[Amended 5-26-1888 by L. 1988, c. 413; 4-17-1896 by L. 1896, c. 305; 4-8-1899 by L. 1899, c. 286]
The officers of the village shall be five trustees; one of whom shall be president of the board of trustees; one treasurer, one police constable, all of whom shall be elected by ballot by the electors of said village, and hold their offices respectively for one year, and until their successor shall be duly qualified, excepting only the trustees of said village, who at the first election, shall be elected for the respective periods of one, two, three, four and five years, the persons so elected to determine their respective term of office by lot; and one trustee, to be elected annually thereafter, to hold his term of office for five years. There shall also be one clerk, who shall be appointed by the board of trustees, to serve during the pleasure of the said board. There shall also be one assistant treasurer, who shall be appointed by the treasurer to serve during the pleasure of the treasurer; whose duties shall be to collect taxes and assessments, under the supervision and direction of the treasurer, and whose fees and compensation as such assistant treasurer shall be the same as now provided by law for similar services rendered by the police constable.
No person shall be eligible or appointed to any office, unless he shall at the time be a resident and elector of said village; and whenever any officer of said village shall cease to be a resident thereof, his office shall thereby be vacated; the trustees and assessors shall be freeholders in said village.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 40, Art. I, Residency Requirements.
Every inhabitant actually residing in said village, and who shall have been such actual resident of said village for thirty days next prior to the time of offering his vote, and who shall at the time of offering his vote be qualified to vote for member of assembly, shall be entitled to vote for all officers to be elected by virtue of this act.
The first election under this act for officers of said village, shall be held on the first Wednesday in March, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and annually thereafter on the first Wednesday in March, after the first Tuesday, at such place in said village as shall be designated by the trustees; and ten days' notice of such elections, and the place thereof, shall be given by publishing the same in all the newspapers printed in said village, or notices of such elections to be posted up in five public places in said village.
The trustees shall be inspectors of elections, and they or any one of them shall preside at all elections; and in case no trustees shall be present, the electors present may appoint a chairman to preside; the presiding officers at such elections are authorized to preserve order, to judge of the qualifications of electors, canvass the ballots and declare the persons elected by the greatest number of votes, and shall file such statement forthwith with the clerk of the village, who shall thereupon notify the several officers of their election.
If any vacancy shall happen in any elective office, the Board of trustees may appoint an elector of the village to fill the vacancy, and the persons so appointed shall hold the office till the next annual election, and the election and qualification of a successor.
The trustees shall elect one of their number to be president of the board of trustees.
Every person who shall be elected or appointed to any office shall, before he enters upon the duties thereof, take and subscribe the oath required by the constitution of the State, which oath shall be filed with the clerk of the village, and may be taken before and certified by any officer authorized to administer oaths.
If any person who shall have been duly elected or appointed to any office in said village, shall for five days after being notified of such election or appointment, neglect or refuse to take the oath of office, or to file the same with the clerk, he shall for such neglect or refusal, forfeit to the use of the corporation, ten dollars, with costs of suit, recoverable by, and in the name of said corporation.
It shall be duty of the president to preside at the meeting of the trustees, to call special meetings whenever he shall think proper, to receive complaints of any breach of the by-laws, rules, regulations and ordinances, and to see that the by-laws, rules, regulations and ordinances are faithfully executed and observed, and to prosecute in the corporate name of the village for all offences against the same.
It shall be the duty of the clerk of said village to keep the books, papers and records belonging to said corporation; to record in a book to be provided for that purpose, the rules, votes, orders, regulations and proceedings of the inhabitants at their annual and special meetings, and also all the by-laws, votes, ordinances and proceedings of the board of trustees; to notify officers of their election or appointment as soon as may be after their election or appointment, and to perform such other duties as the trustees may require of him from time to time; and the trustees may allow to him such compensation for his services as they shall deem proper.
[Amended 4-8-1899 by L. 1899, c. 286]
The board of trustees of such village shall, after the annual election and before the first Tuesday of May of each year, prepare an assessment roll by copying from the last assessment roll of the town of Riga, so far as practicable, a description of all real estate within the village and the value thereof as the same appears thereon; also of all personal property and the value thereof, assessed on such town roll to residents of the village, or the corporations taxable therefor therein, together with the names of the persons or corporations, respectively, to which such real or personal property is or should be assessed. Such board shall also enter on such roll the names of all persons liable to a poll tax. Where the valuation of taxable property cannot be ascertained from the last assessment roll of the town, or where the value of such property shall have increased or diminished since the last assessment roll of the town, or an error, mistake or omission on the part of the town assessors shall have been made in the description or valuation of taxable property real or personal, such board shall ascertain the true value of the property to be taxed from the best evidence available. The clerk shall, at least one week before the first Tuesday in May in each year, cause a notice to be posted in at least five conspicuous public places in the village, that on such first Tuesday in May at a specified place and during four consecutive hours to be named, such board of trustees will hear and determine complaints in relation to such assessment roll, but such trustees shall not hear any complaint as to a valuation which has not been changed. Upon the completion of such assessment roll, such trustees shall subscribe and attach thereto an oath, to the effect that such roll contains to the best of their knowledge and belief a true statement of the property, persons and corporations liable to assessment and taxes in the village, as the same appear upon the assessment roll of the town in which the village is situated, and, if in making such assessment, the valuation of any property has been changed, or if new or additional assessment have been made, that in changing such valuation or in making such new or additional assessment, they have estimated the value of the real estate at the full value thereof, and that the personal property so assessed is assessed at the full value thereof, according to their best knowledge and belief. The roll as so completed and verified shall be filed in the village clerk's office on or before the second Tuesday in May; and on or before such second Tuesday in May, the clerk shall cause notice of the completion and filing of such roll to be posted in at least five public places in the village specifying the date of filing and that the same will remain on file with the clerk, subject to public inspection, for fifteen days after the date of such notice.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 7, Assessments.
[Amended 4-17-1896 by L. 1896, c. 305]
The treasurer, assistant treasurer and police constable, and each of them shall, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, execute a bond to the village by its corporate name, in such sum and with such sureties as the trustees shall approve, conditioned that they shall faithfully execute the duties of their respective offices, and account for and pay over all moneys received by them respectively, according to law, which bonds, with the approval of the trustees indorsed thereon, shall be filed with the clerk of the village.
The treasurer shall receive all moneys belonging to the village, and keep an account of all receipts and all expenditures. All moneys drawn from the treasury shall be drawn in pursuance of an order of the board of trustees, by warrant, signed by the clerk, and counter-signed by the president or the presiding officer for the time being of said board of trustees. The clerk shall keep an accurate account, under the appropriate heads of expenditures, of all orders drawn on the treasury, in a check book to be kept by him for that purpose. The treasurer shall exhibit and report to the trustees once in each year, and oftener as they may require, a full account of the receipts and expenditures, and also the state of the treasury.
The police constable of said village shall, in addition to other powers herein conferred, have all the powers, and be subject to all the duties by law devolved or imposed upon constables of the county of Monroe.