38 STATION BULLETIN 346 



delegated mure supervision over local affairs to the state or to fewer 

 people in the coniniunity. In those towns which have retained the 

 act, the selectmen quite generally speak of it in the most favorable 

 terms. 



The act stipulates that there shall be in the budget committee 

 three, six, nine, or twelve members at large, a selectman, and one 

 chosen by the school board (usually a board member). The town 

 meeting determines the number of members at large and whether 

 they are to be elected or to be appointed by the moderator. 



Statutory provisions concerning the duties of the committee 

 follow : 



Preparation of Budget. It shall be the duty of the budget commit- 

 tee to prepare a budget according to forms prescribed by the tax 

 commission for town and school expenditures and for this purpose 

 to hold public hearings, notice of which shall be given at least seven 

 days in advance. The budget committee shall consult the selectmen, 

 school committee, and other town officers and departments as to the 

 costs of government, revenue anticipated and services performed, 

 and it shall be the duty of any town or school officer or employee to 

 furnish information required by said committee. It shall also be the 

 duty of all boards of selectmen and of school committees of each 

 town to prepare and submit to the budget committee of the town an 

 itemized statement of expected receipts and expenditures for the 

 ensuing year at such time as said budget committee shall fix. When 

 completed the budget shall be printed in the town report or separate- 

 \y and distributed or published in some newspaper printed or circu- 

 lated in said town at least one week before the town or school meet- 

 ing. In any town where a budget committee has not been author- 

 ized, the selectmen shall perform the duties of said committee in 

 relation to town expenditures. 27 



In accordance with this provision of law, the board of selectmen and 

 the school board submit their respective recommendations to the 

 committee through their own members. The budget committee 

 places them "on the carpet", so to speak, in their effort to evaluate 

 the financial needs of the town. Some committee members assume 

 the attitude that their only function is to reduce taxes, whereas 

 others believe they can best serve the community by preventing im- 

 necessary appropriations and by supporting a long-time financial 

 plan adapted to a succession of improvements, thereby preventing 

 an excessive appropriation in any one year. 



According to the act the voters assembled at town and school 

 district meetings are not permitted to make appropriations for any 

 purpose not included in the budget, and the total amount appropri- 

 ated cannot exceed by more than ten per cent the amount budgeted. 

 Except under special circumstances covered by law. the selectmen 

 and school board are not permitted to use money for any purpose not 

 mentioned in the budget, but it is permissible to transfer an unex- 

 pended balance from one appropriation to another. The act provides 

 as follows : 



Exceeding Appropriations. In towns adopting the provisions of 

 this act, no board of selectmen, school board or other spending 



=" Revised Laws, 1941, Chapter 52, Section 3. 



