Athens City Charter

Section 1. Be it further enacted, That the City Manager or such assistant appointed by him, shall be the head of the Department of Finance.

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the head of the Department of Finance shall have custody of and preserve in his office, the city seal, the public records, original rolls of ordinances, ordinance books, certificates and papers, all official indemnity or surety bonds, and all other bonds, oaths and affirmations, and he shall register them by numbers, dates, and contents, and keep an accurate and modern index thereof. The head of the Department of Finance shall provide a bond of such surety and in such an amount as the Council may require by ordinance, said bond to be filed with the Mayor.

When required by an officer or citizen, the head of the Department of Finance shall provide certified copies of records, papers, and documents in his office, and charge therefor, for the use of the city, such fees as may be provided by ordinance; and he shall cause copies of ordinances to be duplicated as may be directed by the City Council and keep them in his office for distribution.

The head of the Department of Finance shall exercise general supervision over the fiscal affairs of the city, and general accounting supervision over all the city's property, assets and claims and the disposition thereof. He shall be the general accountant of the city; he shall have custody of all records, paper and vouchers relating to the fiscal affairs of the city, and the records in his office shall show the financial operations and condition, property, assets, claims and liabilities of the city, all expenditures authorized and all required proper fiscal accounts, records, settlements, and reports to be kept, made and rendered to him, by the several departments and officers of the city, including all deputies or employees of his department charged with the collection or expenditure of money, and shall control the same. He shall daily adjust the settlements of officers engaged in the collection of revenue.

The head of the Department of Finance shall cause an efficient system of accounting for the city to be installed and maintained, as provided for in the annual appropriation ordinance.

The head of the Department of Finance shall also serve as treasurer of the city, and it shall be his duty to collect, receive and receipt for the taxes and all other revenue of the city, and all special assessments, the proceeds of its bond issues, and to disburse the same, under the supervision of the City Manager. [As amended by Priv. Acts 1990, ch. 213, § 5]

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That except as by this charter or by the law or ordinance otherwise provided, the head of the Department of Finance shall prescribe and regulate the manner of paying creditors, officers and employees of the city. He shall pre-audit all payrolls, accounts and claims against the city, but no payroll, account or claim, or any part thereof, shall be paid unless authorized by law or ordinance and approved and certified by the City Manager, and the amount required for payment of the same is appropriated for the purpose by ordinance and in the treasury. Whenever any claim shall be presented to the head of the Department of Finance, he shall have power to require that the amount claimed is justly due, and is in conformity to law and ordinance, and for that purpose he may summon before him any officer, agent or employee of any department of the municipality, or any other person, and examine him upon oath or affirmation relative thereto. The City Manager, the head of the Department of Finance, and the head of the department concerned, and their sureties, shall be liable to the municipality for all loss or damage sustained by the municipality by reason of the corrupt approval of any claim against the municipality.

Section 4. Be it further enacted, That subject to the provisions of the foregoing section, all checks in payment of all payrolls, accounts and claims against the city shall be signed by the head of the Department of Finance. Any officer or employee in the office of Department of Finance may be designated by the head of the Department of Finance to draw checks with the same effect as if signed by the head of the Department of Finance, such designation to be in writing, in duplicate, filed with the City Manager and approved by him. Any such designation may be revoked by the City Manager or head of the Department of Finance while acting as such, by filing the revocation in duplicate with the other executive at interest. All checks shall be countersigned by the Mayor, or, in the absence or disability of the Mayor, by the Vice-Mayor.

Section 5. Be it further enacted, That no contract, agreement or other obligation involving the expenditure of money shall be entered into, nor shall any ordinances, resolutions or order for the expenditure of money be passed by the City Council or be authorized by any officer of the city, unless the head of the Department of Finance shall first certify to the City Council or the proper officer, as the case may be, that the money required for such contract, agreement, obligation, or expenditure is in the treasury or safely assured to be forthcoming and available in time to comply with, or meet such contract, agreement or obligation. No expenditure of money payable from the proceeds of bonds of the city shall be contracted for until the issuance and sale of such bonds have been duly authorized in accordance with the provisions of this charter in reference to city bonds.

Section 6. Be it further enacted, That no contract liability shall be incurred without previous authority of law or ordinance, but the City Council may, by ordinance, empower the proper officials to pay out money or incur contract liability for the city for the necessary preservation of the city's credit, or in other extreme emergency, under such restrictions as may be provided in said ordinance; provided that any such liability shall mature not later than one year from the date it was incurred.

Section 7. Be it further enacted, That the head of the Department of Finance shall cause all forms used either in connection with the receipt or disbursement of city funds to be numbered consecutively and all spoiled or unused forms shall be accounted for.

The head of the Department of Finance shall also perform any other duties imposed upon him by this charter, by ordinance, or by the City Manager.

In the event of the temporary absence or inability of the head of the Department of Finance to act, the City Manager shall have the authority to delegate any of these responsibilities temporarily.