§ 1053 — Erie county water authority

§ 1053. Erie county water authority. 1. A corporation known as "Erie\ncounty water authority" is hereby created for the purposes and charged\nwith the duties and having the powers provided in this title. The\nauthority shall be a body corporate and politic constituting a public\nbenefit corporation. It shall consist of three members, all of whom\nshall be residents of the county. Not more than two members of the said\nauthority in office at any time shall belong to the same political\nparty. The appointment, pursuant to the provisions of chapter eight\nhundred forty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred forty-nine, of the\nfirst members, Richard F. Ball, Jerome D. Van De Water, and John Horner,\nfor the terms, respectively, of one year, two years and three years from\nthe twenty-seventh day of April, nineteen hundred forty-nine, is hereby\nratified and confirmed. Any subsequent appointment shall be made for a\nterm of three years and shall be made by the chairman of the board of\nsupervisors of the county of Erie, pursuant to nominations in writing by\nthe majority, respectively, of the supervisors of each political party\nrepresented on such board of supervisors, subject to confirmation by a\nmajority of such board of supervisors. All members shall continue to\nhold office until their successors are appointed and qualify. The\nappointment of the first chairman, John Horner, pursuant to the\nprovisions of chapter eight hundred forty-five of the laws of nineteen\nhundred forty-nine, for a term of one year from the twenty-seventh day\nof April, nineteen hundred forty-nine, is hereby ratified and confirmed.\nSubsequent chairmen shall be elected annually by the members of the\nauthority. Vacancies, occurring otherwise than by expiration of term of\noffice, shall be filled by appointments by the board of supervisors for\nthe unexpired terms. Members of the authority may be removed from office\nfor the same reasons and in the same manner as may be provided by law\nfor the removal of officers of the county. The members of the authority\nshall receive such compensation for their services as shall be fixed by\nthe board of supervisors and be reimbursed for all expenses incurred in\nconnection with the carrying out of the purposes of this title. The\npowers of the authority shall be vested in and be exercised by the\nmembers at a meeting duly called and held and two members shall\nconstitute a quorum. No action shall be taken except pursuant to the\nfavorable vote of at least two members. The authority may delegate to\none or more of its members, officers, agents or employees such powers\nand duties as it may deem proper.\n 2. The authority and its corporate existence shall continue for a\nperiod of twelve years from the twenty-seventh day of April, nineteen\nhundred forty-nine, and thereafter until all its liabilities have been\nmet and its bonds have been paid in full or such liabilities or bonds\nhave otherwise been discharged and thereupon all rights and properties\nof the authority shall pass to and be vested in the county of Erie.\n 3. The officers of the authority shall consist of a chairman, a\nvice-chairman and a treasurer who shall be members of the authority, and\na secretary, who need not be a member of the authority. The\nvice-chairman, treasurer and secretary shall be appointed by the\nauthority and shall serve at the pleasure of the authority. The\nauthority may appoint an attorney and an engineer and such additional\nofficers and employees as it may require for the performance of its\nduties, fix and determine their qualifications, duties, and\ncompensation, subject to the provisions of the civil service law of the\nstate of New York and such rules as the personnel officer of the county\nof Erie may adopt and make applicable to such authority. The authority\nmay also from time to time contract for expert professional services.\nThe treasurer shall execute a bond, conditioned upon the faithful\nperformance of the duties of his office, the amount and sufficiency of\nwhich shall be approved by the authority and the premium therefor shall\nbe paid by the authority.\n 4. It is hereby determined and declared that the authority and the\ncarrying out of its powers, purposes and duties are in all respects for\nthe benefit of the people of the county of Erie and the state of New\nYork, for the improvement of their health, welfare and prosperity and\nthat the said purposes are public purposes and that the authority is and\nwill be performing an essential governmental function in the exercise of\nthe powers conferred upon it by this title.\n 5. Upon the creation of the authority and thereafter, the board of\nsupervisors may, by resolution, from time to time appropriate sums of\nmoney to defray the preliminary expenses of the authority incurred in\nthe exercise of the powers conferred upon it by this title and shall\ninclude among other costs, the costs incurred by the authority for\nadministrative, engineering, accounting and legal services. Upon the\nissuance of bonds for any of the purposes authorized by this title the\nauthority shall repay to the county of Erie that portion of the moneys\nappropriated by the county and expended by the authority in connection\nwith and attributed to the purpose or purposes for which the bonds were\nissued. Any such allocation shall be subject to the approval of the\ncomptroller of the county of Erie.\n