There is hereby reestablished in and for the village a separate board
of officers to be known as the Board of Examining Plumbers (hereinafter, the
"Board"), which Board shall have and exercise such jurisdiction and powers
and shall perform and discharge such duties and responsibilities as may be
prescribed by or pursuant to the authority of this chapter.
A.
Such Board shall consist of three regular members, all
of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent and approval of the
Board of Trustees. The regular term of office of each Board member shall be
three years, but one of such terms shall be due to expire sequentially at
the end of each succeeding official village year. Original appointments of
individual Board members shall be for such different initial terms as will
most promptly ensure conformance with the foregoing requirement of staggered
terms; upon the expiration of each initial term, all subsequent appointments
to the position shall be for the specified regular three-year term.
B.
All vacancies in the office of any member of the Board,
occurring prior to, and for reasons other than, the expiration of the member's
term of office, shall be filled by the Mayor, but only for the remaining balance
of that member's unexpired term.
Eligibility for appointment to the Board shall be limited to citizens
of the United States who are at least 18 years of age. Also, both at the time
of appointment, and during the entire tenure of their terms in office, members
of the Board must:
A.
Reside within the village, or at least within the territorial
boundaries of either the Town of Hempstead or the Town of North Hempstead;
B.
Hold a certificate of competency issued by a duly constituted
Board of Examining Plumbers of the village or of another municipality also
a party to either the Tri-Town Plumbing Agreement or other reciprocal licensing
agreement as defined in this chapter;
C.
Hold a current original or reciprocal master plumber's
license issued by the village; and
D.
Be actually and actively engaged, on a continuous and
full-time basis, in the business and practice of the plumbing trade, either
as an independent or employing master plumber.
A.
Upon the appointment of the original members of the Board,
the Mayor shall designate one of such members to serve temporarily as Acting
Chairperson. As soon thereafter as may be practicable, and within 30 days
after the commencement of each consecutively following official year, the
current members of such Board shall elect one of their members as Chairperson.
The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall appoint
a Deputy to serve in his/her absence or disability as well as the members
of all standing or ad hoc committees of the Board.
B.
Meetings of the Board shall be held upon the call of
the Chairperson, or upon the request or at the direction of a majority of
the Board, at such times and at such places within the village as the Board
may determine. Public notice of such meetings shall be made and given in the
manner provided by law, and a record of each meeting's proceedings, including
the vote held or action taken upon any question or other matter decided or
determined by the Board, shall be made by the Board and promptly filed in
the office of the Village Clerk.
C.
The Board is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt
and enforce such other rules and regulations for the conduct of its business,
not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or other applicable law,
as it may determine from time to time. Upon their adoption by a majority of
the Board, a written copy of all such rules and regulations, and of any subsequent
amendments thereof or additions thereto, shall be filed of record in the office
of the Village Clerk.
A.
The Board shall have exclusive original jurisdiction
to examine and pass upon the qualifications of all persons seeking certification
from the village as master plumbers. For the purposes of the foregoing, the
Board shall have the power and authority to promulgate and adopt, subject
to final approval by the Board of Trustees, general rules and regulations
governing eligibility, testing requirements and other qualifications for certification.
It shall also be the province and function of the Board to promulgate and
adopt standardized application forms, written exams and practical tests for
certificate candidates; to fully investigate, review and determine every such
candidate's preliminary qualifications, including prior employment, formal
training and practical experience in the plumbing trade; to conduct and administer
all written or oral examinations and all practical skill tests for certification
given to such candidates; and to finally determine, on the basis of the foregoing,
whether any particular candidate is sufficiently qualified, fit and competent
to be certified as a master plumber.
B.
In addition to the primary jurisdiction provided for
hereinabove, the Board shall also have the following jurisdiction and authority:
(1)
Upon referral from the Village Clerk or other duly designated
licensing officer, and in accordance with the requirements of this chapter
or applicable rules and regulations, to review and verify or otherwise determine
the qualifications of any person making application for an original or reciprocal
master plumber's license from the village;
(2)
Subject to appellate review by the Board of Trustees,
to hear and determine all applications or petitions by the Building Department
or other agency of the village, by any counterpart officer or board of a recognized
reciprocating municipality or by any other aggrieved party, which seeks the
restriction, suspension or revocation, or which requests the reinstatement
or restoration, of any certificate of competency or any master plumber's
license issued by or on behalf of the village; and
(3)
Upon the request of either party, to either mediate and
advise upon, or arbitrate and resolve, any disputes arising between the Building
Department and a licensed master plumber concerning the standards and practices
to be followed and applied in the conduct of any work to be carried out or
performed by, or under the supervision of, such master plumber within the
Village of New Hyde Park.
In order to facilitate and assist the Board in carrying out its regular
business and functions, the Village Clerk, or such deputy or employee thereof
as he/she may designate, is hereby authorized and directed to act as the administrative
and recordkeeping officer for such Board. In such capacity, the Village Clerk
shall render or provide to the Board, or shall obtain in its behalf, whatever
processing, filing or other services and support may prove reasonable and
necessary for the Board to carry out its functions and duties. In a collateral
capacity, the Village Clerk, as regular licensing officer of the village,
shall be the village agent charged with the jurisdiction and authority to
issue or renew all original or reciprocal master plumber's licenses authorized
or required by the provisions of this chapter. In the undertaking of such
jurisdiction and authority, the Village Clerk may refer any license application
to the Board for its review and determination of the applicant's qualifications
and may at any other time call upon the Board for its expertise or assistance
in deciding any technical questions or other matters relating to the licensing
process.
A.
No certificate of competency shall be issued or reissued
on behalf of the village by any board, officer or agency thereof other than
the Board of examining plumbers, and such Board shall issue or reissue such
a certificate only to persons who have met all current qualifications and
passed all tests and examinations ordinarily prescribed and routinely administered
by such Board, as authorized or required by the provisions of this chapter.
When any person who was issued a certificate of competency by the Board of
Examining Plumbers of the village or of a recognized reciprocating municipality
has not subsequently obtained and simultaneously held an original master plumber's
license issued either by the village or by such other municipality for any
consecutive period of three or more years or any cumulative period totaling
five or more years, such certificate shall be presumptively invalid and, notwithstanding
any other provision of this chapter or of any other law or statute, rule or
regulation or agreement to the contrary, the holder thereof shall no longer
be deemed qualified to receive, nor shall there be issued to such person by
any board, officer or agency of the village, any original or reciprocal master
plumber's license, unless and until such person shall be reexamined as
may be reasonably required, and recertified as fully fit and competent, by
the appropriate Board of Examining Plumbers.
B.
No application for an original or reciprocal master plumber's
license shall be accepted or processed by the Village Clerk or by any duly
designated representative thereof, unless such application shall be accompanied
by an original or certified duplicate copy of a certificate of competency
issued by the Board of Examining Plumbers of the village or of a recognized
reciprocating municipality and, for applications seeking reciprocal licenses,
by an original or certified duplicate copy of the current master plumber's
license issued by the recognized reciprocating municipality. Except in cases
where a renewal is sought for a license issued within the immediately preceding
15 calendar months, no original or reciprocal license shall be issued or reissued
until such application has been referred to, and the applicant's qualifications
reviewed and approved by, the Board of Examining Plumbers or by a member or
committee thereof designated and authorized by such Board to carry out such
function.
C.
Every person applying for an original or reciprocal master
plumber's license shall, prior to the issuance of such license, procure
and file with the Village Clerk such surety bond or bonds in such penal sum(s)
as may be prescribed by rule or regulation of such officer, underwritten and
issued by such insurance carrier(s) as may be acceptable to the village, and
indemnifying and saving harmless the village from and against all liability
for injuries to persons and damages to any public or private sewer, any public
or private street or highway or any other public or private property arising
from the negligent or intentional acts or omissions of such master plumber
or any employee, servant, agent or subcontractor thereof in connection with
any work to be performed or carried out by them within the village during
the tenure of such license.
Subject to the mandatory and superseding fee provisions, if any, set forth and contained in any applicable reciprocal licensing agreement then in force and effect, the fees and charges to be levied and collected in connection with the certification and licensing of master plumbers, as authorized and/or contemplated by the provisions of this chapter, shall be as set forth and prescribed in and by § 1-32 (the Fee and Charge Schedule) appearing under Article III of Chapter 1 of this Village Code, as then enacted or amended by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Examining Plumbers shall review, at least annually, the Fee and Charge Schedule referred to hereinabove, and any similar provisions contained in any current or prospective reciprocal licensing agreement, and shall request of, or recommend to, the Board of Trustees any changes or additions thereto or other modifications thereof as it may determine to be reasonable and necessary.
