§ 400 — Officers; manner of selection; term; vacancies

§ 400. Officers; manner of selection; term; vacancies. 1. Elective.\nThere shall be elected a sheriff, county clerk, district attorney and\ncounty treasurer. Except in the county of Lewis, coroners shall continue\nto be elected as now provided by law until the office is abolished or\nthe number is increased or diminished pursuant to the provisions of this\nchapter. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, the term of office\nof each such officer shall continue to be three years, except that the\nterms of office of sheriff, county clerk, county treasurer and coroner\nshall be four years from and including the first day of January next\nsucceeding his election. There shall be elected a county judge,\nsurrogate, and judge of the family court as now or hereafter provided by\nlaw. The term of office of each such judicial officer shall be ten years\nfrom and including the first day of January next succeeding his\nelection.\n 1-a. District attorney in counties outside of New York city. The term\nof office of the district attorney of each county outside of New York\ncity shall be for four years commencing on the first day of January\nfollowing the general election for district attorney in each respective\ncounty.\n 2. Coroners. At least one hundred fifty days prior to any general\nelection and subject to a permissive referendum, the board of\nsupervisors shall have power by local law to abolish the office of\ncoroner and create the office of medical examiner. The terms of office\nof all coroners elected or appointed and holding office in the county at\nthe time such local law becomes effective shall expire upon the\nappointment and qualification of the medical examiner and at the general\nelection to be held in such year and thereafter no coroners shall be\nelected in the county.\n 3. At least one hundred fifty days prior to any general election and\nsubject to a permissive referendum, the board of supervisors shall have\npower by local law to change the number of coroners to be elected to not\nless than one nor more than four. The board may divide the county into\ndistricts bounded by city or town lines and provide for the election of\none coroner in each district. The terms of office of all coroners\nelected or appointed and holding office in the county at the time such\nlocal law becomes effective shall expire on the December thirty-first\nfollowing. At the general election to be held in the year such local law\nbecomes effective, one or more coroners shall be elected in the county\nas provided by such local law.\n 3-a. Coroner in Lewis county. All the powers and duties of the office\nof coroner of the county of Lewis are hereby transferred to the office\nof district attorney of such county, and the district attorney of such\ncounty shall exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the\noffice of coroner of such county. The district attorney shall be\nentitled to such additional fees or compensation from the county for\nperformance of duties as coroner as shall be fixed by the board of\nsupervisors, and his reasonable and necessary expenses in the\nperformance of the duties of such office shall be a county charge. The\nprovisions of this section shall not have the effect under section ten\nof the municipal home rule law to permit any county, other than Lewis\ncounty as herein prescribed, to change, amend or supersede, by local\nlaw, any provisions of this chapter.\n 3-b. Coroner in Madison county. The office of coroner is hereby\nre-established in Madison county. All the powers and duties of the\noffice of coroner of the county of Madison are hereby transferred to the\noffice of district attorney of such county, and the district attorney of\nsuch county shall exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the\noffice of coroner of such county. The district attorney shall be\nentitled to such additional fees or compensation from the county for\nperformance of duties as coroner as shall be fixed by the board of\nsupervisors, and his reasonable and necessary expenses in the\nperformance of the duties of such office shall be a county charge. The\nprovisions of this section shall not have the effect under section ten\nof the municipal home rule law to permit any county, other than Madison\ncounty as herein prescribed, to change, amend or supersede, by local\nlaw, any provisions of this chapter.\n 4. (a) Appointive. There shall continue to be appointed in the manner\nprescribed by law a clerk of the board of supervisors, a county\nattorney, county superintendent of highways, sealer of weights and\nmeasures and county historian. The board of supervisors may by local law\nprovide for the appointment of additional county officers, define their\npowers and duties not inconsistent with law, and fix the term of their\noffice. No officer appointed for a fixed term shall be removed by the\nboard during his term without written charges and the opportunity to be\nheard.\n (b) The chief executive officer of a county public welfare department,\nwhether referred to as commissioner or by other title, shall be\nappointed in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred\nsixteen of the social welfare law.\n 4-a. Medical examiner. The board of supervisors in any county in which\nthe office of coroner is abolished shall appoint a medical examiner. A\ncertificate of such appointment shall be filed and recorded in the\noffice of the county clerk. The medical examiner, before entering upon\nthe duties of his office, shall take and file the prescribed oath of\noffice and furnish and file the required undertaking. The medical\nexaminer shall serve at the pleasure of the board of supervisors and his\nappointment may be revoked at any time by resolution of the board of\nsupervisors and the filing of a certificate of such revocation in the\noffice of the county clerk. The medical examiner shall be a resident of\nthe county and a physician duly licensed to practice his profession in\nthe state of New York and shall be a person determined by the board of\nsupervisors as qualified to perform an autopsy and dissect dead bodies\nof human beings.\n 4-b. Coroner's physician. Except in counties where the office of\ncoroner has been abolished, the board of supervisors may appoint one or\nmore coroner's physicians or may provide by local law for the\nappointment of one or more coroner's physicians, and may fix the terms\nof their office. In any county in which the coroner or any of the\ncoroners is not a physician duly licensed to practice medicine in this\nstate, the board shall appoint one or more coroner's physicians.\n Each coroner's physician appointed pursuant to this subdivision shall\nby virtue of his office be a deputy coroner and shall possess the powers\nand perform the duties of the coroner, during the absence or inability\nof the coroner to act, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of\ncoroner.\n 5. Certificate of election or appointment. Upon filing in the office\nof the county clerk a certificate of election or appointment of any\nofficer, together with the oath of office and official undertaking\nprescribed by law, the county clerk shall execute and deliver to such\nofficer a certificate stating that he or she has duly qualified and is\nentitled to assume the duties of his or her office. On or before the\ntenth day of January in each year and thereafter within five days after\nany subsequent appointment is made, the clerk of the board of\nsupervisors shall file in the office of the county clerk a certificate\nshowing the names of all officers of the county appointed by the board\nand the amount of the official undertaking, if any, required in each\ncase. On or before the fifteenth day of January in each year and\nthereafter within five days after any person is elected or appointed to\nany office within the county, the county clerk shall file in the office\nof the executive department of the state a certificate showing the name\nof each person so elected or appointed who has duly qualified and,\nwithin the same time periods, file the name of any person appointed to\nthe office of director of real property tax services with the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance.\n 6. Notice of vacancy in office. Within ten days after any vacancy\noccurs as prescribed by section thirty of the public officers law, the\ncounty clerk shall give notice thereof to the governor when the power of\nappointment is vested in the governor and to the board of supervisors\nwhen the power of appointment is vested in said board.\n 7. Filling of vacancies. Except as hereinafter provided, a vacancy in\nan elective county office, shall be filled by the governor by\nappointment and for the office of sheriff with the advice and consent of\nthe senate if in session. When a vacancy shall occur, otherwise than by\nexpiration of term in the office of county judge, surrogate, or judge of\nthe family court, it shall be filled for a full term at the next general\nelection held not less than three months after such vacancy occurs and,\nuntil the vacancy shall be so filled, the governor by and with the\nadvice and consent of the senate, if the senate shall be in session, or,\nif the senate not be in session, the governor may fill such vacancy by\nan appointment which shall continue until and including the last day of\nDecember next after the election at which the vacancy shall be filled. A\nvacancy in the office of coroner shall be filled by the board of\nsupervisors. Such officer shall hold office until and including the\nthirty-first day of December succeeding the first annual election at\nwhich the vacancy can be filled by election. A person appointed to fill\na vacancy in an office named in the constitution shall receive the same\ncompensation that was fixed for the office for the most recent elective\nterm. The board of supervisors shall fill any vacancy in an appointive\ncounty office for the unexpired term as prescribed by law.\n 8. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special or local law,\ncharter, code, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation to the\ncontrary, all elections for any position of a county elected official\nshall occur on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November\nand shall occur in an even-numbered year; provided however, this\nsubdivision shall not apply to an election for the office of sheriff,\ncounty clerk, district attorney, family court judge, county court judge,\nsurrogate court judge, or any offices with a three-year term prior to\nJanuary first, two thousand twenty-five.\n