§ 553 — Transfer of functions from units of local government

§ 553. Transfer of functions from units of local government. 1. A\npetition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative form of county\ngovernment, for the modification of an alternative form previously\nadopted or for a change from one such form to another may provide for\nthe transfer of any of the following functions, powers and duties of\nunits of local government within the county to the county or from one\nkind of unit of local government within the county to another:\n (a) From the towns to the county:\n (1) Assessment of property.\n (2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.\n (3) Maintenance and construction of town highways and bridges.\n (b) From the villages to the county:\n (1) Assessment of property.\n (2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.\n (3) Maintenance and construction of village highways and bridges,\nprovided that the similar function has been, or is simultaneously being\nproposed to be, transferred from the towns to the county. If such a\ntransfer from the towns, simultaneously submitted, is not approved, any\napproval of such a transfer from the villages shall be of no effect.\n (c) From the cities to the county:\n (1) Assessment of property.\n (2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.\n (3) Maintenance and construction of city highways and bridges,\nprovided that the similar function has been, or is simultaneously being\nproposed to be, transferred from the towns and villages, if any, to the\ncounty. If such a transfer from the towns or villages, simultaneously\nsubmitted, is not approved, any approval of such a transfer from the\ncities shall be of no effect.\n (d) From the school district to the county:\n (1) Collection of school taxes.\n (e) From the villages to the towns:\n (1) Assessment of property.\n (2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.\n (3) Maintenance and construction of village highways and bridges.\n (f) From school districts to the towns and cities, if any:\n (1) Collection of school taxes.\n Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the transfer of\nfunctions by other methods when authorized by other provisions of law.\n 2. If the petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative\nform of county government or for the modification or change of an\nalternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from\nany or all of the units of local government to the county, of:\n (a) The functions thereof in relation to the assessment of property,\nsuch functions shall be exercised in the manner provided in section five\nhundred fifty.\n (b) The functions thereof in relation to the collection of taxes and\nspecial assessments, such functions shall be exercised in the manner\nprovided in section five hundred fifty-one.\n (c) The functions thereof in relation to the maintenance and\nconstruction of highways and bridges, such functions shall be exercised\nin the manner provided in section three hundred fifty-one, except that\nin a county having the county administrative form of county government\nsuch functions shall be exercised by the county superintendent of public\nworks.\n 3. If the petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative\nform of county government or for the modification or change of an\nalternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from\nthe villages to the towns, of:\n (a) The functions thereof in relation to the assessment of property,\nthe assessors of each town shall annually, but not later than the first\nday of October, certify and file in the office of the village clerk of\neach village wholly or partly contained in such town, one copy of the\nassessment-roll of the town filed in the office of the town clerk,\npursuant to section twenty-nine of the tax law, in so far as the same\nshall relate to property contained within the corporate limits of such\nvillage. The assessment-roll so filed in the office of the village clerk\nshall constitute the assessment-roll of the village or part thereof\nwithin the town, and the office of assessor in such village shall be\nabolished, unless the village is partly within another county in which\nthe function of assessment of property has not been transferred to the\ntowns, in which case the village assessor shall continue to perform his\nduties for the part of the village within the other county.\n (b) The functions thereof in relation to the collection of taxes and\nspecial assessments, the board of trustees of each village wholly or\npartly within the county shall annually issue to the receiver of taxes\nand assessments, the tax collector or the town clerk, as the case may\nbe, of each town within the county which contains any part of such\nvillage, a warrant for the collection of the village taxes and\nassessments for property within such town, and such officer shall have\nall the powers and be subject to all the duties of a village treasurer\nor other village officer charged with the duty of collecting taxes and\nspecial assessments for such village or part thereof within such town.\n 4. If the petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative\nform of county government or for the modification or change of an\nalternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from\nthe school districts to the towns and cities, if any, of the functions\nthereof in relation to the collection of school taxes, the collector of\neach town or the town clerk of a town in which the office of collector\nhas been abolished pursuant to section thirty-six of the town law, and\nthe tax collecting official of each city within the county, shall have\nand possess and exercise in the manner and within the time prescribed by\nlaw all the rights, powers and authority possessed and exercised by the\nschool district collectors in such town or city and it shall be his duty\nto receive and collect all school taxes and all other moneys provided by\nlaw to be paid to the school district collector. If the school district\nshall include territory in two or more towns or in one or more towns and\na city, the board of education or trustee or trustees of such district\nshall divide the tax roll of such school district so as to set forth\nseparately that portion of the district contained in each town or city\nand shall deliver to the collector or town clerk or city collecting\nofficial, as the case may be, the portion of the tax roll which includes\nthe property of the district contained in the town or city for which he\ncollects taxes and a warrant for the collection of the taxes levied\nthereon. All school district moneys collected shall be deposited to the\ncredit of the school district in such bank or banks as may be designated\nfrom time to time by the board of education or trustee or trustees of\nthe school district. Whenever the function of collecting school taxes\nshall be transferred to a town or city, the undertaking of the town\ncollector or town clerk or city collecting official, as the case may be,\nshall be further conditioned that he will well and truly keep, pay over\nand account for all school district taxes and such undertaking shall be\nin lieu of any other bond or undertaking otherwise required by law in\nthe collection of such school district taxes and the proper accounting\ntherefor, and the trustees of every school district for which such town\ncollector or town clerk or city collecting official shall act as\ncollector shall have and may exercise the same powers and remedies with\nrespect to such undertaking as is given them with respect to the\nofficial bond of the collector by the provisions of article forty-three\nof the education law or by the provisions of any other general or\nspecial law.\n 5. If any alternative form of government or the modification or change\nof such form shall be adopted which provides for the transfer of all of\nthe functions of any officer, office, department or agency of any unit\nof local government to the county or to another unit of local\ngovernment, such officer, office, department or agency shall be\nabolished, except that no such transfer shall have the effect of\nshortening the term of office of the incumbent of any elective office,\nbut any such incumbent, at the time such new form of government becomes\neffective, shall turn over all books, records and other papers\npertaining to the conduct of his office to the department, office or\nagency which succeeds to such powers and duties. Any such incumbent,\nuntil the end of his term, shall serve in an advisory capacity to the\ndepartment, office or agency to which the powers and duties of his\noffice have been transferred, except that the county executive, if the\nfunctions have been transferred to the county, or the board of trustees,\ncommon council or other elective governing body of the town, village or\ncity, if the functions have been transferred to such town, village or\ncity, may require any such incumbent to continue the active performance\nof his powers and duties for any period within the term for which he was\nelected and until such county executive or elective governing body shall\ndirect the transfer of the records of the office. Any officer whose\npowers and duties are transferred as in this section provided shall be\ncompensated in an amount to be fixed by the county executive with the\napproval of the board of supervisors, or the elective governing body of\nthe town, village or city, as the case may be, during the remainder of\nhis term.\n 6. In the event of the transfer of a function from a unit of local\ngovernment to the county, or from one unit of local government to\nanother, the cost of the performance of such function by the transferee\nshall be paid in the first instance by the transferee from current funds\nbut be a charge against the transferor, to be audited and paid in the\nsame manner as other charges against the transferor, except that if any\nfunction performed by a transferee shall be of general benefit\nthroughout the entire territory of such transferee the costs thereof may\nbe provided by a tax upon all of the property within the boundaries of\nthe transferee.\n 7. If the petition or resolution pursuant to which an alternative form\nof government or modification or change is adopted shall so provide, the\ncost to the transferor of the performance of any function in any cases\nwhere functions are transferred pursuant to such petition or resolution,\nshall be determined on the basis of a contract to be entered into\nbetween the transferor and the transferee. The amount agreed upon under\nany such contract shall be raised by taxation upon the property of the\ntransferor in the same manner as taxes were raised for the cost of such\nfunction prior to the transfer.\n 8. In any case where there shall have been a transfer of a function\npursuant to this section, any outstanding indebtedness against the\ntransferor existing at the time of the transfer shall not be affected by\nthe transfer but shall continue to be raised by tax and paid in the same\nmanner as if the transfer had not been effected.\n