[Amended 12-18-2001 by Ord. No. 326]
A. The certified public accountant (CPA) or firm of CPAs designated
by the Borough Council to perform annual audits and special audits
shall examine, audit and settle all accounts whatsoever in which the
Borough is concerned, and the audit shall consist of an examination
in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and shall
include such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing
procedures as are considered necessary in the circumstances.
B. The certified public accountant(s) shall audit the accounting records
of the Borough for the fiscal year and shall prepare a report on the
examination, which shall set forth:
(1) The scope of the examination.
(2) An opinion of the fairness of the presentation of the financial statement
of the Borough, which shall show a complete statement of the financial
condition of the Borough, giving in detail the actual indebtedness,
the amount of the funded debt and the amount of the floating debt
thereof, the valuation of taxable property therein, the assets of
the Borough, with the character and value thereof and the date of
maturity of the respective forms of funded debt thereof.
(3) The amount of any balance or shortage or any expenditure of any kind,
or made in a manner, prohibited or not authorized by statute which
came to his attention during the course of his examination and which,
in his opinion, causes a financial loss to the Borough, which loss
is material in relation to the receipts and disbursements of the Borough.
C. The amount of any balance or shortage or of any expenditure of any
kind, or made in a manner, prohibited or not authorized by statute,
which causes a financial loss to the Borough, shall be a surcharge
against any officer against whom such balance or shortage shall appear,
or who, by vote, act or neglect has permitted or approved such expenditure,
but no elected or appointed official of the Borough shall be surcharged
for any act, error or omission in excess of the actual financial loss
sustained by the Borough, and any surcharge shall take into consideration
as its basis the results of such act, error or omission and the results
had the procedure been strictly according to law. The provisions hereof
limiting the amount of any surcharge shall not apply to cases involving
fraud or collusion on the part of officers, nor to any penalty ensuring
to the benefit or payable to the commonwealth.
D. It shall be the duty of the certified public accountant(s):
(1) To file a copy of the annual and any special report with the Secretary
of the Borough, the Clerk of the Court of the County and the Department
of Community and Economic Development not later than 90 days after
the close of the fiscal year.
(2) To publish within 10 days thereafter, by advertisement in at least
one newspaper of general circulation in the Borough, a concise financial
statement setting forth the balance in the treasury at the beginning
of the fiscal year, all revenues received during the fiscal year by
major classifications, all expenditures made during the fiscal year
by major functions, the current resources and liabilities of the Borough
at the end of the fiscal year, the gross liability and net debt of
the Borough, the amount of the assessed valuation of the Borough,
the assets of the Borough with the character and value thereof, the
date of the last maturity of the respective forms of funded debt and
the assets in each sinking fund. The independent auditor shall make
his report on the uniform form prepared by the committee, consisting
of four representatives from the Pennsylvania State Association of
Boroughs and the Secretary of Community and Economic Development,
or his agent.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
E. The compensation of the independent auditor shall be determined by
the Council and paid out of Borough funds.
[Amended 12-18-2001 by Ord. No. 326; at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any balance, in any report of the independent auditor, against
any officer of the Borough shall constitute a surcharge against such
officer as fully as if expressly stated in said report to be a surcharge,
and the amount of any such balance and of any express surcharge shall,
if no appeal is taken or after an appeal has been finally determined,
be entered by the Prothonotary as a judgment against such officer
and in favor of the Borough. The Clerk of Courts shall certify the
amount of every balance or surcharge contained in any such report,
from which no appeal has been taken within time herein provided, to
the Court of Common Pleas, for entry thereof by the Prothonotary as
a judgment. Any taxpayer of the Borough may enforce the collection
thereof, for the benefit of the Borough, by action or execution, upon
filing in the Court of Common Pleas a bond in the sum of $500 with
one or more sureties, conditioned to indemnify the Borough from all
costs which may accrue in the proceedings undertaken by such taxpayer;
subject, however, to all rights of appeal from the report of independent
auditors granted by 8 Pa.C.S.A. § 1059.11. If any person
or persons have been or shall be surcharged for an illegal purchase
and no fraud or collusion is shown and the surcharge is paid to the
Borough, then the articles purchased shall become the property of
the person or persons surcharged.