Provides that the election of chief and assistant chief by a fire department may be on the same day as the day of election of the fire department's election of administration officers.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6845
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PALMESANO, BLANKENBUSH, BRABENEC, MILLER, MORI-
NELLO, REILLY, TAGUE, McDONOUGH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to the election of fire chiefs
and assistant fire chiefs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 11-a of section 176 of the town law, as amended
2 by chapter 351 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
3 11-a. The members of the fire department of the fire district shall
4 meet at a time and place designated by the board of fire commissioners
5 on the Thursday following the first Tuesday in April of each year and
6 nominate persons for the offices of chief and such assistant chiefs as
7 may be provided for in the rules and regulations adopted by the board of
8 fire commissioners; provided, however, that the board of fire commis-
9 sioners may by resolution, adopt a policy allowing fire districts the
10 option to set the day of election of chief and assistant chiefs on the
11 same day as the fire department's election of administration officers.
12 [If the Thursday following the first Tuesday in April falls upon a day
13 of special religious observance, the board of fire commissioners may
14 designate any other weekday in April after such Thursday as the day upon
15 which to hold such meeting.] Each nominee shall be a member of the fire
16 department. In addition, the board of fire commissioners may by resol-
17 ution require that any or all of such fire department officers shall be
18 residents of the fire district. All nominations shall be made by ballot.
19 The person acting as secretary of such meeting shall promptly notify the
20 fire district secretary in writing of such nominations. The board of
21 fire commissioners at its meeting next succeeding the making of such
22 nominations shall consider the same and shall appoint such persons to
23 the offices to which they have been respectively nominated or, if a
24 nomination is not approved the board of fire commissioners shall call
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01905-01-5
A. 6845 2
1 another meeting of the members of the fire department at which a new
2 nomination shall be made to take the place of any nomination not
3 approved, which procedure shall continue until a full set of officers is
4 approved. Any such person shall assume the duties of [his] such person's
5 office as soon as [he has] they have been appointed thereto by the board
6 of fire commissioners and shall serve until [his] such person's succes-
7 sor is appointed. A person who has been convicted of arson in any degree
8 shall not be eligible for nomination, election or appointment to the
9 office of fire department chief or assistant chief. Any fire department
10 chief or assistant chief who is convicted of arson in any degree during
11 [his] such chief's term of office shall be disqualified from completing
12 such term of office.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
