SECTION 1. Section VII of Chapter 80 of the Public Laws of 1965, entitled "An Act Authorizing the Formation of a Regional School District Representing the Towns of Exeter and West Greenwich" is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. VII. Procedure for the adoption of the annual budget.

(A) Fiscal year.

The regional school district fiscal year shall begin on July 1 of each year.

(B) Initial budget.

Prior to June 30, 1965, the initial committee shall prepare and adopt a reasonably detailed operating and maintenance budget covering expenses for the next fiscal year. Copies of such proposed budget shall be submitted to the president of the town council of each member town, for their consideration. The budget, as prepared and adopted by the initial committee, shall be acted upon at the regional school district financial meeting to be held within sixty (60) days following the ratification of this agreement by the general assembly. The amount of such budget shall be apportioned between the member towns according to the provisions of section VI hereof. The treasurer of the initial committee shall certify to each member town its respective share of such budget. The sums thus certified shall be payable in accordance with the provisions of section 6(E) of this agreement.

(C) Tentative maintenance and operating budget.

1. Thereafter, it shall be the duty of the regional school district superintendent, or chief administrative officer, to present to the regional district school committee, at its regular meeting in the month of November, a preliminary budget containing his estimates of the amount of money needed to operate the regional school district system for the ensuing fiscal year, including therein provisions for any installment of principal or interest to become due in such year on any bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of the district and any other construction costs to be apportioned to the member towns in such year. The form of the budget shall conform to the account system of the state department of education.

2. The regional district school committee shall prepare and approve a budget which it believes will efficiently operate the regional school district for the ensuing year not later than the tenth day of January in each year.

3. At least ten days before the annual regional school district financial meeting at which the budget is to be adopted, the regional district school committee shall hold a public hearing on the proposed budget, at which time any citizen entitled to vote at the regional school district financial meeting may be heard. Notice of the date of such hearing, together with a summary of the proposed budget, accompanied by a statement of the amount necessary to be raised by taxation shall be given at least seven days in advance thereof, by publication once in a newspaper of general circulation within the regional school district and published in the state of Rhode Island.

(D) Final maintenance and operating budget.

Not later than January 31, the committee shall adopt the final budget for the regional school district, the budget to include debt and interest charges and any other current construction costs as separate items, and shall apportion the amounts so necessary to be raised in order to meet the budget in accordance with the provisions of subsection VI (D). The final budget, as adopted by the regional district school committee, shall be acted upon at the annual regional school district financial meeting to be held on the first Monday of February of each year.

(E) Notification to member towns.

Within ten days subsequent to the adoption of the budget at the regional school district financial meeting, the regional school district treasurer shall certify to the budgeting officers and financial town meeting of the respective towns the amount of money to be raised by taxes in each town as herein provided for each respective town, and shall be appropriated in full by the financial town meeting.

(F) Motions to increase or decrease the budget.

Motions to increase or decrease the budget by more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) may be made by any qualified elector at the annual regional school district financial meeting if submitted to the regional school district treasurer not later than ten (10) days prior to the latest date for adoption of the budget by the regional district school committee.

(F)(G) Records.

The fiscal records of the regional district school committee shall be available to the auditors of the member towns.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.