Township of Holland, NJ Chapter 4 Claims Approval

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Holland 3-6-1979. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 4-1 Voucher required; certification.

A. Any person claiming payment from the Township shall first present to the Township Clerk or Treasurer, on or annexed to a completed Township voucher, a detailed bill of items or demand, specifying particularly how the bill or demand is made up, with a certification of the party claiming payment that it is correct. No such voucher shall be paid unless it carries the certification of:

(1) The operating head of the department involved, if any.

(2) The Township Clerk.

(3) The Mayor and one other Township Committee member or the Deputy Mayor and one other Township Committee member, provided that the certifying Committee member shall be the member having responsibility for the department or having been delegated responsibility for such type of expenditure, if any.

B. In any event, at least one person so certifying such voucher for the Township shall have knowledge that the goods or services involved have been received by or rendered to the Township.

§ 4-2 Payment.

Payments shall normally be made at the regular monthly meeting of the Township Committee or at the second regular meeting during any month, if the Township Committee holds more than one regular meeting per month, and shall also be made at the last Township Committee meeting of the year. Except for emergencies or unless a different time is established by resolution of the Township Committee, vouchers shall be submitted for payment by the Friday before the regular monthly meeting at which they are requested to be paid.

§ 4-3 List of bills to be presented; payroll summary.

A. A list of bills presented for payment at any Township Committee meeting, together with supporting vouchers, shall be available for inspection at the Township Committee meeting prior to approval for payment.

B. In addition to the foregoing, a payroll summary, showing payment to employees and deductions from compensation, as to payroll presented for payment, shall be prepared by the Treasurer and presented to Township Committee members prior to approval for payment. Each Township Committee member present shall sign a copy of such summary indicating that such Committee member has seen it.

§ 4-4 Approval; disapproval of claim.

Claims presented for payment shall be considered by the Township Committee which shall approve the same, except that the Township Committee may reject the claim stating the reason for such rejection. Any disapproved claim shall be referred back to the Township Clerk with such instructions as the Township Committee may give at the time of disapproval. It shall be the duty of the Township Clerk to record all claims in the official minutes of the Township Committee or through an appropriate claims register, indicating that the Township Committee has by formal action approved or disapproved and rejected the same.

§ 4-5 Signature on checks.

Checks paying approved claims and checks transferring funds to any payroll account shall be signed by the Mayor or Deputy Mayor, Township Clerk and Treasurer, except that checks for approved payroll claims drawn on a payroll account may be signed only by the Township Clerk and Treasurer.

§ 4-6 Procurement cards.

[Added 6-20-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]

Procurement cards may only 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 price. The circumstances which qualify the use of a procurement card are as follows:

A. An individual transaction shall not exceed 15% of the bid threshold.

B. Comparable pricing is not otherwise obtainable for goods and services to be available at the time and place required.

C. The cost of purchases is comparable to costs available from other vendors who can provide the required goods and services in a timely manner.

D. Items are purchased in a transaction where vendor certification would not normally be readily available at the time of purchase.

E. The vendor requires immediate payment and the Township Committee has approved such use for a purchase from a particular vendor for a particular item.

F. Purchase is from a vendor that does not accept vouchers, purchase orders of checks.

§ 4-7 Procurement card program.

[Added 6-20-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-11]

A. Purchasing cards or electronic transactions will not change or eliminate any provision of the Local Public Contracts Law and will be administered in accordance with the rules enumerated in N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16c, notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16a or N.J.A.C. 5:30-9A.1, et seq.

B. Purchasing cards will only be distributed to the Township Clerk and the Chief Financial Officer. They shall be the only individuals authorized to make purchases with the purchasing card.

C. All authorized procurement card users will be required to complete training on the policies and procedures governing the use of the procurement card and shall complete and sign a contract of understanding that includes the financial and legal responsibility for misuse.

D. Procurement cards shall be issued in the name of a specific individual, but under no circumstance shall be used to purchase personal property or services, including travel and dining expenses.

E. Limits on cards will be established by amount, time and category of usage permissible. An authorized procurement card user is prohibited from using P-card to conduct personal business or for any circumstances that are not authorized in N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16(c) or N.J.A.C. 5:30-9A.1.

F. Procurement card. It will be incumbent on the Township Committee to reconcile all P-Card transactions with receipts and invoices to document a transaction. It will be incumbent for the Chief Financial Officer to reconcile card activity along with payments made to the issuing financial institution.

(1) Violations of policies governing the use of procurement cards shall result in appropriate remedial or disciplinary action without regard to the position held by the card user. Any violation of the policies governing use of the procurement card will result in immediate forfeiture of the ability to use such card and may result in other disciplinary action, including, but not limited to, suspension, termination, and criminal prosecution. The Township 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.

(2) Under no circumstance shall any P-Card or electronic transaction be used for personal use.