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.
Last modified: February 3, 2019