§ 27 — Compensation of town officers and employees

§ 27. Compensation of town officers and employees. 1. The town board\nof each town shall fix, from time to time, the salaries of all officers\nand employees of said town, whether elected or appointed, and determine\nwhen the same shall be payable. The town board shall not fix the\nsalaries of the members of the town board, an elected town clerk or an\nelected town superintendent of highways at an amount in excess of the\namounts respectively specified in the notice of hearing on the\npreliminary budget published pursuant to section one hundred eight of\nthis chapter. However, the annual salary of any such elected officer\nmay be increased, for not more than one fiscal year, in excess of the\namount specified in the notice of hearing on the preliminary budget\nlocal law adopted pursuant to the municipal home rule law. Salaries\nshall be in lieu of all fees, charges or compensation for all services\nrendered to the town or any district or subdivision thereof, pursuant to\nlaw, except that the supervisor shall not be required to account for and\npay over such fees, salary or other compensation that he or she may\nreceive or be entitled to from the county in which he or she is elected,\nfor services rendered by him or her as a member of the board of\nsupervisors. No town officer or employee shall retain any fees or moneys\nreceived by him or her in connection with his or her office but such\nfees or money shall be the property of the town and be paid to the\nsupervisor not later than the fifteenth day of each month following the\nreceipt thereof, excepting such fees and moneys the application and\npayment of which are otherwise provided for by law. Every officer or\nemployee, except a town justice, is hereby required to submit monthly to\nthe supervisor a verified statement of all moneys received by him or her\nand to pay such moneys to the supervisor who shall deliver his or her\nreceipt therefor. Unless such verified statement and payment be made,\nsuch officer or employee shall not be paid any further portion of his or\nher salary until a report be submitted of any moneys paid as herein\nprovided. The said provisions shall not affect a receiver of taxes and\nassessments who deposits the money collected directly to the credit of\nthe supervisor and whose monthly report is equivalent to a receipt from\nthe supervisor. Provisions of this subdivision shall not preclude the\ntown from hiring laborers, clerical assistants and stenographers, and\ncompensating them upon the hourly or daily basis. Notwithstanding any\nprovision of the penal law, the civil practice law and rules, the\ncriminal procedure law, the uniform justice court act, or any other\ngeneral, special or local law, no police officer, special police officer\nor constable of any such town shall retain for his or her own use fees,\nper diem or other compensation received by him or her from the state,\nthe county, or any other municipality, or a private corporation or a\nperson, in or for the performance of the duties of his or her office,\nwhether such duties be of an administrative, legislative, judicial or\nother nature, but all such fees and moneys so received by him or her\nshall be the property of the town of which he or she is an officer and\nbe paid to the supervisor not later than the fifteenth day of each month\nfollowing the receipt thereof. No town justice of any town shall retain\nfor his or her own use fees, per diem or other compensation received by\nhim or her from the state, the county, or any other municipality or a\nprivate corporation or a person, in or for the performance of the duties\nof his or her office, whether such duties be of an administrative,\nlegislative, judicial, or other nature, but all such fees and moneys so\nreceived shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be the property of the\ntown of which he or she is an officer and shall be paid by such justice\nto the state comptroller within the first ten days of the month\nfollowing collection. Each such payment shall be accompanied by a true\nand complete report in such form and detail as the comptroller shall\nprescribe. In the event that a justice shall not receive any such fees\nand moneys during any month he or she shall report this fact to the\nstate comptroller within the first ten days of the succeeding month.\nUpon receipt of notice from the state comptroller that a justice has not\nproperly reported or properly accounted for any moneys received by such\njustice, it shall be unlawful for the town to make any further payment\nof compensation to such justice until receipt of a notice from the\ncomptroller that a proper accounting has been made. In all towns the\nsalaries of all town justices shall be equal except that the town board\nmay determine by a majority vote to pay salaries in different amounts.\nFees payable by virtue of the civil practice law and rules and section\nsixty-eight-a of the public officers law, for taking oaths and\nacknowledgment, shall not be deemed to be fees within the meaning of\nthis section, but may be retained, or the payment thereof waived, by the\nofficer taking the same.\n 2. Inspectors of election, ballot clerks, poll clerks and election\ncoordinators shall receive such an amount per day for their services on\ndays of registration, election and primary elections, as the town board\nmay determine by resolution. Such election officers shall receive\ncompensation for one day only for all services rendered on the day of\nelection and in canvassing the votes thereafter, and in completing the\nreturns, of either an election or of a primary election.\n 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,\nthe town board of any town which shall not have established a police\ndepartment, may adopt a resolution determining that the police officers\nof such town, including special police officers and constables, shall be\ncompensated by annual salary or by the week, day or hour for services\nactually and necessarily performed by them in all matters other than\ncivil actions and proceedings, and that such police officers shall be\nentitled to collect and retain for their own use, the fees, mileage,\npoundage and other compensation allowed by law for services in civil\nactions and proceedings.\n 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,\nthe budget officer may receive, in addition to any other compensation, a\nsalary as budget officer to be fixed by the town board.\n