Pursuant to § 5 of the General Municipal Law, the
Village Board of the Village of Horseheads hereby determines that
it is in the public interest to permit the acceptance by certain officers
of the Village of credit cards as a means of payment of taxes, fees
and other charges as set forth in the General Municipal Law § 5.
Words used herein shall have the meanings, if any, ascribed
to them in the General Municipal Law § 5.
The Village Board hereby authorizes agreements with one or more
financing agencies or card issuers to provide for acceptance, by the
Village Clerk-Treasurer, Director of Parks and Recreation, Director
of Public Works, and Village Justices, and their designees, of credit
cards as a means of payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates,
taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations or other amounts,
including penalties, special assessments and interest, owed to the
Village.
The agreements referred to in this chapter shall govern the
terms and conditions upon which a credit card proffered as a means
of payment of fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges,
revenue, financial obligations or other amounts, including penalties,
special assessments and interest, shall be accepted or declined and
the manner in and conditions upon which the financing agency or card
issuer shall pay to the Village the amounts of the fines, civil penalties,
rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations
or other amounts, including penalties, special assessments and interest,
paid by means of a credit card pursuant to such agreement.
The agreements referred to in this chapter shall provide that
as a condition for accepting payment by credit card, such person offering
payment by credit card shall pay a service or convenience fee to the
Village not to exceed the costs incurred by the Village in connection
with the credit card payment transaction, including any fee owed by
the Village to the financing agency or credit card issuer arising
from that transaction.
The underlying debt, lien, obligation, bill, account or other
amount owed to the Village for which payment by credit card is accepted
by the Village shall not be expunged, cancelled, released, discharged
or satisfied, and any receipt or other evidence of payment shall be
deemed conditional, until the Village has received final and unconditional
payment of the full amount due from the financing agency or card issuer
for such credit card transaction.
There may be signage at the Village locations where credit card
payments will be accepted for payment of Village fees or taxes which
shall state that the Village will make no profit on any credit card
surcharge, and that the added fee for credit card usage shall be only
to cover the fees charged to the Village by the financing agency or
card issuer associated with the credit card usage.