§ 656 — Submission of question; adoption; effect

§ 656. Submission of question; adoption; effect. 1. The board of\nelections shall cause such question to be submitted to the electors of\nthe county in the manner provided in the election law. The provisions of\nsection one hundred two of the county law, so far as applicable, shall\napply also to the manner of submission of questions under the provisions\nof this chapter.\n 2. No alternative form of county government or variation thereof shall\nbecome operative in a county unless adopted by receiving a majority (a)\nof the total votes cast thereon in the county at large, (b) of the total\nvotes cast thereon within the area outside of cities, and (c) of the\ntotal votes cast thereon within the area of any cities in the county\nconsidered as one unit. The disapproval of any question proposing a\nvariation shall not otherwise affect or invalidate an alternative form\nof county government approved at the same election. The approval of any\nquestion proposing a variation of a form of government not already in\neffect at the time of submission shall be of no effect unless the\nalternative form of government is also approved at the same election.\n 3. If any such form of government provides for the transfer of any\nfunctions of local government to or from the cities, the towns or the\nvillages of the county, the alternative form of county government\nproposed shall not take effect with respect to such transfer unless the\ntransfer or the form of government containing it shall also receive a\nmajority of all the votes cast thereon in all the cities so affected\nconsidered as one unit, in all the towns so affected considered as one\nunit, and in all the villages so affected considered as one unit.\n 4. Any alternative form of county government adopted by a county under\nthis chapter shall take effect on the first day of January next\nsucceeding its adoption, except as provided in subdivision five and\nexcept that the county president form of county government shall take\neffect on the first day of January of the second year after its adoption\nand the first county president shall be elected at the next general\nelection following the adoption for a term beginning when the county\npresident form takes effect. All provisions of the election law\napplicable to the nomination and election of other county officers shall\napply also to the nomination and election of the county president.\n 5. Any modification of an existing form shall take effect on the first\nday of January next succeeding its adoption, except that a modification\nmaking an appointive officer elective shall take effect as to the\nelection at the next general election after its adoption and the officer\nthen elected shall take office on the first day of January thereafter.\nAny change to another form of government or abandonment of an existing\nform shall take effect on the first day of January of the second year\nafter its adoption. Any new elective officers required by such change or\nabandonment shall be elected at the general election next preceding the\ntaking effect of the new form of government.\n 6. Variations which are inconsistent shall not be submitted at the\nsame election. Should two or more inconsistent variations be proposed,\nthe variation first proposed shall have preference and shall be first\nsubmitted to the electors of the county for approval or disapproval.\nThe other shall be submitted to the electors at subsequent general\nelections occurring in an odd-numbered year, in the order of their\nfiling, but only if the inconsistent variation or variations previously\nsubmitted have been disapproved or if initiated by a new petition or\nresolution.\n