Borough of Franklin, NJ Professional and Inspections Fees; Deposits; Escrows

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]

Whenever an amount of money in excess of $5,000 shall be deposited by an applicant with the Borough for professional services employed by the Borough, including, but not limited to, the Borough Attorney, Public Works Committee Attorney, Borough Engineer and/or the Public Works Committee Engineer, to prepare agreements and/or contracts, to review applications for development, for municipal inspection, etc., the money, until repaid or applied to the purposes for which it is deposited, including the applicant's portion of the interest earned thereon, except as otherwise provided in this section, shall continue to be the property of the applicant and shall be held in trust by the Borough. Money deposited shall be held in escrow. The Borough, upon receiving the money, shall deposit it in a banking institution or savings or depository approved for such deposits by the state, in an account bearing interest at the minimum rate currently paid by the institution or depository on time or savings deposits. The Borough shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the name and address of the institution or depository in which the deposit is made and the amount of the deposit. The Borough shall not be required to refund any amount of interest paid on a deposit where the interest earned does not exceed $100 for the year. If the amount of interest exceeds $100, that entire amount shall belong to the applicant and shall be refunded to him by the Borough annually or at the time the deposit is repaid or applied to the purposes for which it was deposited, as the case may be; except that the Borough may retain for administrative expenses a sum equivalent to no more than 33 1/3% of the interest which shall be in lieu of all other administrative and custodial expenses.

The Chief Financial Officer of the Borough shall make all of the payments to professionals for services rendered to the Borough or Public Works Committee to prepare agreements and/or contracts, deeds, ordinances or resolutions, to review applications for development, for municipal inspection or other purposes under the provisions of this chapter. The application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review applications, review and preparation of documents and inspections of the water and/or sewer services under construction and review by outside consultants when an application is of a nature beyond the scope of the expertise of the professionals normally utilized by the Borough. The only costs that shall be added to any such charges shall be actual out-of-pocket expenses of any such professionals or consultants, including normal and typical expenses incurred in processing applications and inspecting improvements. The Borough or Public Works Committee shall not bill the applicant, or charge any escrow account or deposit authorized under Subsection B of this section, for any municipal clerical or administrative functions, overhead expenses, meeting room charges or any other municipal costs and expenses except as provided for in this section, nor shall a Borough professional add any such charges to his bill. If the salary, staff support and overhead for a Borough professional are provided by the Borough, the charge shall not exceed 200% of the sum of the products resulting from multiplying the hourly base salary, which shall be established annually by ordinance, of each of the professionals by the number of hours spent by the respective professional upon review of the application for development or inspection of the developer's improvements, as the case may be. For any professionals, the charge shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the Borough when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developments.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]

The Borough requires of the developer a deposit toward anticipated municipal expenses for these professional services. The deposit shall be placed in an escrow account in accordance with this article. The amount of the deposit required shall be reasonable in regard to the scale and complexity of the development. The amount of the initial deposit shall be as provided for in the Borough Fee Ordinance, Chapter 119.

Each payment charged to the deposit for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and legal services and inspections of improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from the professional, which voucher shall identify the personnel performing the service, and for each date the services performed, the hours spent to one-quarter hour increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals shall submit vouchers to the Chief Financial Officer on a monthly basis in accordance with schedules and procedures established by the Chief Financial Officer. If the services are provided by a Borough employee, the employee shall prepare and submit to the Chief Financial Officer a statement containing the same information as required on a voucher, on a monthly basis. The professional shall send an information copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Chief Financial Officer simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial Officer shall prepare and send to the applicant a statement which shall include an accounting of funds listing all deposits, interest earnings, disbursements and the cumulative balance of the escrow account. This information shall be provided on a quarterly basis, if monthly charges are $1,000 or less, or on a monthly basis if monthly charges exceed $1,000. If an escrow account or deposit contains insufficient funds to enable the Borough or Public Works Committee to perform required application reviews, improvement inspections or document review and preparation, the Chief Financial Officer shall provide the applicant with a notice of the insufficient escrow or deposit balance. In order for work to continue on the development or the application, the applicant shall fully replenish the escrow within 10 days of request by the Borough. In the interim, any required health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment of funds.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]

Payments required prior to issuance of certificate of occupancy. No certificate of occupancy or other permit related to the water and/or sewer service may be issued with respect to any approved sewer/water connection application until all bills for reimbursable services have been received by the Borough and/or the Public Works Committee for professional services rendered in connection with the application when payment has been made.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]

The following close-out procedure shall apply to all deposits and escrow accounts and shall commence after the Borough or Public Works Committee has granted final approval and after the improvements have been approved, in the case of improvement inspection escrows and deposits:

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]

(1)

The applicant shall send written notice by certified mail to the Chief Financial Officer and the Public Works Committee, and to the relevant Borough professionals, that the application or improvements, as the case may be, are completed.

(2)

After receipt of such notice, the professional shall render a final bill to the Chief Financial Officer within 30 days and shall send a copy simultaneously to the applicant.

(3)

The Chief Financial Officer shall render a written final accounting to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit was put within 45 days of receipt of the final bill.

(4)

Any balances remaining in the deposit or escrow account, including interest, shall be refunded to the developer along with the final accounting.

All professional charges for review of an application for water and/or sewer services, review and preparation of documents or inspection of improvements shall be reasonable and necessary, given the status and progress of the application or construction. Review fees shall be charged only in connection with an application for development presently pending before the Public Works Committee or upon review of compliance with conditions of approval or review of requests for modification or amendment made by the applicant. Inspection fees shall be charged only for actual work shown on water and/or sewer service connection plan or required by an approving resolution. Professionals inspecting improvements under construction shall charge only for inspections that are reasonably necessary to check the progress and quality of the work, and such inspections shall be reasonably based on the approved development plans and documents.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]

If the Borough retains a different professional or consultant in the place of the professional originally responsible for development, application, review or inspection of improvements, the Borough or Public Works Committee shall be responsible for all time and expenses of the new professional to become familiar with the application or the project, and the Borough or Board of Public Works shall not bill the applicant or charge the deposit or the escrow account for such services.

[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 6-2016]