Chief Financial Officer
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a state certified, salaried, full-time employee appointed by the Manager for a four-year term, reappointed for a second term and is automatically granted tenure after the fifth consecutive year.
According to Borough ordinance, the CFO oversees the following functions of the Department of Finance: budgetary accounting, fiscal control and reporting, custody investment, and disbursement of Borough monies; designation of public depository or depositories; assessment of real estate for tax purposes; purchasing, bills, and payroll.
Payroll : At the reorganization meeting of the governing body in January, the Council designates an account for payroll. At each regular Council meeting, the payroll must be approved.
Bills : All claims against Ringwood for services and materials are overseen by the Borough Clerk. The Council must then approve the bills at the regular meetings. The Borough Clerk records the claims as part of the regular Council Meetings.
Budget Procedures : During the first few months of each year, while the governing body is working to adopt a budget, a temporary budget is approved, consisting of a twenty-five percent maximum of the previous year's total. This provides financing while the current budget is being created. To establish what the local municipal budget will be, each department head forwards a projection of needs to the Borough Manager, who reviews them and sends them on to the Mayor and the Council. The Borough Auditor and Manager determine what the anticipated revenue will be, and the budget is then finalized by the governing body. The budget is introduced at a Council meeting and seconded. Legal publication follows, with the date of the public hearing included in the advertisement. The public hearing is held, and then the budget, like and ordinance, is adopted.
Actually this procedure is combined with the budgets from the local School Board and the regional School Board, as well as input from the County, which has determined Ringwood's share of taxes. Senior citizens and veteran exemptions are added as another revenue requirement. These figures are then added together. Anticipated revenues are subtracted, and the amount left represents what is to be raised by local tax levy. Anticipated revenues include state aid, surplus, fees, fines, and anticipated interest earned on the investments of taxes and franchise taxes.
The total property value in Ringwood is divided by the figure noted above, and that produces the tax rate. Ringwood does not assess personal property or personal effects.
The tax rate is expressed in dollars and cents. If the rate is said to be $5.76, this means that for every $100 of assessed valuation, the tax is $5.76. Each cent of rate is referred to as a point. |
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