[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Aldermen
(now City Council) of the City of Chicopee as indicated in article
histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted as Ch. 9 of the 1976 Code]
[Amended 9-1-2009]
A.
The general charge of the financial interest of the
City shall be in a standing Committee on Finance, which shall consist
of the President of the City Council and six members of the Council
appointed by the President. Said Committee shall annually in the months
of November and December meet to compile recommendations for the City
Council budget for the ensuing municipal year, which recommendations
shall be passed upon by the City Council for referral to the Mayor.
B.
It shall be the duty of this Committee at least once
in each year to examine all funds, securities and vouchers held by
the City Treasurer or by any other officer, committee or board, to
approve the sureties on all bonds required to be given to the City
by any officer thereof and to require new bonds from such officers
whenever, in its judgment, existing bonds are insufficient; and to
receive and examine the annual financial reports as made by the various
officers and boards of the City and report the same to the City Council
in proper form for printing, together with its suggestions and recommendations
thereon. The decision of said Committee in all matters relating to
the sureties on all bonds of any City official shall supersede that
of any other officer, committee or board and shall be subject to revision
only by the City Council with the approval of the Mayor.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sec. 9/I/2, Powers and
duties of Standing Committee on Claims and Finance, which section
originally followed this subsection, was repealed 9-20-1984.
The City Treasurer shall give a bond to the
City in such sums as the Commissioner of Corporations and Taxation
may from time to time determine and with such sureties as may be approved
by the Committee on Finance, which bond, after its approval, shall
be kept by the Mayor, who shall be authorized to bring suit thereon
upon any violations of the conditions thereof. He shall be the custodian
of all money belonging to the City. At the close of the financial
year, he shall make a report of all receipts and expenditures during
the year and submit the same to the Committee on Finance.
[Amended 4-16-1996 by Ord. No. 96-24]
The City Auditor shall act as the Clerk of the
Committee on Finance and of the Committee on Claims and Accounts.
It shall be his duty to carefully examine all claims which may be
presented against the City, see that the same are correctly cased,
that the amounts charged are proper and in accordance with the contract
under which the charges were made and that the same are legal. If
he finds the claims correct, he shall approve the same in writing
and submit them to the Mayor, who may order payment thereof. If he
shall disapprove any claim, he shall return it to the officer, board
or committee from whom it came for revision, and if it is not corrected
and he still disapproves of it, he shall refer it to the Committee
on Claims and Accounts, with his objections thereto. He shall examine
the accounts of the City Collector and of all other persons, committees
and boards who may be charged with the collection or disbursement
of the funds of the City, and for this purpose shall have access to
all the books and vouchers which relate to said accounts. At the close
of the financial year, he shall prepare a detailed report of the finances
of the year and of all accounts examined by him and submit the same
to the Committee on Finance. The City Auditor is to provide a report
listing general funds receipts and revolving funds for each department
for all budget hearings.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
The City Auditor shall keep such books of account
as he may deem necessary, which shall comply with the state system
of accounting, in which he shall credit the several departments with
the appropriations which may be made relating thereto, and in which
he shall charge against the several appropriations all claims approved
by him. He shall keep an account with the City Collector in which
he shall charge the Collector with the amount of all taxes assessed
and of all claims due to the City. He shall also keep an account in
which he shall charge the City Treasurer with all notes and other
obligations given by the City and of all other matters which it is
the duty of the Treasurer to receive and in which he shall credit
the Treasurer with the amount of all orders drawn upon him, so that
the balance of this account may at any time show the financial condition
of the City. Furthermore, the Auditor shall by August 15 of each fiscal
year report to the City Council the closing balances of all accounts
of the City for the previous fiscal year.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
Previous to the passage of the annual appropriations by the City Council, the Auditor shall approve only such claims as are necessary for the regular current business of the City, in accordance with MGL c. 44, § 34, or are specially authorized by vote of the City Council on the recommendation of the Mayor. After such annual appropriations have been made, whenever the appropriation in any department is exhausted, the Auditor shall not approve any further claims in that department until provision for payment of the same shall have been made by the City Council, either by an additional appropriation or by a transfer, but he shall immediately report the condition to the Committee on Finance.
All officers and boards in whose departments
any accounts, except taxes, may become due to the City shall deposit
with the City Auditor on or before the 10th day of each month a statement
of all such accounts as have become due up to the first day of the
month and not previously certified by them, and the Auditor shall
charge the amounts thereof against the City Collector and then deliver
the same statements to said Collector. The Assessors of Taxes shall
deliver to the Auditor a statement of all taxes which are committed
by them for collection immediately after their commitment. Any officer
or board having authority to make any abatement or discount in the
amount of any account due to the City shall deliver to the Auditor
a certified statement of all abatements and discounts made by him
or them as soon as made, and the amounts thereof shall be credited
to the accounts of the City Collector and of the City Treasurer.
All bills and claims against the City shall,
as far as possible, be obtained and approved by the proper officers
and forwarded to the City Auditor forthwith. All bills will be processed
for payment on the 15th and 30th of each month. All officers shall
submit bills for processing at least five days before the above payment
dates. The Auditor shall examine all bills and after approval shall
draw his order for payment thereof in season to enable the Treasurer
to make payment as set forth above.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
The City Clerk shall deliver to the Auditor
a certified copy of all votes and orders of the City Council authorizing
the expenditure of money as soon as possible after the same shall
have been adopted, and the Auditor shall not approve any bill under
such vote or order until such certified copy has been filed with him.
[Amended 1-4-1983; 9-20-1983; 9-1-2009]
No bill or claim against the City shall be paid
by the Treasurer until the same shall have been approved by the Auditor
and payment thereof ordered by the Mayor. All salaries of officers,
principal and interest on permanent and temporary loans when due,
taxes and license fees due the state or county, final judgments in
actions in court against the City, monthly gas bills, weekly freight
bills, abatements of taxes, allowances of state aid and military aid
and soldier's relief and all sums ordered paid by vote of the City
Council may be paid upon approval of the Auditor and order of the
Mayor. Weekly payrolls of the employees of the City who are entitled
by law to receive their pay weekly shall be made up by the Superintendent
or board under whom the employees have worked and be submitted to
the Auditor. All bills contracted by the School Committee, after being
approved in the manner provided in the regulations of the Committee,
shall be submitted to the Auditor. Upon verification that the submitted
bills have been approved in the manner prescribed, the Auditor shall
examine the same and, if found correct, approve the same for payment.
For verification purposes, the School Committee shall submit with
its schedules of bills payable an affidavit, properly signed by the
Superintendent of Schools or, in his absence, the Assistant Superintendent
of Schools, stating the meeting dates when actions were taken, the
motions made and the votes taken on all bills submitted for payment.
All approved bills upon which payment has been
ordered shall be filed with and remain in the custody of the Auditor.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
The following statement shall be attached to all schedules of bills payable submitted by each department head unless otherwise authorized by the City Council under the provisions of Section 59 of the City Charter.
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"I, the undersigned, hereby certify under penalties
of perjury that I have no beneficial interest, either directly or
indirectly, in the following bills submitted for payment, nor will
I benefit personally in any manner as a result of payment of said
bills."
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[Added 11-1-1977; 9-1-2009]
A.
Listing of tax amounts receivables. On or before May
15 of each fiscal period, the City Collector and the City Treasurer
shall submit to the City Council complete lists of all tax amounts
receivables in their charge. These lists shall include the names and
addresses of the individuals in arrear, the amounts of the tax delinquencies
and any and all interest charges assessed.
B.
Listing of property valuations, tax assessments and
abatements. On or before July 15 of each year, the Board of Assessors
shall submit to the City Council complete lists of all property valuations,
tax assessments and tax abatements applicable to the fiscal period
just completed. These lists shall include all property valuations
(buildings and land), owner's names and addresses, actual tax assessments
and any and all abatements with the reasons for their being granted
(the chapter, section and, if any, the clause of the General Laws
so used).
C.
Publishing of tax amounts receivable, property valuations,
tax assessments and abatements. Upon receipt of the lists of tax amounts
receivable, property valuations, tax assessments and abatements, the
City Council shall make them public by having them posted in easily
accessible areas of the City Hall, the main library, and all branch
libraries. In addition, the City Treasurer and City Collector shall
make available to the news media copies of these lists to be published.
[Added 6-19-2018 by Ord.
No. 18-21]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to codify, establish and
authorize revolving funds for use by City departments, boards, committees,
agencies or officers in connection with the operation of programs
or activities that generate fees, charges, or other receipts to support
all or some of the expenses of those programs or activities. These
revolving funds are established under and governed by General Law
Chapter 44, § 53E1/2.
B.
Expenditure limitations. A department or agency head, board, committee,
or officer may incur liabilities against and spend monies from a revolving
fund established and authorized by this section without appropriation
subject to the following limitations:
(1)
Fringe benefits of full-time employees whose salaries or wages
are paid from the fund shall also be paid from the fund.
(2)
No liability shall be incurred in excess of the available balance
of the fund.
(3)
The total amount spent during a fiscal year shall not exceed
the amount authorized by City Council on or before July 1st of that
fiscal year, or any increased amount of that authorization that is
later approved during that fiscal year by the Mayor and City Council.
C.
Interest. Interest earned on monies credited to a revolving fund
established by this section shall be credited to the general fund.
D.
Procedures and reports. Except as provided in General Laws Chapter
44, § 53E1/2, this section, the City Charter, or any other
state or local law, ordinance, rule, regulation, policy or procedure
that governs the receipt and custody of City monies and the expenditure
and payment of City funds shall apply to the use of a revolving fund
established and authorized by this section. The City Auditor shall
include a statement of the collections credited to each fund, the
encumbrances and expenditures charged to the fund and the balance
available for expenditure in the regular report the City Auditor provides
the department, board, committee, agency or officer on appropriations
made for its use.
E.
Authorized revolving funds. The Table in Exhibit A[1] establishes:
(1)
Each revolving fund authorized for use by a City department,
board, committee, agency or officer;
(2)
The department or agency head, board, committee, or officer
authorized to spend from each fund;
(3)
The fee, charges and other monies charged and received by the
department, board, committee, agency or officer in connection with
the program or activity for which the fund is established that shall
be credited to each fund by the City Auditor.
(4)
The expenses of the program or activity for which each fund
may be used;
(5)
Any restrictions or conditions on expenditures from each fund;
(6)
Any reporting or other requirements that apply to each fund;
and
(7)
The fiscal years each fund shall operate under this section.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is on file in the City offices.
[Adopted 7-6-1976]
[Amended 9-1-2009]
The School Committee, through its Business Manager,
shall reconcile its accounting books with the City Auditor monthly
and submit to the City Council by the 25th of the following month
a statement of account on a line basis in the following manner:
|
Item
|
Annual Budget
|
Budget Year-To-Date
|
Expenditures Year-To-Date
|
Difference
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
In addition to the statement of account, the
School Committee shall submit a copy of the dates of its meetings,
motions made and passed, votes taken on all payments of bills and
all transfers made.
