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Legislative History

The Berlin Capital Planning Committee was created at the 2017 Annual Town Meeting (Article 35) with the adoption of Article XXI to the General By-Laws as follows:

ARTICLE 35 – To see if the Town will vote to amend the General By-Laws of the Town of Berlin by adding Article XXI – Capital Planning Committee as follows:

Article XXI – Capital Planning Committee

SECTION 1. A Capital Planning Committee is hereby established (hereinafter “the Committee”). Its purpose will be to develop a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), evaluate the financial effect of proposed expenditures and make recommendations for the priority and funding of items submitted for consideration. The Committee will consider capital expenditures, and extraordinary expenses. For purposes of this bylaw, capital expenditures are defined as the request for town funding of an item(s) that will be bonded over multiple years. For the purposes of this by-law, extraordinary expenses are defined as any request for town funding of capital or expense items submitted outside of the entity’s operating budget in the form of an independent town meeting article(s).

SECTION 2. Membership, Appointment and Term. The Committee shall be composed of five members appointed as follows:

  1. One member shall be appointed by the Moderator, one member shall be a member of the Finance Committee, two members shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen and one member shall be appointed by the Planning Board. Excepting for the Finance Committee member, these appointees may be, but need not be, members of their respective boards.
  2. Terms of appointed members shall be two year terms. These terms shall end on June 30 of the second year excepting for the first terms of the Board of Selectmen appointees which shall initially be one year terms with two year terms thereafter.

SECTION 3. Duties of the Committee. The Committee is charged with the responsibility of reviewing all proposed capital and extraordinary expense items and to submit an annual CIP to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee which shall include a) a recommended capital and extraordinary expense for the coming year and b) a capital and extraordinary expense budget for the following four (4) years of anticipated and continuing capital and extraordinary expenditures.

To this end:

  1. All officers, department heads, boards and committees, and inter/intra-municipal entities shall, by November 1 of each year, give to the Committee, requests concerning all capital expenditures or extraordinary expenses they anticipate proposing for the next five (5) years. The Committee shall act on emergency requests as deemed necessary.
  2. The Committee shall consider all such requests and, in doing so, may confer with any town officer, department, board or committee or request additional information it determines is needed in order to evaluate and prioritize submitted items.
  3. The Committee shall consider the relative need, impact, timing and cost of proposed capital expenditures or extraordinary expenses and the effect each will have on the financial position of the Town. In evaluating and scheduling the requests, the Committee will consider the following criteria:
    • Risks to public safety or health;
    • Deterioration of Town facilities;
    • Educational, historic, cultural or community value;
    • Coordination with other Capital requests;
    • Requirement of state or federal law or regulation;
    • Improvement of operating efficiency;
    • Systematic replacement;
    • Equitable provision of services and facilities; and
    • Protection and conservation of resource.
  4. Each year by January 31, the Committee shall submit the CIP to the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee.
  5. The Committee shall meet when necessary and at a minimum of semi-monthly in the months of November, December and January and it shall meet annually upon submission of the CIP with Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee to facilitate the funding recommendations and other consideration of the capital items at Town Meeting.

SECTION 4. The Board of Selectmen shall not place on the warrant any capital or extraordinary expense without prior review by the Committee unless the Board of Selectmen deems the item to be of an emergency nature subject to standards similar to those applying to reserve fund transfers.

SECTION 5. The Committee shall elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Clerk at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Or take any action relative thereto. (Selectmen/Finance Committee)