§ 49. Financial administration and Town budget
(a) Finance Director.
(1) The Town Manager may appoint, upon merit alone, a person who shall serve as the Finance
Director.
(2) The Finance Director shall be a member of the Town administration and be subject to
all rules and regulations of the Town administration, and may not be the Town Treasurer
or a Selectboard member.
(3) The Finance Director shall perform such duties as the job description submitted by
the Town Manager and approved by the Selectboard shall indicate.
(b) Depository of Town funds; cash and fund management.
(1) The Selectboard shall designate the depository of Town funds and shall ensure the
appropriate cash management by the Town Treasurer and administration.
(2) The Selectboard may provide for such security to Town deposits as it may deem necessary,
except that personal surety bonds shall not be deemed proper security.
(3) The officer responsible for each fund shall issue a report of investments and yields
to the Town Manager and the Selectboard at least annually and when requested by either
the Town Manager or the Selectboard.
(c) Independent audit.
(1) The Selectboard shall provide for an annual independent audit of all Town accounts
and may require for any special audit it deems necessary.
(2) The audits shall be made by certified public accountant or firm of such accountants
who have no personal interest, direct or indirect, with Town government, its fiscal
affairs, or its officers.
(3) The Town Manager shall appoint such accountant or firm annually at a time proper to
the scheduling of the audit itself.
(4) Should the State of Vermont make such an audit at the request of the Selectboard,
it shall meet the requirements of this section.
(5) At the conclusion of the audit, the auditors shall present their report and findings
to the Selectboard in open session.
(d) Authorization for expenditure of Town funds.
(1) Money shall not be paid out of the Town Treasury unless it is authorized by a payroll
or payment authorization signed by at least three members of the Selectboard, or in
accordance with the provisions of 24 V.S.A. § 1623.
(2) No payment of money on account of any department of which the Town Manager has supervision
shall be made except upon vouchers approved by the Town Manager or the Town Manager’s
designated agent.
(3) In the event of the absence, termination, or suspension of the Town Manager, the Selectboard
may approve the vouchers or authorize their approval by a Town employee or other Town
officer.
(4) The Town Manager may provide for periodic or quarterly allotments of the appropriations
to departments, funds, or agencies under such rules as the Town Manager may prescribe
and as may be agreeable to the Selectboard.
(e) Financial reports, and records.
(1) Regular reporting. The Town Manager shall submit, on a schedule prescribed by the Selectboard, but not
less often than quarterly, a budget report indicating the relationship between actual
and estimated revenues and expenditures to date.
(2) All accounting records, in relation to the receipt, holding, or disbursement of money
of the Town kept by any official of the Town, shall be paid for by the Town, shall
remain the property of the Town, and shall be turned over to the Town Clerk whenever
the keeper of the accounting records retires from office. All records pertaining to
Town affairs kept by the Town Manager, Town Clerk, or other elective or appointive
officer of the Town shall be kept in the Town buildings in their proper places and
shall not be removed therefrom without an order of a court or a vote of the Selectboard.
(f) Purchasing and procurement.
(1) All purchasing and procurement for the Town shall be the responsibility of the Town
Manager, who may delegate purchasing authority within the limits allowed by charter.
(2) All purchasing and procurement shall be by competitive bid or quote wherever practical
or as required.
(3) The Town Manager shall maintain purchasing and procurement policies approved by the
Selectboard as part of the Town code. (Amended 2021, No. M-13 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 16, 2022; 2023, No. M-2, § 2, eff. May 4, 2023.)