NYCL AGO 96-7.

• Case Date: March 04, 1996
• Court: New York

New York Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 96-7. March 4, 1996Informal Opinion No. 96-7Richard J. Zwirn, Esq. Town Attorney Town of Moravia P. O. Box 631 Moravia, NY 13118REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW §§ 1402, 1408, 1420.The positions of mayor of a village and member of the town board of assessment review are incompatible where the village uses the town assessment roll and the town board of assessment review hears grievances on behalf of the village and the town.Dear Mr. Zwirn: You have asked whether the positions of member of the town board of assessment review and mayor of a village within the town are compatible and, therefore, may be held simultaneously by the same person. 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 informed us that the town assessment roll is used by the village and that the town board of assessment review determines real property assessment grievances on behalf of the town and the village. Real Property Tax Law § 1402. You believe that there is a conflict between the duties of these two positions in that when the mayor as a member of the board of assessment...