The fiscal year of the City shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31 in each year, as provided by law.
A. 
Appropriations requests; time; hearings. Pursuant to the Charter, during the month of November in each year, all department heads shall submit to the Business Administrator requests for appropriations for the next ensuing budget year. Budget requests shall be in such form and detail as the Administrator shall prescribe. Each department head shall appear at a public hearing, pursuant to the Charter, on his budget requests and shall then justify the request in terms of work to be performed, service to be rendered or programs to be administered.
B. 
Recommended budget; time, content and form. On or before January 15 in each year, the Mayor shall submit to the Council his recommended budget, together with such explanatory comment or statement as he may deem desirable. The budget shall be in such form as is required by law for municipal budgets. It shall, in addition, include a current operating section and a capital section, together with detailed analyses of the various items of expenditure and revenue and, to the extent feasible, appropriate statements of the cost of performance of functional programs and activities in terms of quantitative, countable units of work for operating expenditures and projected annual costs of operation, maintenance and debt service for capital expenditures.
C. 
Capital outlays. In the capital section of the budget document, the Mayor shall include such capital projects and outlays as he may select from the capital program, together with the relevant explanation and justification.
A. 
Composition. There is hereby established a Capital Improvement Program Committee composed of the Mayor, Business Administrator, Chairman of the Planning Board, City Engineer, Director of the Finance Department and such other members as the Mayor may from time to time designate.
B. 
Duties. The Capital Improvement Program Committee shall, at such time annually as shall coordinate with the requirements of state laws and regulations, prepare and submit to the Mayor and Council a proposed capital program and a proposed capital budget. The capital program shall consist of proposed and projected capital outlays by the City during the ensuing six years. The capital budget shall consist of capital projects and outlays selected from the capital program and proposed or projected for appropriations in the ensuing fiscal year.
A. 
Preparation. Each department head and the office in charge of other municipal agencies shall prepare and submit to the Capital Improvement Program Committee descriptions of its immediate and contemplated capital projects for the ensuing budget year and during the next five fiscal years. Capital project requests shall be prepared on forms prescribed by the Business Administrator or as otherwise required by state law or regulations and shall contain preliminary cost estimates and proposed methods of financing. From the information submitted, the Capital Improvement Program Committee, in consultation with each requesting department, shall prepare a tentative capital budget and a tentative capital program.
B. 
Form. The capital program proposed by the Capital Improvement Program Committee shall be in such form and content as may be required pursuant to law; and without limitation thereto shall include:
(1) 
A clear summary of its contents.
(2) 
A list of all capital improvements which are proposed to be undertaken during the six fiscal years next ensuing, with appropriate supporting information as to the necessity for such improvements and their relative priorities.
(3) 
Cost estimates, method of financing and recommended time schedules for each such improvement.
(4) 
The estimated annual cost of operating and maintaining the facilities to be constructed or acquired.
(5) 
The estimated effect of the proposed capital program for each year on the tax rate, debt margin, borrowing capacity and general financial structure of the City.
C. 
Adoption. Upon receipt of the tentative capital budget prepared by the Capital Improvement Program Committee, the Council shall review it and refer it to the City Planning Board for its recommendations and comments. The Council shall then prepare a final version of the capital program, hold a public hearing thereon and adopt it as provided by law.
D. 
Annual revisions. The capital program shall be reviewed, revised and extended on an annual basis to assure that the capital program will remain consistent with changing demands, changing patterns of cost and changing financial resources. In aid of such review, progress and performance reports shall be prepared annually by the individual departments for each project authorized in the past budget period to aid in bringing the program up to date. A final accounting shall be provided for projects completed, and progress reports shall be submitted for projects that will take a number of years to complete.
Budget appropriations shall be controlled by an encumbrance system which shall be prescribed or approved by the Administrator. Upon the approval of the Mayor, the Administrator shall establish quarterly or such other periodic allotments of appropriations as he may deem desirable. Each department shall plan and administer its work program within the limits of such allotments, and no commitments shall be incurred in excess of any such allotment except upon written authorization of the Mayor.
[Amended 2-5-1976 by Ord. No. 322-76; 7-11-1985 by Ord. No. 865-85]
A. 
Mayor's authority. Within the limits of available appropriations and in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., the Mayor is authorized to negotiate and execute contracts and other legally binding obligations of the City, provided that formal Council approval for contracts in excess of $4,500 is first obtained by resolution.
B. 
Procedure. Any such contractual document shall be signed by the Mayor, authorized by the Comptroller and approved by the City Attorney for legal form and sufficiency. Purchase orders, for which a formal contract is not required by the Charter, may be authorized by the Business Administrator or purchasing agent, within the limits of available appropriations.
Where contracts are let by competitive bidding pursuant to the Charter, the City Council shall be the City's contracting agent for the purposes of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., or any amendment or supplement thereto. Bids shall be delivered to and publicly opened by the Business Administrator at the advertised time and place and shall be reported to the Council at its next regular meeting. The contract shall be executed in the manner above provided.
A. 
Purchasing procedure. All purchases of any supplies, materials or equipment or contractual services for a department shall be made by the purchasing agent in the Department of Administration, pursuant to a written requisition from the head of the department whose appropriation will be charged and the certification of the Comptroller that a sufficient unencumbered balance of appropriation is available to pay therefor. All purchasing shall comply with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., and any amendments or supplements thereto.
B. 
Receiving procedure. The director of each department shall designate, by writing filed with the Administrator, the name or names of employees in the department authorized to receive supplies, materials and equipment. A person so designated shall accept deliveries and sign for them only where the goods are in exact conformity with the order. Should there by any doubt as to quantity or quality, the receiving employee shall immediately notify the department head for appropriate action. If any supplies, materials or equipment are rejected, the department head shall immediately notify the Administrator.
C. 
Exception. Except as the Administrator may authorize in case of emergency, no purchase shall be made and no bill, claim or voucher shall be approved unless the procedures prescribed by or pursuant to the code have been followed.
The purchase of any item, where the Administrator determines that an emergency exists within the meaning of applicable statutes, may be made without advertisement for bids, notwithstanding that the amount involved exceeds $2,500. The Administrator shall establish procedures, in compliance with state laws and regulations, which will permit such emergency purchases to be made for specific purposes in a manner other than that prescribed by this article.
[Amended 7-11-1985 by Ord. No. 865-85]
Where purchases in excess of $1,000 are made without competitive bidding, the purchasing officer shall obtain, wherever possible, at least three price quotations for the item or items to be purchased and shall record and maintain such quotations in his office for at least two years from the time they are furnished. Wherever circumstances permit, the purchase shall be made from the lowest of such quotations received from a responsible bidder.
A. 
Establishment of standards. The Administrator shall establish or approve uniform standards for requisitions and purchases.
B. 
Checks and inspections. The Department of Administration shall control the delivery of all supplies, materials and equipment and other items purchased and shall make or cause to be made proper test checks and inspections thereof. The Department shall ascertain whether the supplies, materials, equipment and other items purchased comply with the specifications and shall cause laboratory or other tests to be made whenever, in the opinion of the Administrator, it is necessary to determine whether the material or supplies furnished are of the quality and standard required.