The government of the Village of Buchanan comprises of a Village Board and a Village Justice. The residents of the Village elect all positions within the government. The Village Board consists of the Mayor and four Trustees. The Village Board members and the Village Justice are all part-time positions.
Mayor
The Mayor is the Chief Executive Officer of the Village Board and has the following duties:
- Presides over the meetings of the Board of Trustees;
- Appoints all department heads, non-elected officials and employees with Board approval unless otherwise stated by law;
- responsible to provide for the enforcement of all laws, rules and regulations and to cause all violations thereof to be prosecuted;
- Executes all contracts on behalf of the Village after Board approval;
- By law serves as the Budget officer;
- By law can perform marriages within the Village.
As the chairperson of the Village Board, the Mayor has the right, but not an obligation to vote on each resolution. However, in the case of a tie vote between Trustees, the Mayor has the obligation to cast his vote to undo the tie. The Village registered voters elect the Mayor for a term of two years.
Trustees
The four elected Trustees have the following duties as representatives of the Village residents:
- Passing resolutions, ordinances and local laws;
- Appropriating funds to all Village departments;
- Appropriating funds to special causes to benefit the Village and its residents;
- Making policies for the Village;
- Adopting the Village budget;
- Levying taxes;
- Assisting the Mayor in overseeing the Village administration;
- Approving candidates proposed by the Mayor to vacant non-elected Village positions.
The Village registered voters elect the Trustees for a term of two years. Two Trustees are elected each year.
Village Justice
The Village Justice is responsible for the Administration of the Village Justice Court. The Village registered voters elect the Village Justice for a term of four years.
This page was last updated December 17, 2004