Can a New York town supervisor also serve as the town librarian?

Plain-English summary

The Town of Sandy Creek has a town library run by a Library Board that selects the Librarian and sets the Librarian's salary. The Town Board appoints the Library Board members. The Town Board also funds the library annually through its budget. The town attorney asked whether the Town Supervisor could also serve as Town Librarian.

The AG said no, the positions are incompatible. The reasoning follows the standard compatibility framework from People ex rel. Ryan v Green: incompatibility exists where one office is subordinate to the other or where there is an inherent inconsistency between the duties.

Here the subordination is structural even though indirect. The Supervisor sits on the Town Board. The Town Board appoints the Library Board, which is the Librarian's direct supervisor. So the Librarian's bosses are appointed by the Supervisor's board. The Librarian's salary is set by the Library Board, but the Library Board's budget (and therefore the funds available for the salary) is set by the Town Board on which the Supervisor sits.

The AG flagged a 1987 prior opinion (Op Atty Gen (Inf) 167) that had reached the same incompatibility conclusion for a closer pairing: Town Supervisor / Town Code Enforcement Officer. There, the Code Enforcement Officer was directly subordinate to the Town Board. Sandy Creek's Town Librarian is "one step removed" because the Library Board sits between him and the Town Board, but the AG concluded the indirection is not enough to break the incompatibility. The Library Board itself is dependent on the Town Board for its members and resources, so the Library Board may not be able to supervise the Librarian impartially when the Supervisor is also the Librarian.

The AG rejected recusal as an adequate remedy. Even if the Supervisor recused on every library matter, his Town Board colleagues would still decide library budget and Library Board membership, both of which directly affect the Librarian's pay and supervision. The colleagues' impartiality cannot be assumed when the affected official is the Supervisor sitting next to them on the board.

This is a strong application of the compatibility doctrine to indirect subordination chains. The lesson generalizes: if A's pay or supervision is set by a body appointed and funded by B's body, A and B should not be the same person.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1999. 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

Why doesn't the Library Board's independence break the chain?

In theory, an independent Library Board can act on the merits. In practice, the Library Board members are appointed by the Town Board (which includes the Supervisor) and the library's resources are budgeted by the Town Board. That structural dependence prevents the Library Board from being a genuinely independent counterweight in this configuration.

What if the Library Board operated entirely on private grants and donations?

That would weaken the financial link but not the appointment link. The Library Board members would still owe their seats to the Town Board's appointment decision. Compatibility would still be doubtful, though closer to the line.

Could the Supervisor be a volunteer librarian, not the paid Librarian?

The opinion does not address a volunteer arrangement, but the same structural issue exists if a single position of librarian is at stake. The compensation and supervisory chains are what drive the incompatibility.

What about a temporary acting Librarian during a vacancy?

The opinion does not directly address temporary or acting roles. Practically, any extended period of one person holding both positions raises the same concerns. A brief, narrowly scoped acting role might survive scrutiny; a months-long fill-in would not.

Is this rule unique to libraries?

No. The same logic applies to any town position where the salary and supervision flow indirectly through a board appointed and funded by the Town Board. Parks director, recreation supervisor, museum coordinator, similar positions are all subject to comparable analysis.

Background and statutory framework

The compatibility doctrine from People ex rel. Ryan v Green is the framework. The two prongs (subordination and inherent inconsistency) cover most cases. The 1999 opinion is a subordination case; the supervisor's office is structurally superior to the librarian's even through the indirection of the Library Board.

Education Law and Local Finance Law contain the statutory framework for town libraries (Education Law §§ 253-260 in particular). Library Boards are usually appointed by the municipal governing body and have governance authority over the library, including hiring the Librarian. The municipal governing body funds the library through annual appropriations.

The 1987 AG opinion (Op Atty Gen (Inf) 167) that the 1999 opinion built on involved a more direct subordination (code enforcement officer directly under town board). The 1999 opinion extends the doctrine to the indirect case.

Citations

• People ex rel. Ryan v Green, 58 NY 295 (1874) (compatibility leading case; subordination and inherent inconsistency).
• 1987 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 167 (Town Supervisor / Town Code Enforcement Officer incompatible due to direct subordination).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_99-39_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

Opn. No. 99-39
The supervisor of a town may not also serve as the town librarian.
December 30, 1999
Timothy M. McClusky, Esq.
Town Attorney
Town of Sandy Creek
P. O. Box 697
Sandy Creek, New York 13145

Informal Opinion
No. 99-39

Dear Mr. McClusky:
You have asked whether the Town Supervisor of the Town of Sandy Creek also may serve as the
Town Librarian. You have informed us that the Town Board appoints the Library Board, which in turn
selects the Librarian and determines the Librarian's salary. The Town Board also budgets a certain sum
each year for the Library. We believe the two positions are incompatible.
The leading case on compatibility of offices is People ex rel. Ryan v Green, 58 NY 295 (1874). In
the absence of a constitutional or statutory prohibition against dual office holding, one person may hold
two offices simultaneously unless they are incompatible. Id. The Court of Appeals held that two offices
are incompatible if one is subordinate to the other or if there is an inherent inconsistency between the
duties of the two offices.
Even where positions are compatible, a conflict of interest may arise with respect to particular
matters. In many instances, conflicts can be avoided by declining to participate in the disposition of the
particular matter.
In a prior opinion, we concluded that the office of Town Supervisor is incompatible with the
position of Town Code Enforcement Officer because one position is subordinate to the other. 1987 Op
Atty Gen (Inf) 167. We noted that the Supervisor is a member of the Town Board and that the Board
oversees Town employees, sets their compensation and assesses their performance.
In the situation you describe, the Town Librarian is one step removed from direct supervision by
the Town Board. Nonetheless, in our view the positions are incompatible. As a member of the Town
Board, the Supervisor votes on appointments to the Library Board, whose members would appoint and
supervise him and determine his compensation as Town Librarian. The Supervisor also participates in
determining the amount of funding the Town will contribute to the Library each year. Also, the Library
Board, because of its dependence on the Town Board for resources and appointment of its members,
may be unable to supervise the Librarian impartially. At the very least, service in both positions would
create the appearance of a conflict of interest, which must be avoided to maintain public confidence in
the integrity of government.
Even if the Supervisor were to recuse himself from participating in matters affecting the Library,
his colleagues on the Town Board would determine the budget of the Library and appoint its governing
body. These actions would affect funds available for the Librarian's salary and other benefits and
determine his supervisors. The impartiality of the Town Board in making these decisions affecting the
Supervisor as Librarian would not be free from doubt. Therefore, recusal is not an adequate remedy.
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 Solicitor General
In Charge of Opinions