(D)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(2) of | 18 |
this section and section 5705.44 of the Revised Code, make any | 19 |
contract or give any order involving the
expenditure of money | 20 |
unless there is attached thereto a
certificate of the fiscal | 21 |
officer of the subdivision that the
amount required to meet the | 22 |
obligation or, in the case of a
continuing contract to be | 23 |
performed in whole or in part in an
ensuing fiscal year, the | 24 |
amount required to meet the obligation
in
the fiscal year in which | 25 |
the contract is made, has been
lawfully
appropriated for such | 26 |
purpose and is in the treasury or
in process
of collection to the | 27 |
credit of an appropriate fund
free from any
previous encumbrances. | 28 |
This certificate need be
signed only by
the subdivision's fiscal | 29 |
officer. Every such
contract made
without such a certificate | 30 |
shall be void, and no
warrant shall be
issued in payment of any | 31 |
amount due thereon. If
no certificate is
furnished as required, | 32 |
upon receipt by the
taxing authority of the
subdivision or taxing | 33 |
unit of a
certificate of the fiscal officer
stating that there was | 34 |
at the
time of the making of such contract
or order and at the | 35 |
time of
the execution of such certificate a
sufficient sum | 36 |
appropriated
for the purpose of such contract and
in the treasury | 37 |
or in
process of collection to the credit of an
appropriate fund | 38 |
free
from any previous encumbrances, such taxing
authority may | 39 |
authorize the drawing of a warrant in payment of
amounts due upon | 40 |
such contract, but such resolution or ordinance
shall be passed | 41 |
within thirty days
after the
taxing authority
receives such | 42 |
certificate; provided
that, if the
amount involved
is less than | 43 |
one hundred dollars in
the case of
counties or
onethree
thousand | 44 |
dollars in the case of all
other
subdivisions or taxing
units, the | 45 |
fiscal officer may
authorize it
to be paid without such | 46 |
affirmation of the taxing
authority of the
subdivision or taxing | 47 |
unit, if such expenditure
is otherwise
valid. | 48 |
(2) Annually, the board of county commissioners may adopt
a | 49 |
resolution exempting for the current fiscal year county
purchases | 50 |
of seven hundred fifty dollars or less from the
requirement of | 51 |
division (D)(1) of this section that a certificate
be attached to | 52 |
any contract or order involving the expenditure of
money. The | 53 |
resolution shall state the dollar amount that is
exempted from the | 54 |
certificate requirement and whether the
exemption applies to all | 55 |
purchases, to one or more specific
classes of purchases, or to the | 56 |
purchase of one or more specific
items. Prior to the adoption of | 57 |
the resolution, the board shall
give written notice to the county | 58 |
auditor that it intends to
adopt the resolution. The notice shall | 59 |
state the dollar amount
that is proposed to be exempted and | 60 |
whether the exemption would
apply to all purchases, to one or more | 61 |
specific classes of
purchases, or to the purchase of one or more | 62 |
specific items. The
county auditor may review and comment on the | 63 |
proposal, and shall
send any comments to the board within fifteen | 64 |
days after
receiving the notice. The board shall wait at least | 65 |
fifteen days
after giving the notice to the auditor before | 66 |
adopting the
resolution. A person authorized to make a county | 67 |
purchase in a
county that has adopted such a resolution shall | 68 |
prepare and file
with the county auditor, within three business | 69 |
days after
incurring an obligation not requiring a certificate, a | 70 |
written
document specifying the purpose and amount of the | 71 |
expenditure,
the date of the purchase, the name of the vendor, and | 72 |
such
additional information as the auditor of state may prescribe. | 73 |
(3) Upon certification by the auditor or other chief
fiscal | 74 |
officer that a certain sum of money, not in excess of five | 75 |
thousand dollars, has been lawfully appropriated, authorized, or | 76 |
directed for a certain purpose and is in the treasury or in the | 77 |
process of collection to the credit of a specific line-item | 78 |
appropriation account in a certain fund free from previous and | 79 |
then outstanding obligations or certifications, then for such | 80 |
purpose and from such line-item appropriation account in such | 81 |
fund, over a period not exceeding three months and not extending | 82 |
beyond the end of the fiscal year, expenditures may be made, | 83 |
orders for payment issued, and contracts or obligations calling | 84 |
for or requiring the payment of money made and assumed; provided, | 85 |
that the aggregate sum of money included in and called for by
such | 86 |
expenditures, orders, contracts, and obligations shall not
exceed | 87 |
the sum so certified. Such a certification need be signed
only by | 88 |
the fiscal officer of the subdivision or the taxing
district and | 89 |
may, but need not, be limited to a specific vendor.
An itemized | 90 |
statement of obligations incurred and expenditures
made under such | 91 |
certificate shall be rendered to the auditor or
other chief fiscal | 92 |
officer before another such certificate may be
issued, and not | 93 |
more than one such certificate shall be
outstanding at a time. | 94 |
In addition to providing the certification for expenditures | 95 |
of five thousand dollars or less as provided in this division, a | 96 |
subdivision also may make expenditures, issue orders for
payment, | 97 |
and
make contracts or obligations calling for or requiring the | 98 |
payment of money made and assumed for specified permitted
purposes | 99 |
from a specific line-item appropriation account in a
specified | 100 |
fund for a sum of money
upon the
certification by the fiscal | 101 |
officer of the
subdivision that this
sum of
money has been | 102 |
lawfully appropriated, authorized, or
directed for
a permitted | 103 |
purpose and is in the treasury or in the
process of
collection to | 104 |
the credit of the specific line-item
appropriation
account in the | 105 |
specified fund free from previous and
then-outstanding obligations | 106 |
or certifications; provided that the
aggregate sum of money | 107 |
included in and called for by the
expenditures, orders, and | 108 |
obligations shall not exceed the
certified sum. The purposes for | 109 |
which a subdivision may
lawfully
appropriate, authorize, or issue | 110 |
such a certificate are the
services of an accountant, architect, | 111 |
attorney at law, physician,
professional engineer, construction | 112 |
project manager, consultant,
surveyor, or appraiser by or on | 113 |
behalf of the subdivision or
contracting authority; fuel oil, | 114 |
gasoline, food items, roadway
materials, and utilities; and any | 115 |
purchases exempt from
competitive bidding under section 125.04 of | 116 |
the Revised Code and
any other specific expenditure that is a | 117 |
recurring and reasonably
predictable operating expense. Such a | 118 |
certification shall not
extend beyond the end of the fiscal year | 119 |
or, in the case of
a
board of
county commissioners that has | 120 |
established a quarterly
spending plan
under section 5705.392 of | 121 |
the Revised Code, beyond
the quarter to
which the plan applies. | 122 |
Such a certificate shall
be signed by
the fiscal officer and may, | 123 |
but need not, be
limited
to a
specific vendor. An itemized | 124 |
statement of obligations
incurred
and expenditures made under such | 125 |
a certificate shall be
rendered
to the fiscal officer for each | 126 |
certificate
issued. More
than one
such certificate may be | 127 |
outstanding at any time. | 128 |
In any case in which a contract is entered into upon a per | 129 |
unit basis, the head of the department, board, or commission for | 130 |
the benefit of which the contract is made shall make an estimate | 131 |
of the total amount to become due upon such contract, which | 132 |
estimate shall be certified in writing to the fiscal officer of | 133 |
the subdivision. Such a contract may be entered into if the | 134 |
appropriation covers such estimate, or so much thereof as may be | 135 |
due during the current year. In such a case the certificate of | 136 |
the fiscal officer based upon the estimate shall be a sufficient | 137 |
compliance with the law requiring a certificate. | 138 |
Taxes and other revenue in process of collection, or the | 146 |
proceeds to be derived from authorized bonds, notes, or | 147 |
certificates of indebtedness sold and in process of delivery, | 148 |
shall for the purpose of this section be deemed in the treasury
or | 149 |
in process of collection and in the appropriate fund. This | 150 |
section applies neither to the investment of sinking funds by the | 151 |
trustees of such funds, nor to investments made under sections | 152 |
731.56 to 731.59 of the Revised Code. | 153 |
Section 3. Section 5705.41 of the Revised Code is
presented | 161 |
in
this act as a composite of the section as amended by
both Am. | 162 |
H.B. 21 and Am. Sub. H.B. 94 of
the 124th General
Assembly. The | 163 |
General Assembly, applying the
principle stated in
division (B) of | 164 |
section 1.52 of the Revised
Code that amendments
are to be | 165 |
harmonized if reasonably capable of
simultaneous
operation, finds | 166 |
that the composite is the resulting
version of
the section in | 167 |
effect prior to the effective date of
the section
as presented in | 168 |
this act. | 169 |