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.
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.
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.