N.Y. Village Law § 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 for

travel, 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.