[Amended 11-20-1983 by L.L. No. 3-1983; 10-15-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
There shall be a Fire Department headed by a Fire Chief who shall be appointed by the Mayor pursuant to the procedure as set forth in § C4-3C. They shall be qualified on the basis of their training and experience in the administration of fire departments. Unless otherwise provided in this Charter, they shall be directly responsible to the Mayor.
The Fire Chief shall have the powers and duties to:
A. 
Control and regulate the conduct of the Department and the custody and uses of its apparatus, fire alarm systems, equipment, appliances and supplies.
B. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sec. C13-2(b), regarding assigning officers and tours of duty and discipline, was 4-2-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002. See now Subsection J hereof.
C. 
Provide for and maintain or cause to be maintained records of the work of the Department and of all property which may come into its custody.
D. 
Enforce or cause to be enforced within the City all state and local laws and ordinances relating to the prevention, detection and control of fire risks and fires and the enforcement of state and City fire regulations.
E. 
Provide for the full utilization of the personnel of the Department, both paid and volunteer, in extinguishing fires and providing for the safety of persons and property endangered by fire or fire-related catastrophe.
F. 
Appoint all subordinate personnel consistent with applicable law and appoint such volunteer firefighters as they deem appropriate and provide for their training as applicable with New York State law.
[Amended 12-21-1999 by L.L. No. 2-1999]
G. 
Serve as an ex officio voting member of the Cortland Fire Department Board of Engineers of the volunteer firefighters.
H. 
Be the Fire Marshal for the City of Cortland.
I. 
Draft and prescribe, with the approval of the Fire Commission, bylaws, rules and regulations for the operation of the Department.
J. 
Assign officers and other personnel of the Department, both paid and volunteer, to their posts, prescribe their hours of duty and provide their discipline consistent with applicable laws, bylaws, rules and regulations of the Department.
A. 
There shall be a Fire Commission consisting of five members, all of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor with confirmation by the Common Council and shall be qualified electors of the City of Cortland, one shall receive the concurrence of the Board of Engineers of the Fire Department prior to confirmation by the Common Council, and shall be a volunteer fire fighter.
B. 
One, not a City employee, shall receive concurrence of the Paid Fire Fighters Association prior to confirmation of the Common Council. The Commissioners shall serve three-year terms with no compensation, except the Common Council may authorize compensation for expenses. The Fire Commission shall, at the beginning of each year, elect one of its members as Chair.
The Fire Commission shall have the powers and duties to:
A. 
Submit to the Mayor the names of at least three qualified candidates, if there are three qualified candidates on the list of names reviewed and evaluated pursuant to § C4-3C for the position of Fire Chief.
B. 
Assist the Fire Chief when requested with regard to promotions, discipline and other personnel matters.
C. 
Review the estimates of revenues and proposed expenditures and capital program of the Fire Department and make recommendations to the Mayor and Capital Program Committee, respectively.
D. 
Review all complaints by citizens and, with the Fire Chief, devise solutions to valid problems in departmental operations.
E. 
Advise the Fire Chief on the administration and operations of the Department as they or the Mayor may request or as the Commission may deem necessary.