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(A) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCOUNTANT. A duly licensed public accountant or certified public accountant who otherwise is not an employee of or connected in any way with the village.
ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT. The written report of the accountant and all appended statements and schedules relating thereto presenting or recording the findings of an examination or audit of the financial transactions, affairs or financial condition of the village and its proprietary functions for the fiscal year immediately prior to the making of such annual report.
FISCAL YEAR. The fiscal year for the village or the fiscal year established in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 18-2804 for a proprietary function if different than the municipal fiscal year.
(B) (1) The Board of Trustees shall cause an audit of the village’s accounts to be made by a recognized independent and qualified accountant as expeditiously as possible following the close of the fiscal year and to cover all financial transactions and affairs of the village for such preceding fiscal year. Such audit shall be made on a cash or accrual method at the discretion of the Board of Trustees. Such audit shall be completed and the annual audit report made by such accountant shall be submitted within six months after the close of the fiscal year in any event, unless an extension of time is granted by a written resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees may request a waiver of the audit requirement subject to the requirements of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-304. If the village is required to conduct an audit under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-304 and owns or operates any type of public utility or other enterprise which substantially generates its own revenue, the Board of Trustees shall have that phase of the village’s affairs reported separately from the other functions of the village. The result of such audit shall appear separately in the annual audit report made by the accountant to the village, and the audit shall be on a cash or accrual basis at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.
(2) The annual audit report shall set forth, insofar as possible, the financial position and results of financial operations for each fund or group of accounts of the village. When the accrual method is selected for the annual audit report, such report shall be in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The annual audit report shall also include the professional opinion of the accountant with respect to the financial statements, or, if an opinion cannot be expressed, a declaration that the accountant is unable to express such an opinion with an explanation of the reasons why he or she cannot do so.
(3) At least three copies of such annual audit report shall be properly signed and attested by the accountant; two copies shall be filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer, and one copy shall be filed with the Auditor of Public Accounts. The annual audit report filed, together with any accompanying comment or explanation, shall become a part of the public records of the Village Clerk-Treasurer and shall at all times thereafter be open and subject to public inspection.
(C) The Board of Trustees shall provide and file with the Village Clerk-Treasurer, not later than August 1 of each year, financial statements showing the village’s actual and budgeted figures for the most recently completed fiscal year.
(Prior Code, § 1-811) (Ord. 1-811, passed 3-2-2004)
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, see Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-606 and 19-2902 through 19-2905
(A) Except as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 18-412.01 for a contract with a public power district to operate, renew, replace or add to the electric distribution, transmission or generation system of the village, no contract for enlargement or general improvements, such as water extensions, sewers, public heating systems, bridges, work on streets or any other work or improvement when the cost of the enlargement or improvement is assessed to the property, costing over $30,000, shall be made unless it is first approved by the Board of Trustees.
(B) Except as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 18-412.01, before the Board of Trustees makes any contract in excess of $30,000 for enlargement or general improvements, such as water extensions, sewers, public heating systems, bridges, work on streets or any other work or improvement when the cost of the enlargement or improvement is assessed to the property, an estimate of the cost shall be made by the Village Engineer and submitted to the Board of Trustees. In advertising for bids as provided in divisions (C) and (E) below, the Board of Trustees may publish the amount of the estimate.
(C) Advertisements for bids shall be required for any contract costing over $30,000 entered into:
(1) For enlargement or general improvements, such as water extensions, sewers, public heating systems, bridges, work on streets or any other work or improvement when the cost of the enlargement or improvement is assessed to the property; or
(2) For the purchase of equipment used in the construction of the enlargement or general improvements.
(D) A village electric utility may enter into a contract for the enlargement or improvement of the electric system or for the purchase of equipment used for the enlargement or improvement without advertising for bids if the price is: $30,000 or less; $60,000 or less and the village electric utility has gross annual revenue from retail sales in excess of $1,000,000; $90,000 or less and the village electric utility has gross annual revenue from retail sales in excess of $5,000,000; or $120,000 or less and the village electric utility has gross annual revenue from retail sales in excess of $10,000,000.
(E) The advertisement provided for in division (C) above shall be published at least seven days prior to the bid closing in a legal newspaper published in or of general circulation in the village. In case of a public emergency resulting from infectious or contagious diseases, destructive windstorms, floods, snow, war or an exigency or pressing necessity or unforeseen need calling for immediate action or remedy to prevent a serious loss of or serious injury or damage to life, health or property, estimates of costs and advertising for bids may be waived in the emergency ordinance authorized by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-613 when adopted by a three-fourths’ vote of the Board of Trustees and entered of record.
(F) If, after advertising for bids as provided in this section, the Board of Trustees receives fewer than two bids on a contract or if the bids received by the Board of Trustees contain a price which exceeds the estimated cost, the Board of Trustees may negotiate a contract in an attempt to complete the proposed enlargement or general improvements at a cost commensurate with the estimate given.
(G) If the materials are of such a nature that, in the opinion of the manufacturer and with the concurrence of the Board of Trustees, no cost can be estimated until the materials have been manufactured or assembled to the specific qualifications of the village, the Board of Trustees may authorize the manufacture and assemblage of those materials and may thereafter approve the estimated cost expenditure when it is provided by the manufacturer.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-568.01)
(H) Any village bidding procedure may be waived by the Board of Trustees:
(1) When materials or equipment are purchased at the same price and from the same seller as materials or equipment which have formerly been obtained pursuant to the state bidding procedure in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 81-145 through 81-162;
(2) When the contract is negotiated directly with a sheltered workshop pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1503; or
(3) When required to comply with any federal grant, loan or program.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-568.02)
(I) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law or a home rule charter, a village which has established, by an interlocal agreement with any county, a joint purchasing division or agency may purchase personal property without competitive bidding if the price for the property has been established by the federal general services administration or the materiel division of the Department of Administrative Services. For the purpose of this division (I), the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
PERSONAL PROPERTY. Includes but is not limited to supplies, materials and equipment used by or furnished to any officer, office, department, institution, board or other agency.
PURCHASING or PURCHASE. The obtaining of personal property by sale, lease or other contractual means.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 18-1756)
Statutory reference:
Requirements for public lettings, see Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 73-101 et seq.
All warrants drawn upon the Village Treasurer must be signed by the Chairperson and countersigned by the Village Clerk, stating the particular fund to which the same is chargeable, the person to whom payable and for what particular object. No money shall be otherwise paid than upon such warrants so drawn. Each warrant shall specify the amount included in the adopted budget statement for such fund upon which it is drawn and the amount already expended of such fund.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-711)
(A) (1) All liquidated and unliquidated claims and accounts payable against the village shall:
(a) Be presented in writing;
(b) State the name and address of the claimant and the amount of the claim; and
(c) Fully and accurately identify the items or services for which payment is claimed or the time, place, nature and circumstances giving rise to the claim.
(2) As a condition precedent to maintaining an action for a claim, other than a tort claim as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-903, the claimant shall file such claim within 90 days of the accrual of the claim in the office of the Clerk-Treasurer.
(3) The Clerk-Treasurer shall notify the claimant or his or her agent or attorney by letter mailed to the claimant’s address within five days if the claim is disallowed by the Board of Trustees.
(4) No costs shall be recovered against the village in any action brought against it for any claim or for any claim allowed in part which has not been presented to the Board of Trustees to be audited, unless the recovery is for a greater sum than the amount allowed with the interest due.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-714)
(B) Upon the allowance of claims by the Board of Trustees, the order for their payment shall specify the particular fund or appropriation out of which they are payable as specified in the adopted budget statement; and no order or warrant shall be drawn in excess of 85% of the current levy for the purpose for which it is drawn, unless there is sufficient money in the treasury at the credit of the proper fund for its payment; provided, that if there exists at the time such warrant is drawn, obligated funds from the federal government or the state, or both from the federal government and the state, for the general purpose or purposes of such warrant, then such warrant may be drawn in excess of 85% of the current levy for the purpose for which it is drawn to the additional extent of 100% of such obligated federal or state funds. No claim shall be audited or allowed unless an order or warrant for the payment thereof may legally be drawn.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-715)
(A) The village shall have authority to collect the special assessments which it levies and to perform all other necessary functions related thereto including foreclosure.
(B) The Board of Trustees of any village collecting its own special assessments shall direct that notice that special assessments are due shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the last known address of the person against whom those special assessments are assessed or to the lending institution or other party responsible for paying those special assessments. Failure to receive the notice shall not relieve the taxpayer from any liability to pay the special assessments and any interest or penalties accrued thereon.
(C) A village collecting its own assessments shall:
(1) File notice of the assessments and the amount of assessment being levied for each lot or tract of land to the Register of Deeds; and
(2) File a release of assessment upon final payment of each assessment with the Register of Deeds.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 18-1216)
Statutory reference:
Refunding erroneously paid special assessments, see Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-703
All money received on special assessments shall be held by the Village Clerk-Treasurer as a special fund to be applied to the payment of the improvement for which the assessment was made, and this money shall be used for no other purpose whatever, unless to reimburse the village for money expended for any such improvement.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-710)
(A) The village is hereby empowered to receive money or property by donation, bequest, gift, devise or otherwise for the benefit of any one or more of the public purposes for which sinking funds are established by the provisions of this section, as stipulated by the donor. Title to any money or property so donated shall vest in the Board of Trustees, or in its successors in office, who shall become the owners thereof in trust to the uses of the sinking fund or funds; provided, that in the event of a donation of real estate, the Board of Trustees may manage the real estate as in the case of real estate donated to the village for village library purposes under the provisions of Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 51-215 and 51-216.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 19-1301)
(B) The Board of Trustees, subject to all the limitations set forth in this section, shall have the power to levy a tax of not to exceed $0.105 on each $100 in any one year upon the taxable value of all the taxable property within the village for a term of not to exceed ten years, in addition to the amount of tax which may be annually levied for the purposes of the adopted budget statement of the village, for the purpose of establishing a sinking fund for the construction, purchase, improvement, extension, original equipment or repair, not including maintenance, of any one or more of the following public improvements, including acquisition of any land incident to the making thereof: village libraries; village auditoriums or community houses for social or recreational purposes; village halls; village public libraries, auditoriums or community houses in a single building; village swimming pools; village jails; village fire stations, together with firefighting equipment or apparatus; village parks; village cemeteries; village medical buildings, together with furnishings and equipment; or village hospitals. The village shall not be authorized to levy the tax or to establish the sinking fund as provided in this division (B) if, having bonded indebtedness, such village has been in default in the payment of interest thereon or principal thereof for a period of ten years prior to the date of the passage of the resolution providing for the submission of the proposition for establishment of the sinking fund as required in division (C) below.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 19-1302)
(C) Before any sinking fund or funds are established or before any annual tax is levied for any such planned village improvements mentioned in division (B) above by the village, the Board of Trustees shall declare its purpose by resolution to submit to the qualified electors of the village at the next general village election the proposition to provide the village with the specific village improvement planned under this section. The resolution of submission shall, among other things, set forth a clear description of the improvement planned, the estimated cost according to the prevailing costs, the amount of annual levy over a definite period of years, not exceeding ten years, required to provide such cost, and the specific name or designation for the sinking fund sought to be established to carry out the planned improvement, together with a statement of the proposition for placement upon the ballot at the election. Notice of the submission of the proposition, together with a copy of the official ballot containing the same, shall be published in its entirety three successive weeks before the day of the election in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the village or, if no legal newspaper is in or of general circulation in the village, in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the county in which the village is located. No such sinking fund shall be established unless the same has been authorized by a majority or more of the legal votes of the village cast for or against the proposition. If less than a majority of the legal votes favor the establishment of the sinking fund, the planned improvement shall not be made, no annual tax shall be levied therefor, and no sinking fund or sinking funds shall be established in connection therewith, but such resolution of submission shall immediately be repealed. If the proposition shall carry at such election in the manner prescribed in this division (C), the Board of Trustees and its successors in office shall proceed to do all things authorized under such resolution of submission but never inconsistent with this section. The election provided for under this section shall be conducted as provided under the Election Act, being Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 32-101 et seq.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 19-1303)
(D) All funds received by the Village Clerk-Treasurer, by donation or by tax levy, as hereinbefore provided, shall, as they accumulate, be immediately invested by the Clerk-Treasurer, with the written approval of the Board of Trustees, in the manner provided in § 34.10. Whenever investments of such sinking fund or funds are made, as aforesaid, the nature and character of the same shall be reported to the Board of Trustees, and the investment report shall be made a matter of record by the Village Clerk-Treasurer in the proceedings of the Village Board. The sinking fund or sinking funds, accumulated under the provisions of this section, shall constitute a special fund or funds, for the purpose or purposes for which the same was authorized and shall not be used for any other purpose unless authorized by 60% of the qualified electors of the village voting at a general election favoring such change in the use of the sinking fund or sinking funds; provided that the question of the change in the use of the sinking fund or sinking funds, when it fails to carry, shall not be resubmitted in substance for a period of one year from and after the date of such election.
(Neb. Rev. Stat. § 19-1304)
Statutory reference:
Additional levy limitations, see Neb. Rev. Stat. § 17-702
(A) The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall deposit, and at all times keep on deposit, for safekeeping, in banks, capital stock financial institutions, or qualifying mutual financial institutions of approved and responsible standing, all money collected, received or held by him or her as Village Clerk-Treasurer. Such deposits shall be subject to all regulations imposed by law or adopted by the Board of Trustees for the receiving and holding thereof. The fact that a stockholder, director or other officer of such bank, capital stock financial institution or qualifying mutual financial institution is also serving as a member of the Board of Trustees or as any other officer of the village shall not disqualify such bank, capital stock financial institution or qualifying mutual financial institution from acting as a depository for such municipal funds.
(B) The Board of Trustees shall require from all banks, capital stock financial institutions or qualifying mutual financial institutions a bond in such penal sum as may be the maximum amount on deposit at any time less the amount insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or, in lieu thereof, security given as provided in the Public Funds Deposit Security Act, being Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-2386 et seq., to secure the payment of all such deposits and accretions. The Board of Trustees shall approve such bond or giving of security. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall not be liable for any loss of any money sustained by reason of the failure of any such depository so designated and approved.
(C) The insurance afforded to depositors in banks, capital stock financial institutions or qualifying mutual financial institutions through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shall be deemed and construed to be a surety bond to the extent that the deposits are insured or guaranteed by such corporation, and for deposits so insured or guaranteed, no other surety bond or other security shall be required.
(D) Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2366 shall apply to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.
(Prior Code, § 1-819) (Ord. 1-819, passed 7-2-2002; Ord. 1-819, passed 3-2-2004)
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, see Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 17-607 and 77-2362
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