[Amended 3-11-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2019]
There shall be a County Executive, who shall be elected in an
odd-numbered year from the County at large for a term of four years
beginning with the first day of January next following his/her election.
He/she shall be directly responsible to all the people of the County.
At the time of his/her nomination and election, and throughout his/her
term of office, he/she shall be and remain a qualified elector of
the County. He/she shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed
by the County Legislature, but in no event shall his/her compensation
be diminished during a term for which he/she shall have been elected.
No person shall be elected for a full four-year term to the office
of County Executive more than three times. The first year for County
Executive for purposes of calculating terms as contained in this section
shall commence on or after January 1, 2020.
The County Executive shall be the chief executive officer of
the County. Except as may otherwise be provided herein, he/she shall
have and exercise all the executive powers and duties now or hereafter
conferred or imposed by law or this Charter upon a county executive
officer or the executive branch of a county, and all powers and duties
necessarily implied or incidental thereto.
Among such powers and duties, but not by way of limitation,
he/she shall:
(a)
Appoint, except as otherwise provided in this Charter, all department
heads and appointive executive officers of the County government,
subject to confirmation by the County Legislature;
(b)
Supervise, direct and control the administration of all departments;
(c)
Appoint such assistants, officers and employees of his/her office
as may be authorized by the County Legislature;
(d)
Supervise and direct the internal structure and organization of every
unit of the executive branch of the County government, including,
except as otherwise provided in this Charter or applicable law, the
appointment and dismissal of employees;
(e)
Appoint, supervise and terminate, subject to the provisions of Section 3.03 of this Charter and except as otherwise herein provided, all executive committees, commissions and boards, of which he/she shall be an ex-officio member, to assist him/her in the exercise of his/her executive functions and in the planning, formulation and administration of executive policies and programs;
(f)
Be the chief budgetary officer of the County;
(g)
Designate one or more official depositories within the County for
the deposit and withdrawal of County funds;
(h)
Approve or disapprove the sufficiency of sureties on official bonds
and undertakings;
(i)
Approve or disapprove in writing every proposed local law, ordinance, legalizing act, or resolution, except those provided in Section 2.02(d) herein, provided that if the County Executive shall fail to return such legislation to the Clerk of the County Legislature, with reasons in writing, within 10 days after submission to the County Executive, or 30 days in the case of a local law, such legislation shall be deemed approved and duly enacted;
(j)
Appoint a member of the County Legislature to serve as its Chair
for the balance of the calendar year should the County Legislature
fail to select a Chair from among its members within 30 days after
that office shall become vacant for any reason;
(k)
Determine and fix real property equalization rates for each of the
County tax districts for County purposes, and file copies of such
rates in writing with the Clerk of the County Legislature and State
Board of Real Property Tax Services on or before the first day of
October of each year;[1]
File with the County Legislature annually on or before the first
day of February of each year a written report of the finances of the
County and the activities of the executive branch of the County government
in such detail and in such manner as he/she may deem appropriate or
as the County Legislature may by resolution specify, and make other
reports at such times and in such manner as the County Legislature
may by resolution require;
(l)
Possess all powers and duties with respect to weights and measures;
(m)
Make purchases and sales of all materials, supplies and equipment,
and contract for the rental and servicing of equipment for the County,
subject to the provisions of the General Municipal Law;
(n)
Make, sign and implement all contracts on behalf of the County within
authorized appropriations; and
(o)
Supervise the operations of the County's data processing and machine
tabulating equipment.
Members of all committees, commissions and boards appointed pursuant to Section 3.02(e) of this Charter shall serve at the pleasure of the County Executive. They shall serve without compensation other than for actual and necessary expenses within appropriations made therefor, unless otherwise provided by resolution of the County Legislature.
Every appointment by the County Executive, whether or not subject
to confirmation by the County Legislature, shall be in writing and
filed with the County Clerk and the Clerk of the County Legislature
within five days of such appointment. Each appointee shall enter upon
the duties of his/her office immediately upon such filing, except
that where confirmation by the County Legislature is required pursuant
to this Charter, each such appointee shall assume the duties of his/her
office immediately upon such confirmation. The County Executive may
appoint a qualified person to serve temporarily as an acting department
head for a period not exceeding 40 days in any calendar year unless
extended by resolution of the County Legislature.
[Added 2-15-2012 by L.L.
No. 1-2012; amended 12-8-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
The County Executive shall have the power to appoint such Deputy
County Executive(s) as may be deemed proper, in writing, each subject
to confirmation by the County Legislature. A Deputy County Executive
shall be directly responsible to, and serve at the pleasure of, the
County Executive. A Deputy County Executive, when authorized by the
County Executive, shall have all of the powers and perform all of
the duties of the County Executive. A Deputy County Executive shall
also have such authority as delegated by the County Executive consistent
with this Charter. After confirmation of a Deputy County Executive(s)
by the Legislature, such appointment(s) shall be filed with the County
Clerk and the Clerk of the County Legislature.
[Amended 2-15-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012; 12-8-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
The County Executive shall designate in writing, and in order
of succession, the department heads and/or Deputy County Executive(s)
who shall be Acting County Executive in the event the County Executive
is absent from the County or temporarily unable to perform and exercise
the powers and duties of the Office of County Executive. The Acting
County Executive shall have all the powers and perform all the duties
of the County Executive. The designation and order of succession of
Acting County Executive shall be filed with the County Clerk and the
Clerk of the County Legislature and may be revoked at any time by
the County Executive filing a new written designation and order of
succession. In the absence of such written designation and order of
succession, and in the event an Acting County Executive need be appointed
as set forth herein, the County Legislature shall appoint a department
head or a Deputy County Executive as Acting County Executive.
The County Executive may be removed from office only in the
manner provided in the Public Officers Law.
[Added 3-12-2012 by L.L.
No. 3-2012; amended 12-8-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
In the event of a vacancy in the Office of the County Executive
as described in § 30 of the Public Officers Law, the Acting
County Executive shall succeed to the Office of County Executive,
and shall have all of the powers and perform all of the duties of
the County Executive. The Acting County Executive shall be designated
according to the procedure outlined in Section 3.05-A. He/She shall
hold the Office of County Executive until the commencement of the
calendar year next following the first annual election held not less
than 60 days after the occurrence of such vacancy, at which annual
election a County Executive shall be elected from the County at large
for the balance of the unexpired term.
