[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Barnegat Light 12-11-1987 by Ord. No. 87-16 (Sec. 2-6.4 of the Revised General Ordinances); amended in its entirety 12-20-2006 by Ord. No. 06-23. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 6-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-06]
Any person claiming payment of funds from the Borough shall present to the Borough Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer a detailed bill of demand, certified by the claimant to be correct; except payments may be made without certification by the vendor or claimant as to the bill or demand being correct, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:5-16(a), N.J.A.C. 5:30-9A.6 and N.J.A.C. 5:31-4.1, if said vendor or claimant does not provide, as part of its normal course of business, a certification from an individual with knowledge of the transaction that a bill or demand is correct, and the amount of the bill or demand is less than $6,000. The Borough reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to require vendor or claimant certification as it may deem necessary and appropriate, notwithstanding the foregoing exception.
The claim shall not be presented to the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer for approval until there has been endorsed thereon the certificate of an officer (duly designated employee of the Borough) having knowledge of the fact that the materials have been received or the services rendered to the Borough. The officer or employee who has been duly designated by the Borough to certify that the materials have been received by or the services rendered shall make such certification, or give written reasons for withholding the same, within 20 days of receipt of the claim. It shall be the duty of the Borough Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to see that the signature of the officer or employee who has been duly designated by the Borough to certify that the materials have been received by or the services rendered to the Borough appears on every claim.
Certified claims received at least three business days prior to the next regularly scheduled Borough Council meeting shall then be presented by the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer to the Chair of the Finance Committee of the Borough Council. The Chair and one Finance Committee member shall approve each claim by endorsing each purchase order submitted for payment. If the Chair is unavailable, then two committee members may sign.
The Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer shall then present a payment of claims bill list to the Borough Clerk, who shall then present these claims to the Borough Council for formal approval at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
A claim shall be considered by the Borough Council, which shall approve the same, except that the Borough Council may reject any claim presented to it, stating the reason for such rejection. Any disapproved claim shall be referred back to the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer with such instructions as the Borough Council may give at the time of the disapproval.
It shall be the duty of the Borough Clerk to record all claims in the official minutes, indicating that the Borough Council has, by formal action, approved the same, with appropriate record as to any claims disapproved or rejected.
After the Borough Clerk has certified that the claims have been approved by the Borough Council, the Borough Clerk shall turn the same over to the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer, who shall prepare the necessary checks for the payment thereof. All checks are to have three signatures: the Municipal Clerk or Deputy Clerk; the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer or Tax Collector; and the Mayor or President of Council.
As to preparing the checks for the payment of claims, the Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer shall record them in the proper books of account and mail or otherwise distribute the checks to the claimants within 10 calendar days of approval of the Borough Council.