All appointive officers and employees in office or position
when this act takes effect shall continue as such until the office
or position is abolished or the officer or employee is removed pursuant
to law.
When the appointment power submits to the council for confirmation
the appointment of any person as head of a department or as one of
a board constituting the head of the department as successor to an
officer named, such submission shall be deemed equivalent to declaring
a vacancy in the head of the department or in the board constituting
the head of the department and is effective as a removal of the then
incumbent without any action on the part of the council in regard
to the confirmation of the new appointee.
When any appointment to an office or position, except a position
included in the labor class as defined by the civil service law, is
made, the appointing power shall file with the council a certificate
of such appointment, stating (a) in detail the qualifications of the
appointee and certifying that the appointee is fully qualified to
fill the office or position or (b) that the appointee has been certified
or approved by the commissioner of human resources for the appointment
so made; and no appointment shall be effective which does not comply
with the provisions of this section.
All appointed officers and employees of the City of Buffalo
(except those expressly exempted under New York law) shall be residents
of the City at the time of appointment or hire and maintain such residency
during employment.
Residency shall mean a person's usual and customary place of
abode where the individual lives and regularly stays, the place where
the family of any person permanently resides and the place where any
person having no family generally lodges.
Each appointing authority is responsible for verifying compliance
with this residency requirement at the time of appointment or hire
and continuation of compliance during employment.
All relevant sources of verification or documentation must be
considered in determining an employee's residence. Where an employee's
family permanently resides is a significant factor to consider in
determining the employee's residence, but it is not however the only
factor that needs to be considered. The following sources of verification
or documentation should also be considered:
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Voter's Registration
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Street Directory
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Driver's License
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Correspondence
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Telephone Directory
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Bank Records (Account Address)
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Utility Receipts
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Insurance Policies
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Visual Verification
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Lease Agreement
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Motor Vehicle Registration
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Contract for Deed
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Tax Receipts
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Deed of Trust
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This list is not all-inclusive, nor should any one item from
this list be considered as absolute proof of residence or non-residence.
All available information should be taken into consideration.
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If the appointing authority believes that there is reason to
suspect that an applicant or employee does not reside in Buffalo,
the appointing authority shall refer such case to the commissioner
of human resources for investigation.
Each appointing authority will be responsible for verifying
continued residency by reexamination, on a random basis, of current
residences of officers and employees. Signed annual statements of
residency will be required, subject to collective bargaining obligations.
Any officer or employee found not to be in compliance shall be terminated
in accordance with law.
All persons applying for appointment by the city of Buffalo
to the position of firefighter, police officer or any other full-time
permanent position shall be fingerprinted.
All such persons shall complete an application for full-time
employment by the city of Buffalo which shall contain the following
language: "The applicant hereby consents to being fingerprinted and
grants permission to the City of Buffalo and the New York state division
of criminal justice services to take and use his or her fingerprints
for the purpose of a criminal history record check."
All such persons shall be investigated by the commissioner of
human resources by means including, but not limited to, the submission
of a full set of the applicant's fingerprints to the Buffalo police
department and the New York state division of criminal justice for
a criminal history record check.
No new offices except such as are provided for in this act, and no new positions shall be created, except with the approval of the council and upon the certification by the appointing power and by the director of the budget to the council that the creation of such new office or position is necessary for the proper conduct and administration of the department, board, commission or other city agency in which said new office or position is sought to be created, and stating specifically the reasons therefor, except that such certification by the director of the budget shall not be necessary for the creation by the common council of new offices and positions pursuant to section 3-21 hereof.
The mayor, comptroller and the president of the council may
each be removed from office by the governor in the same manner as
sheriffs are removable under the constitution of the state.
[Amended 8-22-2002 by L.L. No. 12-2002,[1] effective 12-1-2002; 1-6-2004 by L.L. No. 1-2004, effective 1-20-2004; 5-21-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004, effective 6-10-2004; 7-20-2004 by L.L. No. 6-2004, effective 8-10-2004; 12-26-2006 by L.L. No.
1-2007, effective 1-17-2007; 6-23-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016, effective 7-1-2016; 6-11-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
A mayor elected under this act shall receive an annual salary
of one hundred and fifty-eight thousand five hundred dollars. The
comptroller shall receive an annual salary of one hundred nineteen
thousand five hundred dollars. Each council member shall receive an
annual salary of seventy-five thousand dollars. Each of the aforementioned
elective officials may choose to refuse any increase in annual salary
if, in his or her opinion, the fiscal times so warrant. Any such refusal
must be in writing and directed to the comptroller and the commissioner
of administration and finance, and shall not affect the salary of
future office holders or of the same individual if elected to a different
office.
The council president elected from the membership of the council
shall receive, in addition to the salary above provided, the annual
sum of fifteen thousand dollars. The council shall designate a majority
leader and a minority leader, each of whom shall serve at the pleasure
of the council. Any council member serving as a majority leader shall
receive, in addition to the salary above provided, the annual sum
of ten thousand dollars, and any council member serving as minority
leader shall receive, in addition to the salary above provided, the
annual sum of twenty-five hundred dollars, and sums to be paid such
majority leader or minority leader, respectively, only while performing
the additional duties. Any council member serving as and performing
the additional duties of President Pro Tempore of the Common Council
shall receive, in addition to the salary above provided, the annual
sum of six thousand dollars, said sums only to be paid while performing
the additional duties. Any council member serving as and performing
the additional duties of chairman of the following committees of the
common council shall receive, in addition to the salary above provided,
the annual sum of six thousand dollars: chairman of finance committee;
chairman of legislation committee; chairman of civil service committee,
chairman of community development committee, chairman of education
committee and chairman of claims committee.
The failure of any council member or of the president of the
council to attend any stated meeting of the council provided in this
act or any meeting of the committee of the whole provided in the rules
of the council, unless the council at such meeting, by a two-thirds
vote of all the members elected thereto, excuse such failure to attend
such meeting for reasons to be stated in the resolution of the council,
shall result in a deduction equal to a one-fiftieth part of the salary
of a council member for each such failure, and such deduction shall
be made in certifying the payroll.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law was approved by the voters at
the general election held 11-5-2002.
[Amended 6-11-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
The council may provide an annual salary not exceeding fifteen
thousand dollars per year for each member of the board of education,
but in fixing such salary it shall be provided that the failure of
any member of such board to attend any stated meeting, unless the
board at such meeting, by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected
thereto, excuse such failure to attend such meeting for reasons to
be stated in the resolution of the board, shall result in a deduction
from his annual salary of one-fiftieth part thereof for each such
failure and such deductions shall be made in certifying the payroll.
The council shall have the exclusive power to fix the salary or compensation of every, officer and employee of the city other than those enumerated in section 24-12 and section 24-13. Except as otherwise provided by the council by resolution:
(a)
Whenever the base salary of permanent full-time employees of the
department of police who are members of the Police Benevolent Association
is increased pursuant to collective bargaining, the salary of exempt
and non-competitive employees of the department of police shall be
increased by the same percentage dollar amount received by such non-exempt
employees;
(b)
Whenever the base salary of permanent full-time employees of the
department of fire who are members of local 282 is increased pursuant
to collective bargaining, the salary of exempt employees of the department
of fire shall be increased by the same percentage dollar amount received
by such non-exempt employees; and
(c)
Whenever the base salary of permanent full-time employees of any
other department who are members of local 650 is increased pursuant
to collective bargaining, the salary of exempt employees of that department
shall be increased by the same percentage dollar amount received by
such non-exempt employees of that department.
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No such salary shall be hereafter raised nor fixed except upon
the written recommendation of the head of the department or other
city agency and also of the director of the budget, and in the event
that it is decided to hereafter raise or fix the salary of any head
of department or city agency, the written recommendation of the appointing
power in respect thereof shall be required.
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The council shall not increase the compensation of any office
or position, except compensation upon a per diem basis, during any
fiscal year after the same shall have been fixed and provided for
in the budget for such fiscal year except upon the certification of
the mayor and the comptroller that the interests of the city will
be subserved thereby.
The salaries or compensation of all city officers and employees
shall be paid in such installments, at such time and place, and in
such manner as the council shall determine.
No person elected or appointed to any salaried office under
this act shall, during his or her term of office, hold any other public
office whatever, except that of notary public or commissioner of deeds.
If any person holding any such salaried office shall accept any other
public office, he or she shall thereby cease to hold his or her office
under this act.
The provisions of this section shall not prevent a person elected
or appointed to any salaried office under this act during his or her
term of office from serving as an appointive, nonsalaried member of
any board, commission, committee or other body of the state of New
York unless a conflict of interest or duty should arise therefrom.
The mayor, comptroller, president of the council and director
of the treasury each shall, before he or she enters upon the duties
of his or her office, execute an official undertaking in such an amount
as the council may prescribe by ordinance. The council may, by ordinance,
require any other officer or any employee to give a like undertaking,
the amount of which shall be fixed in such ordinance. Each official
undertaking shall be conditioned and executed in the manner and form
prescribed by general law and the sureties thereon shall justify in
such manner and form.
Any officer of the city or any member of any board authorized by the council to make any investigation, hear any complaint or conduct any proceedings in the form of a trial, shall have power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas. In case any such witness shall refuse to appear or answer any proper question, he or she may be ordered so to do by a justice of any court of record and punished for his or her disobedience of any such order in the method provided in section 3-7 of this act.
Any person in the employ of the city who, upon being hereinafter
called before a grand jury to testify concerning the conduct of his
present office or employment or of any public office or employment
held by him within five years prior to such grand jury call to testify,
or the performance of his official duties in any such present or prior
offices or employment, refuses to sign a waive of immunity against
subsequent criminal prosecution or to answer any relevant question
concerning such matters before such grand jury, shall by virtue of
such refusal, be disqualified from holding any other public office
or public employment for a period of five years from the date of such
refusal to sign a waiver of immunity against subsequent prosecution,
or to answer any relevant question concerning such matters before
such grand jury, and shall be removed from his present office or employment
by the appropriate authority or shall forfeit his or her present office
or employment at the suit of the corporation counsel.
Dog license clerks and dog enforcement clerks shall be authorized
to issue appearance tickets for violations of article seven of the
agriculture and markets law and violations of the appropriate ordinances
of the city of Buffalo. Said appearance tickets to be issued by dog
license clerks and dog enforcement clerks shall conform with the provisions
of the criminal procedure law.
Members of the department of fire of the city of Buffalo, who
are assigned to the fire prevention bureau, shall be authorized to
issue appearance tickets for violations of the appropriate ordinances
of the city of Buffalo. Said appearance tickets to be issued by members
of the Buffalo fire department assigned to the fire prevention bureau
shall conform with the provisions of the criminal procedure law.
Members of the department of public works, parks and streets
of the city of Buffalo, whose duties include enforcement of the ordinances
of the city of Buffalo, relating to streets and sanitation shall be
authorized to issue appearance tickets for violations of said ordinances.
Said appearance tickets to be issued by members of the department
of public works, parks and streets of the city of Buffalo shall conform
with the provisions of the criminal procedure law.
Supervisors and superintendents and assistant superintendents
within the department of public works, parks and streets, whose duties
include enforcement of the ordinances of the city of Buffalo relating
to streets and sanitation shall be authorized to issue appearance
tickets for violations thereof. Said appearance tickets to be issued
by members of the department shall conform to the provisions of the
criminal procedure law.
(a)
Except as permitted by paragraph (c) of this section, a city officer
or employee shall not knowingly request or knowingly authorize anyone
else to request in his or her name any direct subordinate of the officer
or employee to participate in an election campaign or contribute to
a political committee.
(b)
Except as permitted by paragraph (c) of this section, a city officer
or employee shall not request or knowingly authorize anyone else to
request such participation or contribution from any person who, to
the knowledge of the officer or employee, has pending any business
dealing with the city or any application for discretionary regulatory
action by the city.
(c)
This section shall not prohibit a general solicitation of a class
of persons, other than a class of city officers and employees, of
which a subordinate officer or employee happens to be a member. This
section shall not prohibit an elected officer from requesting participation
in an election campaign by an officer or employee who is appointed
by and directly subordinate to the elected officer and who serves
in the exempt classification or the unclassified service under the
civil service law.
(d)
Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
[Added 7-25-2000 by L.L. No. 11-2000, effective 8-9-2000]
(1)
The City of Buffalo hereby elects to provide all of its eligible
employees with a retirement incentive program authorized by Chapter
86, Laws of 2000.
(2)
The commencement date of the retirement incentive program shall be
October 3, 2000.
(3)
The open period during which eligible employees may retire and receive
the additional retirement benefit, shall be 90 days in length.
(4)
The actuarial present value of the additional retirement benefits
payable pursuant to the provisions of this local law shall be paid
as one lump sum, or in five annual installments. The amount of the
annual payment shall be determined by the Actuary of the New York
State and Local Employee's Retirement System and it shall be paid
by the City of Buffalo for each employee who receives the retirement
benefits payable under this Local Law.
(5)
This local law shall take effect immediately.
(6)
The City of Buffalo's joint Council/Administration/Union/Comptroller
Budget Committee is responsible to oversee and make recommendations
to manage the workforce.
[Added 6-11-2002 by L.L. No. 7-2002, effective 6-26-2002]
(1)
The City of Buffalo hereby elects to provide all of its eligible employees with a retirement incentive program authorized by Chapter 69, Laws of 2002.
(2)
The commencement date of the retirement incentive program shall
be July 1, 2002.
(3)
The open period during which eligible employees may retire and
receive the additional retirement benefit, shall be 60 days in length.
(4)
The actuarial present value of the additional retirement benefits
payable pursuant to the provisions of this local law shall be paid
as one lump sum, or in five annual installments. The amount of the
annual payment shall be determined by the Actuary of the New York
State and Local Employees' Retirement System and it shall be paid
by the City of Buffalo for each employee who receives the retirement
benefits payable under this Local Law.
(5)
This local law shall take effect immediately.
(6)
The City of Buffalo's joint Council/Administration/Union/Comptroller
Budget Committee is responsible to oversee and make recommendations
to manage the workforce.
Effective July 1, 1999, exempt employees of any department,
which department has permanent full-time employees who are members
of local 650, shall receive an annual longevity payment in the same
amount as prescribed by the longevity schedule in the local 650 collective
bargaining agreement.
