All applicants for development before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment shall establish an escrow account with the Borough in accordance with the fee schedule for the specific type of application, as set forth in this code.

A. All deposits for technical, professional review and inspection fees shall be kept in an escrow account for that purpose by the Borough. This account shall be managed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough, who shall administer the same in accordance with the terms of this section.

B. Whenever an amount of money in excess of $5,000 shall be deposited by an applicant with the municipality for professional services employed by the municipality or the approving board to review applications for development, for municipal inspection fees in accordance with this section, the money, until repaid or applied to the purposes for which it was deposited, including the applicant's portion of the interest earned thereon, except as otherwise provided by law, shall continue to be the property of the applicant and shall be held in trust by the municipality. Money deposited shall be held in escrow. The municipality receiving the money shall deposit it in a banking institution or savings and loan association in this state insured by an agency of the federal government or in any other fund or account bearing interest at the minimum rate currently paid by the institution or depository on time or savings deposits. The municipality shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the name and address of the institution or depository in which the deposit is made and the amount of the deposit. The municipality shall not be required to refund an amount of interest paid on a deposit which does not exceed $100, that the entire amount shall belong to the applicant and shall be refunded to the applicant by the municipality annually or at the time the deposit is repaid or applied to the purposes for which it was deposited, as the case may be; except that the municipality may retain for administrative expenses a sum equivalent to no more than 1/3 of the entire amount, which shall be in lieu of all other administrative and custodial expenses.

The Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall make all of the payments to professionals for services rendered to the municipality or approving board for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements or other purposes under this article; such fees or charges to be based upon the ordinances herein. The application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review or applications, including review time spent at meetings of the approving board, review and preparation of documents and inspections of developments under construction and review by outside consultants when the application is of a nature beyond the scope of the expertise of the professionals normally utilized by the municipality. The only costs that shall be added to any such charges shall be actual out-of-pocket expenses of any such professionals or consultants, including normal and typical expenses incurred in processing applications and inspecting improvements. The charges by professionals shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the municipality when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers. The Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall administer the review and escrow fees as follows:

A. Each payment charged to a deposit for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspection of improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from the professional, which voucher shall identify the personnel performing the service; and, for each date the service is performed, the hours spent to one-quarter-hour increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals shall submit vouchers to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality on a monthly basis in accordance with the schedules and procedures established by the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality. The professional shall send an informational copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall prepare and send to the applicant a statement which shall include an accounting of the funds listing all deposits, interest earnings, disbursements and the cumulative balance of the escrow account. This information shall be provided on a quarterly basis if monthly charges are $1,000 or less, or on a monthly basis if the monthly charges exceed $1,000. If an escrow account or deposit contains insufficient funds to enable the municipality or approving board to perform required application reviews or improvement inspections, the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall provide the applicant with a written notice of the insufficient escrow or deposit balance. In order for work to continue on the development or the applications, the applicant shall, within 10 days, post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the municipality or the approving board and the applicant. With regard to review fees, if the applicant fails to make said deposit within the prescribed time herein, the approving board shall be authorized to dismiss the application with prejudice subject to the right of the applicant to seek reinstatement of said application by written notice to the Chief Financial Officer that the deposits have been posted. The application will be reinstated upon written notification by the Chief Financial Officer to the approving board that said deposits are in fact posted. In the interim, any required health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment of funds. With regard to inspection fees, the Borough Engineer shall not perform any inspection if insufficient funds to pay for the inspections are not on deposit. Failure to post or maintain balances in accordance with the requirements of these subsections will subject the developer to a stop-work order and/or suspension of construction permits. Each payment charged to a deposit for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspection of improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from the professional, which voucher shall identify the personnel performing the service; and, for each date the service is performed, the hours spent to one-quarter-hour increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals shall submit vouchers to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality on a monthly basis in accordance with the schedules and procedures established by the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality. The professional shall send an informational copy of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall prepare and send to the applicant a statement which shall include an accounting of the funds listing all deposits, interest earnings, disbursements and the cumulative balance of the escrow account. This information shall be provided on a quarterly basis if monthly charges are $1,000 or less, or on a monthly basis if the monthly charges exceed $1,000. If an escrow account or deposit contains insufficient funds to enable the municipality or approving board to perform required application reviews or improvement inspections, the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall provide the applicant with a written notice of the insufficient escrow or deposit balance. In order for work to continue on the development or the applications, the applicant shall, within 10 days, post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the municipality or the approving board and the applicant. With regard to review fees, if the applicant fails to make said deposit within the prescribed time herein, the approving board shall be authorized to dismiss the application with prejudice subject to the right of the applicant to seek reinstatement of said application by written notice to the Chief Financial Officer that the deposits have been posted. The application will be reinstated upon written notification by the Chief Financial Officer to the approving board that said deposits are in fact posted. In the interim, any required health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment of funds. With regard to inspection fees, the Borough Engineer shall not perform any inspection if insufficient funds to pay for the inspections are not on deposit. Failure to post or maintain balances in accordance with the requirements of these subsections will subject the developer to a stop-work order and/or suspension of construction permits.

B. The applicant and Chief Financial Officer shall follow the following closeout procedures for all deposits and escrow accounts established herein. Said procedures shall commence after the approving authority has granted final approval of the development application, including completion of all conditions of said approval, and/or has signed the appropriate subdivision map or deed or after all of the improvements have been approved. The applicant shall send written notice by certified mail to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality and the approving board and to the relevant municipal professional that the application or the improvements, as the case may be, are completed. After receipt of such notice, the professional shall render a final bill to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality within 30 days and shall send a copy simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial Officer of the municipality shall render a written final accounting to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit has been put within 45 days of the receipt of the final bill. Any balances remaining in the deposit or escrow account, including interest, shall be refunded to the applicant along with the final accounting.

C. All professional charges for review of the application for development, review and preparation of documents or inspection of improvements shall be reasonable and necessary, given the status and progress of the application or construction review. Fees shall be charged only in connection with the application for development presently pending before the approving authority or upon review of compliance with conditions of approval or review of requests of modifications or amendments made by the applicant. The professionals shall not review items which are subject to approval by any state governmental agency and not under municipal jurisdiction, except to the extent consultation with the state agency is necessary due to the effect of state approvals on the subdivision or site plan. Inspection fees shall be charged only for actual work shown on a subdivision or site plan or required by an approving resolution. Professionals inspecting improvements under construction shall charge only for inspections that are reasonably necessary to check the progress and quality of the work, and such inspections shall be reasonably based on the approved development plans and documents.

D. If the municipality retains a different professional or consultant in the place of the professional originally responsible for development, application review or inspection of improvements, the municipality or approving board shall be responsible for all time and expenses of the new professional to become familiar with the application of the project, and the municipality or approving board shall not bill the applicant or charge the deposit or the escrow account for any such services.