The town was established as a municipal government by the State of New York in 1788 and is vested with the powers and responsibilities inherent in the operation of a municipal government including the authority to tax real property and incur debt.
Governmental operations of the Town are subject to the provisions of the State constitution and various statutes affecting local governments including the Town Law, the General Municipal Law and the Local Finance Law. Real property assessment and tax collection procedures are determined by the Westchester County Tax Law, a basic feature of which requires that the Town guarantee and enforce the real property taxes levied by the County as well as school districts situated within the Town. The Real Property Tax Law, in part, also governs certain assessment and taxing procedures for the Town. Under Article 2 of the Town Law, the Town is classified as a first class town.
ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICALS
The Town Board is the legislative, appropriating, governing and policy determining body of the Town and consists of four board members, elected at large to serve a four year term, plus the Supervisor. Town Board members may serve an unlimited number of terms. It is the responsibility of the Town Board to enact, by resolution, all legislation including ordinances and local laws. Annual operating budgets for the Town must be approved by the Town Board; modifications and transfers between budgetary appropriations also must be authorized by the Town Board on the recommendation of the supervisor. The original issuance of all Town indebtedness is subject to approval by the Town Board.
The Supervisor is the chief executive officer and chief fiscal officer of the Town and is elected for a two-year term of office with the right to succeed himself. In addition, the Supervisor is a full member of and the presiding officer of the Town Board. Duties of the supervisor include: the administration of the Town's daily functions, budget preparation and control, treasury management and the renewal of notes evidencing short-term indebtedness. The Supervisor is assisted with many of his financial duties by the Town Comptroller.
The Town Clerk acts as the custodian of the Town's records as well as the clerk to the Town Board. Duties of this office include: recording and maintaining the minutes of the proceedings of the Town Board, issuing certain licenses and permits and processing freedom of information law (FOIL) requests. The Town Clerk is elected to a two-year term and may serve an unlimited number of terms.
The Receiver of Taxes is elected to serve a four-year term of office; the number of terms are not limited by law. It is the responsibility of the Receiver of Taxes to receive and collect all state, county, town and school taxes and all assessments levied or assessed in the Town.
The Town Assessor is appointed by the Town Board to serve a six-year term. It is the assessor's responsibility to appraise real property in the Town for the purpose of preparing and maintaining tax assessment rolls in the form prescribed by the State Board of Assessment and Equalization (the "State Board"). The State Board is required annually to determine the assessment of each special franchise in the Town that is subject to assessment. In addition, the State Board provides an advisory service to assist with the assessment of certain forested lands, public utilities or unusually complex properties. Assessment review procedures include examination of the tentative assessment roll in the assessor's presence, a public hearing before an independent board of assessment review and, finally, judicial review in State Supreme
Court.
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