Town of Greenburgh, NY Contractors

The Town Board hereby finds that measures must be taken in order to ensure the security of the residents of the Town of Greenburgh when entry must be made into their homes by employees of contractors who have entered into contracts with the Town. It is in the interest of providing such security, rather than as a revenue-raising measure, that the following chapter is enacted.

§ 150-3 Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

CONTRACTOR

Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity who has entered into a contract with or is otherwise engaged by the Town of Greenburgh, to perform and complete work which involves entry into homes of residents of the Town of Greenburgh.

EMPLOYEE

Any person employed by a contractor or by any subcontractor whose duties entail entering the homes of residents of the Town of Greenburgh or supervising employees who enter the homes of residents.

HOMES

Any single-family, two-family, or multifamily dwelling or any cooperative or condominium.

LICENSING UNIT

The licensing unit of the Police Department of the Town of Greenburgh.

POLICE CHIEF

The Chief of the Police Department of the Town of Greenburgh.

SUBCONTRACTOR

Any person, individual, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity supplying labor and materials or labor only for work to be performed under separate agreement with a contractor, which subcontractor's work involves entry into the homes of residents of the Town of Greenburgh.

§ 150-4 Contractor certification.

In addition to any applications required to be submitted by the contractor pursuant to § 150-5 hereof, the contractor shall also submit to the licensing unit an application for its own certification. Such application shall be signed by the individual proprietor of such business or by a partner or by the proper corporate official, as is appropriate for the contractor seeking the certification, and shall include, among other items which may be required by the licensing unit:

(1)

The name, address and telephone number of the contractor and the form of business organization it is organized under (i.e., individual proprietorship, partnership or corporation).

(2)

The name, date of birth, social security number, address and telephone number of the owner, if an individual proprietorship, each partner, including general, limited and silent partners, if a partnership, or each and every director, principal officer and stockholder holding more than 20% of a corporation's authorized and issued stock, and state where incorporated, if the contractor is a corporation, and the principal manager supervising operations in the Town of Greenburgh.

(3)

Two recent photographs of the principal manager responsible for operations in the Town of Greenburgh.

Action on applications by contractors. The licensing unit shall cause a report on the applicant to be prepared, based upon the information contained in the application, together with such other relevant information as may be obtained pertaining to the applicant and his business.

(1)

On the basis of this report, the licensing unit shall, within 45 days after the receipt of an application for contractor certification, either approve or deny the issuance of such certification. Upon making a decision, it shall, by its commanding officer:

(a)

In the case of approval, notify the applicant, in writing, of the approval and issue the certification.

(b)

In the case of denial, notify the applicant, in writing, of the denial and of the basis for the denial. If the basis for the denial can be corrected, the writing shall so state, shall explain how the indicated corrections may be made and shall set a reasonable time limit for making such corrections. The notice of denial shall inform the applicant that he may appeal the denial to the Police Chief within 30 days after the receipt of the notice of denial by filing such notice of appeal with the Police Department and stating the basis for the appeal.

Suspension or revocation of contractor certification.

(1)

In addition to any penalties which may be imposed for the violation of certain provisions of this chapter, the licensing unit may suspend or revoke the certification of a contractor on the following grounds, among others:

(a)

Fraud, misrepresentation or failure to provide information required to be made in an application for a certification.

(b)

Failure or refusal to correct any deficiencies in equipment, procedures or operation within 30 days of receipt of notice of same or within such other time as shall be determined as reasonable by the licensing unit, if said deficiencies cannot be corrected within 30 days.

(c)

The conviction of an owner, partner, officer, stockholder or manager of such business of a crime, subject to the provisions of Articles 23 and 23A of the Correction Law.

(d)

Failure or refusal to comply with any order or notice issued by the Chief of Police pursuant to this section.

(e)

The commanding officer of the licensing unit shall have authority to suspend a contractor, pending the determination of criminal charges against those persons required to be identified on the contractor certification application or pending the correction of deficiencies set forth in Subsection C(1)(b) above.

(2)

After notice of revocation has been given, the contractor may continue to operate until all of its rights of appeal have been exhausted.

All provisions applicable to contractor certification shall also apply to any subcontractor as defined in this chapter.

§ 150-5 Employee certification.

Application for employee certification.

(1)

Within 30 days of the effective date of this chapter or upon the signing of a contract with the Town, whichever occurs later, any contractor or subcontractor, as defined in this chapter, must apply for and obtain a revocable certification for each employee who will be entering the homes of Town residents pursuant to the contract entered into between the contractor and the Town. There shall be one application filed for each employee to be certified.

(2)

Said applications shall be on a form(s) to be supplied by the licensing unit and shall include the following information, with respect to each employee to be certified, among other items which may be required by the licensing unit:

(a)

The employee's full name, date of birth, social security number, residence and business addresses and telephone numbers.

(b)

The employee's record of previous employment for the preceding five years.

(c)

The complete criminal record, if any, except for traffic infractions.

(d)

A statement by the employee, certifying that he or she will inform the Police Department, in writing, within 15 days of any changes in the information requested on the application, or of any arrests for criminal offenses.

(3)

As part of the application process, each employee shall appear at the Greenburgh Police Department for fingerprinting and shall remit such processing fee as is required by the Division of Criminal Justice Services of the State of New York.

Action on employee certification application.

(1)

Upon receipt of an application for employee certification, the licensing unit shall cause a background check to be conducted on such employee, based upon the information contained in the application, together with such other relevant information which may be obtained. No certification or identification card may be issued if:

(a)

The employee has been convicted of violating any federal, state or local law, other than a traffic infraction, subject to the provisions of Articles 23 and 23A of the Correction Law.

(b)

The application contains false, misleading or incomplete statements or omits information requested.

Identification card.

(1)

Upon issuance of employee certification, the Police Department shall issue an identification card to the employee.

(2)

The identification card required by this section shall be carried by the employee whenever the employee is engaged in work regulated by this chapter and shall be prominently exhibited by said employee in such a manner as to be visible to others without necessitating a request therefor.

(3)

The identification card shall contain the following information:

(a)

The name and address of the employee.

(b)

A photograph of the employee.

(c)

The signature of the employee.

(d)

The height, weight, hair color and eye color of the employee.

(e)

The date of issue and expiration date of the identification card, which shall correspond to the issue and expiration date of the employee's certification.

(f)

Name and address of the contractor employing or otherwise engaging the services of the employee.

Suspension and revocation of employee certification and identification card.

(1)

In addition to any penalties which may be imposed for the violation of this section, the licensing unit, by its commanding officer, may revoke or suspend the certification and identification card of an employee upon any of the following grounds:

(a)

Any grounds for the denial of employee certification, as set forth in Subsection B hereof, where applicable.

(b)

Failure to inform the Police Department of any arrests or other changes in the information provided on the application for employee certification, as provided for in this section.

(2)

The commanding officer of the licensing unit shall have the power to suspend an employee's certification and identification card pending the determination of those criminal charges set forth in Subsection D(1)(b).

(3)

The denial, suspension or revocation of any employee certification or identification card shall not invalidate the contract between the Town and the contractor.

§ 150-6 Duration and transferability of license; fees; penalties for offenses; hearings and appeals.

Certification and identification card fees.

(1)

All certifications and identification cards issued pursuant to this section shall be valid from the date of issue for the duration of the contract and shall be nontransferable.

(2)

Fees. The fee for employee certification and identification cards shall be $12 each, which shall be in addition to any fingerprinting charge.

Violations and penalties. In addition to the suspension or revocation of an employee's certification required by this chapter, a violation of this chapter may subject the violator to the following fines and penalties:

(1)

Contractors allowing an employee to enter townspeople's homes without proper certification.

(a)

First offense: a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $250; provided, however, that if the offender applies for and submits an application, properly completed, accompanied by the required fee within five business days of receipt of a summons for a violation, the court may dismiss the violation. For the purposes of this subsection, "business day" shall mean any calendar day except Saturday, Sunday or any legal holiday.

(b)

Second and subsequent offenses: not less than $250 nor more than $500.

(2)

Employees who enter townspeople's homes without proper certification and/or identification card.

(a)

First offense: not less than $25 nor more than $250.

(b)

Second and subsequent offenses: not less than $100 nor more than $250.

Hearing and appeals procedure for suspension, revocation or denial of certifications and/or identification cards required hereunder.

(1)

Whenever any certification or identification card is to be suspended, revoked or issuance denied, the commanding officer of the licensing unit shall mail a notice to the address of record of the contractor stating the reasons for such proposed action. Such notice shall establish a hearing date at which time the Police Chief or his designee shall conduct a hearing. Such hearing date shall be not less than seven days nor more than 15 days from the date of the mailing of the notice. At said hearing, the employee may be accompanied and be represented by counsel and shall have the right to testify in his own behalf and to cross-examine all witnesses against him. The hearing procedure shall be substantially in accord with the procedures set forth in Article 3 of the State Administrative Procedure Act.

(2)

The Chief of Police is authorized to appoint a designee as a Hearing Officer who shall be duly authorized to act as the presiding officer at any hearing authorized pursuant to this chapter. Such designee shall prepare proposed findings and recommendations based on such findings for the determination to be made by the Police Chief.

(3)

If the Chief of Police finds that the public health, safety or welfare requires emergency action and incorporates a finding to that effect, in an order, summary suspension of certificate or identification card may be ordered, effective on the dates specified in such order or upon the service of a certified copy of such order on the contractor or employee, whichever shall be later. Such suspension shall be for a period pending the proceedings for a revocation of the certification or identification card in question or other action, which proceeding shall be promptly instituted and determined.

(4)

Appeal from decision of Police Chief. An employee whose application has been denied or whose certification has been suspended or revoked by the Licensing Unit or the contractor employing him, after a hearing conducted pursuant to this section, may appeal the decision of the Police Chief to the Supreme Court by special proceeding pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.