[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1551; NRO 1987, § 2-796; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142; 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-85]
No accounts or claims against the City shall be examined or audited by the Finance Committee unless such accounts or claims are accompanied by a certification that the same is correct. The Chief Financial Officer shall preaudit all accounts and claims against the City and prepare the certification which shall be signed by the Mayor and the Chief Financial Officer.
[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1552; NRO 1987, § 2-797; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142; 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-85]
The Chief Financial Officer shall keep a record of expenditures, in which he or she shall enter:
A. 
The amount and date paid of every account or claim to be examined and audited the Finance Committee.
B. 
The name of the person to whom the account or claim was allowed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the name of the person or entity to whom the account or claim was allowed may be redacted in the following situations:
[Amended 8-9-2016 by Ord. No. O-16-015]
(1) 
Wage garnishments;
(2) 
Workers' compensation payments; and
(3) 
Payments where disclosure could endanger or compromise Police Department personnel. Redactions in this situation may be overridden by a vote of the Finance Committee.
C. 
The fund or appropriation from which the account or claim was allowed.
D. 
The certificate of the Finance Committee examination and audit of the account or claim.
[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1553; NRO 1987, § 2-798; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142; 6-11-1996 by Ord. No. O-96-12; 3-14-2000 by Ord. No. O-00-11; 6-27-2000 by Ord. No. O-00-36; 1-13-2003 by Ord. No. O-02-99; 6-24-2003 by Ord. No. O-03-183; 6-26-2007 by Ord. No. O-07-119; 9-11-2024 by Ord. No. O-24-017]
A. 
Under the direction of the Finance Committee, the Chief Financial Officer shall keep suitable records for the purpose of accounting for the various appropriations made by the Board of Aldermen. The appropriations shall be entered under their proper heading and the different charges against them shall be promptly entered therein. For this purpose, an appropriation shall be the object of expenditure line item designating the general purpose of the expenditure within the departmental budget.
B. 
Whenever any appropriation has been exhausted the Chief Financial Officer shall immediately give notice thereof to the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen and the Finance Committee.
C. 
No account or claim shall be chargeable to any appropriation which has been expended, and unless authorized by special action of the Board of Aldermen, no funds from an appropriation or money raised by loan for a specific purpose shall be diverted to and used for another purpose except by an authorized transfer of funds. Except as otherwise provided, the Board of Aldermen may transfer any unencumbered appropriation balance or any portion thereof from one department, fund or agency to another. Except as otherwise provided, the Chief Financial Officer is authorized to transfer any unencumbered appropriation balance or any portion thereof from one object of expenditure appropriation account to another within the same department or fund. For purposes of this exception only, the Streets Department and the Parks and Recreation Department shall be treated as a single department, to permit the Mayor and Chief Financial Officer to jointly authorize transfers from Streets to Parks and Recreation general fund accounts. Notice of any transfers under this exception shall be provided to the Board of Aldermen.
D. 
No funds shall be transferred from any appropriated nonpayroll account to any payroll account within the same department, fund or agency, or from one department, fund or agency to another, unless authorized by special action of the Board of Aldermen.
E. 
The Chief Financial Officer shall open an account with the City Treasurer charging him with:
(1) 
The amount of all loans to the City;
(2) 
All sums of money paid to him on behalf of the City by the Collector or other officers or agents of the City, or by any person in any way indebted to the City;
(3) 
All bonds, notes, mortgages or other securities in the hands of the Treasurer and belonging to the City.
F. 
All City employees' salaries shall be budgeted and funded within the department in which that position is located except as approved through the annual budget process or by action of the Board of Aldermen.
G. 
Except as provided herein, for encumbrances and escrow, all appropriations shall terminate at the conclusion of each fiscal year and no account or claim shall thereafter be chargeable thereto.
(1) 
Funds may be encumbered, thereby reserving a portion of an appropriation, prior to the conclusion of a fiscal year to provide for the payment of obligations which shall come due in accordance with existing purchase orders, contracts, or salary commitments chargeable to an appropriation. Consistent with the foregoing, the Financial Services Division may establish policies and procedures limiting the amounts and setting forth the manner in which municipal agencies may encumber funds.
(2) 
The Board of Aldermen may by resolution escrow any and all of an unexpended appropriation for purposes set forth in said resolution.
(3) 
Municipal agencies, in accordance with policies and procedures which may be established by the Financial Services Division, may escrow unexpended appropriations only to provide for payment of charges which will come due following the end of the fiscal year for goods, equipment, or services contemplated by the original appropriation and which do not constitute general ongoing ordinary expenditures of the agency.
H. 
Except for resolutions to escrow unexpended appropriations under Subsection G(2), when proposed legislation to transfer or reappropriate a particular appropriation or portion thereof has had its first reading, such funds shall not be expended or transferred while the legislation is pending.
[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1554; NRO 1987, § 2-799; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142; 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-85]
A. 
Money shall be drawn out of the City treasury only after the proper approvals are received according to financial operating procedures as determined by the Chief Financial Officer. A record of expenditures from the Mayor, addressed to the Treasurer, countersigned by the Chief Financial Officer shall be submitted to the Finance Committee prior to their examination and audit.
B. 
The Mayor shall not pay for any service rendered or any material furnished for any department beyond the sum appropriated therefor by the Board of Aldermen.
[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1555; NRO 1987, § 2-800; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142]
A. 
The Treasurer shall give a receipt for all payments of money made to the City treasury to the person making the payment and, within one week, shall file a duplicate in the Chief Financial Officer's office.
[Amended 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. O-08-56]
B. 
Except as otherwise provided, all officers and agents receiving money on behalf of the City shall pay the money to the Treasurer daily or weekly as required by the Treasurer, shall submit reports to the Treasurer setting out in detail the amounts they have received, and shall file a duplicate of such reports in the Chief Financial Officer's office.
C. 
The City of Nashua and its divisions and departments may apply for, accept and expend unanticipated money of less than $25,000 from the state, federal or other governmental unit or a private source which becomes available during the fiscal year, consistent with the provisions of RSA 31:95-b. The Board of Aldermen shall include notice of the funds on the agenda of any regular board meeting and shall record the notice and discussion in the minutes of that meeting.
[Added 11-12-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-44]
D. 
The City of Nashua may accept gifts of personal property, other than money, with a value of $1,000 or less, offered to the City for any public purpose, consistent with the provisions of RSA 31:95-e. The Board of Aldermen shall include notice of the gift on the agenda of any regular board meeting and shall record the notice and discussion in the minutes of that meeting. Receipt of the gift may occur before the date of the meeting when discussion occurs.
[Added 11-12-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-44]
E. 
The Treasurer is authorized, but not required, to accept payment of local taxes, charges generated by the sale of utility services or all other fees by use of a credit or debit card. The City will add to the amount due, in addition to any penalties and interest payable, a service charge for the acceptance of the card. The City, at the time of the billing, shall disclose the amount of the service charge.
[Added 2-24-2009 by Ord. No. O-08-56; amended 9-12-2017 by Ord. No. O-17-040]
[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1556; NRO 1987, § 2-801; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142]
A. 
The City Treasurer shall, under the direction of the Finance Committee, keep an accurate and true account of all his receipts and payments on behalf of the City. Such accounts shall conform in mode of entry as nearly as may be with the accounts kept by the Chief Financial Officer.
B. 
The City Treasurer shall make up his accounts to the close of business on the last day of June; and the fiscal year shall begin the first day of July in each year and close on the last day of June next ensuing.
[Added 4-26-2011 by Ord. No. O-11-61]
The Chief Financial Officer shall prepare and maintain a collection of financial policies based on city ordinances and accepted municipal financial practices. Said policies shall be reviewed by the Chief Financial Officer at least annually and updated as necessary. Said policies shall be available on-line and a current copy will be available in the Legislative Services office and available in the City Clerk's office upon request.
[NRO 1975, T. 4, § 1557; NRO 1987, § 2-802; amended 10-11-1983 by Ord. No. O-83-142; 1-13-2003 by Ord. No. O-02-99; 11-12-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-31; 1-25-2011 by Ord. No. O-10-39; 3-12-2024 by Ord. No. O-24-006]
A. 
The Chief Financial Officer's office shall prepare and present monthly to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen financial reports showing the financial condition of the City, an analysis of revenue received in relation to budgeted revenue, and an analysis of expenditures and encumbrances in relation to appropriations. Special reports shall be prepared on request of the Mayor or the Finance Committee.
B. 
The Chief Financial Officer's office shall prepare and present, on or about September 1 and December 31 of each year, to the Mayor and Board of Alderman an accounts analysis, showing comparisons with the past several fiscal years of the City's various reserve accounts, expendable trust funds, and undesignated fund balance. An accounts analysis shall also be submitted to the Board of Aldermen with the Mayor's annual budget, which shows the impact of the Mayor's budget on the City's various reserve accounts, expendable trust funds, and undesignated fund balance. For the purposes of this section, an analysis is defined as the process of breaking down a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it.
C. 
On or before May 15 of each year, the Financial Services Division shall report to the Board of Aldermen the status of all uncompleted projects. The report shall state for each project the percentage of completion, the amount of funds expended, the budgeted amount, the source of funding, and the amount of funding needed to finish the project. For purposes of this subsection, a "project" shall be any endeavor requiring expenditure in excess of $50,000 or, or any of the following:
(1) 
The purchase, construction, replacement or rehabilitation of any physical facility, including but not limited to roads, buildings, bridges, and sewerage, with an anticipated life in excess of 10 years;
(2) 
The acquisition of tangible personal property with an anticipated life in excess of 10 years;
(3) 
The acquisition of land or any interest in land;
(4) 
Surveys or studies relative to the aforementioned categories;
(5) 
Contractual services provided to the City.
D. 
No later than 60 days after passage of the annual budget resolution, the Chief Financial Officer's office shall post the approved city budget on the city website and provide a hard copy to the Nashua Public Library. If unable to fulfill the sixty-day requirement, the Chief Financial Officer's office may request the Board of Aldermen's approval for a fifteen-day extension.
[NRO 1987, § 2-803; added 8-18-1994 by Ord. No. O-94-55; 6-24-1997 by Ord. No. O-97-131; 12-30-1997 by Ord. No. O-97-175; 12-27-2005 by Ord. No. O-05-125; 2-12-2008 by Ord. No. O-08-02; 1-14-2021 by Ord. No. O-20-042]
A. 
It is the policy of the Board of Aldermen to maintain an unassigned general fund balance as of June 30 of each year equal to a minimum of 10% of the municipality's fiscal year general fund appropriations.
B. 
Prior to September 1 of each year, the Mayor shall provide, in writing, to the Board of Aldermen, the estimated amount of anticipated undesignated general fund balance which the Mayor proposes to use to reduce the anticipated tax rate. In order to use funds for that purpose, the Board of Aldermen must approve that action by a resolution adopted by 10 members of the Board of Aldermen on or before the Board's second meeting in September. If that approval is not given, undesignated general fund balance shall not be used to reduce the anticipated tax rate.
C. 
If the Board of Aldermen votes to use an amount of undesignated general fund balance to reduce the anticipated tax rate which reduces the undesignated general fund balance below the minimum amount required by Subsection A, then it is the policy of the Board of Aldermen to restore the minimum undesignated general fund balance within a three-year period.
[NRO 1987, § 2-804, added 12-27-2005 by Ord. No. O-05-125]
Prior to September 1 of each year, the Mayor shall provide, in writing, to the Board of Aldermen, the estimated amount which the City intends to establish as an overlay account in accordance with RSA 76:6. That amount shall be sufficient to cover the anticipated current year tax abatements. The Mayor shall also report the related reserve accounts set for prior year tax abatements, which shall be in an amount sufficient to cover the anticipated prior year tax abatements.