(A) The Department of Finance shall serve as the central purchasing division of the city. Purchasing of commodities and services and administration of contracts shall be under the control and supervision of the City Auditor, and with the approval of the City Manager, the City Auditor may adopt operational procedures governing the purchasing system. The Purchasing Agent shall work under the supervision of the City Auditor and shall be responsible for the daily operations of the Purchasing Division.
(B) The purchase order and invoice justification functions shall be established in the Department of Finance. The City Manager and City Auditor shall define and enforce procedures and rules to carry out the following principles. If a purchase order is secured after the purchase has been made and sufficient justification is not presented, the purchase may not be approved for payment (see “Emergency Purchases”).
(C) Every undertaking by the city involving the expenditure of money greater than $1,000 shall be in writing in the form of a purchase order, pay voucher or contract, as appropriate. Invoices for less than or equal to $1,000 can be approved by the department head, as defined by the Lebanon Charter and Codified Ordinances, by providing the specific line item in the department’s annual budget and vendor number on a pay voucher submitted with the invoice to the Finance Department. It will be the department head’s responsibility to ensure the line item in the department’s annual budget has sufficient funds to cover the invoice amount. If it is known that expenditure amounts to a specific vendor will total more than $1,000 over any three month period, then a purchase order shall be obtained. Any department head that exceeds the appropriation in a line item of the annual budget by excessive or uncontrolled spending without a purchase order may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. No office or employee of the city shall have the authority to enter into any oral agreement for any purpose. The City Manager shall authorize every purchase order over $1,000.
(D) Pay vouchers shall be prepared using the forms supplied by the Finance Department. The form must be completed in its entirety and submitted to the Finance Department. All checks will be mailed to the vendor directly. If a check is requested to be forwarded to a specific department, this request will need to be specified in writing on the pay voucher.
(E) The City Auditor shall sign each purchase order certifying that the estimated amounts required to meet the obligations of the city by such contract or purchase order has been lawfully appropriated in the city treasury, or in the process of collection to the credit of the fund involved, free from any prior encumbrance. In the case of a contract to continue beyond any current year and to involve expenditures of money in future years, the City Auditor shall certify as to the money estimated to be paid by the city during the term of said contract or agreement in the event the project carries forward into subsequent years.
(Ord. 9626, passed 11-27-07; Am. Ord. 2015-006, passed 1-27-15)