2023 New York Laws › VIL - Village › Article 5 - Finances › 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.