N.Y. VIL Law § 5-524 — New York Code / Act VIL / Article 5 / Section 5-524
Audit and payment of claims
Status: in_force

§ 5-524 Audit and payment of claims. l. The term "claim", as used in\nthis section, shall include all bills, accounts and demands for the\npayment of money, of whatever nature, asserted against the village.\n  2. In a village which has not established the office of auditor, the\nboard of trustees shall audit all claims against the village, except\nthat it may, by resolution, authorize and empower a separate board of\ncommissioners, a board possessing the powers of two or more such boards\nor another board possessing like powers to audit and order paid all\nclaims incurred by such board and payable out of the funds within its\njurisdiction.\n  3. In a village which has established the office of auditor, the\nauditor shall audit and order paid all claims against the village. Such\norder shall be in the form prescribed in this chapter for similar orders\nof the village clerk. The auditor shall transmit such order directly to\nthe village treasurer and shall retain a duplicate thereof in his\noffice.\n  4. Except as hereinafter provided, no claim shall be ordered paid\nunless such claim is in writing and itemized and approved by the officer\nor employee whose action gave rise or origin to the claim. The board of\ntrustees may determine, by resolution, that claims shall be certified or\nverified by oath of the claimant or his duly authorized agent.\n  5. Fixed salaries, debt service, amounts becoming due upon lawful\ncontracts for periods exceeding one year and the compensation for\nservices of employees or officers regularly engaged by the village at\nagreed wages by the hour, day, week, month or year may be paid without\nprior audit. All payrolls, or other claims for compensation, for\npersonal services rendered to the village by any person other than an\nelective village officer shall be certified by the village officer or\nemployee having direct supervision of the claimant to the effect that\nsuch services indicated on such payroll or claim were actually performed\nby the person or persons mentioned therein. If the rules of the state\ncivil service commission, the county civil service commission or the\ncounty personnel officer, as the case may be, have been extended to\napply to any such employees or officers, no claim for compensation shall\nbe paid unless the payroll or claim shall have been certified by such\ncommission or personnel officer to the effect that the appointment or\nemployment of such officers and employees has been made in accordance\nwith the civil service law and rules.\n  6. The board of trustees may by resolution authorize payment in\nadvance of audit of claims for public utility services, postage, freight\nand express charges. All such claims shall be presented at the next\nregular meeting for audit, and the claimant and the officer incurring or\napproving the same shall be jointly and severally liable for any amount\ndisallowed by the board of trustees.\n  As used in this subdivision, the term public utility services shall\nmean electric, gas, water, sewer and telephone services.\n  7. The actual and necessary expenses of all officers, employees, and,\nwhen authorized by the board of trustees, the actual and necessary\nexpenses of the volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the\nvillage fire department incurred in the performance of their official\nduties shall be a village charge. For the purposes of this subdivision\n"actual and necessary expenses", as it applies to a volunteer chief or\nassistant volunteer chief of the village fire department, means only\nsuch expenses incurred in the performance of their extra official duties\nas volunteer chief or assistant volunteer chief. The board of trustees\nof any village, in lieu of auditing and allowing the claim of a village\nofficer, employee, or volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of\nthe village fire department for actual and necessary expenses for\ntravel, may determine by resolution to allow and pay such officer,\nemployee, or volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the\nvillage fire department a reasonable mileage allowance for use of his\nown automobile for each mile actually and necessarily traveled by him in\nthe performance of the duties of his office or position, or in attending\na convention, conference or school pursuant to section seventy-seven-b\nof the general municipal law. The actual and necessary expenses incurred\nby a police justice who does not also hold the office of town justice in\nattending a training school for justices provided by the education\ndepartment or given within his county by the county magistrate's\nassociation shall be a charge against the village of which he is police\njustice. No such person, however, shall be allowed such expenses for\nattending a regional school unless his village shall be included within\nthe area of such region as established by the education department.\n  8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions two, three and four\nof this section or of any other law, any village by vote of its board of\ntrustees may enter into a mutual aid agreement with other villages or\npolitical subdivisions of the state, pursuant to the provisions of the\nNew York state defense emergency act, and all acts amendatory thereof\nand supplemental thereto, for the purpose of civil defense as defined in\nsaid act and may raise money by tax to defray the expense of its\nparticipation in such mutual aid agreement. Such villages may also enter\ninto a financial agreement or arrangement with such other participating\nvillages or political subdivisions of the state, provided, however,\nthat:\n  a. the treasurer of one such participating village shall be designated\nas treasurer of a joint mutual aid or civil defense fund;\n  b. each of such participating villages may from time to time advance\nand pay to such mutual aid or civil defense fund its proportionate share\nof an amount of money agreed upon by all such participating villages for\nthe purpose of defraying the necessary and proper expenses of mutual\ncivil defense aid;\n  c. the treasurer of such joint fund as herein provided shall make\nnecessary and proper disbursements from said fund and shall account\nmonthly to each village for such disbursements.\n  All moneys advanced or otherwise disbursed by each such village to\ncarry out the provisions of this subdivision, shall be only from moneys\nappropriated for such purposes and included in the annual budget of said\nvillage.\n  9. Any officer of the village who shall knowingly audit, order paid or\npay any claim contrary to the provisions of this section shall be guilty\nof a misdemeanor.\n