§8462. Regional budget meeting approval method

1.  Method of notice.  A regional budget meeting must be called by a warrant. The warrant must be signed by a majority of the cooperative board. The following procedures apply to the warrant.

A. The warrant must specify the time and place of the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

B. The warrant must be directed by name to any resident within the region ordering the resident to notify all voters within the region to assemble at the time and place specified for the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

C. The warrant must include the budget articles that the cooperative board considers necessary to place before the voters.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

D. An attested copy of the warrant must be posted by the person to whom it is directed in some conspicuous public place in each municipality within the region at least 7 days before the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

E. The person who gives notice of the regional budget meeting by posting the warrant shall complete the return on the warrant stating the manner of notice and location and time of posting in each municipality within the region.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

F. A detailed supportive budget document must accompany the warrant and be made available in sufficient quantities to the legislative body of each municipality in the region and to the voters present at the regional budget meeting. The supportive document must contain a summary of estimated revenues and estimated expenditures for the fiscal year that is the subject of the budget.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

[PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

2.  Procedure.  The procedure at and immediately prior to a regional budget meeting must be as follows.

A. The cooperative board shall appoint a resident of a municipality within the region to act as the registration clerk for the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

B. The registration clerk shall make and keep a voting list of all residents in the region eligible to vote. The clerk shall compile the voting list from the voting lists of all the municipalities within the region.   [PL 1981, c. 693, §§5, 8 (NEW).]

C. Each municipal clerk within the region shall deliver to the registration clerk, 5 business days prior to the regional budget meeting, a certified copy of the voting list of the municipality. Additions to or deletions from the list may not be made during the 5 business days prior to the regional budget meeting. Only the persons whose names appear on the voting list may vote at the regional budget meeting on the budget articles presented by the cooperative board.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

D. The chair of the cooperative board or, if the chair is absent, the chair's designee, shall open the regional budget meeting by calling for the election of a moderator, by receiving and counting the votes for each person nominated to such position and by swearing in the person receiving a plurality of the votes cast.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

E. The moderator shall preside over the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

F. A career and technical education budget article may be approved only by a majority vote of those present and voting. The vote on each budget article must be to accept or reject each such article as appearing in the budget warrant, or as amended by vote of the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD); PL 2005, c. 397, Pt. D, §3 (REV).]

G. The moderator shall appoint from those persons whose names appear on the certified voting lists as many ballot clerks as necessary for the efficient operation of the regional budget meeting. The ballot clerks must be sworn in by the moderator.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

H. The secretary of the cooperative board, or, if the secretary is absent, the secretary's designee, shall record accurately all the votes of the regional budget meeting.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

I. The cooperative board shall, immediately upon the approval of a budget, compute the share to be paid by each municipality within the region and notify each unit within the region to include its share of the region's budget in the unit's annual school budget. A region's budget must be approved by the method described in this section on or before August 1st.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

J. The school officials of each unit in the region shall place on the school warrant for payment the first of each month a sum equal to 1/12 of the unit's share of the region's budget.   [PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD).]

[PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD); PL 2005, c. 397, Pt. D, §3 (REV).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1981, c. 693, §§5,8 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 806, §§68,69 (AMD). PL 1983, c. 862, §61 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 518, §28 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 397, §D3 (REV).