2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 3 - Town Officers, Powers, Duties and Compensation › 29 - Powers and Duties of Supervisor.

§  29.  Powers and duties of supervisor. Except where powers or duties
  specified herein are devolved upon  the  town  comptroller  pursuant  to
  section thirty-four of this chapter, the supervisor of each town.
1.  Shall  act as treasurer thereof and shall demand, collect, receive
  and have the care and custody of moneys belonging to  or  due  the  town
  from  every  source,  except  as  otherwise  provided  by law. Except as
  otherwise provided in articles eleven and thirteen, he shall also act as
  treasurer and disbursing officer for every special district therein.
2. Within ten days after their receipt, shall deposit  and  secure  in
  his  name  as  supervisor,  all  such  moneys  in the manner provided by
  section ten of the general municipal law.
3. Shall disburse such moneys only by checks payable to the person  or
  persons entitled thereto, which checks shall, if the town board requires
  such  countersignature,  be  countersigned  by the town clerk, or by the
  comptroller in towns where the  office  of  town  comptroller  has  been
  established.  When  authorized  by  resolution  of  the town board, such
  checks may be signed with the facsimile signature of the  supervisor  or
  other  town  officer  whose  signature  is  required, as reproduced by a
  machine or device commonly known as a checksigner.  By  resolution  duly
  adopted,  the  town  board  may  determine  to  enter into a contract to
  provide for the deposit of the periodic payroll of the town in a bank or
  trust company for disbursal by  it  in  accordance  with  provisions  of
  section ninety-six-b of the banking law.
4.  Shall  keep  an  accurate  and complete account of the receipt and
  disbursement of all moneys which shall come into his hands by virtue  of
  his  office,  in  books  of  account in the form prescribed by the state
  department of audit and control for all expenditures under  the  highway
  law  and  in  books  of  account  provided  by  the  town  for all other
  expenditures. Such books of account shall be public  records,  open  and
  available  for  inspection at all reasonable hours of the day, and, upon
  the expiration of his term, shall be filed in the  office  of  the  town
  clerk.
7.  Shall  pay  fixed  salaries,  the  principal  of  or  interest  on
  indebtedness, amounts becoming due upon  lawful  contracts  for  periods
  exceeding  one  year,  and  compensation  for  services  of  officers or
  employees regularly engaged by the town at agreed  wages  by  the  hour,
  day, week, month or year without prior audit.
8.  Shall  prosecute, in the name of the town, for all penalties given
  by law to such town for its use and for all moneys or property  due  the
  town.
9. Shall cause a survey to be made of the bounds of his town, whenever
  required  by  the state department of transportation, and transmit a map
  and description thereof to such department within sixty days thereafter.
  The expense of such survey and map shall  be  defrayed  by  the  several
  towns  whose  bounds  either  wholly,  or  in  part,  shall be described
  thereby; such expense to be apportioned by the board of  supervisors  of
  the county.
10.  Shall  prepare  and  file  with the town clerk within thirty days
  after the expiration of each fiscal year,  an  annual  financial  report
  accounting  for  all moneys received and disbursed by him, together with
  the certificate, or certificates, of the bank  or  trust  company  where
  town  moneys are deposited, showing the amount of such moneys on deposit
  with said bank or trust company, and cause  a  certified  copy  of  such
  report  to  be  published  in  the official newspaper, and in such other
  newspapers, if any, as the town board may require. In addition  thereto,
  if  and  whenever  required,  such  supervisor shall submit to the other
  members of the town  board  at  the  time  of  filing  such  report  all
  vouchers,  cancelled  checks  or  check  images as authorized by section

  ninety-nine-b of the general municipal law, check stubs,  ledgers,  cash
  books,  journals,  and  financial  and  accounting records of every sort
  required to substantiate the accuracy and completeness of such report.
10-a.  In  lieu of preparing the report required by subdivision ten of
  this section, the town board may  determine,  by  resolution,  that  the
  supervisor  shall  submit  to  the  town  clerk,  within the time period
  prescribed in section thirty of the general municipal law, a copy of the
  report to the state  comptroller  required  by  section  thirty  of  the
  general  municipal  law,  providing,  however,  that if the time for the
  filing of the annual report has been extended by the  state  comptroller
  as  provided in the said statute, then the time for submitting a copy of
  the report to the town clerk similarly shall be extended. The town clerk
  shall cause either a summary of such report to be published  within  ten
  days  after  receipt thereof in a form approved by the state comptroller
  or a notice that a copy of such report is on file in  the  town  clerk's
  office  and  is  available  for  public  inspection  and copying, in the
  official newspaper and in such other newspapers as the  town  board  may
  direct.
11.  Shall  lease,  sell  and convey in the name of the town, property
  owned by it, whenever and in the manner authorized by the provisions  of
  this  chapter  or any other general or special law and shall execute and
  deliver, in the name of the town, grants of easements or other rights in
  lands or other property owned by the town, whenever so directed  by  the
  town board.
12.  In  towns  other  than  those  mentioned in section 9-1107 of the
  environmental conservation law, and  other  than  those  included  in  a
  forest  fire district as defined in subdivision two of section 9-1109 of
  the environmental conservation law, shall be superintendent of fires  of
  his  town  and  charged  with  the  duty of preventing and extinguishing
  forest fires. In such capacity, he shall also be charged with  the  duty
  of  preventing  and extinguishing muck fires. He shall have the power to
  employ persons to act as forest rangers and fire wardens  in  preventing
  and  fighting  forest  and muck fires and to employ necessary assistants
  therefor, and shall possess, for both such purposes, all the  power  and
  authority  conferred  upon the department of environmental conservation,
  district forest ranger, forest ranger and fire warden under subdivisions
  one, two, three, four, five and twelve of  section  9-1103,  subdivision
  two   of  section  9-1111  and  section  71-0705  of  the  environmental
  conservation  law  with  respect  to  forest  fires  and   forest   fire
  protection.  Any  person  summoned  to fight forest or muck fires who is
  physically able and refuses to assist, shall be liable to a  penalty  of
  twenty  dollars.  The town board of each town shall designate one of its
  members to act as such superintendent of fires for the ensuing  year  in
  case  of  absence  of  the  supervisor.  The  town  board  shall fix the
  compensation  of  all  forest  rangers,  fire  wardens,  and  assistants
  employed under the provisions of this section, and all expenses incurred
  under  the provisions of this section shall be a charge upon and paid by
  the town.
13. Shall notify the state department of transportation,  in  writing,
  regarding  the  construction,  reconstruction or repair by any person or
  corporation, or political subdivision of the state within his  town,  of
  any  dam  or other structure for impounding water, and of any dock, pier
  or wharf, or other structure used as a landing place. This notice  shall
  be  given  within  ten  days  after  the commencement of such work. This
  subdivision shall not apply to a dam where the area  draining  into  the
  pond  formed  thereby does not exceed one square mile, unless the dam is
  more than ten feet in height above the natural bed of the stream at  any

  point or unless the quantity of water which the dam impounds exceeds one
  million gallons.
14. Shall attend the annual meeting of the board of supervisors of the
  county, and every regular, adjourned or special meeting thereof of which
  he shall receive notice.
15.  In  towns  of  the  first  class,  may  designate a bookkeeper or
  confidential secretary, or both. In towns of the second class, the  town
  board  may  by  resolution  authorize  the  supervisor  of  the  town to
  designate a bookkeeper or confidential secretary, or both. A  person  so
  designated  by  the  supervisor, shall receive a reasonable compensation
  for his services, to be fixed by the town board  and  such  compensation
  shall be a town charge.
16.  Shall  have  and  exercise  any  other  power  or  duty expressly
  conferred or imposed upon him by law  and  such  powers  and  duties  of
  administration  and  supervision  of  town  or  special  or  improvement
  district functions as shall be provided by resolution of the town board,
  to be performed on behalf of such board.