N.Y. TWN Law § 29 — New York Code / Act TWN / Article 3 / Section 29
Powers and duties of supervisor
Status: in_force

§ 29. Powers and duties of supervisor. Except where powers or duties\nspecified herein are devolved upon the town comptroller pursuant to\nsection thirty-four of this chapter, the supervisor of each town.\n  1. Shall act as treasurer thereof and shall demand, collect, receive\nand have the care and custody of moneys belonging to or due the town\nfrom every source, except as otherwise provided by law. Except as\notherwise provided in articles eleven and thirteen, he shall also act as\ntreasurer and disbursing officer for every special district therein.\n  2. Within ten days after their receipt, shall deposit and secure in\nhis name as supervisor, all such moneys in the manner provided by\nsection ten of the general municipal law.\n  3. Shall disburse such moneys only by checks payable to the person or\npersons entitled thereto, which checks shall, if the town board requires\nsuch countersignature, be countersigned by the town clerk, or by the\ncomptroller in towns where the office of town comptroller has been\nestablished. When authorized by resolution of the town board, such\nchecks may be signed with the facsimile signature of the supervisor or\nother town officer whose signature is required, as reproduced by a\nmachine or device commonly known as a checksigner. By resolution duly\nadopted, the town board may determine to enter into a contract to\nprovide for the deposit of the periodic payroll of the town in a bank or\ntrust company for disbursal by it in accordance with provisions of\nsection ninety-six-b of the banking law.\n  4. Shall keep an accurate and complete account of the receipt and\ndisbursement of all moneys which shall come into his hands by virtue of\nhis office, in books of account in the form prescribed by the state\ndepartment of audit and control for all expenditures under the highway\nlaw and in books of account provided by the town for all other\nexpenditures. Such books of account shall be public records, open and\navailable for inspection at all reasonable hours of the day, and, upon\nthe expiration of his term, shall be filed in the office of the town\nclerk.\n  7. Shall pay fixed salaries, the principal of or interest on\nindebtedness, amounts becoming due upon lawful contracts for periods\nexceeding one year, and compensation for services of officers or\nemployees regularly engaged by the town at agreed wages by the hour,\nday, week, month or year without prior audit.\n  8. Shall prosecute, in the name of the town, for all penalties given\nby law to such town for its use and for all moneys or property due the\ntown.\n  9. Shall cause a survey to be made of the bounds of his town, whenever\nrequired by the state department of transportation, and transmit a map\nand description thereof to such department within sixty days thereafter.\nThe expense of such survey and map shall be defrayed by the several\ntowns whose bounds either wholly, or in part, shall be described\nthereby; such expense to be apportioned by the board of supervisors of\nthe county.\n  10. Shall prepare and file with the town clerk within thirty days\nafter the expiration of each fiscal year, an annual financial report\naccounting for all moneys received and disbursed by him, together with\nthe certificate, or certificates, of the bank or trust company where\ntown moneys are deposited, showing the amount of such moneys on deposit\nwith said bank or trust company, and cause a certified copy of such\nreport to be published in the official newspaper, and in such other\nnewspapers, if any, as the town board may require. In addition thereto,\nif and whenever required, such supervisor shall submit to the other\nmembers of the town board at the time of filing such report all\nvouchers, cancelled checks or check images as authorized by section\nninety-nine-b of the general municipal law, check stubs, ledgers, cash\nbooks, journals, and financial and accounting records of every sort\nrequired to substantiate the accuracy and completeness of such report.\n  10-a. In lieu of preparing the report required by subdivision ten of\nthis section, the town board may determine, by resolution, that the\nsupervisor shall submit to the town clerk, within the time period\nprescribed in section thirty of the general municipal law, a copy of the\nreport to the state comptroller required by section thirty of the\ngeneral municipal law, providing, however, that if the time for the\nfiling of the annual report has been extended by the state comptroller\nas provided in the said statute, then the time for submitting a copy of\nthe report to the town clerk similarly shall be extended. The town clerk\nshall cause either a summary of such report to be published within ten\ndays after receipt thereof in a form approved by the state comptroller\nor a notice that a copy of such report is on file in the town clerk's\noffice and is available for public inspection and copying, in the\nofficial newspaper and in such other newspapers as the town board may\ndirect.\n  11. Shall lease, sell and convey in the name of the town, property\nowned by it, whenever and in the manner authorized by the provisions of\nthis chapter or any other general or special law and shall execute and\ndeliver, in the name of the town, grants of easements or other rights in\nlands or other property owned by the town, whenever so directed by the\ntown board.\n  12. In towns other than those mentioned in section 9-1107 of the\nenvironmental conservation law, and other than those included in a\nforest fire district as defined in subdivision two of section 9-1109 of\nthe environmental conservation law, shall be superintendent of fires of\nhis town and charged with the duty of preventing and extinguishing\nforest fires. In such capacity, he shall also be charged with the duty\nof preventing and extinguishing muck fires. He shall have the power to\nemploy persons to act as forest rangers and fire wardens in preventing\nand fighting forest and muck fires and to employ necessary assistants\ntherefor, and shall possess, for both such purposes, all the power and\nauthority conferred upon the department of environmental conservation,\ndistrict forest ranger, forest ranger and fire warden under subdivisions\none, two, three, four, five and twelve of section 9-1103, subdivision\ntwo of section 9-1111 and section 71-0705 of the environmental\nconservation law with respect to forest fires and forest fire\nprotection. Any person summoned to fight forest or muck fires who is\nphysically able and refuses to assist, shall be liable to a penalty of\ntwenty dollars. The town board of each town shall designate one of its\nmembers to act as such superintendent of fires for the ensuing year in\ncase of absence of the supervisor. The town board shall fix the\ncompensation of all forest rangers, fire wardens, and assistants\nemployed under the provisions of this section, and all expenses incurred\nunder the provisions of this section shall be a charge upon and paid by\nthe town.\n  13. Shall notify the state department of transportation, in writing,\nregarding the construction, reconstruction or repair by any person or\ncorporation, or political subdivision of the state within his town, of\nany dam or other structure for impounding water, and of any dock, pier\nor wharf, or other structure used as a landing place. This notice shall\nbe given within ten days after the commencement of such work. This\nsubdivision shall not apply to a dam where the area draining into the\npond formed thereby does not exceed one square mile, unless the dam is\nmore than ten feet in height above the natural bed of the stream at any\npoint or unless the quantity of water which the dam impounds exceeds one\nmillion gallons.\n  14. Shall attend the annual meeting of the board of supervisors of the\ncounty, and every regular, adjourned or special meeting thereof of which\nhe shall receive notice.\n  15. In towns of the first class, may designate a bookkeeper or\nconfidential secretary, or both. In towns of the second class, the town\nboard may by resolution authorize the supervisor of the town to\ndesignate a bookkeeper or confidential secretary, or both. A person so\ndesignated by the supervisor, shall receive a reasonable compensation\nfor his services, to be fixed by the town board and such compensation\nshall be a town charge.\n  16. Shall have and exercise any other power or duty expressly\nconferred or imposed upon him by law and such powers and duties of\nadministration and supervision of town or special or improvement\ndistrict functions as shall be provided by resolution of the town board,\nto be performed on behalf of such board.\n