NYCL AGO 95-41.

• Case Date: July 31, 1995
• Court: New York

New York Attorney General Opinions 1995. AGO 95-41. July 31, 1995Informal Opinion No. 95-41Thomas R. Emnett, Esq. County Attorney County of Tioga County Office Building 55 Main Street Owego, NY 13827SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS LAW § 6(1).Membership on the county legislature is incompatible with simultaneous service on the Professional Advisory Committee or the Utilization Review Committee. Also, once elected to the legislature, this individual may not continue to serve as the farm bureau representative on the board of the soil and water conservation district.Dear Mr. Emnett: You have indicated that you have been contacted by an individual expressing an interest in running for county legislator who currently serves the county in several other capacities. First, you have asked whether service as a legislator while also serving as a member of the Utilization Review and the Professional Advisory Committees, respectively, are incompatible. In the absence of a constitutional or statutory prohibition against dual-officeholding, one person may hold two offices simultaneously unless they are incompatible. The leading case on compatibility of office is People ex rel. Ryan v Green, 58 NY 295 (1874). In that case the Court held that two offices are incompatible if one is subordinate to the other or if there is an inherent inconsistency between the two offices. The former can be characterized as "you cannot be your own boss", a status readily identifiable. The latter is not easily characterized, for one must analyze the duties of the two offices to ascertain whether there is an inconsistency. An obvious example is the inconsistency of holding both the office of auditor and the office of director of finance. There are two subsidiary aspects of compatibility. One is that, although the common law rule of the Ryan case is limited to public offices, the principle equally covers an office and a position of employment or two positions of employment. The other is that, although the positions are compatible, a situation may arise where one has a conflict of interests created by the simultaneous holding of the two positions. In such a situation, the conflict is avoided by declining to participate in the disposition of the matter. You have stated that the Utilization Review Committee periodically reviews the staff of the county...