NY Gen Mun L § 6-G (2021)
2021 New York Laws GMU - General Municipal Article 2 - General Municipal Finances 6-G - Capital Reserve Funds for Fire Districts.

§  6-g.  Capital  reserve funds for fire districts. 1. As used in this section:   a. The term "capital improvement" shall mean:  (1) Any physical betterment or improvement or any preliminary  studies and surveys relative thereto.  (2) Land or rights in land.  (3)  Any  furnishings,  equipment,  machinery  or  apparatus  for  any physical public betterment or improvement acquired at the time when such betterment or improvement is constructed, reconstructed or acquired.   b. The term "equipment" shall  include  any  equipment,  machinery  or apparatus   not   included  in  the  definition  of  the  term  "capital improvement" and for the acquisition  of  which  a  period  of  probable usefulness has been provided by law.   c.  The term "obligations" shall include bonds, notes, certificates or other evidences of indebtedness.   2. The board of fire commissioners of any fire district may  establish capital reserve funds for the financing of all or a part of the cost of:   a.  The  construction,  reconstruction  or  acquisition  of a specific capital improvement or the acquisition of a specific  item  or  specific items of equipment.   b.  The  construction,  reconstruction  or  acquisition  of  a type of capital improvement or the acquisition of a type of equipment.   3. If the board of fire commissioners authorizes the establishment  of a  capital  reserve fund for the financing of all or part of the cost of the construction, reconstruction or acquisition of  a  specific  capital improvement  or  the acquisition of a specific item or specific items of equipment, it shall  set  forth  in  such  authorization  the  estimated maximum cost thereof.   4.  Any  resolution of the board of fire commissioners authorizing the establishment of a reserve fund shall not take effect until approved  by the affirmative vote of a majority of the electors of such fire district affected,  qualified  to  vote  at  an  annual election of fire district officers, voting on such proposition. Any special election shall be held in the manner provided in section one hundred seventy-nine of  the  town law, as amended from time to time.   A  proposition  for the submission of any such resolution of the board of fire commissioners to the approval of  the  said  qualified  electors pursuant  to  this section, shall contain an abstract of such resolution concisely stating the purposes and effect  thereof.  The  fire  district secretary  shall  prepare  such abstract with the advice of the attorney for the fire district, if there  be  one,  and  forthwith  transmit  the proposition  to  the board of fire commissioners in the form in which it is to be submitted at such annual  or  special  election  of  such  fire district. If there be more than one such proposition to be voted upon at such  election,  each  proposition shall be separately and consecutively numbered.   5. There may be paid into any such capital reserve fund:   a. Such an amount as may be provided therefor in the annual budget  of the  fire district adopted pursuant to section one hundred eighty-one of the town law or pursuant to section one hundred eighty-one-a of the town law.   b. Such revenues as are not required by law to be paid into any  other fund  or  account,  including  the proceeds from the sale of any capital improvement or equipment owned by such fire district.   6. The moneys in each such capital reserve fund shall be deposited and secured in the manner provided by section ten of this article. The board of fire commissioners or  the  fire  district  treasurer  of  such  fire district, if the board of fire commissioners shall delegate such duty to  him,  may  invest the moneys in each such fund in the manner provided in section eleven of this article. Any interest  earned  or  capital  gains realized  on  the  moneys  so  deposited or invested shall accrue to and become  part  of each such fund. The separate identity of each such fund shall be maintained, whether its assets consist of cash  or  investments or both.   7.  An  expenditure  from  a  reserve  fund  shall  be  made only upon authorization by the board of fire  commissioners  and  for  a  specific capital  improvement  or a specific item or specific items of equipment, the cost of which may be financed  therefrom.  However,  if  a  proposed expenditure is from a fund established for a type of capital improvement or equipment and if it is required by law that the authorization by such board  of  fire  commissioners  of  the issuance of obligations for such capital improvement or equipment be subject to a permissive or mandatory referendum, then the authorization  of  such  an  expenditure  shall  be subject  to  a  permissive referendum. Within ten working days after the adoption by a board of fire commissioners of a resolution  described  in this  section  as  being  subject  to  a permissive referendum, the fire district secretary, in the same manner as provided for notice of  annual elections,  shall publish a notice which shall set forth the date of the adoption of the resolution and contain an abstract  of  such  resolution concisely  stating  the  purposes  and  effect thereof. The notice shall specify that  such  resolution  was  adopted  subject  to  a  permissive referendum. Any such resolution of the board of fire commissioners shall not take effect until thirty days after its adoption; nor until approved by  the  affirmative  vote  of  a  majority of the electors of such fire district affected, qualified to vote  at  an  annual  election  of  fire district  officers,  voting  on  such proposition, if within thirty days after its adoption there be filed with the  fire  district  secretary  a petition  signed and acknowledged or proved in the same manner as a deed to be recorded, by resident taxpayers  of  such  fire  district,  owning taxable  real  property aggregating at least one-quarter of the assessed valuation of all the taxable real property of the fire district as  such valuations  appear upon the latest completed assessment roll of the town or towns in which said fire district is located, protesting against such resolution and requesting that it be submitted to the qualified electors of the fire district affected for their approval or disapproval. If such petition be so filed not more than forty-five days nor less than  thirty days   prior  to  an  annual  election  of  fire  district  officers,  a proposition for the approval of such resolution shall  be  submitted  at such  annual  election  of  fire  district officers. If a petition be so filed at any  other  time,  a  proposition  for  the  approval  of  such resolution  shall be submitted at a special fire district election to be held not more than forty days after the filing  of  such  petition.  If, within  five days after the filing of such petition, a written objection thereto be filed with  the  fire  district  secretary,  and  a  verified petition  setting  forth  the  objections  be presented by the person so filing such objections to the supreme court or any  justice  thereof  of the judicial district in which such fire district or any part thereof is located,  such  court  or justice within twenty days shall determine any question arising thereunder and make such order as justice may  require. Such  proceeding  shall be heard and determined in the manner prescribed by section 16-116 of the election law. A proposition for the  submission of  any  such  resolution  of  the  board  of  fire commissioners to the approval of the said qualified electors pursuant to this section,  shall contain  an  abstract  of such resolution concisely stating the purposes and effect thereof. The  fire  district  secretary  shall  prepare  such abstract with the advice of the attorney for the fire district, if there  be  one,  and  forthwith  transmit  the proposition to the board of fire commissioners in the form in which it is to be submitted at such  annual or  special  election  of  such fire district. If there be more than one such  proposition  to  be  voted upon at such election, each proposition shall be separately and consecutively numbered.   8. The board of fire commissioners may authorize the transfer  to  the credit of another capital reserve fund of such fire district all or part of:   a.  The unexpended balance remaining in a fund established pursuant to this section for a specific capital improvement or a  specific  item  or specific  items  of  equipment,  which improvement has been completed or acquired, or which equipment has been  acquired,  after  deducting  from such  balance a sum sufficient to satisfy all outstanding claims arising from the construction, reconstruction or  acquisition  of  such  capital improvement or the acquisition of such equipment.   b.  The unexpended balance remaining in a fund established pursuant to this section for a specific item or specific items  of  equipment  which have  not  been acquired or a specific capital improvement which has not been completed or acquired, or remaining in a fund established  pursuant to  this  section  for  a  type  of  capital  improvement  or  a type of equipment. If the proposed transfer is from a  fund  established  for  a specific  capital  improvement  or  a specific item or specific items of equipment, the authorization of such transfer  shall  be  subject  to  a permissive referendum if the authorization of the creation of a fund for such  capital improvement or item or items of equipment was subject to a permissive referendum. A permissive referendum on the  authorization  of such  transfer  shall  be governed in the manner provided in subdivision seven of this section.   9. The fire district treasurer shall keep a separate account for  each fund established. Such account shall show:   a. The date and amount of each sum paid into the fund.   b. The interest earned by such fund.   c.  The capital gains or losses resulting from the sale of investments of the fund.   d. The interest or capital gains which have accrued to the fund.   e. The amount and date of each withdrawal from the fund.   f. The assets of the fund, indicating the cash balance therein  and  a schedule  of  the  amounts invested in federal or state obligations. The fire district treasurer, at the termination of each fiscal  year,  shall render  a detailed report of the operation and condition of each of such funds to the board of fire commissioners.   10. The members of the board of fire commissioners are hereby declared trustees of such funds and shall  be  subject  to  all  the  duties  and responsibilities  imposed  by  law  on  trustees,  and  such  duties and responsibilities may be enforced by the fire district or by  any  board, commission, agency, officer or taxpayer thereof.   11.  The members of the board of fire commissioners shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if they:   a. Authorize a withdrawal from a fund for any purpose other than for a capital improvement or an item or items of equipment, the cost of  which has been authorized to be financed in whole or in part from such fund.   b.  Expend  any  money  withdrawn from a fund for a purpose other than that for which it was authorized to be withdrawn.   The provisions of this  subdivision  shall  be  considered  to  be  in addition to any other penalties provided by law.   12.  The board of water commissioners of a water district to which the provisions of article thirteen of the town law apply, and which has  the powers  of  the  fire district commissioners as provided in subdivisions  nine to twenty-four, inclusive, of section one  hundred  seventy-six  of the  town  law,  may  establish capital reserve funds as in this section provided for the financing of all or a  part  of  the  cost  of  capital improvements  and  equipment  for  fire  department  and fire protection purposes, in the same manner and to the same extent that  the  board  of fire  commissioners  of  a  fire  district may establish capital reserve funds for such purposes, and all of the provisions of this section shall apply in relation to the financing of all or  a  part  of  such  capital improvements  or equipment, and all references in this section to a fire district shall be deemed to  refer  to  such  water  district,  and  all references  herein  to  a  fire district secretary or treasurer shall be deemed to refer to the secretary or treasurer of  such  board  of  water commissioners, except that if such board of water commissioners does not have  a treasurer the provisions relating to the fire district treasurer shall be deemed to refer to the supervisor of the  town  in  which  such water district is located.   13.  Notwithstanding  the foregoing provisions of this section, if any such fire district is situated in whole or in part in a  town  which  is wholly  or  partly  within  the  Adirondack park and has within the town boundaries state lands subject to taxation assessed at more than  thirty per  centum  of  the  total  taxable  assessed  valuation of the town as determined from the assessment rolls of the town, as completed from time to time, a capital reserve fund for  the  fire  district  shall  not  be established on and after May first, nineteen hundred forty-eight, unless the  state  comptroller,  on behalf of the state, shall consent thereto, and, on and after May first, nineteen hundred forty-eight, in  any  such fire  district so located, no expenditure or transfer shall be made from a capital reserve fund heretofore or hereafter  established  unless  the state comptroller, on behalf of the state, shall consent thereto.