The payment process begins at the department level and requires several steps.

• Identifying the need for a product or service and entering a requisition.

Requisition – A requisition requires three (3) signoffs/approvals.  1^st approval comes from the department head; 2^nd approval is electronic and comes from the City’s Accounts Payable Clerk; the 3rd and final approval is also electronic and comes from the CFO. Once all approvals have been obtained, a Purchase Order is generated.

Purchase Order – A Purchase order is a two (2) part document: Part 1 - Vendor copy, Part 2– Finance copy.  

The vendor, upon receipt of their copy provides the products/services being requested.  The vendor must sign the “claimant’s declaration” portion of the Purchase Order certifying the products/services have been rendered and prices are correct.  The Purchase Order along with an original invoice, are mailed to the attention of the finance department.    

Once products/services are received and verified as complete by the requisitioning department, the finance copy is signed off on by both the individual having received the products/services and the department head to authorized payment.  

Once, the signed Purchase Order authorizing payment have been received by the finance office and reconciled; payment is place on the “Bills List” to be presented to the members of the governing body for their approval. 

Bills List – This is a list of all Purchase Orders ready for payment which is presented to the Board of Commissioners three (3) days prior to a scheduled Commission meeting.  Meetings are usually the 2^nd and 4^th Thursday of each month, but can vary from time to time.  Upon Commission’s approval of the payments, checks, are generated and mailed.

****Important Reminder****

All Purchase Orders must be signed and an invoice provided prior to inclusion on the bills list.

Requisition – A requisition is a request by a department to make a purchase. An individual designated within each department shall enter electronically, via the City’s accounting program, the items being requested for purchase. 

What is purchased?

The City of Ventnor City Finance Department assists all departments in obtaining all supplies, equipment, services or construction needed. This includes a very large variety of products and services.

SMALL PURCHASES

Small purchases are obtained individually by the department through a Request for Quotation (RFQ). Electronic, fax, written or telephone quotations may be used. Vendors are strongly encouraged to provide immediate responses to an RFQ since the period of time is short and purchases are usually made promptly. City Departments can solicit a quote from 2 or more vendors, use a state contract vendor or purchase through a cooperative. For purchasing under $6,000.00, a minimum of two (2) quotes shall be solicited, if possible. A “Business Registration Certificate” (BRC) would not be necessary. However, if the aggregate to the vendor totals over the $6,000.00 threshold, a BRC is necessary.

As a vendor you will receive prior authorization through a purchase order or a confirming purchase order, in the case of an emergency. Under no circumstances should a vendor provide the goods or services without one of these authorizations.

Businesses planning to contract with any public agency in New Jersey, including state agencies, local governments, colleges/universities and local school boards as well as with casino licensees will be required to provide a “Business Registration Certificate” as proof of registration as per N.J.S.A. 40A: 11-23.2. For more information regarding Business Registration Certificate, please visit:

http://www.state.nj.us/njbusiness/registration/ 

This is a formal competitive bidding process used for large purchases or construction projects. The City Contract contains contractual terms and specifications. All current City Contracts open to bid can be found on our web page under “Notice to Bidders.” The bids are opened publicly at a specific time and place designated in the City Contract. The contract is awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid conforms in all criteria required in the City Contract. All bid results are posted to our web page under “Bid Results” and can be found by the number or title of the city contract. A Business Registration Certificate (BRC) is required at the time of the start of the project. (see above for more information on BRC) A New Jersey Public Works Contractors Registration Act Certificate is required for any projects over $14,187.00 per N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.30.

This registration requires all contractors, subcontractors, or lower tier subcontractors (including subcontractors listed in bid proposals) who bid on or engage in the performance of any public work to register with the Department of Labor and Work Development. For more information regarding the Public Works Contractors Registration Act Certificate, please visit:

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wagehour/regperm/pw_cont_reg.html 

This is a competitive sealed proposal process and is used when the City Purchasing Agent determines that the RFP process is more beneficial to the City than the City Contract process. The City uses this process when it may be not only cost but several other criteria may be necessary to make an award. Usually the RFP process is used for a Professional Service. Evaluation criteria will be established and used by the evaluation committee for their recommendation. After the award of the contract, the results will be posted on our web page under “Bid Results.”

New Jersey Pay to Play Threshold for all contracts is $17,500.00 per N.J.S.A. 19:44A-204 et seq. aggregates per for all vendors. The City of Ventnor City Pay to Play threshold for only professional services, banking and insurance service contracts starts at $1 and above per City Ordinance 05-13. Proper paperwork must be completed prior to issuance of the purchase order and/or contract.