Informal Opinions of the Attorney General

Informal Opinions of the Attorney General

Informal Opinion No. 2017-1  [December 13, 2017]   

A change in the use of municipal parking spaces on parkland must be authorized by special legislation.

Informal Opinion No. 2017-2 citing Town Law §§176(11), 176-a, 176-a(1), 189-a(2)(d); Executive Law §23 [December 13, 2017]    

The positions of assistant fire chief of a joint fire district and county director of emergency services are compatible. [December 13, 2017]

Police officer terminated following being found guilty of downloading and possessing child pornography

Police officer terminated following being found guilty of  downloading and possessing child pornography

2017 NY Slip Op 09243, Appellate Division, First Department

A New York City police officer [Petitioner] was found guilty of accessing, downloading, and possessing child pornography. The penalty imposed: termination from his employment.  

The Appellate Division unanimously confirmed the determination that Petitioner was guilty of downloading and possessing child pornography as it was supported by substantial evidence and the Hearing Officer was entitled to consider Petitioner's demeanor during his testimony at the disciplinary hearing into account when assessing Petitioner's credibility

The court also noted that Petitioner's behavior during the execution of the search warrant at his home provided circumstantial evidence of his guilt as to both charges.

As to the possibility of considering mitigating circumstances with respect to the penalty imposed, dismissal from the position, the Appellate Division opined that notwithstanding Petitioner's tenure with the police department since 1999, the absence of any formal disciplinary record, and the fact that he had been awarded several medals, terminating Petitioner for downloading and possessing child pornography did not shock the court's sense of fairness.

Other cases of involving alleged involvement with pornography that resulted in disciplinary action being taken against the employee include:

Ghita v Department of Education of the City of New York, 2008 NY Slip Op 30706(U);
Phelps-Clifton Springs CSD v Nicot, Supreme Court, Ontario County, Index #103465;
Davis v DMNA, 291 A.D.2d 778, Schnaars v Copiague UFSD, 275 A.D.2d 462; and
Shurgin v Ambach, 56 NY2d 700

The decision in chief is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2017/2017_09243.htm

Concluding that "reasonable minds might disagree" with the arbitrator's determination insufficient to justify a court's vacating or modifying an arbitration award

Concluding that "reasonable minds might disagree" with the arbitrator's determination insufficient to justify a court's vacating or modifying an arbitration award

Bolt v New York City Dept. of Educ., [No. 51 SSM 34]; Matter of Beatty v City of New York, et al., [No. 52 SSM 35 ]; and Matter of Williams v City of New York, et al.,  2018 NY Slip Op 00090, Court of Appeals [No. 53 SSM 36]

In Matter of Bolt v New York City Dept. of Education and Matter of Beatty v City of New York, and Matter of Williams v City of New York, the Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division's reversal of the Supreme Court's dismissal of the challenges to the penalty imposed in the course of disciplinary arbitration and reinstated the Supreme Court's determination dismissing of each of the three petitions challenging the arbitration award.

Citing City School Dist. of the City of N.Y. v McGraham, 17 NY3d 917, the Court of Appeals explained that the fact that "reasonable minds might disagree over what the proper penalty should have been does not provide a basis for vacating the arbitral award or refashioning the penalty," and in so doing found that the Appellate Division "exceeded its authority by reweighing the evidence and substituting its judgment for that of the hearing officer."

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2018/2018_00090.htm

Municipal and school district audits released by State Comptroller DiNapoli on January 9, 2018

Municipal and school district audits released by State Comptroller DiNapoli on January 9, 2018

Click on text highlighted in color to access the full report

 

Aurora-Colden Fire District No. 6 – Financial Activity (Erie County)
Officials generally provide adequate oversight to ensure financial activity is properly recorded and district money is safeguarded. The district, however, did not solicit competition, or retain evidence of soliciting competition, for 97 purchases totaling $171,013 that were subject to its purchasing policy.

Columbia-Greene Community College – Information Technology (2017M-213)
The board has not adopted comprehensive written procedures for managing system access. The college did not adopt a breach notification policy and has never tested its disaster recovery plan; therefore, information may not be adequately safeguarded.

Village of Croton-on-Hudson – Payroll (Westchester County)
Auditors found that timesheets did not have employees’ signatures or show actual hours worked. Payroll records for the Department of Public Works revealed five employees were overpaid a total of $902. In addition, the village under-budgeted for overtime in the 2016-17 fiscal year by $284,608 or 43 percent.

Town of Dannemora – Part-Town Activities (Clinton County)
The town’s accounting records did not include a part-town (PT) general fund. General fund PT revenues and expenditures were not properly allocated. As a result, the town unnecessarily taxed town residents residing within the village which subsequently lowered tax rates for town residents living outside of the village.

East Islip Public Library – Cash Receipts (Suffolk County)
Cash was not always properly collected or deposited in a timely manner. Library staff did not issue adequate receipts for all collections and did not properly account for attraction tickets purchased in bulk and sold at a discount to cardholders. The library’s account clerk performed incompatible financial duties.

County of Franklin Solid Waste Management Authority – Solid Waste and Recycling Charges and Host Community Fees (2016M-418)
Officials had not established adequate procedures over solid waste and recycling charges to ensure customers were accurately charged and the corresponding amounts collected were deposited in a timely manner. Auditors found customers were charged varying rates for disposal of the same type of waste.

Town of Greece – Information Technology (Monroe County)
Town officials did not adopt a comprehensive online banking policy or adequately segregate online banking duties. In addition, the board did not adopt a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. As a result, the town has an increased risk that its IT data and components may be lost or misused and that the town will be unable to resume critical operations if a system failure occurs.

Johnsonville Fire District – Claims Processing (Rensselaer County)
Except for minor exceptions which we discussed with district officials, all of the claims reviewed by auditors were supported by sufficient documentation and for appropriate purposes.

Town of Nanticoke – Financial Condition Management (Broome County)
The town board did not effectively manage fund balance. From 2014 through 2016, budgeted appropriations exceeded expenditures, resulting in the accumulation of excess fund balance in the general fund. As of Dec.31, 2016, the fund balance in the general fund had increased 75 percent, to over $482,000, from approximately $275,000 in 2014. The board has not developed a fund balance policy or comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plans specifying the town’s objectives and goals for using the accumulated funds.

Town of Marbletown – Financial and Capital Planning (Ulster County)
The board does not have a comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plan or reserve policy to address the town’s operational and capital needs, including the replacement of vehicles and equipment, infrastructure or the aging highway garage. The board also has not adopted an adequate fund balance policy, which resulted in the town accumulating excessive fund balance in the general fund.

Municipal Parking Structures (2017MS-3)
The local governments reviewed have varying processes in place to inspect and monitor their parking structures. Although available reports indicate that the structures do not have any urgent repair needs, most units could improve their internal controls over parking structures and elevators. For example, the lack of periodic inspections has resulted in three Buffalo, two White Plains and possibly two Ithaca parking structures not having inspections conducted by structural engineers within the last 10 years.

City of Sherrill – Payroll and Community Activity Center Cash Receipts (Oneida County)
City officials accurately paid employees’ salaries and wages. However, officials need to improve controls over payroll preparation and processing. There is no independent certification of payroll prior to the distribution of payroll checks. In addition, city officials have not formalized policies and procedures over the community activity center’s cash collections.

Walden Fire District #2 – Purchasing (Erie County)
District officials did not obtain quotes in accordance with the district’s procurement policy during the audit period for 27 purchases totaling $77,044.

West Niles Fire Company – Financial Activities (Cayuga County)
The board has not established written policies and procedures for cash receipts, cash disbursements and fundraising activities or adopted a code of ethics to guide officers and members regarding expected standards of conduct, as required. Additionally, the bylaws provide limited guidance on the board’s responsibilities and the company treasurer’s duties.

Aloma D. Johnson Charter School – Leave Accruals (Erie County)
School officials did not maintain accurate, complete and supported leave accrual and use records. Auditors compared the 2015-16 leave balances for all 62 employees to the 2016-17 beginning leave balances recorded in the employee leave records and found that 12 of these employees’ leave carryover amounts were overstated by 47 days.

Center Moriches Union Free School District – Medicaid Reimbursements (Suffolk County)
The district did not claim $117,670 in costs for individual education plan-related services provided to Medicaid-eligible students because it did not obtain prescriptions, parental consent was not obtained or service providers did not meet certain qualifications for reimbursement or did not provide the proper documentation for claiming reimbursement.

Colton-Pierrepont Central School District – Financial Duties (St. Lawrence County)
Salaries and wages were accurately calculated and paid. However, the district clerk’s duties are not adequately segregated because she processes all non-payroll and payroll disbursements with limited oversight.

Kendall Central School District – Capital Project (Orleans County)
Officials did not present a district-wide capital improvement project to the public in a transparent manner. Because the project’s actual cost ended up being below the maximum amount authorized by the voters, officials had an opportunity to spend significantly less than anticipated. However, district officials decided to complete additional work and expand the project scope without informing the voters.

Madison-Oneida Board of Cooperative Educational Services (2017M-239)
Employee salaries and wages were accurately paid. However, payroll access rights were not adequately restricted to employees based on job duties. In addition, duties related to the payroll certification process were not properly segregated.

South Country Central School District – Information Technology Inventory (Suffolk County)
The district does not have a complete and accurate inventory of information technology (IT) equipment. District officials have not adequately accounted for IT assets and they have no assurance that the assets have been adequately protected from loss, theft or misuse. Further, in the event of a disaster, district officials would be unable to provide its insurance company with an accurate list of IT assets to replace.

Ticonderoga Central School District – Transportation State Aid and Extra-Classroom Activity Funds (Essex County)
The district did not apply for all transportation state aid for new bus acquisitions. As a result, the district was in danger of potentially losing $194,852 in state aid. In addition, club collections were not supported by adequate documentation and were not always deposited in the amounts received.

Wellsville Central School District – Financial Management (Allegany County)
The district’s unrestricted fund balance has exceeded the statutory limit for the past three fiscal years by amounts ranging from $1.5 million to nearly $3 million. District officials have also allowed the unemployment reserve balance to accumulate to an excessive level and have not used funds from the retirement contribution reserve as budgeted.

Westmoreland Central School District – State Transportation Aid (Oneida County)
District officials did not apply for state transportation aid within one year of purchase for 18 buses purchased during our audit period. During the audit, the district business manager prepared and submitted state aid forms to the New York State Department of Education for the 18 buses, and the district should receive approximately $1.3 million in transportation aid for these buses through 2021-22.

Making an appointment to a position to take effect on a specified date in the future

Making an appointment to a position to take effect on a specified date in the future
Farrell v City of Kingston, 2017 NY Slip Op 09214, Appellate Division, Third Department

In 2015, Shayne Gallo, the City of Kingston's then-Mayor, appointed Robert Farrell to the position of sergeant, effective January 10, 2016, and Kirk Strand to the position of lieutenant effective January 3, 2016.

On January 1, 2016, Steve Noble was sworn in as the City's new mayor and on January 2, 2016, the City's Police Citizens Advisory Board [PCAB] met and voted to rescind the Strand and Farrell appointments as invalid.

On January 9, 2016, Noble appointed three other officers, Richard Negron, Andrew Zell and Brian Lowe, as sergeants but did not make an appointment to the lieutenant position.*

In April 2016, Strand and Farrell [Petitioners] commenced this combined CPLR Article 78 proceeding and plenary action, contending, among other things, that the PCAB's rescission of their respective appointments should be vacated. Petitioners alleged that the Gallo  appointments should be deemed valid on the ground that Mayor was the appointing authority pursuant to the City of Kingston Charter and thus the PCAB  action was, in effect, ultra virus, without lawful authority, to rescind those appointments.**

Supreme Court granted the City's motion in its entirety, dismissing Petitioners' first three causes of action for failure to join certain necessary parties and dismissing Petitioners' employment discrimination cause of action for failure to file a notice of claim. Petitioners appealed.

Citing Morgan v de Blasio, 29 NY3d 559, the Appellate Division held that Supreme Court ruling that Negron, Zell, Lowe, Robertson and Burkert were necessary parties to the subject proceeding, explaining that  "any individual or entity who might be inequitably affected by a judgment in a proceeding, or who ought to be a party if complete relief is to be accorded between those who are parties to the proceeding, shall be named as a necessary party." The Appellate Division pointed out that were Farrell to obtain an annulment of the rescission of his appointment as sergeant and be reinstated to that position, either Negron, Zell or Lowe stand to be displaced from their promotion to sergeant.

By the same token, the Appellate Division opined that should Strand prevail with respect to his appointment to lieutenant and be reinstated to that position, Burkert and Roberston, as two of the top three candidates listed for promotion to the position of lieutenant "would lose their right to consideration for that post" and thus they are necessary parties with respect to an appointment to the position of lieutenant.

The Appellate Division also ruled that because Negron, Zell, Lowe, Robertson and Burkert are necessary parties and are subject to Supreme Court's jurisdiction insofar as they were employees of the City of Kingston Police Department at the time of commencement of this proceeding, the court should have ordered them joined and remitted the matter to Supreme Court to order Negron, Zell, Lowe, Robertson and Burkert to be joined as necessary parties.

It should be noted that [1] Robert Farrell was appointed to the position of sergeant effective January 10, 2016, and [2] Kirk Strand was appointed to the position of lieutenant effective January 3, 2016 and [3] that these Petitioners contend that City's Police Citizens Advisory Board's [PCAB] vote to rescind the Strand and Farrell appointments was invalid.

On February 9, 2016, Noble appointed three other officers, Richard Negron, Andrew Zell and Brian Lowe, as sergeants. Assuming that there were only three vacancies of Sergeant on February 9 and appointments to these vacancies were made prior to the effective date of Farrell's appointment, it could be argued that Farrell's appointment effective January 10 was rescinded by Noble's actions appointing  Negron, Zell and Lowe sergeants effective February 9.

In Remus v Tonawanda City School Dist., 277 A.D.2d 905, affirmed, 96 N.Y.2d 271, the court held that a Board of Education resolution that grants tenure to a teacher effective on a specified future date does not entitled the teacher to the benefits of tenure until the effective date specified in the resolution. See, also, Shaffer v Schenectady City School Dist., 96 N.Y.2d 271, to the same effect.

Strand's appointment to the position of lieutenant effective January 3, 2016, however,  raises a different issue.

If, as he contends, the City's Police Citizens Advisory Board's  [PCAB] vote to rescind his appointment was invalid, and Strand was otherwise eligible for permanent appointment to the position of lieutenant from the appropriate eligible list for Lieutenant, his appointment to the vacancy matured on January 3 as it appears that no valid substitute appointment to the position was made prior to January 3 by the appointing authority, nor was the appointment cancelled or withdrawn by the new mayor, Steve Noble.

Assuming, but not deciding, that such is the case, Strand was permanently appointed to the position of lieutenant subject to his satisfactory completion of any required probationary period effective January 3. If, on the other hand, Strand's appointment was initially made as a contingent permanent appointment, as a provisional appointment or as a temporary appointment by the former mayor, Shayne Gallo, Strand's appointment and  continuation in the lieutenant position would be controlled by the relevant provision or provisions of the Civil Service Law.

* Strand and two other officers, Brian Robertson and Anthony Burkert, were the only three officers on a certification of eligibles for appointment to the lieutenant position. However, although the appears to be a mandatory eligible list for appointment to the vacant lieutenant position, the appointing authority is not mandated to fill such a vacancy but only required to make an appointment to the vacancy from the eligible list if the position is to be filled absent other lawful appointment opportunities  for the appointing authority to appoint an eligible individual to the vacancy.

** Petitioners also alleged that they had been subjected unlawful discrimination within the meaning of Labor Law §201-d "for politically supporting Gallo."

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2017/2017_09214.htm