The text
Sec. 7-1. - Budget committee.#
(a)
There shall be a budget committee consisting of three (3) members appointed by the town council for a term of three (3) years. The terms of the members shall be staggered, so that no more than one (1) member's term shall expire in a calendar year. The initial appointments to the budget committee shall be for the terms of one (1), two (2) and three (3) years, and thereafter for terms of three (3) years for each member. The budget committee shall serve as an advisory board to the town council.
(b)
The budget committee shall:
(1)
Review the town's financial statements on a quarterly basis, including, but not limited to the receipt of revenues and appropriations of funds.
(2)
Report to the town council on a quarterly basis on the town's financial status.
(3)
Perform any other review of the town's finances as may be assigned to the budget committee from time to time by the town council.
(Ord. of 7-9-2024)
Editor's note— An ordinance adopted July, 9, 2024, amended § 7-1 in its entirety, in effect repealing and reenacting said § 7-1 to read as set out herein. The former § 7-1 pertained to committee on finance and derived from Code 1967, §§ 12-1, 12-2.
Cross reference— Boards, commissions and committees, § 2-121 et seq.
Sec. 7-2. - Promissory notes, etc., of the town.#
(a)
Countersign, registration. All promissory notes or other obligations made and issued by the town treasurer in behalf of the town, whether for new loans or in renewal of outstanding obligations, shall be countersigned by the town clerk and shall be registered by him in his office in a book kept for that purpose.
(b)
Cancellation. When the town treasurer shall cancel any promissory note or other obligation given by him as provided in subsection (a), it shall be the duty of the town treasurer to present the same to the town clerk for the purpose of having the town clerk's signature cancelled and a record made in conformity thereto.
(Code 1967, §§ 12-3, 12-4)
Sec. 7-3. - Deposit of cash.#
(a)
All persons handling cash shall deposit cash intact in the bank, with a triplicate deposit slip, on which is indicated which department is making the deposit (e.g. town clerk, tax collector, schools, police, building inspector).
(1)
The original shall go to the bank, first copy shall go to the treasurer, with a detailed sheet attached, if necessary.
(2)
Second copy shall be maintained by the individual department.
(b)
The tax collector shall deposit cash at least daily and more often if necessary. All others shall deposit at least weekly and more often if necessary.
(Ord. of 2-11-72)
Sec. 7-4. - Reserved.#
Editor's note— Formerly, § 7-4 pertained to purchases above $2,500.00. The section derived from the 1967 Code, § 12-5; an ordinance adopted Nov. 9, 1971; an ordinance adopted Mar. 10, 1981; and an ordinance adopted Apr. 20, 1994. Such section has been deleted as being superseded by §§ 2-251—2-258.
Sec. 7-5. - When members of council, committees, boards, etc., to be paid.#
All members of the town council, committees, boards, commissions or similar agencies receiving compensation from the town shall be paid quarterly in arrears on a fiscal year basis.
(Code 1967, § 12-6)
Cross reference— Town council, § 2-26 et seq.
Sec. 7-6. - Purchases from suppliers indebted to city.#
The town may purchase materials, supplies, goods, equipment and services from a provider that owes overdue taxes, license fees or other monies to the town only if all amounts paid to the service provider pursuant to such award are first applied toward the payment of overdue taxes, license fees or other monies, until such amount (plus interest and penalties, if any) is paid in full. A copy of the provisions of this section will accompany all purchase orders.
(Ord. of 7-14-92)
Editor's note— An ordinance adopted July 14, 1992, pertaining to purchases not subject to competitive bidding, did not specifically amend this Code; hence, inclusion as § 7-6 was at the discretion of the editor.
Cross reference— Purchasing, § 2-251 et seq.
Sec. 7-7. - Wholesale and retail inventory tax phase out.#
(a)
The tax assessor is hereby authorized to phase out, over a ten-year period, the stock in trade or inventory tax of wholesalers and retailers. The rate schedule to be implemented by the tax assessor is set forth in subsection (d) of this section.
(b)
The terms "inventory", as it refers to wholesalers, "stock in trade", as it refers to wholesalers, and "wholesaler" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 44-3-29 of the General Laws.
(c)
The terms "inventory", as it refers to retailers, "stock in trade", as it refers to retailers, and "retailer" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 44-3-40 of the General Laws.
(d)
The rate schedule for the ten-year phase out of the wholesale and retail inventory tax shall be as follows:
Year Maximum Tax Rate
FY 1999 (Present tax rate)
FY 2000 Ninety percent (90%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2001 Eighty percent (80%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2002 Seventy percent (70%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2003 Sixty percent (60%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2004 Fifty percent (50%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2005 Forty percent (40%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2006 Thirty percent (30%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2007 Twenty percent (20%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2008 Ten percent (10%) of FY 1999 rate
FY 2009 No tax
(e)
In the event that a wholesaler sold inventory or stock in trade both at wholesale and retail in the preceding calendar year, the tax assessor shall assess on the same basis as a retailer's inventory or stock in trade as of December 31 of that year, to the extent permitted by applicable law, notwithstanding any freeze of assessed valuation or exemption permitted pursuant to section 44-5-12(c) of the General Laws, that proportion of inventory or stock in trade of the wholesaler which shall be equal to the percentage of the wholesaler's total sales during the preceding calendar year that were at retail. For the purposes of this paragraph, sales at retail shall not include sales to employees of the wholesaler or to employees of its affiliates. If retail sales are less than one (1) percent of total sales during the year, it shall be deemed that no sales were made at retail during the year. All sales of a wholesaler to a customer which is an affiliated entity shall be deemed to be retail sales for the purposes of this subsection if more than half the dollar volume of the sales of the affiliated entity is made within the Town of Warren.
(f)
For purposes of this section, a wholesaler shall be considered affiliated with customers if it controls, or is under common control with the customers.
(g)
In the event that a wholesaler or retailer subject to the inventory tax commences operations within the Town of Warren after fiscal year 1999, the tax assessor shall determine what would have been the value of the inventory as of December 1998, adjusting the inventory value to fiscal year 1999 using the changes in the Consumer Price Index —All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States Department of Labor.
(h)
This section shall also apply to automobile dealers as defined in section 31-5-5 of the General Laws.
(Ord. of 4-12-99)
Editor's note— An ordinance adopted Apr. 12, 1999, provided for a wholesale and retail inventory tax phase out. Such ordinance did not specify manner of codification; hence, designation herein as § 7-7 was at the discretion of the editor.
Sec. 7-8. - Appropriation of funds, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.#
(a)
Purpose. To establish a budget for a project to be funded by the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds of H.R. 1319 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (CSLFRF). The town has received the first tranche in the amount of one million five hundred seventy thousand nine hundred and four dollars and eighty cents ($1,570,904.80) of CSLFRF funds. The total allocation is three million one hundred and forty-one thousand eight hundred and nine dollars and fifty-six cents ($3,141,809.56) with the remainder to be distributed to the town within twelve (12) months. These funds may be used for the following categories of expenditures, to the extent authorized by state law.
(1)
Support public health expenditures, by funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff;
(2)
Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector;
(3)
Replace lost public sector revenue, using this funding to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic;
(4)
Provide premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to those who have borne and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors; and,
(5)
Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, making necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water, support vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and to expand access to broadband internet.
(b)
Appropriations. The following amounts are appropriated for the project and authorized for expenditure:
CSLRF Projects as approved by the town council .....(up to) $53,491.53
(c)
Revenues. The following revenues are anticipated to be available to complete the project:
CSLRF Funds .....$53,491.53
(d)
Responsibilities of the finance director.
(1)
The finance director is hereby directed to maintain sufficient specific detailed accounting records to satisfy the requirements of the grantor agency and the grant agreements.
(2)
The finance director is hereby directed to report the financial status of the project to the town council on a quarterly basis.
(e)
Effective dates of this section. This section shall take effect upon passage and shall expire on December 31, 2026, or when all the CSLRF funds have been obligated and expended by the town, whichever first occurs.
(Ord. of 10-11-2022(1); Ord. of 8-8-2023(1), § 1, 8-8-2023)
Sec. 7-9. - Tax classifications.#
Tax classifications shall be adopted in accordance with the requirements of G.L. 1956, § 44-5-11.8(b) classes of property. The tax assessor shall implement the tax classification of property pursuant to state law.
(Ord. of 4-11-2023(1))