There shall be a Department of Finance, the
head of which shall be the Chief Financial Officer, who shall be appointed
by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council. The Chief Financial
Officer shall have experience in municipal accounting controls and
the general books of accounts.
The Department of Finance is a departmental
level organization designed to provide the control function required
within the Township government as set forth within N.J.S.A. 40:69A-48.
It shall be the duty of this Department and all personnel contained
within it to enforce legal provisions requiring an encumbrance system
for budget operation, to enforce the legal provisions which require
that expenditures occur only as called for within this section and
to provide for the preaudit of all claims and demands on the Township
prior to their payment. In addition, this Department shall establish
procedures to ensure that all payments made out of any public funds
be by individual warrants and to generally see that all financial
regulations promulgated by the Divisions of Local Finance, or its
successor agency, are enforced. In this connection, where irregularities
are discovered, it shall be the duty of this Department and any personnel
contained here to report to the Township Auditor their suspicions
and findings. Through this exercise of seasoned judgment, it is hoped
that the control function required by statute will occur and that
efficient and financially sound procedures will be instilled.
A.
There shall be Division of the Treasury, the head
of which shall be the Chief Financial Officer, who shall have the
following powers and duties:
(1)
Approve all financial systems and procedures.
(2)
Make revenue and expenditure estimates for the Mayor.
(3)
Maintain the general books of accounts to reflect
the Township's financial condition.
(4)
Control all expenditures within the limits of appropriations
through an encumbrance system of budget operation and submit to the
Mayor and Council, on the first day of each month, a printout of the
budgetary balances showing line item amounts, actual expenditures,
amounts committed or encumbered and unencumbered free balances, and
also on the first day of January, provide estimates to the Mayor and
Council of anticipated required expenditures for the balance of the
year, highlighting and determining those areas of budget line items
wherein there is an indication that an over-expenditure might possibly
occur; then further, for the last two months of the year, provide
to the Mayor and Council, on the first and 16th day of each month,
a printout setting forth all of the information as shown on the normal
first-of-the-month printout.
[Amended 9-3-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-19]
(5)
Preaudit bills and claims that shall be paid only
upon the audit, warrant and approval of the Chief Financial Officer.
The Chief Financial Officer shall certify that a sufficient unencumbered
balance of appropriation is available to pay such bills and claims.
(6)
Cause to be prepared and submitted to the Business
Administrator, at least three days before each regular meeting of
the Council, a list of all bills, claims and vouchers that are to
be paid. The bills, claims and vouchers shall be properly executed
and all supporting documentation attached.
(7)
Cause all receipts of the Township, and any department
thereof except the Bureau of Collections, to be deposited in authorized
depositories, to be designated by resolution of the Council, and such
deposits shall be made in such accounts and upon such procedure as
shall be approved or directed by the Chief Financial Officer.
(8)
Ensure that disbursements are made by a combination
bank-warrant check or draft warranted and countersigned by the Mayor
and signed by the Chief Financial Officer, except that payroll checks
may be signed by the Chief Financial Officer alone, upon voucher and
warrant of the Business Administrator, for the total payroll.
(9)
Review and approve payrolls for certification by civil
service and payment.
(10)
Cooperate with the Township Auditor, who shall
be appointed by the Council for a one-year term and who shall be responsible
for providing the statutory service of auditor, and advise the Business
Administrator on fiscal matters.
(11)
Disburse all payments out of the Township treasury.
(12)
Have the safekeeping and custody of all Township
securities, investments and bonds of the Township.
(13)
Supervise proceedings for the issuance of Township
bonds.
(14)
Invest and reinvest surplus or idle funds of
the Township, as permitted by law, in cooperation with the Business
Administrator and the Auditor.
(15)
Maintain and reconcile the records of the Township
bank accounts, and provide the Business Administrator with a monthly
reconciliation of the bank accounts not later that the 10th day of
each month.
(16)
Serve as certifying agent for the New Jersey
Public Employees Retirement System with respect to Township employees.
(17)
Administer all matters relating to the certification
of Township payrolls by the State Department of Civil Service and
the status, rights and benefits of employees of the Township under
the Civil Service Law and under the employee benefit and welfare programs
of the Township.
(18)
Promptly pay interest and principal on Township
obligations as they fall due.
(19)
Provide for the prompt deposits of all funds
coming into the Township in accordance with law, but in no event should
deposits of Township funds be made in the respective accounts later
than 48 hours following their receipt. In the event that Township
funds are not being deposited in accordance with this requirement,
the Chief Financial Officer shall make a prompt written report to
the Business Administrator setting forth the facts and circumstances.
(20)
Supervise the administration of each annual
budget. In consultation with the department heads, the Chief Financial
Officer shall establish quarterly or such other periodic allotments
or appropriations as he or she may deem necessary. Each department
shall plan and administer its expenditure program within the limits
of such allotments.
(21)
If, at any time during the budget year, the
Chief Financial Officer shall ascertain that the Township government
is faced with the probability of incurring a cash deficit for the
current year, he or she shall reconsider the work programs and allotments
of the several departments and report to the Mayor and Council and
Business Administrator. Upon such reconsideration and with the approval
of the Mayor and Council, he or she may revise the budget allotments
so as to forestall, as far as possible, the making of commitments
and expenditures in excess of the revenues to be realized during the
fiscal year.
(22)
Prepare budget transfers of the current budget
in the last two months of the year so that no budget appropriation
is overspent, and submit appropriate resolutions to the Mayor, Council
and Business Administrator.
(23)
Prepare budget transfers of appropriation reserves
(prior year's budget balances) in the first three months of the year
so that no budget reserve appropriation is overspent.
(24)
Prepare a report by the 10th day of the month
of the cash transactions of the prior month for the current fund,
revenue sharing fund, trust funds, capital fund and the public assistance
fund for submission to the Mayor, Council, Clerk and Business Administrator.
(25)
Ensure full compliance with all federal and
state statutes and regulations dealing with the administration of
Township funds.
B.
The Tax Collector of the Township shall be designated
as a Deputy Treasurer to perform the functions and duties of the Treasurer
in the absence of the Treasurer.
There shall be a Division of Revenue which shall
consist of the Bureau of Assessments and Bureau of Collections.
A.
Bureau of Assessments. The Bureau of Assessments shall
have as its director the Tax Assessor, whose duties shall be as follows:
(1)
Have, perform and discharge all functions, powers
and duties prescribed by law.
(2)
Make assessments for the benefit of local improvements
and, for that purpose, have and exercise the powers and duties as
prescribed by law.
(3)
Maintain adequate assessment records of each separate
parcel of real property assessed or exempted, and establish and maintain
such files, records and procedures as may be required.
(4)
Maintain a current Tax Map of the Township as a public
record and cause to be recorded thereon all changes in ownership or
character of the real property assessed, employing for that purpose
the facilities of other departments as provided by this chapter.
(5)
The Tax Assessor shall be responsible for the administrative
and clerical work of the Bureau. The Tax Assessor may employ clerk-typists
or other clerical assistants only with the express approval of the
Mayor and Council.
(6)
The Tax Assessor shall provide the Mayor and Council
with a list of all tax appeals filed within 10 days after notice of
final determination is received.
B.
Bureau of Collections. There shall be a Bureau of
Collections, the head of which shall be the Tax Collector, whose duties
shall be as follows:
(1)
Perform the functions of a collector of taxes under
general law, including, without limitation thereto, the rendering
of bills for property taxes pursuant to law, enforcement of tax collections
by tax sales and otherwise, and the maintenance of tax accounting
records in such manner as may be prescribed or approved pursuant to
the Charter and this chapter.
(2)
Receive and collect current and delinquent real property
taxes and Township fees and charges, and receive penalties and interest
pursuant to law.
(3)
Make, or cause to be made, and certify such searches
for tax and other liens on real property as may be authorized by law
and charge and collect for the use of the Township the fee required
pursuant to law for any such search.
(4)
Receive funds entrusted to it and deposit all such
funds in such depositories authorized by Council.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1989-5]
A.
Establishment; qualification; appointment. The Township
Council hereby established the office of the Chief Financial Officer.
The Mayor, with the advice and consent of Council, shall appoint a
duly qualified individual to serve on a full-time or part-time basis
as such need is determined by the Mayor. The individual so appointed
shall be certified municipal finance officer, as defined by law.
B.
Powers and duties. The powers and duties of the Chief
Financial Officer shall be those powers and duties prescribed by N.J.S.A.
52:27BB-1 et seq., as same may be amended from time to time, and the
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
C.
Salary. The Township Council hereby declares that
the salary of the Chief Financial Officer shall be established by
the Council by way of the Salary Ordinance.
A.
There is hereby established a trust fund to be known
as the "Sick Leave Trust Fund," hereafter called the "fund," pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 11A:6-5 and regulations established by the New Jersey
Department of Community Affairs.[1]
B.
The Chief Financial Officer shall maintain and bear
responsibility for the fund in the same manner and to the same extent
as other public funds under his or her care. All interest earned on
the fund shall accrue to the fund's principal.[2]
C.
The Chief Financial Officer shall annually estimate
the probable maximum exposure of the fund during the coming fiscal
year. The Chief Financial Officer shall make this estimate on such
factors as current salary levels, expressed intentions of employees
as to retirement, past retirement experience and current fund level.[3]
D.
The Mayor shall include, as part of the recommended
annual operating budget for the coming fiscal year, the amount over
and above the current balance in the fund needed to cover the Chief
Financial Officer's estimate as to fund exposure for the coming fiscal
year.[4]
E.
All employees retiring or leaving service due to permanent
disability shall be eligible for payment from the fund as a result
of unused, accrued sick leave.
F.
The portion of sick leave to be compensated and the
maximum dollar amount thereof shall be computed in accordance with
the current contracts then in effect between the Township and the
Township employees.
G.
All valid claims shall be calculated and paid as of
the employee's actual date of termination.
H.
In the event that the amount of any valid claim on
this fund would exceed the cash balance in the fund at the time payment
is due, payment shall be made from the current fund of the operating
budget.
