Opinion
March 18, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Lange, J.).
Ordered that the proceeding is converted to an action for a declaratory judgment (see, CPLR 103 [c]), the notice of petition is deemed a summons, and the petition is deemed a complaint (see, Board of Educ. v Gootnick, 49 N.Y.2d 683; Lanza v Wagner, 11 N.Y.2d 317, cert denied 371 U.S. 901); and it is further,
Ordered that the order and judgment is reversed, on the law, with costs, the respondents' motion to dismiss is denied, and Resolution 94-14 of the Town Board of the Town of Harrison is declared to be invalid.
As the Third Department has ruled in a similar case, "Assuming, without deciding, that the Town Board can properly delegate its authority to hire and fire town employees to the Town Supervisor, we are of the view that the * * * resolution [doing so] is invalid because no standard of policy was established by the Town Board to provide a guide for the Town Supervisor to follow when hiring and firing town employees. This omission is fatal to the resolution" (Matter of Schimmel v Biscone, 107 A.D.2d 915, 916-917, citing 59 N.Y. Jur, Towns, § 68).
We have considered the respondents' remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Balletta, J.P., O'Brien, Altman and Friedmann, JJ., concur.