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.