[Amended 6-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-06]
Any person claiming payment of funds from the Borough shall
present to the Borough Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer a detailed
bill of demand, certified by the claimant to be correct; except payments
may be made without certification by the vendor or claimant as to
the bill or demand being correct, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16(a),
N.J.A.C. 5:30-9A.6 and N.J.A.C. 5:31-4.1, if said vendor or claimant
does not provide, as part of its normal course of business, a certification
from an individual with knowledge of the transaction that a bill or
demand is correct, and the amount of the bill or demand is less than
$6,000. The Borough reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to
require vendor or claimant certification as it may deem necessary
and appropriate, notwithstanding the foregoing exception.
The claim shall not be presented to the Chief
Financial Officer/Treasurer for approval until there has been endorsed
thereon the certificate of an officer (duly designated employee of
the Borough) having knowledge of the fact that the materials have
been received or the services rendered to the Borough. The officer
or employee who has been duly designated by the Borough to certify
that the materials have been received by or the services rendered
shall make such certification, or give written reasons for withholding
the same, within 20 days of receipt of the claim. It shall be the
duty of the Borough Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to see that
the signature of the officer or employee who has been duly designated
by the Borough to certify that the materials have been received by
or the services rendered to the Borough appears on every claim.
Certified claims received at least three business
days prior to the next regularly scheduled Borough Council meeting
shall then be presented by the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to
the Chair of the Finance Committee of the Borough Council. The Chair
and one Finance Committee member shall approve each claim by endorsing
each purchase order submitted for payment. If the Chair is unavailable,
then two committee members may sign.
The Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer shall
then present a payment of claims bill list to the Borough Clerk, who
shall then present these claims to the Borough Council for formal
approval at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
A claim shall be considered by the Borough Council,
which shall approve the same, except that the Borough Council 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/Treasurer with such instructions as the Borough Council may
give at the time of the disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Clerk to
record all claims in the official minutes, indicating that the Borough
Council has, by formal action, approved the same, with appropriate
record as to any claims disapproved or rejected.
After the Borough Clerk has certified that the
claims have been approved by the Borough Council, the Borough Clerk
shall turn the same over to the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer,
who shall prepare the necessary checks for the payment thereof. All
checks are to have three signatures: the Municipal Clerk or Deputy
Clerk; the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer or Tax Collector; and
the Mayor or President of Council.
As to preparing the checks for the payment of
claims, the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer shall record them in
the proper books of account and mail or otherwise distribute the checks
to the claimants within 10 calendar days of approval of the Borough
Council.