2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 11 - Fire, Fire Alarm and Fire Protection Districts › 174 - Fire District Officers.

§  174.  Fire  district officers. 1. Whenever a fire district shall be
  established, within ten days thereafter the town board of  the  town  in
  which  such  district is located or, in the case of a district including
  territory in two or more towns, the town boards  of  such  towns  acting
  jointly  by  a majority vote of the members of each of such town boards,
  shall appoint five fire district commissioners and a treasurer for  such
  district  who shall hold their respective offices until the thirty-first
  day of  December  next  succeeding;  provided,  however,  that  if  such
  district  be  established  subsequent to the first day of October in any
  year, the officers so appointed by the  town  board  shall  hold  office
  until  the  thirty-first day of December of the next succeeding calendar
  year. A person so appointed as  fire  district  commissioner  shall  not
  serve  as  chief or assistant chief of the fire district fire department
  after taking his oath of office as such commissioner and during the time
  he serves as such commissioner pursuant to such  appointment.  The  town
  clerk  shall  immediately notify the appointees of their appointment and
  of the time and place which he shall fix for the organization meeting of
  the board of fire commissioners, which meeting shall be held  not  later
  than   ten  days  after  the  appointment  of  said  officers.  At  such
  organization meeting, the treasurer shall preside until such time  as  a
  chairman  of  the  board of fire commissioners shall be chosen, but such
  treasurer shall not be entitled to a vote at such meeting. The board  of
  fire commissioners shall appoint a secretary who shall hold office until
  the  thirty-first  day  of December following the first election of fire
  district officers.
2. The first election of fire district officers shall be held  on  the
  second   Tuesday  in  December  next  succeeding  the  establishment  or
  consolidation of such fire district; provided,  however,  that  if  such
  district be established at a time subsequent to the first day of October
  in  any year, the first election of fire district officers shall be held
  on the second Tuesday in the month of December of  the  next  succeeding
  calendar  year.  At the first annual election of fire district officers,
  five district commissioners shall be elected and a treasurer. The person
  receiving  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  the  office  of   fire
  commissioner  shall  be  elected  for  a  term of five years; the person
  receiving the second highest number of votes shall be elected for a term
  of four years; the person receiving the third highest  number  of  votes
  shall  be  elected  for  a term of three years; the person receiving the
  fourth highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two  years
  and  the  person  receiving  the  fifth highest number of votes shall be
  elected for a term of one year. In the  event  that  two  persons  shall
  receive the same number of votes the terms of office shall be decided by
  lot.   At   each   subsequent  election  of  fire  district  officers  a
  commissioner shall be elected for the full term of five  years.  In  the
  event that two or more persons receive the same number of votes thereat,
  a  special  election  between  the  tying  parties receiving the highest
  number of votes to fill the vacancy shall be held within forty-five days
  after such election. The fire district treasurer shall be elected for  a
  term  of  three years. The fire district secretary shall be appointed by
  the fire district commissioners and shall serve  for  a  period  of  one
  year. The fire district secretary in office at the time such election is
  held shall immediately notify the officers elected of their election and
  that  an  organization meeting will be held on the day specified in said
  notice, which shall not be later than the fifteenth day of January  next
  ensuing. At such organization meeting, the treasurer shall preside until
  such  time  as  a  chairman  of the board of fire commissioners shall be
  chosen, but such treasurer shall not be  entitled  to  a  vote  at  such
  meeting.
2-a.   The   fire   district  commissioners  may  adopt  a  resolution
  establishing the office of director of purchasing and appoint a director
  of purchasing who shall serve for a term, not to exceed five  years,  to
  be  fixed  by  the  fire  district  commissioners.  If the fire district
  commissioners so determine, the duties of the director of purchasing may
  be  combined  with  the  duties  of  any  other fire district officer or
  employee except members of the board of fire district commissioners  and
  the fire district treasurer. The fire commissioners of any fire district
  in   which  the  office  of  director  of  purchasing  shall  have  been
  established may adopt a resolution abolishing such office, and upon  the
  expiration  of the term of office of the incumbent or such other time as
  may be set forth in the resolution, such office shall be  abolished  and
  no successor shall be appointed.
3.  The  fire district commissioners shall receive no compensation for
  their services, but a commissioner  acting  as  secretary  of  the  fire
  district  may  be compensated. The fire district secretary shall receive
  such compensation as the fire district commissioners may determine,  but
  if  the  secretary  be  a  member of the board of fire commissioners his
  compensation shall be fixed by the other members of the board. The  fire
  district  treasurer and the director of purchasing, when such office has
  been established, shall receive such compensation as the  fire  district
  commissioners   may   determine.  Each  fire  district  treasurer,  each
  secretary in fire  districts  having  a  separate  secretary,  and  each
  director  of  purchasing,  when  such office has been established, shall
  before entering upon the duties of his office  take  the  constitutional
  oath  of office and file the same with the town clerk of the town or one
  of the towns in which such fire district is located.  The  treasurer  of
  each  fire district shall before entering upon the duties of his office,
  execute and file with the town clerk of the town or one of the towns  in
  which   such   fire   district  is  located,  an  official  undertaking,
  conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties and that he  will
  and truly keep, pay over and account for all moneys of the fire district
  coming into his hands as treasurer of the fire district. The undertaking
  shall  be  in  such form, in such sum and with such sureties as the fire
  commissioners shall direct  and  approve  and  such  approval  shall  be
  indicated  upon  such  undertaking.  The  fire commissioners of any fire
  district may require the director of purchasing, when  such  office  has
  been  established,  before  entering  upon the duties of that office, to
  execute and file with the town clerk of the town or one of the towns  in
  which such fire district is located, an undertaking, conditioned for the
  faithful  performance  of  his  duties  and  for a due accounting of all
  property that may  come  under  his  care,  custody  and  control.  Such
  undertaking shall be in such form, in such sum and with such sureties as
  the  fire commissioners shall direct and approve and such approval shall
  be indicated upon such undertaking.
4. The fire  district  treasurer  or  any  commissioner  of  the  fire
  district,   whenever  so  appointed,  may  also  act  as  fire  district
  secretary. When the position of fire district treasurer or fire district
  secretary is appointive, and in the case of the director of  purchasing,
  when  such  office has been established, and if no qualified resident of
  the  district  is  willing  to  perform  the  duties  of  fire  district
  treasurer,  fire  district secretary or director of purchasing, a person
  who is a nonresident of such fire district  may  be  appointed  as  fire
  district treasurer, fire district secretary or director of purchasing. A
  person shall not hold the offices of fire district commissioner and fire
  district  treasurer at the same time. A person shall not hold the office
  of fire district commissioner and the office of chief or assistant chief
  of the fire department of the fire district at the same time.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, a person who  is  a
  fire  district  commissioner,  may,  if  he is otherwise qualified, be a
  candidate for nomination, and may be nominated by the fire district fire
  department, for the office of chief or any assistant chief of  the  fire
  department,  but  only  if  such  commissioner  has  filed with the fire
  district secretary at least five days,  but  not  more  than  ten  days,
  before  the  meeting of the fire department at which any such nomination
  would be made a written notice that he will  be  a  candidate  for  such
  nomination.   If  a  fire  district  commissioner  is  a  candidate  for
  nomination for any such office in the fire department  and  he  is  duly
  nominated  for such office at a meeting of the fire department, he shall
  forthwith cease to be a fire district commissioner  and  his  office  as
  such  commissioner  shall  thereupon  become  vacant. If a fire district
  commissioner is a candidate for nomination for any such  office  in  the
  fire department and he is defeated for such nomination at the meeting of
  the  fire  department, he shall not participate in any vote of the board
  of fire commissioners in relation to the appointment of  the  successful
  nominee  to  the  office for which such commissioner and such successful
  nominee were opposing candidates.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, a person who is the
  chief or an assistant chief of the fire district fire department, if  he
  is  otherwise  qualified,  may be elected to the office of fire district
  commissioner or  may  be  appointed  to  the  office  of  fire  district
  commissioner  to  fill  a vacancy and, if he is so elected or appointed,
  his office as chief or assistant chief, as the case maybe, shall  become
  vacant upon his taking his oath of office as fire district commissioner.
5. A person who has been convicted of arson in any degree shall not be
  eligible  for  nomination, election or appointment to the office of fire
  district commissioner or fire district officer.
6. Each commissioner of a  fire  district  before  entering  upon  the
  duties  of  his office, shall take the constitutional oath of office and
  file the same with the town clerk of the town or one  of  the  towns  in
  which such fire district is located.
7.  A  fire  district  is  a  political subdivision of the state and a
  district corporation within the meaning of section three of the  general
  corporation  law.  The  officers  and  employees  of  a  fire  district,
  including the paid and volunteer members of the fire department thereof,
  are officers and employees of such fire district and are not officers or
  employees of any other political subdivision.