Except as otherwise provided in this Charter,
all existing state, County, local and other laws or enactments, including
special acts having the force of law, shall continue in force until
lawfully amended, modified, superseded or repealed.
A.
Continuity shall exist in performance of all rights,
powers, duties and obligations attached to governmental functions
detailed in the provisions of this Charter. Any proceedings or other
business undertaken or commenced prior to the effective date of this
Charter may be conducted and completed by the County officer or administrative
unit responsible for those proceedings or that business under this
Charter or any Administrative Code adopted in connection with it.
B.
This Charter shall not invalidate any obligations
previously issued by the County or by any of its commissions, boards
or agencies, and these shall be and remain binding obligations of
the County. In the event any obligation shall have been issued in
anticipation of the issuance of bonds by the County, or by any of
its commissions, boards or agencies, the County is hereby empowered
to issue such bonds as legal and binding obligations of the County.
The civil service rights of all County employees
and their beneficiaries shall not be affected by this law. The civil
service rights of all employees transferred in any case authorized
by this law shall be continued as provided by the Civil Service Law.
Nothing contained in this Charter shall affect
the terms of office of County Clerk, District Attorney and Sheriff
as presently constituted.
A.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, all
County departments, boards, offices and units shall continue as provided
by law.
B.
Any County officer appointed for a fixed term prior
to the effective date of this Charter shall continue his or her office
for the balance of the unexpired term.
C.
Nothing contained in this Charter is intended to constitute
a transfer of any function or duty from any town or village or an
abolition of any office, department, or unit of government of a town
or village in the County. If any provision of this Charter is construed
by any court of competent jurisdiction to constitute any such transfer
or abolition, such provision shall be deemed to be optional as it
affects the towns or villages and shall be effective only upon approval
by the governing boards of such towns or villages.
D.
Additional appointments to be made by the County Executive.
The County Executive shall appoint the head of any administrative
unit not provided for in this Charter, subject to the confirmation
of the Legislature. All such appointees shall serve at the pleasure
of the County Executive and have such powers and duties as shall be
provided by law, except where such law shall be inconsistent with
this Charter within the limits prescribed in Article 4 of the Municipal
Home Rule Law.
E.
Miscellaneous administrative functions. Administrative
functions not otherwise assigned by this Charter or the Administrative
Code shall be assigned by the County Executive to an appropriate Administrative
Unit.
If any provision of this law is not clear or
requires elaboration in its application, the County Legislature may
interpret that provision in a local law, not inconsistent with the
provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
This Charter shall be subject to a mandatory
referendum and shall be submitted for the approval of the electors
of the County of Ulster at the next general election to be held on
November 7, 2006. In the event this Charter is approved by a majority
of the electors thereon, the provisions provided herein for the election
of a County Executive and a County Comptroller shall become effective,
and there shall be an election for the offices of County Executive
and County Comptroller to be held at the general election in November
2008. The provisions of the remainder of this Charter shall be effective
on and after January 1, 2009. An Administrative Code may be adopted
and amended by local law at any time subsequent to the approval and
adoption of this Charter.
If part of any provision of this Charter shall
be judged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, that
adjudication shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
of that provision but shall be confined in its effect to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, section or article determined to be invalid by
the Court.
If any date specified in this Charter falls,
in any year, on a Saturday, Sunday or legal County holiday, then such
date shall be deemed to refer to the next succeeding date which is
not a Saturday, Sunday or legal County holiday.
A.
This Charter may be amended in the manner provided
by the Municipal Home Rule Law. Any proposed amendment which would
have the effect of transferring a function or duty of the County,
or of a city, town, village, district or other unit of local government
wholly contained within the County, shall not become operative unless
it is approved by mandatory referendum as required by the Municipal
Home Rule Law.
B.
Further, any amendment which would create or abolish
an elective County office, change the power or method of removing
an elective County officer during his or her term of office, abolish,
curtail or transfer to another County office or agency any power of
an elected County officer, or change the form or composition of the
County Legislature shall be subject to a mandatory referendum.
A.
The performance of functions pursuant to the provisions
of this Charter shall be deemed to constitute a continuation of such
functions for the purpose of succession to all rights, powers, duties
and obligations attached to such functions. Any proceedings or other
business undertaken or commenced prior to the effective date of this
Charter may be conducted and completed by the County officer or administrative
unit responsible for such proceedings or other business under this
Charter.
B.
This Charter shall not be deemed to invalidate any
obligations previously issued by the County or by any of its commissions,
boards or agencies, and such obligations shall be and remain binding
obligations of the County. In the event any obligation shall have
been issued in anticipation of the issuance of the bonds by the County,
or by any of its commissions, boards or agencies, the County is hereby
empowered to issue such bonds as legal and binding obligations of
the County.
This Charter shall be submitted to the electors
of Ulster County at the general election occurring November 7, 2006.
