The officers of the city shall be a Mayor; a City Judge; an Acting City Judge; one (1) Alderman for each ward; two (2) Supervisors, one (1) to be elected by the electors of the first, second and third wards, and one (1) to be elected by the electors of the fourth, fifth and sixth wards, as provided in this Act; the head and deputy heads of each city department set forth in this Act; and the members of such commissions and boards as may be set forth in this Act.
The legislative body of the city shall have the power to establish new offices or departments of said city and to appoint the officers thereof.
No person shall be elected to any city office, nor appointed to fill a vacancy in any elective office, unless he shall at the time be a resident elector, and shall be, and for one (1) year immediately prior thereto have been, a taxpayer, either on real or personal property within the limits of said city. Nor shall any person be elected to any ward office unless he shall at the time be a resident elector of the ward for which he is elected, and shall be, and for one (1) year immediately prior thereto, shall have been a taxpayer, either on real or personal property within the limits of said city. Nor shall any person be elected to the office of Supervisor unless he shall be at the time a resident elector of the ward, or one (1) of the wards, from which he is elected. No person shall be elected or appointed to the office of City Judge unless he shall have been for at least two (2) years previous to his election or appointment duly admitted to practice as an attorney and counselor in the courts of record of this state. Whenever any elective officer of this city shall cease to be a resident of said city or of the district or wards for which he was elected on appointed, his office shall thereby become vacant.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1977; amended by L.L. No. 1-1978]
The term of office of the Mayor shall be two (2) years and shall be elected at the general election in each odd-numbered year; City Judge, two (2) years, and shall be elected in each odd-numbered year. The aldermen representing Wards Two, Four and Six are to be elected at the general election to be held in the year 1977, for two (2) years, and at the general election to be held in the year 1979, for two (2) years and at the general election to be held in the year 1981, for four (4) years, and for a four-year term every succeeding four years thereafter. The Aldermen representing Wards One, Three and Five are to be elected at the general election to be held in the year 1979 for four (4) years, and for a four-year term every succeeding four years thereafter. The Supervisors representing Wards One through Six in the City of Norwich are to be elected at the general election to be held in the year 1979, for two (2) years, and in odd-numbered years thereafter to represent the newly constituted Wards, numbered One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six.
The Common Council shall appoint the department heads and the members of boards and commissions of the city, except that the Mayor of the City of Norwich shall appoint, with the approval of the Common Council, the members of the Water Commission and the Parks Commission, and shall appoint those other officers as shall be provided by law for the Mayor or the chief executive officer of a city to appoint.
The Council shall fix the salaries or compensation of all elective and appointive officers and employees of the city unless the compensation is otherwise fixed by law or by this Act. Salaries of city officers and employees shall be payable in such installments and at such times as the Council shall determine. All provisions of the City Home Rule Law, as from time to time amended, shall be complied with by the Council.
The Supervisors shall receive the same compensation for their services as Supervisors of the towns of Chenango County are entitled to receive for like services, to be paid in like manner.
The Common Council and each city board or officer having appointive powers may remove any city officer or employee appointed by him or it, for dishonest, incompetency, neglect of duties or other irregularity, giving such officer or employee reasonable notice thereof and a reasonable opportunity to be heard, and such officer or employee may be suspended pending such investigation.
The general city election shall be held at the same time as the general election and special city elections at such times as herein prescribed. The Common Council shall provide polling places, ballot boxes and all other necessary material in each election district in said city for all elections in said city, and the manner of conducting such elections shall in all respects conform to and be governed by the general laws of this state in respect to elections, not inconsistent with this Act. At such general city election a successor shall be elected to each elective city officer whose term of office shall expire with the year in which such election is held. Public notice of any special election under this Act, except as herein otherwise provided, shall be given by the Common Council, the notice thereof to be published in the newspaper or newspapers designated for that purpose by the Common Council of said city, once in each week for two (2) consecutive weeks immediately preceding the holding of such election, or by posting a written or printed notice thereof in each of ten (10) public places in said city, which notice shall designate the purpose of such election and the location of each polling place, or by such notice and in such manner as may be required by the General Election Law of the state. The polls at each general election in said city in which one (1) or more officials are to be elected shall be open and kept open and closed in each district as provided by the general laws of the state for general elections, and the Inspectors shall canvass all votes cast for city officers and declare and make a statement of the result in the same manner as required by the general laws of the state and file the same immediately with the City Clerk, unless otherwise provided by this Act.
Every inhabitant of the city who shall at the time and place of offering his vote be qualified to vote for state and county officers shall be entitled to vote for all officers of the city at large and for all ward officers to be elected in his ward and for all officers to be elected in any district larger than a ward, provided he be a resident of such district. To entitle any elector or voter to vote upon a proposition to raise money by tax, he must be entitled to vote for a city officer and he must be the owner of property on the city assessment roll thereof, and every woman who has the qualifications to vote for city officers, except that of sex, who is the owner of property in the City of Norwich assessed upon the last preceding assessment roll thereof, may also vote upon a proposition to raise money by tax. A special election shall be called by the Common Council in the manner and upon the notice herein provided. The notice of such election shall specify the resolution, question or questions to be voted upon at such special election and it shall be the duty of the Common Council upon the petition of twenty-five (25) taxpayers to submit to a special election any resolution embodied in said petition. A special election may also be called by the Common Council for such purposes and at such times as the interest of the city, in their judgment, may require.
The Board of Elections of Chenango County shall be the City Board of Canvassers of the city, pursuant to the Election Law of the State of New York, except for special local elections. The person having the greatest number of votes for the respective offices to be filled for the whole city, and those having the greatest number of votes for the offices to be filled in the several wards, and in the districts in which Supervisors are elected as herein provided, shall be declared duly elected. In case of a tie vote, the Common Council shall fill such office by appointment. The term of appointment shall end on the 31st day of December succeeding the next general election held in the city, at which election a successor to such appointee shall be elected for the remainder of the term. The City Clerk shall enter such determination and declarations in the minutes of the meeting of the Common Council.
Other than as provided in this Act, if a vacancy shall occur in any elective office of the city otherwise than by expiration of term, the Common Council shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy, who shall hold office until the first day of January succeeding the next general election held in the city, at which election a successor to appointee shall be elected for the remainder of the term. A vacancy occurring in an appointive office of the city, otherwise than by expiration of term, shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term by the same authorities and in the same manner as when appointed for a full term.
The Mayor of the city may be removed from office by the Governor in the same manner as Sheriffs; the Governor may direct the inquiry required by law to be conducted by the Attorney General; and after charges have been received by the Governor he may, pending the investigation, suspend the Mayor for a period of not exceeding thirty (30) days. All other elective officers may be removed in the same manner as town and village officers as provided by the Public Officers Law.