[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Hainesport as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-13-1976 by Ord. No. 1976-5 as Ch. 4 of the 1976 Code]
Any person claiming payment from the Township
of Hainesport shall first submit a detailed statement of the items
or demand necessitating such claim to the Township Clerk, specifying
particularly how the bill or demand is made up, and a certification
of the party claiming payment that it is correct. No bill, claim or
demand shall be considered for payment unless the voucher has attached
to it (or includes) a certification of the department head or other
municipal official having personal knowledge of the facts that the
goods have been received by or the services rendered to the Township
of Hainesport and that those services or goods are consistent with
any existing contract or purchase order. The Chief Finance Officer
shall have the duty to audit, warrant and make recommendations on
all claims and bills and particularly to make sure that there is an
uncommitted balance in the appropriation to which the claim or bill
is to be charged sufficient to pay it.
The bill or claim duly certified shall be returned
to the Township Clerk for inclusion in the agenda of the next immediate
formal meeting of the governing body, and it shall be the duty of
the Clerk to examine all bills or claims submitted for payment in
order to ascertain if proper administrative procedures have been followed.
All claims or bills to be considered by the governing body shall be
listed systematically without preference, and said list shall be made
available to every member of the governing body at least three full
days prior to formal action by that body.
[Amended 2-10-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-1-1; 10-13-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-7]
Claims shall be considered by the governing
body, which shall approve the same and in addition designate the Chief
Finance Officer as the approval officer for purposes of approving
claims between meetings of the governing body. The Chief Finance Officer
shall comply with all purchasing and contracting requirements of the
Township and N.J.S.A. 40A:5-17. The Chief Finance Officer shall be
restricted from paying any amount over the approved bid threshold
in place. The governing body and/or Chief Finance Officer may reject
any claim presented stating the reason for such rejection. Any disapproved
claim shall be referred back to the Township Clerk with such instructions
as the governing body and/or Chief Finance Officer may give at the
time of disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Township Clerk to
record all claims in the official minutes or through an appropriate
claims register, indicating that the governing body has, by formal
action, approved the same, with an appropriate record as to any claims
disapproved or rejected. All records pertaining to approved and disapproved
bills or claims shall be available for public inspection.
[Amended 4-9-1985 by Ord. No. 1985-6; 2-10-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-1-1]
After the Clerk has certified that the claims
have been approved, he shall turn the same over to the Chief Finance
Officer, who shall forthwith prepare the necessary checks for payment.
Said checks shall be signed by such persons as the Township Committee
may, from time to time, hereafter direct by resolution duly adopted
by the Township Committee. In the case of any check issued between
meetings, said check shall be signed by the Mayor and Municipal Clerk
and one other Township Committee member designated as a check signor.
In addition, all remaining Township Committee members shall be notified
by the Township Administrator. After, records pertaining to approved
and disapproved bills of claims shall be available for public inspection.
A.
The
Township Committee hereby designates the Township's Chief Finance
Officer as the "approval officer" within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40A:5-17(a)(1),
who shall be authorized, after consultation with the Township Administrator
(and, in the absence of the Administrator, the Mayor and Committee
member liaison to the appropriate department), to approve payments
of claims that would normally be considered by the Township Committee,
at its regular meetings, and which must be paid in order to comply
with state law and/or contractual requirements with the vendor, and
which otherwise would not be able to await a meeting of the governing
body, subject, nevertheless, to sufficient appropriations being available
for the payments to be made and subject further to a determination
by the approval officer that there is legal authority for the payments,
which shall be evidenced by the action of the appropriate department
or purchasing agent or officer in respect to the goods or services
so ordered having authorized the same, and the incurring of the expense
having already occurred therefor.
B.
Prior to
making payment on such claims, the approval officer shall receive
the same certification as the Township Committee would receive before
authorizing payment, under N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16(b), that the claims were
properly incurred and should be paid.
C.
Certification
to governing body.
(1)
Following payment of the claims, the approval officer shall certify
the same to the governing body by providing the same list the governing
body would have received had it approved said payments, which certification
and list(s) shall be provided to the Township Committee for its review
at the next meeting and which shall be entered into the minutes of
said meeting as having been paid.
(2)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the approval officer shall not make
payment upon any claim in excess of $2,500 without having first secured
verbal approval of at least a quorum of the governing body to pay
said bill. This exception shall not apply to the payment of invoices
for goods and/or services where the governing body has previously
authorized that particular expenditure, nor to the payment of taxes
due to the school districts and county, nor to the payment of insurance
premiums and debt payments.
[Adopted 1-23-1996 by Ord. No. 1996-1-1[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance superseded former
Art. II, Fire Insurance, adopted 6-26-1979 by Ord. No. 1979-9.
This article shall be known as "An Ordinance
of the Township of Hainesport Pursuant to New Jersey Statute 17:36-8
et seq., to Prohibit Payment of Claims for Fire Loss Prior to Payment
of Township Liens or Costs."
A.
No insurance company authorized to issue fire insurance
policies in the State of New Jersey shall pay any claim in excess
of $2,500 for damages on any real property located within the Township
of Hainesport until such time as:
(1)
All taxes and assessments and all other municipal
liens or charges due and payable appearing on the official certificate
of search for municipal liens shall have been paid in full and a municipal
certificate is issued stating that the cost of demolition has been
paid; or
(2)
The municipality submits to the insurance company
a copy of a resolution adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:36-11 (installment
payments).
B.
If an appeal is taken on the amount of any lien or
charge, other than an appeal on an assessed valuation of real property,
the insurance company shall issue a draft payable to the court of
record, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:36-10, in an amount totaling 75% of
the full amount of the lien or charge being contested, and the insurance
company shall issue a draft payable to the municipality for the remaining
25% of the lien or charge being contested; provided, however, that
the amount paid by the insurance company to the court and the municipality
shall not exceed the proceeds payable under its insurance policy.
C.
A municipal claim made in accordance with the provisions
of this article shall be paramount to any other claims on the proceeds
of the fire insurance policy, except the claim of a holder of a purchase
money mortgage held as a first mortgage or an institutional lender
which is a holder of a mortgage on the fire-damaged property where
the fire insurance policy at the time of the loss listed the mortgagee
as a named insured, in which event the claim of the mortgagee to the
proceeds shall be paramount to the municipal lien only to the extent
of the amount due and payable to the mortgagee under the mortgage
contract.
This article is adopted under and in accordance
with P.L. 1978, c. 184, § 1 et seq. (N.J.S.A. 17:36-8 et
seq.), and any amendments and supplements thereto, and any regulations
promulgated pursuant thereto, and anything herein contained to the
contrary shall be controlled by said legislative enactment and regulations.
