§ 116 — Town charges

§ 116. Town charges. Except as herein otherwise provided, towns may\nincur obligations for any purpose necessary to give effect to the powers\nherein granted, including but not limited to the following:\n 1. The compensation of town officers and employees, and all expenses\nnecessarily incurred for the use and benefit of the town, and when\nincurred by authority of the town board, all expenses necessarily\nincurred and paid by any town officer or employee in executing the\nduties of his office or position, including actual and necessary\nexpenses for travel, office rent, janitor service, light, heat,\ntelephone, postage, furniture, books, stationery and supplies, and, in\nthe county of Franklin, for maintenance while attending meetings of the\ntown board. The town board of any town, in lieu of auditing and allowing\nthe claim of a town officer or employee for actual and necessary\nexpenses for travel, may determine by resolution to allow and pay such\nofficer or employee a reasonable mileage allowance for the use of his\nown automobile for each mile actually and necessarily traveled by him in\nthe performance of the duties of his office or position, in attending a\ncourse of training for his respective office or position provided by the\ntown and county officers training school of the state of New York, or in\nattending a convention, conference or school pursuant to section\nseventy-seven-b of the general municipal law.\n 2. All damages recovered against a town officer for any act done\npursuant to a resolution, or proposition, duly adopted by the town board\nor at a town election duly held; and all damages against any such\nofficer for any act done in good faith, in his official capacity,\nwithout any such direction or resolution, may be made a town charge, by\na vote of the town, at a town election duly held, or by a resolution of\nthe town board, but any such subsequent resolution of the town board\nshall be subject to a permissive referendum.\n 3. The moneys authorized to be raised by the vote of a town election\nfor any town purpose, or by resolution of the town board, which has\nbecome effective by the failure to file a petition for a referendum, or,\nwhich has been approved by a referendum.\n 4. The actual expenses necessarily incurred by the supervisor of a\ntown in the forest preserve, when authorized by resolution of the town\nboard, in connection with the distribution of fish and game birds, not\nexceeding one hundred dollars in any one year.\n 5-a. The expense incurred by a town officer, with the approval of the\ntown board, for insurance indemnifying against any loss through theft,\nrobbery or burglary of public moneys in his custody.\n 6. The cost and expense necessarily incurred by the town board in the\nemployment of a veterinarian to examine animals in the town to ascertain\nwhether they are infected with an infectious or communicable disease.\nThe town board may employ such veterinarian and provide for filing the\nresult of examinations made by him with the commissioner of agriculture\nand markets.\n 7. The reasonable fees of a physician for examining a person arrested\nin the town and charged with being intoxicated while operating a motor\nvehicle.\n 8. The engaging of a certified public accountant or a public\naccountant to audit the accounts and fiscal affairs of the town.\n 9. The fees of officers other than magistrates in criminal\nproceedings, or in criminal actions tried before a magistrate of the\ntown where the offense is alleged to have been committed. The fees\nallowable to towns and villages for the services of a magistrate and the\nfees allowable to an officer in issuing or serving process for an\noffense committed in a town other than that in which such magistrate\nresides, and of which a court of special sessions has jurisdiction to\ntry, or which a magistrate has jurisdiction to hear and determine and\nthe fees allowable to towns and villages for the services of a\nmagistrate in the trial or examination of a person brought before him by\nreason of the absence or inability to act of the magistrate before whom\nhe is directed by the warrant to be brought, charged with such an\noffense committed in a town other than that in which the magistrate\nbefore whom such person is brought resides, shall, in either case, be a\ncharge against the town in which such offense was committed. Except as\nprovided in this section no fees shall be allowed to an officer, for\nservices in a criminal action or proceeding, before a magistrate of one\ntown for or on account of an offense charged to have been committed in\nanother town, and which a court of special sessions has jurisdiction to\ntry, or which a magistrate has jurisdiction to hear and determine. The\nfees and mileage of a police officer or peace officer in connection with\nany criminal action or proceeding of which a court of special sessions\nhas jurisdiction to try, or which a magistrate has jurisdiction to hear\nand determine, may be fixed by the town board of the town to which the\nsame are chargeable, not exceeding the amount now allowed by law; and\nwhen so fixed, shall supersede as to such town any other provision of\nlaw fixing fees or mileage in such case. The fees allowable to towns for\nthe services of magistrates and the fees allowable to other officers for\nservices in criminal proceedings, for or on account of an offense which\na court of special sessions has not jurisdiction to try, shall be a\ncounty charge, if the magistrate had jurisdiction of the proceedings in\nwhich the services were rendered. A county shall pay any amount due to a\ntown for the services of a justice of the peace which are a county\ncharge upon the presentation to it of a claim by the state comptroller\nfor such charges each quarter.\n 10. Such sums as the town board may determine to annually expend and\nraise by taxation in such town to meet the actual and necessary expenses\nof maintaining and continuing the association of towns of the state of\nNew York, the New York state town clerks association, Inc., the county\nlegislators and supervisors association of New York State and any of\ntheir activities in this state for the purpose of devising practical\nways and means for obtaining greater economy and efficiency in the\ngovernment thereof.\n 11. The fees and charges of a police justice or other officer\nauthorized by law to be paid for services rendered and expenses incurred\non account of offenses committed in a village and triable before the\npolice justice, shall not be a town charge or be audited or paid by the\ntown board of the town.\n 12. Except as otherwise provided in section one hundred seventy-one-d\nof the tax law, the actual and necessary expenses incurred by a town\nofficer or a person duly elected as a town officer, in attending a\ncourse of training for his respective office provided by the town and\ncounty officers training school of the state of New York for the purpose\nof improving the administration of municipal affairs in the towns and\ncounties of the state, or by a justice of the peace in attending a\ntraining school for justices provided by the education department or\ngiven in his own county, by the county magistrate's association, shall\nbe a charge against the town of which he is an officer or officer-elect.\nNo such person, however, shall be allowed such expenses for attending a\nregional school unless his town shall be included within the area of\nsuch region as established by the education department or the board of\ntrustees of the town and county officers training school of the state of\nNew York.\n 13. The actual expense incurred in the publication and distribution of\na report relative to the fiscal affairs, official acts, programs and\nmeetings of boards, commissions, departments and other agencies, of a\ntown.\n 14. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any general or\nspecial law, when incurred pursuant to resolution of the town board the\ncost and expense of acquiring, purchasing, leasing or rental of any\nlabor-saving device, machine or equipment to assist a town officer in\nthe performance of the duties of his office.\n