City of Trenton, NJ Article XV Budget and Expenditure Procedures

§ 2-78 Budget preparation.

A. The budget shall be prepared by the Mayor with the assistance of the Business Administrator. During the month of November, the Mayor shall require all department heads to submit requests for appropriations for the ensuing budget year and to appear before the Mayor or the Business Administrator at public hearings which shall be held during that month on the various requests. On or before the 15th day of January, the Mayor shall submit to Council his/her recommended budget together with such explanatory comment or statement as (s)he may deem desirable.

B. The Business Administrator, with the assistance of the Director of Finance, shall prepare all estimates of nonproperty tax revenues anticipated for the support of each annual budget.

C. The budget document shall be prepared in such form as is required by law for municipal budgets and in accordance with the Charter. There shall be appended to the budget a detailed analysis of all items of expenditure and revenue, which analysis shall include a comparison of the total number of positions of each class and grade to be authorized by the budget with the actual number thereof employed at the beginning and ending of the preceding budget period. So far as practicable, the analysis shall include appropriate statements of the cost of performance of functional programs and activities in terms of quantitative, countable units of work for operating and capital expenditures.

§ 2-79 Budget operation.

A. The Business Administrator shall supervise the administration of each annual budget. In consultation with department heads (s)he shall establish quarterly or other periodic allotments of appropriations as he may deem necessary. Each department shall plan and administer its expenditure program within the limits of these allotments.

B. If at any time during the budget year the Business Administrator shall ascertain that the City government is faced with the probability of incurring a cash deficit for the current year, he shall reconsider the work programs and allotments of the several departments. Upon such reconsideration and with the approval of the Mayor, he may revise budget allotments so as to forestall, so far as possible, the making of commitments and expenditures in excess of the revenues to be realized during the fiscal year. (S)He shall file with the Director of Finance a copy of such revised allotments, and the Director of Finance shall control all expenditures within the limits thereof.

C. Purchase control. There is hereby created the Office of Purchasing Agent with all powers and duties set forth. All purchases of any supplies, materials of equipment or contractual services for the City's account shall be made by the Department of Finance pursuant to a written requisition from the head of the department whose appropriation will be charged and the certification of the Comptroller that a sufficient unencumbered balance of appropriation is available to pay therefor. All such purchase contracts in excess of $25,000 shall conform to applicable requirements of state statutes for competitive bidding.

[Amended 6-2-2002 by Ord. No. 02-55; 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6]

§ 2-80 Award of contracts; execution.

Where contracts are let to public competitive bidding, the Council may upon recommendation of the purchasing agent let the contract in the manner prescribed by law. The Mayor or Business Administrator shall execute and sign contracts let and authorized pursuant to the Charter and ordinances, and their respective signatures shall be attested by the Clerk.

§ 2-81 Standards and tests.

The Division of Purchasing shall establish and approve uniform standards for requisitions and purchases. The Division shall control the delivery of all supplies, materials and equipment and other items purchased, and make or cause to be made proper test checks and inspections thereof. The Division shall ascertain whether supplies, materials, equipment and other items purchased comply with the specifications, and cause laboratory or other tests to be made whenever, in the opinion of the division head, it is necessary to determine whether the materials or supplies furnished are of the quality and standard required.

§ 2-82 Purchasing procedure.

A. Each department shall, upon request of the Business Administrator, submit a complete statement of the materials, supplies and equipment and work and labor under contract which will be required by the department during the ensuing year, half-year or quarter-year, as the Administrator may determine, according to the best estimate of the department head. This statement shall be in such form and detail as the Administrator may require.

B. Purchases shall be made upon requisition of a department head to the Purchasing Agent under such procedures and in such form as the Business Administrator may prescribe or approve. Except as the Business Administrator may authorize in case of emergency, no purchase shall be made and no bill, claim or voucher shall be approved unless the procedures prescribed by or pursuant to this chapter have been followed.

§ 2-83 Audit, warrant and payment of bills and claims; listing for Council.

A. Bills, claims and demands against the City shall be deemed approved or disapproved by the Council in accordance with the action of the Comptroller. A voucher on a form prescribed by the Comptroller shall be presented for each bill, claim or demand and shall be paid only upon the audit, warrant and approval of the Comptroller. All claims against the City shall be submitted on a form adopted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq., and shall be duplicated in sufficient quantities to be readily available on demand in the office of the City Clerk to any claimant or party requesting same. Disbursement shall be made by a combination warrant-bank check or draft warranted by the Director of Finance, the Comptroller or Assistant Comptroller, signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer, except that payroll checks may be signed by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer alone upon voucher and warrant of the Comptroller for a total payroll.

B. The Treasurer shall prepare for each regular meeting of the Council a list of all bills, claims and vouchers which have been paid through the close of business on the second day next preceding the meeting and since the last preceding list was compiled. Such list shall be prepared in sufficient quantity for each member of Council, the Mayor and the Business Administrator, and at least one copy shall be filed with the Clerk as a public record open to examination in his/her office.

§ 2-84 Independent annual audit.

The Council shall cause to be made an annual audit of the City's accounts and financial transactions as required by law. The annual audit shall be made by a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey selected by the Council.