Town Meeting moved through the remaining proposed changes to the Charter, rejecting changes to budgetary procedure and the duties of the Finance Committee on the sixth night of Town Meeting Monday night.

As with previous nights, the Charter Committee's most significant changes to the structure and functioning of government were rejected while clarifications to the Charter were mostly passed.

Not that the articles weren't debated at length, however - especially as Town Meeting delved into the budgetary process on Monday night.

The budget is arguably not only the most important and thus contentious aspects of Town Meeting, but it is also confusing.

Because the state budget that includes aid to towns and assists in education funding is almost never finalized until late June, Town Meeting votes on a proposed budget in the spring, then revisits the budget in the fall to make adjustments according the state's final numbers.

Bruce Sauvageau, a former member of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee, argued that the Charter Review Committee's proposal to move Town Meeting from April to May would help correct what he said was a perennial problem in the past – the overestimation of municipal revenue to be collected, which, in turn, led the town to overspend.

The budget process, which begins when the Town Administrator submits his first draft budget on December 15, "has simply become a guessing game," Sauvageau said.  This has resulted in past Town Administrators who "used that as an opportunity to overestimate income so we overspent year in and year out," he argued.

But opponents wondered whether pushing Town Meeting to near Memorial Day weekend (which many considered ill-timing) would make any difference – if the budget is not passed until late June, as has been the case in recent years, they would still have to amend it in October whether the meeting was in April or May – and the article failed to achieve the necessary 2/3 majority to pass.

Other budget issues were debated in connection with proposed changes to the duties of the Finance Committee.

That committee is appointed by the Board of Selectmen and currently reviews the Town Administrator's budget and, along with the Selectmen, votes on articles appearing in the Town Warrant.

But a proposal that sought to have the Town Administrator submit his budget to the Board of Selectmen for approval prior to the budget's review by the Finance Committee, sparked intense debate about the Finance Committee's role.

Proponents argued that the Board of Selectmen, who are elected and appoint the Town Administrator,  should rightly scrutinize and approve the budget. They also noted that in an August report, the Department of Revenue admonished both the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen for "seek[ing] to take a greater role in town administration and financial matters than they might otherwise [be] involved" due to turnover in the Town Administrator's position.

But Finance Committee members, who voted unanimously against the article in their recommendation on the warrant, were hesitant to change the process for what they saw as their essential duty.

Member David Trudell argued that the timeline was already "tight" in considering the articles.  Adding another intervening step was not helpful to them and said, "I don't believe that as a finance committee reporting to you, it is helpful to you."

Members of the committee also had reservations about a provision specifying that they would be only able to question department heads, not individual employees, about the budgets.

"We take the expenses of our town very seriously, and we want to talk to everybody," said Finance Committee chair Donna Bronk.  "We want to be informed so we can inform you."

The article, which required a majority vote because it was a bylaw change, ultimately failed 93 to 111.

Town Meeting next agreed on an article stipulating that the school committee be joined by both school and town officials in a public hearing to discuss the school budget.

But the debate on the Finance Committee returned, as voters considered an article stipulating that the Finance Committee vote only on articles relating to the Town Budget.

Proponents noted that the Town Charter stipulates that the Finance Committee be involved in only articles that impact the town's finances. Historically, the committee has  only offered recommendations in conjunction with these articles.

"I think this bylaw is simply bringing [the Finance Committee's duties] in line with the Charter," said Selectmen Chair Jane Donahue.

But several Finance Committee members noted that almost every article at Town Meeting somehow impacts the budget.  Furthermore, why not have more input into something so important?

"Any warrant article can have financial implications for the town, and I think that it's good to have more input," said Finance Committee member Marilyn Donahue.

In other business:

Town Meeting approved increased fees for official documents issued by the Town Clerk's office.  Town Clerk Mary Ann Silva said that the fees had not been raised since 2002, and the increases were in response to new state legislation that requires the use of special materials for official records.

Town Meeting rejected an article requiring that  kennel owners acquire a commercial kennel license in order to board and groom more than three dogs over three-months old at a time.  An amendment to send this article to a study committee also failed.