[Amended 8-31-2005 by L.L. No. 5-2005[1]]
There shall be a Department of Administration and Finance, the head of which shall be the Mayor of the City of Lackawanna or any other person qualified by training and experience in governmental administration and finance appointed by the Mayor to serve as director for a term of two years and which shall be one of the division heads within this department. The Director of Administration and Finance so appointed shall serve without any additional compensation. Within the department there shall be the following divisions:
A. 
Accounts and control;
B. 
Assessments;
C. 
Treasury; and
D. 
Bureaus of purchasing and personnel.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided for an effective date of 7-1-2006.
A. 
Within the Department of Administration and Finance there shall be a Bureau of Personnel, the head of which shall be the Civil Service Commission. Each member of the Commission shall be a qualified elector of the City, shall be known to be in sympathy with the merit principle as applied to civil service, shall neither hold nor be a candidate for any other public office or position, and shall not be a member of any local, state or national committee of a political party or an officer in any partisan political club or organization.
B. 
The Civil Service Commission shall be constituted, empowered and appointed pursuant to law. It shall appoint a secretary of the Commission.
(1) 
The secretary shall serve as supervisor of personnel without additional compensation, and as such he or she shall advise and assist the Director with respect to City personnel problems.
(2) 
Under the direction and supervision of the Civil Service Commission, the secretary shall assist the commission in the administration of the Civil Service Law and rules in and for the City, and shall:
(a) 
Hold competitive examinations for all appointments in the classified services in and for the City, restricted to persons reasonably qualified to perform the duties of the position;
(b) 
Give wide publicity through all appropriate channels in each and every case to all announcements of competitive examinations to the end of encouraging qualified persons to take such examinations;
(c) 
Prepare and recommend to the Civil Service Commission such rules as he or she may consider necessary, appropriate or desirable to carry out the provisions of this section;
(d) 
Prepare, install, and maintain a classification plan based on the duties, authority and responsibility of positions in the City service;
(e) 
Prepare and maintain a pay plan in the City service;
(f) 
Establish and maintain a roster of all persons in municipal service setting forth, as to each officer and employee:
[1] 
The class title of the position held;
[2] 
Salary or pay;
[3] 
Any changes in class title, pay or status;
[4] 
Such other data as may be deemed desirable or useful to produce pertinent facts relating to personnel administration.
(g) 
Certify all payrolls for persons in the municipal service; provided that no payment for personal service to any person in the civil service of the City shall be made unless the payroll voucher bears the certification of the Secretary or his or her authorized agent that the person mentioned therein has been appointed and employed in accordance with the provisions of this section;
(h) 
Investigate periodically the operation and effect of the personnel provisions of this Charter and all rules promulgated thereunder, and report annually his or her findings and recommendations to the Mayor and Council;
(i) 
Develop and establish training and educational programs for persons in the City service;
(j) 
Perform such other and different lawful acts or functions as he or she may deem desirable or necessary to enforce the purposes and provisions of this Chapter.
Within the Department of Administration and Finance there shall be a Bureau of Purchasing, the head of which shall be the City Purchasing Agent. The Bureau shall:
A. 
Purchase, store and distribute all supplies, materials and equipment and contract for all services (other than public work contracts let to bids) required by any department;
B. 
Establish and enforce specifications with respect to such services, supplies, materials and equipment;
C. 
Inspect or supervise the inspection of all deliveries of supplies, materials and equipment and the rendition of contractual services and determine their quality, quantity and conformance with specifications;
D. 
Have charge of any and all central storerooms and warehouses which may be established;
E. 
Transfer to or between departments, offices and agencies and from or to central stores, such supplies, material and equipment as need appears, and arrange for the sale of surplus or obsolete items thereof, subject to this Charter and ordinances;
F. 
Administer the City purchasing provisions of Chapter 12 of this Charter as may be provided by ordinance.
Within the Department of Administration and Finance there shall be a Division of Accounts and Control, the head of which shall be the City Comptroller. The Division shall:
A. 
Develop, maintain and enforce a uniform system of accounts, including forms, standards and procedures for all departments of the City government;
B. 
Maintain and operate the City's central bookkeeping and accounting records according to sound accounting principles, including such records and reports as may be prescribed or approved by the Director for the determination of the cost of performance of each function or program or activity, measured in such work units as may be appropriate thereto;
C. 
Preaudit all bills, claims and demands against the City, including payrolls, and require 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;
D. 
Require reports of receipts and disbursements from each department to be made daily or at such intervals as will most efficiently protect the public interest;
E. 
Install, operate and maintain a central payroll system and all social security, pension and insurance records for personnel of all departments;
F. 
Control all expenditures to assure that budget appropriations are not exceeded, and maintain such books and records as may be required for the proper exercise of such budgetary control, including an encumbrance system of budget operations;
G. 
Review each proposed expenditure and commitment to be made on behalf of any City department for conformity with the Charter and ordinances of the City; and authorize only such expenditures and commitments as conform with all of the requirements of this Charter and ordinances;
H. 
Compile budget documents, schedules and exhibits, and make such budget estimates as are otherwise required by the Charter and assist the Mayor in the preparation of the City budget in accordance with this Charter.
Within the Department of Administration and Finance, there shall be a Division of Assessments, the head of which shall be the City Assessor. Prior to his or her appointment he or she shall have had five years appraisal experience and be qualified as a member in the American Institute of Appraisers. The Division shall value property for taxation within the City and perform all other functions of an Assessor pursuant to the Real Property Tax Law and any amendment, supplement or revision thereof.
[Amended by L.L. No. 4-1982]
Within the Division of Assessments, there shall be a Board of Assessment Review. The Board shall consist of three duly licensed real estate brokers who shall be appointed by the Council for a term of five years, as provided in the Real Property Tax Law. Each member of the Board shall, prior to his or her appointment, have been actively engaged in the real estate brokerage business for at least five years. The Board shall be empowered to hear and determine complaints in relation to assessments and to act thereon in accordance with the Real Property Tax Law. The Board shall sit annually for a period of not more than three days, beginning on the second Tuesday in January, to hear complaints pursuant to law and to determine the final assessment of the real property of each complainant and to correct the assessment roll accordingly. Members of the Board shall be compensated on a per diem basis not exceeding the rate established for comparable work by the principal real estate board or boards in the County.
Within the Department of Administration and Finance, there shall be a Division of the City Treasury, the head of which shall be the City Treasurer. The Division shall:
A. 
Receive and collect property and excise taxes levied by the City;
B. 
Receive all moneys collected or paid to any department, and deposit all funds received in authorized depositories;
C. 
Have custody of all investments and invested funds of the City or in possession of the City in a fiduciary capacity, except as otherwise provided by law, and keep such funds, and all moneys of the City not required for current operations, safely invested in investments legal for savings banks or deposited in interest bearing bank accounts;
D. 
Have the safekeeping of all bonds and notes of the City and the receipt and delivery of City bonds and notes for transfer, registration or exchange;
E. 
Make disbursements of City funds upon warrant of the City Comptroller by an individual warrant check for each bill, claim, wage and salary payment as approved by the Mayor and not otherwise; provided that every warrant check shall be payable to the order of the person entitled to receive same, and shall specify the purpose for which it is drawn and the account or appropriation to which it is chargeable, and shall be signed by the City Treasurer and countersigned by the Mayor;
F. 
Keep a full account of all cash receipts and disbursements by the Division according to the system of accounts prescribed by the Director, and at least once a month and oftener if the Council requires, furnish the Council with a statement of all moneys received and expended, including school moneys;
G. 
Receive and collect school taxes when authorized pursuant to law;
H. 
Make or cause to be made searches for delinquent tax liens and issue certificates of such searches, for which a fee may be charged as provided by ordinance.
I. 
The City shall impose a fee of $25 on any check rendered for payment and returned unpaid to the City of Lackawanna. This fee would be effective in all departments of the City that collect revenues.
[Added 4-26-2004 by L.L. No. 2-2004]
The Director of Administration and Finance shall administer and enforce practices and procedures relating to budget, purchasing and control as otherwise prescribed by this Charter or local law.