Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; November 17, 1996; New York; State Appellate Court
In a CPLR article 78 proceeding, the New York Civil Service Commission's determination on February 15, 1995, which denied the application for exempt classification of the Deputy Police Commissioner position for the Village of Nissequogue, was challenged. The Supreme Court of Suffolk County, presided by Justice Doyle, entered a judgment on December 19, 1995, which dismissed the petition. However, upon appeal, the judgment was reversed, and the petition was granted.
The Village's Board of Trustees had enacted Local Laws 1992, No. 3, which established that the Mayor, as Police Commissioner, would appoint a Deputy Police Commissioner with authority to assume the Commissioner's powers during absences. The Village intended for this position to be classified as exempt under the Civil Service Law. The Commission's disapproval of this classification was found to contradict the provisions of Civil Service Law § 41, which allows for exempt classification of deputies authorized to act in place of their principals, as well as Municipal Home Rule Law § 10.
The court concluded that since the Village acted within its legal authority to empower the Deputy Police Commissioner, the Commission's disapproval was not sustainable. Consequently, the court reversed the lower court's judgment and granted the petition for exempt classification. Judges Rosenblatt, O’Brien, Thompson, and McGinity concurred in the decision.
