Municipality of Princeton, NJ Department of Administration and Finance

[Ord. No. 2014-8]

The administrator shall, under the supervision and control of the mayor and council, to the extent not prohibited by law:

(a)

Be responsible for the proper and efficient administration of all municipal business, except those duties and responsibilities conferred upon other officials by state statutes, other applicable laws, rules and regulations promulgated by state and county agencies, judicial authority or ordinances of the municipality. The administrator may delegate to the deputy administrator, or any department head or other Princeton employee such powers as the administrator may deem necessary for efficient administration. The administrator shall retain responsibility for all such work performed by others;

(b)

Serve as the municipality's personnel officer, maintain sound personnel practices and policies, maintain appropriate records of all subordinate officers and employees, and have the authority to hire, promote, discipline, suspend or discharge any employee, provided that to the extent those employees are covered by applicable state statutes, rules and regulations, or another provision of this Code, they shall be hired, promoted, disciplined, suspended or discharged in a manner consistent with such statutes, rules, regulations and/or this Code. As required by law, the mayor shall nominate, and with the advice and consent of the council, appoint all subordinate officers (unless another procedure is specified by state law). The administrator shall be responsible for the operation and staffing of all departments and offices within the municipality, and all department heads and subordinate officers shall report to the administrator;

(c)

Assign responsibility for departmental action and coordinate interdepartmental operations;

(d)

Prepare the proposed annual municipal budget, by requiring and receiving appropriation requests from the heads of departments and reviewing such requests, transmitting a tentative budget and consulting with the mayor and council with respect thereto and submitting on or before the submittal date mandated by the state, the administrator's final recommendations in the form required by state law for municipal budgets, appending thereto a detailed analysis of the various items of expenditure and preliminary revenues and such explanatory comment or statement as may be desirable;

(e)

Administer the budget after its adoption and implement the work programs contained therein, and enforce the financial procedures and policies of the municipality and its departments;

(f)

Execute and enforce the laws of the state and ordinances and resolutions of the municipality, except where authority is granted to others by statutes or ordinances; see that all of the terms and conditions imposed in favor of the municipality or its inhabitants in any statute, public utility franchise, performance bond, or other contractual undertaking are fulfilled;

(g)

Keep the mayor and council informed as to the conduct of municipal affairs as well as the condition of municipal finances and make such recommendations to the mayor and council as the administrator deems necessary and advisable;

(h)

Attend all regular and special meetings of the council or mayor and council, except where excused therefrom by the council, and, if directed, other meetings and events requiring attendance of a representative of Princeton;

(i)

Recommend to the mayor and council the employment of professional service consultants to perform work and render advice;

(j)

Negotiate contracts in accordance with law, in consultation with the municipal attorney as needed, oversee the performance and faithful execution of such contracts, except insofar as such duties are expressly imposed upon some other municipal officer or official by statute or ordinance, and make recommendations to the council regarding contract awards;

(k)

Review and recommend all bills and vouchers for payment prior to final approval by the council;

(l)

Maintain a continuing review and analysis of budget operations, work programs, and costs of municipal services;

(m)

At the request of the council, study and analyze the duties and responsibilities of any appointed official, employee, or department, and submit a written report relating thereto to the council for such further action as the council may deem advisable;

(n)

Study, recommend, implement and enforce procedures and policies of the municipality and in its departments for receipt, dissemination and collation of, and for responses to, communications and information;

(o)

Oversee all purchasing activity of the municipality with authority as its contracting agent to prepare public advertising for bids and quotations as required by law and to review bids for the purchase of materials, supplies and services on behalf of the municipality in accordance with the provisions of the state statutes and sound purchasing practices; and, in compliance with the requirements of the New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.) make or recommend awards of contracts in the name of the municipality for the various agencies, boards, departments and other offices of the municipality.

The administrator is specifically authorized to make awards of contracts, without public advertising for bids, when the cost or price of any contract in the aggregate does not exceed in a contract year the maximum bid threshold in effect pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-3a., as may be amended. If the administrator or designee is a Qualified Purchasing Agent, by resolution the council may increase the bid threshold up to the adjusted maximum amount permitted by the Legislature by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-3c., as may be amended.

The administrator or designee shall keep an account of all purchases and may, from time to time, or when directed, issue rules and regulations governing the requisition and purchase of all municipal supplies and equipment. For purposes of this section, during the absence, disqualification or disability of the administrator, the deputy administrator or other qualified designee, selected by the mayor or administrator, as appropriate under the circumstances, shall act in place of the administrator on a temporary basis.

To the extent authorized by law, the administrator may delegate some or all of the purchasing obligations set forth in this subsection (o) and below in subsection (p) to a purchasing agent, in which case said purchasing agent shall report to the Chief Financial Officer; and

(p)

Oversee all emergency purchases. A contract may be negotiated or awarded without public advertising for bids and bidding therefor, notwithstanding that the contract price will exceed the bid threshold, when an emergency affecting the public health, safety or welfare requires the immediate delivery of goods or the performance of services, provided that the awarding of such contracts is made in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:11-6 and rules promulgated thereunder, as may be amended, and this subsection.

The official in charge of the department wherein the emergency occurred shall notify the administrator of the need for the performance of a contract, the nature of the emergency, the time of its occurrence and the need for invoking these emergency purchase procedures. If the administrator is satisfied that an emergency exists, the administrator or designee shall be authorized to award a contract or contracts for such purposes as may be necessary to respond to the emergent needs. The notification shall be reduced to writing and filed with the administrator.

The administrator shall inform the mayor and council of the emergency and need for an emergency contract as soon as possible. The administrator shall see that the matter is placed on the agenda for discussion and/or action at the next or following meeting of the governing body.

Upon the furnishing of such goods or services, in accordance with the terms of the contract, the contractor furnishing such goods or services shall be entitled to be paid therefor and the governing body shall be obligated for said payment, and the governing body shall take such action as shall be required to provide for payment of the contract price.