2023 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.