HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.nyscompop/nyscomo2009 and id is 1 raw text is: Opinion 2009 - 1
Opinion 2009 - 1
This opinion represents the views of the Office of the State Comptroller at the
time it was rendered. The opinion may no longer represent those views if, among
other things, there have been subsequent court cases or statutory amendments
that bear on the issues discussed in the opinion.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST -- Codes of Ethics (requiring disclosure and
recusal by fire district commissioner whose spouse is to be appointed treasurer)
-- Family Relationships (spouse of fire district commissioner as appointed
treasurer)
FIRE DISTRICTS --Treasurer (spouse of fire district commissioner as
appointed treasurer)
GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW §§ 800(3), 801, 806; TOWN LAW §§ 174,
175: There is no statutory or common law prohibition against the appointment
of the spouse of a member of a board of fire commissioners to the office of fire
district treasurer. The fire district, however, should ascertain whether its code of
ethics requires a member of the board of fire commissioners whose spouse is to
be appointed as treasurer to disclose the relationship, recuse himself or herself
from discussions on the appointment and on other resolutions relating
specifically to the treasurer, and abstain from voting on such matters. Even if
the fire district's code of ethics does not require disclosure, abstention and
recusal, the affected board member should disclose the relationship, and recuse
himself or herself from discussions, and abstain from voting, on the
appointment of his or her spouse to the office of treasurer and on other matters
relating solely or primarily to the treasurer.
You ask whether the spouse of a member of a fire district board of
commissioners may serve as an appointed fire district treasurer.
Town Law § 174 (2) provides for the election of a fire district treasurer for a
term of three years. Pursuant to Town Law § 176 (2-a), the office of fire district
treasurer may be converted to an appointive office by resolution of the board of
fire commissioners, subject to voter approval (see 1989 Ops St Comp No.
89-43, at 103).
There are certain statutory restrictions limiting eligibility for appointment or
election to the office of fire district treasurer. For example, a person who has
been convicted of arson in any degree is not eligible to hold the office of fire
district treasurer (Town Law §§ 174 [5], 175 [3]). Moreover, a person may not
hold the offices of fire district commissioner and fire district treasurer at the
same time (Town Law § 174 [4]). There is no similar statutory prohibition,
however, against the spouse of a fire district commissioner being appointed or
elected to the office of fire district treasurer (see 1983 Ops St Comp No.
83-129, at 163; cf. Public Officers Law § 3 [1]; Town Law § 175 [3]; compare
Education Law § 3016 [prohibiting any person from being employed as a
teacher by a school district if he or she is related by blood or marriage to any
member of the board of education, except by two-thirds vote of the board]). i In
addition, there is no common law prohibition against spouses holding offices in
Opinion 2009 - 1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.nyscompop/nyscomo2009&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)