[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;
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
(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.
[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.