BILL NUMBER: S7417

SPONSOR: TEDISCO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to waiving the
residency requirement for the city attorney in the city of Johnstown,
Fulton county

 
PURPOSE:

To waives the residency requirement for the city attorney in the city of
Johnstown, Fulton County

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Section 3 of the public officers law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 72 to read as follows:

72. In the city of Johnstown, in the county of Fulton, the provisions of
this section requiring a person to be a resident of the political subdi-
              

vision or municipal corporation of the state for which he or she shall
be chosen or within which his or her official functions are required to
be exercised, shall not prevent a person from holding the office of city
attorney of the city of Johnstown, provided that such person resides in
Fulton county or an adjoining county within the state of New York;
provided, however that any person performing such functions or holding
the office of the city attorney in any other city shall be a resident of
such county unless otherwise provided by law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The City of Johnstown (a city with less than 9000 residents) in Fulton
County currently has limited flexibility to fill the position of City
Attorney due to a residency requirement.

The City Attorney's Office provides the Mayor, City Council, and City
officers, employees, and agencies with effective legal representation
and opinions on City affairs, and prosecutes violators of the City Code
of Ordinances, hence stability and consistency in this role is vital.

Furthermore, a high turnover of personnel is extremely costly to local
governments, particularly at a time when our localities are facing
fiscal challenges due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

This legislation would enable the Mayor of Johnstown to draw from a
larger pool for this important appointed position, while staying within
county lines.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None noted.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.