2023 New York Laws › ACG - Alternative County Government › Article 7 - Department of Audit and Control › 300 - Department of Audit and Control.

§  300. Department of audit and control. 1. The head of the department
  of audit and control in a county  operating  under  the  county  manager
  form, the county director form or the county president form shall be the
  comptroller.  The  office  of comptroller shall be elective, except that
  under the county manager form it shall be appointive and  under  any  of
  the  other  forms  provided by this chapter it may be made appointive by
  vote of the people as provided in section fifty-eight.
2. If the comptroller is elective, the first comptroller elected under
  the form adopted shall be elected at the first  general  election  after
  its  adoption, except that, if the county has an elective county auditor
  at the time of such adoption, the first comptroller shall be elected  at
  the  general  election  in  the last year of the term of the last county
  auditor elected or, if the office of such auditor becomes vacant  before
  the  last  year  of his term, at the next general election thereafter at
  which the vacancy may be filled by the election of  a  comptroller.  The
  second  comptroller  shall  be  elected  at  the general election in the
  second odd-numbered year after the year in which the  first  comptroller
  is  elected, and subsequent comptrollers shall be elected at the general
  election in every fourth year thereafter. The  term  of  office  of  the
  comptroller  shall  be  four  years  from and including the first day of
  January next following his election, except that the  first  comptroller
  elected  shall  serve  for  a term of three years if he is elected in an
  even-numbered year. A vacancy in the office of an  elective  comptroller
  occurring  otherwise  than  by  expiration  of  term  shall be filled by
  appointment by the board of supervisors  and  the  person  so  appointed
  shall  hold  office  until  the  commencement  of the calendar year next
  succeeding the first general  election  at  which  the  vacancy  may  be
  filled.
3.  If  the  comptroller  is  appointive, he shall be appointed by the
  board of supervisors for an indefinite term and shall  be  removable  by
  the  board  of supervisors at its pleasure. If the office becomes vacant
  in such a county,  the  board  of  supervisors  may  appoint  an  acting
  comptroller pending its appointment of a new comptroller.
4.  In  counties adopting the county manager form, the county director
  form or the county president form,  the  office  of  county  auditor  is
  abolished,  and  the  functions,  powers  and duties of the office shall
  devolve upon the department of audit and control.
5. In a county having an elective county auditor wherein the office is
  thus abolished, the last county auditor elected before  the  alternative
  form  becomes  effective  in  the  county  shall  perform  the duties of
  comptroller, unless a vacancy otherwise occurs, until the expiration  of
  the  term  for which he was elected county auditor. If the office of the
  last auditor elected becomes vacant  otherwise  than  by  expiration  of
  term,  the  board  of supervisors shall forthwith appoint a comptroller,
  who shall serve until his successor is  elected  or  appointed  and  has
  qualified.
6. In a county having no county auditor or having an appointive county
  auditor  in which the form adopted provides for a comptroller, the board
  of supervisors shall  appoint  a  county  comptroller  as  soon  as  the
  alternative  form takes effect and the person so appointed shall succeed
  the county  auditor,  if  any,  forthwith  and  hold  office  until  his
  successor is elected or appointed and has qualified.
7.  Nothing in this article contained shall be construed to impair the
  powers  of  the  county  auditor  in  counties   adopting   the   county
  administrator form of government.