidelines prior to commencing a special project.

Raffles and Bazaars

Boards, Committees, and Commissions can not hold raffles or bazaars. If you have any questions about this, please contact the Town Clerk.