An applicant shall notify in writing the governing body with copies to the Chief Financial Officer, the approving authority and the professional whenever the applicant disputes the charges made by a professional for service rendered to the Municipality in reviewing applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements, or other charges.

The Township Engineer, as the designee of the governing body, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.2a, shall within 45 days, if the applicant has received an informational copy of the professional's voucher or 60 days, if the applicant has received the municipal statement of activity against his deposit or escrow account, attempt to remediate any disputed charges. The parties to remediation before the Planning Board shall be the applicant and the municipal professional or consultant. If the applicant and the Planning Board agree as to disputed amounts, the amount that they agree upon shall be considered a settlement of the dispute and the consultant shall receive the settlement amount. The settlement amount shall be disbursed by the Chief Financial Officer after the Planning Board notifies him of the settlement. The time frame for filing an appeal with the County Construction Board of Appeals as set forth in paragraph C of this subsection shall not be stayed notwithstanding any remediation procedure which takes place between the parties.

If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of the applicant, the applicant may appeal to the County Construction Board of Appeals within 45 days of receiving a copy of the professional's voucher, or within 60 days of receiving a municipal statement of activity against his deposit or escrow account, any charge to an escrow account, or a deposit by any municipal professional or consultant, or the cost of the installation of improvements estimated by the Municipal Engineer.

An applicant shall submit the appeal in writing to the County Construction Board of Appeals. The applicant or his authorized agent shall simultaneously send a copy of the appeal to the Municipality, approving authority, and any professional whose charge is the subject of the appeal.

An applicant shall file an appeal in writing with the County Construction Board of Appeals within 45 days from receipt of the informational copy of the professional's voucher, except that if the professional has not supplied the applicant with an informational copy of the voucher, then the applicant shall file his appeal within 60 days from receipt of the municipal statement of activity against the deposit or escrow account.

An applicant may file an appeal for an ongoing series of charges by a professional during a period not exceeding six months to demonstrate that they represent a pattern of excessive or inaccurate charges. An applicant need not appeal each charge individually.