[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of South Plainfield 10-23-1978 by Ord. No. 791 (Ch.
16 of the 1982 Code); amended in its entirety at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.Â
The Borough of South Plainfield by its governing body
shall not pay out any of its money:
(1)Â
Unless the person claiming or receiving the same 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 party
claiming payment that it is correct. The governing body may, by resolution,
require an affidavit in lieu of the said certification, and the Clerk
or disbursing officer of the local unit may take such affidavit without
cost; and
(2)Â
Unless it carries a written order electronic certification
of some officer or duly designated employee of the local unit having
knowledge of the facts that the goods have been received by, or the
services rendered to, the local unit.
B.Â
Notwithstanding the provisions of the Subsection A of this section, upon adoption by the Local Finance Board of rules adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, P.L. 1968, c. 410 (N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq.) that provides for procedures to be followed by local units and under those circumstances deemed appropriate by the Board, the Borough shall be permitted to pay out its moneys without requiring a certification of the party claiming payment as otherwise required by Subsection A of this section. Such circumstances may include, but shall not be limited to:
(1)Â
When payment to vendors is required in advance of
the delivery of certain materials or services that cannot be obtained
from any other source at comparable prices; or
(2)Â
When ordering, billing and payment transactions for
goods or services are made through a computerized electronic transaction;
or
(3)Â
When claim or demand is less than a threshold set
by the Board and the certification is not readily obtainable by the
Borough, but such exceptions shall not include reimbursement of employee
expenses or payment for personal service.
Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16.1,
the Borough may, by resolution, provide for and authorize payment
of advances to officers and employees of the local unit toward their
expenses for authorized official travel and expenses incident thereto.
Any such resolution shall provide for the verification and adjustment
of such expenses and advances and the repayment of any excess advanced
by means of detailed bill of items or demand and the certifications
or affidavit required by N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16 which shall be submitted
within 10 days after the completion of the travel for which an advance
was made.
Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16.2,
the Borough may, by resolution, provide for and authorize payment
of an advance to any nonprofit organization or agency with which the
Borough has entered into a service contract, for the purpose of meeting
service program startup costs; provided, however, that:
A.Â
The source of the funds to be advanced is a federal
grant allowing the local unit to receive funds in advance of disbursement
and requiring that any interest earned on said funds be returned to
the federal government;
B.Â
The governing body has determined, by resolution,
that the advance is necessary in order to prevent undue hardship to
said contractor in achieving the objectives of the federal grant;
C.Â
The amount of the advance to any given contractor
does not exceed an amount equal to the total amount of the contract
divided by the number of months in the term of the contract, and provided
further that the total disbursements of the Borough to the contractor,
including the amount of the advance outstanding, shall not, at any
time, exceed the total cash receipt of the local unit under the federal
grant up to that time; and
D.Â
The resolution authorizing the advance includes a
schedule for the depletion of the advance, in accordance with sound
accounting practice, indicating that the advance will be entirely
depleted by the termination date of the contract.
Notwithstanding the provision of N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16,
the governing body participating in a statutorily authorized joint,
interlocal or other cooperative activity may, by resolution, provide
for and authorize payment in advance of estimated administrative or
direct service costs to the local unit or other party providing administrative
services or otherwise acting on behalf of or for the group.
The governing body shall approve or disapprove
all claims.
A.Â
The governing body does hereby designate the Chief
Financial Officer and determines him/her to be the certifying and
approval officer. The Chief Financial Officer shall accept certifications
required by 40A:5-16b, ascertaining the existence of proper and legal
appropriations for the payments to be made and determining that there
is legal authority for the payments, evidenced by action of a purchasing
department or agent or officer in respect to the goods or services
ordered and the incurring of the expense therefor.
B.Â
The Chief Financial Officer shall provide for the
approving and certifying of the proper officer claims for payments
and drawing checks therefor.
C.Â
The Chief Financial Officer shall prescribed for certifying
approved claims to the governing body and regulating its approval
or disapproval thereon.
Payment of claim shall be made by checks drawn
on the municipality signed by the Mayor and the Municipal Clerk and
countersigned by the Chief Financial Officer.
The Chief Financial Officer shall keep general
books of account for the municipality and shall maintain same.
The Chief Financial Officer shall have the authority
to process without further action on the part of the governing body
the cancellation of any property tax refund or delinquency of less
than $10.
All claims approved for payment shall be recorded
in the minutes of the governing body, and such approval shall be opened
to the public. Prior to the presentation to the governing body of
a claims list, the Chief Financial Officer shall certify that there
are funds available for said payment and that there is legal authority
for the payments evidenced by action of the Purchasing Department
or agent or officer in respect to the goods or services ordered and
the incurring of the expense therefor.
The Borough shall pay salaries, wages or other
compensation for services in the same manner as for checks drawn upon
the municipality and signed for that purpose. The Borough shall pay
biweekly all salaries, wages and compensation of officers and employees,
both elective and appointive.
A.Â
Whenever an official ceases to hold office in the
Borough on the day of the expiration of his/her term of office, he/she
shall forthwith deliver to the Chief Financial Officer all moneys,
papers, books, memoranda, accounts and any data of any nature whatever
pertaining to his/her office.
B.Â
On refusal to carry out the provisions of this section
within 5 days after the expiration of his/her term, he/she shall,
on notice in writing of such delinquency from the Mayor, be subject
to a penalty of $50 for each day of refusal or neglect to comply therewith.
Certain petty cash funds may be established
by the Borough after approval by the Director of the Department of
Community Affairs.
