N.Y. TWN Law § 150 — New York Code / Act TWN / Article 10 / Section 150
Establishment of town police departments
Status: in_force

§ 150. Establishment of town police departments. 1. The town board of\nany town may establish a police department and appoint a chief of police\nand such officers as may be needed and fix their compensation. The\ncompensation of such police officers shall be a town charge; providing\nhowever, no assessment on property in any village within any town or\npartially within any town shall be made for the maintenance or operation\nof a town police department established after January first, nineteen\nhundred sixty, pursuant to this section if any such village maintains a\npolice department of four or more police officers on an annual full-time\nbasis, established and maintained under the rules of civil service. The\ntown board may, at its option, determine that the town shall pay all or\npart of the cost of the uniforms and necessary equipment of its police\nofficers, and may purchase such equipment for use by the police\ndepartment as it shall deem necessary, including police patrol vehicles,\nand emergency service vehicles for police use in connection with\naccidents, public calamities or other emergencies. No assessment on\nproperty in any village within any town in the county of Suffolk or in\nany village within the town of Fallsburgh shall be made for the\nmaintenance or operation of such town police department, if any such\nvillage maintains a police department of two or more police officers on\nan annual basis. In the event that a town has established a police\ndepartment prior to January first, nineteen hundred sixty, the town\nboard of such town may enter into an agreement with any village within\nit or partially within it which maintains a police department of four or\nmore police officers on an annual full-time basis, established and\nmaintained under the rules of civil service and determine therein what\npart of the cost thereof shall be assessed against the property in the\nvillage and what part thereof shall be assessed against the property in\nthe town outside of the village. Thereafter such portion of the cost\nthereof determined to be assessed outside of the village shall be a\ncharge against that part of the town outside of the village and\nassessed, levied and collected from the taxable property of that part of\nthe town outside of the village. When appointed, such police officers\nshall have all the powers and be subject to all the duties and\nliabilities of a police officer in all criminal actions and proceedings\nand special proceedings of a criminal nature.\n  2. The town board of a town in which such a police department has been\nestablished at any time by resolution may establish a board of police\ncommissioners for such town and appoint one or three police\ncommissioners who shall at the time of their appointment and throughout\ntheir term of office be electors of such town, and who shall serve\nwithout compensation, and at the pleasure of the town board. If the town\nboard shall appoint only one such police commissioner, it shall in\naddition designate two members of the town board to serve as members of\nsuch police commission. The town board may also by resolution designate\nthe supervisor to serve as police commissioner, and when so designated,\nsuch supervisor shall have all the powers of and perform the duties of\nsuch board of police commissioners. When either of such boards of police\ncommissioners shall have been established or supervisor designated as\npolice commissioner, such board of police commissioners or police\ncommissioner shall have and exercise all the powers relative to police\nmatters conferred upon the town board pursuant to this article. The town\nboard may by resolution at any time abolish such police commission or\nrevoke the designation of such supervisor as police commissioner and\nthereupon the town board only shall exercise the powers conferred upon\nit by this article.\n  3. The town board of a town, upon establishing or abolishing a police\ndepartment, shall notify the commissioner of the division of criminal\njustice services of such action within thirty days thereafter.\n  4. Any local law which seeks to abolish a town police department shall\nbe subject to a permissive referendum as provided in article seven of\nthis chapter.\n