[Derived from Art. II of Ch. III of the Charter and Ordinances,
1974]
No City agency or employee thereof shall contract a debt or
liability on behalf of a City agency except pursuant to statute, ordinance
or order or resolution of the Council.
A commitment of the credit of the City shall be in writing and
on such forms and in such number of copies as required by regulation
of the Comptroller and for a sum certain for the performance of the
entire work and shall be immediately filed with the Comptroller. Unless
otherwise provided by the Charter, no commitment shall be valid unless
there is on file with the City agency issuing the commitment a certificate
by the Comptroller to the effect that funds are available and have
been set aside in the proper appropriation for the payment of the
commitment.
Whenever it is necessary, in order to meet an emergency, for
a City agency to place an order for materials and/or services before
a written commitment can be furnished to the vendor or contractor,
a written confirming order shall be submitted to the Comptroller within
three business days after the commitment has been made. In addition
to setting forth the usual information required in the purchase order,
the commitment shall also contain a statement indicating that the
order is a confirming order, the date thereof and the manner in which
and by whom the commitment was made.
The head of a City agency may contract for personal services
involving specialized skill of a character not available under civil
service, compensation for which is to be paid by a method other than
through a payroll, upon certification by the Municipal Civil Service
Commission that there exists no proper list from which to select a
person to render the services and that, in view of the temporary and
unusual character of the services required, the Commission does not
intend to exercise control over the services.
