Fire District Officers

• Pages: 69-118
• Author: Raymond S. Diraddo

FIRE DISTRICT

OFFICERS

CHAPTER 1

FIRE DISTRICT OFFICERS

FIRE DISTRICT

OFFICERS

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FIRE DISTRICT

OFFICERS

1-3 Fire District Officers §1:20

§1:10 THE FIRE DISTRICT AS A

POLITICAL SUBDIVISION

A re district is a political subdivision of the State

and a district corporation. The re commissioners and

other ocers and employees of the re district are

employees and ocers of the re district and not o-

cers and employees of the town or of any other political

subdivision. Town Law §174 (7). The re district is also

an independent corporate entity governed by a separate

board of re commissioners. This is not to be confused

with a re protection district which is simply a geo-

graphic area, with no independent corporate status for

which the town board is responsible for providing re

protection. 1981 Opinion State Comptroller, #1.

§1:20 THE BOARD OF FIRE

COMMISSIONERS

A board of ve re commissioners governs every re

district in New York State. These commissioners are elected

by the qualied voters of the re district at the annual elec-

tion held on the second Tuesday of December of each year.

Town Law §175 (1). Each commissioner is elected for a

ve-year term commencing on the 1st of January following

the election. One commissioner is elected each year so that

there will always be experienced commissioners on the

board. Town Law §174 (2). Fire district commissioners

receive no compensation. Town Law §174 (3).

§1:20.1 Term of Office

Every re district commissioner, treasurer, deputy

treasurer and secretary must at the time of his or her

election or appointment and throughout his or her term

of oce be a resident of such re district. When the

position of re district treasurer or re district secretary

is appointive, and if no qualied resident of the district

is willing to perform the duties of re district treasurer

or re district secretary, a person who is a nonresident

of such re district may be appointed as re district

treasurer or re district secretary. Membership in a

volunteer re company shall not disqualify any such

re district commissioner, treasurer, deputy treasurer

or secretary. Property ownership is not required.

The above notwithstanding, an elected town clerk

may also be a member of a board of re commission-

ers of a re district within that town. Opinion of the

Attorney General No. 99-40. Care must be taken, how-

ever, when the issue of residency surfaces. A temporary

change of residence out of the re district does not

aect the commissioner’s eligibility to continue to hold

oce, so long as the individual has no intent to change

domicile. Opinion of the Attorney General No. I 99-37.

§1:20.2 Qualifications of

Fire District Officers

A person may not hold the position of chief or

assistant chief and re commissioner at the same time.

If a chief is elected as a re commissioner, he ceases

to be chief; and if a commissioner is nominated for the

oce of chief, he cannot vote as a commissioner upon

such nomination; and, if such nomination is approved

by the board of re commissioners and the nominee

accepts the position of chief, he then ceases to be a

re commissioner and his oce becomes vacant and

his position is lled as indicated previously. A person

may not hold the oce of re commissioner and town

councilman or town supervisor concurrently. If a re

commissioner is elected to either of these oces, he

should resign as a re commissioner.

§1:20.3 Recusal and

Incompatible Positions

§1:20.3.1 Incompatible Positions

Generally, one person may hold two oces simul-

taneously unless a constitutional or statutory prohibition

bars concurrent holding of the positions, or unless the

oces are incompatible. O’Malley v. Macejka, 44

N.Y.2d 530 (1978).

If one position is subordinate to the other, or if

there is an inherent inconsistency between the two

oces, the positions are incompatible, and one person

may not hold both oces. People ex rel. Ryan v. Green,

58 N.Y. 295 (1874), O’Malley, 44 N.Y.2d at 535 (1978).

An individual may, at the same time, hold the

elected oces of commissioner of a water district and

commissioner of a re district. However, in that sit-

uation, the individual must recuse himself or herself

from participating in any matters relating to a contract

between the districts for installation and maintenance

of re hydrants, sale of water, and testing of backow

devices. If these or other matters involving the two dis-

tricts lead to frequent or substantial conicts, or would

interfere with such person’s ability to substantially per-

form his or her ocial duties of both positions, recusal

would not be an appropriate remedy, and the individual

may not hold both positions.

The positions of superintendent of a town water

district and re district commissioner are incompati-

ble where the re district enters into a contract with

a town for rental of re hydrants, and the town water

district superintendent was responsible for approving

the contract specications and the superintendent did

not have the option of recusing himself from approv-

ing the contract specications. Opinion of the Attorney

General No. 91-53 (inf.).