[Adopted 1-8-1987 by L.L. No. 1-1987]
[Amended 4-2-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998]
This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Law and provides for establishing standards of conduct for members of appointive boards. The Town Board of the Town of Rochester, by the enactment of this article, finds that it is in the best interests of the residents of the Town to establish strict attendance standards for members of appointive boards so as to avoid delay in processing applications and to provide for a fair hearing before said boards for residents of the Town.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
APPOINTIVE BOARD
Any group of three or more persons delegated by local law, ordinance or state law to perform a specific governmental function and which board is appointed by the Town Board of the Town of Rochester.
CALENDAR QUARTER
Each three month period of each year beginning with January 1 of each year.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "Code Enforcement Officer," which immediately followed this definition, was deleted 4-2-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998.
[Amended 8-26-1999 by L.L. No. 3-1999]
A. 
Members of all appointive boards in the Town of Rochester are expected to attend all regularly scheduled and specially scheduled meetings of such appointive board. In the event that a member of an appointive board is absent from three consecutive meetings, or in the event that a member of the board is absent from five meetings within any one calendar year, then such member may be sanctioned as provided for in this chapter.
B. 
Training.
[Amended 10-2-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008; 2-4-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
(1) 
Upon the initial appointment to the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Rochester, the new member shall be required, as a condition of appointment, to complete two online-based training programs related to the functions of said Board within three months of the date of such appointment: New York State Department of State "Planning Board Overview" (Planning Board member) or New York State Department of State "Zoning Board of Appeals Overview" (Zoning Board of Appeals member) and New York State Department of Conservation "Introduction to SEQR - Guiding the Process."
(a) 
One and one-half hours of training credit shall be credited to the member for each completed program.
(b) 
Alternatively, the training may be completed in classroom training session; however, the training information shall be comparable to the online training and be approved by the Town Board.
(c) 
The member shall complete, at a minimum, one additional hour of training as described below prior to December 31 of the year of appointment.
(2) 
Thereafter, every member of the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be required to complete, at a minimum, four hours of training each year, designed to enable such members to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a member in excess of four hours in any one year may be carried over by the member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this subsection. Methods of such training shall be approved by the Town Board, by resolution, and may include, but not be limited to, training provided by a municipality, regional or county planning office or commission, county planning federation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college or other similar entity. Training may be provided in a variety of formats, including, but not limited to, electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom training.
C. 
All members of the Board of Assessment Review shall be required to comply with the training requirements mandated by New York State Real Property Tax Law § 523, as same may be from time to time amended.
[Added 10-2-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008]
A. 
Referral to Town Board. At least four days prior to the first monthly Town Board meeting in each calendar quarter (i.e., January, April, July and October) the Chairperson of each appointive board shall notify the Town Board when any member of the Chairperson's board has failed to satisfy the required standards of attendance during the preceding calendar quarter. A copy of such notice shall also be sent, via certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of said board member.
B. 
Hearing required. Upon receipt of the notice specified in Subsection A, the Town Board shall schedule a hearing for purposes of consideration of sanctions to be imposed. Such hearing shall take place on no less than 10 days' written notice to the board member and, in addition, public notice shall be given at least 10 days prior to said hearing in the official newspaper or newspapers of the Town.
C. 
Conduct of hearing. The hearing to be conducted shall be informal in nature and may be conducted in executive session as such term is defined in the Public Officers Law of the State of New York, provided that all procedural requirements of said statute are complied with. The board member complained of shall have the right to be represented by counsel. The Town Board shall consider any explanation provided by said member and shall make allowances for illness, vacation time and other extenuating circumstances.
D. 
Disposition. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Town Board shall determine to either take no action or to remove said board member from office. In the event that said board member is removed, the Town Board shall place its reasons for such action in the official minutes of the Town Board. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Town Board from waiting a reasonable period of time after said hearing to provide an opportunity for a member of an appointive board to submit his or her written resignation from such board to the Town Clerk.
E. 
Filling vacancies. Upon voting to remove a member of an appointive board from office, the Town Board shall notify the Chairman of such board, in writing, of the Town Boards action. The Town Board shall immediately fill the vacancy created by the removal action.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 5, Term of office of the Code Enforcement Officer, amended 11-3-1988 by L.L. No. 3-1988, was deleted 4-2-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998.