No City officer or employee shall purchase any materials or employ any
labor at the expense of the City unless an appropriation has previously been
made by the Common Council to provide for the expense of said materials or
labor, and no such officer or employee shall incur any expense or charge on
account of the City in excess of the amount so appropriated by the Common
Council.
It shall be the duty of each and every department head to furnish to
the City Auditor the names and titles of all persons authorized within his
department to purchase or provide at the expense of the City any supplies,
implements, utensils or other materials. Each such authorized person at the
time of such purchase shall issue a purchase order or forms to be provided
by the City Auditor. Regulations as to form, the number of copies and procedures
for use and distribution of the copies of the purchase orders shall be determined
by the City Auditor.
It shall be the duty of the City Auditor to keep a book called the "purchase
journal" and a book called "accounts payable ledger." He shall enter in the
purchase journal the date of any purchase pursuant to the provisions of this
chapter, the name of the vendor, a brief statement of the items purchased,
the purchase order number, the number of the check issued in payment of the
same and the total cost of the items as indicated on the duplicate copy of
the purchase order. He shall enter in the accounts payable ledger the name
and address of the vendor, the date of purchase, a brief statement of the
items purchased, the number of the purchase order, the total cost of the items
as indicated on the duplicate copy of the purchase order and the City department
or appropriation to which such expenditure is chargeable, and, upon payment
of said expenditure, he shall enter in the accounts payable ledger the date,
number and the amount of the check issued in payment thereof.
It shall be the duty of the City Auditor to keep a book called the "appropriation
book" in which he shall enter on separate pages all appropriations made by
the Common Council and shall post from the abstract of claims and warrants
the total amount of the several orders or checks drawn on the appropriation,
the warrant order or check numbers and distribute the charge or expenditures
to the several subappropriations in the account. The appropriation book shall
show at all times the amount of each several appropriation yet unexpended
at the last regular meeting of the Common Council.
The City Auditor shall keep a file of abstract of claims and warrants
on which shall be entered the names of all parties who have furnished material
or labor and that are to be paid for such material and labor out of the several
appropriations, the nature of the claim, the amount allowed for such claim
by the Common Council, the date the claim is paid, the warrant order or check
number issued in payment thereof and the appropriation to which the expenditure
is chargeable. A copy of each abstract of claims and warrants shall be furnished
by the City Auditor to the City Treasurer.
The Common Council at any regular meeting may direct that no further
expenditures shall be made on account of any previous appropriation, and in
case of such direction it shall be the duty of the City Auditor to immediately
close the account of such appropriation in said appropriation book.
[Amended 9-19-1979]
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this chapter, no City officer
or employee shall purchase or enter into a contract for the purchase of any
supplies, machinery, implements, utensils or other materials at the expense
of the City, the total cost of which shall amount to $3,000 or more, unless
permission shall have first been obtained from the Common Council to do so.
An offense against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a
violation under the Penal Law and shall be punishable by a fine of not more
than $250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both.