There shall be a Department of Finance, the head of which shall
be the Chief Financial Officer. The Department shall consist of the
Division of Treasury, Division of Assessments and the Division of
Collections. The Chief Financial Officer shall be appointed by the
Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council. The Chief Financial
Officer, prior to his/her appointment, shall be qualified by training
or experience in governmental finance and fiscal management.
Within the Department of Finance there shall be a Division of
Treasury, the head of which shall be the Treasurer. The Treasurer
shall be appointed for the term prescribed by law for municipal treasurers,
but need not serve full time. The Treasurer shall serve under the
direction and supervision of the Chief Financial Officer of the division.
The duties of the Treasurer shall be:
A.
To control and verify accuracy of daily receipts of the central cashier.
B.
To pre-audit all vouchers, bills or claims presented against the
Borough.
C.
To control expenditures to assure that budget appropriations are
not exceeded.
D.
To supervise and maintain the punctual payment of all Borough debt
bonds and interest.
E.
To reconcile all bank accounts, including Tax Collector's depository
account.
F.
To supervise and administer, when necessary, the recordkeeping of
all personnel within the Department of Finance.
G.
To make all disbursements of Borough funds.
H.
To have custody and control of all investments and investment funds
of the Borough, upon approval of the Administrator.
I.
To prepare at least monthly a Treasurer's report to be presented
to the Mayor and the Council setting forth at least a statement of
revenues, statement of receipts and disbursements, all funds and a
statement of budget appropriations and expenditures and unencumbered
balances.
Within the Department of Finance there shall be a Tax Assessor
of the Borough. The Assessor shall:
A.
Have, perform and discharge all the functions, powers and duties
prescribed by law for a municipal assessor.
B.
Make assessments of benefits for local improvements and for that
purpose to have and exercise the powers and duties of a Board of Assessment
for local improvements as provided by law.
C.
Maintain adequate assessment records of each separate parcel of real
property assessed or exempted, and establish and maintain such files,
records and procedures as may be required for the valuation and assessment
of personal property pursuant to law.
D.
Maintain a current Tax Map of the Borough as a public record and
cause to be recorded thereon all changes in ownership or character
of the real property assessed, employing for that purpose the facilities
of other departments as provided by the code.
Within the Department of Finance, there shall be a Division
of Collections, the head of which shall be the Tax Collector. The
Tax Collector shall be appointed for the term prescribed by law for
municipal tax collectors. Under the direction and supervision of the
Director, the Division shall:
A.
Perform the functions of a collector of taxes under general law,
including without limitation thereto the preparation and mailing of
tax bills and assessment bills, enforcement of tax collections by
tax sales and otherwise, and the maintenance of tax accounting records
in such a manner as may be prescribed or approved pursuant to the
Charter and code, within the framework of the New Jersey statutes.
B.
Receive and collect and deposit daily all current and delinquent
real and personal property taxes, current and delinquent utility charges,
improvement assessments, charge and receive penalties and interest
pursuant to law and other general revenue unless otherwise provided
by law.
C.
Make, or cause to be made, and certify searches for tax and other
liens on real property as may be authorized by law and charge and
collect and deposit daily for the use of the Borough the fee required
pursuant to law for any such search.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:36-8 et seq., if a search for municipal
liens submitted by a claimant under a fire insurance policy for claims
in excess of $2,500 discloses that taxes, assessments or other municipal
liens or charges have been levied and assessed and are due and payable
against the property in question, then the insurance company shall
be prohibited from making payment to such claimant until such time
as all taxes and assessments and all other municipal liens or charges
due and payable appearing on the official certificate of search have
been paid, either by the owner of such real property or by the insurance
company, unless the Borough Council adopts a resolution authorizing
a contract between the Borough and the owner of the fire damaged property
whereby all delinquent taxes, assessments or other municipal liens
shall be paid by installments.
