Selected press releases and agency memoranda recently issued

New York State Sheriffs’ Institute civil school  –  Fifty-three deputy sheriffs and civilian staff from Sheriff’s offices around the state attended the New York State Sheriffs’ Institute civil school held recently in Albany, New York, including Deputy Jamie Darling and civil staff Jordan Somers, Kate Davis, and Sierra Palmer.   This was the first week in a two week-long day training program offered each year by the Sheriffs’ Institute.

All Sheriff’s offices in New York have civil law enforcement functions, including the service of process, enforcement of judgments and other court orders and mandates. The school provides participants with training in the latest advances in civil law enforcement and a forum to discuss current civil law enforcement issues and share best practices. Oswego County’s Civil Division is staffed by a sergeant, 3 deputies and 6 civilians with roles such as account clerk and senior account clerk.

The Sheriffs’ Institute is a not-for-profit corporation formed in 1979 to advance criminal justice education, prevent juvenile delinquency, and support victims of crime and their families.

NYC civil service exam: Applications open in May, 2023. Published: May. 07, 2023, 9:00 a.m. by Annalise Knudson | aknudson@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has released its May application schedule for civil service exams. Open, competitive, computer-based tests are administered throughout each month for various positions. If you meet the basic requirements of the job, you can apply for your exam online at Online Application System (OASys) or at one of the Computer-Based Testing and Application Centers (CTAC).

Niagara County hiring more corrections officers by Robert Creenan | robert.creenan@lockportjournal.com, May 6, 2023 Niagara County is partaking in another round of hiring corrections officers without the need for candidates to take a Civil Service exam. Interested candidates have until May 19 to complete an application, which can be found on the Niagara County website. They then have until June 30 to fill out an online questionnaire covering their training, experience and any other skills.

Press Releases, Memoranda, News items and Bulletins 

Policy Bulletin No. 2023-01 pdf February 2023, Paid Parental Leave. 

Advisory Memoranda No. 2023-02 pdf March 2023, Memoranda of Understanding on Extension of Special Military Benefits and Post-Discharge Benefits through December 31, 2023.

Advisory Memoranda No. 2023-01 pdf February 2023, Special Holiday Waiver Memoranda of Understanding for Security Supervisors Unit (SSpU), Security Services Unit (SSU), and Agency Police Services Unit (APSU).

State Contract and Payment Actions in March | Office of the New York State Comptroller

Union Pressure Aims to Hit Home - Empire Center for Public Policy Empire Center for Public Policy The bill (S6477) was filed last month by Senate Civil Service and Pensions committee chair Robert ... What's behind NY's union membership slide?

New York Enacts New Requirement for Prior Notice of Certain Healthcare Transactions Sidley Austin LLP The law considers management services organizations (MSOs) to be health care ... or plan providing health care services in” the state of New York.

New York State Budget Brings Sweeping Changes to the Home Health Care Industry Littler Mendelson P.C. New York Budget for FY 2023-2024 includes legislation affecting the home ... Temporary Health Care Services Agencies (THCSAs) register with the NY.

New York Enacts New Requirement for Prior Notice of Certain Healthcare Transactions Sidley Austin LLP The law considers management services organizations (MSOs) to be health care ... or plan providing health care services in” the state of New York.

New York Enacts Long Negotiated Budget Bill with Sweeping Implications for Health Care JD Supra On May 2, 2023, legislators approved the $229 billion New York State FY ... The Budget extends and expands various provisions of existing law ...

Genesee County participating in new Pilot Program for upcoming Correction Officer Civil ... Video News Service A new pilot program is being tested by New York State's Civil Service Department. “Now is the time to begin a rewarding career in law enforcement.

State Contract and Payment Actions in March | Office of the New York State Comptroller New York State Comptroller Department of Civil Service. $331.6 million to CaremarkPCS Health LLC to provide pharmacy benefit services for the Empire, Excelsior and Student ...

New York Enacts New Requirement for Prior Notice of Certain Healthcare Transactions Sidley Austin LLP The law considers management services organizations (MSOs) to be health care ... or plan providing health care services in” the state of New York.

New York State Budget Brings Sweeping Changes to the Home Health Care Industry Littler Mendelson P.C. New York Budget for FY 2023-2024 includes legislation affecting the home ... Temporary Health Care Services Agencies (THCSAs) register with the NY ...

Union Pressure Aims to Hit Home - Empire Center for Public Policy Empire Center for Public Policy The bill (S6477) was filed last month by Senate Civil Service and Pensions committee chair Robert ... What's behind NY's union membership slide?

What's News, Breaking: Friday, May 12, 2023 - Brooklyn Eagle BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK — The New York Road Runners Club is kicking off its ... can be found on the Department of Civil Service's official website, ...

What's News, Breaking: Thursday, May 11, 2023 - Brooklyn Eagle BROWNSVILLE — The Child Center of NY on Thursday, May 11, ... on HELP can be found on the Department of Civil Service's official website, ... 

NYS – Rally For Access to Representation Act Law - NY Carib News A $120 million investment in legal and immigration services ... urging the passage of this legislation, which is a pressing civil rights ...

Civil Service and Pensions Meeting | NY State Senate The New York State Senate S3513. Authorizes Douglas Brenning of the village of New York Mills to take the competitive civil service examination for the position of p..

County considering waiving residency requirement for certain employees - Yahoo News Yahoo News Rob Creenan, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y. ... New York counties that waived civil service exams this past year for corrections officers, ...

New York Joins Other States with Health Care Transaction Review Laws | Mintz - JDSupra On May 3, 2023, New York joined Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and California in 

Civil Service and Pensions Meeting | NY State Senate S3513. Authorizes Douglas Brenning of the village of New York Mills to take the competitive civil service examination for the position of p..

 

New York State Comptroller DiNapoli releases municipal audits

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following audits and reports were issued were issued on May 11, 2023.

Links to material posted on the Internet highlighted in COLOR.

 

City of Amsterdam – Budget Review (Montgomery County) The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the city’s 2023-24 proposed budget are reasonable. However, certain revenue and expenditure projections and other matters should be reviewed by the mayor and council. In addition, city officials did not implement all of the recommendations in the previous review letter when preparing the 2023-24 proposed budget. Auditors found that the mayor submitted the 2023-24 proposed budget to the council on April 19, 2023, or 18 days after the charter-established deadline and the proposed budgets for the general and recreation funds are not structurally balanced because they include subsidies from other funds to finance their operations. Also, the proposed budget, as in the three previous years, allocates appropriations for personal services, contractual expenditures and employee benefits between the operating funds using unsupported allocation methods.

 

Town of Chemung – Intermunicipal Consolidation Agreement (Chemung County) Town of Chemung (Chemung) officials did not adequately monitor the Chemung and Town of Ashland (Ashland) Intermunicipal Consolidation Agreement’s highway service labor costs. Officials did not establish procedures to evaluate labor costs by town. For example, timecard information was not used to monitor labor costs for services provided to Ashland and highway employees’ timecards did not always identify their work location needed to allocate costs. As a result, labor costs were not equitable, and Chemung could have incurred approximately $23,000 in additional costs to provide services to Ashland.

 

City of Long Beach – Budget Review (Nassau County) The significant revenue and expenditure projections in the 2023-24 proposed budget are reasonable. However, City officials only partially implemented the recommendations provided in the prior year’s budget review letter.  In addition, the city’s proposed budget includes a tax levy of $59.9 million, which is $5.5 million above the legal limit and the city council has adopted a local law authorizing an override of the tax levy limit.

 

North Amityville Fire Company, Inc. – Cash Disbursements (Suffolk County) The board did not ensure that all cash disbursements were for appropriate company purposes or supported. Of the $3.6 million in disbursements made during the two-year audit period, auditors found disbursements totaling $585,792 were for inappropriate purchases. Examples included: $106,542 in unsupported cash disbursements made to six board members and the chief; $44,820 for domestic flights and lodging in, among other places, Dallas, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Nashville; $32,093 for service and maintenance to vehicles the company did not own or could not provide support for; $11,258 for Christmas gifts that included, but were not limited to, gift cards, clothing, drones and video games. The disbursements also included $10,853 for one board member’s Alaskan cruise vacation and the chief’s vacation to a clothing-optional resort in Jamaica with his spouse. Other items included: $7,239 for alcohol; $5,121 for 14-karat gold and diamond rings for the chief and his spouse; $2,728 for optical services; and $1,998 for professional basketball tickets.

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Track state and local government spending at Open Book New York. Under State Comptroller DiNapoli’s open data initiative, search millions of state and local government financial records, track state contracts, and find commonly requested data.

Complying with the requirements of New York State's Freedom of Information Law

In New York Civ. Liberties Union v State of New York, 4 NY3d 175 the Court of Appeals held that "mandamus* is available 'only to enforce a clear legal right where the public official has failed to perform a duty enjoined by law'"

In this action brought by Plaintiff pursuant to CPLR §7803[1] seeking certain agency records under color of New York State's Freedom of Information Law, the Appellate Division held that the agency, in response to Petitioner's request for information to assist him in formulating FOIL requests for certain records, "fully complied with its obligation under 21 NYCRR 1401.2(b)(2) to 'indicate the manner in which the records are filed, retrieved or generated to assist [Petitioner] in reasonably describing records'".

The court noted that the FOIL appeal officer provided Petitioner with a list of records maintained by subject matter, instructed Petitioner to include "relevant docket numbers, dates, names, addresses, [and] descriptions," and advised Petitioner to avoid the use of "phrase[s] or reference material[s]" because the records were not maintained or characterized in that manner.

The Appellate Division noted that nothing in the regulation supported Petitioner's argument that agency was required to produce additional information regarding how the records were stored and retrieved in its database. Further, said the court, Petitioner's reliance on Defenders v New York City Police Dept. (2017 NYLJ LEXIS 1412) was misplaced as the court held "the NYPD was not required to provide database fields."

* The writ of mandamus, Latin for we command, to compel an official to perform "acts that such officials are duty-bound to perform." Other ancient writs include the writ of prohibition – a writ issued by a higher tribunal to a lower tribunal to "prohibit" the adjudication of a matter then pending before the lower tribunal on the grounds that the lower tribunal "lacked jurisdiction;" the writ of injunction - a judicial order preventing a public official from performing an act; the writ of certiorari, compelling a lower court to send its record of a case to the higher tribunal for review by the higher tribunal; and the writ of quo warranto [by what authority]. The Civil Practice Law and Rules sets out the modern equivalents of the surviving ancient writs.

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.

 

Applying the Doctrine of Laches barring a party from seeking judicial or quasi-judicial relief because such action is determined to be untimely

If a petitioner fails to demand for relief within a reasonable time after the right to make it occurs, or knows or should know of facts indicating a clear right to relief, the petitioner's claim can be barred by the Doctrine of Laches. This was the situation in the instant CPLR Article 78 action in which Petitioner commenced a CPLR Article 78 proceeding seeking reinstatement of her employment with the Manchester-Shortsville Central School District [District].

During the 2019-2020 school year, Petitioner was employed by the District as a full-time English Language Arts (ELA) teacher. However, in June 2020, Petitioner's position was changed from full to part time. Petitioner's name was placed on a "preferred eligible list of candidates for appointment to a vacancy" pursuant to Education Law §3013(3)(a).* Subsequently the District posted an opening for a full-time ELA teacher. Petitioner applied for the opening and went through the formal application process, but when she was offered the position, she rejected the offer.

After the District hired an individual to fill the vacancy, Petitioner submitted a demand that she be recalled to her prior position pursuant to Education Law §3013(3)(a). The District refused Petitioner's demand and Petitioner commenced the instant CPLR Article 78 proceeding by filing a petition on November 10, 2021. Supreme Court effectively granted the District motion to dismiss Plaintiff's petition and Plaintiff appealed.

The Appellate Division, however, sustained Supreme Court's dismissal of Plaintiff's petition as untimely. The Appellate Division opined that, where, as here, a proceeding is in "the nature of mandamus to compel, it [is] required to have been commenced within four months after the refusal by [the] respondent, upon the demand of [the] petitioner, to perform its duty", citing Matter of Speis v Penfield Cent. Schs., 114 AD3d 1181.

The Appellate Division explained that;

1. "The term laches, as used in connection with the requirement of the making of a prompt demand in mandamus proceedings, refers solely to the unexcused lapse of time and does not refer to the equitable doctrine of laches", citing Granto, 148 AD3d at 1695"; and

2. "[T]he four-month limitations period of CPLR Article 78 proceedings has been treat[ed] ... as a measure of permissible delay in the making of the demand", citing Matter of Norton v City of Hornell, 115 AD3d 1232, lv denied 23 NY3d 907.

The Appellate Division conclude that under the circumstances, Petitioner knew or should have known of facts that gave her a clear right to relief as of April 19, 2021, when the District posted the opening for the full-time ELA teacher position. Petitioner, however, did not demand that she be recalled to her prior position until August 31, 2021, beyond the relevant four-month limitations period and thus "the proceeding is barred by the doctrine of laches."

* Petitioner was offered, and accepted, the position of a part-time ELA teacher, from which position Petitioner subsequently resigned for financial reasons.

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.

 

Applicant for accidental disability retirement must show the disability resulted from an accident within the meaning of the Retirement and Social Security Law

Petitioner filed an application for accidental disability retirement benefits alleging that he was permanently disabled due to posttraumatic stress disorder and injuries to his back and left knee as the result of the suspect's discharge of a firearm in Petitioner's direction and Petitioner's injury as a result of his attempting to scale a fence in the process of apprehending the suspect.

The New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System denied Petitioner's application, finding that the incidens giving rise to his application for accidental disability retirement benefits did not constitute an accident within the meaning of Retirement and Social Security Law [RSSL] §363. Following a hearing, the Comptroller adopted the Hearing Officer's decision, and this CPLR Article 78 proceeding ensued.

The Appellate Division, citing Matter of Kelly v DiNapoli, 30 NY3d 674, sustained the Comptroller's decision, noting, as is relevant here, it is well established that an injury which occurs in the course of an activity undertaken in the performance of the ordinary employment duties of a police officer is not an accidental injury within the meaning of RSSL §363.

The court opined that the neither the suspect's discharge of a firearm in Petitioner's direction nor Petitioner's injury resulting from his attempt to scale a fence in the process of apprehending a suspect were the result of an accident within the meaning of RSSL §363. Rather, said the Appellate Division, Comptroller's determination is supported by substantial evidence the injuries suffered by Petitioner resulted from an inherent risk in Petitioner performing his duties as a police officer.

* See Matter of Grall v DiNapoli, 196 AD3d 962.

Click HERE to access the decision of the Appellate Division posted on the Internet.