Warrant Committee Operating Guidelines
The following guidelines are designed to help both the Department Heads and the Warrant Committee to work together effectively. There may, of course, be emergency situations that may require waiving normal procedures and/or deadlines. These guidelines are a work in progress. Please give comments or recommendations to the current Warrant Committee Chair.
Please submit all RFT requests (with the RFT form or equivalent) to the appropriate subcommittee chair of the Warrant Committee with a copy to the Warrant Committee Chair. The request should be submitted with sufficient backup information at least seven days prior to the Warrant Committee meeting at which a vote is required.
Any delay in submission will result in a delay in the vote.
Other items requiring Warrant Committee action should follow the RFT guidelines.
All articles for consideration by Town Meeting should be submitted no later than four weeks prior to the printing of the warrant. Printing deadlines are available in the Selectmen’s Office.
Town Counsel should review all articles for legality and correctness of language prior to submission to the Warrant Committee. This includes Citizen Articles.
All articles should be accompanied by supporting information as to the purpose and effect of the article.
Articles that require the vote of another Town Board (ex. zoning articles) must be accompanied by the recommendation of the relevant board.
Articles for the Annual Town Meeting have a due date in January so that consideration of these articles can be integrated into the total budget process.
Failure to meet these criteria may result in a no recommendation or a recommendation to postpone to a future Town Meeting.
Boards and departments are responsible for all financial inputs to the Warrant Committee, including both income estimates (new growth, local receipts, fee estimates) and expenditure projections (insurance costs, pension liabilities). To provide audit trails these inputs should be in writing with signatures and dates.
Budget Instructions
Departmental requests for Fiscal 2005 should take into account the level funding of departments in Fiscal 2003 and the cuts in Fiscal 2004. As of this writing, economic conditions have not improved significantly. Although there are some indications that the US economy is showing slight improvement, state revenues are unlikely to recover significantly. The loss of state aid begun in Fiscal 2003 is likely to continue to Fiscal 2005.
The Warrant Committee asks that ALL departments, boards and committees submit budgets reflecting LEVEL SERVICE to Fiscal 2004 (i.e. the current fiscal year) by November 1, 2003 (as per the bylaws).
Level service is the amount of money your department will need to provide the same service in Fiscal 2005 that it is providing in Fiscal 2004.
Add known salary changes to the base
Add expected merit step increases
Add longevity
Add/subtract any known price increases/decreases
Should income projections improve significantly, the Warrant Committee will contact department heads and board chair in January and February and ask for additional budget information.
Changes
Please note the following changes:
Schedule F1 has been removed. We are already requesting a level service budget and we believe that the 10% cut exercise serves no real purpose. We will let you know in late January/early February if we believe cuts are necessary.
Schedule F, the “Wish List” has been removed. The Warrant Committee requests instead an expanded narrative that includes the following:
The effect of the fiscal 2004 budget cuts on your department, and
Your department’s goals for the next three years and how your level service budget for Fiscal 2005 does or does not allow you to meet these goals.
The Warrant Committee found the latter exercise to be helpful in preparing the Fiscal 2004 budget. We also hope to begin work on three-year town-wide budget projections and will need the information for that project.
Budget Requests
Please use the attached forms (noting changes above) for your formal budget request. Please renumber the pages if you add or delete pages. Submit the final form to the Selectmen’s Office with the appropriate signature.
The FY2004 Total Request will be printed on Table 10 in the back of the 2004 Annual Town Meeting Warrant. Under Chapter 2, Section 10 of the General Bylaws, this request establishes, within $500, the ceiling for Town Meeting amendments to your department’s appropriations.
Schedule B: Departmental Revenue
Please provide information on all sources of revenue including, but not limited to, fee income, grants, gift accounts, trusts, revolving funds, etc. Expenditures paid from these sources should be included on Schedule C with an explanatory note.
Please use Section E to show indirect department costs. These numbers have been provided by the Selectmen’s Office where possible.
Schedule E: General Expenses
Please use the standardized FY2004 fuel prices to compute your fuel budget. These will be provided by the Selectmen’s Office at a future date.
Narrative
In addition to the expanded narrative requested above, please explain any unusual increases or decreases in income or expenditure, or any new challenges facing your department.
General Guidelines
Please make sure that items in the appropriated columns match actual Town Meeting appropriations, that all columns are added correctly, and that totals are carried forward accurately to the summary pages. A few departments almost lost funding because the numbers weren’t transferred properly – don’t let that be you!
Please also make sure that all relevant parties have signed the Schedule A Summary. The Warrant Committee will not accept the budget without this sheet.
Finally, for any department with access to Microsoft Excel (or Lotus 123 if you must) – we would gladly accept your spreadsheet in either of those formats. Please submit the disk with the signed Schedule A Summary page as your cover sheet.
Questions
Please contact the Selectmen’s Office, the Warrant Committee subcommittee chair, or the Warrant Committee Chair with any questions. The Warrant Committee and the Board of Selectmen thank you for your cooperation in this process.
Remember, the deadline is November 1, 2003 for the level service budget.
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