[Amended 11-19-1973 by Ord. No. 73-9]
There shall be a Department of Administration and Finance, the head of which shall be the Director of Administration and Finance, in which there shall be an Office of Township Clerk, a Division of Tax Assessments, a Division of Tax Collections, a Division of the Treasury and a Division of Court Affairs.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Division of Court Affairs was added to Art. VIII 11-19-1973 by Ord. No. 73-9. It had previously been part of Art. X, Department of Public Safety.
A. 
The Director of Administration and Finance shall be appointed by the Manager and shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed from time to time by a general salary ordinance. He shall be qualified by training and experience in office management, municipal budgeting, accounting and finance.
B. 
The Director of Administration and Finance shall be the chief financial officer of the township; supervise the work of the Department and its divisions; be responsible for the accounting, preauditing, control, receipt, custody and disbursement of township revenues and expenditures and for all fiscal matters and financial policies of the municipality; serve when necessary and without additional compensation as Acting Township Tax Assessor, Acting Township Tax Collector, Acting Township Treasurer, Acting Township Purchasing Agent, Personnel Officer and Acting Township Clerk.
C. 
The Director of Administration and Finance shall maintain the continuity of the Department by:
(1) 
Developing, maintaining and enforcing a uniform system of accounts, including forms, standards and procedures, for all departments of the municipal government. Any uniform system of accounts shall include appropriate provision for such records and reports as may be prescribed or approved by the Manager for the determination of the cost of performance of each functional program or activity, measured in such work units as may be appropriate thereto, and for such data, records and reports as may be prescribed or approved by the Manager for the preparation and execution of a budget for the expenditure of public funds for capital purposes to give effect to general improvement programs.
(2) 
Maintaining and operating the township's central bookkeeping and accounting records according to sound accounting principles and in accordance with the requirements of the Director of the State Division of Local Government.
(3) 
Auditing all receipts and disbursements of the municipal government and of each of the departments and preauditing all bills, claims and demands against the township, including payrolls, and requiring each department head to certify that the materials, supplies or equipment have been received and accepted as specified and that the services have been duly rendered.
(4) 
Controlling all expenditures to assure that budget appropriations are not exceeded, and maintaining such books and records as may be required for the proper exercise of such budgetary control.
(5) 
Administering the centralized purchasing system and being the Township Purchasing Agent. All purchases of supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services (except professional services, contractual services unique in nature and not subject to competition, and contracts awarded by resolution or motion of Council) shall be made through and by the Township Purchasing Agent, who, where possible, shall combine the requests and purchase the same in bulk quantities. The Township Purchasing Agent shall have, perform and discharge all the functions, powers and duties prescribed for purchasing agents by general law, municipal ordinance and the Purchasing Procedures Manual dated September 1968, as amended.
(6) 
Maintaining the personnel system as prescribed by the internal procedures, the civil service rules and regulations and the Personnel Ordinance of the township.
(7) 
Having under his supervision and direction the Office of Township Clerk, to exercise and discharge the functions of the Township Clerk as provided by the statutes, the Charter and the ordinance governing the operations of this office.
(8) 
Insuring that all invitations to bid and all other necessary documents created for potential bidders for contracts which are advertised for bid pursuant to the New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law contain the following provisions with respect to corporate and personal sureties which need to be submitted pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq:
[Added 5-7-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-16]
(a) 
Corporate surety.
[1] 
Any statement or document submitted by a corporate surety in conjunction with the requirement that a performance guaranty be provided along with a bid needs to be submitted in the form set forth by the township in its bid package and in a format which will provide the information contained in the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22. Such guaranty shall be from a surety company which is licensed to conduct business in the State of New Jersey, with minimum ratings, and a financial size category appropriate to the project size which is being bid under the New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law.
[2] 
For purposes of this subsection, § 4-30C(8)(a)[1], appropriate financial categories to the project size shall be conclusively as shown in the most current issue of Best's Key Rating Guide Property-Casualty, published by the A.M. Best Company, Oldwick, New Jersey, as follows:
Project Size
Best's Rating
Best's Financial Size Category
$0 to $1,000,000
B+
IV
$1,000,000 to
B+
VII
$5,000,000
$5,000,000 to
B+
VIII
$10,000,000
$10,000,000 and over
A+
IX
(b) 
Personal surety.
[1] 
A personal surety is specifically permitted pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22. The provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22 are specifically incorporated herein by reference as if set forth at length. The Township Council of the Township of Mount Laurel must be satisfied with the sufficiency of a personal surety which is offered by a bidder in lieu of a corporate surety.
[2] 
The purpose of all sureties, including a personal surety submitted pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22, is to guarantee to the Township of Mount Laurel, its residents and taxpayers that in the event of a default by a contractor who has successfully bid a public project, the surety will perform or insure the performance of all of the provisions of the specifications of the particular project which had been bid and awarded.
[3] 
In an effort to allow for a personal surety and to protect the Township of Mount Laurel, it is necessary for the township to establish a procedure for the review of personal sureties to determine their sufficiency.
[4] 
Determination of sufficiency.
[a] 
The determination of the sufficiency of the personal surety shall be made by a committee consisting of the Chief Financial Officer of the township, the Township Manager and the Township Solicitor. The committee is authorized to review all of the materials submitted by the personal surety who is offered by a bidder.
[b] 
To assist the township's review of the materials regarding the sufficiency of the personal surety, invitations to bid and all other necessary documentation which is created for the purpose of receiving bids for public projects will contain a requirement that any potential bidder who intends to use a personal surety should also submit to the township, with its bid, an authorization/release signed by the proposed personal surety. The authorization/release shall give to the Township of Mount Laurel permission to verify the existence, quality and extent of all assets and liabilities of the proposed personal surety. Such authorization/release shall be signed originally by the proposed personal surety, and said surety's signature shall be the subject of a notarized witness.
[c] 
Any bidder who proposes a personal surety pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22 shall also submit with the bid the audited personal financial statement of the personal surety. The audited personal financial statement shall be no older than 90 days. Said audited personal financial statement shall also be accompanied by a statement from a certified public accountant which states that the audited statement has been the subject of an audit by said certified public accountant and that the audit was done pursuant to generally accepted auditing standards.
[d] 
There shall also be submitted with the bid an additional statement, signed personally by the proposed personal surety and notarized, regarding the quality of the assets and liabilities set forth in the audited financial statement. The sworn certification by the proposed personal surety shall certify any changes in the quality and quantity of assets and liabilities from the date of the audited personal financial statement until the day of the bid.
[e] 
The township shall assess the sufficiency of the proposed personal surety through an evaluation of the presence or absence of the following factors. The following factors are intended to be used by the Chief Financial Officer of the township, in conjunction with the Township Manager and the Township Solicitor, to determine the sufficiency of the personal surety pursuant to the terms of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22. The Chief Financial Officer, the Township Manager and the Township Solicitor may use additional factors to the ones set forth herein, but a report should be generated indicating all the factors utilized and considered by the township in its review of the personal surety:
[i] 
Verification of assets and liabilities through direct contact with banking institutions, brokerage houses, etc., which verification can only be accomplished in the event of the supplying of the authorization referred to in § 4-30C(8)(b)[4][d] hereinbefore.
[ii] 
Review of verifications received by the township, including documentation which reflects the existence of the assets and liabilities set forth in the audited personal financial statement.
[iii] 
Review of a sworn certification by the proposed personal surety that as of the date of the bid there has not been a decrease in the value of the assets set forth in the audited statement
[iv] 
Review of a sworn certification by the personal surety that as of the date of the bid there has been no increase in the liabilities set forth in the audited financial statement submitted by the proposed sure
[v] 
Certification that the surety will have, at the contemplated date of completion of the project, sufficient liquid funds to satisfy its obligations to the Township of Mount Laurel in the event of a default by the bidder.
[vi] 
Explanation of all secured debts, including a detailed explanation of what assets are pledged as security for such debts.
[vii] 
Certification that there are no bankruptcy proceedings, insolvency preceedings, receivership proceedings or proceedings in the enforcement of creditors' rights against the proposed personal surety.
[viii] 
Statement certified by the surety indicating whether it is willing to secure for the Township of Mount Laurel any of its assets (such as by an irrevocable letter of credit) so as to better assure the township of the rapid availability of all funds that could be required from the surety as a result of a default by the bidder who has submitted a proposed personal surety pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-22.
The head of the Division of Tax Assessments in the Department of Administration and Finance shall be the Township Tax Assessor, who shall be appointed by the Manager for the term of four years as prescribed by N.J.S.A. 40:46-6.2, as amended and supplemented from time to time.[1] He shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed from time to time by a general salary ordinance. He shall have, perform and discharge all the functions, powers and duties prescribed for assessors by general law and municipal ordinance. He shall maintain a current Tax Map of the township as a public record and cause to be recorded thereon all changes in ownership, block and lot or character of the real estate assessed, employing for that purpose the facilities of other departments as provided by this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:9-148.
The head of the Division of Tax Collections in the Department of Administration and Finance shall be the Tax Collector, who shall be appointed by the Manager for the term of four years as prescribed by N.J.S.A. 40:46-6.1, as amended and supplemented from time to time.[1] He shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed from time to time by a general salary ordinance. He shall have, perform and discharge all the functions, powers and duties prescribed for tax collectors by general law and municipal ordinance. He shall receive and collect all moneys assessed or raised by taxes or assessment for any purpose or by other township ordinance at the direction of the Manager. He shall keep proper records and shall report to the Director of Administration and Finance at least once a month all receipts and deposits made by him and shall in such report account for all moneys for which he is responsible.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:9-142.
The head of the Division of the Treasury in the Department of Administration and Finance shall be the Township Treasurer, who shall be appointed by the Manager for a term of one year from the first day of January of the year of his appointment and until his successor is appointed and qualified. He shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed from time to time by a general salary ordinance. The Treasurer shall have, perform and discharge all of the functions, powers and duties prescribed by general law and township ordinance; he shall keep and maintain books and records of all financial transactions of the township in accordance with the standards and requirements of the Division of Local Government in the Department of the Treasury of the State of New Jersey; he shall have custody of all public moneys of the township and shall make monthly reports to the Director of Administration and Finance of all receipts, expenditures, commitments and unexpended appropriations; and he shall control all expenditures to assure that budget appropriations are not exceeded.
A. 
Receipts and depositories. All moneys received from any source by or on behalf of the township or any department, division, board, office or agency, except as otherwise provided by ordinance or state statute, shall be paid to the Treasurer, who shall within 48 hours of their receipt deposit them to the credit of the township in the authorized depository of the township to the credit of the proper account.
B. 
Certification of bills. No bill or claim shall be paid unless it contains a detailed statement of the items of demand, specifying particularly how the bill or demand is made up, and a certification of the party claiming payment that it is correct; nor shall any bill, claim or demand be paid unless the voucher on which it is presented carries a certification of a department head 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 township.
C. 
Audit, warrant and payment of bills and claims; listing for council.
(1) 
All bills, claims and demands against the township shall be deemed approved or disapproved by the Council in accordance with the action of the Director of Administration and Finance. A voucher on a form prescribed by the Director of Administration and Finance shall be presented for each bill, claim or demand and shall be paid only upon the audit warrant and approval of the Director of Administration and Finance. Disbursement shall be made by a combination warrant-bank check or draft warranted by the Director of Administration and Finance or Assistant Director of Administration and Finance, signed by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer and countersigned by the Manager or Acting Manager, except that payroll checks may be signed by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer alone upon voucher and warrant of the Director of Administration and Finance or Assistant Director of Administration and Finance for a total payroll.
(2) 
The Director of Administration and Finance 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 the Council and the Manager, and at least one copy shall be filed with the Clerk as a public record open to examination in his office.
D. 
Receipt of funds from agencies of the township. All moneys from any agency, board or committee shall be turned over to the Treasurer within 10 days of the close of each month.
There shall be a Municipal Court Clerk and a Deputy Municipal Court Clerk of Mount Laurel Township, who shall be appointed by the Manager and who shall perform such functions and duties as shall be prescribed for them by law, the rules applicable to municipal courts and by the Municipal Judge. There shall be for coordination a set of rules established between this Division, the Director of Public Safety and the Judge, which, (insofar as the administration of the Township affairs) shall be approved by the Manager. Their duties shall include but not be limited to:
A. 
Carrying out the rules, regulations, policies and procedures relating to the operation of the Court prescribed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Court administrator or by the Manager pursuant thereto.
B. 
Interviewing and speaking to prospective complainants, receiving complaints and dispensing information relating to Court matters.
C. 
Maintaining the financial records of the Court.
D. 
Attending Court, taking minutes of the trials and entering them in the docket, arranging trial calendars, signing Court documents and preparing and issuing warrants and commitments.
E. 
Taking and preparing bail bonds, making inquiry as to their sufficiency and equity, receiving and accounting for fines and costs.
F. 
Interviewing persons in informal Police Court matters to determine if there is a basis for formal action and, if necessary, issuing summonses requiring Court appearances in this regard, maintaining and classifying records and files.