N.Y. Village Law § 17-1703-A – Filling of town offices; election of officers

1. In any village as to which a town is created to be coterminous with such village, and in any village which after July first, two thousand twelve annexes territory to embrace the entire territory of a town, there shall be submitted to the voters in such village at the November general election next preceding the effective date of the creation of such town or annexation of such territory, a proposition as follows: "Shall the local government of operate PRINCIPALLY AS A VILLAGE or PRINCIPALLY AS A TOWN?" Such proposition shall be presented so that the choice to be indicated by the voter shall be either "VILLAGE" or "TOWN". In any village which annexed territory prior to July first, two thousand twelve to embrace the entire area of a town, the board of trustees may, upon its own motion, submit such a proposition to the voters of such village at the next succeeding November general election.
2. Upon the effective date of the creation of the town coterminous with a village, the mayor and the board of trustees of such village shall constitute respectively the interim supervisor and town board of such town for all purposes until their successors shall have been elected and commenced their terms of office as hereinbelow provided for. All other elected and appointed village officers shall constitute respectively and corresponding interim officers of such town until their respective successors shall have been elected or appointed, as the case may be, and commenced their terms of office as hereinbelow provided for or as otherwise regularly provided by law.
3. In any case in which the proposition provided for in subdivision one of this section shall have resulted in favor of the local government operating principally as a village, the holders of village offices shall, from and after the effective date of the creation of the town or annexation of such territory, by virtue thereof also hold town offices, as follows:
1. (a) The mayor and the board of trustees shall constitute respectively the supervisor and the town board.
2. (b) The assessor, clerk and treasurer of the village shall be, respectively, the assessor, clerk and receiver of taxes of the town, each for a term of office corresponding to the term of the village office, and the office of superintendent of highways of such town shall be held by such officer or employee of the village as the village board shall designate by resolution.
3. (c) Each village justice shall be apppointed to fill a vacancy in the office of town justice, and if there shall have been only one village justice in such village, then the village board shall appoint a second town justice to serve for the remainder of the then current calendar year and the office of acting village justice in such village, if any, shall be thereupon abolished. The term of any then incumbent village justice who shall become a town justice hereunder shall terminate at the end of the then current calendar year, notwithstanding that such justice may originally have been appointed or elected as a village justice for some longer term. Town justices shall be elected at the next ensuing village election for the remainder of the unexpired terms and thereafter at village elections for the terms of office regularly provided by law, and each town justice shall enter upon and commence his term of office at the January first next following his election. All elections of officers thereafter to be held shall be village elections, to be held in the same manner and at the same times as otherwise provided by law for the election of village officers, and there shall be no separate election of any town officers, except as provided above herein with respect to town justices.
4. In any case in which the proposition provided for in subdivision one of this section shall have resulted in favor of the local government operating principally as a town, then, at the regular village election next ensuing, all offices to be filled thereat shall be filled for terms to end at the conclusion of the then current calendar year. The term of office of each other elected village office shall also end at the conclusion of said then current calendar year, notwithstanding that any such term of office originally extended beyond such date. The offices of supervisor, four town councilmen and two town justices shall be filled by election as hereinafter provided at the November general election next following the effective date of the creation of such town or annexation of such territory; all other town offices shall be appointive. The election of the supervisor, councilmen and justices shall be for terms of office as follows:
1. (a) If such election is held in an odd-numbered year, then the term of office for supervisor shall be the term regularly provided by law; the terms of office for two councilmen shall be the terms regularly provided by law and the terms for the other two councilmen shall be two years each; the term for each justice shall be the term regularly provided by law. Upon the expiration of the two year term for councilmen as above provided, the terms for such offices shall be as regularly provided by law.
2. (b) If such election is held in an even-numbered year, then the term of office for supervisor shall be one year; the terms of office for councilmen shall be one year for two councilmen and three years for the other two councilmen and the terms of office for each justice shall be for the remainder of the then unexpired terms. Thereafter, each office shall be filled for the term regularly provided by law.
5. In any case in which the proposition provided for in subdivision one of this section shall have resulted in favor of the local government operating principally as a town, then each town officer elected or appointed as provided in subdivision four shall constitute also the corresponding village officer, and no separate election of village officers shall thereafter be held. All elections of town officers shall be held in the manner and at the times regularly provided by law for the election of town officers.
6. Nothing contained in this section shall diminish the power of the board of trustees pursuant to section 3-302 of this chapter or any other provision of law.