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Borough of Metuchen, NJ
Middlesex County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (6) Index Notes (1)
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Metuchen as indicated in individual article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-19-1971 by Ord. No. 71-8]
The purposes of this article are to prescribe the manner in which the Borough Administrator, serving as the Purchasing Officer of the borough, shall control the purchasing of materials, supplies, equipment and certain contractual services for the Borough of Metuchen and to maintain a high ethical standard for all officers and employees of the said borough in connection therewith.
The Purchasing Officer shall have the power and it shall be his or her duty to:
A. 
Purchase or contract for all materials, supplies, equipment and contractual services needed by any using agency which derives its financial support in whole or in part from the borough within the limitations of the law and in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this article and such rules and regulations as the Purchasing Officer shall adopt for the management and operation of the purchasing function.
B. 
Purchase or procure for the borough the highest quality in materials, supplies, equipment and contractual services from the lowest responsible bidder meeting specifications.
C. 
Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain full and open competition insofar as possible on all purchases and sales.
D. 
Sell or dispose of all obsolete or unusable personal property in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey or the rules, regulations or resolutions which may be adopted by the Council.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to the furnishing of materials, supplies or labor estimated to cost in excess of the New Jersey statutory threshold established by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-3. These require formal competitive bidding under the auspices or direction of the Mayor and Council pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq. All purchases of materials, supplies, labor and equipment whose estimated value is less than the New Jersey statutory threshold established by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-3 shall be made, wherever possible, on competitive quotations, either by telephone or written inquiry. Where, by law, formal competitive bidding for special equipment and services is not required even though the estimated value of such are in excess of the New Jersey statutory threshold established by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-3, informal bidding shall be conducted by the Purchasing Officer, unless otherwise directed by the Mayor and Council, to achieve the purposes of this article.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. 2).
The Purchasing Officer is hereby authorized and directed to adopt such written regulations as may be necessary for the implementation of this article. Any regulations promulgated by the Purchasing Officer shall become effective within 30 days after submission to the Mayor and Council unless the regulations are disapproved by the Mayor and Council within the thirty-day period. Copies of the regulations shall be on file in the office of the Purchasing Officer and be made available for public inspection during business hours.
Except as provided in the regulations promulgated by the Purchasing Officer, no officer or employee of the borough shall purchase materials, supplies, equipment or make contracts within the purview of this article other than through the Purchasing Officer. Any purchase ordered or contract made contrary to the provisions hereof shall not be approved by borough officials, and the borough shall not be bound thereby.
A. 
No purchase order or contract shall be made within the purview of this article in which the Purchasing Officer or any official or employee of the borough is financially interested, directly or indirectly, except under such safeguards and conditions as are allowed by law.
B. 
The Purchasing Officer and every official and employee of the borough are expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person, company, firm or corporation to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded, any rebate, gift, money or anything of value whatsoever, except where given for the use and benefit of the borough.
The Purchasing Officer shall have the authority to join with other units of government, including the state, county, Board of Education and other municipalities, in cooperative purchasing plans as stated in the New Jersey Statutes Annotated when the best interests of the Borough could be served thereby.
[Adopted 8-3-1992 by Ord. No. 92-22]
A. 
Any person claiming payment from the Borough of Metuchen shall first present a detailed bill of items or demand to the responsible executive agency, specifying particularly how the bill or demand is made up, with a certification of the party claiming payment that it is correct, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16.
B. 
No bill of items or demand shall be considered for payment unless it carries a certification from a borough officer or duly designated borough employee having knowledge of the facts that the goods have been received by, or the services rendered to, the Borough of Metuchen.
C. 
The Treasurer shall audit, warrant and make recommendations on all bills of items and demands.
The bill of item or demand, duly certified by a borough officer or employee, shall be presented to the Borough Clerk for inclusion in the proceedings of the next regular meeting of the Council. All bills of item or demand to be considered by the Council shall be listed systematically and without preference. Said list shall be made available to every member of the Council prior to formal action by the Council.
A. 
Each such list of bills of items and demands shall be considered by the Council. The Council may approve or reject the list of bills of items and demands in whole or in part. Any tie vote may be broken by the vote of the Mayor.
B. 
If the Council rejects any bill of items or demand, or list thereof, the reason for such rejection must be stated. Any rejected bill of items or demand shall be referred to the Borough Clerk with such instructions as the Council may give at the time of rejection.
The Borough Clerk shall record all bills of items or demands, either in the official minutes of the borough or in a separate file entitled "Bills Register," with an indication that the Council has by formal action approved or rejected the bill of items or demand. All records pertaining to approved or rejected bills of items or demands shall be available for public inspection during regular business hours.
After the Borough Clerk has certified that the list of bills of items or demands has been approved, the Borough Clerk shall turn said list over to the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall then prepare the checks necessary for the payment of each bill of item or demand contained in the approved list. Said checks shall be signed by any three of the borough officials authorized to do so by resolution. The Treasurer shall then record each check in proper books of account and shall cause the checks to be mailed to the party claiming payment.