ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS OF THE STATE OF NEW …

1 ASSOCIATION OF TOWNSOF THE STATE OF NEW YORKTOWN LAW MANUALFor town Supervisors and town BoardsFOREWORDThis publication was initially prepared and distributed in 1962. A second edition wasissued in 1972, and it was periodically updated through the preparation of supplements inthe intervening years until the present. The preparation of this manual has been a largetask in which ASSOCIATION Staff both past and present played a part. Much additionalmaterial and sample forms have been included so as to make it as complete and useful forTown Supervisors and town Boards as to many of the problems Supervisors and town Boards face on a daily basis arecovered in the pages of this manual. town Supervisors and board members have beengiven important powers and responsibilities. Those responsibilities have increased overthe years as the issues and problems facing our society have grown more complex. Givensome of the more difficult and unusual problems that surface every day, further study andresearch will be necessary and the advice of a competent municipal attorney may manual, as with all publications prepared by the ASSOCIATION for town officers, istown property.

2 It should be passed on to one's successor in office. The cost for thispublication is paid for out of dues each town pays to belong to the ASSOCIATION of materials in this manual have been obtained from speeches, articles andpublications of several New York STATE agencies and departments, and we wish to expressour genuine thanks for the assistance gained from these sources. We particularly wish toacknowledge the work product of the Office of the STATE Comptroller and the Division ofRegulatory Affairs in the Department of Environmental of the principal services of the ASSOCIATION of TOWNS is to answer inquiries fromofficials and our member TOWNS . We are proud of that service and we hope that thismanual will encourage town officers to continue to count on us in solving problems ofconcern to individual member Jeffrey Haber, Executive DirectorJanuary 2004(518) 465 - 7933_____TOWN LAW MANUALC hapter 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS 1-1. Distribution of counties, TOWNS and New York STATE , outside of the City of New York, there are 57 counties.

3 All of theterritory within each of these counties is made up of either TOWNS or cities. There are 932towns in the STATE . Some counties contain as few as three TOWNS ; others, as many as 433 of these TOWNS , there are located one or more villages. There are 556 villagesin the STATE . This means that there are 499 TOWNS which contain no villages. 1-2. Purpose and responsibilities of , TOWNS existed as an arm of the STATE for the purpose of accomplishinglocally, and more conveniently, certain functions of the STATE for the benefit of all itscitizens. TOWNS still continue to perform certain functions for the STATE , such as conductof elections and the keeping of vital statistics. With the growth of TOWNS and consistentwith the needs and demands of their residents for new and expanded local governmentservices, the Legislature recognized the necessity for conferring additional powers ontown governments. These new and expanded powers have allowed TOWNS to meet theservice delivery requirements expected of them more effectively and with greaterefficiency.

4 1-3. Evolution of are no longer merely political subdivisions of the STATE . They have assumedthe character and capacity of responsible municipal corporations. They are defined in theMunicipal Home Rule Law as one of the four classifications of the STATE 's general purposelocal governments along with counties, cities and villages. Today, it is in the 932 townsof the STATE that nearly 75% of New York STATE 's entire population outside of New YorkCity resides; 45% of the STATE 's population as a whole. The combined population of all ofthe other 61 cities of the STATE is less than 2,000,000 people, or only about 12% of theentire STATE population. In other words, the population of New York STATE TOWNS is almostfour times that of the 61 the more than million people now residing in TOWNS , 2,000,000 camebetween 1950 and 1960, creating a severe challenge for town boards in supplying thesenew residents with the municipal services they needed -- water, sewers, drainage, police,recreation and so on.

5 But our TOWNS met the challenge. A new procedure to initiate theformation and extension of town improvement districts by town board resolution insteadof by the clumsy petition method was developed by the staff of the ASSOCIATION . Thishelped TOWNS substantially in meeting the demands of their new population. The processwas further streamlined in 1995 with a reduction in the STATE Comptroller's involvementin special district formation and extension. Then in the decade 1960-1970, millionmore people moved to our TOWNS . The 1980 and 1990 Censuses showed another 772,000new town residents. And in 2000, a increase meant another 412,000 people, for atotal growth of more than million people, more than doubling town population injust 50 years. The growth rates in town -outside-village areas are even population of the TOWNS of our STATE is greater than the combined populationof Wyoming, Vermont, Rhode Island, North and South Dakota, New Hampshire,Montana, Idaho and Delaware.

6 As a matter of fact, only seven states have populationsgreater than that of the TOWNS of New York STATE -- California, Florida, Illinois, Ohio,Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas. But it is broadly recognized that TOWNS have acquittedthemselves admirably -- that the town form of local government is one that functionswell, is efficient and economical. TOWNS have met their massive growth problemswithout allowing that increase to affect the quality of life which has attracted so 2 CLASSES OF TOWNS 2-1. town defined; Law 2 defines a town as a "municipal corporation comprising the inhabitantswithin its boundaries, and formed for the purpose of exercising such powers anddischarging such duties of local government and administration of public affairs as havebeen, or, may be conferred or imposed upon it by law." Note additionally that under theMunicipal Home Rule Law, effective January 1, 1964, the powers of town boards in thearea of local legislation were vastly expanded.

7 (See also Chapter 6, town Legislation.) 2-2. Classes of town of the STATE is, by statutory definition, either a town of the first class ora town of the second class. They are divided into classes according to population asreflected by the latest federal decennial census. Certain TOWNS may optionally become"suburban TOWNS " (see 2-3C below). town which is not a town of the first class is a town of the second class. Inaddition, all TOWNS in Suffolk and Broome Counties, the town of Potsdam in County and the town of Ulster in Ulster County are defined as the enactment of the Home Rule Amendment to the New York StateConstitution and its implementation through the Municipal Home Rule Law, TOWNS nowhave the ability to use their local law powers to vary their structure so as to achieve themost effective and efficient administration possible. Thus, the classifications are not asimportant as they once were, nor do they any longer describe accurately the structure ofevery town within the class.

8 2-3. Change in change. TOWNS with a population of 10,000 or more and every town inWestchester County are TOWNS of the first class. When a federal decennial census showsthat the population of a town of the second class is over 10,000 people, its classificationautomatically changes to a town of the first class, and at the next biennial town election itmust elect the officers required to be elected in a town of the first class. This is referred toas a "mandatory" change of classification. The Secretary of STATE is required to obtainauthenticated statements of population from the proper federal authorities and file a copyof such statement with each town clerk of a town with a population of 5,000 or more asshown by such federal change.(1)Certain TOWNS of the second class are permitted to change their class to that of atown of the first class if so desired. This is referred to as an "optional" change inclassification. This can be done by a town of the second class whenever:(a)Its population reaches 5,000 or more (whether by special or decennial federalcensus); or(b)Its assessed valuation exceeds $10,000,000; or(c)It adjoins a city with a population of over 300,000.

9 (2)For those interested in pursuing this matter further to learn how the change isaccomplished, which officers must be elected in a town of the first class as opposed tothose required to be elected in a town of the second class, and for a discussion of thebasic differences between the two classes of TOWNS , see Exhibit A, which contains areview of these considerations, as well as pertinent statutory of classification to a suburban town .(1)The provisions of the Suburban town Law may be made applicable to a townwhich:(a)Has a population of at least 25,000; or(b)Has a population of at least 7,500 and is not more than 15 miles from a city havinga population of at least 100,000, measured from their respective nearest boundary lines;provided, however, that the population of such town increased at least 65% between 1940and 1960, or 40% between 1950 and 1960, as shown by the decennial federal census forsuch years.(2)Information is available at the office of the ASSOCIATION of TOWNS as to thetransition procedures in changing to a suburban town classification and describing theoperation of the town upon becoming a suburban town .

10 This information has beendropped in this revised edition of the town Law Manual. With the enactment of theMunicipal Home Rule Law, there would seem to be no particular advantage to any townbecoming a suburban town as such. As noted previously, all TOWNS , regardless of size orclassification, possess home rule local law powers which permit restructuring at localoption, regardless of size or 3 THE town board 3-1. General In the early days of this nation, many of the colonies established aform of government intimately conducted and controlled by the residents of the important decisions as to the government, taxes and other matters were actuallydecided at a meeting of the residents of the town , at which meeting a vote would be takento determine the proposal at issue. In some states this procedure is still followed. In NewYork STATE , our TOWNS have been organized with an elective legislative body, the townboard. In this legislative body is placed the responsibility for making the present-daydecisions.