2023 New York Laws › PBA - Public Authorities › Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities › Title 6-D - Alfred, Almond, Hornellsville Sewer Authority › 1147-C - Sewer Authority Created.

§  1147-c.  Sewer  authority  created.  1.  A corporation known as the
Alfred, Almond, Hornellsville Sewer Authority is hereby created for  the
purposes  and  charged with the duties and having the powers provided in
this title. The authority  shall  be  a  corporate  governmental  agency
constituting  a public benefit corporation. The geographic boundaries of
the authority shall be all of the territory within the  sewer  districts
created  by  section  eleven  hundred forty-seven-b of this title.   The
authority shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of  eight
members,  two  of whom shall be appointed by the mayor of the village of
Almond, subject to the approval of the board of trustees of the village,
two of whom shall be appointed by the town board of the town of  Alfred,
two  of  whom shall be appointed by the town board of the town of Almond
and two of whom shall be appointed by the town  board  of  the  town  of
Hornellsville. One member of the authority from each town and village in
which  the  authority is wholly or partially located shall be an elected
member of the legislative body of such town or village  and  shall  hold
office for a single term commencing on the date of their appointment and
expiring on the thirty-first day of December of the third year following
the first day of January after their appointment. Their successors shall
thereafter  be appointed for full terms of three years. In the event any
such member ceases to hold office as elected member of  the  legislative
body  of  such  town or village, such office shall become vacant and the
vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the  original  appointment
for  the remainder of the unexpired term.  One member shall be appointed
by the mayor of  Almond,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  board  of
trustees,  who  shall  serve  a  single  term  commencing on the date of
appointment and ending on the thirty-first day of December following the
first day of January of the second year after such appointment.  His  or
her  successor shall be appointed for a full three year term. One member
shall be appointed by the town board of the town of Alfred for a  single
term  commencing  on  the  date  of  the  appointment  and ending on the
thirty-first day of December following the first day of January  of  the
second  year  after  such  appointment.  His  or  her successor shall be
appointed for a full three year term. One member shall be  appointed  by
the  town  board of the town of Almond to serve a single term commencing
on the day of appointment and ending on the thirty-first day of December
following the first day of January of the year after  such  appointment.
His  or her successor shall be appointed for a full three year term. One
member shall be appointed by the town board of the town of Hornellsville
for a single term commencing on the date of the appointment  and  ending
on  the  thirty-first day of December following the first day of January
of the second year after such appointment. His or her successor shall be
appointed for a full three year term. Each chief executive officer shall
file with the secretary of state a certificate  of  appointment  of  any
member  appointed or reappointed to the board of directors within thirty
days of the appointment  or  reappointment.  Members  of  the  board  of
directors  shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be
entitled to  reimbursement  of  their  actual  and  necessary  expenses,
incurred in the discharge of their duties.
2.  Any one or more of the members of the board of directors may be an
official or an employee of a municipality situated, wholly or  partially
within  the  district.  In  the event that an official or an employee of
such municipality shall be  appointed  as  a  member  of  the  board  of
directors,  acceptance  or  retention  of  such appointment shall not be
deemed a forfeiture of his or her municipal  office  or  employment,  or
incompatible  therewith  or  effect his or her tenure or compensation in
any way.
3. No action shall be taken by the authority except  pursuant  to  the
favorable  vote  of a majority of the members of the board of directors.
Six members of the board shall constitute a quorum.  Notwithstanding the
presence of a quorum, no action shall be taken by the board of directors
at such meeting unless board members who were appointed by not less than
three  different towns or villages wholly or partially within the bounds
of the authority are present.
4. The powers of the  authority  shall  be  vested  in  and  shall  be
exercised  by  the board of directors at a meeting duly called and held.
The board of directors may delegate to one or more of its members, or to
one or more of the officers, agents or employees of the authority,  such
powers and duties as it may deem proper.
5.  The  officers  of  the  authority  shall consist of a chairperson,
treasurer, and secretary, who may, but need not be members of the  board
of  directors.  The  officers of the authority shall be appointed by the
board of directors. The board  of  directors  may  appoint  and  at  its
pleasure  remove  an  attorney  and  an  engineer,  which  positions, in
addition to the officers above named, shall be in the  exempt  class  of
the  civil service, and such additional officers and employees as it may
require for the performance of  its  duties,  fix  and  determine  their
qualifications,  duties,  compensations  and  terms of office or tenure,
subject to the provisions of the civil service law and such rules as the
civil service commission may adopt and make applicable to the authority.
The  authority  may  also  from  time  to  time  contract   for   expert
professional services. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
(a)  Chairperson. The chairperson shall be the chief executive officer
of the authority and it shall be the responsibility of  the  chairperson
to:
(i)  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the board of directors and of the
officers;
(ii) manage the facilities, projects and construction of the authority
and to effectuate the decisions of the board of directors;
(iii) exercise supervision  over  the  conduct  of  the  officers  and
employees of the authority;
(iv) report annually to the residents and businesses within the bounds
of  the  authority  by  publication  once  in a newspaper having general
circulation within the district that a report  has  been  filed  in  the
office of the authority and in the offices of the clerks of the towns of
Alfred,  Almond  and  Hornellsville  and  the  village  of Almond and is
available for public inspection; such report shall include  but  not  be
limited to the following:
(1)  a  brief  financial  account  on  operations  of the sewer system
including, but not limited to, sewer rates, total revenues  and  sources
of  such  revenues,  operating  and  maintenance  expenses,  outstanding
indebtedness and interest on bonds and notes;
(2) the number of users of the sewer system by classification  in  the
event users are classified;
(3) the extensions made of the system in the previous year, if any;
(4)  any  actions taken to make any capital improvements to the system
including any extension of the system;
(5) the types of treatment to which the  sewage  is  subjected  before
leaving the treatment plant or plants;
(6)   any   compliance  activities  required  by  regulations  of  the
department of environmental conservation or the department of health  or
any local health department and any instances of noncompliance;
(7)  the  present  condition of the sewer system and any appurtenances
thereto and any significant actions, as determined by the authority,  to
improve, extend or maintain the system;
(8)  any  special  public  services  the authority provides during the
year;
(v) execute all contracts in the name of the authority;
(vi)  institute, at the direction of the board of directors, all civil
actions in the name of the authority;
(vii) provide for the enforcement of all rules and regulations of  the
authority and cause all violations thereof to be prosecuted;
(viii)  sign  orders  to  pay  claims  when authorized by the board of
directors;
(ix) sign checks in the absence  or  inability  of  the  treasurer  or
deputy treasurer, if any, when authorized by the board of directors; and
a  certified  copy  of  the resolution of the board of directors to that
effect shall be notice to the depository of such authorization;
(x) appoint, subject to  the  approval  of  the  board  of  directors,
non-elected officers, counsel, accountants and other financial advisors,
engineers and other technical advisors;
(xi)   employ,   promote   and  discharge  managers,  supervisors  and
employees; and
(xii) take all other reasonable and necessary actions to carry out his
or her office as the chief executive officer of the  authority.  If  the
chairperson has not been appointed as a member of the board of directors
of  the  authority  pursuant  to this section, such chairperson shall be
deemed an ex officio member of the board of directors. Such status shall
not carry with it the right to vote on matters coming before  the  board
of  directors  nor shall the presence of such chairperson be counted for
the purpose of determining a quorum.
(b)  Secretary.  (i)  The  secretary  shall  be  the   recording   and
corresponding  officer of the authority and the custodian of the records
of the authority.
(ii) The secretary shall prepare and  send  required  notices  of  all
meetings  when  directed  to  do so by the chairperson or by the written
request of four members who have specified the issues to be discussed at
the meeting.
(iii) In the absence or disability of the secretary,  the  chairperson
may appoint a temporary secretary.
(c)  Treasurer.  (i)  The  treasurer  shall have custody of all moneys
belonging to the  authority  and  keep  accounts  of  all  receipts  and
expenditures in conformance with a uniform system of accounts formulated
and  prescribed by the comptroller pursuant to section thirty-six of the
general municipal law.
(ii) The treasurer shall execute a bond, conditioned upon the faithful
performance of  the  duties  of  his  or  her  office,  the  amount  and
sufficiency of which shall be approved by the board of directors and the
premium therefor shall be paid by the authority.
(iii)  The  treasurer  shall  deposit  within  ten  days after receipt
thereof, in the name of the authority, in  one  or  more  banks,  and/or
trust  companies,  designated  by  the  board  of  directors, all moneys
received by him or her.
(iv) The treasurer may sign checks with the facsimile signature of the
treasurer, as reproduced by a  machine  or  device,  when  approved  and
authorized by the board of directors.
(v)  The  treasurer  shall  pay out moneys from the authority treasury
only as authorized by the board  of  directors  and  by  law.  All  such
payments,  except  as  may be authorized by the board of directors for a
petty cash account, shall be by check.
(vi) The treasurer shall  issue  a  report  on  the  finances  of  the
authority at each regular meeting of the board of directors.
(vii)  The treasurer shall file in the office of the authority, within
sixty days after the end of the fiscal  year,  a  statement  showing  in
detail all revenues and expenditures during the previous fiscal year and
the  outstanding  indebtedness  of  the  authority  as of the end of the
fiscal  year.  The  members  shall within ten days cause to be published
once in a newspaper having general circulation within  the  district,  a
notice  that the financial statement has been filed and is available for
inspection or a summary of such statement in  a  form  approved  by  the
comptroller,  with  an  endorsement  thereon that details thereof are on
file in the office of the authority.
6. The officers of the authority, other than members of the  board  of
directors,  shall  receive such compensation as may be determined by the
board of directors and shall be reimbursed for all necessary and  actual
expenses  incurred  in connection with their duties as such officers and
in connection with carrying out the purposes of this title.
7. In addition to any powers granted to it by law, the governing  body
of  each  of the towns and of the village wholly or partially within the
bounds of the authority, from time to  time,  may  appropriate  sums  of
money  to  defray  project  costs or any other costs and expenses of the
authority. Subject to the rights of bondholders, each governing body may
determine if the moneys so appropriated shall be subject to repayment by
the authority to such towns and such village, and  in  such  event,  the
manner and time for such repayment.
8.  It  is  hereby  determined and declared that the authority and the
carrying out of its powers, purposes and duties are in all respects  for
the benefit of the people of the municipalities within the bounds of the
authority  and  state,  for the improvement of their health, welfare and
prosperity and that the said purposes are a public purpose and that  the
authority  is  and will be performing an essential governmental function
in the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by this title.
9. (a) The mayor of the village of Almond and the supervisors  of  the
towns  of  Alfred,  Almond and Hornellsville shall each, pursuant to the
authority granted to them by their respective governing boards, file  on
or  before  March  thirty-first  of the year following the year in which
this title shall take effect, in the office of the secretary of state, a
certificate signed by such mayor or supervisor setting forth:  the  name
of the authority; the names of the members of the authority appointed by
the  mayor  of  that  village or by the town board of that town; and the
effective date of the authority. The authority  shall  be  perpetual  in
duration,  except  that  if  any  such certificate is not filed with the
secretary of state on or before such date, then the corporate  existence
of the authority shall thereupon terminate and shall thereupon be deemed
to be and shall be dissolved.
(b)  Except  as  provided  in  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision, the
authority and its corporate existence shall continue until terminated by
law, provided, however, that no such law shall take effect  so  long  as
the  authority  shall have bonds or other obligations outstanding unless
adequate provision  has  been  made  for  the  payment  or  satisfaction
thereof.  Upon  termination of the authority, all facilities, rights and
property shall be disposed of as shall be agreed  upon  by  all  of  the
members of the authority. In the event no such agreement can be reached,
the  issue  of  the  disposition of such facilities, rights and property
shall be submitted to arbitration in  the  manner  provided  by  article
seventy-five of the civil practice law and rules.