The text
501. - The fiscal year.#
The fiscal year of the town shall begin on July 1st of each year and end on June 30th of the following year.
502. - Budget schedule and procedures.#
The following provisions shall govern the preparation of the annual town budget: (1)
All departments, officials, and agencies of the town, including the school committee, shall submit to the town manager and make available to the council, no later than the first Monday in February of each year, respective estimates for their capital and operating expenditures for the fiscal year beginning on the subsequent July 1st.
(2)
The town manager shall submit his or her budget to the town council no later than the third Monday in March. The budget submitted shall include the compensation that may be paid to all appointed officers, including board and commission members of the town, and stipulate the amount in each instance, except where specifically provided otherwise in this Charter.
(3)
The budget submitted by the town manager shall include separate listings and totals for the capital and operating appropriations requested, respectively; comparisons with expenditures for the current fiscal year; a recommended tax rate for the town to fund the town's share of the total appropriations; a detailed listing of funds anticipated from the state and federal governments and other sources; together with such explanation of the budget and its several parts as the town manager may wish to provide.
(4)
On the same day that the budget is submitted to the council, there shall be made available copies thereof at the town hall to be furnished to interested citizens upon request.
(5)
Upon receipt of the budget, the council shall make provisions for no less than two (2) public hearings thereon, to be held on separate days, and to be concluded no later than the third Monday in April. Notice of said hearings shall be advertised on at least three (3) separate days in a newspaper of general circulation in the town, the final such advertisement to appear no less than three (3) days prior to the first hearing date. The council shall also cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the town a summary of major expenditure categories appearing in the budget with the recommended appropriations compared to current authorized expenditures, said publication to appear no less than five (5) days prior to the first public hearing.
(6)
After the public hearings, the Town Council shall adopt a budget by super majority vote, which shall be a majority plus one vote. If the Town Council fails to adopt the budget in the initial vote, the Town Manager shall propose an alternate budget for the Town Council's consideration. If the Town Council adopts the Town Manager's alternate budget by super majority, then the budget is adopted. If the alternate budget is not adopted, there shall be an all-day referendum of the initial budget and the alternate budget.
(7)
The council may make any changes in the budget as submitted by the town manager which it shall think [deem] proper; provided, however, that it shall not have the authority to change any item in the school budget except the overall total amount; and provided, further, that the budget, when approved by the council, shall show a balance between authorized appropriations and anticipated receipts. The council shall complete action on the budget no later than the first Monday in May.
(8)
The council shall again cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the town a budget summary as provided in subsection (5) of this section, showing any changes it shall have made in the budget as submitted by the town manager.
Editor's note— Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (6) of this section were amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election. In subsection (3), "mayor" has been changed to "town manager" to reflect the transfer of duties from the mayor to the town manager upon the town's adoption of a managerial form of government.
Editor's note— Subsections (6) and (7) were amended by Local Question 1 approved at the November 5, 2024 General Election.
503. - Reserved.#
Editor's note— Repealed by Local Question One approved at the November 5, 2024 General Election.
504. - Failure to complete budget.#
In the event that the budget shall not have received final approval by the start of the fiscal year, the departments, officials, and agencies of the town shall have the authority to continue making expenditures at the rates authorized in the budget of the previous fiscal year until such a time as a new budget shall have been approved.
505. - Transfer of appropriations.#
The town manager may at any time authorize the transfer of any unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof from one classification of expenditure to another within the same department, office, agency, board, or commission, provided that the existence of the balance proposed or to be transferred is certified in writing by the director of finance. At the request of the town manager, but only within the last three (3) months on [of] the fiscal year, the town council may, by ordinance, transfer any portion of an unencumbered appropriation balance certified in writing by the director of finance from one department, office, agency, board, or commission to another, except that no such transfer shall be made from the appropriation of the school department. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.
506. - Unexpended and unencumbered balances.#
At the end of each fiscal year, all unexpended or unencumbered balances and appropriations for that fiscal year shall revert to the general funds of the town unless reappropriated in the budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
507. - Investment of idle funds.#
Investment of all funds shall be made through national banks or trust companies, providing that the financial conditions and integrity of said institution or institutions are verifiable and can be monitored. The investment of funds shall be in direct obligations of the United States Government and "money market instruments" rated "A" or better. Investment in any one institution shall not exceed five (5) percent of that institution's capital and surplus as set forth in the institution's most recent audited financial statements. All investments will be made as would be done by prudent men [persons] of discretion and intelligence in such matters who are seeking a reasonable income and preservation of their capital.
508. - Balanced budget.#
The budget of the Town of West Warwick shall be balanced for each fiscal year so that total expenditures shall not be greater than total receipts. If any time during the fiscal year the town manager shall determine that actual revenue receipts will not equal the original estimates upon which the budget was based, the town manager, for [the] purpose of maintaining a balanced budget, shall recommend to the town council such reductions or suspension in the appropriations for any or all departments, offices, or other agencies of the town government as will, in the town manager's opinion, prevent the occurrence of a deficit. However, there shall be no reductions or [of] appropriations for the town debt payments or the retirement fund or lease purchasing contractual obligations to balance the town budget. The town council shall, by ordinance, either approve the same in whole or part or make such other reductions or suspensions in total equal to that proposed by the town manager as will prevent the occurrence of a deficit. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.
509. - Cash reserve fund.#
(A)
The town council shall provide for a cash reserve fund which shall be used as a source of funds to meet town obligations in anticipation of tax receipts anticipated from state or federal government or other sources; provided, however, that all advances from said fund shall be repaid thereto upon receipt by the town of the anticipated tax payments or other anticipated payments. The cash reserve fund may also be used as a contingency fund for emergency appropriations.
(B)
The town manager shall include in his budget recommendations for fiscal year 1990 a sum equal to no less than .3 percent (.003) of the total recommended operating budget for that year to be paid into the cash reserve fund, and shall include a sum equal to no less than .35 percent (.0035) for fiscal year 1991 for the same purpose, and for each fiscal year thereafter to be paid into the said cash reserve fund until said reserve shall equal 5 percent (.05) of the operating budget. All monies paid into the cash reserve fund shall be invested by the director of finance in such manner as to earn the maximum income thereon consistent with maintaining the availability of the monies in the fund upon short notice.
Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.