Can a Troy Housing Authority member move outside the city of Troy but stay on the board?

Subject

Troy Municipal Housing Authority members must reside in City of Troy

Plain-English summary

A member of the Troy Municipal Housing Authority changed her residence from the City of Troy to the adjoining Town of Brunswick in Rensselaer County. Counsel for the Troy Housing Authority asked the AG whether the member could remain on the authority despite moving outside the city.

The AG started with the general rule. Public Officers Law § 3 requires a local public officer to reside in the political subdivision for which they are chosen. Public Officers Law § 30(1)(d) makes a failure to maintain the residency requirement a vacancy by operation of law. Prior AG opinions had already established that municipal housing authority members are local public officers within § 3's meaning (1988 Op Atty Gen [Inf] 94; 1941 Op Atty Gen 154). A city housing authority's territorial jurisdiction is coterminous with the city (Public Housing Law § 31), so the relevant locality is the city.

The AG also noted that "residence" in §§ 3 and 30 means "domicile" (1977 Op Atty Gen [Inf] 271). A person can have many residences but only one domicile. Domicile turns on intent to make a place a permanent home. A temporary change of address without intent to change domicile does not move the domicile. So if the member's move to Brunswick was permanent in intent (which the inquiry implied), her Troy domicile was lost.

The interesting twist was Public Officers Law § 3(12), a Troy-specific provision (added by Laws of 1975, ch. 347) that allows "the appointment of public officers in the city of Troy, except the city manager," to reside anywhere in Rensselaer County. Could that exception save the housing authority member?

The AG said no. The bill jacket for the 1975 amendment showed it was passed to help the City of Troy recruit upper-echelon municipal employees from a wider applicant pool. The City of Troy was the requester and the beneficiary. A municipal housing authority is a separate legal entity from the city; its officers are not "appointive officers serving the Troy city government." So § 3(12)'s county-wide exception does not extend to the housing authority. The default city-residency rule of § 3 controls.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1995. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What's the difference between residence and domicile?

A person can have several residences (a place in the city, a vacation cabin, a college apartment). But that person has only one domicile: the place the person intends to make a permanent home. Public officer residency rules use "residence" but, per long-standing AG opinions and case law, mean domicile. So a board member who keeps an apartment in Troy but moves the family and intent to Brunswick has lost her Troy domicile and her statutory residency.

What happens automatically when a public officer fails to maintain residency?

Public Officers Law § 30(1)(d) treats it as a vacancy by operation of law. No removal proceeding is required; the office becomes vacant as soon as the residency fails. The appointing authority then fills the vacancy under whatever statute governs the office.

Why didn't the Troy-specific exception cover housing authority members?

The bill jacket showed the 1975 legislation was about city-government recruiting. The state Legislature wrote § 3(12) to ease residency for appointees who work directly for the City of Troy. A municipal housing authority is a separate corporate body created under the Public Housing Law, with its own corporate identity, its own staff, and its own jurisdiction. The Legislature did not address it, and the AG declined to read the exception more broadly than its proponents asked for.

Could the housing authority itself ask for the same exception?

It would need legislation. Public Officers Law § 3 generally requires city residency, and § 3(12) is a narrow special law for Troy city government. To extend that to housing authority members, the Legislature would have to add them to the exception.

Are housing authorities really separate from the cities they serve?

Yes, as legal entities. A municipal housing authority is a public benefit corporation created under the Public Housing Law. It has its own board, its own corporate identity, and its own legal existence. It serves the residents of the city, but it is not part of the city's executive structure. That separateness is also why housing authority members are not city officers for residency purposes.

Statutory framework

Public Officers Law § 3(1) requires local public officers to reside in the political subdivision they serve. Public Officers Law § 30(1)(d) makes a failure to maintain the residency a vacancy by operation of law.

Public Housing Law § 31 makes a city housing authority's territorial jurisdiction coterminous with the city's. That ties the residency rule to the city, not to a broader area.

Public Officers Law § 3(12) is the Troy-specific exception added by Laws of 1975, ch. 347, allowing appointed City of Troy public officers (except the city manager) to reside anywhere in Rensselaer County.

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_95-19_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

PUBLIC HOUSING LAW § 31; PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, §§ 3, 30; L 1975,
CH 347.
Members of Troy Municipal Housing Authority are required to
reside in the City of Troy.

March 7, 1995

Kevin G. O'Haire, Esq.
Troy Housing Authority
1 High Meadow Road
Troy, NY 12180

Informal Opinion
No. 95-19

Dear Mr. O'Haire:
You have asked whether an appointed member of the Troy City
Housing Authority must reside within the City of Troy or whether
residence within the County of Rensselaer is legally sufficient.
Section 3 of the Public Officers Law provides qualifications
for holding public office and, in the case of a local office,
requires that the office holder be a resident of the political
subdivision or municipal corporation of the State for which he
shall be chosen, or within which the electors electing him
reside, or within which his official functions are required to be
exercised. These residency requirements must be met at the time
of an appointment to an office and throughout the individual's
tenure in office. Public Officers Law § 30. A failure to comply
with these residency requirements creates a vacancy in the office
by operation of law. Id., § 30(1)(d).
In a prior opinion, we concluded that members of municipal
housing authorities are local public officers within the meaning
of section 3 of the Public Officers Law and must, as a condition
of eligibility, be residents of the municipality for which they
are chosen. 1988 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 94; 1941 Op Atty Gen 154. A
city housing authority has territorial jurisdiction that is
coterminous with the territorial limits of the city. Public
Housing Law § 31. Thus, members of a city housing authority must
be residents of the city at the time of their appointment and
throughout their tenure in office.
You have indicated that a member of the Troy Housing
Authority has changed her residence from the City of Troy to the
adjoining Town of Brunswick in Rensselaer County. First, we note
that the term "residence" as used in sections 3 and 30 of the
Public Officers Law means "domicile". 1977 Op Atty Gen (Inf)

271. While an individual can have more than one residence he or
     she can have only one domicile. Ibid. Domicile is largely
     determined by an individual's intent to make a residence his or

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her permanent home. Ibid. A temporary change of residence
without intent to change one's domicile leaves the domicile
unchanged. Ibid.
You ask whether subdivision 12 of section 3 of the Public
Officers Law would allow a member of the Troy Housing Authority
to reside anywhere in Rensselaer County. Subdivision 12 provides
that the general residency requirements of section 3 (i.e.
residence in the city)
shall not apply to the appointment of public officers in the city of
Troy, except the city manager of such city, provided that such
appointed officers are residents of the county of Rensselaer.

The question is whether subdivision 12 applies to officers of the
Troy Housing Authority or is limited to appointed officers
serving the Troy city government.
A city housing authority is a legal entity, separate and
distinct from the municipality wherein it exercises its
authority. The legislative history of subdivision 12 of
section 3 of the Public Officers Law indicates that the purpose
of the amendment was to benefit the City of Troy by permitting
its appointive officers to reside anywhere in the County of
Rensselaer. Bill Jacket, L 1975, ch 347. The purpose of the
amendment was to facilitate the recruitment of well-qualified
appointed public officers to serve in city government. Id.,
Memorandum in Support of Assembly 1592 by Assemblyman Kelleher.
The legislation was proposed to overcome the difficulty in the
City of Troy to recruit personnel to fill the upper echelon jobs
in municipal government from within the corporate limits of the
city. Id., June 30, 1975 Letter to the Counsel to the Governor
from John P. Buckley, City Manager, City of Troy. The
legislation was passed upon the request of the City of Troy.
Id., June 27, 1975 Memorandum to the Counsel to the Governor from
the Secretary of State. Thus, the bill jacket clearly indicates
a legislative intent to alleviate the difficulty in hiring
competent persons to serve in the Troy city government.
We conclude that members of the Troy Municipal Housing
Authority are required to reside in the City of Troy.

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The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to
officers and departments of State government. This perforce is
an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this
office.
Very truly yours,
JAMES D. COLE
Assistant Attorney General
in Charge of Opinions