5. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, in every municipality there shall be a chief financial officer appointed by the governing body of the municipality. The requirement that every municipality shall have a chief financial officer may be fulfilled by the sharing of a chief financial officer with another municipality or municipalities under a shared service agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.63 (C. 40A:65-1 et seq.). Any such shared service agreement shall be subject to the provisions of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C. 40A:65-4) and, with respect to pilot municipalities, section 3 of P.L.2013, c.166 (C. 40A:65-4.2). The term of office shall be four years, which shall run from January 1 in the year in which the chief financial officer is appointed. The compensation for the chief financial officer shall be separately set forth in a municipal salary ordinance.

If a governing body fails or refuses to comply with this section, and has received an order from the director to do so, the members of a governing body who willfully fail or refuse to comply shall each be subject to a personal penalty of $25 for each day after the date fixed for final action that failure or refusal to comply continues. The amount of the penalty may be recovered by the director in the name of the State as a personal debt of the member of the governing body, and shall be paid, upon receipt, into the State Treasury.

In the case of a pilot municipality, a tenured chief financial officer may be dismissed to effectuate the sharing of a service entered into pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.63 (C. 40A:65-1 et seq.) and such dismissal shall be deemed to be in the interest of the economy or efficiency of the participants in the shared service agreement. The removal of a chief financial officer under this section shall not require the pilot municipality to fulfill the requirements of section 2 of P.L.1977, c.39 (C. 40A:9-140.8). Instead, the pilot municipality shall provide the chief financial officer with a written copy of the shared service agreement entered into by the pilot municipality, and a letter stating that the position of chief financial officer in the pilot municipality is being eliminated for reasons of economy or efficiency as the result of the shared service agreement.

b. The requirement that every municipality shall have a chief financial officer may be temporarily fulfilled by the appointment of a private entity to perform the duties of a chief financial officer. A municipality shall not appoint a private entity to fulfill the duties of a chief financial officer for more than two consecutive one-year terms. A municipality shall not make such appointment or reappointment unless approved by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs. Such approval shall only be granted if the municipality demonstrates that it has made a good faith effort to hire an individual who holds a municipal finance officer certificate issued pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1971, c.413 (C. 40A:9-140.1 et seq.). The term of office of a private entity appointed pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed two consecutive years. Any work performed by such private entity on behalf of the municipality shall be supervised by at least one employee who holds a municipal finance officer certificate issued pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1971, c.413 (C. 40A:9-140.1 et seq.). Any documents requiring signature of the chief financial officer of the municipality shall be executed on behalf of the private entity by an employee holding a municipal finance officer certificate.

L.1988, c.110, s.5; amended 1991, c.175, s.8; 2013, c.166, s.11; 2015, c.95, s.23.