[HISTORY: Adopted by the North Wildwood City Council 12-16-1975 by Ord. No. 657. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Any person claiming payment from the City of North Wildwood shall first submit a detailed statement of the items or demand necessitating such claim to the responsible executive agency, 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 a department head, or other municipal official responsible for certain functions, or of his duly designated representative, having personal knowledge of the facts that the goods have been received by or the services rendered to the City of North Wildwood and that those services or goods are consistent with any existing contract or purchase order. The Chief Financial Officer shall have the duty to audit, warrant and make recommendations on all claims and bills.
The bill or claim duly certified shall be presented to the Municipal Clerk for inclusion on the agenda of the next immediate formal meeting of the governing body, and it shall be the duty of the City Treasurer 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 said governing body at least three full days prior to formal action by that body.
Claims shall be considered by the governing body, which shall approve the same, except that said governing body may reject any claim presented to it, stating the reason for such rejection. Any disapproved claim shall be referred back to the Municipal Clerk with such instructions as the governing body may give at the time of disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Municipal 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 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 4-6-2021 by Ord. No. 1836]
After the Clerk has certified that the claims have been approved, he shall turn the same over to the Treasurer or other Chief Financial Officer, who shall forthwith prepare the necessary checks for the payment thereof, which said checks shall be signed by the Mayor and thereafter signed by the Treasurer or other Chief Financial Officer. After preparing checks for the payment of claims, he shall record them in proper books of account and thereafter provide payment to the claimants by check or direct deposit.
[Added 4-6-2021 by Ord. No. 1836]
The governing body may, by resolution each year, waive the requirement for claimant certification for transactions involving a dollar amount less than 15% of the bid threshold established by the Governor, but shall reserve the right to require claimant certification at any time in its sole discretion.
[Added 4-6-2021 by Ord. No. 1836]
A. 
The use of procurement cards (P-Cards) will not change or eliminate any provision of the Local Public Contracts Law[1] and will be administered in accordance with the rules enumerated in N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16(c) notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16(a) or N.J.A.C. 5:30-9A.1 et seq.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
B. 
The City Administrator, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and Program Manager will identify positions within the City's officers and employees who will benefit from use of a procurement card and establish limits by amounts, time period and category of usage permissible.
C. 
The qualified purchasing agent of the City shall act as the Program Manager of the Procurement Card Program.
A. 
Procurement cards may be given to supervisors chosen by the department head in each department. Only those individuals are permitted to make purchases for their particular department. These individuals are responsible for uploading receipts and allocating their purchases to the appropriate sub account of their department, or to give the appropriate information to their department clerk. Cardholder and department clerks can only use their department budget. Card holders or clerks are also responsible for providing tax information for new vendors. Once the cardholder or department clerk signs off on transactions they are transmitted to the Program Manager for final approval.
B. 
The Program Manager is responsible for mapping new vendors and downloading the monthly transactions into the City's financial software. When the transactions are downloaded into the City's financial software they are allocated to the department budget that was previously allocated by the cardholder or department clerk. All procurement cards transactions are on the second bill list of the month to be approved by Council. Card program issuer statements run on a monthly basis. The payment is made 25 days after the last business day of the previous month. It is electronically transferred from the City's disbursement account.
C. 
At the beginning of each year the Chief Financial Officer will encumber a certain amount of funds from each department to ensure the impossibility of over expending the budget.
A. 
The Program Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of procurement card usage. The Program Manager is also responsible for reconciliation of activity and to develop/administer a supervisory review process.
B. 
The Program Manager shall, prior to disbursement of funds, confirm evidence of each transaction, including receipt or other acceptable documentation provided by vendor of goods or services and certified by card user having been received as described.
C. 
The Program Manager shall confirm, as certified by the reviewer, that the purchase was appropriate and necessary.
D. 
The Program Manager shall gather a distribution report indicating complete allocation of funds to be paid against previously appropriated and encumbered items.
E. 
The Program Manager is responsible for monitoring and assessing the quality of internal control performance on a continuing basis to assure that all controls are actively engaged for each monthly cycle.
F. 
The Program Manager shall be the point of contact with card program issuer.
G. 
The Program Manager shall question a disputed charge with the vendor. If the vendor has not corrected a disputed charge by the next billing statement or is not agreeable to reversing the disputed charge, then the Program Manager shall contact the card program issuer and Chief Financial Officer about the procurement card dispute.
H. 
The Program Manager shall report a lost or stolen card within 24 hours after loss, to the card program issuer, Chief Financial Officer and to vendors having recurring transactions.
A. 
Ability to control limits online and in real-time.
B. 
Ability to establish, change or delete limits on each card individually.
C. 
Ability to categorically restrict the use of individual cards.
D. 
Ability to establish a cumulative limit for a specific period.
E. 
Ability to review current activity online.
F. 
Ability to receive sorted or sortable detailed reports of activity by authorized user, department or spending category.
Procurement cards may:
A. 
Be used when vendors require payment in advance for the delivery of certain goods or services that cannot be obtained from other sources at comparable prices.
B. 
Be used when the cost of purchases is comparable to costs available from other vendors who can provide the required goods and services in a timely matter.
C. 
Be used when items are to be purchased in a transaction where certification would not normally be readily available at the time of purchase.
D. 
Be used when the vendor requires immediate payment and the purchasing agent (QPA) or City Administrator/Chief Financial Officer has approved the purchase from a particular vendor for a particular item.
E. 
Be used when the purchase is for a "big box" or other store that does not accept vouchers, purchase orders or checks.
F. 
Be used when the Program Manager has approved an item for purchase from a specific vendor.
G. 
Be used to purchase tangible items such as supplies, parts or materials necessary for ongoing operations and functioning of City of North Wildwood. Examples are auto supplies, office supplies and maintenance materials, but items that are nontangible such as publications, conferences, memberships and training fees are also acceptable.
A. 
All authorized City of North Wildwood procurement card users, including Program Manager, Administrator and Chief Financial Officer are required to complete training on the policies and procedures governing the use of procurement cards.
B. 
City of North Wildwood procurement cards shall be issued in the name of a specific individual. Only the person to whom the card is issued (his or her name on card) may use the procurement card. Said individual, upon completion of the requisite training, shall complete and sign a contract of understanding that includes financial responsibility for misuse of the procurement card.
C. 
A procurement card shall not be issued unless it can be shown that such issuance is necessary for the conduct of ongoing operations in the normal course of providing government services for the City of North Wildwood.
D. 
Procurement card users of the City of North Wildwood are prohibited from using cards for cash advances.
E. 
Under no circumstances shall City of North Wildwood procurement cards be used to purchase personal property or services, including travel and dining expenses for government employees, volunteers or officials.
F. 
A procurement card is not to be issued to an individual who is not covered by a fidelity bond or blanket honesty policy. His or her card shall be cancelled if the individual becomes ineligible for fidelity bond or blanket honesty policy.
G. 
The Program Manager shall be notified of any suspected fraudulent acts.
H. 
Procurement card users shall not permit vendors to "hold" cards or use for a "running total."
I. 
Procurement card users shall relinquish procurement cards upon termination of employment or other circumstances where procurement card privileges are terminated.
J. 
Procurement card users shall only use card at pre-approved vendors for pre-approved merchant codes.
K. 
Returns shall be handled as soon as possible to ensure credit for a returned item and not be billed to the City of North Wildwood.
L. 
Procurement card users shall submit all receipts to the Program Manager as soon as possible.
M. 
A stolen or lost card must be reported immediately to the Program Manager.
N. 
Improper use of procurement card shall result in the employee being personally responsible for any improper payment. Improper use of a procurement card could result in termination of employee's privilege to use said procurement card and additional personnel actions up to and including termination.
O. 
Any violation of policies governing the use of City of North Wildwood Procurement Cards shall result in appropriate remedial or disciplinary action without regard to the position held by the procurement card user. Any violation of the policies governing the use of procurement cards will result in immediate forfeiture of the ability to use such procurement card and may result in other disciplinary action including but not limited to suspension, termination and criminal prosecution. The City of North Wildwood will also retain all rights to any funds misappropriated and will seek restitution of said funds through garnishment of wages, forfeiture of benefits and legal actions in a court of law.