N.Y. MHY Law § 41.05

§ 41.05 Local governmental unit.\n (a) To be eligible for state aid pursuant to this chapter, a local\ngovernment shall establish a local governmental unit, which shall be an\nidentifiable entity within the local government.\n (b) Each local governmental unit shall have a community services board\nfor services to individuals with mental illness, developmental\ndisabilities and those suffering from alcoholism and substance abuse\nwhich shall have separate subcommittees for mental health, developmental\ndisabilities, and alcoholism, except that, at the discretion of the\nlocal government, a subcommittee for alcoholism and substance abuse may\nbe substituted for a subcommittee for alcoholism.\n (c) Each local governmental unit shall have a director who shall be\nits chief executive officer. Charter governments may vest policy-making\nfunctions in the director or they may vest all or some of such functions\nin the board. In all other cases, the policy-making functions shall vest\nin the board.\n (d) Applications to the state for aid pursuant to this chapter shall\nbe made by the respective local govermental units, except that an\napplication for capital costs may be made by a voluntary agency in\naccordance with the provisions of this article.\n (e) Each local governmental unit shall direct and administer a local\ncomprehensive planning process for its geographic area, consistent with\nestablished statewide goals and objectives. All providers of services\nand department facilities shall participate in and provide information\nfor this planning process. The department shall provide technical\nassistance as may be requested by such local governmental units, within\navailable resources.\n