S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8859
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
June 11, 2009
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Introduced by M. of A. FIELDS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, the town law, the village law
and the local finance law, in relation to consolidating or dissolving
fire or ambulance districts
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 13 of section 750 of the general municipal
law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2009, amending the general
municipal law and other laws relating to the requirements for consol-
idating or dissolving certain local government entities, as proposed in
legislative bills numbers S. 5661 and A. 8501, is amended to read as
follows:
13. "Local government entity" or "entity" shall mean a town, village,
district, special improvement district or other improvement district,
including, but not limited to, special districts created pursuant to
articles [eleven,] twelve, twelve-A or thirteen of the town law, library
districts, and other districts created by law; provided, however, that a
local government entity shall not include school districts, city
districts, FIRE DISTRICTS, AMBULANCE DISTRICTS or special purpose
districts created by counties under county law.
S 2. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 174 of the town law, as amended
by a chapter of the laws of 2009, amending the town law and other laws
relating to the requirements for consolidating or dissolving certain
local government entities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
5661 and A. 8501, are amended to read as follows:
1. (A) Whenever a fire district shall be established, within ten days
thereafter the town board of the town in which such district is located
or, in the case of a district including territory in two or more towns,
the town boards of such towns acting jointly by a majority vote of the
members of each of such town boards, shall appoint five fire district
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14251-01-9
A. 8859 2
commissioners and a treasurer for such district who shall hold their
respective offices until the thirty-first day of December next succeed-
ing; provided, however, that if such district be established subsequent
to the first day of October in any year, the officers so appointed by
the town board shall hold office until the thirty-first day of December
of the next succeeding calendar year. A person so appointed as fire
district commissioner shall not serve as chief or assistant chief of the
fire district fire department after taking his oath of office as such
commissioner and during the time he serves as such commissioner pursuant
to such appointment. The town clerk shall immediately notify the
appointees of their appointment and of the time and place which he shall
fix for the organization meeting of the board of fire commissioners,
which meeting shall be held not later than ten days after the appoint-
ment of said officers. At such organization meeting, the treasurer shall
preside until such time as a chairman of the board of fire commissioners
shall be chosen, but such treasurer shall not be entitled to a vote at
such meeting. The board of fire commissioners shall appoint a secretary
who shall hold office until the thirty-first day of December following
the first election of fire district officers.
(B) WHENEVER TWO OR MORE FIRE DISTRICTS SHALL HAVE BEEN CONSOLIDATED,
PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE, THE SEVERAL COMMISSIONERS OF EACH OF SUCH
DISTRICTS SHALL CONSTITUTE THE BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS THEREOF AND
THE SEVERAL TREASURERS OF SUCH DISTRICTS SHALL SERVE JOINTLY AS THE
TREASURERS OF SUCH CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT, UNTIL THE THIRTY-FIRST DAY OF
DECEMBER NEXT SUCCEEDING THE FIRST ELECTION OF FIRE DISTRICT COMMISSION-
ERS AND A TREASURER FOR SUCH CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT, HELD PURSUANT TO
SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION. THE TERMS OF OFFICE OF SUCH FIRE
DISTRICT OFFICERS OF THE SEVERAL DISTRICTS SO CONSOLIDATED SHALL TERMI-
NATE ON SAID THIRTY-FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER NEXT SUCCEEDING SUCH ELECTION.
2. The first election of fire district officers shall be held on the
second Tuesday in December next succeeding the establishment or consol-
idation of such fire district; provided, however, that if such district
be established OR CONSOLIDATED at a time subsequent to the first day of
October in any year, the first election of fire district officers shall
be held on the second Tuesday in the month of December of the next
succeeding calendar year. At the first annual election of fire district
officers, five district commissioners shall be elected and a treasurer.
The person receiving the greatest number of votes for the office of fire
commissioner shall be elected for a term of five years; the person
receiving the second highest number of votes shall be elected for a term
of four years; the person receiving the third highest number of votes
shall be elected for a term of three years; the person receiving the
fourth highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years
and the person receiving the fifth highest number of votes shall be
elected for a term of one year. In the event that two persons shall
receive the same number of votes the terms of office shall be decided by
lot. At each subsequent election of fire district officers a commission-
er shall be elected for the full term of five years. In the event that
two or more persons receive the same number of votes thereat, a special
election between the tying parties receiving the highest number of votes
to fill the vacancy shall be held within forty-five days after such
election. The fire district treasurer shall be elected for a term of
three years. The fire district secretary shall be appointed by the fire
district commissioners and shall serve for a period of one year. The
fire district secretary in office at the time such election is held
shall immediately notify the officers elected of their election and that
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an organization meeting will be held on the day specified in said
notice, which shall not be later than the fifteenth day of January next
ensuing. At such organization meeting, the treasurer shall preside until
such time as a chairman of the board of fire commissioners shall be
chosen, but such treasurer shall not be entitled to a vote at such meet-
ing.
S 3. Subdivision 1 of section 176 of the town law, as amended by a
chapter of the laws of 2009, amending the town law and other laws relat-
ing to the requirements for consolidating or dissolving certain local
government entities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5661
and A. 8501, is amended to read as follows:
1. Shall elect one of their members as chairman at the first meeting
of fire commissioners after such district shall have been established OR
CONSOLIDATED and annually thereafter at the first meeting thereof
following each election of fire district officers. Such chairman, when
present, shall preside at the meetings of the board of fire commission-
ers. In the absence of the chairman the other members may designate one
of their members to act as temporary chairman.
S 4. Section 189-e of the town law, as amended by a chapter of the
laws of 2009, amending the town law and other laws relating to the
requirements for consolidating or dissolving certain local government
entities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5661 and A. 8501,
is amended to read as follows:
S 189-e. Management of affairs of joint fire districts. Subject to the
restrictions hereinafter established, the property and affairs of joint
fire districts shall be under the management and control and in charge
of a board of not less than three and not more than seven commissioners,
appointed by the town board of the town or the town boards of the towns
and the board of trustees of the village or the boards of trustees of
the villages in joint session as hereinafter provided, or elected as
provided in article eleven of this chapter, as may be determined by
resolution adopted at the meeting for the establishment of the district
in the same manner as the resolution for the establishment of the
district is adopted[; or as may be determined by a joint consolidation
agreement or elector initiated consolidation plan in accordance with
article seventeen-A of the general municipal law]. In case it is deter-
mined that the commissioners shall be selected in the manner provided by
article eleven of this chapter, the appointments as provided for in
subdivision one of section one hundred seventy-four of this chapter
shall be made by the town board, or, if the district includes territory
in more than one town, by the town board of all of the towns at a joint
session held at one location within the district and thereafter
elections shall be held as provided in article eleven of this chapter
except that the terms of the commissioners shall be as hereinafter
provided. They shall be residents of such district and in case selection
is made as provided in article eleven of this chapter there shall be no
other residential requirement, but otherwise if there are an even number
of commissioners not more than half at any time shall be residents of
such village or villages and if there are an odd number, the number that
are residents of such village or villages shall not exceed the number
that are residents of such town or towns by more than one. First
appointments hereunder shall be made in the following manner: If there
be three commissioners, the term of one shall expire one year, of anoth-
er two years and of the other three years from the then next ensuing
thirty-first day of December, and thereafter one shall be appointed
annually for a term of three years from the date of the expiration of
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the term of his predecessor. If there be four commissioners, the term of
one shall expire one year, of another two years, of another three years,
and of the other four years from the then next ensuing thirty-first day
of December, and thereafter one shall be appointed annually for a term
of four years from the date of the expiration of the term of his prede-
cessor. If there be five commissioners, the term of one shall expire one
year, of another two years, of another three years, of another four
years, and of the other five years from the then next ensuing thirty-
first day of December, and thereafter one shall be appointed annually
for a term of five years from the date of the expiration of a term of
his predecessor. If there be six commissioners, the term of one shall
expire one year, of another two years, of another three years, of anoth-
er four years, and of the remaining two, five years from the then next
ensuing thirty-first day of December, and thereafter appointments shall
be made for a term of five years from the date of the expiration of the
term of each commissioner. If there be seven commissioners, the term of
one shall expire one year, of another two years, of another three years,
and of two of the others four years, and of the remaining two, five
years from the then next ensuing thirty-first day of December, and ther-
eafter appointments shall be made for a term of five years from the date
of the expiration of the term of each commissioner. Such board of
commissioners may employ necessary labor and assistants, at a compen-
sation approved by such boards in joint session. Such commissioners
shall receive no compensation for their services, but they and their
employees shall be allowed and paid their necessary expenses, payable as
expenses of the district.
S 5. Subdivision 2-a of section 2-254 of the village law, as amended
by a chapter of the laws of 2009, amending the village law and other
laws relating to the requirements for consolidating or dissolving
certain local government entities, as proposed in legislative bills
numbers S. 5661 and A. 8501, is amended to read as follows:
2-a. If the limits of a village incorporated prior to the first day of
April, nineteen hundred sixty-five are coterminous with the limits of,
or wholly include the territory of, a district, the board of trustees of
the village, by local law [or pursuant to the provisions of article
seventeen-A of the general municipal law], may abolish any such
district. In addition to any other notice required in connection with
the adoption of such local law generally, thirty days' written notice of
the hearing to be held in connection with such local law shall be given
to the governing body of any such district and to the town clerk. A
certified copy of any such local law shall be served upon or mailed to
such governing body and clerk within five days following the adoption
thereof. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the powers and
duties of the governing body of a district so abolished and of all the
officers of the district in connection therewith shall cease and deter-
mine upon the effective date of such local law and any board of commis-
sioners, any office of commissioner and any other office of any such
district shall also cease to exist at such time. No such local law shall
become effective except on the last day of a fiscal year of the town or
district, as the case may be.
S 6. Subdivision 21-a of section 2.00 of the local finance law, as
amended by a chapter of the laws of 2009, amending the local finance law
relating to the requirements for consolidating or dissolving certain
local government entities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
5661 and A. 8501, is amended to read as follows:
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21-a. The term "full valuation", when used in relation to real proper-
ty subject to taxation by a fire district, shall mean the valuation
which is derived by dividing the assessed valuation of the real property
concerned, as shown by the last completed assessment roll for the fire
district, by the town equalization rate established by the authorized
state officer or agency for such roll. Where, in the case of a newly-
created fire district, there is no completed assessment roll for such
fire district, full valuation shall be determined from the last
completed assessment roll upon which the real property included within
the district was assessed for town purposes prior to such creation.
Where, after the boundaries of a fire district shall have been changed
so that real property subject to taxation for fire district purposes
shall have been thereby added to or subtracted from the area of the fire
district, there is no completed assessment roll for the fire district as
so changed, full valuation shall be determined from the last completed
assessment roll upon which the real property included in the fire
district after such change was assessed prior to such change for town or
fire district purposes, as the case may be. For the purpose of contract-
ing indebtedness or for the purpose of preparing debt statements, the
assessment rolls referred to in this subdivision shall mean such assess-
ment rolls as completed, verified and filed by the assessors. Where two
or more fire districts consolidate to form one fire district PURSUANT TO
SECTION ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO OF THE TOWN LAW, the consolidated fire
district, for the purpose of this subdivision, shall not be deemed a
newly-created fire district, but shall be deemed an existing fire
district and its full valuation shall be determined accordingly.
S 7. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 5 of the general
construction law, the provisions of sections 172, 172-b, 172-d, 185, and
189-c of the town law shall be revived and be read as such provisions
existed in law on the date immediately preceding the effective date of
the chapter of the laws of 2009 amending the town law relating to the
requirements for consolidating or dissolving certain local government
entities as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5661 and A. 8501
repealing such sections.
S 8. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
manner as a chapter of the laws of 2009, amending the general municipal
law and other laws relating to the requirements for consolidating or
dissolving certain local government entities, as proposed in legislative
bills numbers S. 5661 and A. 8501, takes effect.