Any person claiming payment from the Township
of Harmony shall first submit a detailed statement of the items or
demand necessitating such claim to the responsible executive agency,
specifying particularly how the bill or demand is made up, and a certification
from 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 or includes 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 Township of
Harmony and that those services and goods are consistent with any
existing contract or purchase order. The Chief Financial Officer shall
have the duty to audit, warrant and make recommendation on all claims
and bills.
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 Chief Financial Officer 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 without preference, and said list
shall be made available to every member of said governing body prior
to formal action by that body.
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 Chief
Financial Officer 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 or through an appropriate
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 and disapproved
bills or claims shall be available for public inspection.
After the Chief Financial Officer has certified
that the claims have been approved, she shall forthwith prepare the
necessary checks for the payment thereof, which said checks shall
be signed by the Mayor and thereafter be signed by the Chief Financial
Officer and Clerk. After the checks have been prepared for the payment
of claims, the Chief Financial Officer shall record them in proper
books of account, and the checks shall thereafter be mailed to the
claimants.