News

Attorney changes policy language
Citizens' objections were correct
By Elizabeth Prata

Gray--At the January 20 Council meeting, citizens had spoken during the public hearing for over an hour expressing their concerns about a new Undesignated Fund Balance policy. The citizens' main concern was that excesses remaining in the Undesignated Fund Balance would be transferred to the various Town Capital Reserves with authorization from the Council but not authorization from citizens at Town meeting. Also they were concerned with the fact that the policy allowed the Council to create new reserves and put excess money from the undesignated Fund balance into those new reserves, again with no authorization from votes at Town meeting.

The Council was to report their actions at the next town meeting, but citizens objected, saying that expenditure of funds without authorization at Town Meeting was akin to taxation without representation.

The citizens did prevail upon the Council to pass the language in the Undesignated Fund Balance Policy draft by the Town Attorney. The Attorney made changes, the major one being that no expenditure can be made unless approved at Town Meeting.

In addition, the town Charter states that approval of any appropriation in addition to or supplementary to the annual budget appropriation, if such additional or supplemental appropriation exceeds a cumulative amount equal to one (1) percent of the annual municipal budget as approved at the preceding Annual Town Meeting. The Undesignated Fund Balance policy, if expending more than 1% of the annualmunicipal budget, would be counter to the Charter, the highest governing document in Gray.