Any person claiming payment from the Township
shall present a detailed bill or invoice to the Municipal Administrator
or Chief Financial Officer duly certified, or in the alternative supported
by an affidavit of the vendor or claimant. It shall be the duty of
the Municipal Administrator or the Chief Financial Officer to determine
that the signature of the officer or employee who has been designated
by the Township Committee to certify that the materials have been
received by or the services rendered to the Township, appears on every
purchase order. The identification, processing, approvals and payment
of all bills and claims for payment shall adhere to the laws of the
State of New Jersey, and be in accordance with the Freehold Township
Financial Controls Manual, adopted by the Township Committee.
Bills shall be aggregated and presented to the Township Committee
for their consideration, and shall be approved, except that the Committee
may reject any bill presented to it stating the reason for rejection.
Any disapproval shall be referred back to the Municipal Administrator
with such instructions as the Township Committee may give at the time
of disapproval. The aggregated list shall be referred to as the "bills
list" as presented by an accompanying resolution during public meetings
of the Township Committee. In special circumstances, the Township
Committee may give authority to the Township Administrator, to approve
certain types of bills to ensure timely payment of same, which will
be presented in the bills list immediately following the payment of
same.
It shall be the duty of the Township Clerk to record all bills
lists in the official minutes indicating that the Township Committee
has by formal action approved, disapproved or rejected the bills.
The bills list shall be made available to every member of the Township
Committee at least three days before the claims are subject to formal
action. After approval, claims shall be listed in a book or record
to be assigned as "Bills Approved by the Township Committee on _____."
This list shall be amplified by appropriate detail in the minutes
to permit ready inspection.
The Township Clerk shall certify the resolution that all claims
have been approved and shall turn it over to the Treasurer, who shall
issue the necessary checks or automated bank transfers. Checks shall
be signed by the Mayor and the Treasurer, or by designated individuals
named by the Township Committee in the absence of disability of the
Mayor or Treasurer. After preparing the checks for payment of bills,
the Treasurer shall record them in proper books of account and mail
or otherwise distribute them to the claimants.