NY Town L § 150 (2021)
2021 New York Laws TWN - Town Article 10 - Police 150 - Establishment of Town Police Departments.

§  150. Establishment of town police departments. 1. The town board of   any town may establish a police department and appoint a chief of police   and such officers as may be  needed  and  fix  their  compensation.  The   compensation  of  such police officers shall be a town charge; providing   however, no assessment on property in any village  within  any  town  or   partially within any town shall be made for the maintenance or operation   of  a  town  police department established after January first, nineteen   hundred sixty, pursuant to this section if any such village maintains  a   police department of four or more police officers on an annual full-time   basis,  established and maintained under the rules of civil service. The   town board may, at its option, determine that the town shall pay all  or   part  of  the cost of the uniforms and necessary equipment of its police   officers, and  may  purchase  such  equipment  for  use  by  the  police   department as it shall deem necessary, including police patrol vehicles,   and  emergency  service  vehicles  for  police  use  in  connection with   accidents, public calamities or  other  emergencies.  No  assessment  on   property  in  any village within any town in the county of Suffolk or in   any village within  the  town  of  Fallsburgh  shall  be  made  for  the   maintenance  or  operation  of  such town police department, if any such   village maintains a police department of two or more police officers  on   an  annual  basis.  In  the  event  that a town has established a police   department prior to January first,  nineteen  hundred  sixty,  the  town   board  of  such town may enter into an agreement with any village within   it or partially within it which maintains a police department of four or   more police officers on  an  annual  full-time  basis,  established  and   maintained  under  the rules of civil service and determine therein what   part of the cost thereof shall be assessed against the property  in  the   village  and what part thereof shall be assessed against the property in   the town outside of the village. Thereafter such  portion  of  the  cost   thereof  determined  to  be  assessed  outside of the village shall be a   charge against that  part  of  the  town  outside  of  the  village  and   assessed, levied and collected from the taxable property of that part of   the  town  outside  of the village. When appointed, such police officers   shall have all  the  powers  and  be  subject  to  all  the  duties  and   liabilities  of a police officer in all criminal actions and proceedings   and special proceedings of a criminal nature.2. The town board of a town in which such a police department has been   established at any time by resolution may establish a  board  of  police   commissioners   for   such   town   and  appoint  one  or  three  police   commissioners who shall at the time of their appointment and  throughout   their  term  of  office  be  electors  of such town, and who shall serve   without compensation, and at the pleasure of the town board. If the town   board shall appoint only one  such  police  commissioner,  it  shall  in   addition  designate two members of the town board to serve as members of   such police commission. The town board may also by resolution  designate   the  supervisor to serve as police commissioner, and when so designated,   such supervisor shall have all the powers of and perform the  duties  of   such board of police commissioners. When either of such boards of police   commissioners  shall  have  been established or supervisor designated as   police commissioner,  such  board  of  police  commissioners  or  police   commissioner  shall  have and exercise all the powers relative to police   matters conferred upon the town board pursuant to this article. The town   board may by resolution at any time abolish such  police  commission  or   revoke  the  designation  of  such supervisor as police commissioner and   thereupon the town board only shall exercise the powers  conferred  upon   it by this article. 3.  The town board of a town, upon establishing or abolishing a police   department, shall notify the commissioner of the  division  of  criminal   justice services of such action within thirty days thereafter.4. Any local law which seeks to abolish a town police department shall   be  subject  to  a permissive referendum as provided in article seven of   this chapter.