I. If changes arise during the year following the annual meeting that make it necessary to expend more than the amount appropriated for a specific purpose, the governing body may transfer to that appropriation an unexpended balance remaining in some other appropriation, provided, however, that:
(a)The total amount spent shall not exceed the total amount appropriated at the town or district meeting.
(b)Records shall be kept by the governing body, such that the budget committee, if any, or any citizen requesting such records pursuant to RSA 91-A:4, may ascertain the purposes of appropriations to which, and from which, amounts have been transferred; provided, however, that neither the budget committee nor other citizens shall have any authority to dispute or challenge the discretion of the
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I. If changes arise during the year following the annual meeting that make it necessary to expend more than the amount appropriated for a specific purpose, the governing body may transfer to that appropriation an unexpended balance remaining in some other appropriation, provided, however, that:
(a) The total amount spent shall not exceed the total amount appropriated at the town or district meeting.
(b) Records shall be kept by the governing body, such that the budget committee, if any, or any citizen requesting such records pursuant to RSA 91-A:4, may ascertain the purposes of appropriations to which, and from which, amounts have been transferred; provided, however, that neither the budget committee nor other citizens shall have any authority to dispute or challenge the discretion of the governing body in making such transfers.
(c) A statement comparing all legislative body appropriations against all expenditures shall be deemed adequate for purposes of the records required by subparagraph (b), so long as every expenditure has been properly authorized and properly classified and entered and any expenditures exceeding the original legislative appropriations are offset by unexpended balances remaining in other appropriations, in which case the governing body shall not be required to designate the specific source of each transfer.
(d) Any amount appropriated at the meeting under a special warrant article, or to a capital reserve fund pursuant to RSA 35:5, may be used only for the purpose specified in that article and shall not be transferred.
(e) The town or district meeting may vote separately on individual purposes of appropriation contained within any warrant article or budget, but such a separate vote shall not affect the governing body's legal authority to transfer appropriations, provided, however, that if the meeting deletes a purpose, or reduces the amount appropriated for that purpose to zero or does not approve an appropriation contained in a separate article, that purpose or article shall be deemed one for which no appropriation is made, and no amount shall be transferred to or expended for such purpose.
II. As used in RSA 32:10, I(a)-(d), concerning transfers of appropriations and records thereof, "purpose" refers, in addition to its meaning in RSA 32:3, V, to individual line items in whatever detailed budget or chart of accounts is regularly used by the municipality. The general wording of a vote adopting a budget or portion of a budget shall not be considered a "purpose" to which an amount may be transferred. The definition of "purpose" as used in RSA 32:10, I(e) shall be the definition of "purpose" under RSA 32:3, V.