Source: http://villageoffredoniany.com/code-book/charter/
Timestamp: 2017-07-22 02:43:17
Document Index: 451140417

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 15', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 7', '§ 8', '§ 9', '§ 10', '§ 11', '§ 12', '§ 13', '§ 14', '§ 15', '§ 16', '§ 17', '§ 18', '§ 19', '§ 20', '§ 21', '§ 22', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 7', '§ 4', '§ 8', '§ 3', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 1', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 7', '§ 8', '§ 9', '§ 10', '§ 11', '§ 12', '§ 13', '§ 14', '§ 15', '§ 16', '§ 12', '§ 12', '§ 12', '§ 17', '§ 18', '§ 22', '§ 5', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 22', '§ 5', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 7', '§ 8', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 3', '§ 7', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 14', '§ 2']

Charter Chapter C
[HISTORY: Enacted by Ch. 480 of the Laws of 1894, effective 5-4-1894. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Title; Boundaries
This Act shall be known as the “Charter of the Village of Fredonia.”
§ 2. Boundaries. [1]
All that part of the Town of Pomfret, in the County of Chautauqua, including lot numbers sixteen, twenty-four, thirty-three and so much of the north part of lot number thirty-two as lies north of the south line of number twenty-four, when extended to the west line of lot number thirty-two, in the fifth township and twelfth range, and lot numbers eight, nine, fourteen, fifteen, twenty and twenty-one, in the sixth township and twelfth range according to the Holland Land Company’s survey, and the inhabitants residing therein are hereby constituted and declared a body politic and corporate by the name of the “Village of Fredonia,” and by that name they and their successors shall have perpetual succession, and said corporation is hereby declared to be invested with and in possession of all the estate, real and personal, rights, privileges and immunities which, at the time of passing this Act, appertain and belong to the Village of Fredonia. Said corporation shall be capable of suing and being sued, complaining and defending in any court, make and use a common Seal and alter the same at pleasure and to purchase, rent, take, hold, lease and convey such real and personal estate as the purposes of said corporation may require.
Officers; Election; Powers and Duties
§ 1. Officers; qualifications. [L. 1917, c. 7; L.L. No. 1-1941]
The officers of the village shall be a Mayor, and whenever the word “president” is used in any provisions of the Charter of the Village of Fredonia and amendments thereto, it shall be construed to mean Mayor; five (5) Trustees, a Clerk, a Street Commissioner, a Receiver of Taxes, a Treasurer, members of the police force and as many fire wardens as the Trustees shall think proper to appoint, all of whom shall be electors of the village, duly qualified to vote for member of assembly therein; and the Mayor and Trustees shall be freeholders of the village, and the respective offices shall be vacated by their ceasing to be residents of the village.
§ 2. Elective officers. [2] [L. 1905, c. 21; L.L. No. 1-1951]
Elective officers. The Mayor and Trustees shall be elected by ballot at the annual Charter Election.
§ 2(a). Official year and terms of office. [L.L. No. 8-1981]
1-A. An official year begins at noon on the first Monday in April.
1-B. Notwithstanding § 2(a)1-A, commencing with the 2015 Village biennial general election and general Village elections thereafter, the official year begins on noon the first day of January following the general Village election. [L.L. No. 1-2013[3]]
2. The term of office of each elective village officer shall commence at the start of the official year following his election, and the term of office of each appointed officer shall commence at the start of the official year in which he or she is appointed.
3-A. The term of office of the Mayor, all the Trustees and the Village Justice shall be four (4) years. [L.L. No. 1-1994[4]]
3-B. The general village elections shall be held biennially in the odd-numbered years as provided by § 3-302, Subdivision 7, of the Village Law of the State of New York. [L.L. No. 1-1994[5]]
3-C. Pursuant to § 15-104 (2) of the Election Law, the term of any Village officer elected in 2011 or 2013 shall be extended until his or her successor takes office on the beginning of the official year on January 1 of the following year as set forth in § 2(a)1-B of Article II of the Charter of the Village of Fredonia. [L.L. No. 1-2013[6]]
§ 3. Appointive officers. [L. 1905, c. 21; L. 1917, c. 7; L.L. No. 1-1941; L.L. No. 3-2004]
The Clerk, Street Commissioner, Treasurer, Receiver of Taxes and members of the police force of the village shall be appointed by the Trustees thereof and shall hold their respective offices during the pleasure of the Trustees and may be removed by said Trustees for misconduct on notice to such officer and an opportunity given to him to make his defense.
(a) Other officers. The Board of Trustees may establish and appoint by resolution such other officers, including deputies, as the Board of Trustees shall determine. Said officers, including deputies, shall perform such duties as shall be determined by the Board of Trustees. In addition, deputies appointed by the Board of Trustees shall possess the powers and perform the duties of his or her principal during the absence or inability to act of the principal, or during a vacancy in the office of the principal as provided in Section 9 of the Public Officers Law.
(b) Term of office. The term of office of appointed officers shall be as provided by Section 3-302 of the Village Law, except for police officers who are subject to the New York State Civil Service Law and Regulations and other applicable laws, rules and regulations or applicable Village resolution.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Village Board of Trustees may, by resolution, provide that the Deputy Village Clerk need not be a resident of the Village, provided such person resides in the County of Chautauqua. [L.L. No. 5-2004]
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fredonia may by resolution provide that the Village Clerk, Village Treasurer and/or Village Administrator may reside outside of the Village of Fredonia, provided such person resides within the County of Chautauqua and further provided that such residency outside of the Village of Fredonia shall not exceed in duration of 270 days after the appointment of such officer. Failure of any such officer to reside within the Village of Fredonia within said 270-day period shall create a vacancy in said office. [L.L. No. 2-2006]
(1) The Board of Trustees of the Village of Fredonia may, by resolution, in its discretion extend the two-hundred-seventy-day period of outside residency set forth in § 3 (d) above for an additional 180 days, provided such person resides within the County of Chautauqua. Failure of any such officer to reside within the Village of Fredonia within said additional one-hundred-eighty-day period shall create a vacancy in said office. [L.L. No. 2-2007]
(e) Any provision of law to the contrary, including the provisions of § 3 of the Public Officers Law which requires a person holding a public office to be a resident of the municipal corporation of the state for which such person shall be chosen or within which his or her functions are required to be exercised, shall not prevent a person from holding the office of Tax Receiver of the Village of Fredonia, provided that such person resides in the Village of Fredonia, Town of Pomfret, Town of Dunkirk or City of Dunkirk. [L.L. No. 3-2007]
§ 4. Biennial election. [L. 1917, c. 7; L.L. No. 1-2013[7]]
The biennial election for the choice of officers in the village shall be held on the second Monday of March at such convenient place in the village as shall be designated by the Trustees and of which they shall cause ten (10) days’ previous notice to be given through the Clerk, by posting either written or printed notices in at least five (5) public places in the village or by inserting the same in one (1) or more newspapers published in the village, or by both such posting and publication as the Trustees shall direct. The Mayor and any two (2) Trustees of the village shall be inspectors of election, and the Mayor shall preside, and the Clerk of the village shall keep a poll list of the voters given at every election; or for the purpose of conducting such election, the Trustees may appoint as many inspectors, poll clerks and ballot clerks as they shall deem sufficient at a compensation to be determined by the Trustees, and, when and if appointed, the said inspectors shall choose one (1) of their number to preside at such election. Ballot boxes shall be provided by the Trustees.
§ 4(A). November general Village elections. [L.L. No. 1-2013[8]]
Notwithstanding § 4 of Article II of the Charter of the Village of Fredonia, commencing with the biennial general Village election in 2015, the general Village elections for the offices of Village Trustee, Mayor, Village Justice, and for the approval of any propositions or matters authorized or required by law to be subject to approval of the electors of the Village at a general Village election, shall be held on the first Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November, the same day as the general State of New York election.
§ 5. Polls. [L.L. No. 3-1978]
The polls of each election shall be opened at 10:00 in the forenoon of the day for which it is appointed to be held and be kept open, without intermission or adjournment, until 9:00 in the afternoon of the same day when they shall be finally closed; and the said Board shall forthwith, without adjournment, canvass the votes given thereat, shall openly declare the result and shall make and subscribe a certificate of such canvass which shall show the whole number of votes given, the number given for each person voted for and the office which he shall have been voted for, which certificate shall be recorded in the records of said village and filed in the office of the Clerk thereof.
§ 6. Election of Trustees; qualification of electors. [L.L. No. 8-1996]
The Trustees in office when this Act takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their terms respectively. At the annual election for the choice of officers in the village on the second Monday in March 1895, three (3) Trustees shall be elected whose terms of office shall expire on the second Monday of March 1897, and at the annual election for the choice of officers in the village on the second Monday in March 1896, two (2) Trustees shall be elected whose terms of office shall expire on the second Monday of March 1898. At the annual election in 1895 and at every annual election thereafter, any vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of any Trustee shall be filled by election for the term of four (4) years, and any vacancy in the office of Trustee caused other than by the expiration of a term shall be filled by election for the unexpired portion of such term. Every elector qualified to vote for town officers in the Town of Pomfret and residing in said village may vote for all the officers to be chosen at each village election; the persons eligible and having the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected; and if two (2) or more shall have the greatest and equal number of votes, the officers presiding at the election shall forthwith determine by lot which shall be deemed elected; and in such case the facts shall be stated in the certificate of the result made by said officers.
§ 7. Notice to persons elected.
Every person elected at any such election whose name shall be entered as a voter on the poll list kept thereat shall be deemed to be notified of his election by the declaration of the result by the presiding officer, and every person so elected whose name shall not be so entered shall be notified of his election by the Clerk of said village within three (3) days thereafter.
§ 8. Special election to fill vacancies. [L. 1917, c. 7]
Whenever the offices of more than two (2) of the Trustees shall be vacant, the Clerk shall give notice of a meeting of the electors of such village to fill the vacancies and any others that may then exist in any of the elective offices of the village which shall be specified in said notice; such notice shall be given in the same manner and for the same length of time previous to such election as it is herein provided respecting the annual election. Such election shall be conducted and the result ascertained and declared in the same manner as the annual election.
§ 9. Appointments; how made. [L. 1917, c. 7]
All appointments to office by the Trustees to fill vacancies or otherwise under this Act shall be by warrant under corporate seal and signed by the Mayor or presiding officer and Clerk, and all officers whose appointment is given to the Trustees by this Act, except a person appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of Trustee, may be removed from office by them at their pleasure.
§ 10. Official oaths. [L.L. No. 1-1984]
Every officer elected in said village or who shall be appointed to any office therein under this Act or any other law applicable to the Village of Fredonia shall, within thirty (30) days after the commencement of the term of office for which he is chosen, if an elective office, or, if an appointive office, within thirty (30) days after he or she shall be notified of his appointment, take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of this state and file the same with the Clerk of said village; and in case of such officer’s omission to do so, he or she shall be deemed to have refused to serve, and such office shall be deemed vacant and be filled in the manner prescribed by this Act.
§ 11. Official’s bonds. [L. 1917, c. 7]
The Treasurer, Street Commissioner and Receiver of Taxes shall severally, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, execute and file with the Clerk of the village a bond to the said village, in its corporate name, in such sum and with such sureties, not fewer than two (2), as the Board of Trustees, by resolution, shall approve, conditioned that they shall faithfully execute the duties of their respective offices and account for and pay over all the moneys received by them respectively.
§ 12. Constable’s bond.
Every person appointed to the office of Constable of the village shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, with two (2) or more sureties, execute and acknowledge an instrument in writing to be approved by resolution of the Board of Trustees and filed with the Clerk by which such Constable and his sureties shall jointly and severally agree to pay to each and every person who may be entitled thereto all such sums of money as the said Constable may be liable to pay by reason of or on account of any execution which shall be delivered to him for collection. An action thereon may be brought and maintained in the name of the person or persons entitled to the money to be collected by virtue of such instrument in case of any breach thereof.
§ 13. Duties of Mayor.
The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the electors of the village, when assembled pursuant to any of the provisions of this Act, and at all meetings of the Trustees thereof when present; he shall call special meetings of the Trustees when, in his opinion, the interests of the village shall require or whenever he shall be requested to do so by two (2) or more of the Trustees; he shall take care that all the laws relating to said village and the bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations which shall, from time to time, be enacted shall be faithfully executed; he shall prosecute in the corporate name and for the use of the village for all penalties and forfeitures incurred by any violation of such laws, bylaws, ordinances, rules or regulations; and he shall perform such other duties as shall, from time to time, be imposed upon him by law or by the bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations of said village. And he shall have a casting vote on any questions pending before the Trustees whenever there shall be a tie vote of the Trustees voting.
§ 14. General duties of Trustees. [L. 1917, c. 7]
All meetings of the Trustees of the village shall be public, and all persons may attend the same; and it shall be the duty of said Trustees:
(1) To appoint, from time to time, one (1) of their number to preside at any meeting of the electors of said village or of the Trustees thereof when the Mayor shall be absent.
(2) To fill any vacancy in any office, except that of Trustee and Village Justice, by appointing a suitable person therein, who shall hold the office for the residue of the term unless sooner removed, and to fill any vacancy in the office of Trustee or Village Justice by the appointment of a suitable person, who shall hold office until the next succeeding annual village election. [L.L. No. 1-1987]
(3) To provide for the care, custody and preservation of the property, records and papers of said village.
(4) To see that the officers of the village perform their duties faithfully and correctly; to enact penalties for any neglect of duty by any of them.
(5) To give notice, in the manner prescribed by law, of the annual meeting of the electors of the village, and to call special meetings of such electors when, in their judgment, the interest of the village shall require it.
(6) To publish in one (1) or more newspapers published in the village, at least one (1) week before each annual election, a detailed statement, signed by them, showing the amount and when and from what source all moneys paid into the Treasury of the village during the preceding year have been derived and the amount of, when, to whom and for what purpose all moneys paid from said Treasury during the same period have been paid; how much of any sum of money raised in the village during such year for any specific purpose or directed to be applied to any specific purpose has been so applied and how much thereof remains on hand; what sidewalks have been made or repaired in the village during such year at the expense of the owners of the property adjacent thereto and what at the expense of the village and the amount of the collections on account of such expense; the names of the owners or occupants of lots from whom any sums are due on account of such expense and the amounts due from them respectively, which statement shall be filed with the Clerk.
(7) To carry into effect every resolution adopted by them which they shall have authority to adopt.
(8) To audit and allow claims and accounts against the village, and to direct the manner in which warrants for the payment of moneys shall be drawn on the Treasurer, and to publish, in such manner as they shall direct, a statement of the accounts and claims audited and allowed by them.
(9) To audit claims of the Poundmaster for fees and compensation in respect to animals found going at large in the village in violation of the bylaws thereof, as provided by law, and to hear and determine all applications of the owners of any such animals for a remission of the penalties incurred by their so going at large.
(10) To fix the penalty and decide upon sufficiency of the sureties in the official bonds of the Treasurer, Street Commissioner and Receiver of Taxes of the village.
(11) To prescribe the manner, subject to the provisions of this Act, in which the Treasurer and the Receiver of Taxes shall keep the accounts and vouchers and the Clerk shall keep the records and papers of the village, and to examine such accounts, vouchers, records and papers, from time to time, in order to detect and correct errors therein.
(12) To fix the compensation of the Treasurer, Clerk, Receiver of Taxes and Street Commissioner and such other officers as they shall have power to appoint, subject to the provisions of this Act.
(13) To issue warrants for the collection of all taxes assessed in the village and for the collection of the expenses of repairing highways, streets, lanes, alleys and of making and repairing sidewalks of the owners or occupants of lots on which such expense shall be a lien, as herein provided, which shall be returnable in thirty (30) days from the time of issuing the same and to renew such warrants, from time to time, for any such taxes or expenses which shall be returned as not paid.
(14) To execute conveyances of real estate sold by them to satisfy such taxes or expenses charged thereon and not paid or collected by virtue of such warrant.
(15) To enter or to authorize others to enter in the daytime, when, in their judgment, the interest or safety of the village shall require it, any building therein in which there shall be any fireplace, stove, stovepipe or other place in which any fire shall be kept or used for the purpose of examining the same; and to make such regulations in regard thereto as a proper security against fire shall, in their judgment, require; and to impose penalties, as provided by this section, for the violation of such regulations, whether made by the Trustees or by the fire wardens.
(16) To compel every male resident of the village of the age of 16 years and upwards attending any fire therein to assist in extinguishing the same when required by the Mayor, any Trustee, fire warden or by any officer of any fire company or hook and ladder company in the village.
(17) To compel all persons in the village to keep their ashes safely.
(18) To manage and control the finances and property belonging to the village in its corporate capacity.
(19) To keep all the buildings belonging to the village in its corporate capacity insured against loss or damage by fire.
(20) To make such bylaws, local laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the State of New York as they shall deem proper to carry into effect the provisions of this Act and of other laws, ordinances, rules and regulations applicable to said village and the powers vested in any officer or employee thereof, and the Board of Trustees may enforce obedience to its ordinances, local laws, rules and regulations by prescribing that violations thereof shall constitute misdemeanors, offenses or infractions and to provide for the punishment of violations thereof by civil penalty, fine, forfeiture or imprisonment, or by two or more such punishments, but no such local law, ordinance, rule or regulation for which such punishment is prescribed shall take effect until after it shall have been enacted by local law as provided by the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York or as provided by the Village Law, Vehicle and Traffic Law or other laws of the State of New York. [L.L. No. 7-1981; L.L. No. 8-1997]
(21) [9]To promote the cultural development of the residents of the Village of Fredonia, the Board of Trustees may appropriate and expend funds and enter into agreements for promotion of literary, graphic, dramatic and performing arts by way of providing for musical concerts, dance, exhibits, theatrical performances and similar performing and fine arts. [L.L. No. 4-2000]
§ 15. Bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations. [L. 1900, c. 67]
The Trustees shall have power and authority within the village to make, ordain, enact, modify, amend and repeal bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations for the following purposes:
(1) To prevent and suppress vice and immorality; to preserve the public peace; to protect the citizens and their property.
(2) To establish and maintain a competent police; to promote the order and good government of the village; to appoint night watchmen and to prescribe their powers and duties.
(3) To erect and maintain a lockup or to designate a place of detention and confinement of persons arrested under this Act or under any bylaw or ordinance thereof and to confine and detain such persons therein.
(4) To apprehend and punish idlers, vagrants, disorderly, boisterous, riotous or unruly persons or unlawful assemblages, or persons disturbing any public assembly.
(5) To provide for the prosecution or defense of any action by or against the corporation or by or against any officer thereof for any act done in the discharge of his duties as such officer.
(6) To suppress and prohibit the keeping of gaming houses or places and the keeping and use of any gaming tables or implements and to require and provide for the removal or destruction of all tables, instruments and devices kept or used for gambling purposes.
(7) To suppress and restrain houses of ill fame and all disorderly drinking or tippling houses.
(8) To prevent incumbering or obstructing the commons, streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, lanes and alleys in any manner whatever.
(9) To regulate or prevent the construction or putting up of any projections from or opposite any buildings in, over or upon any of the streets or sidewalks of said village, and to cause the same to be removed at the expense of the owners or occupant of the adjacent premises.
(10) To establish and maintain a public pound, and to regulate the fees and compensation and to prescribe the duties of the Poundmaster.
(11) To restrain the running at large of cattle, sheep, horses, swine, goats and geese and to provide for impounding and the sale of the same, for the penalty and costs and charges of keeping and of the proceedings.
(12) To provide for lighting and cleaning the streets.
(13) To organize fire companies and to provide for the purchasing and repairing of fire engines and all other necessary implements and apparatus for extinguishing fires and to purchase, erect and maintain suitable houses in which to keep them.
(14) To construct and maintain reservoirs or cisterns and supply them with water, and to provide for the extinguishment of fires, the removal and protection of property exposed to destruction by or injury from fires.
(15) To regulate or prevent the burning of tar barrels and bonfires, the use of firearms or other fireworks and any other practice of amusement endangering persons or property in the village.
(16) To regulate and prevent the running at large of dogs in the village.
(17) To protect trees and sidewalks, and to protect, maintain and regulate the use of the parks, fountains and other property belonging to the village.
(18) To prevent and punish immoderate riding or driving within the village.
(19) To regulate bathing in any waters in the village; to prohibit the same at such times as they shall direct.
(20) To compel the summary abatement or removal of nuisances, and to regulate the location of slaughterhouses and houses or places for storing gunpowder or other explosive substances.
(21) To prohibit or regulate all exhibitions of natural or artificial curiosities, caravans of animals, circuses or other shows, performances or exhibitions for money or hire or permit the same on such terms as they shall deem expedient.
(22) To prescribe the powers and duties of all officers and persons appointed by them to any office or place whatsoever, subject to the provisions of this Act, and to direct the time and manner in which such officers or persons shall perform their respective duties.
(23) To establish fire limits, by resolution filed in the office of the Village Clerk and posted in three (3) public places in the village, and to provide that buildings shall not be constructed or rebuilt within such limits unless the plans and specifications have been submitted to and approved by the Board of Trustees. In addition to an action or proceeding to recover the penalty prescribed by the ordinances for the violation of this subdivision, the Board of Trustees may present a verified petition to a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Judicial District or to the County Court or to the County Judge of the county in which the village is situated for an order enjoining the violation thereof. Such petition shall state the facts concerning the alleged violation. Upon the presentation of the petition, the Justice, Judge or Court shall grant an order requiring such person to appear before him or before such special term or County Court respectively, on a day specified therein, not more than ten (10) days after the granting thereof, to show cause why such person should not be permanently enjoined from violating such ordinance. A copy of the petition and order shall be served in the manner directed by such order not less than five (5) days before the return day thereof. On the day specified in such order, the Justice, Judge or Court before whom the same is returnable shall hear the proofs of the parties and may, if deemed necessary and proper, take testimony in relation to the allegations of the petition or appoint a referee for that purpose. If it appears that such person is violating the ordinance, an order shall be made enjoining him therefrom. If, after the entry of such order in the County Clerk’s office of the county in which the village is situated and the service of a copy thereof upon him or after a substituted service, as the Justice, Judge or Court may direct, such persons shall violate such ordinance, such violation shall be deemed a contempt of court and punishable in the manner provided by the Code of Civil Procedure.[10] Costs upon the application for such injunction may be awarded in favor of and against the parties thereto in the discretion of the Justice, Judge or Court before whom the petition is heard. If awarded against the village, the costs shall be a village charge.
§ 16. Duties of Clerk.
The Clerk shall keep the corporate Seal and all the books, records and papers of the village and shall perform all such duties as the Trustees shall, from time to time, require and as are further specified in this Act. All papers filed in this office and all records of the proceedings of the electors and of the Board of Trustees shall be evidenced in all courts and places of the matters therein contained, and copies of all such papers and transcripts from such books and records, when duly certified by such Clerk under the corporate Seal, shall be evidenced in all courts and places in like manner as if the originals were produced.
§ 17. Duties of Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall receive all moneys belonging to or owned by the village and keep an accurate account of all receipts and expenditures thereof. All moneys shall be drawn from him in pursuance of a resolution of the Board of Trustees, by warrant, specifying for what purpose they are drawn, signed by the Clerk and countersigned by the Mayor or by the preceding officers of the Board of Trustees for the time being. He shall, at such times as the Trustees shall require, present to said Board of Trustees and file with the Clerk a full account of his receipts and disbursements since the date of his next preceding report and a statement of the financial condition of the Treasury.
§ 18. Duties of Street Commissioner.
The Street Commissioner shall, under direction of the Trustees, employ the requisite laborers and assistants and superintend all work required and ordered to be done or performed upon any of the streets, highways, lands, alleys, sidewalks, sewers and reservoirs in or owned by the village and perform such other services as shall, from time to time, be required of him by the Trustees and shall render an account thereof, in writing, and in such manner and at such time as the Trustees shall direct.
§ 19. Powers of Constable.
The Constable shall have the same powers in the execution of process as a peace officer or Constable elected in a town in the County of Chautauqua.
§ 20. Salaries. [L. 1920, c. 153; L.L. No. 1-1944; L.L. No. 1-1956; L.L. No. 1-1966; L.L. No. 5-1981; L.L. No. 4-1984; L.L. No. 6-1987; L.L. No. 2-1992; L.L. No. 3-1997; L.L. No. 3-1999; L.L. No. 1-2001; L.L. No. 1-2005]
A. Beginning July 1, 2009, the Mayor shall receive the sum of $12,000.00 per year for his or her services. [L.L. No. 5-2009]
B. Beginning July 1, 2009, the Village Trustees shall each receive for his or her services the sum of $5,000.00 per year for their services. [L.L. No. 5-2009]
C. Beginning June 1, 2005, the Village Justice shall receive a salary of $20,000.00 per year for his services.
§ 21. Mayor and Clerk Pro Tempore.
In case of the absence of the Mayor and Clerk, or of either of them, from any meeting of the electors of the village called in pursuance of the provisions of this Act or from any meeting of the Trustees where their services are required, the Trustees may, by resolution to be entered in the minutes of their proceedings, designate some proper person to perform the duties of these officers, or either of them, for the time being.
§ 22. Duties of Receiver of Taxes. [L. 1917, c. 7]
It shall be the duty of the Receiver of Taxes to collect and receive all village taxes and assessments and all water rates and rents, whether general or local, and that may be taxed or assessed upon persons or property in any part or parcel of the village.
[L.L. No. 5-1979]
§ 1. Adoption of fiscal year.
The Village of Fredonia hereby adopts a fiscal year commencing the first day of June and ending the 31st day of May.
§ 2. Incorporation of statutory provisions.
All budgetary procedures and powers set forth in Article 5 of the Village Law of the State of New York pertaining to definitions, submission of estimates, preparation and filing of the tentative budget, form and content of the tentative budget, adoption of the budget, general budgeting controls, lapse of appropriations, to maintain principal conferences and associations are hereby adopted by and for the Village of Fredonia.
§ 1. Supervision of streets and highways.
The Trustees shall prescribe the manner of repairing the streets, highways, lanes and alleys and the laying out of the moneys raised for such purposes in the village; and to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of Commissioners of Highways in the village in respect to laying out, altering or discontinuing roads so far as those powers and duties shall be, by law, required to be performed therein and as shall be consistent with this Act.
§ 2. Grade of streets.
The Trustees shall establish by ordinance the grade of any street, lane or alley in the village and cause a description of said grade to be entered on the records of the village, and said grade shall not thereafter be changed without the consent, in writing, of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the voters residing on said street and who shall represent at least three-fifths (3/5) of the property taxable on said street.
§ 3. Village to be separate road district; opening streets.
The territory embraced within the boundaries of the village shall be a separate road district in and over which the Commissioners of Highways of the Town of Pomfret shall have no jurisdiction or control, excepting in relation to the bridges therein as hereinbefore provided. The Trustees of the village shall have the supervision and control of all the highways, streets, lanes and alleys therein, and they shall have power and it shall be their duty to provide for laying out, altering, widening, opening, making and repairing the same whenever they shall deem it necessary. When they shall determine to lay out, alter or widen any highway, street, lane or alley, they shall cause a survey thereof to be made, which shall be incorporated in an order laying out the same, and cause such order to be recorded in the records of the village. The Trustees may fix the amount of damages for opening such highway, street, lane or alley by agreement with the owner or owners of the land through which the same shall be laid when the amount thereof shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.) for any one (1) lot, tract or parcel. In case no such agreement shall be made or the amount claimed shall exceed the sum of five hundred dollars ($500.), they shall appoint three (3) disinterested persons as assessors, who shall, within such time as the Trustees shall direct, on notice to the owner or owners claiming such damages to be given in such time and manner as the Trustees shall direct, proceed to assess such damages; they shall make a certificate thereof to be signed by them and file the same in the office of the Clerk of the village. Any person interested in any lands on account of which such assessment shall be made or the Trustees on behalf of the village may appeal from such assessments within ten (10) days after filing the certificate thereof, as aforesaid, to the County Judge of the county in which the village is or shall be situated. Such appeal shall be made by filing with the Village Clerk a notice, in writing, to be signed by the party appealing, specifying the grounds of such appeal and designating a time and place not more than ten (10) days thereafter when the appellant will apply to said Judge for the appointment of three (3) competent and disinterested freeholders of the county, and not residents of the village and who are not kin to either party or interested in the lands in question, as commissioners to review the said assessment. The commissioners so appointed shall fix as early a day as is practicable when they shall meet to discharge the duties of their appointment, of which they will cause at least three (3) days’ notice to be given to the respective parties. They shall meet at the time and place appointed, shall be sworn well and truly to hear and determine the matters so referred to them and make a just and true award and report therein according to the best of their understanding; they may adjourn the hearing for sufficient cause shown, from time to time, not exceeding ten (10) days from the time first fixed by them for such hearing. They shall view the premises and hear the proofs and allegations of the parties and alter, modify, correct or affirm the assessment appealed from, as to them shall seem just, and make their award and report, in writing, which shall be filed with the Clerk of the village within five (5) days after the matters are finally subscribed to them. Their award shall be final, and the amount thereof shall be assessed, levied and collected by tax upon the real and personal property of the village, according to the valuation thereof as set down in the last assessment roll of the village, and paid over to the person or persons entitled to receive the same or, in case such person or persons, or any of them, shall refuse to accept the same or shall be a nonresident of the village, then the said sum may be deposited in any bank in the village for the use of such person or persons before such highway, street, lane or alley shall be opened or worked or used. In case the award of the said commissioner shall be more favorable to the party appealing than the appraisal of damages by the assessors, as hereinbefore provided, then the cost and expenses of such appeal, not exceeding fifteen dollars ($15.), to be audited and allowed by said Trustees, shall be paid by the opposite party; and in case the owner or occupant shall be liable to pay such costs and expenses, the same shall be deducted from the amount of damages so awarded by the commissioners before the same is paid over or deposited, as herein provided; and in case the Trustees shall be liable to pay cash costs and expenses, the same shall be added to the amount of such award and collected in the same manner as the said damages and paid over or deposited with such damages to the credit of the person or persons entitled thereto.
§ 4. Tax to pay expense of opening.
Whenever the Trustees shall determine to open and make any highway, street, lane or alley in the village, they shall ascertain, as nearly as may be, the amount necessary to be raised for that purpose and shall assess, levy and collect the same by general tax in the same manner as other taxes for general purposes are herein required to be assessed, levied and collected. Such amount shall be borne by the village at large.
§ 5. Expenses of ordinary repairs of streets. [L. 1919, c. 66; L. 1923, c. 65]
The expenses of ordinary repairs of highways, streets, lanes and alleys in the village, including the slagging thereof, shall be borne by the village and be a charge upon the taxable property of the village, and the Trustees shall annually levy and collect, by tax, a sum sufficient to pay the same in the same manner as other village taxes are levied and collected.
§ 6. Expenses of extraordinary repairs of streets. [L. 1923, c. 65]
In case any of the highways, streets, lanes or alleys in the village shall, for any reason, require extraordinary repairs, the Trustees may, in their discretion, order and provide that such highway, street, lane or alley, in such part thereof as they may deem proper, be repaired at the expense of the village and may assess, levy and collect the expense thereof upon the taxable property in the village in the same manner that taxes for general purposes may be levied and collected.
§ 7. Street taxes; how raised and collected.
The taxes and assessments authorized by §§ 4, 5 and 6 of this Article may be raised and collected for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the village by this Act.
§ 8. Redemption of lands sold for taxes.
Any lot or part of a lot which shall be sold for the nonpayment of any tax or assessment imposed thereon pursuant to the provisions of this Act may, at any time within one (1) year from the time of such sale and from the demand of possession, as provided in § 3 of Article V of this Act, be redeemed therefrom by any person interested in the lands so sold by paying the purchaser, his representatives or assigns the amount bid on such sale, with interest thereon at the rate of ten percent (10%) a year from the time of such sale, in which case such sale shall become void. In case the person to whom such money is payable is a nonresident of the village or will not accept the same, such amount may be paid to the Treasurer of the village for the use of such person.
§ 9. Actions against the village. [L.L. No. 2-1941]
No action shall be maintained against the village for damages for a personal injury or an injury to property alleged to have been sustained by reason of the negligence of the village or of any officer, agent or employee thereof, unless the same shall be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action therefor shall have accrued nor unless a written verified statement of the nature of the claim and of the time and place at which such injury is alleged to have been received or a copy of such statement shall have been filed with the Village Clerk within thirty (30) days after the cause of action shall have accrued. An action on such claim shall not be commenced until the expiration of thirty (30) days after it is presented.
§ 9A. Liability of village in certain action. [L.L. No. 2-1941; L.L. No. 1-1953]
No civil action shall be brought or maintained against the Village of Fredonia for damages or injuries to person or property sustained in consequence of any street, highway, bridge, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk being defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed or in consequence of the existence or accumulation of snow or ice upon any street, highway, bridge, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk, unless written notice of the existence of such condition relating to the particular place had theretofore actually been given to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fredonia, and there had been a failure or neglect on the part of the village to cause such condition to be corrected or such snow or ice removed or the place otherwise made reasonably safe within a reasonable time after the receipt of such notice.
Paving and Macadamizing
§ 1. Petition.
The owners of the majority of linear feet frontage along any street or portion of a street of the village may petition the Board of Trustees to improve such street or portion of a street by paving or macadamizing, and each petitioner may state therein the form of improvement which he prefers, whether macadam or paving, and if paving, the material to be used therefor. If frontage property is owned by a corporation, the petition of such corporation shall be made by an officer thereof duly authorized by resolution of its Board of Directors. If frontage property is owned or controlled by the village, the petition of the village shall be made by an officer duly authorized by resolution of the Board of Trustees. Such petition shall be filed with the Village Clerk, and, upon receipt thereof, shall be referred to an engineer appointed by the Board of Trustees.
§ 2. Report of engineer. [L. 1902, c. 69]
Such engineer shall certify to the Board of Trustees the number of feet frontage represented by the petitioners of such petition, the whole number of feet frontage adjacent to such section improvement, counting the frontage on both sides of the street exclusive of the intersecting and abutting streets and of property owned by nonresident, the number of feet owned by each of such resident petitioners, the number of feet owned by persons who elected macadam, the number of feet owned by persons who elected pavement and the amount in feet of the majority. If the persons electing pavement shall specify the kind of pavement preferred, such engineer shall ascertain whether the persons voting for pavement with any specific material are owners of more than one-half (1/2) of the foot frontage represented by those who voted for paving. If he finds they are such majority owners, he shall certify the number of linear feet represented by the persons who voted for pavement with such specific material and also the whole number of feet represented by persons who voted for different paving material.
§ 3. Action of Board of Trustees. [L. 1900, c. 67; L. 1902, c. 62]
If, after the return of such engineer, the Board of Trustees finds that the persons representing the majority of the linear feet frontage upon said street or portion of a street, not counting property owned by nonresidents, have petitioned in favor of improving such street or portion of a street by macadamizing or paving, the Board shall have the power to cause such street or portion of street to be graded and macadamized or remacadamized or graded and paved or repaved and shall have the power to purchase the necessary machinery, tools and implements necessary of that purpose as provided by this Article. When the cost and expense of such improvements shall exceed the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.), the work shall not be ordered, except by the concurring vote of a majority of all of the members elected to the Board of Trustees, nor until the adjoining owners, either in their original petition or in a supplementary petition, have had an opportunity to elect between paving and macadam as provided in § 1 of this Article. If a majority of the petitioners elect macadam, the Board of Trustees may order such street or portion of a street to be macadamized. If a majority of the petitioners elect paving, the Board of Trustees may order such street or portion of a street to be paved with the specific material stated in such petition by the persons owning a majority in feet frontage of the whole number of feet frontage electing pavement, if a majority so agree as to any specific material. If the paving petitioners do not agree by the majority of linear feet represented by them as to the specific paving material to be used and are unable to agree within fifteen (15) days after the petition is delivered to such engineer, the Board of Trustees shall determine upon the specific material to be used for such pavement.
§ 4. Publication of resolution and notices for bids.
Whenever the Board of Trustees, in accordance with such a petition, shall determine to grade and macadamize or remacadamize or to grade and pave or repave any street or part of a street, it shall pass a resolution stating in substance that the Board of Trustees intends to improve the street or portion thereof therein described, between two (2) points therein named, by macadamizing or paving the same and, if by paving, the specific materials to be used therefor; and thereupon the Village Clerk shall cause to be published once in each week for two (2) successive weeks in the official paper of the village and in such other newspaper or newspapers as the Board of Trustees may determine a notice of the passage of such resolution stating the substance thereof; and the further notice that the Board of Trustees will receive bids for the work and material upon specifications to be delivered to any person desiring to make such bid on the job of doing the work and furnishing the material therefor, the said Board of Trustees reserving the right to reject any or all bids that may be made. Such notice shall also state the time and place at which such bids will be opened and examined by the Board of Trustees.
§ 5. Notice of adjoining owners. [L. 1900, c. 67]
Before the day of the first publication of the notice of determination to make such improvement, the Village Clerk shall cause to be served upon the owners of property fronting on said street or portion of a street so to be improved, by delivering to and leaving with such owners or a member of his immediate family of suitable age and discretion, and in case said owner is a nonresident or cannot with due diligence be found, then by delivering to and leaving the same with the agent of said owner or with the occupant or lessee of said premises or by depositing the same in the post office at the Village of Fredonia in a secure postpaid wrapper directed to such owner at his last known place of residence, a notice requiring the owner of each lot on such street or portion of a street so to be improved, within fifteen (15) days from the date of service thereof, to cause connections to be made when such connections have not been made or when existing connections are unsuitable or insufficient with the sewer, gas and water pipes in front of each lot and extending to the curbline. Such connections shall be of a construction and kind approved by the Board of Trustees and shall also state that if any such owner or owners neglect to cause such connections to be made in accordance with such notice, then the said Board of Trustees will cause them to be made, and the cost and expense thereof in front of each lot will be assessed to the owner of each lot as a part of its assessment for improving such street or portion of a street and in the same roll and subject to the same opportunity to be heard and reviewed; and the Board of Trustees shall have power on default of any such property owner to comply with the terms of said notice to cause such connections to be made, and the cost and expense thereof in front of each lot shall be assessed to the owner of said lot as part of his assessment for improving said street or portion of the street, and expense of making such connections shall be a charge upon the property in front of which such connections shall be made.
§ 6. Specifications and bids. [L. 1900, c. 67]
The Board of Trustees shall, previous to the publication of such resolution and notices, prepare and print detailed specifications for the improvement of such street or portion of a street by macadamizing or paving and, if by paving, with the material determined upon, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, by the petitioners or Board of Trustees, as the case may be. Such specifications shall indicate the kind and character of the materials to be used and the manner of their use, the character and manner of improvement and the manner and form of constructing the gutters and their margins, and particularly indicating all the parts of the construction of the work and its state when completed, and shall contain such other provisions as may be thought proper and necessary by such engineer. The Board of Trustees shall also prepare and print bidding sheets in form for bidding for the job of improving the street or portion of the street so to be improved. The engineer shall furnish to any person desiring to make such bid copies of such specifications with a copy of such bidding sheets attached thereto; and every person making a bid shall make such bid upon said bidding sheet and shall accompany his bid with a certified check, payable to the order of the Village Treasurer, for five per centum (5%) of the cost of such improvement at the price fixed by such bidder. All said bids so delivered to and received by the Board of Trustees shall be publicly opened and examined by it on the 20th day after the first publication of said resolution and notices. The Board of Trustees shall have power to reject any and all bids received by it, but unless such bids are rejected, such contract shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder. If no bids are received or accepted by the Board of Trustees or if, when accepted, the bidder neglects to enter into a contract as provided by this Article and the Board of Trustees does not perfect a contract with the next lowest bidder, as provided by this Article, the Board of Trustees may proceed at once to cause such work to be done under the supervision and direction or readvertise for bids in the same manner as in the first instance; and the opening and acceptance of such bids and all proceedings in relation thereto shall be the same as in the first instance.
§ 7. Contractor’s contract; bond.
Within ten (10) days after notice to him of the acceptance of his bid, the successful bidder must enter into a contract with the village for the performance of the work as called for by the specifications, and he shall, before entering into any such contract, execute a good and sufficient bond to the satisfaction of the Board of Trustees of the village for an amount equal to forty per centum (40%) of the total cost of the improvement as fixed by the successful bidder, conditioned that the contract of the principal obligor will be faithfully performed and further conditioned that the principal obligor will pay all sums agreed to be paid on account of materials furnished to be used in the performance of said contract and that the said principal obligor will pay all sums agreed to be paid for work and labor done in and about the performance of said contract. The bonds shall be signed by the contractor as principal and two (2) or more responsible sureties or by a responsible surety company to be approved by the Board of Trustees as sureties. Such sureties together shall justify in an amount at least equal to the amount of the penalty of the bond over and above all other liabilities which they may have incurred. Upon the making and delivery of such bond, the certified check for five per centum (5%) shall be returned to the different bidders upon the work which has been awarded. In case such lowest responsible bidder does not make the bond required, as provided above, and enter into a contract for the faithful performance of the work and for the payment of the cost thereof, as above provided, then his check for five per centum (5%) of the cost of the proposed work shall be forfeited as just and liquidated damages to the village, and the village Clerk shall be directed by the Board of Trustees to deposit the same with the Village Treasurer to the credit of the Street Improvement Fund. In case of the failure of any bidder to enter into a contract within ten (10) days provided above, then the Board of Trustees may either return the certified checks accompanying other bids or it may notify the next lowest bidder that his bid will be accepted, provided it shall conform to the conditions required from the lowest responsible bidder as hereinabove provided. All certified checks sent in by bidders under this law shall be returned to them within thirty (30) days after the opening of the bids, except where the same shall be declared forfeited, as provided herein.
§ 8. Employment of engineers.
The Board of Trustees shall employ a competent engineer whose duty it shall be to make plans and specifications for the improvements to be made, to prepare said bidding sheets, to stake out or otherwise mark the location of the improvements, to see that the improvements are made in accordance with the plans and specifications, to see that the materials used in making the improvements comply with the specifications and generally to supervise the work of the improvement as may be directed by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall also employ a competent assistant or assistants for the said engineer who shall be under the direction of such engineer and whose duty it shall be to look after the details of the improvements and to do such other things as may be required by such engineer and Board. The cost and expense of the employment of said engineer and assistants is included in the general expense hereinafter referred to.
§ 9. Engineer to determine expense.
On every street where an improvement is made pursuant to this Article, the Village Engineer shall determine the total cost of the improvement between the street intersections, not including the general expenses, in one (1) sum and the cost of the improvements in cross streets and street abutting on the street improved, not including any general expenses, in a second sum. When an intersecting street does not cross an improved street, the street intersecting shall be considered as extending only to the middle of the street being improved from the two (2) points at which the opposite side of the abutting street cuts the line of the street improved.
§ 10. Apportionment of expense.
The owners of land adjoining each side of a portion of a street so improved shall each pay one-third (1/3) of the entire cost and expense of the improvement in front of their land, and one-third (1/3) thereof, an amount equal to what is paid by owners on each side, shall be paid by the village (from the general fund to be raised by taxation therefor). The village shall also pay the entire cost and expense of improvements at street crossings and for village property and public property not taxable. The general expenses shall be divided between the village and adjoining owners in the proportion in which the cost and expense of the improvements within the intersecting and abutting streets, exclusive of the general expenses, bears to the cost and expense of the improvement of the street between the intersecting streets, exclusive of the general expenses, and such general expenses shall be divided and paid accordingly. The Board of Trustees shall ascertain and determine the cost and expense of each street so improved and the expense of all that part of the improvement which lies upon the intersecting streets which cross such street or abut thereon, exclusive of the general expenses, and charge the same to the village; and shall then ascertain and determine the whole of the general expense which accrued in making the improvement of said streets; the said Board shall then ascertain and determine the share of the general expense which is to be paid by the adjoining owners and charge the same to the adjoining owners.
§ 11. Portion of expense to be borne by street railroad. [L. 1906, c. 379]
Whenever a street railroad track runs upon or along any street to be paved or macadamized pursuant to this Article, the railroad corporation owning such track shall relay its track in the center of the street so far as the same is to be paved or macadamized and shall pay for the improvement of that part of such street which lies under and between said railroad tracks and two (2) feet in width outside of its tracks; or such street railroad corporation shall, under the supervision of the Village Engineer, construct such improvements in the same manner and of the same material as the remainder of the street is macadamized or paved; and the entire expense of improving such street to the width herein provided must be borne by the railroad corporation. That part of said street not encumbered by said railroad track shall be paved or macadamized, when ordered by the Board of Trustees, after taking the same preliminary steps herein provided for in other cases and after the adjoining owners shall have had their opportunity to elect between paving and macadamizing in the form and manner aforesaid, and all the rules prescribed for streets having no railroad thereon shall apply to such street, except that the adjoining owners shall not be charged with the cost and expense of that part of said street lying under and between said railroad tracks and two (2) feet in width outside of its tracks. The Board of Trustees shall ascertain and determine the cost and expense of the improvement of that part which lies upon the intersecting streets which cross such street or which abut thereon, exclusive of all cost and expense of that part of such street upon which said railroad tracks lie and between such tracks and two (2) feet in width outside of such tracks and exclusive of the general expenses, and shall charge the same to the village; and shall also ascertain and determine the cost and expense of that part of the improvement in such street which is not covered by said intersecting and abutting street or streets and is not covered by said railroad tracks and between such tracks and two (2) feet in width outside of such tracks, exclusive of such general expenses, and shall charge the same as follows: one-third (1/3) to the village and the remaining two-thirds (2/3) to the abuttors in proportion to their frontage. The said Board of Trustees shall then ascertain and determine the cost and expense of that part of the improvement of the street under and between said railroad tracks and between such tracks and two (2) feet in width outside of such tracks, exclusive of the general expenses, and if the improvement is made by the village, shall charge the same to the said railroad company. The general expenses shall be borne and paid by said village, said railroad company and said adjoining owners in proportion to the cost of the village portion, the cost of the railroad’s portion and the cost of the adjoining owner’s portion, outside of said general expenses; and said Board of Trustees shall, when the work is completed, ascertain and determine the share of general expenses which is to be paid by the village and charge the same to the village. It shall also ascertain and determine the share of the general expenses which shall be paid by said railroad company and charge the same to said railroad company. It shall also ascertain and determine the share of the general expenses which is to be paid by the adjoining owners and charge the same to said owners.
§ 12. Special assessments.
Having ascertained the total amount to be a charge to said adjoining owners, the Board of Trustees shall appoint three (3) disinterested electors of the village as special assessors and deliver to them a true statement of the entire cost and expense of such paving and macadamizing which is chargeable to said adjoining owners with directions to assess the same as required by this Act. Such assessors shall assess upon the property adjoining the center section paved or macadamized, exclusive of cross and abutting streets, the said sums so delivered to them by said Board of Trustees in proportion to the number of feet which each property owner has of frontage on that portion of the street so paved or macadamized. When the Board of Trustees shall have extended the time for the payment of assessments and shall have anticipated the collection of the taxes and assessments therefor, as provided for in this Article, by the issue of bonds or a warrant and the amount collected on the assessment made, as already herein provided, is not sufficient to pay the said bonds with interest thereon, a further assessment shall be made by said special assessors or others appointed in their places upon the property already assessed, sufficient to pay such deficiency with principal and interest. The amount necessary to complete the payment of such bonds and warrant and interest shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees within ninety (90) days after the last installment of the deferred assessments becomes due and payable, and said percentage shall thereupon immediately thereafter be assessed to the persons then owing said property in the same assessment as the original assessment herein provided for was made and be levied and collected as herein provided. If at any time thereafter, through the collection of delinquent taxes or otherwise, money that shall be received upon said assessment is in excess of the amount necessary to pay and discharge all obligations under said bonds or warrant and interest, said sum shall be returned to the persons who have paid said assessment in proportion to the amount respectively paid by them. The assessments so made shall be a lien upon the land so assessed, and the lien may be enforced by action in the same manner in which a lien upon land may be enforced.
§ 13. Portion of expense to be borne by village. [L. 1900, c. 67; L. 1909, c. 78]
For the purpose of providing the money to pay the cost of the village’s portion of said improvement provided for in this Article, the Board of Trustees may assess upon all the property within the Village of Fredonia liable to general taxation for public use and collect therefrom each year a sum sufficient to pay the village’s portion of said improvement to be known as a “Street Improvement Fund.” Such Street Improvement Fund shall be kept separate and apart from any other money or funds of the village and shall be used for no purpose whatever, except as provided in this Article. The assessment for improvement of streets under this Act paid by the village as adjoining owner along a street improved, as herein provided, shall be paid by the village out of the village fund, and the money so paid in any political year shall be collected the next political year with the general tax of each succeeding year in the same form and manner in which the general taxes are collected.
§ 14. Assessments; how made.
The Board of Assessors appointed for the purpose by the Board of Trustees shall make an assessment roll, wherein they shall briefly describe and designate the land of which an assessment is made and assess the amount fixed by the Board of Trustees as has been provided in the previous sections of this Article and shall set in the last column of such roll, opposite the name of the person, corporation or association and property assessed, the amount of tax assessed upon such person, corporation or association and property. After such assessment roll is completed, it shall be left with the Village Clerk and notice thereof given in one (1) or more newspapers published in said village; also that said roll can be examined by any person interested for a period of ten (10) days from the first publication of such notice. After the expiration of said ten (10) days, the person conceiving himself or herself aggrieved and for the correction of such roll and the date, hour and place of said meeting shall also be announced in said published notice.
§ 15. Extension of time for payment of assessment. [L. 1900, c. 67; L. 1917, c. 7]
The Board of Trustees shall have the power to extend the time for the payment of the assessments made on account of such improvements and to make the assessment payable in ten (10) equal annual installments, the first installment to be payable immediately after the delivery of the first warrant for the collection thereof to the Receiver of Taxes of the village and the remaining installments to be paid when due each successive year thereafter, on warrants issued for the collection thereof, with interest thereon from the 90th day after the said first warrant is so delivered to said Receiver of Taxes; and in every case the warrants must conform to the plan, and the first warrant shall command the collection of the first installment only, and each successive warrant shall command the Receiver of Taxes to collect the installment then due, together with interest thereon from a day named, which shall be the 90th day after the delivery of the first warrant to the Receiver of Taxes and which shall be with the privilege on the part of the person assessed to pay the entire assessment on the first warrant or to pay all the unpaid assessments, together with interest thereon, on any warrant thereafter issued. The Board of Trustees may determine that the amount which the village shall become liable to pay for the paving or macadamizing of any street, pursuant to this Article, shall be paid by the village in not exceeding ten (10) annual installments and may cause the bonds or other obligations of the village to be issued in anticipation thereof.
§ 16. Warrant; collection of assessments. [L. 1917, c. 7]
To each of said assessment rolls confirmed and filed with the Clerk of the village and to the special assessment roll for deficiency, as provided in § 12 of this Article, when such special assessment is ordered, the Board of Trustees shall annex a warrant under the Seal of the village, signed by the Mayor of the corporation and countersigned by the Clerk, commanding the Receiver of Taxes in and for the Village of Fredonia to collect from the several persons named in the assessment roll the several sums mentioned in the last column of said roll opposite their respective names or so much thereof as shall be specifically ordered, together with the fees of such Receiver of Taxes, and cause such roll with said warrant thereto attached to be delivered to the Receiver of Taxes of the village. The Board of Trustees shall, by resolution, permit the several assessments in said roll, except the special assessments for deficiency provided for in § 12 of this Article, to be paid in ten (10) equal installments, the first installment, to wit, one-tenth (1/10) of the assessment, to be paid immediately, in which case the first warrant to the Receiver of Taxes shall command him to collect from the several persons named in the said assessment roll one-tenth (1/10) only of the several sums mentioned in the last column of such roll opposite the respective names of the persons assessed, except that in case of said special deficiency assessment, he shall be directed to collect the entire amount together with the fees therefor. The remaining nine (9) unpaid installments shall bear interest commencing at the expiration of ninety (90) days from the day the first warrant is delivered to said Receiver of Taxes. If the person assessed elects to pay at once the entire assessment, the said Receiver of Taxes shall take the same and give the party so paying a receipt in full for the entire assessment. After the expiration of one (1) year from the day of the delivery of the first warrant to the said Receiver of Taxes, said Board of Trustees shall annex to the said roll a second warrant similar to the first warrant, commanding the said receiver of taxes to collect the second unpaid installment and the interest thereon, together with his fees therefor; and from thence forth whenever any of the respective successive unpaid installments shall become due and payable, the Board of Trustees shall issue the proper warrant for the collection of the installment so due and payable, together with the interest, and attach the same to the said assessment roll and deliver the warrant so attached to the Receiver of Taxes, which warrant shall command the Receiver of Taxes to collect the installment due and payable, describing it, together with the interest thereon and his fees for collection, and so repeat the said warrant until all the said installments, together with the interest and fees, shall be fully paid, but in no case shall the rate of interest on such unpaid tax or the unpaid installments thereof exceed the rate of interest paid by the village upon the bonds issued, as hereinafter provided, by it on account of the street improvement. All warrants shall direct the Receiver of Taxes to accept the balance of any of said assessments due or to become due from any party assessed therefor. If any of said installments shall remain unpaid ninety (90) days after the time of the delivery of the warrants for the collection thereof, then and in that case the whole amount of the unpaid assessments against the defaulting party shall become due and be due immediately after the default so made, and the Board of Trustees shall, by its warrant, command the Receiver of Taxes to collect the same immediately. Whenever a special tax for deficiency, as provided in § 12 of this Article, is imposed, the Board of Trustees shall annex to the assessment roll a warrant under the Seal of the village, signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the Clerk, commanding the Receiver of Taxes in and for the village to collect from the several persons named in the assessment roll the several sums mentioned in the last column of said roll opposite their respective names, together with the fees of the said Receiver, and cause said roll with the warrants thereto attached to be delivered to the Receiver of Taxes of the village. Whenever a contract for any work connected with street improvements, as herein provided, has been entered into, it shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees, if it deems it necessary, to anticipate the collection of the taxes or assessments connected therewith by issuing bonds in the name and on the credit of the Village of Fredonia under the corporate Seal thereof, which bonds shall be signed by the Mayor and Clerk of the village. The Board of Trustees shall place the amount so raised with the Village Treasurer to the credit of the Street Improvement Fund. When such bonds shall be issued in anticipation of the collection of any assessments, the resolution directing the issuing of the bonds shall designate the particular assessments to anticipate which said bonds are to be issued. The Board of Trustees shall cause a copy of such resolution to be filed in the office of the Receiver of Taxes, and all sums thereafter received by said Receiver of Taxes upon such assessments shall be paid by the Receiver of Taxes to the village Treasurer and by him kept separate from the other funds and shall be applied to the payment of such bonds as fast as such bonds become due. The bonds herein provided to be issued in anticipation of the collection of assessments shall be made due and payable at a time or times not exceeding ten (10) years from the date of the first issue of such street improvement warrants with interest at a rate not exceeding six per centum (6%) per annum and be sold at not less than par; provided, however, that the entire issue of any such series of bonds shall be so made due and payable that at least one-tenth (1/10) of the total original indebtedness for such improvements shall be due and payable each year thereafter, together with all accrued interest on such bonded indebtedness, and further provided that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the Board of Trustees from issuing such bonds in such form and manner that they may be paid in full at any time subject to the call or action of such Board of Trustees.
§ 17. Accepted streets. [L. 1900, c. 67]
All streets or parts of a street paved at the time this Act takes effect or which will subsequently be paved or macadamized shall be deemed accepted streets within the meaning of this Article and shall be repaired when necessary. The repairing of such streets shall be paid from the fund known as the “Street Improvement Fund,” and that portion of any street which may be paved or macadamized and accepted, as herein provided, shall thereafter be exempt from taxes for the repair of the remaining portion of said street that is not paved or macadamized. The Street Commissioner shall cause the accepted streets to be repaired upon the order of the Board of Trustees and shall employ the necessary material therefor. When such work has been done or any material has been purchased, the Commissioner shall certify the expense of the same to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall thereupon order a proper warrant for the payment thereof to be drawn on the Treasurer. For the purposes of this section, repairs of streets shall not include the repaving or remodeling of the streets. Where the Board of Trustees of the village has contracted for a portion of a street, the improvement of which has been petitioned for, the Board may extend such contract to complete such street as far as has been or may be petitioned for on the same terms as the terms of the original contract. Contracts entered into at the time that the amendment of this section takes effect and all acts of Boards of Trustees of the village heretofore done in pursuance of this Article are legalized, ratified and confirmed.
§ 18. Street drainage facilities. [L.L. No. 1-2000]
A. The Board of Trustees, in its discretion, may provide that the cost of part or all of any street drainage improvements shall be borne partly by the Village at large and partly by the owners of the lands benefitted thereby; or such Board may provide that the cost of such improvements shall be borne by the Village at large; or such Board may provide that the cost of such improvements be assessed entirely upon the owner of the lands benefitted thereby.
B. If all or part of the drainage improvements are to be borne by the owners of the lands benefitted, the procedures set forth in §§ 22-2200 and § 5-518 of the Village Law shall govern.
§ 1. Repairing sidewalks. [L. 1902, c. 62; L. 1917, c. 7[11]]
The Board of Trustees shall direct the manner of making and repairing sidewalks and crosswalks in the village, and whenever any person owning or occupying any lands adjoining any highway or street within the limits of the village shall, with the consent of the Trustees of the village or a majority of them, grade and flag or construct a stone or cement sidewalk within such highway or street along the line of such lands so owned or occupied of the width of four (4) or more feet, it shall be the duty of the Trustees to examine the same when finished and, if found satisfactory in construction and material, to credit such owner or occupant therefor so much on account of his or her assessment for highway tax in the village as such Trustees shall deem necessary to pay, not to exceed three-fourths (3/4) of the actual and necessary expense of constructing such sidewalk, and deliver to said owner or occupant their certificate of the amount of such credit; but such credit shall in no case be less than three dollars ($3.) per linear rod for the amount of said walk so constructed and finished. If the Trustees find said walk or walks to be of less value than four dollars ($4.) per linear rod, then they are to give no credit whatever for the construction of the same. The Trustees of the village shall thereafter exempt the owner or occupant of such lands from highway taxes in the village until the amount of such exemption shall be equal to the sum of the credit for which said certificate was allowed. In cases where there is no stone or cement walk in front of premises having a frontage upon any street in the village, not exceeding three hundred (300) feet, whether owned or occupied by one (1) or more parties, and where stone or cement walks have been constructed under this Act on each side up to the line of said owners or occupants, the Trustees of the village may, by resolution, direct said owner or owners or occupant or occupants, within sixty (60) days after service upon said parties of said resolution, to construct upon the whole front of said premises adjoining any streets a stone or cement walk, as provided for in this Act, and if said parties shall not, within sixty (60) days, construct and lay said walk, the Trustees of the village may construct said walk and charge the cost and expenses thereof to the party or parties owning the land abutting upon said walk, and the same shall be a lien and charge upon the land and may be collected as other taxes are collected. The party shall have the certificates and credit and exemption, after payment of said walk to the village, as if said party had voluntarily constructed said walk under this Act.
§ 2. Grade and ornamentation of sidewalks.
It shall be the duty of the owners or occupants of any lot or lots on any of the streets or highways in the village to grade, construct, repair and ornament with trees all sidewalks adjacent and on the same side of the street or highway with the lot or lots so owned or occupied by them respectively, in the manner and of the materials and kind and within such time as the Board of Trustees shall, by resolution or ordinance, direct; and if not so done by such owner or occupant, the Trustees may make or cause to be made such improvements and repairs and assess the expense thereof upon such owner or occupant in the manner prescribed in § 3 of this Article.
§ 3. Expense of repairing sidewalks; how collected. [L. 1917, c. 7]
Whenever any of the improvements or repairs mentioned in the next preceding section of this Act shall be made by the Trustees of the village, they shall assess the expenses thereof of the village; they shall assess the expenses thereof upon the owners or occupants of the lands and premises adjacent and on the same side of the street or highway with said improvements and repairs, such expenses to be assessed to such owners or occupants by name when known to said Board and, when unknown, to the unknown owners shall be left with the Receiver of Taxes who shall give public notice in such manner as the Trustees may direct that the same has been left with him and that the said Trustees will, on a certain day to be fixed by the Trustees and therein stated, which shall not be less than ten (10) days from the first publication of said notice, proceed to examine, correct and confirm said assessment. During that period any person interested may appear before the Trustees and apply to have such assessment altered or corrected as may be just. The same may be so altered, corrected and confirmed by them without further notice. All such assessments shall be a lien upon the lands and premises respectively upon which they shall be made. Within twenty (20) days after the confirmation of such assessments, the same may be paid to the Receiver of Taxes of the village. If any such assessment shall remain unpaid at the expiration of said twenty (20) days, the Trustees shall issue their warrant to the Receiver of Taxes of the village, who shall proceed to collect the same out of the personal property of the persons assessed within thirty (30) days after the receipt thereof by him. If said Receiver of Taxes shall return said warrant at the expiration of the said thirty (30) days unsatisfied in the whole or in part or if the Receiver of Taxes shall return a warrant in his hands for collection, issued by the Trustees for any tax unsatisfied in whole or in part, for want of personal property out of which he could satisfy the same, it shall thereupon be lawful for the Trustees to cause a notice to be published under the direction of the Receiver of Taxes of the village in the newspaper or papers employed by them, for six (6) weeks successively, at least once in each week, requiring the owners or occupants of the lands and premises on which such assessment is made or such tax is levied to pay the same with the expenses to the Receiver of Taxes of the village by a certain time to be fixed by the said Trustees and therein to be specified, after the expiration of the said weeks or, in default thereof, that the premises will be sold at public auction at the time so specified for the lowest term of years for which any person will purchase or lease the same and pay the amount of such assessment, with expenses of such sale and conveyance, to be fixed by the Trustees. And if at the expiration of the time which shall be so specified the amount of such assessment, with expenses as aforesaid, shall not be paid, the said Trustees may cause such premises or so much thereof as they may deem necessary to be sold accordingly, and upon the completion of such sale and the payment by the purchaser or purchasers of the amount so to be paid, as aforesaid, they shall execute and deliver a conveyance under the corporate Seal, signed by the Mayor and attested by the Clerk of the village, to the purchaser or purchasers of said premises or to his, her or their assigns or legal representatives for the term for which the same shall have been sold; in which conveyance the proceedings had for the sale thereof shall be briefly set forth, and by the force thereof the purchaser or purchasers, his, her or their assigns and legal representatives shall be entitled to the possession of the said premises for the term therein specified; and it shall be the duty of all persons having possession thereof to surrender the same accordingly, and in default thereof, such purchaser or purchasers, his, her or their assigns and legal representative shall be entitled to the same remedy to recover such possession as is by law provided for the removal of tenants holding over after the expiration of their term or to such other remedy as is allowed by law. In any action or proceeding instituted to recover such possession, the plaintiff shall be required to prove that a demand of such possession has been made subsequent to the execution and delivery of the said conveyance, and no other notice to quit shall be necessary; and the said conveyance shall in any such action or proceeding be presumptive evidence of the facts therein recited and set forth.
§ 4. Sidewalks on streets paved or improved.
The Board of Trustees is hereby empowered and authorized to create and establish sidewalk grades and to cause the sidewalks to conform thereto upon all the streets heretofore or hereafter paved or improved and to compel the adjoining property owners to cause the sidewalks adjoining their premises to conform to such established grade, and should any adjoining property owners fail or neglect to cause the sidewalk in front of his or its premises so to conform to the established and then existing grade in a manner to be approved of by the Village Engineer within fifteen (15) days after being so notified by the Street Commissioner, then the village shall have power through its proper officers or servants to cause the sidewalk adjoining the premises of such defaulting property owner to conform to the proper and established grade; and the expense thereof shall be chargeable upon such adjoining property and shall be a lien thereon to be enforced by an action at law or to be collected in the manner provided by law for the levying and collection of taxes.
§ 1. Tax for construction. [L. 1929, c. 25]
The Trustees of the village may cause to be raised and collected a sum which shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.) in any one (1) year, in addition to any sum herein otherwise provided for, to be raised annually by general tax as a General Sewer Fund. The tax or taxes ordered to be raised pursuant to this section may be raised as a gross tax on one (1) assessment roll without specifying in such roll the purposes for which such moneys are to be raised, but the Trustees shall, in the order directing the assessment, specify the purposes for which such moneys are to be raised, with the amount thereof.
§ 2. Construction, petition for; expenses.
It shall be the duty of the Trustees, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, to construct a sewer in any street or streets in the village, the size of which shall be fixed in the discretion of said Trustees, upon the petition of owners of a majority of linear feet of taxable real estate upon said street or streets abutting on or facing the proposed sewer and including the whole length thereof, if continuous, whether located upon or upon different streets; but before any such sewer shall be built, it shall be the duty of the Trustees to establish for assessment purposes a mean average size of pipe for sewers for all the streets of the village; and whenever a sewer shall be constructed under authority of this section, the estimated cost and expenses of a sewer of the same length and of the mean average size for sewers, as fixed by the Trustees, based on the actual cost of sewers built, shall be charged upon and collected from the property of said street or streets abutting on or facing said sewer in proportion to the cost and expenses of the sewer built in excess of the cost; and expenses of the mean average size for sewers, as assessed by the Trustees, shall be paid from the General Sewer Fund of the village. When the size of a sewer constructed in any street or streets, as ordered by the Trustees, shall be less than the established mean average size for sewers, the estimated cost and expenses of a sewer of the same length and of the mean average size for sewers, as fixed by the Trustees, based on the actual cost of sewer built shall be charged upon and collected from the property on such street or streets abutting on or facing said sewer, in proportion to the linear feet of each lot abutting on or facing said sewer; and the surplus of said assessment, after the cost and expenses of the sewer built shall have been paid, shall be added to the General Sewer Fund of the village. Where any sewer shall cross the intersection of more than two (2) streets in the village or where two (2) streets shall cross, the cost thereof for the width of said cross street or streets shall be paid from the General Sewer Fund of the village, and where streets intersect the street in which the sewer is laid and do not cross it, one-half (1/2) the cost of said sewer for the width of such intersecting streets shall be paid from the General Sewer Fund. Property situate on the corner of two (2) intersecting streets shall be taxed for sewer upon the street where a sewer is first ordered by the Board of Trustees and not for any sewer subsequently ordered upon the other adjacent street; and where sewers are ordered upon both such intersecting streets at one (1) time, the Board of Trustees shall decide, as may seem to it just, upon which of said streets such corner property shall be taxed for sewer; and the proportionate cost of sewer on the other one of said streets for the width of such lot on such other street shall be paid from the General Sewer Fund of the village. Expense of sewers in front of or adjacent to any public or nontaxable property shall be paid from the General Sewer Fund of the village.
§ 3. Assessment of expenses.
Whenever any of the improvements mentioned in the next preceding section of this Article shall be made by the Trustees of the village, they shall assess the cost and expenses thereof upon the owners or occupants of the lands and premises adjacent, as provided in said section, such expenses to be assessed to such owners or occupant by name, when known to the Board of Trustees and, when unknown, to the unknown owners of such lands or premises describing the same; and the same proceedings shall be had and the said assessment shall be a lien upon the property, and all the rights and privileges given to such Trustees by this Act in relation to examining, confirming and collecting an assessment for repairs to sidewalks in the village are hereby granted to them in relation to examining, correcting, confirming and collecting said assessment.
§ 4. Village Law. (L.L. No. 2-2004)
A. In addition to the authority granted to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fredonia under the Charter of the Village of Fredonia, the Board of Trustees shall have all the powers and authority set forth in Article 14 of the Village Law of the State of New York relative to sewers.
B. The Board of Trustees, in its discretion, may provide that the cost of part or all of any sewer system shall be borne partly by the Village at large and partly by the owners of the lands benefited thereby; or such Board may provide that the cost of such improvements shall be borne by the Village at large; or such Board may provide that the cost of such improvements be assessed entirely upon the owners of the lands benefited thereby.
C. If all or part of the sewer improvements are to be borne by the owners of the lands benefited the procedures set forth in § 22-2200 and § 5-518 of the Village Law shall govern.
§ 1. Board of Trustees to have charge of waterworks.
The Trustees of the Village of Fredonia shall be the Water Commissioners thereof and shall have supervision and control of the waterworks therein as provided by this Article. The Board of Trustees shall examine and consider all matters relating to supplying the village with pure and wholesome water, and for that purpose, it shall have power to employ engineers, surveyors and such other persons as shall be necessary for that purpose; and it shall adopt such plans as, in its opinion, may be most feasible for securing such supply of water and which shall embrace proper distribution of pipes and supplies for all streets and places where, in its opinion, it shall be for the interest of the village; and it shall have power to extend its distributing pipes, aqueducts and mains and to erect hydrants without the limit of the village and to sell, regulate, protect and control such portions of its works and the water supply thereof in the same manner that it may regulate, protect and control its works and the water supply within the village and shall ascertain the probable amount of money necessary to carry the same into effect; and for that purpose, it shall have the power to contract for and purchase and take by deed or other instrument, under Seal, in the name of the village, all lands, tenements, hereditaments, water or water rights or privileges or water whatever and situate at any place within the County of Chautauqua which may be required for the purpose to pay and justly compensate all persons and parties who may sustain damage by reason of the diversion of the natural flow of water in any streams to be affected by taking and using of any water for the use and purpose of this Act and to take releases and conveyances from the persons to whom damages may be paid and to contract for the execution of the work or any part thereof or the supply of any necessary material; and the Board of Trustees and its agents and employees are authorized to enter upon any land or water for the purpose of making surveys and to agree with the owner of the property, real or personal, which may be required from the purposes of this Act as to the amount of compensation to be paid such owner or, if it cannot agree with the owner, to acquire the same by condemnation.
§ 2. Surveys and maps.
Before entering, taking or using any lands, rights or privileges for the purposes of this Act, the Trustees shall cause a survey and map to be made of the lands and water intended to be taken or entered upon for any of said purposes by and on which the land or water of each owner or occupant shall be designated, which map shall be signed by the Mayor and Clerk of the village and filed in the office of the County Clerk of Chautauqua County; said Trustees, by any of their officers, agents or servants, may enter upon any lands or waters for the purpose of making such surveys or map.
§ 3. Use of streets.
The Trustees and all acting under their authority shall have the right to use the ground or soil under any street, highway or roads within the County of Chautauqua for the purpose of introducing water into and through any and all portions of the village, on condition that they shall cause the surface of such street, highway or road to be relaid and restored to its usual state and all damages done thereto to be repaired, and such right shall be continuous for the purpose of repairing and relaying water pipes upon like conditions.
§ 4. Rents.
The Trustees shall establish a scale of rents to be charged and paid to the Trustees, from time to time, either in advance or at such time or times as the Trustees shall prescribe, for the supply of water to be called “water rents,” and apportion to the different classes of buildings in the village in reference to their dimensions, value, exposure to fire, ordinary or extraordinary uses for dwellings, stores, shops, hotels, factories, livery stables, barns and other buildings, establishments or trades, yards, number of families or occupants or consumption of water, as near as may be practicable and, from time to time, either modify, amend, increase or diminish such rents. Said rents shall be made as nearly equitable between consumers as is practicable, and consumers of water for use in elevators, motor or boilers whose annual rent for such use is over twenty dollars may, on demand, have their rent readjusted for the year according to the quantity of water used at the established rate for all such consumers per thousand gallons. Said Trustees and their respective employees shall be authorized at all times to enter into any building or place where water is used from supply pipes to examine as to the water, quantity of water used and the manner of using it.
§ 5. Connecting pipes.
The connecting or supplying pipes leading from buildings or yards to the distribution pipes shall be inserted and kept in repair at the expense of the owner or occupant of the building or yard and shall not be inserted or connected with the main pipe until a permit therefor shall be obtained from said Trustees or other persons having charge thereof, and all such connections or supplying pipes shall be connected and constructed in the manner directed by said Trustees or persons in charge.
§ 6. Application of annual rents. [L. 1909, c. 78]
The entire annual receipts of water rents, after deducting therefrom such sums as may be necessary to defray the expenses of repairs of said waterworks and of extending the same, the payment of the interest on the loan authorized for the construction of such works by Chapter 67 of the Laws of 1882, the payment of the bonds as they mature and the interest thereon and other necessary expenses, shall be transferred to the general fund of the village.
§ 7. Tax for deficiency. [L. 1909, c. 78]
In case the entire annual receipts for water rents, after deducting as in the preceding section provided, shall, in any year, not be sufficient to pay interest for that year on said loan or in case of any year when any of the principal of the loans secured by said bonds fall due, the amount of said receipts for water rents, after making said deduction, shall not be sufficient to pay said principal and also the said interest falling due that year, it shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees of the village, and it is hereby directed, to cause such deficiency to be assessed, levied and collected from the taxable property of the village at the same time and in the same manner as other expenses of the village are assessed, levied and collected, and the same shall be applied to the payment of such interest or principal, or both.
§ 8. Bylaws.
The Board of Trustees shall have power, from time to time, to make and establish such bylaws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, as it shall judge proper for enforcing the collection of water rents and manner of using water and generally for managing the waterworks of the village and may provide regulations as to the use of water and to enforce the observance thereof by cutting off the use and supply of water.
§ 1. Acquisition of property. [L. 1902, c. 62]
The Village of Fredonia, for the purpose of securing and establishing a public library for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the village, is hereby authorized to take, by deed or other suitable articles of conveyances or transfers, and hold forever for the use and maintenance of such library, to be known as the “Darwin R. Barker Library Association of Fredonia, New York,” all such real and personal property as shall, from time to time, be donated to the village for the use and benefit of said library. The several donors for the use and benefit of said association may, in their deeds or articles of donation, specify the terms and conditions of their several donations, and the village, by a vote of the majority of its Trustees, may accept or reject donations, with or without conditions, as to them seem best for the interest of the village and the association. Whenever any such donation is once accepted, as hereinbefore provided, then the village must hold the same subject to the terms accompanying the donation. The Trustees may, in their discretion, issue bonds or other obligations of the village in an amount not exceeding three thousand dollars ($3,000.) for the purpose of a suitable site for a new library building. Such bonds or other obligations shall be payable within ten (10) years from the date of issue and may be made payable in ten (10) equal annual installments. They shall bear interest at the rate of not exceeding five per centum (5%) per annum and be sold at the best terms obtainable, not less than par.
§ 2. Board of Directors.
The direction and management of the affairs of the association shall be under a Board of Directors consisting of nine (9) persons who shall be residents and citizens of the Village of Fredonia. The Directors in office when this Act takes effect shall continue in office hereunder. Whenever any vacancy occurs by death, resignation or removal from the village or from any cause any member of said Board becomes incapacitated to act, the place of such member shall be filled by a majority of the remaining members at a meeting called for that purpose upon due and proper notice to each member or at any meeting regularly called pursuant to the bylaws of said association. Such appointment shall be in writing, signed by a majority of the then acting Directors of said Board and shall be filed with the Secretary of said Board, but shall not be operative as an appointment until the person designated shall have filed a written acceptance of such appointment with the Secretary of the Board. Whenever a vacancy shall exist for a period exceeding six (6) months, by the neglect of the Directors to fill the same, the Trustees of the Village of Fredonia may, by a unanimous resolution approved by the Mayor of the village, fill such vacancy; and in case the Trustees neglect to fill the same within a reasonable time after the lapse of six (6) months, the Supreme Court shall have power to fill the same upon due notice, in writing, of at least thirty (30) days being given to the Board of Directors and to the Village of Fredonia.
§ 3. Regulations and ordinances.
The Board of Directors and its successors shall have full power and authority to make such regulations and ordinances, from time to time, as it may think proper for the good order and convenience of those who may resort to the library or use the same and to make such bylaws as it shall deem suitable for conducting the business of the association and for the protection and preservation of its property; to appoint, direct, control and, at its pleasure, remove a superintendent of the library and all librarians and other persons necessary to be employed about the same and in general to have and use all powers and authority necessary for the promotion of the objects of the association.
§ 4. When library to be open.
The library shall be accessible at all reasonable hours and times for general use upon such terms as the Board of Directors shall, by resolution, establish from time to time, and also provided that no books belonging to the reference library shall be removed from the library association building and no books belonging to the circulating library shall be loaned to any person to be removed from the Town of Pomfret.
§ 5. Library subject to visitation of Supreme Court.
The library association shall be at all times subject to the visitation of the Supreme Court, which Court shall have full power over the same for the maintenance of the objects of the association and may, for good and sufficient cause shown, upon the application of any freeholder of the village and upon the notice, in writing, of at least twenty (20) days, served upon the Village of Fredonia and said Board of said application, remove any or all of the members of said Board and appoint others in their places or may designate and appoint a new Board, consisting of the same number of citizens of the village or any less number as the Court may deem best for the interest of the association.
§ 6. Officers, election of.
The Board of Directors shall annually, on the first Monday of June, elect one (1) of its number to preside over said Board, who shall hold such office for any one (1) year and until his successor is chosen, and it may, at any time, appoint or remove a Secretary and Treasurer and any other subordinate officers which its business may require. The acts of a majority of the then existing Directors at any meeting duly called according to the bylaws of the association shall be valid. The said Directors shall not receive any compensation for their services, except should one (1) of their number be appointed Secretary, he may receive a reasonable compensation therefor.
§ 1. Annual village tax.
The Trustees of the village may cause to be raised and collected a sum which shall not exceed five (5) mills on a dollar of the assessed valuation of the real and personal property of the village in any one (1) year for defraying all the ordinary and contingent expenses of the village, not herein otherwise provided for, to be raised annually by general tax. The tax or taxes ordered to be raised pursuant to this section may be raised as a gross tax on the assessment roll without specifying in such roll the purposes for which the said moneys are to be raised, but the Trustees shall, in the order directing the assessment, specify the purposes for which the said moneys are to be raised and the amount to be raised for each purpose.
§ 2. Assessment roll. [12] [L. 1917, C. 7; L. 1926, C. 122]
The Receiver of Taxes of the Village of Fredonia shall each year copy from the assessment roll of the Town of Pomfret for that year, within ten (10) days after the time in which the Town Assessors are required by law to complete the assessment roll and to give notice of review thereof, the assessments of the valuation of all the real and personal property within the corporation limits of the Village of Fredonia, which copy, so made by said Receiver of Taxes, shall forthwith be filed in the office of the Receiver of Taxes of the village for inspection of any party interested. The Trustees of the village shall meet on the day on which the Assessors of the town are, by law, required to meet to review their assessment, and the Trustees shall have full authority for the village to review, correct and complete such assessment roll as copied by said Receiver of Taxes and to change the same to correspond with the assessment roll of the Town Assessors as changed by them upon review. The amount of valuation copied from the town assessment roll shall not be changed by the Trustees, except as herein provided. The Trustees of the village shall give, as near as practicable, the same notice and in the same manner of their meeting to review the assessment roll for the village as Town Assessors are by law required to give of their meeting for review of town assessments. If any real estate in the village is overlooked or omitted from the town assessment roll, the Trustees may put the same upon the assessment roll of the village and fix its valuation and apportionment for taxation, but no real estate shall be added to the village roll without notice, in writing, served upon the owner or occupant of said land at least ten (10) days before the meeting of the Trustees for review of their intention to consider and act upon the taxation of the property. The notice may be served personally upon the owner or occupant and left at his place of residence or sent by mail properly enclosed postpaid to the post office address of said owner or occupant. The village assessment roll, so made and reviewed, as herein provided by the Trustees of the village shall be the basis on which all taxes for general purposes for the next succeeding year shall be taxed and apportioned. The annual warrant for the collection of general taxes for the Village of Fredonia shall be issued to the Receiver of Taxes on or before June 15 of each year. The Trustees may, in their discretion, determine that the school taxes in the village shall be separately levied and collected. If the Trustees shall so determine, they shall, upon the completion and correction of the assessment roll, as provided by this section, and on or before the first day of September of each year, cause a correct copy thereof to be made and shall levy thereon the taxes required in pursuance of law by the Board of Education of Union Free School District Number 8 of the Town of Pomfret. The annual warrant for the collection of the school taxes levied on such separate roll shall be issued to the Receiver of Taxes on or before October 1 of each year.
§ 3. Apportionment of tax; warrant.
Whenever the Trustees shall, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, direct any sum of money to be raised by a general tax, it shall be the duty of the Village Clerk to apportion the same to be raised upon the last assessment roll of the village, with such sum in addition hereto as the Trustees shall direct as the fees for collecting the same, according to the valuation therein contained. He shall complete such apportionment upon said roll within ten (10) days after the meeting at which such tax was directed to be raised. The Trustees shall endorse on or annex to said roll their warrant for the collection of the taxes therein mentioned.
§ 4. Poll tax.
The Board of Trustees shall prescribe by ordinance the amount of poll tax to be paid by every voter in the village, not to exceed one dollar ($1.), who shall not be assessed on real or personal property in the village during the then current year and to direct the entry by the Assessors on the general tax roll of the village the name of every person liable to a poll tax and the amount of such tax as fixed by the Trustees; and such poll tax, when collected, shall belong to the contingent fund of the village in addition to the amount directed by the Trustees to be raised by general tax.
§ 5. Powers of Receiver of Taxes. [L. 1917, c. 7]
The Receiver of Taxes of the village shall have the same powers in the collection of taxes and assessments, under warrants to be issued to him by the Trustees for that purpose, as herein provided, as collectors of taxes in towns under warrants issued by Boards of Supervisors.
§ 6. Reassessment of tax against nonresidents. [L. 1917, c. 7]
If any tax assessed against unoccupied real estate belonging to nonresident owners shall be returned by the Receiver of Taxes unpaid, it shall be lawful for and shall be the duty of the Receiver of Taxes to enter on the assessment roll of the year next after such tax is assessed the amount of such unpaid tax, together with the interest on the same at the rate of ten per centum (10%) per annum in addition to the tax for the then current year, and the Receiver of Taxes shall have power to collect the said tax from the personal property of the owner or occupant of said land; and in case of his failure or inability to so collect such tax, the Trustees may proceed to sell the said real estate according to the provisions of § 3 of Article V of this Act.
§ 7. Tax to pay for buildings. [L.L. No. 1-1972]
The Trustees of said village are hereby authorized and empowered to assess upon the taxable property in said village any sum or sums which may at any time be required for the purchase of real estate on which to erect buildings for educational or other public purposes, and said Trustees shall have the power by a majority vote to sell and for a proper consideration to convey all of the title and interest of the village in and to any land or property owned by the village, but not in actual use by the village.
§ 1. Actions to recover tax; action on official bonds. [L. 1917, c. 7]
The Trustees shall have power to collect by civil action in the corporate name of the village any tax or assessment imposed, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, against any person, association or corporation, which shall be returned by the Receiver of Taxes unpaid, and may maintain actions upon the official bond of any officer of said corporation for any default in the condition thereof.
§ 2. Arrest without process.
The Mayor and Trustees of the village, the Village Constable and the Constables of the Town of Pomfret shall be ex officio Constables and have power, and it shall be their duty, without process, to arrest and forthwith take before any Justice of the Peace residing in the village for examination or trial any person or persons guilty, in his or their presence, of violating any of the provisions of this Act or of any bylaws, ordinance rule or regulation of the village or of any felony or misdemeanor.
§ 3. Competency of Judges and jurors.
No person shall be incompetent as a Judge, Justice or juror or witness by reason of his being an inhabitant or freeholder in the village or any officer thereof shall be a party or interested.
§ 4. Bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations continued.
All bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations of the Board of Trustees of the village, adopted in pursuance of any law repealed by this Act and in force when this Act takes effect, are continued with the same force and effect hereunder, except insofar as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
§ 5. Laws repealed.
Of the laws enumerated in the schedules hereto annexed, that portion specified in the last column is repealed.[13]
§ 6. When effective.
[1]. Editor’s Note: See Ch. A306, Annexations, for additional territory annexed to the Village of Fredonia from the Town of Pomfret. [2]. Editor’s Note: For Village Justice, see Ch. 39, Justice, Village. [3]. Editor’s Note: This local law received the affirmative vote of the majority of the qualified electors voting thereon at the general election held 3-11-2013. [4]. Editor’s Note: This local law received the affirmative vote of the qualified electors voting thereon at the general election held March 14, 1994. Said local law further provides that any other provisions of the Village Charter to the extent inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. [5]. Editor’s Note: This local law received the affirmative vote of the qualified electors voting thereon at the general election held March 14, 1994. Said local law further provides that any other provisions of the Village Charter to the extent inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. [6]. Editor’s Note: This local law received the affirmative vote of the majority of the qualified electors voting thereon at the general election held 3-11-2013. [7]. Editor’s Note: This local law received the affirmative vote of the majority of the qualified electors voting thereon at the general election held 3-11-2013. [8]. Editor’s Note: This local law received the affirmative vote of the majority of the qualified electors voting thereon at the general election held 3-11-2013. [9]. Editor’s Note: Local Law No. 4-1997, adopted 7-14-1997, enacted a new § 14(21), regarding the promotion of cultural activities at the Village of Fredonia Opera House. Said local law expired 1-1-1998. [10]. Editor’s Note: See now the Criminal Practice Law and Rules. [11]. Editor’s Note: Pursuant to resolutions dated 8-10-1925 and 8-24-1925, this section was changed to fifty-percent rebate. [12]. Editor’s Note: Section 8 of L.L. No. 1-1989, enacted 4-10-1989, stated that any provision of this § 2 of Art. IX inconsistent therewith shall be repealed. For the remainder of L.L. No. 1-1989, see Ch. 7, Assessment of Property. [13]. Editor’s Note: The Schedule of Laws Repealed is included at the end of this Charter. Friday
Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then cloudy skies late. A few storms may be severe. High around 80F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
july 24jul7:00 pm- 1:00 amBoard of Trustees Meeting
26jul6:30 pm- 8:30 pmGazebo Concert Series featuring The New Horizons Band