2023 New York Laws › TWN - Town › Article 11-A - Joint Fire Districts in Towns and Villages › 189-A - Procedure.

§  189-a. Procedure. 1. The town board of a town or the town boards of
more than one town, and the board of trustees of an incorporated village
or the boards of trustees of more  than  one  incorporated  village,  as
defined  in  the  village  law, located in said town or towns are hereby
authorized to establish in such town or towns and village or villages  a
joint  fire  district  for  the  purposes  hereinafter stated and in the
manner hereinafter provided, provided all of the territory in such joint
fire district shall be contiguous.
2. (a) Whenever it shall appear to the participating municipalities to
be in the public interest, the town board of such town and the board  of
trustees  of  such  village  shall  hold a joint meeting at one location
within the proposed joint district for the purpose of jointly  proposing
the establishment of a joint fire district.
(b)  If  at  such joint meeting it is determined by a majority vote of
each board to make such proposal, each such board shall,  within  thirty
days  thereafter, hold a joint public hearing at one location within the
proposed joint district upon such proposal and  shall  cause  notice  of
such  public  hearing  to  be  published  in  a newspaper having general
circulation in such town and village, at least once, and posted in  five
public  conspicuous  places in the town outside such village and in five
public conspicuous places in the village, not less than ten days  before
the  date  of  the  hearing.  In the event that the district maintains a
website, one of the posting requirements may  be  fulfilled  by  posting
such  information  on  the website. Notice of such hearing also shall be
served by such clerk upon the members of the town board and the  members
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the village, by mail addressed to such
members at their last known post office addresses,  at  least  ten  days
before  the  date  of  the  hearing.  Such  notice shall contain a brief
description of the boundaries of the proposed joint fire district and of
the objects and purposes for which it is proposed that a new district be
created, and shall specify the single time when  and  place  where  such
town  and  village boards will jointly meet to consider the proposal and
to hear all persons interested in the establishment of the district. If,
upon the establishment of a joint fire district, the joint fire district
would become the sponsor of a service award program pursuant to  section
two  hundred  sixteen-b  of  the  general  municipal  law, the notice of
hearing shall so specify and contain a statement of the estimated annual
cost of the service award program to the joint fire district;  provided,
however,  that  if, upon the establishment of a joint fire district, the
joint fire district would become the sponsor of a service award  program
pursuant  to section two hundred sixteen-b of the general municipal law,
the  resolutions  establishing  the  district  shall  be  submitted   to
referendum  in  each  such  town  and  village in the manner provided by
article seven of this chapter  or  article  nine  of  the  village  law,
respectively.
(c)  After  such  hearing,  and upon evidence given thereat, and after
considering the objections, if any, the town board of such town and  the
board  of  trustees  of such village shall determine whether it is or is
not in the public interest to establish such joint fire  district,  and,
if  it is determined to be in the public interest, subject to permissive
referendum, such town board and board of trustees shall, by  resolution,
duly  adopted  by  a  majority  of each board, establish such joint fire
district; provided, however, that if, upon the establishment of a  joint
fire  district,  the  joint  fire district would become the sponsor of a
service award program pursuant to section two hundred sixteen-b  of  the
general  municipal  law, the resolutions establishing the district shall
be submitted to referendum in each such town and village in  the  manner

provided by article seven of this chapter or article nine of the village
law, respectively.
(d)  In all respects the provisions of article eleven of this chapter,
not inconsistent herewith, shall apply to the  establishment,  operation
and management of any joint fire district provided for by this section.
(e)  In  all respects the provisions of this article, not inconsistent
herewith, shall apply to the operation and management of any joint  fire
district heretofore established pursuant to the unconsolidated laws.
3.  If,  subsequent  to  the  joint meeting for the establishment of a
joint fire district as provided in subdivision two of this  section  and
before  the  establishment of such district, it is desired to include in
such proposed district any portion of  the  territory  of  an  adjoining
town, the procedure shall be as follows:
(a)  The  town  board  of the town or towns and the board or boards of
trustees of the villages which held such  joint  meeting  and  the  town
board of each adjoining town may hold a joint meeting for the purpose of
jointly  proposing the inclusion of the territory of such adjoining town
in the proposed joint fire district.
(b) If at such meeting it is determined by a  majority  vote  of  each
board  to  make such proposal, each such board shall, within thirty days
thereafter, hold a joint public hearing upon  such  proposal  and  shall
cause  notice  of  such  public  hearing  to be published in a newspaper
having general circulation in each such town and village, at least once,
and posted in five public conspicuous places in each such  town  outside
each  such  village  and  in five public conspicuous places in each such
village, not less than ten days before the date of the  hearing.  Notice
of  such  hearing also shall be served by such clerk upon the members of
the town board or boards and the members of the board of trustees of the
village or villages, by mail addressed to such  members  at  their  last
known  post  office  addresses, at least ten days before the date of the
hearing. Such notice shall contain a brief description of the boundaries
of the proposed joint fire district and of the objects and purposes  for
which  it  is proposed that a new district be created, and shall specify
the time when and place where such town and village boards will meet  to
consider  the  proposal  and  to  hear  all  persons  interested  in the
establishment of the district.
(c) After such hearing, and upon evidence  given  thereat,  and  after
considering the objections, if any, the town boards of such town and the
board of trustees of such villages, shall determine whether it is in the
public  interest  to  establish  such  joint  fire district and if it is
determined  to  be  in  the  public  interest,  subject  to   permissive
referendum, such town boards and boards of trustees shall by resolution,
duly  adopted  by  a  majority  of each board, establish such joint fire
district.
(d) In all respects the provisions of article eleven of this  chapter,
not  inconsistent  herewith,  shall  apply  to the establishment and the
operation and management of any joint fire district provided for by this
section.
4. Any joint fire district formed pursuant to the provisions  of  this
article  may  be  extended  from  time  to  time  to  include contiguous
territory except contiguous territory  in  a  city.  The  procedure  for
extending the district shall be as follows:
(a)  The  town  board  of  each town and the board of trustees of each
village in which any portion of the district as proposed to be  extended
is located shall hold a joint meeting at one location for the purpose of
jointly proposing the extension of the district.
(b)  If  at  such  meeting it is determined by a majority vote of each
board to make such proposal, each such board shall, within  thirty  days

thereafter,  hold  a  joint  public  hearing  at  one location upon such
proposal and shall cause notice of such public hearing to  be  published
in  a  newspaper  having  general  circulation in each affected town and
village,  at least once, and posted in five public conspicuous places in
each affected town outside any  affected  village  and  in  five  public
conspicuous  places  in  each  affected  village, not less than ten days
before the date of the hearing. Notice of such  hearing  also  shall  be
served by such clerk upon the members of each town board and the members
of  each village board of trustees, by mail addressed to such members at
their last known post office addresses, at least  ten  days  before  the
date  of  the  hearing. Such notice shall contain a brief description of
the boundaries of the proposed extension of the joint fire district  and
of  the  objects and purposes for which it is proposed that the district
be extended and shall specify the single time when and place where  such
town  and  village boards will jointly meet to consider the proposal and
to hear all persons interested in the extension  of  the  district.  If,
upon  the  extension  of  a joint fire district, the joint fire district
would become the sponsor of a service award program pursuant to  section
two  hundred  sixteen-b  of  the  general  municipal  law, the notice of
hearing shall so specify and contain a statement of the estimated annual
cost of the service award program to the joint fire district;  provided,
however, that if, upon the extension of a joint fire district, the joint
fire  district  would  become  the  sponsor  of  a service award program
pursuant to section two hundred sixteen-b of the general municipal  law,
the  resolutions  establishing  the districts shall be submitted in each
such town and village in the manner provided by article  seven  of  this
chapter or article nine of the village law, respectively.
(c)  After  such  hearing,  and upon evidence given thereat, and after
considering the objections, if any, the town board of each such affected
town and the board of trustees  of  each  such  affected  village  shall
determine  whether it is or is not in the public interest to extend such
joint fire district, and, if it  is  determined  to  be  in  the  public
interest, subject to permissive referendum, such town board and board of
trustees shall, by resolution, duly adopted by a majority of each board,
extend  such  joint  fire district; provided, however, that if, upon the
extension of a joint fire district, the joint fire district would become
the sponsor of a service award program pursuant to section  two  hundred
sixteen-b of the general municipal law, the resolutions establishing the
districts shall be submitted in each such town and village in the manner
provided by article seven of this chapter or article nine of the village
law, respectively.
(d)  A  signed  or  certified  copy of the determination extending the
district shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk  and,  when
so  recorded,  shall  be  presumptive  evidence  of  the  regularity and
validity of the extension of the district and of the acts  of  the  town
board  or  boards  and  village  board  or  boards  of trustees relating
thereto. A review of  such  determination  may  be  had  in  the  manner
provided  in  section  one hundred seventy-three of this chapter, except
that the undertaking for costs and expenses shall run to  such  town  or
towns  and  village  or  villages and apply to the costs and expenses of
each.
(e) In all respects the provisions of article eleven of this  chapter,
not  inconsistent  herewith, shall apply to the extension, operation and
management of any joint fire district provided for by this section.