Bill > S00500

This bill amends New York town law to permit fire districts to appoint fire chiefs and assistant chiefs who are also employees of the fire district. The legislation modifies existing regulations regarding the nomination and appointment process for fire department leadership, specifically removing previous restrictions that implicitly prevented district employees from serving as chiefs. Under the new provisions, fire department members can nominate chiefs and assistant chiefs during annual meetings, and these nominees may now be employees of the fire district. The bill maintains important existing requirements, such as that nominees must be fire department members and can be subject to residency requirements set by fire commissioners. The legislation also preserves existing provisions about disqualification for arson convictions and maintains the board of fire commissioners' authority to approve or reject nominations. Importantly, for employee-chiefs, the bill stipulates that the fire commissioners will have supervisory authority over their district employment duties, while the chief retains operational control of fire department activities. This change could potentially provide fire districts with more flexibility in leadership selection and help address staffing challenges in volunteer fire departments.

Government Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S500