Every person elected or appointed to any office
under this Charter who shall be sued for any act done or commenced
by him or her by virtue of his or her office and who shall have final
judgment rendered in his or her favor, whereby he or she shall be
entitled to costs, shall recover twice the amount of his or her taxed
costs.
A.
Legislative declaration. Where claims for bodily injury
or damage to property are asserted against the City arising out of
alleged defective conditions of property owned or constructed by or
in the care, custody or control of the City, adequate prior notice
to the City of any such conditions is of substantial importance to
allow the City the opportunity to investigate and correct such conditions,
if found to exist. Whether the City has received actual or constructive
notice of such alleged defective conditions is often a question of
fact which can lead to uncertainty and possible unwarranted finding
of liability against the City. To assure that the City receives actual
prior notice of an alleged unsafe or defective condition and is able
to respond in a prompt and reasonable manner, such prior notice shall
be in writing. It is the purpose of this section to require that notice
of unsafe or defective conditions of City property be given to the
City by prior written notice actually received by the City.
B.
CITY HIGHWAY
CITY PROPERTY
UNSAFE CONDITION
Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the
following words, phrases and terms and their derivations shall have
the meanings given herein:
A highway, street, road, cul-de-sac, drive or other roadway
maintained by the City, whether or not such highway has been formally
dedicated to the City. This definition shall include bridges, shoulders,
curbs, gutters, culverts, signs and other traffic control devices
and all other things appurtenant to a highway.
All City highways, bridges, culverts, sidewalks, parking
areas, playgrounds, parks and all other real property owned, leased,
used, occupied or maintained by the City or over or through which
the City has an easement or right-of-way and all buildings, structures,
fixtures, personal property and appurtenances thereto owned, leased,
used, occupied or maintained by the City.
Any defective, hazardous, dangerous or obstructed condition,
including such conditions as may have been created by an act or omission
of any employee or officer of the City, and including such conditions
as may result from inadequate or improper design, maintenance or repair
or from the existence of snow or ice.
C.
Written notice of defective condition required for
injuries on highways and City property. No civil action shall be maintained
against the City of Auburn for damages or injuries to person or property
sustained by reason of any highway, bridge, culvert or any other property
owned by the City of Auburn being defective, out of repair, unsafe,
dangerous or obstructed unless written notice of such defective, unsafe,
dangerous or obstructed condition of such highway, bridge, culvert
or any other property owned by the City of Auburn was actually given
to the City Manager and there was a failure or neglect within a reasonable
time after the giving of such notice to repair or remove the defect,
danger or obstruction complained of, and no such action shall be maintained
for damages or injuries to persons or property sustained solely in
consequence of the existence of snow or ice upon any highway, bridge,
culvert or any other property owned by the City of Auburn unless written
notice thereof, specifying the particular place, was actually given
to the City Manager and there was a failure or neglect to cause such
snow or ice to be removed or to make the place otherwise reasonably
safe within a reasonable time after the receipt of such notice.
D.
Prior written notice required. No civil action shall
be maintained against the City or against the City's officers or employees
for personal injury, including death or damage to property, related
to, caused by, resulting from or arising out of any property owned
or constructed by the City, or involving property in the care, custody
or control of the City, being defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous,
obstructed or improperly maintained unless, prior to the occurrence
of the injury or damage, the City shall have been given actual written
notice of the alleged condition complained of and shall have failed
or neglected within a reasonable time after such written notice to
repair or remove the condition.
E.
Notice; contents. The notice required by this section
shall contain the following:
(1)
The full name and address of the claimant;
(2)
The particular property of the City and its location
claimed to be defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed;
(3)
The time such condition was first observed or made
known to the claimant;
(4)
A statement of the particulars in which the property
is defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed.
F.
Service of notice. The written notice provided for
by this section shall be served by personal service within the City
of Auburn upon the City Manager or his (or her) designated representative.
G.
Record of notice; presentation to the Council.
(1)
The City Manager shall keep and maintain a record
of all written notices received pursuant to this section, which record
shall state the date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and
location of the conditions stated to exist and the name and address
of the person from whom the notice is received. The record of each
notice shall be preserved for a period of at least three years after
the date it is received.
(2)
The City Manager shall cause all written notices received
by him (or her) pursuant to this section to be presented to the Council
within five days of the receipt thereof or at the next Council meeting,
whichever shall be sooner.
H.
Repeal of existing requirements not intended. Nothing
contained in this section shall be held to repeal or modify or waive
any existing requirement or statute of limitations which is applicable
to these classes of actions, but, on the contrary, this section shall
be held to be additional requirements to the right to maintain such
action, nor shall anything herein contained be held to modify any
existing rule of law relative to the question of contributory negligence
or to impose upon the City any greater duty or obligation than otherwise
imposed by law.
No person shall be an incompetent judge by reason
of his or her being an inhabitant or freeholder in the City of Auburn
in any action or proceeding in which said City is an interested party.
A.
The said City, except as is otherwise in this Charter
provided, shall be considered one of the towns of Cayuga County. The
fees and expenses of apprehending, examining, trying and committing
offenders against any law of the state in said City, and of their
confinement, properly chargeable against the County of Cayuga shall
be audited, allowed and paid by the County Legislature of said county
in the same manner as if such expenses had been incurred in any town
in said County of Cayuga.
B.
To facilitate the presentation of the claim of the
City against the County of Cayuga for such fees and expenses, the
City Judges shall keep an accurate record of all felony and other
cases which are properly chargeable against the County of Cayuga and
of the fees and expenses of examining, trying and committing persons
under such charges, and the head of the Police Department shall keep
a like record of the fees and expenses of apprehending all persons
so charged.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The original last paragraph
of this section, pertaining to the selection of jurors, was deleted
as covered by the Judiciary Law.
When corporations, associations, copartners,
joint tenants or tenants in common are to be served with a notice
under any provisions of this Charter or under the direction of the
Council, it shall be deemed a sufficient, valid and legal service
of such notice to serve a copy thereof upon the president, cashier,
treasurer, one of the directors or the managing agent of such corporation
or association or upon any one of such copartners, joint tenants or
tenants in common.
When filed in the office of the City Clerk,
an affidavit of service of any notice, either personally or by mail,
as required, or the affidavit of publication made by the publisher,
his or her clerk, editor or foreman, showing the required publication,
shall be presumptive evidence of such service or publication, as the
case may be, in all courts and places. A certified copy of such affidavit
made by the City Clerk may be read in evidence with like force and
effect as the original on file in his office.
Every act, ordinance, bylaw, public regulation,
resolution or proceeding of the Council of the City of Auburn may
be read in evidence in all courts and places in this state either:
A.
From the record of the proceedings of the Council;
B.
From a copy of such act, ordinance, bylaw, public
regulation, resolution or proceeding certified by the Mayor or City
Clerk, with the Seal of the City affixed; or
C.
From the printed volume of ordinances, bylaws and
public regulations printed by authority of the Council.
All elective officers of the City in office
at the time this Charter takes effect shall be continued for the balance
of the terms for which elected, respectively, except as herein specially
provided. All other officers and employees in the service of the City
at the time of the adoption of this Charter shall be continued the
same as though originally appointed hereunder.
All ordinances, regulations and bylaws of the
City, including those established and adopted by the Water Board of
the City, in force at the time of the adoption of this Charter and
not inconsistent herewith are continued in full force and effect.
Any ordinance, regulation or rule inconsistent with the provisions
of this Charter is hereby repealed.
Wherever in this Charter it is provided that
any act or thing shall be done by or any powers are conferred or duties
imposed upon any officer for whom specific provision is not made either
in this Charter or in the Optional City Government Law, then such
act or thing shall be done by and such powers shall be conferred and
duties imposed upon such officer as may be appointed pursuant to ordinance,
or otherwise, to perform like or similar duties. Wherever in any ordinance,
regulation, resolution or bylaw or in any statute it is provided that
any act or thing may be done or performed or any license, permit or
permission granted by any body, officer or head of a department, the
same may be done, performed or granted by such body, department or
officer if continued under this Charter or any ordinance, and, if
not so continued, then by the body, department or officer exercising
and discharging like powers, functions or duties.
A.
Wherever it is provided in any franchise given by
the City, or in any bond, contract or other agreement in favor of
the City, that any act or thing shall be done or demand or notice
made or given by any officer of the City therein named, such act may
be done or demand or notice made or given by the officer, body or
department named, if there is such, and, if not, by the officer, board
or body possessing or discharging like powers, functions or duties.
B.
Such franchise, bond, contract or agreement shall
not in any manner be impaired by the passage of this Charter but shall
continue in full force, and the duties imposed and the powers conferred
in and by any such franchise, bond, contract or agreement may thereafter
be exercised and discharged by the officer, body or department upon
whom or which is conferred like powers, functions or duties under
the provisions of this Charter or any ordinance, without regard to
the official name or designation of such officer, body or department.
The qualified voters of the City of Auburn having
heretofore adopted the simplified form of government defined as Plan
C under the Optional City Government Law, known as "Chapter 444 of
the Laws of 1914," this Charter is intended, besides consolidating
and revising the special acts relating to the City of Auburn and constituting
its Charter as there defined, to supplement the provisions of such
Optional City Government Law, particularly in reference to the plan
therein named and defined as Plan C, and is to be considered and construed
in connection therewith, in extension thereof and as supplemental
thereto, and the provisions of such general law shall be applicable
to the City as far as may be.