[HISTORY: Adopted by the Tompkins County Legislature 6-21-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016; amended in its entirety 12-17-2019 by L.L. No. 9-2019. Subsequent amendments noted where
applicable.]
The County Legislature hereby finds that in order to assure
an adequate pool of qualified applicants for the offices of Correction
Officer and Assistant District Attorney within the Tompkins County
Sheriff's Office and Tompkins County District Attorney's
Office, and to retain such applicants if hired, it is necessary and
advisable that individuals holding said positions within the County
of Tompkins be permitted to reside either within the County of Tompkins
or any other county in New York State. Therefore, the Tompkins County
Legislature hereby adopts the following exemption from any provision
of the New York State Public Officers Law imposing more restrictive
residency qualification for holding the office of Correction Officer
or Assistant District Attorney with the County of Tompkins.
In the County of Tompkins, the provisions of Section 3(1) of
the Public Officers Law requiring a person to be a resident of the
political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state for which
such person shall be chosen or within which such person's official
functions are required to be exercised shall not prevent a person
from holding the office of Correction Officer or Assistant District
Attorney within the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office or Tompkins
County District Attorney's Office; provided, however, that such
person performing the duties and functions of Corrections Officer
or Assistant District Attorney resides in Tompkins County or any county
within New York State. Any contrary provision of the Public Offices
Law is hereby superseded by this chapter.
A.
The provisions of Section 3(1) of the Public Officers Law requiring
a person to be a resident of the political subdivision or municipal
corporation of the state for which such person shall be chosen or
within which such person's official functions are required to
be exercised shall be required to reside within Tompkins County and
where the appointment to which is vested in the County Administrator
or the County Legislature, the County Administrator or the County
Legislature may grant a written waiver of residency in accordance
with the following standards:
(1)
Lack of applicants. The requirement of residency may be waived in
those instances where the County has difficulty hiring or promoting
the most qualified person because of its residency requirement or
no qualified resident has applied.
(2)
Show for good cause. The requirement of residency may be waived for
a current employee of the County who moves outside of the County for
good cause shown.
B.
The County Administrator shall provide written notice to the County
Legislature as soon as such waiver is deemed necessary prior to appointment.
C.
The exception to this section is the position of County Administrator,
who shall be subject to the provisions of Section 3(1) of the Public
Officers Law requiring a person to be a resident of the political
subdivision or municipal corporation of the state for which such person
shall be chosen or within which such person's official functions
are required to be exercised shall be required to reside within Tompkins
County.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or
part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, such judgment shall not impair or invalidate the remainder
hereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence,
paragraph, or section directly involved in the controversy in which
judgment shall have been rendered.
