[Amended 6-27-2011 by L.L. No. 6-2011; 11-25-2024 by L.L. No. 5-2024]
The City shall have a Department of Law, which shall be staffed, at the sole distraction of the City Manager, either by the appointment of a Corporation Counsel or a City Attorney, but not both. The Department of Law shall maintain an office in City Hall and keep or otherwise make available in such office all legal files pertaining to the City.
The Department of Law shall be and act as the legal advisor of the Mayor, of the Common Council, City Manager and of the several officers, boards and departments of the City. The Department of Law shall appear for and protect the rights and interests of the City in all actions, suits and proceedings brought by or against it or any of the City officers, boards or departments, and such officers, boards or departments shall not employ other counsel. The Department of Law shall attend to all the law business of the City and discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by law or ordinance of the Common Council. Any reference in the City Code to Corporation Counsel shall also be deemed to refer to the City Attorney when the City Manager has appointed a City Attorney in lieu of appointing a Corporation Counsel.
The position of Corporation Counsel shall be appointed by the City Manager to serve either as a full- or part-time position, as the City Manager shall determine, in lieu of appointing a City Attorney as set forth in § C101 below. The Corporation Counsel shall be head of the Department of Law. The position of Assistant Corporation Counsel(s) is hereby established and may be appointed by the City Manager. In case of the absence or disability of the Corporation Counsel or a vacancy in the office, and except when there has been appointed a City Attorney as provided in § C101 below, the City Manager with approval of the Common Council shall appoint a suitable person or law firm to discharge the duties of the office until the Corporation Counsel returns, such disability ceases or the vacancy is filled. Neither the Corporation Counsel, Assistant Corporation Counsel nor any attorney appointed to discharge the duties of the office in the case of absence or disability of the Corporation Counsel or the Assistant Corporation Counsel nor any subordinates shall receive any fee or compensation of any kind for services rendered in an official capacity, other than the salary fixed by the Mayor and Common Council.
The City Manager may, in lieu of appointing a Corporation Counsel, appoint an individual or a law firm as the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall be the head of the Department of Law. Such individual or the law firm shall not be an Officer of the City and must have an office in Westchester County and the individual attorney appointed as City Attorney or the individual attorney assigned by the law firm to be the principal attorney working with the City, must be duly licensed to practice law in the State of New York for at least five years prior to appointment.
The Department of Law shall pay over at once to the Comptroller all moneys collected for or on behalf of the City, including fines and penalties; and shall annually, on the 31st day of December in each year, file with the Mayor of the City an inventory of all books and property belonging to the City in the Department of Law's custody. A docket shall be kept by the Department of Law to contain a full description of all actions and proceedings in which the Department of Law appears for the City. The docket shall show, at all times, the condition of all such actions or legal proceedings.
No written contract providing for the payment of $20,000 or more entered into by the City or any of its officers, boards or departments shall become effective or be acted upon until there shall be endorsed thereon by the Department of Law a certificate to the effect that the City officer, board or department which has executed the same on behalf of the City had authority and power to make such contract and that such contract is in proper form and properly executed. The Department of Law shall approve all deeds, conveyances, leases and abstracts of title affecting property acquired, conveyed to or leased by the City.
The Department of Law shall, whenever the interests of the City will be served thereby, enter into an agreement in writing, subject to the approval of the City Manager and the Common Council, to compromise and settle any claim against the City; and the amount shall constitute a valid obligation against the City; and the amount therein provided to be paid shall, with interest thereon from its date, be included in the next City tax budget and be collected and paid the same in all respects as a judgment against the City. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City Manager may, on recommendation of the Department of Law and without the approval of the Common Council, compromise and settle any property damage claim against the City in an amount not to exceed $10,000.
The Department of Law, with the consent of the City Manager and Mayor, may employ special counsel, legal assistants, investigators and experts to advise on special legal matters or assist in the argument and conduct of cases or proceedings in which the City is interested or is a party. The compensation of such special counsel, legal assistants, investigators, and experts shall be fixed by the City Manager.
The amount of any judgment recovered against the city and payable by it, remaining unpaid, with the interest thereon, in case the time to appeal therefrom has expired and no appeal has been taken, or a certificate of no appeal therefrom has been given by the Department of Law, or in case such judgment is finally affirmed or an appeal taken and the execution thereon shall not be stayed, shall be reported to the Common Council immediately after the same shall have become payable, as aforesaid; and the amount thereof shall be included in the next tax budget. Such judgments shall be paid in the order of their recovery out of the moneys first paid into the city treasury on account of the annual taxes. If, however, there be any moneys in the treasury to the credit of any fund derived from city revenues, other than taxation, in excess of the estimated revenues from such source and not otherwise appropriated, sufficient to satisfy judgments against the city, the Comptroller shall issue warrants for the payment of such judgments out of said funds in the order of their recovery. Until the moneys applicable to the payment of a judgment have been raised and paid into the city treasury and payment of the judgment has been refused, no execution shall issue against the city unless the amount of such judgment shall not have been included in the tax budget.