27 - Compensation of town officers and employees.

§  27.  Compensation of town officers and employees. 1. The town board  of each town shall fix, from time to time, the salaries of all  officers  and  employees of said town, whether elected or appointed, and determine  when the same shall be  payable.  The  town  board  shall  not  fix  the  salaries  of  the members of the town board, an elected town clerk or an  elected town superintendent of highways at an amount in  excess  of  the  amounts   respectively  specified  in  the  notice  of  hearing  on  the  preliminary budget published pursuant to section one  hundred  eight  of  this chapter. However, the annual salary of any such elected officer may  be increased, for not more than one fiscal year, in excess of the amount  specified  in  the notice of hearing on the preliminary budget local law  adopted pursuant to the municipal home rule law. Salaries  shall  be  in  lieu  of  all fees, charges or compensation for all services rendered to  the town or any district or subdivision thereof, pursuant to law, except  that the supervisor shall not be required to account for  and  pay  over  such  fees,  salary  or  other  compensation  that  he may receive or be  entitled to from the  county  in  which  he  is  elected,  for  services  rendered by him as a member of the board of supervisors. No town officer  or  employee  shall  retain  any  fees  or  moneys  received  by  him in  connection with his office but such fees or money shall be the  property  of  the  town and be paid to the supervisor not later than the fifteenth  day of each month following the receipt thereof, excepting such fees and  moneys the application and payment of which are otherwise  provided  for  by  law.    Every  officer or employee, except a town justice, is hereby  required to submit monthly to the supervisor a verified statement of all  moneys received by him and to pay such  moneys  to  the  supervisor  who  shall  deliver  his receipt therefor. Unless such verified statement and  payment be made, such officer or employee shall not be paid any  further  portion  of his salary until a report be submitted of any moneys paid as  herein provided. The said provisions shall  not  affect  a  receiver  of  taxes  and  assessments who deposits the money collected directly to the  credit of the supervisor and whose monthly report  is  equivalent  to  a  receipt  from  the  supervisor. Provisions of this subdivision shall not  preclude  the  town  from  hiring  laborers,  clerical  assistants   and  stenographers,  and  compensating  them  upon the hourly or daily basis.  Notwithstanding any provision of the penal law, the civil  practice  law  and rules, the criminal procedure law, the uniform justice court act, or  any   other  general,  special  or  local  law,  no  policeman,  special  policeman, police officer or constable of any such town shall retain for  his own use fees, per diem or other compensation received  by  him  from  the  state,  the  county,  or  any  other  municipality,  or  a  private  corporation or a person, in or for the performance of the duties of  his  office,  whether  such  duties  be  of  an  administrative, legislative,  judicial or other nature, but all such fees and moneys  so  received  by  him  shall  be the property of the town of which he is an officer and be  paid to the supervisor not later than the fifteenth day  of  each  month  following  the receipt thereof. No town justice of any town shall retain  for his own use fees, per diem or other  compensation  received  by  him  from  the  state,  the  county,  or  any other municipality or a private  corporation or a person, in or for the performance of the duties of  his  office,  whether  such  duties  be  of  an  administrative, legislative,  judicial, or other nature, but all such  fees  and  moneys  so  received  shall,  unless otherwise provided by law, be the property of the town of  which he is an officer and shall be paid by such justice  to  the  state  comptroller within the first ten days of the month following collection.  Each  such payment shall be accompanied by a true and complete report in  such form and detail as the comptroller shall prescribe.  In  the  event  that  a  justice  shall  not receive any such fees and moneys during anymonth he shall report this fact to  the  state  comptroller  within  the  first ten days of the succeeding month.  Upon receipt of notice from the  state  comptroller  that a justice has not properly reported or properly  accounted  for any moneys received by such justice, it shall be unlawful  for the town to make any further payment of compensation to such justice  until receipt of a notice from the comptroller that a proper  accounting  has  been  made. In all towns the salaries of all town justices shall be  equal except that the town board may determine by a majority vote to pay  salaries in different amounts. Fees  payable  by  virtue  of  the  civil  practice  law and rules and section sixty-eight-a of the public officers  law, for taking oaths and acknowledgment, shall not be deemed to be fees  within the meaning of this section, but may be retained, or the  payment  thereof waived, by the officer taking the same.    2.  Inspectors  of  election,  ballot clerks, poll clerks and election  coordinators shall receive such an amount per day for their services  on  days  of registration, election and primary elections, as the town board  may determine  by  resolution.  Such  election  officers  shall  receive  compensation  for  one  day only for all services rendered on the day of  election and in canvassing the votes thereafter, and in  completing  the  returns, of either an election or of a primary election.    3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,  the town board of any town which shall not  have  established  a  police  department,  may adopt a resolution determining that the police officers  of such town, including  special  policemen  and  constables,  shall  be  compensated  by  annual  salary or by the week, day or hour for services  actually and necessarily performed by them in  all  matters  other  than  civil  actions  and  proceedings, and that such police officers shall be  entitled to collect and retain for their own  use,  the  fees,  mileage,  poundage  and  other  compensation  allowed by law for services in civil  actions and proceedings.    4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this  section,  the budget officer may receive, in addition to any other compensation, a  salary as budget officer to be fixed by the town board.