All such persons as are now or shall hereafter
be members of any fire company now organized in the City of Townsville
or which may hereafter be organized by the Board of Fire Commissioners
herein provided shall be and continue a body corporate by the name
of the "Townsville Fire Department," and such corporation, through
its Board of Fire Commissioners, is authorized to purchase, receive
by gift or otherwise hold and convey real and personal property for
the use of said corporation; provided, however, that the title of
all real property shall be vested in the name of the City of Townsville
and the purchase or conveyance of any real property shall be subject
to the approval of the Common Council of said City.
[Amended 12-7-1987 by L.L. No. 6-1987; 8-5-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992; 5-4-2005 by L.L. No. 4-2005]
There shall be a Board of Fire Commissioners,
consisting of five Commissioners appointed by the Mayor and confirmed
by the Common Council. At least three of these Commissioners shall
be residents of the City of Townsville. The remaining Fire Commissioners
may be residents of either the City of Townsville or the Town of Pawnee
in Nontario County, New York. The term of office of a Fire Commissioner
shall be three years, commencing on the first day of July, two Commissioners
to be appointed in each of two successive years and one Commissioner
to be appointed in the third year. Such appointments shall be made
at a meeting of the Common Council held in June of each year. A Commissioner
shall hold office until the Commissioner's successor shall have been
chosen and qualified. A vacancy for an unexpired term may be filled
in the manner provided in this Charter. Permanent removal from the
municipality of appointment, or other cause to be determined by the
Common Council, rendering impossible the proper discharge of the Commissioner's
duties as a Commissioner shall create a vacancy.
[Amended 12-7-1987 by L.L. No. 6-1987]
At their first meeting in July, the Fire Commissioners
shall organize as a Board by electing one of their number as Chairperson
and another as Vice Chairperson, and by the appointment of a Clerk
and such other officers and employees as authorized for the ensuing
year. The Board shall hold such stated and special meetings at such
times as the Board may determine, but at least once in each month.
Three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
It shall be its duty and said Board of Fire
Commissioners shall have power:
A.
To assume control and management of all apparatus,
fire alarm systems, equipment, appliances, supplies, buildings and
employees exclusively in the Fire Department service.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 6.4, Subsections
2 and 3, which dealt with the appointment and compensation of engineers
and employees and immediately followed this subsection, was deleted
7-10-1985 by L.L. No. 1-1985.
B.
To organize new companies and to disband any Department
company, subject to the approval of the Common Council; to admit new
members and to transfer members, upon application and certification
of company officers, from one company to another; and to try, reprimand,
suspend or expel any member or officer of any company for cause.
[Amended 7-10-1985 by L.L. No. 1-1985]
C.
To authorize and direct the payment of bills and accounts
incurred by it and to make such rules and regulations in regards to
the auditing and payment of such bills and accounts and for the payment
of all amounts payable out of the moneys appropriated to the use of
the Board as it may deem necessary and proper, and the same shall
be paid by the City Chamberlain. The Board shall file monthly with
the Common Council a detailed statement of all bills and expenses
paid, together with the original vouchers therefor, and shall render
to the Common Council at such other times as may be required either
by the Mayor or by the Common Council an itemized statement of all
its receipts and disbursements properly classified and showing the
balance on hand at the beginning and at the close of the period covered;
and at the close of each fiscal year, it shall submit an annual statement
showing by suitable summaries the expenses and income of the Department.
Whenever requested by either the Mayor or the Common Council, the
Board shall also furnish any additional information in regard to its
work or the cost thereof.
D.
To submit to the Common Council, on or before the
first day of May in each year, an estimate of the amount of money
necessary to cover the expenses of maintenance of the Department,
including all salaries and wages, equipment and supplies and for the
maintenance, heating, lighting and ordinary repairs of buildings.
E.
To make and promulgate from time to time such rules,
regulations and bylaws as it may deem necessary and expedient for
the government and discipline of the Department not inconsistent with
this Charter or the ordinances of the City of Townsville or of the
laws or Constitution of this state or of the United States.
F.
To be trustees of all moneys now constituting the
Active Firemen's Relief Fund, together with 1/2 of all moneys that
may hereafter be received by the City of Townsville as a Fire Department
tax on premiums on policies of foreign and alien fire insurance companies
pursuant to §§ 9104 and 9105 of the Insurance Law (except
the amount payable under the provisions of such law to the Firemen's
Association of the State of New York), together with any other moneys,
gifts or property whatsoever acquired for relief or benefit purposes,
to be accumulated as a relief fund for sick, indigent or disabled
fire fighters, with power to draw upon such fund for temporary relief
and benefits only, as said Board shall determine. Said moneys shall
not be used for any other purposes, except that the Board may, at
any time, distribute such Fire Department tax moneys so received equally
among each of the volunteer fire companies of the City for the use
and benefit of the Townsville Fire Department and the company or companies
comprising the same so long as the balance of said relief fund shall
be at least the sum of $90,000. Said Board shall have full power and
authority to invest such funds in any investments legal for trust
funds under the laws of the State of New York. At the close of each
fiscal year and at such other times as the Common Council shall require,
said Board of Fire Commissioners, as such trustees, shall submit to
the Common Council a detailed accounting of such fund.
[Amended 8-5-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
G.
To be trustees of all moneys now constituting the
Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Relief Fund and to pay the interest thereon
to the Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Association of Townsville annually.
(1)
Said Board is further authorized to pay from the principal
of such fund from time to time such amounts as it may deem necessary
or desirable for the relief of any sick, indigent or disabled member
of the Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Association of Townsville, but
the total amount so paid to any one member shall not exceed the sum
of $200. Such expenditures from principal shall be made, however,
only upon the written recommendation of the Board of Trustees and
President of said Association. Said Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Association
of Townsville is hereby authorized to adopt any further regulation
or restriction relating to the expenditure of the principal of such
fund not inconsistent herewith as it may deem desirable for the preservation
of the fund and for the purpose of limiting properly the amount to
be withdrawn and the use thereof.
(2)
Said Board of Fire Commissioners shall also pay to
the Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Association of Townsville on March
1 and September 1 of each year 1/2 of all moneys received by the City
of Townsville pursuant to the provisions of § 9104 of the
Insurance Law of the State of New York as a Fire Department Tax on
premiums on policies on foreign and alien fire insurance companies,
except the amount payable under the provisions of such law to the
Firemen's Association of the State of New York. Said Board shall have
full power and authority to invest such funds in any investments legal
for trust funds under the laws of the State of New York.
[Amended 8-5-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
(3)
At the close of each fiscal year and at such other
times as the Common Council shall require, said Board of Fire Commissioners
and said Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Association of Townsville, New
York, shall submit to the Common Council a detailed accounting of
such fund.
H.
To divide the employees of the Fire Department into
platoons and prescribe the tours of duty for said employees. Such
tours of duty shall be in accordance with § 1015 of the
Unconsolidated Laws, except that, in the event of conflagrations or
riots or other emergencies, said employees shall remain on duty, subject
to the orders of their superiors, and shall receive an extra allowance
based on their salary if they are required to perform their duties
during such period of emergency at a time when they usually would
be off duty or receive compensatory time off as provided in § 1015
of the Unconsolidated Laws.
[Amended 8-5-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
Said Board of Fire Commissioners shall in no
year expend a sum or incur any indebtedness in excess of the amounts
appropriated by the Common Council for the use of said Fire Department
and the amounts made available pursuant to the Local Finance Law,
and such Commissioners shall be personally liable for any expenditure
or indebtedness incurred In excess of such appropriations.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § C-98, Fire Chief and other
personnel, as amended, was repealed 6-1-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011.
[Amended 8-5-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
The Board of Fire Commissioners of the City
of Townsville is hereby authorized to contract with student bunkers
at the various fire stations so that said bunkers will be covered
by Workers' Compensation pursuant to § 3, Article 1, Subdivision
1, Group 19, and § 50 of the Workers' Compensation Law of
the State of New York, and such Workers' Compensation coverage is
hereby extended to said student bunkers.
