[Amended 5-21-2004 by L.L. No. 5-2004, effective 6-10-2004; 4-4-2006 by L.L. No.
13-2006, effective 4-18-2006]
The corporation counsel shall be the head of the department
of law.
The corporation counsel shall be appointed by the mayor, subject
to confirmation by the council and shall be removable at the pleasure
of the mayor.
The corporation counsel shall possess a juris doctor degree
from an accredited law school and a license to practice law as an
attorney and counselor at law in the state of New York and must also
possess at least five years experience as an attorney.
[Amended 6-8-2010 by L.L. No. 3-2010, effective 6-28-2010]
The corporation counsel shall prosecute and defend all actions
and proceedings brought by or against the city or any of its officers,
departments, commissions, board, or other agencies, including the
board of education and the Buffalo sewer authority. Upon taking office
he or she shall be deemed substituted for his or her predecessor in
office, without an order of the court, as attorney of record in any
such action or proceeding then pending. The corporation counsel shall
institute and conduct all legal proceedings by the city in the exercise
of its powers and eminent domain and shall act as prosecutor for violations
of city ordinances and other laws not otherwise prosecuted within
the city.
The corporation counsel shall prepare or approve as to form
all local laws and ordinances before they are enacted by the council
and shall prepare or approve as to form all proposals for public work
or service, materials, supplies and equipment, and all contracts,
bonds, obligations and all legal instruments in which the city may
be interested, except as otherwise provided by title four of article
two of the local finance law.
The corporation counsel shall collect all past due accounts,
revenues and other moneys owing to the city and shall participate
in the negotiation and arbitration of labor matters involving city
employees. He or she shall prepare or approve as to form all contracts
or leases involving the city or its officers, agents and employees.
When requested, the corporation counsel shall advise the council
and any committee thereof, any department, commission, board or agency
of the city in respect to its powers and duties, and in reference
to any unliquidated claims asserted against the city. He or she shall
examine and approve the title of all real property acquired by the
city. The corporation counsel shall negotiate, implement and monitor
franchise agreements for the use of the public rights-of-way and shall
discharge such other duties as properly pertain to the law department
of the city.
When necessary, the corporation counsel shall have the power
to designate the need for counsel outside of the law department to
deal with conflicts of interest or special circumstances.
The corporation counsel may appoint, and at pleasure remove,
a senior deputy/special corporation counsel, and a deputy corporation
counsel. The senior deputy/special corporation counsel shall, during
the absence or disability of the corporation counsel, possess all
the powers and perform all the duties of the corporation counsel,
and the deputy corporation counsel shall, during the absence or disability
of the corporation counsel and the senior deputy/special corporation
counsel, possess all the powers and perform all the duties of the
corporation counsel.
The senior deputy/special corporation counsel shall possess
a juris doctor degree from an accredited law school and a license
to practice law as an attorney and counselor at law in the state of
New York and must also possess at least five years experience as an
attorney. The deputy corporation counsel shall possess a juris doctor
degree from an accredited law school and a license to practice law
as an attorney and counselor at law in the state of New York and must
also possess at least five years experience as an attorney. The senior
deputy/special corporation counsel shall administer the bureau of
administrative adjudication. The senior deputy corporation counsel/special
Counsel shall also at the Direction of the Mayor, monitor and investigate
the activities of the buffalo municipal housing authority and other
municipal agencies and authorities and report to the mayor any findings
and make recommendations for more efficient operations or corrective
actions as necessary. Said deputy corporation counsels shall have
and perform legal, supervisory and administrative duties and such
other additional duties as may be from time to time assigned to them
by the corporation counsel.
In the event of the death of the corporation counsel, or a vacancy
in that office, the senior deputy/special corporation counsel shall
act as corporation counsel until the appointment and qualification
of a corporation counsel.
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Division of Employee Relations
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[Added 6-8-2010 by L.L. No. 3-2010,[1] effective 6-28-2010]
The head of the Division of Employee Relations shall be the
Director of Employee Relations. The Director shall be appointed by,
and serve at the pleasure of, the Corporation Counsel. The director
shall have a minimum of five (5) years experience in the negotiation
and administration of collective bargaining and other employee agreements,
and should possess a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited College
or University or an equivalent combination of training and experience
sufficient to indicate an ability to perform the work.
[Added 6-8-2010 by L.L. No. 3-2010, effective 6-28-2010]
The Director shall be responsible for the negotiation and administration
of collective bargaining agreements with employee organizations. The
Director shall seek to include in such agreements provisions for city
wide performance review programs and merit based compensation systems.
He or she shall also be responsible for the processing of all grievances
and reporting on the fiscal impact of same, for the conduct of all
disciplinary actions mandated by the City's collective bargaining
agreements or the provisions of Civil Service Law, and for such other
duties as may be delegated by Corporation Counsel.
The Director shall have direct access to the Mayor in his or
her capacity as the principal city representative in the negotiation
of collective bargaining agreements.
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Division of Administrative Adjudication
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The division of administrative adjudication, created pursuant
to article 14-BB of the New York State general municipal law enacted
by chapter 382 of the laws of 1995, shall be operated in accordance
therewith, and shall also be known as the bureau of administrative
adjudication.
The head of the division of administrative adjudication shall
be the director of the bureau of administrative adjudication and shall
be the chief administrative law judge of the bureau with all the powers
of an administrative law judge conferred by section 381 of article
14-BB of the general municipal law and shall perform all duties specified
thereunder. The director shall be appointed by the mayor for a term
of five years, subject to confirmation of the common council. The
director shall be removable only for neglect of duty or misfeasance
in office after notice and an opportunity for a hearing. The director
shall perform his or her duties in accordance with the provisions
of article 14-BB of the general municipal law.
The bureau of administrative adjudication shall have jurisdiction
to conduct proceedings for the adjudication of code and/or ordinance
violations regarding conditions which constitute a threat or danger
to the public health, safety or welfare for which civil penalties
may be imposed, and to render decisions and orders and impose civil
penalties provided under law, but in no case shall the bureau of administrative
adjudication impose a sentence of imprisonment upon a finding of guilty,
nor shall any administrative law judge order the arrest or detention
of any person for any reason.
The bureau of administrative adjudication is authorized pursuant
to article 14-BB of the general municipal law, hereby adopted by and
made applicable to the City of Buffalo, to conduct administrative
proceedings in accordance with the provisions thereof.
The bureau of administrative adjudication shall include one
or more administrative appeals panels within the bureau as provided
under section 385 of article 14-BB of the general municipal law. Such
administrative appeals panel shall be constituted in accordance with
article 14-BB. The determination of such administrative appeals panel
shall be the final determination of the bureau for the purposes of
review pursuant to article 78 of the civil practice law and rules.
Any order or subpoena or any final decision or determination
of rendered by the bureau of administrative adjudication shall be
subject to enforcement by the judiciary in an action or proceeding
commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction by the prevailing party,
including the bureau of administrative adjudication.
Decisions, determinations and orders issued by the bureau of
administrative adjudication shall not be cited, and shall not be considered
precedent nor be given any force or effect in any criminal proceeding
or any civil or criminal forfeiture proceeding.
