All bills or claims against the borough shall be in writing,
fully itemized and duly certified by the person claiming payment that
it is correct and must be presented on such voucher forms as provided
by the borough.
No claims, bills or demands shall be considered for payment
unless the voucher or bill includes a certification by a designated
borough employee, agent and/or Councilperson who may be accountable
therefor that the goods were received in good order and that the services
were satisfactorily rendered to the Borough of Merchantville, New
Jersey, and that these goods and services are consistent with agreed-to
specifications and price.
Any person claiming demand from the borough must present such
duly certified claim (voucher) to the Borough Clerk on or before the
Thursday preceding the second Monday of the month in order to be considered
for approval/payment at the formal meeting of the Borough Council
on the second Monday of each month, which shall be the only meeting
during the month at which bills will be approved for payment. During
December, bills will be approved for payment at each Borough Council
meeting held on the second and fourth Mondays. In emergency situations,
bills may be approved for payment at other formal meetings of the
Borough Council upon a resolution approved by majority of the entire
membership of the Borough Council.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Clerk to examine all bills
or claims submitted for payment in order to ascertain if proper administrative
procedures have been followed. Each such bill or claim shall then
be carefully reviewed, checked and approved for budget charges and
classification by or under the direction of the borough official or
department head responsible for the budget item affected.
All purchases of goods and services resulting in claims for
payment must adhere to the formally approved Rules of Council of the
Borough of Merchantville. The Treasurer-Collector shall be responsible
for auditing and making recommendations on all claims and bills.
Vouchers (claims) shall be considered by the Council, which
may approve the same, except that said Council may reject any claim
presented to it, stating the reason for such rejection. Any tie vote
may be broken by vote of the Mayor. Any rejected claim shall be referred
back to the Borough Clerk with such instructions as the Council may
give at the time of disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Clerk to record all claims
in the official minutes, indicating that the governing body has by
formal action approved the same, with appropriate records as to any
claims disapproved or rejected. The Borough Treasurer shall record
all claims in an appropriate claims register.
Authorization to issue the checks and pay the amount of approved
vouchers shall be by resolution of the Borough Council. The Director
of Accounts and Auditing or, in his absence, the Director of Finance
shall sign a listing of all vouchers approved for payment indicating
he has examined and approved same.
With regard to payroll, the appropriate department head or such
other officer or employee as may be designated by resolution of the
Council shall prepare the necessary time vouchers for all employees,
which payroll shall be duly certified by the person authorized to
certify that the services have been rendered and the amount specified
is in fact due and owing to the employee. Said payroll, after approval
by the department head responsible therefor, shall be paid in due
course.
After the Clerk has certified that the claims have been approved,
he shall turn the same over to the Treasurer (Collector) who shall
forthwith prepare the necessary checks for the payment thereof, which
checks shall be signed by the Mayor or, in his absence, the President
of the Borough Council and thereafter signed by the Treasurer (Collector).
After preparing checks for the payment of claims, he shall thereafter
dispose the checks to the claimants.
All bills, vouchers and paid checks shall be filed in a safe
place and be made available for public inspection whenever requested,
but in the presence of a borough official.