[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1916, Ch. 200; L. 1953, Ch. 878, § 184; L.L. No. 4-1998]
The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the corporation and ex officio a member of the board of health and a member of the board of estimate and apportionment. He shall have his office open daily for the transaction of business, and his position shall be full time as an employee of the City of Middletown. He shall sign all deeds and contracts made and entered into by the city and shall affix thereto the city seal which shall be in his custody. Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the office of mayor, or whenever by sickness or absence from the city or other cause, the mayor shall be prevented from attending to the duties of his office, the president of the common council, if not unable to act by reason of any of the causes previously mentioned in this sentence, shall act as mayor, and possess all the rights and powers of mayor, during such disability, or in case of a vacancy, then until the next charter election, and until the mayor then elected shall have duly qualified; and in case of the death, resignation or removal from office or from the city of the mayor, the said president of the council as aforesaid shall become mayor and shall be entitled to receive the salary of the office. It shall not be lawful for the president of the common council, when acting as mayor, in consequence of the mayor's sickness or absence from the city or other temporary disability, to remove or suspend from office, nor to sign, approve or disapprove any resolution or ordinance, unless such sickness, absence or other disability of the Mayor, shall have continued for the space of fifteen days. In case of a vacancy in the office of mayor, the aldermen shall elect a temporary chairman to preside over their meetings, and who shall possess, during such vacancy, the powers and perform the duties of the president of the council. Said common council shall also have power to appoint an alderman from the ward from which the president was elected, to discharge the duties of an alderman of said ward so long as said vacancy in the office of mayor shall continue and the president of the council shall be acting mayor by reason thereof. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of mayor, there shall be an election for mayor at the next charter election and the person thus elected shall hold for the remainder of the term of the person in whose place he was elected.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1916, Ch. 200; by L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 4-2003]
It shall be the right and duty of the mayor:
a. 
To administer the oath of office to the aldermen elect and communicate to the common council, at least once a year, a general statement of the finances as he shall deem expedient, and annually and as much oftener as he shall deem proper, communicate to the council his views and recommendations with reference to the city government. He shall have power to administer oaths and take affidavits and acknowledgments within said city that justices of the peace have, and shall be entitled to receive therefor from any person, except the city, the same fees and compensation. But all oaths, affidavits, or acknowledgements, taken or sworn before him for the city, or any officer or agent acting for the city, shall be taken without any fee or charge.
b. 
To call out and command the police and firemen, as their head, whenever in his discretion he shall deem an emergency so requires, and such command shall in all respects be obeyed.
c. 
To be vigilant and active in causing the ordinances of the city and the laws of the state to be executed and enforced within said city, and for that purpose he may call together, for consultation and cooperation, all other heads of the city affairs and departments.
d. 
To suspend, for cause, any officer appointed by said common council or any officer, appointee or employee of said city, for a term not exceeding thirty days. Whenever any officer, appointee or employee of said city except a member of the police force is suspended by said mayor, he shall forthwith give written notice thereof to the common council, and shall report, in writing, such suspension to the common council at its next meeting thereafter, stating therein the grounds of such suspension, together with such recommendation as he may deem proper. But there shall be but one suspension for the same cause, and the common council, upon receiving such notice, shall appoint a committee of investigation thereof, which committee shall have power to send for persons and papers, to issue subpoenas for witnesses and compel their attendance, and, by its chairman, to administer oaths, and to fully investigate the same; and the said common council may, in its discretion, restore or dismiss said officer or employee and declare his office, appointment or employment vacant and terminated; and in case of dismissal, such office and position shall become and be vacant, and shall be filled by appointment by the mayor as in case of death or resignation of any city officer, except as otherwise provided.
e. 
In case he deems it necessary, he may appoint any person or persons to perform the duties, or continue to take charge of the official affairs of the officer suspended, until the matter of such suspension shall be investigated and determined.
f. 
To have power, at all times, to examine the books, vouchers, papers of any department, officer or employee of said city, and to summon and examine, under oath, any person connected therewith.
[Amended by L.L. No. 1-1990]
It shall be the duty of every Alderman in said city to attend the special and regular meetings of the Common Council, to act upon committees when thereunto appointed, to report to the Mayor all subordinate officers who are guilty of any official misconduct or neglect of duty, and to aid in maintaining peace and good order, and to perform or assist in performing all such duties as are by this act enjoined upon the Alderman of said city separately, or upon the Common Council thereof.
[Amended by L. 1943, Ch. 710; L.L. No. 1-2009]
The collectors provided for by this Charter shall have the same powers and duties as collectors in any town in the County of Orange, except as otherwise provided in this Charter or the Local Finance Law.
[Amended by L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 1-1928; L.L. No. 1-1931; L.L. No. 4-1932; [1] L.L. 5-1983; L.L. No. 2-2007]
The City Clerk shall act as Registrar of Vital Statistics and Clerk of the Common Council, and perform such other duties consistent with the law as may be prescribed by the Common Council. He or she shall attend and keep accurate minutes of said Council meetings and shall conduct their correspondence. He or she may employ assistants as he or she may deem necessary provided the same shall have been authorized and compensation fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was amended by L.L. No. 3-1981, which local law was deemed ineffective by L.L. No. 4-1983. Section I of L.L. No. 4-1983 provided as follows: "The Local Law No. 3 of 1981 is ineffective because it was never put to a mandatory public referendum. Therefore, any laws it attempted to replace remain intact and have never been changed."
[Amended by L. 1904, Ch. 560; L. 1911, Ch. 187; L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 2-1998; L.L. No. 6-2022]
The Commissioner of Assessment and Taxation shall be a full-time employee of the City of Middletown and shall serve a six (6) year term pursuant to the provisions of Section 310 of the New York Real Property Tax Law. The Commissioner shall be the head of the Department of Assessment and Taxation. He or she may appoint and for cause remove such employees as he/she deems necessary for the proper conduct of the business of his/her office, provided that the position has been authorized and the salary thereof fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. The Commissioner shall possess all the powers conferred upon, be subject to all the obligations imposed upon and perform all the duties pertaining to the office of assessor in the towns of this State, except as otherwise provided by law. He/She shall value all real estate in the City on one common and general principle of valuation which shall apply to all real estate assessed within the City, including improved and unimproved property. In the case of improved property the land shall be valued separately by the Commissioner and such separate valuation and the aggregate valuation of the whole property shall be entered and appear in separate columns upon the assessment roll. When there are two or more houses on one lot, the valuation of each shall be shown. The Commissioner shall keep a record of all transfers of real estate in the city. He/She shall assess the value of personal property in the name of the owner thereof. He/She shall continuously revise and correct the assessment map. He/She shall keep an accurate index of the assessment roll as the same appears from year to year and shall note thereon the changes in the assessments as the same are made with the dates thereof. He/She shall publish and issue prior to grievance day each year in pamphlet form for general distribution the assessment-roll as completed by him/her showing a tabulated comparison with the assessments of the two preceding years. But no error in such pamphlet shall invalidate any assessment or tax levied thereunder.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1998[1]]
All real property subject to taxation shall be valued as of the preceding first day of January. The taxable status date of real property in the City shall be determined annually as of the first day of March. All real property shall be assessed in the City according to its condition and ownership as of such date. The annual assessment roll of the City shall be completed by the Commissioner of Assessment on or before the first day of May in each year and shall be filed immediately with the Department of Assessment. The Commissioner of Assessment shall cause a notice to be published in at least one (1) paper published in the City to the effect that the said annual assessment roll has been completed, is on file in his office, and is open for inspection by any interested person during office hours until a day specified in such notice, such day being not less than fifteen (15) calendar days after the publication of the said notice. During such inspection period, any taxpayer feeling himself aggrieved by the valuation placed on his property by the Commissioner of Assessment may file a written appeal from such assessment with the Commissioner of Assessment. At the close of the inspection period, the Commissioner of Assessment shall present the assessment roll, together with all written appeals received by him as aforesaid, to the Chairman of the Board of Assessment Review (which Board of Assessment Review is described in greater detail below). The Chairman of the Board of Assessment Review shall transmit the assessment roll and all such written appeals to the members of the Board of Assessment Review. The Board of Assessment Review shall cause a notice to be published in at least one paper published in the City to the effect that the assessment roll is in the hands of the Board of Assessment Review, and that the Board of Assessment Review will meet in regular session on the fourth Tuesday in May to consider such roll and to hear objections thereto.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 60, as last amended by L.L. No. 3-1968, was deleted by L.L. No. 2-1998.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1998]
A. 
Purpose and Membership. The Board of Assessment Review shall hear and determine complaints in relation to assessments of real property and shall have all the powers and duties imposed by law on Boards of Review by Article 5 of the State Real Property Tax Law and by any other law. The Board of Assessment Review shall consist of not fewer than three (3) nor more than five (5) members. The members of the Board of Assessment Review shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall have a knowledge of property values in the City. Neither the Commissioner of Assessment nor any member of his family or his staff, nor any members of the families of any of his staff, may be appointed to the Board of Assessment Review. A majority of such Board shall consist of members who are not officers or employees of the City. The terms of office of members of the Board of Assessment Review shall be five (5) years.
B. 
Procedure. The Board of Assessment Review shall fix the hours for its regular session on the fourth Tuesday in May to hear complaints, appeals or grievances about the assessment roll or any portion thereof, and such hours shall be for a period of at least four (4) hours, not necessarily continuous, between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., but in no event less than two (2) hours after 6:00 p.m. Unless otherwise set by said Board, the Board of Assessment Review will meet on the fourth Tuesday of May from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., and again on the fourth Tuesday in May from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. The Board of Assessment Review shall, at its regular session on the fourth Tuesday in May, consider the assessment roll and all appeals that have been filed in writing with the Commissioner of Assessment or have been presented, in writing or in person, at such regular session. The said Board may also schedule such other special sessions as it deems necessary to consider the appeals presented to it.
The Board of Assessment Review may amend or correct any item on the assessment roll and may defer action from time to time, but not later than the first day of July. A majority of the members of the Board of Assessment Review shall prepare and verify a statement showing the changes determined to be made by them in the assessment roll. Such verified statement shall be delivered to the Commissioner of Assessment on or before the first day of July, and such statement shall not only show the changes made by said Board but shall also confirm the assessment roll as prepared by the Commissioner of Assessment and as amended and corrected by the Board of Assessment Review.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1998]
The Commissioner of Assessment, as soon as possible after receiving such verified statement from the Board of Assessment Review, and in any event within the time period as may be set forth in the general law of the State, shall make the changes in assessment on the assessment roll in accordance with such verified statement and shall certify on such verified statement that he has recorded on the assessment roll the changes set forth in such verified statement of the Board of Assessment Review. The Commissioner of Assessment shall then cause a notice to be published in at least one (1) paper published in the City to the effect that the completed assessment roll has been filed with him as required by law. In addition, in the event the law requires the filing of the assessment roll with the County or with the State, the Commissioner of Assessment shall deliver or file the assessment roll as required by such law.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1998]
After the confirmation of the assessment roll by the Commissioner of Assessment, the Common Council may, on the petition of the Commissioner of Assessment, correct the said assessment roll in the following instances:
A. 
Where the same property has been assessed more than once on the said roll, the excess assessment or assessments shall be cancelled.
B. 
Where any unimproved property has been assessed as improved property, the assessment may be reduced to such sum as may be fixed by the Commissioner of Assessment.
C. 
Where any taxable property has been omitted from the roll of the preceding year, it may be placed on the roll for the current year at a valuation to be fixed for the preceding year by the Commissioner of Assessment and shall be taxed at the rate per centum of the preceding year.
D. 
Where any taxable property has been omitted from the roll for the current year, it may be placed thereon at a valuation to be fixed by the Commissioner of Assessment and shall be taxed at the rate per centum of the current year.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1998]
In the assessment of any properties in the City for any purpose, it shall be sufficient to state the name of one (1) of the owners of such property or properties if the name of the owner or owners or any of them is known to the Commissioner of Assessment. If the name of the owner or owners is or are unknown to the Commissioner of Assessment, the assessment may designate the owner as unknown, which shall be deemed to be sufficient. There shall be stated the street and number of any building thereon, which shall be deemed an adequate description. If the property assessed is a vacant lot, the name of the street on which it fronts and a brief description of the property shall be deemed an adequate description. No assessment heretofore or hereafter made in the City shall be held invalid because the same may be made out against an owner or owners unknown; or against the estate of a deceased person, naming such person or the executor, heirs or devisees of such person; or against a company or firm name; or against a person who is the owner of record, although such person is not the actual owner of the property. No assessment heretofore or hereafter made in the City shall be held invalid for any cause arising through ignorance or mistake as to the name or names of the owner or owners of the property assessed. Every assessment roll shall be considered as referring to the last adopted or last filed map, unless it is otherwise stated in said roll. No assessment or tax for any purpose shall be cancelled or otherwise affected by reason of any error or defect not actually fraudulent in any of the proceedings required to be taken as preliminary to or in the making of the assessment or in the levying or collection of the tax.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1916, Ch. 200; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 5-1932; L. 1943, Ch. 710; [1] L.L. No. 2-2007]
The City Clerk shall keep all papers belonging to the city. His or her office is hereby declared a town clerk's office, for the purpose of depositing and filing therein all books, chattel mortgages and papers required by law to be filed in a town clerk's office, and he or she shall possess all the power, and discharge all the duties of a town clerk, except so far as the same shall be inconsistent with other provisions of this act and the local finance law. He or she shall have power to administer oaths and take affidavits and acknowledgments within said city that justices of the peace have, and shall be entitled to receive therefor the same fees and compensation. But all oaths, affidavits or acknowledgments, taken or sworn before him or her for the city, or for any officer or agent acting for the city, shall be taken without any fee or charge. The City Clerk shall be a full-time employee of said City and shall serve three (3) year terms, and until the successors to the City Clerk shall qualify. The City Clerk shall not receive from the city, nor from any other person or persons, any fee or reward for any service as Clerk. All fees for filing and recording papers as town clerk, as provided by law, and for certifying copies of papers required for evidence by any person or party except the city, for which certification he or she shall charge ten cents per folio, shall belong to the city of Middletown.
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was amended by L.L. No. 3-1981, which local law was deemed ineffective by L.L. No. 4-1983. Section I of L.L. No. 4-1983 provided as follows: "The Local Law No. 3 of 1981 is ineffective because it was never put to a mandatory public referendum. Therefore, any laws it attempted to replace remain intact and have never been changed."
[Amended by L. 1907, Ch. 653; L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L. 1953, Ch. 878, § 185; L.L. No. 2-1975;[1] L.L. No. 2-1996; L.L. No. 1-2001; L.L. No. 2-2007; L.L. No. 4-2022]
The Treasurer of said city shall be the collector who shall receive all moneys belonging thereto, and the moneys raised by authority of the Common Council; and he or she shall keep an accurate account of all receipts and expenditures in such manner as the Common Council shall direct. The Treasurer shall be a full-time employee of said City and shall serve a five (5) year term. The Treasurer shall act as clerk of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and attend all their meetings, and shall perform all the duties of collector of water rates of said city. The Treasurer shall deposit all moneys received by him or her daily during tax collection periods in such banking institutions as may be designated and approved by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. All money shall be drawn from the treasury in pursuance of the order of the Common Council, by warrant signed by the Mayor, or Acting Mayor and the Treasurer; such warrant shall specify for what purpose the amount therein named is to be paid, and the Treasurer shall keep an accurate account of all orders drawn on the treasury, in a book to be provided for that purpose, which shall be open to the inspection of any elector of said city at all reasonable hours. At the close of the financial year the Treasurer shall prepare and file with the Common Council a full statement of receipts and expenditures, after the date of his or her last annual report, and also the state of the treasury, which report shall be printed and published in recapitulated form, in the official newspaper or newspapers, and said Treasurer shall also report to the Common Council, at each regular monthly meeting thereof, what moneys have been received by him or her during the preceding month, with a statement showing to what fund such moneys have been credited by the Treasurer.
The reports of the Treasurer shall be filed within sixty days of the close of the fiscal year and shall date from the last annual report.
[1]
Editor's Note: This section was amended by L.L. No. 3-1981, which local law was deemed ineffective by L.L. No. 4-1983. Section I of L.L. No. 4-1983 provided as follows: "The Local Law No. 3 of 1981 is ineffective because it was never put to a mandatory public referendum. Therefore, any laws it attempted to replace remain intact and have never been changed."
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1975]
The fiscal year ending November 30, 1975, shall be extended one month until December 31, 1975, and thereafter the fiscal year shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 187; L. 1916, Ch. 200; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 3-1932; L.L. No. 2-1954; L.L. No. 4-1958; L.L. No. 1-1959; L.L. No. 3-1979; L.L. No. 2-1996]
The Treasurer of said City shall be the collector of all City taxes and assessments in said City and shall perform the duties and be subject to the liabilities and obligations prescribed by law for town collectors, subject to the provisions of this charter, and he shall keep his books in such manner as the Common Council may prescribe. Immediately upon the expiration of the time limited in any warrant issued to him for the collection of any tax or assessment, said Treasurer shall report and make return to the Common Council under oath, stating the amount by him collected, and that he has entered upon the assessment or tax roll the several payments made to him, opposite the name of each person, company or corporation so paying, his payments of the money so collected, to what officer, with his vouchers therefor; and the several amounts of taxes or assessments which have not been collected by him and remaining unpaid with the names of those who have not paid opposite such amounts; and on such report being received and accepted by the Common Council the several items of unpaid taxes or assessments contained therein shall be entered by said Treasurer in a book provided by said Common Council, and to be kept in his office. On all first installment taxes, except as provided in this charter, remaining unpaid after the expiration of thirty days, the Treasurer shall collect two per centum additional as a penalty; and on all first installment taxes remaining unpaid on the first day of April next after such first publication, there shall be collected, in addition to said two-per-centum penalty, interest at the rate of one per centum per month from the said first day of April. On all second installment taxes, except as provided in this charter, remaining unpaid after the expiration of thirty days from the date of the first publication of the second notice the Treasurer shall collect two per centum additional as a penalty; and on the second installment taxes remaining unpaid on the first day of August next after such first publication, there shall be collected in addition to said two-per-centum penalty, interest at the rate of one per centum per month from the said first day of August. All said interest, together with the two-per-centum penalty added after the expiration of the thirty-day period, shall belong to the City; and such tax and interest thereon at the rate aforesaid, together with the highest rate of fees for collecting the sum specified in such warrant, may be sued for and recovered by the City against any person liable therefor except as otherwise provided in this act. The Common Council shall provide a suitable room for the Treasurer's office, and all necessary books, blanks and stationery for his use, and the Treasurer shall attend at such room in the discharge of his duties at such time as prescribed in § 73 of this charter. The City Treasurer so performing the duties of collector shall not be entitled to collect or receive any fees for his service other than his regular compensation or salary as such City Treasurer. It shall be the duty of the City Treasurer, after the expiration of thirty days from the time any general or special tax shall be due and payable, as herein provided, to add the sum of two per centum upon all such taxes then remaining unpaid, and said two per centum so added shall belong to the City of Middletown. The Corporation Counsel or other attorney for said City shall pay all taxes or assessments including interest and fees which he shall collect and which shall have been placed in the hands of such Corporation Counsel or attorney for collection to the City Treasurer, and shall take receipt therefor showing the several amounts collected, the tax or assessment for which received and from whom, and such City Treasurer shall then make the necessary entries upon his books showing such payment, so as to discharge the same thereon. In case the City Treasurer shall not use due diligence in the collection of taxes or assessments or comply with the requirements of this section, it shall be sufficient cause, and he may be suspended by the Mayor, and removed by the Common Council, pursuant to the provisions of this charter with reference to the suspension and removal from office.
[Added by L.L. No. 5-2022]
The Deputy Treasurer shall be a full-time employee of the City of Middletown and shall serve a five (5) year term, commencing from the time of appointment.
[Amended by L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 1-1932; L.L. No. 1-1944; L.L. No. 3-1948; L.L. No. 1-1949; L.L. No. 3-1949; L.L. No. 4-1949; L.L. No. 3-1951; L.L. No. 5-1951; L. 1952, Ch. 444; L.L. No. 2-1957, § 1; L.L. No. 2-1959; L.L. No. 1-1961; L.L. No. 1-1962; L.L. No. 1-1969; L.L. No. 2-1973; L.L. No. 1-1978; L.L. No. 1-1985; L.L. No. 3-2001; L.L. No. 1-2013, § 3; L.L. No. 2-2013, § 3; L.L. No. 6-2017, § 3; L.L. No. 1-2019, § 2]
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment shall consist of the Mayor who shall be its President, the President of the Common Council and the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Common Council. The Board shall meet upon the call of the Mayor, and as directed by resolution of the Board itself and not less than once in each month. It shall be the trustees of all sinking funds. Each act of the Board shall be by resolution adopted by a majority vote of its members. The Board shall fix the powers and duties and regulate the salaries and compensation of all city officers and employees, except as otherwise provided in this act, but no such salaries or compensation shall be effective until approved by the Common Council.
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment may provide that the employees of the Public Works Department, the Parks Department and the Water Department be hired on a per diem or a weekly basis and said board is empowered to increase the compensation of all city employees at any time during the fiscal year with the approval of the Common Council. The annual salary of the Mayor shall be ninety-five thousand dollars ($95,000.00). The annual salary of the President of the Common Council shall be twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00). The annual salary of each Alderman shall be fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00). The aforementioned salaries for the Mayor and President of the Common Council shall take effect with the terms of office commencing January 1, 2018. The aforementioned salaries for each Alderman shall take effect with the terms of office commencing January 1, 2020. Salaries and compensation of officers and employees shall be paid at such times as the Common Council shall by general ordinance determine.
Except as otherwise provided in this act, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment shall make all purchases of insurance, supplies, materials, machinery, tools and appliances for the city and its various departments, and shall make all contracts for materials or supplies to be purchased and for work to be done for the city and its various departments, and shall make written monthly reports thereof to the Common Council.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1943]
During the present war and for a period of six months thereafter, or during any other period determined to be one of emergency by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and Common Council of the city, compensation may at any time be paid any officer or employee of the city, other than an elective officer, in addition to that originally fixed for the fiscal year and/or in addition to that for which provision is made in the annual budget, provided such additional compensation is fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and approved by the Common Council, and provided further that, at the time of such approval, the Common Council make available the necessary funds for payment of such additional compensation.
[Added by L.L. No. 3-1948; amended by L.L. No. 2-1957]
It shall be the duty of the Common Council to appropriate annually sums of money sufficient to pay the salaries and compensation of policemen and patrolmen of the Police Department and of paid firemen (drivers) of the Fire Department, as fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the City of Middletown, and upon the adoption of this local law to appropriate immediately a sum sufficient to pay said salaries and compensation commencing December 1, 1957.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1916, Ch. 200; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 10-1942; L.L. No. 1-1996; L.L. No. 1-2003; L.L. No. 1-2009; L.L. No. 1-2016; L.L. No. 2-2018, § 4]
The Corporation Counsel and any Assistant Corporation Counsel of said City shall be attorneys and counselors of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The Corporation Counsel's office shall be the legal advisor of the Common Council, Mayor and of all other City officials and boards. The said Corporation Counsel shall be up to a full-time employee of said City and shall serve three (3) year terms, commencing January 1, 2017, and until the successors to the Corporation Counsel shall qualify. Assistant Corporation Counsels shall serve one (1) year terms as set forth in Section 11 of the Charter (if an Assistant Corporation Counsel is appointed and approved during the calendar year, his or her appointment shall expire as of December 31 of that year). It shall be the duty of the Corporation Counsel, or his or her designee, when required so to do, to prosecute all suits, actions and proceedings brought in the name of or to be defended on behalf of the City of Middletown, or any of its boards, and also to appeal on behalf of the people and prosecute in the City Court of said City all applicable criminal actions and proceedings, including violations of the Charter or Code of the City of Middletown; provided, however, that it shall not be the duty of the Corporation Counsel's office to undertake collections of taxes or water and sewer rents or to conduct tax sales, unless directed so to do by resolution of the Common Council; and provided further, however, that nothing herein contained shall prevent the Common Council from employing on behalf of the City an attorney, other than the Corporation Counsel or Assistant Corporation Counsel, for any purpose nor prevent the payment to such attorney of reasonable compensation, as authorized by Section 26 of this Charter.
The Corporation Counsel and any Assistant Corporation Counsel of the City shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and confirmed by the Common Council.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 4-1924]
The city engineer and surveyor shall be subject to the orders of the commissioner of public works at all times. He shall do all the surveying and engineering work for all departments of the city and shall keep map records of all sewers, water mains, grades of streets and of all curbing ordered. All maps and profiles pertaining to the water works, water mains, sewers, streets, and curbing and grading of streets, and all tax maps of the said city, shall be filed with, and remain in the custody of, the said city engineer and surveyor and it shall be his duty, from time to time, to make such changes and alterations as may be necessary therein, and to keep and maintain the same so as to accurately show all such changes whenever and wherever they may occur. The common council may cause a map to be made of all the streets, highways, side and cross walks, drains, sewers and water mains in said city, which map shall be filed in the office of the said city engineer and surveyor; and maps of all changes, additions or alterations in or to said streets, highways, alleys, side and cross walks, drains, sewers and water mains, subsequent to the filing and recording of said map, shall be filed therewith as soon after such changes, additions or alterations are made as may be. Such records and maps shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated, described or portrayed in all actions and courts, and the said lands so mapped shall be, and shall thereafter continue to be, the property of said city.
[§ 68 amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1916, Ch. 200; L. 1922, Ch. 613; L.L. No. 3-1928; L.L. No. 2-1997; L.L. No. 2-2004; L.L. No. 2-2005; L.L. No. 1-2009]
It shall be the duty of the commissioner of public works to superintend, under the direction of the mayor and common council, all work to be done or performed upon any of the public highways, streets, gutters, walks, crosswalks, bridges, sewers, sewage disposal works, or public grounds, or property of said city; to see that the streets and public places of said city are safely maintained, and that all holes in streets are immediately filled, and that all drains are at all times kept open; to provide for the removal of dirt, snow, ice and refuse from the streets of said city; to have charge and control of the reservoirs, water works, filter plant and water pipes and mains of said city, and to enforce all proper rules and regulations and orders to provide for the protection and preservation of said water works, reservoirs, mains and all property connected therewith; to make all needed repairs and procure all the necessary supplies for said fire department and separate companies thereof except as otherwise provided in this act; to purchase, at the expense of said city, necessary materials, tools, implements, machinery and utensils; and hire and employ the requisite laborers and assistants provided the same shall have been authorized and their compensation fixed by the board of estimate and apportionment. The said commissioner of public works shall be a full-time employee of said city and shall serve five (5) year terms, commencing January 1, 2005, and until the successors to the commissioner of public works shall qualify.
He shall compel every person to clean the ice and snow from the sidewalk in front of any lot owned or occupied in whole or in part by such person, and in case of neglect so to do said commissioner of public works shall clean or cause to be cleaned such sidewalk and the expense thereof, together with six per centum in addition thereto shall become a lien upon said lot and property to be collected in the same manner as other assessments are collected as provided by this act.
He shall possess all the powers and discharge all of the duties of commissioners of highways of towns of the state except as limited by this act.
No street shall be opened nor shall anything be erected in said streets without the permission of the commissioner of public works, except by order of the common council.
He shall also enforce all ordinances and regulations relating to the construction, repair and alteration of the buildings in the city.
He shall have charge of all poles and wires and see that they are kept safe and in good repair.
The commissioner of public works shall discharge all the duties imposed upon the city engineer and surveyor by the charter or otherwise by law, and the commissioner may from time to time when authorized by the common council, engage a civil engineer to assist him in the discharge of said duties.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall discharge the following duties previously imposed upon the Board of Health:
a. 
To enforce the public health law within the city;
b. 
To abate all nuisances detrimental to the public health or dangerous to human life, by action at law or in equity in the name of the city, or without action as a natural person may do;
c. 
To enforce and to aid in the enforcement of all laws of the state relative to the preservation of human life, or to the care, promotion or protection of life;
d. 
To cause the vacation of any building which is unfit for human habitation or dangerous to life or health;
e. 
To take all steps necessary to the sanitary supervision and protection of the water supply of the City, and the sources thereof.
f. 
To order and enforce the repairing of buildings, structures and houses, when necessary for the public health.
In the event of the Commissioner of Public Works' absence or inability to perform the duties of the office, the three Deputy Commissioners shall be authorized to act generally for and in place of the Commissioner of Public Works. The Commissioner may so temporarily appoint one of the three Deputy Commissioners on a case-by-case basis.
[Added by L. 1911, Ch. 699; amended by L. 1916, Ch. 200; repealed by L.L. No. 1-2009]
[Added by L.L. No. 3-1942]
The Commissioner of Public Works of this city shall have the power and it shall be his duty to supervise the fire-alarm system in this city, and its wires, poles, appliances and appurtenances, and to see that the same are duly maintained and kept in repair, and periodically inspected. It shall be his duty to have regular inspections conducted of the fire-alarm system by a competent electrician or lineman, and to report in writing at least monthly to the Mayor and Common Council of the city concerning such inspections; and it shall be his duty to promptly report to the Mayor and Chief of the Fire Department of the city any part or parts of the fire-alarm system needing repairs, replacement or enlargement, to the end that the entire system shall at all times operate properly and efficiently.
[Added by L.L. No. 4-1942]
The Commissioner of Public Works of the city shall be and he hereby is authorized to employ a civil engineer and surveyor, a building inspector, an electrician, an assistant superintendent of the water department, and a superintendent of sewer and streets, and such other foremen, assistants and employees as he may require for the carrying out of his duties. The salaries, compensation and wages of all such employees shall be fixed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of this city, and no such salaries, wages or compensation shall be effective until approved by the Common Council of this city.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-1976]
The Commissioner of Public Works of the city be and is hereby authorized to appoint the Plumbing Inspector or Inspectors of the city, subject to the provisions and limitations of law, and further, said Inspector or Inspectors shall work with and under the supervision of the Commissioner of Public Works.
[Added by L.L. No. 2-2021]
The Deputy Commissioners of public works shall be full-time employees of the City of Middletown and shall serve three (3) year terms, commencing from the time of appointment.
[Amended by L. 1911, Ch. 699; L. 1922, Ch. 613; repealed by L.L. No. 1-2009]