[Adopted 9-17-1998 by Ord. No. 98-56[2]]
A.
The President of the City Council shall appoint a
standing Committee on Claims and Accounts, which shall consist of
five members, whose duties shall be to investigate all disputed claims
and accounts which may be referred to it by the City Auditor or by
any committee or board and direct what part of the same shall be allowed
and paid; in case of any disagreement between different departments
of the City government as to which shall bear certain items of expense,
to determine the same and instruct the Auditor in reference thereto.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
B.
Said Committee shall investigate all claims which
may be presented against the City for personal property alleged to
have been received upon highways or from any cause and may, after
consultation with the City Solicitor, settle and adjust any such claim
to an amount not exceeding $300 and may take such steps as may be
deemed best for the defense of the City in all suits at law. In order
to make such claims, however, a person must make the claim within
30 days of said incident on the form to be provided by the City Auditor.
Any such claim must include a bill, paid or unpaid, or an estimate
of the bill. At the Committee's discretion it may require the presence
of the claimant at the hearing. The Committee shall, after making
its decision, cause the claimant to be notified of its decision in
writing.
[Amended 5-18-1999 by Ord. No. 99-27]
The City Treasurer shall give a bond to the
City in such sums as the Commissioner of Corporations and Taxation
may from time to time determine and with such sureties as may be approved
by the Committee on Finance, which bond, after its approval, shall
be kept by the Mayor, who shall be authorized to bring suit thereon
upon any violations of the conditions thereof. He shall be the custodian
of all money belonging to the City. At the close of the financial
year, he shall make a report of all receipts and expenditures during
the year and submit the same to the Committee on Finance.
The City Auditor shall act as the Clerk of the
Committee on Finance and of the Committee on Claims and Accounts.
It shall be his duty to carefully examine all claims which may be
presented against the City, see that the same are correctly cased,
that the amounts charged are proper and in accordance with the contract
under which the charges were made and that the same are legal. If
he finds the claims correct, he shall approve the same in writing
and submit them to the Mayor, who may order payment thereof. If he
shall disapprove any claim, he shall return it to the officer, board
or committee from whom it came for revision, and if it is not corrected
and he still disapproves of it, he shall refer it to the Committee
on Claims and Accounts, with his objections thereto. He shall examine
the accounts of the City Collector and of all other persons, committees
and boards who may be charged with the collection or disbursement
of the funds of the City and for this purpose shall have the access
to all the books and vouchers which relate to said accounts. At the
close of the financial year, he shall prepare a detailed report of
the finances of the year and of all accounts examined by him and submit
the same to the Committee on Finance.
