Any person claiming payment from the Township
of Toms River shall first submit a detailed statement of the items
or demand necessitating such claim to the Chief Financial Officer,
specifying particularly how the bill or demand is made up, and a certification
of the party claiming payment that it is correct. No bill, claim or
demand shall be considered for payment unless the voucher has attached
to it or includes a certification of a department head, or other municipal
official responsible for certain functions, 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 of
Toms River, and that those services or goods are consistent with any
existing contract or purchase order. The Chief Financial Officer shall
have the duty to audit, warrant and make recommendations on all claims
and bills.
The bill or claim duly certified shall be presented
to the Municipal Clerk for inclusion in the agenda of the next immediate
formal meeting of the Township Council, and it shall be the duty of
the Clerk to examine all bills or claims submitted for payment in
order to ascertain if proper administrative procedures have been followed.
Claims or bills to be considered by the Township Council shall be
listed systematically without preference, and said list shall be made
available to every member of said Township Council prior to formal
action by that body.
Claims shall be considered by the Township Council,
which shall approve the same, except that said Township Council may
reject any claim presented to it, stating the reason for such rejection.
Any disapproved claim shall be referred back to the Municipal Clerk
with such instructions as the Township Council may give at the time
of disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Municipal Clerk
to record all claims in the official minutes or through an appropriate
claims register, indicating that the Township Council has by formal
action approved the same, with appropriate record as to any claims
disapproved or rejected. All records pertaining to approved and disapproved
bills or claims shall be available for public inspection.
After the Clerk has certified that the claims
have been approved, he or she submit said claims to the Chief Financial
Officer, who shall forthwith prepare the necessary checks for the
payment thereof, which said checks shall be signed by the Mayor and
thereafter signed by the Township Clerk and Chief Financial Officer.
After preparing checks for the payment of claims, he or she shall
record them in proper books of account and forward said checks to
claimants.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Township Council may, by resolution, provide for and authorize the payment of advances to specific Township officers and employees for travel expense and incidental expenses thereto when such travel and incidental expenses are necessary and proper, as the Township Council in its sole discretion shall determine, in advancing the scope and nature of the work of the particular Township officer or employee, subject to §
80-8.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
chapter, the Township Council may, by resolution, provide for and
authorize the payment of advances for vendor services, excluding the
provision of materials and supplies, when such services are of a professional
nature as defined in the Local Public Contracts Law of New Jersey,
N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., and when the Township Council, in its sole
discretion, shall determine that circumstances exist which require
the simultaneous payment for the services when the services are provided.
In making advances, pursuant to this chapter,
to any individual and/or vendor, the following procedure shall govern:
A. A resolution shall be prepared by the Township Administrator,
setting forth the department head requesting the advance, the party
to whom the advance is to be paid and the purpose and amount of the
advance.
B. The original resolution shall be approved, in writing,
by the Township Administrator and maintained on file in his office.
C. A voucher requesting the advance and completed in accordance with §
80-1 shall be attached to the original resolution on file in the office of the Township Administrator, bearing the signature of the appropriate department head requesting the advance and the party to whom the advance is to be paid.
D. The advance resolution shall be approved at a public meeting of the Township Council, pursuant to §§
80-2 and
80-3.
E. Following approval, an advance check shall be issued pursuant to §
80-5.
F. Within 10 days of the completion of the authorized
travel or payment for the vendor's services, the Township department
head from whose department the request originated shall countersign
the previously submitted voucher, submit a detailed bill and require
any necessary adjustment to be made as to the advance payment to any
officer or employee within his department, including the repayment
of any excess advance, under the supervision of the Township Administrator.