2023 New York Laws › CNT - County › Article 5 - General Powers of Board of Supervisors › 227 - Legalizing Acts.

§ 227. Legalizing acts. 1. Power to legalize. The board of supervisors
  of  any county shall have power to legalize and validate any act had and
  taken in connection with a lawful municipal  purpose  or  for  a  lawful
  municipal object or purpose, by the governing board or other local body,
  officer or agency of a municipality wholly within the county if, after a
  public  hearing held in the affected municipality pursuant to notice and
  upon the evidence given thereat, the board  of  supervisors  shall  find
  that  the  defect  sought to be cured was: (a) failure to perform an act
  within the time prescribed by law; (b)  that  the  form  of  any  notice
  required  by  law  was  defective;  (c)  that  the  service,  posting or
  publication of any notice was not performed within the time and  in  the
  manner required by law; (d) that through an intentional act performed in
  good  faith  to  meet  an  emergency  situation or through inadvertence,
  mistake  or  error  in  accounting  methods  or  otherwise,  a  fund  or
  appropriation  account  has  been overdrawn, and the fund or account has
  been reimbursed by transfer thereto of unobligated moneys  from  another
  municipal  fund  or  account;  (e) that through inadvertence, mistake or
  error a mandatory appropriation was omitted from an adopted  budget  and
  the  budget was later amended and appropriation made to cure the defect;
  (f) that an adopted  budget  was  amended  to  include  a  discretionary
  appropriation  after  a  public  hearing  pursuant  to  notice; (g) that
  through inadvertence, mistake or error an act was recorded  at  a  later
  date  than  was prescribed by law, or otherwise that a defect existed in
  the  manner  or  method  of  recording  the  same;  (h)   that   through
  inadvertence, mistake or error, the governing board or other local body,
  officer  or agency of a municipality charged by law with the duty failed
  or neglected to submit a referendum to the electors when required by law
  and either at least two years have elapsed since the completion  of  the
  project and payment of the cost thereof, or, in any other case, at least
  two  years  have  elapsed since the date when the referendum should have
  been held; (i) that through an intentional act performed in  good  faith
  to meet an emergency situation or through inadvertence, mistake or error
  in  accounting  methods  or  otherwise,  obligations  have been incurred
  against a fund or account in excess of the total amount appropriated  or
  lawfully   transferred  thereto;  that  the  officer,  body  or  agency,
  incurring such excess obligation, or his or its successor, has furnished
  a detailed sworn explanation in writing of the intentional act performed
  in good faith to  meet  an  emergency  situation  or  the  inadvertence,
  mistake  or  error  and has made application for additional funds to pay
  such obligation and that the governing board or other local body,  after
  a public hearing on notice in the same manner as provided in subdivision
  two  hereof,  by  at  least a two-thirds vote of the whole number of the
  members thereof has approved the presentation of a petition to the board
  of supervisors to validate and legalize such obligation  and  to  obtain
  authorization for its payment.
2.  Procedure to legalize. Any municipality or local officer or agency
  seeking relief  under  this  section  shall  present  to  the  board  of
  supervisors  of  the  county  a petition duly verified setting forth the
  facts and praying for the relief authorized by this section. Attached to
  such petition shall be certified copies of all acts done and proceedings
  had in relation to the subject matter sought to be legalized.  The board
  of supervisors may direct the governing board or  officers  to  do  that
  which  should  have  been  done  in  the  first  instance  and  the time
  prescribed by law for  the  performance  of  the  act  shall  be  deemed
  extended  to  allow  compliance  therewith,  and  such acts shall not be
  legalized until proof is submitted of such  compliance.  Notice  stating
  the  time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be published at
  least once in a newspaper designated by the board with  due  regard  for

  circulation  in  the municipality affected, and posted in at least three
  public conspicuous places in the municipality at least five days  before
  the date set for the public hearing. One of such notices shall be posted
  upon  the bulletin board of the respective city, village or town clerk's
  office. The power to conduct such public hearing may be delegated  to  a
  standing  or  special  committee  of the board which shall file with the
  board  a  transcript  of  the  evidence  produced  together   with   its
  recommendations  thereon.  The  board  of  supervisors or such committee
  shall have power to compel the production of, and  shall  consider,  any
  documents  or  other  evidence  deemed  pertinent to the inquiry and may
  adjourn from time to time. The legalizing act must  be  adopted  by  the
  affirmative vote of two-thirds of the whole number of the members of the
  board   at  a  regular  or  special  meeting,  provided,  however,  that
  legalizing action taken pursuant to paragraph (i) of subdivision one  of
  this  section  shall  be  by  local  law,  and provided further where on
  request of the board the state comptroller submits to it  his  certified
  findings and approval of a petition presented pursuant to paragraph (i),
  such  local  law may be adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of
  the whole number of the members of the board. The legalizing  act  shall
  recite  the filing of the petition and all proceedings taken thereon and
  shall contain the text of the act sought to be legalized and the  method
  of,  and the maximum maturity of the bonds or capital notes, if any, for
  financing the obligation or obligations so legalized and  validated.  It
  shall state the intentional act, mistake, error or omission cured by the
  legalizing  act;  that  such intentional act, mistake, error or omission
  was not the result of fraud and that no substantial hardship will result
  therefrom and the determination thereon  by  the  board  of  supervisors
  legalizing  and  validating  the  same.  A  copy  of  the legalizing act
  certified by the clerk of the board shall be published at least  once  a
  week  for  two  consecutive weeks in a newspaper designated by the board
  with due regard for circulation in the municipality affected, the  first
  publication  of  which  shall  be  had  within  twenty  days  after  the
  legalizing act is adopted. The petition and related papers, or certified
  copies thereof, shall be filed  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk.
  Subject  to  limitations  or  restrictions  prescribed  by  the board of
  supervisors, the amount  of  any  obligations  legalized  and  validated
  hereunder  may  be  paid from available funds or shall be deemed to be a
  settled  claim  within  the  meaning  of  subdivision  thirty-three   of
  paragraph  a  of  section  11.00  of  the local finance law which may be
  financed by the issuance of bonds or capital notes,  provided,  however,
  that  the  maximum maturity of any such bonds shall not exceed six years
  from the date of issuance of such bonds or from the date of issuance  of
  the  earliest  bond  anticipation  note  issued in anticipation thereof,
  whichever date is the earlier, and provided further, however,  that  the
  cost  shall  be  charged  against  the area normally responsible for the
  payment of the obligation which had been legalized  and  validated.  The
  cost  of  all publications under this section shall be a charge upon and
  be paid by the petitioner. A copy of the legalizing act  duly  certified
  by  the  clerk  shall  be  filed with the state comptroller and with the
  petitioner.   The term "municipality" as  used  in  this  section  shall
  include  a  city,  town or village or a fire district, special district,
  special improvement district  or  other  local  governmental  agency  or
  authority created by or pursuant to law.
3. Review by the court. Within thirty days after the first publication
  of  the  legalizing act of the board of supervisors, a proceeding may be
  brought under article seventy-eight of the civil practice act to  review
  the same. The legalizing act may be contested only upon the grounds that
  the act was not performed in the exercise of a lawful object or purpose,

  or  that  the  finding  that  the act was performed in good faith and no
  substantial  hardship  of  fraud  resulted  is  against  the  weight  of
  evidence, or that there existed a jurisdictional defect beyond the power
  of  the  board  of  supervisors  to  legalize,  or  that  the  board  of
  supervisors did not comply with law in legalizing the same.
4. Application. The provisions of this  section  shall  not  apply  to
  action  had  or  taken  by any such governing board or other local body,
  officer, or agency of a municipality  when  a  remedy  to  legalize  and
  validate  the  same  already  exists  in  law; nor shall it apply to any
  action had or  taken  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  state
  constitution;  nor  shall  it  authorize  the  board  of  supervisors to
  legalize or validate fraudulent acts of the  governing  board  or  other
  local  body,  office or agency of a municipality; nor shall it authorize
  the board of supervisors to legalize and validate any act  resulting  in
  unusual hardship to the qualified voters of the petitioner. It is hereby
  declared  and  determined  that  the powers conferred upon the boards of
  supervisors  of  counties  under  this  section  are  powers  of   local
  legislation  within  the  meaning  and  intent  of  article  nine of the
  constitution and that the exercise of such powers shall be deemed to  be
  the  exercise  of  a  lawful  county  function.  Nothing in this section
  contained shall be construed to restrict the powers of  the  legislature
  in  relation  to  cities,  towns,  villages  or other local governmental
  agencies created or established by law.