City of Auburn, NY General Provisions

In accordance with Subdivision 3 of § 20 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, the 1991 Municipal Code of the City of Auburn, as adopted 3-28-1991 by Local Law No. 2-1991, and subsequent local laws and ordinances of the City of Auburn, as codified by General Code Publishers Corp., and consisting of the Charter and Chapters 1 through 305, together with an Appendix, shall be known collectively as the "Code of the City of Auburn," hereafter termed the "Code." Wherever reference is made in any of the local laws and ordinances contained in the Code of the City of Auburn to any other local law or ordinance appearing in said Code, such reference shall be changed to the appropriate chapter title, chapter number, article number or section number where such legislation appears in the Code, as if such local law or ordinance had been formally amended to so read.

§ 1-2 Continuation of existing provisions.

The provisions of the Code, insofar as they are substantively the same as those of the 1991 Municipal Code and subsequent local laws and ordinances in force immediately prior to the enactment of the Code by this local law, are intended as a continuation of such local laws and ordinances and not as new enactments, and the effectiveness of such provisions shall date from the date of adoption of the prior local law or ordinance. All such provisions are hereby continued in full force and effect and are hereby reaffirmed as to their adoption by the City Council of the City of Auburn, and it is the intention of said Council that each such provision contained within the Code is hereby reaffirmed as it appears in said Code. Only such provisions of former local laws and ordinances as are omitted from this Code shall be deemed repealed or abrogated by the provisions of § 1-3 below.

§ 1-3 Repeal of enactments not included in Code.

All local laws and ordinances of a general and permanent nature of the City of Auburn in force on the date of the adoption of this local law and not contained in such Code or recognized and continued in force by reference therein are hereby repealed from and after the effective date of this local law.

§ 1-4 Enactments saved from repeal; matters not affected.

The repeal of local laws and ordinances provided for in § 1-3 of this local law shall not affect the following classes of local laws, ordinances, rights and obligations, which are hereby expressly saved from repeal:

Any right or liability established, accrued or incurred under any legislative provision of the City of Auburn prior to the effective date of this local law or any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of such right or liability.

Any offense or act committed or done before the effective date of this local law in violation of any legislative provision of the City of Auburn or any penalty, punishment or forfeiture which may result therefrom.

Any prosecution, indictment, action, suit or other proceeding pending or any judgment rendered prior to the effective date of this local law brought pursuant to any legislative provision of the City of Auburn.

Any agreement entered into or any franchise, license, right, easement or privilege heretofore granted or conferred by the City of Auburn.

Any local law or ordinance of the City of Auburn providing for the laying out, opening, altering, widening, relocating, straightening, establishing grade, changing name, improvement, acceptance or vacation of any right-of-way, easement, street, road, highway, park or other public place within the City of Auburn or any portion thereof.

Any local law or ordinance of the City of Auburn appropriating money or transferring funds, promising or guaranteeing the payment of money or authorizing the issuance and delivery of any bond of the City of Auburn or other instruments or evidence of the City's indebtedness.

Local laws or ordinances authorizing the purchase, sale, lease or transfer of property or any lawful contract, agreement or obligation.

The levy or imposition of special assessments or charges.

The annexation or dedication of property.

Any local law or ordinance relating to salaries and compensation.

Any local law or ordinance amending the Zoning Map.

Any local law or ordinance relating to or establishing a pension plan or pension fund for City employees.

Any local law or ordinance or portion of a local law or ordinance establishing a specific fee amount for any license, permit or service obtained from the City.

Any local law or ordinance establishing an economic development zone.

Any local law or ordinance establishing a drug-free school zone.

Any local law or ordinance providing for a retirement incentive program.

Any local law or ordinance establishing personnel policies and regulations, including the Management Ordinance and all amendments thereto.

Ordinance No. 25-1995, establishing a sales and use tax, and all amendments thereto.

Any local law adopted subsequent to 4-1-2001.

§ 1-5 Severability.

If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, article, chapter or part of this local law or of any local law, ordinance or resolution included in this Code now or through supplementation shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, article, chapter or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

§ 1-6 Copy of Code on file.

A copy of the Code, in loose-leaf form, has been filed in the office of the City Clerk of the City of Auburn and shall remain there for use and examination by the public until final action is taken on this local law; and, if this local law shall be adopted, such copy shall be certified to by the City Clerk of the City of Auburn by impressing thereon the Seal of the City of Auburn, and such certified copy shall remain on file in the office of said City Clerk to be made available to persons desiring to examine the same during all times while the said Code is in effect. The enactment and publication of this local law, coupled with the availability of a copy of the Code for inspection by the public, shall be deemed, held and considered to be due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code for all purposes.

§ 1-7 Amendments to Code.

Any and all additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to any of the local laws, ordinances and resolutions known collectively as the "Code of the City of Auburn" or any new local laws, ordinances or resolutions, when enacted or adopted in such form as to indicate the intention of the City Council to be a part thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated into such Code so that reference to the Code shall be understood and intended to include such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements. Whenever such additions, deletions, amendments or supplements to the Code shall be enacted or adopted, they shall thereafter be printed and, as provided hereunder, inserted in the loose-leaf book containing said Code as amendments and supplements thereto. Nothing contained in this local law shall affect the status of any local law, ordinance or resolution contained herein, and such local laws, ordinances or resolutions may be amended, deleted or changed from time to time as the City Council deems desirable.

§ 1-8 Code book to be kept up-to-date.

It shall be the duty of the City Clerk to keep up-to-date the certified copy of the book containing the Code of the City of Auburn required to be filed in the office of the City Clerk for use by the public. All changes in said Code and all local laws, ordinances and resolutions adopted by the City Council subsequent to the enactment of this local law in such form as to indicate the intention of said City Council to be a part of said Code shall, when finally enacted or adopted, be included therein by temporary attachment of copies of such changes, local laws, ordinances or resolutions until such changes, local laws, ordinances or resolutions are printed as supplements to said Code book, at which time such supplements shall be inserted therein.

§ 1-9 Sale of Code book; supplementation.

Copies of the Code, or any chapter or portion of it, may be purchased from the City Clerk, or an authorized agent of the Clerk, upon the payment of a fee to be set by resolution of the City Council. The Clerk may also arrange for procedures for the periodic supplementation of the Code.

§ 1-10 Penalties for tampering with Code.

Any person who, without authorization from the City Clerk, changes or amends, by additions or deletions, any part or portion of the Code of the City of Auburn or who alters or tampers with such Code in any manner whatsoever which will cause the legislation of the City of Auburn to be misrepresented thereby or who violates any other provision of this local law shall be guilty of an offense and shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 15 days, or both.

§ 1-11 Changes in previously adopted legislation.

In compiling and preparing the local laws and ordinances for publication as the Code of the City of Auburn, no changes in the meaning or intent of such local laws or ordinances have been made, except as provided in Subsection B. Certain grammatical changes and other minor nonsubstantive changes were made in one or more of said pieces of legislation. It is the intention of the City Council that all such changes be adopted as part of the Code as if the local laws and ordinances had been previously formally amended to read as such.

The following amendments are made herewith, to become effective upon the effective date of this local law:

(1)

Throughout the Code, references to the "City Engineer" are amended to read "Superintendent of Engineering Services."[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: In accordance with Subsection B(1), any references in the Code to the "City Engineer" will be revised to read "Superintendent of Engineering Services" during routine supplementation.

(2)

In Chapter 1, § 1-14, the definition of "Superintendent of Water and Sewage Treatment" is amended to read as follows:

DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES

The City officer in charge of the water supply system, sewage treatment, solid waste and hydropower.

(3)

In Chapter 1, § 1-14, the definition of "City Engineer" is amended to read as follows:

SUPERINTENDENT OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

The head of the Engineering Department which oversees contract services for survey, design and construction management; building maintenance; and streetlighting.

§ 1-12 Incorporation of provisions into Code.

The provisions of this local law are hereby made Article I of Chapter 1 of the Code of the City of Auburn, such local law to be entitled "General Provisions, Article I, Adoption of Code," and the sections of this local law shall be numbered §§ 1-1 to 1-13, inclusive.

§ 1-13 When effective.

This local law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State of the State of New York.

Article II Use and Construction

[Adopted 3-28-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991 as §§ 1.2, 1.3 and 1.8 through 1.15 of the 1991 Code]

§ 1-14 Definitions and word usage.

Specific terms. As used in this Code, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ASSESSOR OR CITY ASSESSOR

The Assessor of the City of Auburn.

CHARTER

The Auburn City Charter.

CHIEF OF POLICE

The Chief of Police of the City of Auburn.

CITY CLERK

The City Clerk of the City of Auburn.

CITY COMPTROLLER

The City Comptroller of the City of Auburn and serves as the Chief Fiscal Officer.

CITY JUDGE

The Administrative City Judge, the Associate City Judge or Acting City Judge while presiding over the City Court of Auburn.

CITY MANAGER

The City Manager of the City of Auburn.

CITY, THIS CITY OR CITY OF AUBURN

The City of Auburn in the County of Cayuga and State of New York.

CITY TREASURER

The City Treasurer of the City of Auburn and serves as the custodian of all City funds.

CODE, THIS CODE OR MUNICIPAL CODE

The City of Auburn Municipal Code.

CORPORATION COUNSEL

The legal officer of the City of Auburn.

COUNCILOR

A duly elected member of the Council, except the Mayor.

COUNCIL OR CITY COUNCIL

The elective legislative and governing body of the City of Auburn.

COUNTY

The County of Cayuga in the State of New York.

COUNTY CLERK

The County Clerk of the County of Cayuga in the State of New York.

COUNTY LEGISLATURE

The duly constituted legislative body of the County of Cayuga in the State of New York.

DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES

The City officer in charge of the water supply system, sewage treatment, solid waste and hydropower.

[Amended 2-28-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002]

DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION

The Director of Parks and Recreation of the City of Auburn.

DIRECTOR OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURE

The Director of Weights and Measure of the County of Cayuga.

ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

The officer or employee designated by appropriate authority to be in charge of and responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of a local law, ordinance, code or regulations or parts thereof, for which he or she is so designated.

FIRE CHIEF

The Fire Chief for the City of Auburn.

LAW

A state statute, charter, local law, ordinance, or resolution.

LOCAL LAW

A law adopted pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law or to other authorization of a state statute or the Charter by the Council, or proposed by a Charter Commission or by petition, and ratified by a popular vote, as provided in Article 4 of the Municipal Home Rule Law or as provided in a state statute, the Charter or local law, but shall not mean or include an ordinance, resolution or other similar act of the Council or of any other board or body of this City.

MAYOR

The Mayor of the City of Auburn.

MUNICIPAL CODE

See "Code."

MUNICIPALITY

The City of Auburn.

ORDINANCE

A legislative act of the Council which is permanent in nature, unless specifically self-limiting, general in its application and may or may not contain penal provisions for its violation as enacted in accordance with the provisions of the Auburn City Charter or state law.

OWNER

A person who has the legal title, alone or with others, or exercises dominion or control over property, both real and personal.

PERSON

One or more persons of either sex, natural persons, corporations, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all other entities capable of being used.

PUBLIC PLACE

Any public sidewalk, street, highway, parking lot, bathing beach, public park or such other public place as defined by § 240.00 of the Penal Law of the State of New York.

RESOLUTION

A legislative act of the Council which is limited in its application or of a temporary nature, or both, and shall include all orders, rules, motions, and all other legislative acts except local laws and ordinances.

STATE

The State of New York.

SUPERINTENDENT OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

The head of the Engineering Department which oversees contract services for survey, design and construction management; building maintenance; and streetlighting.

[Amended 2-28-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002]

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

The Superintendent of Public Works of the City of Auburn.

Applicability of the General Construction Law. Words not otherwise above described and defined in the General Construction Law shall have the same meanings as defined therein.

Names of officers, boards, departments, commissions and other agencies. The names of officers, boards, departments, commissions and other agencies used in this Code shall be construed as though the words "of the City of Auburn, New York" were added unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires.

Other words. All other words used in this Code and not otherwise specifically defined shall be construed in the manner that they are normally used unless the context or subject matter requires otherwise, but words that have acquired a technical meaning in law and are so used shall be construed and understood in accordance with such meaning.

§ 1-15 Rules of construction.

Words used in the present tense include the future tense.

The singular number includes the plural.

"Or" may be read "and" and "and" may be read "or" if the sense requires it.

A word importing the masculine gender only shall also be construed to include females, corporations, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all other entities capable of being sued.

§ 1-16 Annotations and material contained in brackets.

Any material contained in brackets shall not be deemed to be a part of this Code. Such material contained therein is intended to show the adoption date, effective date and comments on any changes. Likewise, any commentaries, footnotes, cross-references, citations of authority or other annotations shall not be deemed a part of this Code but are inserted editorially solely to assist in the use and interpretation of this Code.

§ 1-17 Conflicting provisions.

Wherever the requirements of any chapter or portion thereof are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rule, regulation, chapter or other enactment, the most restrictive or that imposing the highest standards shall govern unless a contrary intent is expressly stated.

§ 1-18 General penalty.

Unless otherwise specifically provided, the violation of any chapter, rule or regulation or any specific provision or provisions thereof adopted by the Council as a part of this Code shall be deemed a violation against such chapter, rule, regulation, or provisions of this Code punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment; provided, however, that for the purpose of conferring jurisdiction upon courts and judicial officers generally, such violation shall be deemed a misdemeanor and for such purpose only all provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply to such violation, except the right to a jury trial. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed to be a separate violation.

§ 1-19 Failure of officers or employees to perform duties.

The failure of any officer or employee of the City to perform any official act imposed by this Code shall not be an offense and shall not subject such officer or employee to the penalty imposed for the violation of any provision of this Code, unless a penalty is specifically provided therefor.

§ 1-20 Deputies, assistants and representatives.

Wherever any officer of the City is granted certain powers or duties or is designated as the enforcement officer of a specific chapter or portion thereof, it shall also be construed to include the deputies, assistants and representatives of such officer as may be designated, delegated or authorized by such officer to exercise such powers or duties. While acting within the scope of their employment, it shall be presumed that all acts performed by such deputies, assistants and representatives were duly delegated and authorized.

§ 1-21 Supplementation.

It is intended that appropriate and compatible titles, chapter and section numbers, and catch lines shall be used in enacting any new ordinances or local laws of a general nature by the Council and which are to be a part of this Code. However, in case of the failure to provide the same in any ordinance or local law adopted by the Council, they may be provided editorially and read before any court, except that the catch lines shall not be used in interpreting the meaning of any section or part thereof but shall be considered only for the purpose of facilitating the use of this Code.

In case of amendments to existing provisions in this Code which do not conform to the format contained in this Code, they may be reworded editorially to conform to the format contained therein, provided that no change in the meaning or intent of such amendment shall be made.

§ 1-22 Interpretation.

The provisions of this Code shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate the purposes for which this Code and the ordinances contained herein are enacted.