The Department of Finance shall be headed by the Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Financial Officer shall be a certified municipal finance officer who shall carry out the responsibilities set forth under Public Law 1947, Chapter 151 (N.J.S.A. 52:27BB-26 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 40A:9-140.1 et seq., as amended).
Within the Department of Finance, there shall be a Division of the Treasury, the head of which shall be the Treasurer. The Treasurer may also be the Chief Financial Officer.
A.
The Treasurer, under the direction of the Chief Financial Officer, shall have, perform and exercise all of the functions, powers and duties prescribed by general law and Town ordinance. He shall:
(1)
Keep and maintain books and records of all financial transactions of the Town in accordance with the standards and requirements of the Division of Local Government in the Department of Community Affairs of the State of New Jersey.
(2)
Have custody of all public moneys of the Town and make monthly reports to the Mayor of all receipts, expenditures, commitments and unexpected appropriations.
(3)
Control all expenditures to assure that budget appropriations are not exceeded.
(4)
Have custody of all investments and invested funds of the Town in possession of the Town in a fiduciary capacity, except as otherwise provided by law, and keep such funds and all moneys of the Town not required for current operations safely invested or deposited in interest-bearing accounts as may be recommended by the Mayor.
B.
All moneys received from any source by or on behalf of the Town or any department, division, board, office or agency, except as otherwise provided by ordinance, shall be paid to the Treasurer, who shall, by the next ensuing bank day after their receipt, deposit them to the credit of the Town in the authorized depository of the Town to the credit of the proper account.
C.
The Treasurer shall maintain and operate a central payroll system, covering all employees paid from Town appropriations in such form and following such procedures as shall be prescribed or approved by the Mayor.
D.
Payment of all claims. All claims for the payment of money shall be presented, approved and paid in accordance with the following procedure:
(1)
Manner of presentation. All claims for the payment of money shall be made by the claimant upon the appropriate voucher and shall be approved or disapproved in accordance with the procedures hereinafter set forth. No claim shall be paid unless the claimant shall first present a detailed bill of items or demand, specifying particularly how the bill or demand is made up, with the certification of the claimant that it is correct, said bill or demand and certification to be attached to the voucher. No claim shall be paid unless the voucher has attached to it 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 Town and that those goods or services are consistent with prior authorization or authorizations. Each voucher shall bear the signature of the Treasurer, certifying that there exists a line item appropriation against which the claim shall be charged. The Treasurer shall also certify that there are sufficient funds available for the payment of the voucher. No voucher shall be paid unless the aforementioned certifications are attached to said voucher or vouchers.
(2)
Manner of payment. All warrants for the disbursement of Town money shall be drawn on the Town Treasury, signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Chief Financial Officer.
(a)
Two of the three authorized signatures are necessary to issue a draft from the payroll account. Those persons authorized are Mayor, Chief Financial Officer and Municipal Clerk.
[Added 10-5-1999 by Ord. No. O:19-17]
(3)
Interim payments. Whenever a voucher approved provides for a discount if paid prior the next regularly scheduled meeting or special meeting of the Town Council or involves a progress payment on a contract theretofore approved by the Council, or where there exist other circumstances which may justify immediate action by the Mayor, the Mayor may draw a warrant on the Town Treasury and pay such voucher, provided that:
(a)
A majority of the Town Council orally approves of the payment of the voucher.
(b)
The claim was incurred within the scope of prior specific or general authority from the Town Council.
(c)
A report of all claims so paid is submitted to the Council with a notification of the majority's approval at the next ensuing regular meeting.
(d)
A certification by the Chief Financial Officer is obtained certifying that appropriated funds exist.
(e)
Payment of claims prior to Council approval. In the event of a delay, postponement or cancellation of regularly scheduled meetings of the Town Council, or under circumstances where a delay in the payment of bills until the next scheduled meeting is unreasonable or improper, the Town Chief Financial Officer shall be authorized to make all reasonable and necessary payments of bills prior to Council approval. In such circumstances, the Chief Financial Officer shall ascertain the existence of proper and sufficient appropriations for the payments to be made and determine that there is legal authority for the payments, evidenced by action of the Administrator or purchasing officer in respect to the goods or services ordered and the incurring of the expense therefore. The list of bills shall be reviewed and approved by the Mayor and Administrator and signed off on. The Chief Financial Officer shall present a list of all such bills so paid to the Town Council for ratification of such payments at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
[Added 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. O:2022-01]
(4)
Exceptions. The Chief Financial Officer, with the approval of the Mayor and without employing the procedure required by Subsection D(3) of this section, but in accordance with established Town procedures, shall be permitted to take the following actions:
(a)
Disburse Town funds from trust accounts, except that the Town Council shall approve or disapprove the return of unencumbered cash balances in said accounts to the appropriate entity or entities.
(b)
Pay to the appropriate entities the following items:
[Amended 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. O:2022-01]
[1]
Salaries.
[2]
Federal withholding taxes and social security taxes and other payroll taxes as required by law.
[3]
School, county and any other taxes which the Town is obligated by law to pay.
[4]
Public assistance.
[5]
Pension, DCRP and annuity fund deductions from salaries, union dues deductions from salaries and wage attachment and garnishment deductions from salaries, deferred compensation plans deducted from salaries, flexible spending account deductions from salaries, AFLAC and New York Life deductions from salaries.
[6]
Postal charges.
[7]
Utilities.
[8]
Lease payments.
[9]
Recycling tax.
(c)
Pay to the appropriate entity or entities regular insurance premiums, provided that the insurance premium rate and the insurer are approved by the Town Council in the regular course of municipal business prior to the first payment of said premium or premiums.
(d)
Transfer funds by the use of a payroll transfer check from the current fund account to the payroll account for the purpose of satisfying payroll obligations.
(e)
Utilize the Town petty cash funds which are established by resolution of the Town Council.
(f)
Pay on a regular basis to the appropriate entities the principal and interest with respect to any notes and other Town financial obligations, provided that the total amount of the principal and interest and the form of the financial obligation are approved by the Town Council in the regular course of municipal business prior to the first payment of said principal and interest.
(5)
Disbursements. Bills, claims and demands against the Town shall be deemed approved or disapproved by the Council in accordance with the action of the Administrator. A voucher on a form prescribed by the Administrator shall be presented for each bill, claim or demand and shall be paid only upon the audit, warrant and approval of the Chief Financial Officer except for payments made pursuant to Subsection D(3) of this section. Disbursement shall be made by a combination warrant — blank check or draft signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Chief Financial Officer, except that payroll checks may be signed by two of the three following: the Chief Financial Officer, Mayor or Clerk.
[Amended 1-18-2022 by Ord. No. O:2022-01]
E.
The Treasurer shall prepare for each regular meeting of the Council a list of all current bills, claims and vouchers. Said list shall be made a part of the minutes of the meeting and shall be prepared in sufficient quantity to supply each member of the Council, the Mayor and the Business Administrator with at least one copy. A copy shall then be filed with the Clerk as a public record open to examination in his office. The list shall be submitted to the Council for approval before any bill is paid.
F.
It shall be the duty of the Chief Financial Officer to pay all bills, claims and demands against the Town as approved by resolution or motion of the Town Council within 14 calendar days of said approval.
The Mayor shall present to the Council once each month a summary of the financial transactions of the Town since the next preceding report.
No bill or claim shall be paid unless it contains a detailed statement of the items or 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 Town.
Within the Department of Finances, there shall be a Division of Collections, the head of which shall be the Tax Collector. He shall be appointed for the term prescribed by law.
A.
The Tax Collector shall have, perform and exercise all of the functions, powers and duties provided by law relating to the Municipal Tax Collector.
B.
The Tax Collector shall receive and collect all taxes levied and assessed by the Town and all moneys due from any source to the Town or to any department, board, office or agency thereof, except as may be otherwise ordered by the Mayor.
C.
The Tax Collector shall enforce the payment of delinquent taxes by such means as are provided by law as soon as the same become delinquent and serve as Municipal Collector of Assessments and as Municipal Tax Search Officer.
D.
The Tax Collector shall deposit to the credit of the Town in an authorized public depository, to the credit of the proper account, all receipts and collections of the Division.
E.
The Tax Collector shall keep proper records and report to the Mayor at least once a month all receipts and deposits made by him in such report and account for all moneys for which he is responsible.
F.
The Division of Collections may issue bills and receive and collect rates and charges for sanitary sewer service as prescribed by ordinance and contractual agreements.
G.
Delinquent tax payments.
[Added 1-25-1994 by Ord. No. O:94-2]
(1)
Charges against delinquent accounts. The below stated charges shall be assessed against delinquent accounts:
(2)
Grace period. A ten-day grace period shall be granted for the payment of current taxes.
(3)
Cancellation of delinquency. The Tax Collector is hereby authorized to process and cancel any property tax refund or delinquency of less than $10.
[Amended 3-2-1999 by Ord. No. O:99-04]
The Mayor shall establish or approve:
A.
A uniform system of accounts for all Town receipts and expenditures as submitted by the Chief Financial Officer.
B.
Such accounting and fiscal procedures as will provide clear and concise reports of the financial condition of the Town at least monthly.
C.
An encumbrance system of budget operation so that all expenditures and commitments will be confined within the limits of available appropriations.
D.
A proper preaudit of each claim and demand upon the Town prior to payment.
E.
Such other practices and procedures as, in his judgment, are required for proper administration of the Town affairs and to protect the public interest.
The Division of the Treasury shall maintain and operate a central payroll system, covering all employees paid from Town appropriations, in such form and following such procedures as shall be prescribed or approved by the Mayor. Such procedures shall include review and approval by the Mayor of each payroll.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 2:9-7, Local assistance, which previously followed this section, was repealed 2-20-2001 by Ord. No. O:2000-01.