The Village of East Hampton recognizes that the Constitution of the
State of New York and the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of
New York afford villages the ability to structure their local governments
as needed to promote the efficiency of village operations.
The Municipal Home Rule Law specifically authorizes a village to
create or discontinue departments; to prescribe or modify the powers
and duties of such departments; and to specify the powers, duties,
qualifications, number and mode of selection of its officers and employees.
Pursuant to New York Village Law § 8-800, a board of trustees
of a village may, by resolution, establish a police department in
such village and appoint a chief of police and such personnel as may
be needed, and fix their compensation, with the proviso that the village,
upon establishing a police department, shall notice the Commissioner
of the Division of Central Justice Services of such action within
30 days.
The Village Board of Trustees accordingly intends to exercise those
powers to hereby codify the establishment of the Village of East Hampton
Police Department as a Department of the Village government as set
forth below.
The Mayor shall determine the number of captains, lieutenants, sergeants,
patrolmen and civilian employees within the Police Department, all
of whom shall be appointed by the Village Board of Trustees.
All Police Department personnel shall report to the Police Chief
through the Departmental chain of command. The Police Chief shall
report to Mayor or the Mayor's Designee.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the Mayor or the Mayor's
designee shall be designated as the primary point of contact for the
Police Chief in the following circumstances: