ARTICLE 19
Warrant Committee
19.1 There shall be a Warrant Committee of seventeen members, consisting of the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and the Chairman of the School Committee and fifteen other voters of the Town who shall be appointed by the Moderator. A majority of the entire Committee shall always be voters of the Town who hold no Town office. For purposes of these By-Laws, Town Meeting Members shall not be considered holders of a town office. The Committee shall serve without pay.
19.2 It shall be the duty of the Committee to consider for all town meetings all articles in the Warrant which involve an appropriation of money and to report thereon at the town meeting. The Selectmen shall, immediately upon voting to include in the Warrant any such article, transmit a copy thereof to the Committee which shall thereupon take the same under consideration. On the copies of the Warrant provided by the Selectmen for the Town Meeting Members at each town meeting, there shall appear a short statement of the report and recommendations of the Committee. The Committee shall also consider and report upon other Warrant articles and other matters which, in the Committee's judgment, affect the financial interests of the Town.
Section 19.2 amended at April 25, 1983, Annual Town Meeting . Approved by Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti on August 2, 1983.
19.3 The Committee chairman or some member designated by the chairman shall attend each town meeting and shall present or read to the town meeting the vote of the Committee containing its recommendations with reference to each article in question, including the number in favor or against the same. Said report shall be presented or read as above before any debate shall be in order on said article.
19.4 The various town officers and boards charged with expenditure of town money shall submit their recommendations for appropriations to the Committee on a schedule established by the Committee. The Committee may give one or more public hearings regarding every proposed appropriation and shall give public notice of the time and place of such hearing or hearings. The various town officers and boards may be required by the Committee to attend such hearing or hearings and give such evidence and explanation as may be required of them concerning their recommendations for appropriations.
19.5 The Committee shall duly consider all matters before it and shall report in writing its approval or disapproval of the articles in the Warrant within the scope of its investigation hereunder. The Selectmen shall include said report in the Annual Town Report.
19.6 Nothing in this Article shall be construed so as to prevent the Town from appropriating money or taking any other action according to law, without the matter first having been acted upon and recommendations and report made thereon by the Committee.
Section 19.6 amended at April 25, 1983, Annual Town Meeting . Approved by Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti on August 2, 1983.
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