Council has passed a new policy that will allow township staff members to pay bills without council approval.
In the past, the township’s policy was that no cheques – with the exception of routine utility payments and those that might be time sensitive – were to be released prior to the approval of council during the “accounts payable” portion of meeting agendas.
But at the last council meeting in August, Clerk Patty Sinnamon told council many other municipalities permit finance staff to pay bills without council approval, provided certain guidelines are in place and followed.
“This allows for timely payment of invoices and retains the township’s good standing with suppliers,” Sinnamon said in her report to council.
Council would still receive the accounts payable listing for information, she added, and councillors would be welcome to ask any questions of staff regarding payments.
“The township has an excellent purchasing and procurement policy, and I would confirm that both myself and the director of finance review accounts payables to ensure that the policy is followed,” Sinnamon said.
“Further, each department head is provided with a quarterly statement of actual expenditures compared to budget for review purposes.”
The new policy proposed by?Sinnamon stipulates that staff, when paying bills, must ensure the purchasing and procurement policy is always followed and that the items are included in the annual operating or capital budget.
It also states, “Staff are accountable for purchases within their department.” Council approved the new policy.
