[Amended 8-21-2002 by Ord. No. 02-027[1]]
There shall be a Department of Finance headed by the Director,
who may be the Business Administrator, the Chief Financial Officer
of the Township or another qualified individual. The Division of Tax
Assessment, the Division of Revenue Collection and the Division of
Accounts and Control are each assigned to the Department of Finance
for general administrative and supervisory purposes. It is recognized
that each of these divisions largely performs statutory duties and
in such areas performs its function independently of departmental
supervision.
[Amended 9-2-1998 by Ord. No. 98-030]
The Director of the Department of Finance, subject to the direction
and supervision of the Mayor:
A.
May be the Chief Financial Officer of the Township or may appoint
a certified municipal finance officer within the Department of Finance
as Chief Financial Officer with the advice and consent of the Mayor,
who shall act as chief custodian of Township funds.
B.
Shall account for and preaudit and control all Township revenues
and expenditures.
C.
Shall prescribe, install and enforce a uniform system of accounts,
including forms, standards and procedures, for the use of all departments
of the Township government and of all agencies expending Township
funds.
D.
Shall be responsible for the safety and investment of the Township's
funds, the management of the Township debt, including bond and note
issues, the development of financial policies for recommendation to
the Mayor and the safeguarding of the Township's financial interests
to the fullest extent.
E.
Shall be responsible for the collection and payment of all payroll
deductions.
F.
Shall have custody of all investments and invested funds of the Township
or in its possession in a fiduciary capacity, except as otherwise
provided by law, and have the safekeeping of all bonds and notes for
transfer, registration or exchange, and invest or deposit all moneys
not required for current operation in interest-bearing accounts.
Within the Department of Finance there shall be a Division of
Accounts and Control. Under the direction and supervision of the Director/CFO,
the Division shall:
A.
Maintain and operate the Township's central bookkeeping and accounting
records according to sound accounting principles and in accordance
with the requirements of the Director of the State Division of Local
Government Services.
B.
Audit all receipts and disbursements of the Township government and
of each of its departments and preaudit all bills, claims and demands
against the Township, including payrolls, and require each department
head to certify that any materials, supplies and equipment have been
received and accepted as specified and that the services have been
duly rendered.
C.
Control all expenditures to ensure that budget appropriations are
not exceeded and maintain such books and records as may be required
for the proper exercise of such budgetary control.
D.
Review each proposed expenditure and commitment under an encumbrance
system to be made on behalf of any department for conformity with
state law, the Charter and the ordinances of the Township, and authorize
only such expenditures and commitments as conform to all the requirements
of this chapter.
E.
Install, operate and maintain a central payroll system and all social
security, pension and insurance records for personnel of all departments.
F.
Submit a monthly report to the Township Council and Mayor of revenues,
expenditures, cash balances and investments held, including, in the
case of cash balances and investments, the name of the depositories,
type of account or investment, date of maturity, interest rate and
location of investments held for safekeeping.
The Division of Tax Assessments is assigned to the Department
of Finance for the general purpose of administrative supervision but
without regard to the independent duties of the office. The head of
the Division of Tax Assessments shall be the Tax Assessor. The Tax
Assessor shall be appointed to serve for a four-year term commencing
on July 1 in the year of his appointment as provided by law. He shall
have, perform and discharge all of the functions, powers and duties
prescribed for Assessors by general law and municipal ordinance. Prior
to his appointment, the Assessor shall be qualified by training or
experience or a combination thereof in evaluation and assessment of
real and personal property. Unless protected by any other provision
of law, he shall possess a valid Tax Assessor's certificate. The Tax
Assessor shall:
A.
Maintain adequate assessment records of each separate parcel of real
property assessed or exempted.
B.
Maintain a current Tax Map of the Township 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 the Division of Engineering and other divisions and departments
as may be required.
The Division of Revenue Collections is assigned to the Department
of Finance for the general purpose of administrative supervision but
without regard to the independent duties of the office. The Tax Collector
shall be the head of the Division and shall be appointed for a four-year
term commencing on January 1 of the year of his appointment as provided
by law. He shall have, perform and exercise all the functions, powers
and duties as are provided by general law and ordinance. He shall
receive and collect all moneys assessed or raised by taxation or assessment
and other municipal charges assigned to the Division. He shall keep
proper records and report to the Director at least once a month on
all receipts and deposits made by him and shall in such report account
for all moneys for which he is responsible. He shall keep a current
record of all tax title liens, advising the Director promptly as such
liens become subject to foreclosure under the law. He shall enforce
the payment of delinquent taxes by the means provided by law as soon
as they become delinquent. He shall also perform such other duties
as are prescribed by law and municipal ordinance. He shall be responsible
for all tax searches required to be furnished relating to the property
taxes and other municipal charges or liens of the Township.
