LEGAL AUTHORITY AND DUTIES
OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE

Town Manager Act

(The entire Town Manager Act is available online on Arlington Online.)

SECTION 33. Appointment of Finance Committee.

There shall be a Finance Committee the members of which shall be registered voters of the Town. There shall be one from each precinct of the Town and one member at large except if the number of precincts at any time is uneven in number, there shall be no member at large. Except as hereinafter provided, the Finance Committee shall be appointed by an appointing committee of three members, composed of the Moderator, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, and the Chairman of the Board of Trust Fund Commissioners, within twenty days after the final adjournment of the Annual Town Meeting. They shall be constituted and function as provided now or hereafter in the By-Laws of the Town when not inconsistent herewith. Those members of the Finance Committee when this act takes effect whose terms have not expired shall continue until expiration thereof. Vacancies shall be filled by the appointing power as provided now or hereafter by the Town By-Laws.

SECTION 34. Free Access to Financial Data.

In the discharge of its duty, said committee shall have free access to all books of records and accounts, payrolls, bills and vouchers on which money has been or may be paid from the town treasury. Officers, boards and committees of the Town shall, upon request, furnish such information pertaining to their several activities as said committee may require.

SECTION 35. Annual Report.

It shall be the duty of the Finance Committee to make an annual report of its doings, with recommendations relative to financial matters and the conduct of town business, which shall be included in the Annual Town Report.

Bylaws - Title I, Article 7

(The complete bylaws are available online on Arlington Online.)

ARTICLE 7: FINANCE COMMITTEE

Section 1. Composition

The members of the Finance Committee shall be appointed for terms of three years each. In any year when the term of any member expires, his successor shall be appointed for a term of three years. The said terms shall expire on the seventh day after the final adjournment of the annual town meeting but the members shall respectively continue to act as such until their successors are appointed.

Section 2. Absences

If any member of the Finance Committee is absent from three or more successive meetings, the other members of the committee may by the affirmative vote of each of a majority of its members request the Appointing Committee to remove such absenting member from his membership and the Appointing Committee may thereafter by a majority vote so remove such member and may notify him by mail of such removal. The Appointing Committee shall then promptly fill the vacancy so created by appointing a successor for the remainder of the term for which such member was appointed.

Section 3. Eligibility

ART. 5 STM 11/30/88

No person holding either elective or appointive town office other than Town Meeting membership and no town employee shall be eligible to serve on said committee.

ART. 15 ATM 4/29/92

Provided however, that nothing herein shall prohibit a member of said committee from serving on another committee, board or commission when such service is required by a provision of the Bylaws or a vote of the Town Meeting.

Section 4. Duties

The committee shall consider all articles contained in any warrant except articles on zoning upon which the zoning by-law requires a report to be made to the Town by the Planning Board and those articles which do not require or request an appropriation of money, which articles shall be considered and a report made to the Town by the Board of Selectmen. Said committee shall make recommendations, and shall report in print, if possible at or prior to each town meeting, but the omission of said committee so to consider, recommend and/or report shall not affect the validity of any vote or other action at any town meeting. The committee shall also make such general suggestions, criticisms and recommendations as it may deem expedient. Nothing contained in this section shall preclude the Committee from considering, if it sees fit, articles which do not require or request an appropriation of money.

Section 5. Transfer of Funds

At the request of the Town Manager, Board of Selectmen, Board of Assessors, Treasurer, Comptroller, Clerk, or Retirement Board, the Finance Committee may by majority vote authorize a transfer of funds within a department budget between personal services, expenses, and capital outlay, notwithstanding the fact that a sum certain for said line items has previously been voted by Town Meeting, provided, however, that no such transfer shall be made to fund salary increases. The committee shall have authority to vote transfers from the reserve fund as provided in Section 6 of Chapter 40 of the General Laws as amended.

Section 6. Audit Power

The committee shall have power and authority to examine the books and records of any town board or official, so far as the same is permitted by law, and all boards and officers shall submit to the committee, at the same time they are submitted to the Town Accountant, copies of their estimates for the ensuing year in budget form.

Section 7. Executive Secretary

The Finance Committee shall annually appoint a person who is not one of its members as executive secretary for the term of one year. The said Committee shall define his duties and fix his salary.

Section 8. Officers and Vacancies

Except as herein otherwise provided, the committee shall have power to elect its own officers. All vacancies in the membership of said committee shall be filled by the Appointing Committee.