2023 New York Laws › ACG - Alternative County Government › Article 12 - Optional Transfer of Powers › 553 - Transfer of Functions From Units of Local Government.

§  553.  Transfer  of  functions  from units of local government. 1. A
petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative form of county
government, for the  modification  of  an  alternative  form  previously
adopted  or  for  a change from one such form to another may provide for
the transfer of any of the following functions,  powers  and  duties  of
units  of  local  government within the county to the county or from one
kind of unit of local government within the county to another:
(a) From the towns to the county:
(1) Assessment of property.
(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.
(3) Maintenance and construction of town highways and bridges.
(b) From the villages to the county:
(1) Assessment of property.
(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.
(3) Maintenance and construction  of  village  highways  and  bridges,
provided  that the similar function has been, or is simultaneously being
proposed to be, transferred from the towns to  the  county.  If  such  a
transfer  from the towns, simultaneously submitted, is not approved, any
approval of such a transfer from the villages shall be of no effect.
(c) From the cities to the county:
(1) Assessment of property.
(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.
(3)  Maintenance  and  construction  of  city  highways  and  bridges,
provided  that the similar function has been, or is simultaneously being
proposed to be, transferred from the towns and villages, if any, to  the
county.  If  such  a transfer from the towns or villages, simultaneously
submitted, is not approved, any approval of such  a  transfer  from  the
cities shall be of no effect.
(d) From the school district to the county:
(1) Collection of school taxes.
(e) From the villages to the towns:
(1) Assessment of property.
(2) Collection of taxes and special assessments.
(3) Maintenance and construction of village highways and bridges.
(f) From school districts to the towns and cities, if any:
(1) Collection of school taxes.
Nothing  in this section shall be construed to prevent the transfer of
functions by other methods when authorized by other provisions of law.
2. If the petition or resolution for the adoption  of  an  alternative
form  of  county  government  or  for  the  modification or change of an
alternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from
any or all of the units of local government to the county, of:
(a) The functions thereof in relation to the assessment  of  property,
such functions shall be exercised in the manner provided in section five
hundred fifty.
(b)  The  functions thereof in relation to the collection of taxes and
special assessments, such functions shall be  exercised  in  the  manner
provided in section five hundred fifty-one.
(c)   The  functions  thereof  in  relation  to  the  maintenance  and
construction of highways and bridges, such functions shall be  exercised
in  the  manner provided in section three hundred fifty-one, except that
in a county having the county administrative form of  county  government
such functions shall be exercised by the county superintendent of public
works.
3.  If  the  petition or resolution for the adoption of an alternative
form of county government or  for  the  modification  or  change  of  an
alternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from
the villages to the towns, of:
(a)  The  functions thereof in relation to the assessment of property,
the assessors of each town shall annually, but not later than the  first
day  of  October, certify and file in the office of the village clerk of
each village wholly or partly contained in such town, one  copy  of  the
assessment-roll  of  the  town  filed  in  the office of the town clerk,
pursuant to section twenty-nine of the tax law, in so far  as  the  same
shall  relate  to property contained within the corporate limits of such
village. The assessment-roll so filed in the office of the village clerk
shall constitute the assessment-roll of  the  village  or  part  thereof
within  the  town,  and  the office of assessor in such village shall be
abolished, unless the village is partly within another county  in  which
the  function  of assessment of property has not been transferred to the
towns, in which case the village assessor shall continue to perform  his
duties for the part of the village within the other county.
(b)  The  functions thereof in relation to the collection of taxes and
special assessments, the board of trustees of  each  village  wholly  or
partly  within  the county shall annually issue to the receiver of taxes
and assessments, the tax collector or the town clerk, as  the  case  may
be,  of  each  town  within  the  county which contains any part of such
village,  a  warrant  for  the  collection  of  the  village  taxes  and
assessments  for  property within such town, and such officer shall have
all the powers and be subject to all the duties of a  village  treasurer
or  other  village officer charged with the duty of collecting taxes and
special assessments for such village or part thereof within such town.
4. If the petition or resolution for the adoption  of  an  alternative
form  of  county  government  or  for  the  modification or change of an
alternative form previously adopted, shall provide for the transfer from
the school districts to the towns and cities, if any, of  the  functions
thereof  in relation to the collection of school taxes, the collector of
each town or the town clerk of a town in which the office  of  collector
has  been  abolished pursuant to section thirty-six of the town law, and
the tax collecting official of each city within the county,  shall  have
and possess and exercise in the manner and within the time prescribed by
law  all the rights, powers and authority possessed and exercised by the
school district collectors in such town or city and it shall be his duty
to receive and collect all school taxes and all other moneys provided by
law to be paid to the school district collector. If the school  district
shall include territory in two or more towns or in one or more towns and
a  city,  the board of education or trustee or trustees of such district
shall divide the tax roll of such school district so  as  to  set  forth
separately  that  portion of the district contained in each town or city
and shall deliver to the collector or  town  clerk  or  city  collecting
official, as the case may be, the portion of the tax roll which includes
the  property of the district contained in the town or city for which he
collects taxes and a warrant for the  collection  of  the  taxes  levied
thereon.  All school district moneys collected shall be deposited to the
credit of the school district in such bank or banks as may be designated
from time to time by the board of education or trustee  or  trustees  of
the  school  district.  Whenever the function of collecting school taxes
shall be transferred to a town or city,  the  undertaking  of  the  town
collector or town clerk or city collecting official, as the case may be,
shall  be further conditioned that he will well and truly keep, pay over
and account for all school district taxes and such undertaking shall  be
in  lieu  of  any other bond or undertaking otherwise required by law in
the collection of such school district taxes and the  proper  accounting
therefor,  and the trustees of every school district for which such town
collector or town  clerk  or  city  collecting  official  shall  act  as
collector  shall have and may exercise the same powers and remedies with

respect to such undertaking  as  is  given  them  with  respect  to  the
official  bond of the collector by the provisions of article forty-three
of the education law or by  the  provisions  of  any  other  general  or
special law.
5. If any alternative form of government or the modification or change
of  such form shall be adopted which provides for the transfer of all of
the functions of any officer, office, department or agency of  any  unit
of  local  government  to  the  county  or  to  another  unit  of  local
government,  such  officer,  office,  department  or  agency  shall   be
abolished,  except  that  no  such  transfer  shall  have  the effect of
shortening the term of office of the incumbent of any  elective  office,
but  any such incumbent, at the time such new form of government becomes
effective,  shall  turn  over  all  books,  records  and  other   papers
pertaining  to  the  conduct  of his office to the department, office or
agency which succeeds to such powers and  duties.  Any  such  incumbent,
until  the  end  of his term, shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
department, office or agency to which  the  powers  and  duties  of  his
office  have  been transferred, except that the county executive, if the
functions have been transferred to the county, or the board of trustees,
common council or other elective governing body of the town, village  or
city,  if  the  functions have been transferred to such town, village or
city, may require any such incumbent to continue the active  performance
of his powers and duties for any period within the term for which he was
elected and until such county executive or elective governing body shall
direct  the  transfer  of  the  records of the office. Any officer whose
powers and duties are transferred as in this section provided  shall  be
compensated  in  an  amount to be fixed by the county executive with the
approval of the board of supervisors, or the elective governing body  of
the  town,  village or city, as the case may be, during the remainder of
his term.
6. In the event of the transfer of a function from  a  unit  of  local
government  to  the  county,  or  from  one  unit of local government to
another, the cost of the performance of such function by the  transferee
shall be paid in the first instance by the transferee from current funds
but  be  a  charge against the transferor, to be audited and paid in the
same manner as other charges against the transferor, except that if  any
function   performed  by  a  transferee  shall  be  of  general  benefit
throughout the entire territory of such transferee the costs thereof may
be provided by a tax upon all of the property within the  boundaries  of
the transferee.
7. If the petition or resolution pursuant to which an alternative form
of government or modification or change is adopted shall so provide, the
cost  to  the transferor of the performance of any function in any cases
where functions are transferred pursuant to such petition or resolution,
shall be determined on the basis  of  a  contract  to  be  entered  into
between  the transferor and the transferee. The amount agreed upon under
any such contract shall be raised by taxation upon the property  of  the
transferor  in the same manner as taxes were raised for the cost of such
function prior to the transfer.
8. In any case where there shall have been a transfer  of  a  function
pursuant  to  this  section,  any  outstanding  indebtedness against the
transferor existing at the time of the transfer shall not be affected by
the transfer but shall continue to be raised by tax and paid in the same
manner as if the transfer had not been effected.