Informal Opinion No.

Thomas P. Halley, Esq. Assistant Corporation Counsel, Poughkeepsie

You ask whether the Commissioner of Finance of the City of Poughkeepsie is a public officer, thereby required under Public Officers Law, §3(1) to reside in the city, and if so, whether the city by local law may provide that the Commissioner need not be a city resident.

The distinction between a public office and public employment is not always clear (Matter of Dawson v Knox, 231 App. Div. 490, 492 [3d Dept, 1931]). The characteristics of a public office as compared to a position of employment are found in the nature of the…