The Mayor shall be elected in the city at large. The nomination
and election of the mayor shall be had under the provisions of the
Election Law of the State of New York.
The Mayor shall be the chief executive and chief administrative
officer of the City and the official head of the city government.
It shall be the duty of the Mayor:
1. to act as chief conservator of the peace within the City.
2. to supervise, direct and control, subject to law, the administrative
services and departments of the city.
3. to see that the ordinances of the City and the laws of the City and
State are properly administered and enforced.
4. to make such recommendations to the City Council concerning the affairs
of the City as may seem to him or her desirable.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
5. to keep the City Council advised of the financial condition and future
needs of the City.
6. to prepare and submit to the City Council an annual report of his
or her work, which shall be made public.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
7. to appoint and remove all Commissioners, Deputies, Heads of Departments
and Assistants, and other officers and employees in the administrative
service of the City, the appointment of Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners
shall be with the advice and consent of the City Council, and to fix
their salaries subject to any limitations which the City Council may
impose.
8. to prepare and submit a budget message and an annual budget and capital
budget in accordance with this Charter and the City code.
9. to appoint with the advice and consent of the City Council all members
of all boards, commissions and agencies set forth in this Charter
and by any local law, ordinance or act of the City Council except
as otherwise provided by state statute.
10. the Mayor shall be recognized as the official head of the City for
all ceremonial purposes, by the Courts for the purpose of receiving
service of civil process and by the Governor for military purposes.
11. to inquire into the conduct of any department, office or officer
of the city, or city, agency, board or commission, and to make investigation
as to municipal affairs and, for that purpose, may subpoena witnesses,
administer oaths and compel production of books, papers and other
evidence. Failure to obey such subpoena or to produce books, papers
or evidence as ordered under this section shall be punishable as a
misdemeanor.
12. to perform all such duties as may be presented for him or her in
this Charter, or other law, or by act of the City Council.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
13. to approve or to veto acts of the City Council in the manner prescribed
by this Charter.
[Amended 11-12-1996 by L.L. No. 12-1996; 8-11-1999 by L.L. No.
5-1999; 12-30-2003 by L.L. No. 9-2003]
The Mayor shall receive a sum of $156,100 payable in bi-weekly
installments, which sum may otherwise be increased only by local law.
[Amended 8-28-1995 by L.L. No. 11-1995]
A. No person shall be eligible for election as Mayor unless at the time
of his or her election he or she be a citizen of the United States
and a resident of the City of Yonkers.
B. If the Mayor dies or leaves office for any other reason, the Deputy
Mayor shall immediately be designated as acting mayor. If more than
one deputy mayor is then serving, then the First Deputy Mayor shall
be so designated. In the event the First Deputy Mayor cannot serve
as acting mayor, does not qualify to serve under this subsection or
is unwilling to serve, then the City Council President shall be designated
as acting mayor. In the event the City Council President cannot serve,
does not qualify to serve under this subsection or is unwilling to
serve, then the City Council shall, as soon as possible, select as
acting mayor any individual then serving as department head of any
of the following executive branch agencies of the city: Engineering;
Finance; Fire; Human Resources; Parks, Recreation & Conservation;
Planning & Development, Police; and Public Works. The acting mayor
must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the City
of Yonkers. The acting mayor shall perform all of the duties of mayor
until such time as a successor is elected and takes office.
[Amended 11-2-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2011]
C. A special election shall be conducted within ninety (90) days after
the vacancy in the office of Mayor occurs, and if such a special election
is not legally permissible under state law within the ninety-day period,
then the special election shall be conducted as soon as legally permissible
after the vacancy occurs. The acting mayor shall not hire any person
and shall not terminate any officer or employee other than for cause.
[Amended 11-2-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2011]
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection
C, a special election to fill the unexpired term of the mayor shall be held concurrent with the regular municipal election occurring in the middle of the Mayor's term of office, if the mayoral vacancy occurs not more than one hundred eighty (180) days prior to such regular municipal election and if it is legally possible to hold the election for mayor concurrent with such regular municipal election.
E. If the mayoral vacancy occurs not more than one hundred eighty (180)
days prior to the regular municipal election at which the mayor is
to be elected, then there shall be no special election and the acting
mayor shall serve until a mayor is elected at the regular municipal
election and takes office.
F. A person elected Mayor at a special election shall hold office for
the balance of the Mayor's unexpired term of office.
[Amended 8-28-1995 by L.L. No. 11-1995]
A. The Mayor shall appoint to serve at his or her pleasure, except as
otherwise provided in this Charter, and subject to the advice and
consent of the City Council, the Commissioner or equivalent or acting
Commissioner, and deputy commissioner or equivalent if any, of every
City department and each member of every city board, commission and
agency. All other city officers and employees may be appointed and
hired by the Mayor without the advice and consent of the City Council.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
B. There shall be an Office of the Mayor with not more than three Deputy
Mayors and such other divisions, officers and employees as the Mayor
shall determine are necessary to assist the Mayor in performing the
Mayor's duties. The Mayor shall determine the number and type of officers
and employees within the office of the Mayor, so long as the total
amount expended for the Office of the Mayor in any fiscal year does
not exceed the total amount appropriated to the Office of the Mayor
by the City Council for that fiscal year.
C. All appointments and hirings made by the Mayor shall be on the basis
of the training and experience of such appointees or employees in
the work which they are to perform.
During the absence or disability of the Mayor, the Mayor shall
designate a city administrative official to be the "Acting Mayor"
and to perform all of the administrative, executive and other duties
of the Mayor allowed by law. Such designation shall be in writing
and filed with the City Clerk and may be terminated or superseded
by similarly filed written designation. In the event no such designation
has been filed by the Mayor, and an absence or disability or vacancy
occurs, the City Council shall immediate act to select an Acting Mayor
who is a city administrative official.
[Added 11-8-1994 by L.L. No. 12-1994; amended 8-28-1995 by L.L. No.
11-1995]
A. Whenever the office of commissioner or department head is vacant
due to death, resignation, or any other legal cause, the mayor shall
appoint a person to fill the vacancy within sixty (60) days after
the vacancy has been created by notifying the city clerk of the appointment
in writing. The appointment shall be subject to the advice and consent
of the City Council.
B. The city council shall take action to either approve or disapprove
the proposed appointment within forty-five (45) days after the filing
of notice of appointment with the city clerk. If the City Council
takes no action within the forty-five (45) day time period, the City
Council’s advice and consent shall be deemed to have been granted
and the appointee shall take office.
[Amended 9-3-2002 by L.L. No. 11-2002; 11-2-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
C. If the appointment is rejected, the mayor shall appoint a different
person to fill the vacancy within forty-five (45) days after the City
Council's failure to confirm is final, following the procedures set
forth in paragraph A. The City Council shall approve or disapprove
of the subsequent appointment as provided in paragraph B. The process
shall continue until a person has been appointed and confirmed to
fill the vacancy.
D. Within seven (7) days of the vacancy, the mayor shall name a deputy
commissioner or deputy department head employed within that department
to assume temporarily the duties of acting commissioner or department
head. If there is no deputy commissioner or department head, then
the Mayor shall name a person employed within that department to assume
temporarily the duties of acting commissioner or department head.
Nothing herein shall prevent the mayor from also appointing such a
person to fill the vacancy permanently, subject to the advice and
consent of the City Council.
[Added 8-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
Where this Charter, the Yonkers City Code or State Law assigns
to the Mayor authority to appoint members of a Board or Commission
subject to the approval or consent of the City Council, the City Council
shall take action either to approve or to disapprove such appointment
within forty-five (45) days after the filing of notice of such appointment
with the City Clerk. If the City Council takes no action within such
forty-five (45) day time period, the City Council’s approval
shall be deemed to have been granted and the appointee shall take
office.
