[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the City of Ventnor City as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-22-1976 by Ord. No. 7603]
Any person claiming payment from the City of
Ventnor City shall first present a detailed bill of items or demand
necessitating such claim to the responsible executive agency, specifying
particularly how the bill of items or demand is made up, with a certification
of the party claiming payment that it is correct.
[Amended 9-17-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-19]
No bill, claim or demand shall be considered
for payment unless the appropriate City voucher is attached to said
claim. The voucher must have attached or include a certification of
the department head or other municipal official responsible for the
particular function from which the billing is derived that said department
head or municipal official has personal knowledge of the fact that
the goods have been received by or the services rendered to the City
of Ventnor City and that those services or goods are consistent with
any existing contract or purchase order. The Chief Financial Officer
shall have the duty to audit, warrant and make recommendations on
all claims and bills. For any bill or claim in excess of $3,000, the
authorization of any such work must be approved by the majority of
the Commission, and any voucher requesting payment in excess of $3,000
must be signed by the majority of Commissioners prior to approval
of the Chief Financial Officer or placement on the bill list of the
City of Ventnor.
The bill or claim duly certified shall be presented
to the Chief Financial Officer for the inclusion on the agenda of
the next immediate formal meeting of the governing body, and it shall
be the duty of the Chief Financial Officer to examine all bills or
claims submitted for payment in order to ascertain if proper administrative
procedures have been followed. All claims or bills to be considered
by the governing body shall be listed systematically without preference,
and said list shall be made available to every member of said governing
body at least three full days prior to formal action by that body.
A claim shall be considered by the governing
body, which shall approve the same, except that said governing body
may reject any claim presented to it after having stated the reason
for such rejection. Any disapproved claim shall be referred back to
the Chief Financial Officer with such instructions that the governing
body may give at the time of disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Municipal Clerk
to record all claims in the official minutes indicating that the governing
body has by formal action approved same, with appropriate record as
to any claims disapproved or rejected. All records pertaining to approved
and disapproved bills or claims shall be available for public inspection.
[Amended 2-18-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-01]
A.
A
purchase requisition shall be prepared and computer generated by the
Department Head/designee. The purchase requisition shall be forwarded
to the purchasing agent/designee.
B.
The
purchasing agent/designee will review the purchase request to ensure
compliance with all local public contracts laws (N.J.S.A. 40A:11 et
seq.) and City policies and procedures. If approved, the purchasing
agent/designee will verify availability of sufficient funds and prepare
a purchase order. Once sufficient funds are identified, that amount
will be encumbered and deducted from the available balance of the
appropriate items.
E.
The
Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and the Administrator will sign the purchase
order and return it to the purchasing agent/designee for distribution
as follows:
(1)
Copies 1 and 2 shall be forwarded to the vendor; copy 2 shall be
retained by the vendor; copy 1 shall be signed by the vendor and returned
to the Finance Department with an invoice requesting payment from
the City.
(2)
Copy 3 shall be retained by the purchasing agent/designee for record
purposes.
F.
At
the time an order is received, the department head/designee shall
sign the receiver certification section of the purchase order (copy
1) to indicate that the quantity and quality of the commodity received
complies with the specifications and/or scope of work. The department
head/designee shall then return the purchase order (copy 1) to the
purchasing agent/designee which constitutes the payment request.
G.
On
the third Thursday of each month, all vouchers for purchase orders
will be presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval. Bills
shall be paid once a month. The CFO shall issue payment in the form
of a check, which requires three signatures: the Mayor, the City Clerk
and the CFO.
H.
Only
the City Administrator or CFO shall have the authority to expend City
funds via the above procedure. No other employee of the City shall
incur any liability on the part of the City absent the proper authorization
as set forth in this chapter. Any liability incurred by an employee
without proper authorization in accordance with the terms set forth
herein will become the personal liability of that employee and not
the City's.
I.
An
emergency purchase shall be authorized only when circumstances require
the immediate purchase or delivery of goods and services to meet an
actual emergency. An emergency is defined by statute as "affecting
the public health, safety or welfare that requires immediate delivery
of the article or the performance of the services" (see N.J.S.A. 40A:11-6).
The department requesting the emergency purchase shall contact the
CFO (in the absence of the CFO, the City Administrator) to request
approval. No emergency purchase shall be made without the approval
of the CFO or the City Administrator. On the next business day following
the emergency request the Department Head shall submit a written request
to the CFO and City Administrator describing the emergency. The Purchasing
Agent/designee shall then initiate the appropriate purchase order.
J.
After
the Clerk has certified that the claims have been approved by the
governing body and recorded same in the official minutes, he shall
turn said claims over to the Chief Financial Officer, who shall forthwith
prepare the necessary check or checks for the payment thereof, which
check or checks shall be signed by the Mayor and thereafter signed
by the Chief Financial Officer. After preparing checks for the payment
of claims, the Chief Financial Officer shall record them in the proper
books of account and thereafter shall mail the checks to the claimants.
[Adopted 9-17-2009 by Ord. No 2009-20]
Any professional service contract to be awarded in the City
of Ventnor, regardless of the amount of said contract, may only be
awarded by a Resolution adopted by the Commissioners of the City of
Ventnor. Said resolution must be printed once in the official newspaper
of the City of Ventnor, and said notice and resolution shall both
contain a brief notice stating the nature, duration, service and amount
of said contract. Said notice and resolution shall further state that
a copy of said contract is on file and available for public inspection
in the office the Clerk of the City of Ventnor. No such contract shall
be entered into or authorized until first approved by a resolution
adopted by a majority of the governing body in the City of Ventnor.
