Announcement:
The following bylaw changes which were accepted at the Fairhaven Special Town Meeting which convened on November 14, 2023 have been approved by the Office of the Attorney General, are published herewith in accordance with the current regulations. Claims of invalidity of any of the amendments to the bylaw by reason of any defect in the procedure of the adoption or replacement may only be made within ninety days of this announcement.
Copies of the bylaw may be examined at the Town Clerk’s Office, 40 Center Street, Fairhaven, MA
ARTICLE 13: AMEND BYLAWS CAPITAL PLANNING COMMITTEE CHAPTER 40 § 2-7
Motion made and seconded to see if the Town will vote to amend the language in Bylaws, Capital Planning Committee, Chapter 40§ 2-7 as recommended to reflect actual practice and eliminate conflicts with other statutes. Language changes listed below are underlined in bold italics or strike out:
§ 40-2. Committee established.
The Select Board shall appoint a Capital Planning Committee (“Committee”) consisting of seven voting members, and three or more nonvoting ex officio members, to assist and advise the Town Administrator in preparing a five-year Capital Improvement Plan. The voting members shall serve terms of three years. Initially two voting members shall serve for one year, two for two years, and three for three years, and they may be reappointed. The Committee shall be comprised as follows:
A. Voting members:
(1) One member of the Board of Public Works or an appointee thereof;
(2) A person who is a member of the Fairhaven local School Committee or an appointee thereof; (3) A resident of Fairhaven who represents the business, financial, or banking community; (4) A resident of Fairhaven with experience in the management of construction activities; (5) A resident of Fairhaven knowledgeable about the Town’s needs in the areas of open space and recreation facilities or activities;
(6) The Finance Director/Treasurer/Collector; A designee of The Finance Director, or, in the absence of a Finance Director, a Town financial staff member, designated by the Town Administrator, said financial designee to act as Chair of the Committee; and
(7) The Town Administrator; and One resident member appointed by the Select Board (8) Such other nonvoting ex officio members as the Select Board deems appropriate from time to time.
§ 40-3. Duties of Committee.
A. Study proposed capital projects, improvements, and equipment purchases that have a useful life of at least five years and cost over $20,000 per item;
B. Work with Town departments and officers to compile an inventory of the Town’s facilities, equipment, machinery and other capital assets;
B. C. Consider the relative need, impact, timing and cost of these expenditures and the effect each will have on the financial position of the Town of Fairhaven;
C. D. Prepare an annual report recommending a Capital Improvement Budget Projects/Plan for the next fiscal year and a Capital Improvement Program Plan, including capital improvements for the next five years. The report shall be submitted to the Town Administrator who shall then submit it to the Select Board along with the budget on or before December 31 of for the next fiscal year each year for consideration and approval; [Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 46]
D. E. Present the The Capital Improvement Projects Plan and Capital Improvement Program Plan are to be presented at the Annual Town Meeting for its approval of fiscal year expenditures;
F. Monitor the execution of projects authorized;
E. G. Explain and defend to the Town Meeting any deviation which the Committee proposes from the Capital Improvement Program Plan.
§ 40-4. Report of anticipated capital outlays to Committee.
By October 15 of eEach year, each department, board, committee and commission shall provide to the Committee information concerning all anticipated capital outlays requiring Town Meeting appropriation for the ensuing five-year period.
§ 40-5. Public hearing on Capital Improvement Plan. [Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 46] After the annual presentation of the Capital Improvement Plan by the Committee to the Select Board, the Select Board shall, within 30 days of the receipt of the plan, hold a public hearing to present the plan for public comment.
§ 40-5.-6 Appropriation for capital improvements. [Amended 6-14-2021 ATM by Art. 46] No appropriation shall be voted for a capital improvement requested by a department, board or commission unless the proposed capital improvement has been considered in the Committee’s Capital Improvement Plan, or the Committee has submitted a report to the Select Board explaining the omission of the proposed capital improvement from its Plan.
Every capital improvement request by a department, board or commission shall be considered in the Committee’s Capital Improvement Plan unless the Committee shall have provided a report to the Select Board explaining the omission of the proposed capital improvement from its Plan.
§ 40-7. Expenditures in preparation for capital improvements.
Such Capital Improvement Program, after its 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 years in the future. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Town may appropriate and expend funds for the purchase of land regardless of when improvements to, or use of, the land by the Town is anticipated.
Elisabeth E. Horan, Interim Town Clerk, Fairhaven
FNN, 7/18/24, 7/25/24
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