§ 5-524 Audit and payment of claims. l. The term "claim", as used in
this section, shall include all bills, accounts and demands for the
payment of money, of whatever nature, asserted against the village.

2. In a village which has not established the office of auditor, the
board of trustees shall audit all claims against the village, except
that it may, by resolution, authorize and empower a separate board of
commissioners, a board possessing the powers of two or more such boards
or another board possessing like powers to audit and order paid all
claims incurred by such board and payable out of the funds within its
jurisdiction.

3. In a village which has established the office of auditor, the
auditor shall audit and order paid all claims against the village. Such
order shall be in the form prescribed in this chapter for similar orders
of the village clerk. The auditor shall transmit such order directly to
the village treasurer and shall retain a duplicate thereof in his
office.

4. Except as hereinafter provided, no claim shall be ordered paid
unless such claim is in writing and itemized and approved by the officer
or employee whose action gave rise or origin to the claim. The board of
trustees may determine, by resolution, that claims shall be certified or
verified by oath of the claimant or his duly authorized agent.

5. Fixed salaries, debt service, amounts becoming due upon lawful
contracts for periods exceeding one year and the compensation for
services of employees or officers regularly engaged by the village at
agreed wages by the hour, day, week, month or year may be paid without
prior audit. All payrolls, or other claims for compensation, for
personal services rendered to the village by any person other than an
elective village officer shall be certified by the village officer or
employee having direct supervision of the claimant to the effect that
such services indicated on such payroll or claim were actually performed
by the person or persons mentioned therein. If the rules of the state
civil service commission, the county civil service commission or the
county personnel officer, as the case may be, have been extended to
apply to any such employees or officers, no claim for compensation shall
be paid unless the payroll or claim shall have been certified by such
commission or personnel officer to the effect that the appointment or
employment of such officers and employees has been made in accordance
with the civil service law and rules.

6. The board of trustees may by resolution authorize payment in
advance of audit of claims for public utility services, postage, freight
and express charges. All such claims shall be presented at the next
regular meeting for audit, and the claimant and the officer incurring or
approving the same shall be jointly and severally liable for any amount
disallowed by the board of trustees.

As used in this subdivision, the term public utility services shall
mean electric, gas, water, sewer and telephone services.

7. The actual and necessary expenses of all officers, employees, and,
when authorized by the board of trustees, the actual and necessary
expenses of the volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the
village fire department incurred in the performance of their official
duties shall be a village charge. For the purposes of this subdivision
"actual and necessary expenses", as it applies to a volunteer chief or
assistant volunteer chief of the village fire department, means only
such expenses incurred in the performance of their extra official duties
as volunteer chief or assistant volunteer chief. The board of trustees
of any village, in lieu of auditing and allowing the claim of a village
officer, employee, or volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of
the village fire department for actual and necessary expenses for
travel, may determine by resolution to allow and pay such officer,
employee, or volunteer chief and assistant volunteer chiefs of the
village fire department a reasonable mileage allowance for use of his
own automobile for each mile actually and necessarily traveled by him in
the performance of the duties of his office or position, or in attending
a convention, conference or school pursuant to section seventy-seven-b
of the general municipal law. The actual and necessary expenses incurred
by a police justice who does not also hold the office of town justice in
attending a training school for justices provided by the education
department or given within his county by the county magistrate's
association shall be a charge against the village of which he is police
justice. No such person, however, shall be allowed such expenses for
attending a regional school unless his village shall be included within
the area of such region as established by the education department.

8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions two, three and four
of this section or of any other law, any village by vote of its board of
trustees may enter into a mutual aid agreement with other villages or
political subdivisions of the state, pursuant to the provisions of the
New York state defense emergency act, and all acts amendatory thereof
and supplemental thereto, for the purpose of civil defense as defined in
said act and may raise money by tax to defray the expense of its
participation in such mutual aid agreement. Such villages may also enter
into a financial agreement or arrangement with such other participating
villages or political subdivisions of the state, provided, however,
that:

a. the treasurer of one such participating village shall be designated
as treasurer of a joint mutual aid or civil defense fund;

b. each of such participating villages may from time to time advance
and pay to such mutual aid or civil defense fund its proportionate share
of an amount of money agreed upon by all such participating villages for
the purpose of defraying the necessary and proper expenses of mutual
civil defense aid;

c. the treasurer of such joint fund as herein provided shall make
necessary and proper disbursements from said fund and shall account
monthly to each village for such disbursements.

All moneys advanced or otherwise disbursed by each such village to
carry out the provisions of this subdivision, shall be only from moneys
appropriated for such purposes and included in the annual budget of said
village.

9. Any officer of the village who shall knowingly audit, order paid or
pay any claim contrary to the provisions of this section shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor.