A.
There shall be a Department of Finance under
the direction of a Commissioner of Finance. The Commissioner of Finance
shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the County Executive,
subject to confirmation by the County Legislature. He or she shall
be appointed on the basis of his or her experience and qualifications
in financial administration and other specified duties of this office
and shall be directly responsible to the County Executive.
B.
Powers and duties. The Commissioner of Finance
shall be the chief fiscal officer of the County. Except as
may otherwise be provided in the Charter, he or she shall:
(1)
Have charge of the administration of all the
financial affairs of the County;
(2)
Have access to all source documents from any and all
financial institutions at all times; and he or she shall have the
authority to request such documents directly from those financial
institutions;
(3)
Collect, receive, have custody of, deposit,
invest and disburse all revenues, fees and other funds of the County
or for which the County is responsible;
(4)
Conduct the sale of all bonds pursuant to the provisions
of the Local Finance Law, and shall keep a record of all indebtedness,
bonded or otherwise, of the County;
(5)
Act as the enforcing officer of the County
for the purpose of the collection of tax liens on real property pursuant
to Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York;
(6)
Have all the powers and duties conferred upon
a public administrator pursuant to the Surrogate's Court Procedure
Act of the State of New York, except that any and all fees received
in the performance of such duties shall be the property of the County
of Ulster; and all costs and expenses associated therewith
shall first be an expense of the estate, and then shall be an expense
of the County;
(7)
Perform all duties specified in law for county
treasurers or other county officers relating to the collection and/or
extension of taxes;
(8)
Submit a complete statement of County finance
to the County Executive and the County Legislature on or before the
first day of March or at a later time in the event that an
extension is authorized by the State Comptroller, and at such
other times as either may require;
[Amended 8-14-2012 by L.L. No. 9-2012 [2]]
[2]
Editor’s Note: This local law was approved at referendum
by a majority of the duly qualified voters 11-6-2012.
(9)
Prepare and submit to the County Executive annually,
on such date and on such forms as the County Executive may prescribe,
such information as is required in preparation of the tentative County
budget;
(10)
Prepare and authorize payroll with appropriate certification;
(11)
Report on an annual basis and maintain accounting
of the inventory of the County; and
(12)
Have all the powers and perform all the duties
conferred or imposed by law upon a County Commissioner of Finance
and perform such other duties required by the County Executive or
County Legislature.
[Amended 8-14-2012 by L.L. No. 9-2012 [3]]
[3]
Editor’s Note: This local law was approved at referendum
by a majority of the duly qualified voters 11-6-2012.
C.
There shall be, within the Department of Finance, an independent
Division of Real Property Tax Service under the direction of a Deputy
Commissioner of Finance/Director of Real Property Tax Service, who
shall be appointed by the County Executive and serve at the pleasure
of the County Executive. At the time of his or her appointment, and
throughout his or her term of office, he or she shall possess such
qualifications that conform to those prescribed by the State of New
York for county directors of real property tax service agencies pursuant
to Article 15-A, Section 1530 of the New York State Real Property
Tax Law. He or she shall be appointed on the basis of his or her administrative
experience and other qualifications for the responsibilities of this
office, except that if the Deputy Commissioner of Finance/Director
of Real Property Tax Service is appointed for a fixed term of years
pursuant to a provision of state law, he or she may only be removed
for cause, after written notice of charges and an opportunity to be
heard.
[Added 8-14-2012 by L.L. No. 7-2012]
D.
The independent Division of Real Property Tax Service shall:
[Added 8-14-2012 by L.L. No. 7-2012]
(1)
Have all of the powers and perform all of the duties conferred or
imposed by Article 15-A of the Real Property Tax Law, including but
not limited to the extension of real estate taxes, the issuance of
tax bills, the maintenance of County assessment records, the submission
to the County Executive of tax equalization rates and the rendering
of assistance to assessors throughout the County in the performance
of their respective responsibilities;
(2)
Prepare tax maps for the use of the assessor of all the assessing
units in the County; on such maps shall be shown each separately assessed
parcel of real property with its boundaries properly marked, pursuant
to the Real Property Tax Law;
(3)
Shall perform such other and related duties as required by the County
Executive; and
(4)
On or before March 1 of each year, make an annual report to the County
Executive and County Legislature for the immediately preceding calendar
year, covering generally the work of the division. The Deputy Commissioner
of Finance/Director of Real Property Tax Service shall make such other
reports at such times as may be required by the County Executive,
County Legislature or any applicable law. Copies of all reports shall
be filed with the County Executive and the Clerk of the County Legislature.
The person serving as County Treasurer
immediately prior to the time the Charter takes effect shall serve
as Commissioner of Finance until the end of December 31, 2009, at
which time the elected office of County Treasurer shall be abolished,
and after which the Commissioner of Finance shall be appointed as
provided herein.
A.
The Commissioner of Finance shall have the power to
appoint one or more Deputy Commissioners of Finance, within the limits
of appropriations therefor. Every appointment shall be in writing
and filed in the Office of the County Clerk and the Clerk of the Legislature.
B.
The term of office of any deputy appointed hereunder
shall coincide with that of the Commissioner of Finance, provided
that such appointment may be revoked at any time by the Commissioner
by written revocation filed with the County Clerk. Positions of Deputy
Commissioner may be in the exempt class of civil service; or in the
alternative, the deputy may also be an additional title which may
be designated by the Commissioner for a department staff member.
C.
Deputy Commissioners shall perform such duties pertaining
to the office of the Department of Finance as the Commissioner may
direct and shall act generally for and in such place of the Commissioner
and perform such other and further duties as the Commissioner may
assign.
D.
The designation of an order of succession for the
position of Deputy Commissioner shall be filed with the County Clerk
and the Clerk of the County Legislature and may be revoked at any
time by the Commissioner filing a new written designation of order
of succession.
The Commissioner of Finance, subject
to approval by the County Executive, shall designate in writing, and
in order of succession, the deputies and/or assistants who shall be
Acting Commissioner of Finance in the event of his or her absence
from the County or inability to perform and exercise the powers and
duties of his or her office. That designation shall be filed with
the County Clerk and the Clerk of the County Legislature and may be
revoked at any time by the Commissioner filing an approved new written
designation and order of succession. The Acting Commissioner of Finance
shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of the Commissioner.
The Commissioner of Finance shall not be an officer, director or stockholder of any depository or depositories designated by the County Executive pursuant to § C-25J of the Charter, nor any business proposing to supply equipment, supplies, materials or service to the County.
The Commissioner of Finance, and such of his
or her deputies, officers and employees as the County Legislature
or the County Executive shall require, shall file a surety bond to
the County in a sum fixed by the County Legislature conditioned for
the faithful performance of his or her duties. Such bond shall be
approved as to form by the County Attorney and as to sufficiency of
surety by the County Executive, and shall be filed with the County
Clerk. It shall be a charge on the County.
The Seal of the County of Ulster shall be the
Seal of the Commissioner of Finance. Such Seal shall be used for all
authorized and required purposes.
