5-524 - Audit and payment of claims.
§ 5-524 Audit and payment of claims. l. The term "claim", as used in this section, shall include all bills, accounts and demands for the payment of money, of whatever nature, asserted against the village. 2. In a village which has not established the office of auditor, the board of trustees shall audit all claims against the village, except that it may, by resolution, authorize and empower a separate board of commissioners, a board possessing the powers of two or more such boards or another board possessing like powers to audit and order paid all claims incurred by such board and payable out of the funds within its jurisdiction. 3. In a village which has established the office of auditor, the auditor shall audit and order paid all claims against the village. Such order shall be in the form prescribed in this chapter for similar orders of the village clerk. The auditor shall transmit such order directly to the village treasurer and shall retain a duplicate thereof in his office. 4. Except as hereinafter provided, no claim shall be ordered paid unless such claim is in writing and itemized and approved by the officer or employee whose action gave rise or origin to the claim. The board of trustees may determine, by resolution, that claims shall be certified or verified by oath of the claimant or his duly authorized agent. 5. Fixed salaries, debt service, amounts becoming due upon lawful contracts for periods exceeding one year and the compensation for services of employees or officers regularly engaged by the village at agreed wages by the hour, day, week, month or year may be paid without prior audit. All payrolls, or other claims for compensation, for personal services rendered to the village by any person other than an elective village officer shall be certified by the village officer or employee having direct supervision of the claimant to the effect that such services indicated on such payroll or claim were actually performed by the person or persons mentioned therein. If the rules of the state civil service commission, the county civil service commission or the county personnel officer, as the case may be, have been extended to apply to any such employees or officers, no claim for compensation shall be paid unless the payroll or claim shall have been certified by such commission or personnel officer to the effect that the appointment or employment of such officers and employees has been made in accordance with the civil service law and rules. 6. The board of trustees may by resolution authorize payment in advance of audit of claims for public utility services, postage, freight and express charges. All such claims shall be presented at the next regular meeting for audit, and the claimant and the officer incurring or approving the same shall be jointly and severally liable for any amount disallowed by the board of trustees. As used in this subdivision, the term public utility services shall mean electric, gas, water, sewer and telephone services. 7. The actual and necessary expenses of all officers, employees, and, when authorized by the board of trustees, the actual and necessary expenses of the volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the village fire department incurred in the performance of their official duties shall be a village charge. For the purposes of this subdivision "actual and necessary expenses", as it applies to a volunteer chief or assistant volunteer chief of the village fire department, means only such expenses incurred in the performance of their extra official duties as volunteer chief or assistant volunteer chief. The board of trustees of any village, in lieu of auditing and allowing the claim of a village officer, employee, or volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the village fire department for actual and necessary expenses fortravel, may determine by resolution to allow and pay such officer, employee, or volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the village fire department a reasonable mileage allowance for use of his own automobile for each mile actually and necessarily traveled by him in the performance of the duties of his office or position, or in attending a convention, conference or school pursuant to section seventy-seven-b of the general municipal law. The actual and necessary expenses incurred by a police justice who does not also hold the office of town justice in attending a training school for justices provided by the education department or given within his county by the county magistrate's association shall be a charge against the village of which he is police justice. No such person, however, shall be allowed such expenses for attending a regional school unless his village shall be included within the area of such region as established by the education department. 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions two, three and four of this section or of any other law, any village by vote of its board of trustees may enter into a mutual aid agreement with other villages or political subdivisions of the state, pursuant to the provisions of the New York state defense emergency act, and all acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, for the purpose of civil defense as defined in said act and may raise money by tax to defray the expense of its participation in such mutual aid agreement. Such villages may also enter into a financial agreement or arrangement with such other participating villages or political subdivisions of the state, provided, however, that: a. the treasurer of one such participating village shall be designated as treasurer of a joint mutual aid or civil defense fund; b. each of such participating villages may from time to time advance and pay to such mutual aid or civil defense fund its proportionate share of an amount of money agreed upon by all such participating villages for the purpose of defraying the necessary and proper expenses of mutual civil defense aid; c. the treasurer of such joint fund as herein provided shall make necessary and proper disbursements from said fund and shall account monthly to each village for such disbursements. All moneys advanced or otherwise disbursed by each such village to carry out the provisions of this subdivision, shall be only from moneys appropriated for such purposes and included in the annual budget of said village. 9. Any officer of the village who shall knowingly audit, order paid or pay any claim contrary to the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.