N.Y. Alternative County Government Law § 553: Transfer of functions from units of local government

§ 553. Transfer of functions from units of local government. 1. A

petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative form of county

government, for the modification of an alternative form previously

adopted or for a change from one such form to another may provide for

the transfer of any of the following functions, powers and duties of

units of local government within the county to the county or from one

kind of unit of local government within the county to another:

(a) From the towns to the county:

(1) Assessment of property.

(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.

(3) Maintenance and construction of town highways and bridges.

(b) From the villages to the county:

(1) Assessment of property.

(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.

(3) Maintenance and construction of village highways and bridges,

provided that the similar function has been, or is simultaneously being

proposed to be, transferred from the towns to the county. If such a

transfer from the towns, simultaneously submitted, is not approved, any

approval of such a transfer from the villages shall be of no effect.

(c) From the cities to the county:

(1) Assessment of property.

(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.

(3) Maintenance and construction of city highways and bridges,

provided that the similar function has been, or is simultaneously being

proposed to be, transferred from the towns and villages, if any, to the

county. If such a transfer from the towns or villages, simultaneously

submitted, is not approved, any approval of such a transfer from the

cities shall be of no effect.

(d) From the school district to the county:

(1) Collection of school taxes.

(e) From the villages to the towns:

(1) Assessment of property.

(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.

(3) Maintenance and construction of village highways and bridges.

(f) From school districts to the towns and cities, if any:

(1) Collection of school taxes.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the transfer of

functions by other methods when authorized by other provisions of law.

2. If the petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative

form of county government or for the modification or change of an

alternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from

any or all of the units of local government to the county, of:

(a) The functions thereof in relation to the assessment of property,

such functions shall be exercised in the manner provided in section five

hundred fifty.

(b) The functions thereof in relation to the collection of taxes and

special assessments, such functions shall be exercised in the manner

provided in section five hundred fifty-one.

(c) The functions thereof in relation to the maintenance and

construction of highways and bridges, such functions shall be exercised

in the manner provided in section three hundred fifty-one, except that

in a county having the county administrative form of county government

such functions shall be exercised by the county superintendent of public

works.

3. If the petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative

form of county government or for the modification or change of an

alternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from

the villages to the towns, of:

(a) The functions thereof in relation to the assessment of property,

the assessors of each town shall annually, but not later than the first

day of October, certify and file in the office of the village clerk of

each village wholly or partly contained in such town, one copy of the

assessment-roll of the town filed in the office of the town clerk,

pursuant to section twenty-nine of the tax law, in so far as the same

shall relate to property contained within the corporate limits of such

village. The assessment-roll so filed in the office of the village clerk

shall constitute the assessment-roll of the village or part thereof

within the town, and the office of assessor in such village shall be

abolished, unless the village is partly within another county in which

the function of assessment of property has not been transferred to the

towns, in which case the village assessor shall continue to perform his

duties for the part of the village within the other county.

(b) The functions thereof in relation to the collection of taxes and

special assessments, the board of trustees of each village wholly or

partly within the county shall annually issue to the receiver of taxes

and assessments, the tax collector or the town clerk, as the case may

be, of each town within the county which contains any part of such

village, a warrant for the collection of the village taxes and

assessments for property within such town, and such officer shall have

all the powers and be subject to all the duties of a village treasurer

or other village officer charged with the duty of collecting taxes and

special assessments for such village or part thereof within such town.

4. If the petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative

form of county government or for the modification or change of an

alternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from

the school districts to the towns and cities, if any, of the functions

thereof in relation to the collection of school taxes, the collector of

each town or the town clerk of a town in which the office of collector

has been abolished pursuant to section thirty-six of the town law, and

the tax collecting official of each city within the county, shall have

and possess and exercise in the manner and within the time prescribed by

law all the rights, powers and authority possessed and exercised by the

school district collectors in such town or city and it shall be his duty

to receive and collect all school taxes and all other moneys provided by

law to be paid to the school district collector. If the school district

shall include territory in two or more towns or in one or more towns and

a city, the board of education or trustee or trustees of such district

shall divide the tax roll of such school district so as to set forth

separately that portion of the district contained in each town or city

and shall deliver to the collector or town clerk or city collecting

official, as the case may be, the portion of the tax roll which includes

the property of the district contained in the town or city for which he

collects taxes and a warrant for the collection of the taxes levied

thereon. All school district moneys collected shall be deposited to the

credit of the school district in such bank or banks as may be designated

from time to time by the board of education or trustee or trustees of

the school district. Whenever the function of collecting school taxes

shall be transferred to a town or city, the undertaking of the town

collector or town clerk or city collecting official, as the case may be,

shall be further conditioned that he will well and truly keep, pay over

and account for all school district taxes and such undertaking shall be

in lieu of any other bond or undertaking otherwise required by law in

the collection of such school district taxes and the proper accounting

therefor, and the trustees of every school district for which such town

collector or town clerk or city collecting official shall act as

collector shall have and may exercise the same powers and remedies with

respect to such undertaking as is given them with respect to the

official bond of the collector by the provisions of article forty-three

of the education law or by the provisions of any other general or

special law.

5. If any alternative form of government or the modification or change

of such form shall be adopted which provides for the transfer of all of

the functions of any officer, office, department or agency of any unit

of local government to the county or to another unit of local

government, such officer, office, department or agency shall be

abolished, except that no such transfer shall have the effect of

shortening the term of office of the incumbent of any elective office,

but any such incumbent, at the time such new form of government becomes

effective, shall turn over all books, records and other papers

pertaining to the conduct of his office to the department, office or

agency which succeeds to such powers and duties. Any such incumbent,

until the end of his term, shall serve in an advisory capacity to the

department, office or agency to which the powers and duties of his

office have been transferred, except that the county executive, if the

functions have been transferred to the county, or the board of trustees,

common council or other elective governing body of the town, village or

city, if the functions have been transferred to such town, village or

city, may require any such incumbent to continue the active performance

of his powers and duties for any period within the term for which he was

elected and until such county executive or elective governing body shall

direct the transfer of the records of the office. Any officer whose

powers and duties are transferred as in this section provided shall be

compensated in an amount to be fixed by the county executive with the

approval of the board of supervisors, or the elective governing body of

the town, village or city, as the case may be, during the remainder of

his term.

6. In the event of the transfer of a function from a unit of local

government to the county, or from one unit of local government to

another, the cost of the performance of such function by the transferee

shall be paid in the first instance by the transferee from current funds

but be a charge against the transferor, to be audited and paid in the

same manner as other charges against the transferor, except that if any

function performed by a transferee shall be of general benefit

throughout the entire territory of such transferee the costs thereof may

be provided by a tax upon all of the property within the boundaries of

the transferee.

7. If the petition or resolution pursuant to which an alternative form

of government or modification or change is adopted shall so provide, the

cost to the transferor of the performance of any function in any cases

where functions are transferred pursuant to such petition or resolution,

shall be determined on the basis of a contract to be entered into

between the transferor and the transferee. The amount agreed upon under

any such contract shall be raised by taxation upon the property of the

transferor in the same manner as taxes were raised for the cost of such

function prior to the transfer.

8. In any case where there shall have been a transfer of a function

pursuant to this section, any outstanding indebtedness against the

transferor existing at the time of the transfer shall not be affected by

the transfer but shall continue to be raised by tax and paid in the same

manner as if the transfer had not been effected.