§ 150. Establishment of town police departments. 1. The town board of
any town may establish a police department and appoint a chief of police
and such officers as may be needed and fix their compensation. The
compensation of such police officers shall be a town charge; providing
however, no assessment on property in any village within any town or
partially within any town shall be made for the maintenance or operation
of a town police department established after January first, nineteen
hundred sixty, pursuant to this section if any such village maintains a
police department of four or more police officers on an annual full-time
basis, established and maintained under the rules of civil service. The
town board may, at its option, determine that the town shall pay all or
part of the cost of the uniforms and necessary equipment of its police
officers, and may purchase such equipment for use by the police
department as it shall deem necessary, including police patrol vehicles,
and emergency service vehicles for police use in connection with
accidents, public calamities or other emergencies. No assessment on
property in any village within any town in the county of Suffolk or in
any village within the town of Fallsburgh shall be made for the
maintenance or operation of such town police department, if any such
village maintains a police department of two or more police officers on
an annual basis. In the event that a town has established a police
department prior to January first, nineteen hundred sixty, the town
board of such town may enter into an agreement with any village within
it or partially within it which maintains a police department of four or
more police officers on an annual full-time basis, established and
maintained under the rules of civil service and determine therein what
part of the cost thereof shall be assessed against the property in the
village and what part thereof shall be assessed against the property in
the town outside of the village. Thereafter such portion of the cost
thereof determined to be assessed outside of the village shall be a
charge against that part of the town outside of the village and
assessed, levied and collected from the taxable property of that part of
the town outside of the village. When appointed, such police officers
shall have all the powers and be subject to all the duties and
liabilities of a police officer in all criminal actions and proceedings
and special proceedings of a criminal nature.

2. The town board of a town in which such a police department has been
established at any time by resolution may establish a board of police
commissioners for such town and appoint one or three police
commissioners who shall at the time of their appointment and throughout
their term of office be electors of such town, and who shall serve
without compensation, and at the pleasure of the town board. If the town
board shall appoint only one such police commissioner, it shall in
addition designate two members of the town board to serve as members of
such police commission. The town board may also by resolution designate
the supervisor to serve as police commissioner, and when so designated,
such supervisor shall have all the powers of and perform the duties of
such board of police commissioners. When either of such boards of police
commissioners shall have been established or supervisor designated as
police commissioner, such board of police commissioners or police
commissioner shall have and exercise all the powers relative to police
matters conferred upon the town board pursuant to this article. The town
board may by resolution at any time abolish such police commission or
revoke the designation of such supervisor as police commissioner and
thereupon the town board only shall exercise the powers conferred upon
it by this article.

3. The town board of a town, upon establishing or abolishing a police
department, shall notify the commissioner of the division of criminal
justice services of such action within thirty days thereafter.

4. Any local law which seeks to abolish a town police department shall
be subject to a permissive referendum as provided in article seven of
this chapter.