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Through the winter the Appropriations Committee confers with every department on its proposed budget. Not less than 21 days prior to the Annual Town Meeting, the Committee holds a public hearing at which each department chairman presents, explains, and defends his/her budget request. This hearing is a chance for Town Meeting members and other citizens to question or challenge specific budget requests before the Appropriations Committee. (Attendance at this hearing is a vivid lesson in town government, and can be a great help in informing Town Meeting members on the full
background of budget requests which they will shortly vote upon.) After this hearing the Appropriations Committee formulates its recommendations on the different budgets, based on value and the money the town can afford, and publishes its decisions, often with thoughtful explanations, and mails them to Town Meeting members for study. Although the Committee's recommendations are purely advisory, they carry considerable weight.
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