A. 
Department established. Under the supervision of the Township Administrator there shall be a Department of Finance, the head of which shall be the Director of Finance/Treasurer. The Director of Finance/Treasurer is the Chief Financial Officer of the Township of Clinton pursuant to P.L. 1988 c. 110.[1] The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall be qualified in accordance with state Law and shall be appointed by the Township Administrator with the advice and consent of Mayor and Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:9-140.10.
B. 
Divisions established. Within the Department of Finance the following divisions will be established:
(1) 
Accounts and Control Division.
(2) 
Revenue Division.
(3) 
Assessment Division.
A. 
Powers and Duties. Under the Supervision of Township Administrator, there shall be an Accounts and Control Division, which shall assist the Director of Finance/ Treasurer in maintaining the financial records of the Township and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned.
(1) 
Under the supervision of the Director of Finance/Treasurer, the Division shall:
(a) 
Maintain and operate the Township's central bookkeeping and accounting records according to sound accounting principles and in accordance with the requirements of the Director of the State Division of Local Government.
(b) 
Develop, maintain and enforce a uniform system of accounts, including forms, standards and procedures for all departments of the municipal government, including but not limited to, an encumbrance system according to regulations established by the Division of Local Government Services.
(c) 
Have custody of all public moneys of the Township and provide proper bank accounts to protect and separate funds.
(d) 
Control all receipts and disbursements of the municipal government and of each of its departments and preaudit all bills, claims and demands against the Township, including payrolls.
(e) 
Review fund disbursements so that no municipal funds shall be disbursed except pursuant to and within the limits of appropriations made in accordance with the law. All disbursements shall be by bank check or by draft signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Director of Finance/Treasurer.
(f) 
In the absence of the Mayor, the Township Administrator is authorized to sign and in the absence of the Director of Finance/Treasurer the Municipal Clerk is authorized to sign, in conjunction with the resolution on file in the Clerk's office.
(g) 
Make monthly reports to Council of all receipts, expenditures, commitments and unencumbered appropriation balances.
(2) 
Issuance of checks; monthly summary.
(a) 
Prior to the issuance of checks by the Director of Finance/Treasurer, vouchers shall be approved by the Township Administrator. Each voucher shall be accompanied by a certification by the department head whose Department will be charged, that the goods and services have been received or rendered to the Township.
(b) 
The voucher list shall be approved by the majority of the Township Council at a regular meeting of the Township Council.
(c) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall prepare a monthly statement of expenses, detailed by the chart of accounts that is used at that time. In the instance of the temporary budget, the statement shall indicate the temporary budget and any and all expenses charged against it. Each department, agency or cost center shall receive a copy of the statement. The Township Administrator, Township Clerk and the Township Council shall each receive a complete copy of the monthly report.
(3) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer, in accordance with the law, is designated to issue and award bonds in accordance with the terms of advertised public sale. He/she shall report at the next meeting the principal amount, interest rate, maturities, price and underwriter. He/she shall supervise receipt, delivery and transfer of bonds, subject to Local Bond Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:2-1 et seq.).
(4) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall receive all moneys paid to any department of the Township government in the performance of its duties and shall deposit such moneys in an authorized depository of the Township within 48 hours of receiving such moneys or on the first banking day thereafter.
(5) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall establish uniform standards for requisitions.
(6) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall arrange for the conduct of the annual audit by the Township Auditor, and shall cooperate with the Auditor in the performance of his/her duties in accordance with State law for municipal audits.
(7) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall have custody of all investments and invested funds of the Township or in its possession in a fiduciary capacity, except as otherwise provided by law, and keep such funds and all municipal moneys not required for current operation safely invested or deposited in interest-bearing accounts as may be approved by the Council in accordance with law.
(8) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall report to Council at the final regular meeting of each year on amounts committed for which invoices have not been received and on the purpose for which such appropriation was made.
(9) 
The Township may accept credit card payments for some or all obligations, as authorized by the Administrator and Director of Finance. The fees to be paid by the payor shall be 3% of the transaction amount for the use of Visa, Mastercard and Discover, and 4% of the transaction amount for the use of American Express.
[Added 3-8-2017 by Ord. No. 1098-17]
B. 
Disbursements.
(1) 
Vouchers for salaries and wages shall include reference to the payee, the amount, the pay period and the account to be charged and shall be prepared by the Director of Finance/Treasurer.
(2) 
The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall ensure that all discounts offered are noted on the voucher and shall expedite processing so that discounts will be utilized. The Director of Finance/Treasurer shall ensure that sales tax exemption certificates are filed where appropriate.
C. 
Finance Committee.
(1) 
Within the Department there shall be a Finance Committee appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council.
(2) 
The Finance Committee shall consist of two Council members. The Mayor, with the advice and consent of Council, may also appoint a citizen of the Township who is qualified by training or experience in financial matters to serve as advisor to the Committee. The Director of Finance/Treasurer and the Township Administrator shall also be members of the Finance Committee.
(3) 
Powers and duties. The Finance Committee shall be responsible for the review and recommendation of the annual budget proposed by the Township Administrator.
A. 
Within the Department there shall be an Insurance Advisor appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council. The Insurance Advisor shall not be an agent of any company or companies providing insurance coverage to the Township during the term of his/her appointment.
B. 
The Insurance Advisor shall, when so directed, report to the Director of Finance/ Treasurer on the adequacy of the Township's current insurance coverage and, at any time, recommend changes, additions or deletions to existing policies.
A. 
Within the Department of Finance there shall be a Revenue Division, the head of which shall be the Municipal Tax Collector.
B. 
The Tax Collector shall be qualified in accordance with state law.
C. 
The Tax Collector shall:
(1) 
Perform the functions of a collector of taxes under general law, including without limitation thereto the preparation and mailing of tax bills, enforcement of tax collections by tax sales and otherwise and the maintenance of tax accounting records in such a manner as may be prescribed pursuant to the Charter and this chapter.
(2) 
Receive and collect all current and delinquent real property taxes and charge and receive penalties and interest pursuant to law.
(3) 
Make or cause to be made certified searches for tax and other liens on real property as may be authorized by law, and charge and collect for the use of the Township the fee required pursuant to law for any such search.
(4) 
Maintain suitable books or other records and enter in the books the sums received each day, together with the account to which each receipt is credited.
(5) 
Report monthly to the Council on the total amount collected and on the ratio of tax revenues collected to anticipated revenues.
(6) 
Within 60 days after the end of the fiscal year, report in writing to the Council a true list of delinquent taxpayers for the preceding year or for a period required by the Council.
(7) 
Deposit in the authorized depository of the municipality all moneys received within 48 hours of receipt or upon the first banking day thereafter.
A. 
Within the Department of Finance there shall be a Division of Assessment, the head of which shall be the Tax Assessor appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council.
B. 
The Tax Assessor shall be qualified in accordance with state law.
C. 
The Tax Assessor shall:
(1) 
Have, perform and discharge all of the functions, powers and duties prescribed by law for a municipal assessor.
(2) 
Maintain adequate and current assessment records of each separate parcel of real property assessed or exempted.
(3) 
Establish procedures for the assessment of real property within the Township.
(4) 
When authorized by the Council, conduct assessments for other local governments.
(5) 
Maintain a current tax map of the Township as a public record.
(6) 
Maintain a current sales map of the Township showing all usable sales and deed dates.
D. 
The Tax Assessor shall be deemed the “Administrative Officer” in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-3, thereby having the authority to research, approve and distribute all property owner lists and other information as required by statute.
[Added 8-27-2003 by Ord. No. 828-03]