[Amended by L.L. No. 3-1990]
The powers and duties connected with and incident
with the supervision, control, government, administration, disposition
and discipline of the Police Department and Fire Department and all
the officers and members of said Departments shall be possessed and
exercised fully and exclusively, and all powers and the performance
of all duties pursuant to the government, maintenance and direction
of said Departments and the apparatus and property thereof and the
general direction and supervision of the expenditure of all moneys
appropriated to said Department shall be vested in and exercised by
a Board of Public Safety, as established in the following section,
and which shall possess such other powers and perform such other duties
as may be prescribed by law or by ordinance of the Common Council.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1930; L.L. No. 2-1956; L.L. No. 7-1956; L.L. No. 3-2002; 9-16-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
The Mayor, the City Treasurer, the City Clerk,
a Majority Member of the Common Council and a Minority Member of the
Common Council, by virtue of their offices, while in office, shall
be and are hereby constituted Commissioners and members of the Board
of Public Safety. By duly adopted resolution, the Common Council shall
determine the Majority and Minority Members appointed to the Board
of Public Safety. In the event that there are no Minority Party members
serving on the Common Council, an "At Large" member shall be appointed
to the Board of Public Safety in place of a Minority Member.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1930; L.L. No. 2-1956; L.L. No. 7-1956; L.L. No. 3-1990; L.L. No. 3-2002]
The Mayor shall be President of said Board.
Three members shall constitute a quorum. In case of the Mayor's absence
from the city or his inability from any cause to attend any meeting
of said Board, the other members thereof shall choose one of their
number Chairman Pro Tempore, who shall have the same powers as the
Mayor therein and who shall not lose his vote therein. The City Clerk
shall be Clerk of the Board and shall keep a record of its proceedings
and shall have custody of all books and papers belonging to said Board.
Said books and papers shall at all times be open to the inspection
of the members of the Board.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1930; L.L. No. 2-1956; L.L. No. 7-1956; L.L. No. 3-1990; L.L. No. 3-2002]
Meetings may be held on the call of the Chairman
or any three members of the Board. The attendance of three Commissioners
shall be necessary to constitute a quorum. No meeting of the Board
shall be held for the appointment or discharge of any member of the
Police Department, Fire Department or the officers, members or employees
of said Departments without serving written or printed notice thereof
upon each of the Commissioners or leaving it at their place or residence
at least three hours before the time of meeting, and no appointment
or discharge of any of the members of said Departments or employees
thereof shall be made except by the affirmative vote of a majority
of all the Commissioners.
The Board shall prescribe such regulations as
may be necessary for conducting the proceedings of such Board and
prescribing the method of calling special meetings thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 232, Appointees
of Board, as amended by L.L. Nos. 2-1926, 1-1930, 1-1955, 2-1956 and
7-1956, was repealed by L.L. No. 3-1990.
[Amended by L.L. No. 2-1926; L.L. No. 1-1930; L.L. No. 2-1930; L.L. No. 2-1956; L.L. No. 7-1956; L.L. No. 3-1990]
The Board of Public Safety shall make and adopt
and enforce such rules and regulations not inconsistent with law as
may be reasonably necessary to effect a prompt and efficient exercise
of all the powers conferred and the performance of all duties imposed
by law upon each of the Departments under its jurisdiction. It is
authorized and empowered to make and adopt, promulgate and enforce
reasonable rules, orders and regulations for the government, discipline,
administration and disposition of the officers and employees and members
of the Police and Fire Departments and for hearing, examination, investigation,
trial and determination of charges made and preferred against any
officer or employee of said Departments for neglect of official duty
or incompetency or incapacity to perform his official duties or some
delinquency seriously affecting his general character or fitness for
the office and may, in its discretion, punish such officer or employee
found guilty thereof by reprimand, forfeiting and withholding pay
for a specific time, by suspension during a fixed period or dismissal
from office, but no officer or employee of said Departments hereafter
to be appointed shall be removed or otherwise punished for any other
cause or until specific charges, in writing, shall have been preferred
against or served upon him, and he shall have been found guilty thereof
after reasonable notice and upon due trial before said Board, in the
form and manner prescribed by law and the rules and regulation of
the Departments.
[Amended by L. 1917, c. 680]
The Police and Fire Departments shall, as to
component parts, remain as now constituted until the same shall be
changed by action of the Common Council. The Common Council shall
have power at all times by ordinance to determine the number of patrolmen,
not exceeding, however, one for every 700 inhabitants of said city,
as shown by the last preceding national census, and all the employees
in said Departments and the classes and grades in which they shall
be divided, except that it shall not have the power to diminish the
number of employees of either of said Departments as now fixed.
[Amended by L. 1917, c. 680; L.L. No. 1-1955; L.L. No. 3-1990; L.L. No. 6-1993]
The Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief of
Police shall receive a monthly salary of not less than $2,000 per
month, to be fixed and determined by the Board of Public Safety. The
other officers and employees, except as otherwise provided by this
Act, shall receive such compensation as may be fixed and determined
by the Board of Public Safety. The Chief of Police and the officers
and employees of the Police and Fire Departments shall receive their
salary at such time and in such manner and the payment thereof shall
be made as the Board of Public Safety prescribes.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1955; L.L. No. 3-1990]
No person shall hereafter be appointed to membership
in the Police Department or be employed in the Fire Department of
the city or continue to hold membership therein who is not a citizen
of the United States; of good moral character; who cannot understandingly
read and write the English language; and who has not resided in the
city during the two years next preceding his appointment. The Board
shall make all appointments, promotions and changes of status of the
officers and members of the Police Department and employees of the
Fire Department in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service
Law of the state, except as otherwise provided herein. In making promotions,
seniority and meritorious service in the Department, as well as superior
capacity, as shown by competitive examinations, shall be taken into
account. Individual acts of bravery may be treated as acts of meritorious
service, and relative weight thereof shall be fixed by the Municipal
Civil Service Commission. No member of the Police Department or employee
of the Fire Department shall hold any other office nor be employed
in any other office nor be employed in any other department of the
city government.
No member of the Police or Fire Department shall
be liable to military or jury duty or to arrest on criminal or civil
process while on duty.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1955; L.L. No. 6-1993]
The Chief of Police shall have the power and
it shall be his duty to enforce all rules and regulations of the Board
of Public Safety relating to the Police Department; commit any person
charged with a criminal offense until an examination shall be had
before the proper magistrate; administer oaths and take affidavits
in respect to matters pertaining to his official duty; and perform
all such other duties as may be prescribed by law of the Board of
Public Safety. The Deputy Chief of Police shall discharge such duties
incident to his office as may be imposed upon him by the Board of
Public Safety or by the Chief of Police and shall, in case of the
absence or disability of the Chief of Police to act, possess the power
and discharge the duties of the Chief of Police.
The members of the Police Department, in criminal
matters, have all the power of peace officers under the general laws
of the state, and they shall also have the power and it shall be their
duty to arrest any person found by them to be violating any of the
penal ordinances of the city or laws of the state and to take such
person before the City Judge. Such person shall be dealt with in the
same manner as if he had been arrested on a warrant therefor duly
issued by such City Judge. They shall report violations of law and
ordinances coming to their knowledge in any way, under regulations
to be prescribed by the Board of Public Safety. They shall also have,
in every other part of the state, all the powers of constables, and
any warrant for search or arrest issued by any magistrate of the state
may be executed by them in any part of the state, according to the
tenor thereof, without endorsement. They shall possess such other
powers and perform such other duties as may be provided by law or
by rules and regulations or directions of the Board of Public Safety.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1948; amended by L.L. No. 1-1962; L.L. No. 3-1990]
The Board of Public Safety may appoint fire
police to hold offices for not to exceed one year under any one appointment
such number of qualified persons, not to exceed 10, from the membership
of any one fire company, as it may deem necessary and proper.
1.
All applicants for appointment as a fire policeman
shall be citizens of the United States, over the age of 21 years,
residents of the City of Rensselaer and members in good standing of
one of the fire companies of the Rensselaer Fire Department. No person
shall be appointed as a fire policeman who shall have been previously
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
2.
The fire police so appointed shall forthwith take
and file with the City Clerk the oath of office, as provided by § 30
of the Rensselaer City Charter and shall thereupon become vested with
all the powers and shall discharge all the duties of fire police,
as provided herein.
3.
It shall be the duty of such fire police appointed
hereunder to detect and prevent fires; to place fire lines so as to
provide facilities for the Fire Department to work advantageously;
to keep unauthorized persons outside such fire lines; to aid, assist
and cooperate with the Police Department in regulating highway and
street traffic to and from all fires; to enforce all ordinances of
the City of Rensselaer relating to the protection of the Fire Department
apparatus, equipment and members. During the course of any fire, said
fire police shall be vested with all the powers and shall discharge
all the duties as are now vested or imposed upon the police officers
of the City of Rensselaer. The fire police shall obey all orders,
rules and regulations as promulgated by the Chief or Assistant Chiefs
of the Fire Department and shall obey all orders given by or under
the direction of the Chief of the Rensselaer Police Department.
4.
Any fire police during the tenure of his appointment
shall be accorded and possessed with the same rights and privileges
if injured or killed while in the active performance of his duties
as are now accorded and possessed by volunteer firemen by the laws
of the State of New York for the purpose of furthering the objects
for which they are appointed and in conformity with the requirements,
rules and regulations of the Rensselaer Fire Department. The fire
police are authorized and empowered to form an organization to be
known as the "Rensselaer Fire Police"; to elect one Captain, one Sergeant,
one roundsman, a Secretary and a Treasurer, as their officers, and
to adopt bylaws for the guidance of such organization not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act, which bylaws shall be approved by
the Board of Public Safety. Such fire police, at their own expense,
may adopt a uniform, cap and badge for their better identification,
subject to the approval of the Chief of the Rensselaer Fire Department.
All criminal processes for any offense committed
within the city and all processes to recover or to enforce any penalty
for a violation of any city ordinance issued out of any court or by
the City Judge within the city or issued pursuant to this Act in every
process, subpoena or bench warrant issued by the District Attorney
of the County of Rensselaer relating to any offense committed within
the city and every process, subpoena or warrant issued by any coroner
of the county in any inquest held in the city relative to the death
of any person may be served by any member of the Police Department.
[Amended by L.L. No. 3-1990]
The Chief of Police or Acting Chief of Police
shall have the power to commit any person charged with criminal offense,
until examination shall be had before the proper magistrate, and he
is empowered to administer oaths and take affidavits in all matters
pertaining to his duties under this Act relative to the Police Department.
In the absence of the Chief or Acting Chief, the officer in charge
at headquarters shall have the same power as the Chief regarding administering
oaths and taking affidavits and shall have general charge of the station
until the return of the Chief or Acting Chief.
No officer or member of the Police Department
shall be a member of or delegate to any political convention nor shall
he be present at such convention, except in the performance of duty
as such officer or Board. He shall not solicit any person to vote
at any political primary or election nor challenge nor in any way
attempt to influence any voter thereat. He shall not be a member of
any political committee. Any officer or member violating any provision
of this section shall be dismissed from office.
[Amended by L.L. No. 2-1926; L.L. No. 1-1930; L.L. No. 2-1930; L.L. No. 2-1956; L.L. No. 7-1956; L.L. No. 3-1990]
All members of the Police Department and employees
of the Fire Departments hereafter to be appointed, subject to the
power of removal hereinafter specified, shall hold their respective
offices during good behavior until by age or disease they shall become
permanently incapacitated to discharge their duties.
[Amended by L.L. No. 3-1990]
A charge may be made by any person against an
officer or employee or member of the Police or Fire Department, in
that he has been negligent or derelict in the performance of his official
duties or incompetent or without capacity to perform the same or is
guilty of some delinquency seriously affecting his general character
or fitness for the office, which charge must be made in writing, in
form prescribed by the rules and regulations of the Board of Public
Safety, and a copy thereof must be served upon the accused officer
or member. The Board shall then proceed to hear, try and determine
the charge. The accused shall have the right to be present at his
trial and to be heard in person and by counsel and to give and furnish
evidence in his defense. The trial shall be open to the public. The
Board may issue subpoenas in its name and which shall be signed by
the President and Clerk thereof and compel the attendance of witnesses
and shall, upon oral application of the accused, issue a subpoena
on behalf of the accused, leaving a space for the names of the witnesses
that he may fill in their names upon any proceeding authorized by
the rules and regulations of the Department, and any person served
with a subpoena is bound to attend in obedience to the command thereof,
and the Board shall compel the attendance of witnesses and compel
them to testify in the same manner as in case of an officer of the
Board authorized bylaw to issue subpoenas and take testimony. If the
accused shall be found guilty of the charge made against him, the
Board may punish him by reprimand, by forfeiting and withholding pay
for a period not to exceed 30 days, by suspension without pay during
a period not to exceed 30 days or by dismissal from office. At any
time within one year after the date of dismissal, an officer or member
dismissed may make application to the Board for a rehearing and reinstatement.
Such application must be in writing and contain a release of the city
from all claims for back compensation. The Board may, in its discretion,
rehear and redetermine the charges and reverse the order for such
dismissal of such officer or member with or without an allowance of
the whole or a part of the time since such dismissal to be applied
on his time of service in the Department and, when there is a vacancy
appoint him, if not otherwise incapacitated or ineligible, or may
affirm such dismissal. At any time within one year after this Act
takes effect or within one year after the date of resignation, an
officer or member who has resigned may make application to the Board
for reinstatement, and the Board may, in its discretion, reinstate
him and, when there is a vacancy, appoint him, if he is not otherwise
incapacitated or ineligible, but the time between the date of resignation
and reinstatement shall not apply on his time of service in the Department.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 245, Appeal
from determination of Board, was repealed by L.L. No. 3-1990.
The several volunteer fire companies at present
composing the Fire Department of the City of Rensselaer shall, after
this Act takes effect, continue under the same name and organizations
as at present and, with the officers and employees of the Fire Department,
shall constitute the Fire Department and be under the control and
supervision of the Board of Public Safety and be subject to suspension
or removal by it. The members of each of said fire companies may,
pursuant to rules to be prescribed by the Board of Public Safety,
elect, expel or accept the resignation of any of the members or officers
of said companies.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 247, Exempt
firemen, was repealed by L.L. No. 3-1990.
The Board of Public Safety shall exercise all
the powers and is charged with all the duties now or hereafter conferred
upon or required of local boards of health by the laws of this state,
so far as the same pertains to cities, with the exceptions, limitations
and additions herein contained. All powers now or which may hereafter
be conferred by the laws of this state upon local boards of health
to make and publish general and special orders and regulations for
the preservation of life and health and the execution of the public
health law shall devolve upon and be exercised by the Board of Public
Safety.
Any person aggrieved by an order, decision or
direction of the Health Officer may appeal therefrom to the Board
of Public Safety, who may affirm, reverse or modify the order, decision
or direction appealed from. Such appeal must be made by serving on
the Health Officer a written notice of appeal within two days, Sundays
and legal holidays excepted, or within such other time as may be allowed
by the Board of Public Safety after the appellant receives notice
of the order, decision or direction appealed from. Within two days
after receiving such notice of appeal, Sundays and legal holidays
excepted, the Health Officer shall make a written return to the Board
of Public Safety of the facts and evidence on which such an order,
decision or direction is founded. Upon receipt of such return or if
no return is made within the time specified, the Board shall forthwith
proceed to hear and determine the matter. Upon such appeal, the Board
need not be confined to the evidence contained in the return but may,
in its discretion, take additional evidence. Until the decision of
the appeal is made, the order, decision or direction appealed from
shall be suspended. In case of a failure to sustain the appeal, the
Board may, in its discretion, impose costs not exceeding $10 upon
the appellant.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 250, Approval
of plans for sewers and drains, and § 251, Plumbing Inspector;
compensation, were repealed by L.L. No. 3-1990.
The Board of Public Safety may, from time to
time, appoint as many extra policemen as, in its judgment, may be
deemed necessary, who shall serve for such time as the Board may designate.
not, however, exceeding 10 days. It shall also have power to appoint
special policemen, who shall have the same powers and be subject to
the same liabilities as regular policemen, for the benefit of any
person, society or corporation for lawful purposes at the expense
of the person, society or corporation desiring such appointment, but
without any expense or liability whatever on the part of the city.
[Amended by L.L. No. 3-1990]
The Board of Public Safety may make rules requiring
officers and members of the Police Department and Fire Department
to wear badges or other insignia or uniforms, or both, and may prescribe
their form, style and material and regulate the display and wearing
thereof, but no rules shall prescribe where and from whom such badges,
insignia or uniforms shall be purchased or the price to be paid therefor.
[Amended by L.L. No. 3-1990]
An officer or member of the Police Department
or Fire Department shall not, directly or indirectly, receive for
his own benefit, under penalty of removal, any present, fee, gift
or emolument for police, fire or health services or for services in
either of the Departments of an officer or member thereof in addition
to his regular salary or compensation. The Board of Public Safety,
for meritorious or extraordinary services rendered by an officer or
member of the Police or Fire Department in discharge of his duty,
may permit such member to retain for his own benefit a reward or present
tendered to him for such services. An officer or member who receives
a reward or present shall immediately give notice thereof to the Board
of Public Safety. Upon receiving such notice, the Board may either
authorize the officer or member to retain the same or a part thereof
or have it turned over to the Police and Fire Fund of the city.
The Board of Public Safety shall have power
to investigate the cause and origin of any fire in the city and, for
such purpose, take proof by testimony, which shall be reduced to writing
and subscribed by the witness, and if it appears from such testimony
that there is reasonable ground to believe that a crime has been committed,
it shall thereupon report such testimony to the District Attorney
of Rensselaer County.
Any member of the Board of Public Safety and
any duly authorized member of the Police or Fire Department may at
any time enter and examine any premises within the city for the purpose
of ascertaining whether a law or ordinance relating to the prevention
of fire, the storage, sale or use of combustibles, chemicals and explosives,
fire escapes, fire appliances, fireprotective systems, fire exits,
safety appliances or fire dangers has been or is being complied with.
Such officers shall report to the Board of Public Safety any such
violation of statute or ordinance.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 257, Commitment
to police station; amount of criminal expenses chargeable to county,
was repealed by L.L. No. 3-1990. Former § 258, which dealt
with the delegation of powers and duties of the Examining Board of
Plumbers to the Board of Public Safety, was repealed by L.L. No. 1-1934.
