The Town exists as the level of government between villages and the county. The functions served by the Town of Rye are:

1. Assessment of all real property
2. Collection of "all" property taxes
3. Administer major elections
4. Guaranties tax payments to other taxing jurisdictions (i.e., schools, villages, county)
5. Operate Crawford Park
6. Serve as majority member of Rye Town Park (beach) Commission.
7. Maintain two (2) highway bridges (Otter Creek, Guion Creek)
8. Maintain cemetery properties owned by town.
9. Additionally the Town Clerks office provides state licenses and certificates.
10. Two (2) town justices serve the residents in justice court.

The Town Government consists of a five member council, one of which is Town Supervisor. All are elected for 4-year terms.

The Town clerk, Receiver of Taxes and Highway Superintendent are also elected offices and serve 4-year terms.

The Town offices are at 10 Pearl Street in Port Chester. This building is owned by the Town of Rye.

The Town also owns the Highway Garage on West William Street in Rye Brook, this houses the Rye Brook Highway Dept. and voting machine warehouse.

The Town Clerk maintains an award winning archive of historic records in the basement of the town offices.

Early History Rye Town

The Town of Rye had its inception in the year 1660 when the first settlers arrived and established themselves on Manursing Island, then called Manursing Island. Baird's History of the Town of Rye fixes the date when Peter Disbrow, John Coe and Thomas Studwell concluded their treaty with the Indians for the purchase of this Island as the 29^th of June 1660.

Peter Disbrow, John Coe, Thomas Studwell and later John Budd were the active leaders in the first settlement, at Manursing Island also called Hastings. This settlement soon ceased to be the principal habitation as most of the settlers moved to Poningo Neck now the site of the City of Rye and to the site on the banks of the Byram occupied by the first settlers of "Saw Pit" now known as Port Chester.

Early life in the settlement was strenuous. Attacks by Indians and severe winters were a deterrent to these early settlers. Farming, fishing, logging and trading were the principal occupations. At Saw Pit logs were cut for use in shipbuilding operations. Rye town had no improvements in those days and homes were simple and crude. The seed sown by these early settlers was nurtured and grew to the present day when we enjoy the modern conveniences of our times.

The early inhabitants during the American Revolution were terrorized by raiding parties who at night set the sky aglow with flames from some unfortunate family's farmhouse or barn in this region of so called "Debatable Land." Added to the menace of the British soldiers, our forefathers were in danger of being reported to the British Crown by Tories or Loyalists. Cowboys, skinners and outlaws took advantage of the military situation and pursued their pilfering, raiding, and even murdering the townsfolk. Shuball Merritt was one of the most feared of these men, who it was said, "would shoot a man just for the pleasure of it." He was killed sometime after the Revolution by a young man whose father he had murdered. The Town had its villains and enemies threatening its very existence during these trying days of political upheaval and military exigency.

The prevailing opinion among the early settlers was that no section suffered more during the revolution than the Town of Rye, a so-called "Neutral Ground." Even after the termination of the war by the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, New York still remained in the hands of the British. This occupation ended on November 23, 1783.