[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of
Secaucus 3-14-72. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Any
person claiming payment from the Town of Secaucus shall first submit
a detailed statement of the items or demand necessitating such claim
to the Treasurer's office specifying particularly how the bill
or demand is made up, and a certification of the party claiming payment
that it is correct. No bill, claim or demand shall be considered for
payment unless the voucher has attached to it a certification of a
department head or other municipal official responsible for certain
functions, or of his duly designated representative, having personal
knowledge of the facts that the goods have been received by or the
services rendered to the Town of Secaucus, and that those services
or goods are consistent with any existing contract. The Treasurer
shall have the duty to audit warrants and make recommendations on
all claims and bills.
B.
The
Treasurer may issue checks in payment of claims not in excess of $25
upon appropriate demand, subject to the approval of the Municipal
Administrator. Said claims shall be included in the list of claims
to be approved by the governing body.
The bill or claim duly certified shall be presented to the Municipal
Clerk for inclusion in the agenda of the next immediate formal meeting
of the governing body and it shall be the duty of the Clerk to examine
all bills or claims submitted for payment in order to ascertain if
proper administrative procedures have been followed. All claims or
bills to be considered by the governing body shall be listed systematically
and without preference and said list shall be made available to every
member of said governing body at least three full days prior to formal
action by that body.
A.
It
shall be the duty of the Municipal Clerk to prepare an appropriate
claims register for consideration by the governing body, composed
of any claim, bills or demands audited, warranted and recommended
for payment by the Treasurer since the last formal meeting of the
governing body, at which time claims, demands and bills were ordered
paid. This register of claims, bills and demands shall be approved
or disapproved in its entirety or individually.
B.
Claims
shall be considered by the governing body, which shall approve the
same, except that said governing body may reject any claim presented
to it stating the reason for such rejection. Any disapproved claim
shall be referred back to the Municipal Clerk with such instructions
as the governing body may give at the time of disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Municipal Clerk to record all claims
in the official minutes from the claims register, indicating that
the governing body has by formal action approved the same with appropriate
record as to any claims disapproved or rejected. All records pertaining
to approved bills or claims shall be available for public inspection.
After the Clerk has certified that the claims have been approved,
he shall turn the same over to the Treasurer, who shall forthwith
prepare the necessary checks for the payment thereof, which said checks
shall be signed by the Mayor and thereafter countersigned by the Treasurer.
After preparing checks for the payment of claims, he shall record
them in proper books of account and thereafter mail or otherwise distribute
the checks to the claimants.