[Added by § 1, L.L. No. 12-1993]
Pursuant to Subdivision 2(A) of § 1104 of the Real Property Tax Law, as amended by Chapter 602 of the Laws of 1993, the collection of real property taxes in the City of Rochester shall continue to be enforced pursuant to the provisions of the City Charter, as such Charter may from time to time be amended, and shall not be governed by Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law.
[§ 458, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; repealed by L.L. No. 3-1979[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law repealed former Title 1 of this chapter and provided for the renumbering of Titles 2 through 6 as 1 through 5.
[L.L. No. 3-1979]
When used in this Part, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
TAX LIEN
A lien on real property created by any tax, assessment, fee or other governmental charge.
PERSON
An individual (including an infant or incompetent), corporation, association, governmental entity or other type of legal entity.
CORPORATION COUNSEL, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE and CITY TREASURER
The individuals duly appointed and acting in those offices of the City of Rochester or their designees.
[§ 460, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
The collection of all delinquent annual taxes, including all items added thereto, local assessments and water rates, heretofore or hereafter levied, taxed, assessed or charged by the City of Rochester, or by any officer or officers thereof, together with interest and penalties thereon as authorized by law, must be enforced in the name of the City by the Corporation Counsel.
[§ 460-a, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
Such enforcement may be by:
A. 
Appointment of a receiver.
B. 
Action to foreclose a tax lien as in an action to foreclose a mortgage.
C. 
Foreclosure of tax liens by action in rem; or
D. 
Actions or supplementary proceedings against the persons or corporations personally liable.
[§ 460-b, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
The receivership proceedings, the foreclosure proceedings, either as in an action to foreclose a mortgage or in rem, and the actions or supplementary proceedings against the persons or corporations personally liable, herein provided for, are, in addition to the other methods provided by law for the collection of taxes in the City of Rochester and not dependent upon them or any of them or any step thereof, nor is any such method interdependent upon any other such method. Proceedings to enforce collection by distress and sale of property, or other means of compulsory collection, shall not be a condition precedent to any other remedies provided in this article.
[§ 460-c, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
The City may take by voluntary conveyance the interest of any person having any right, title, interest, claim, lien or equity of redemption, in or to tax delinquent property, in lieu of prosecuting an action to foreclose its tax liens on such real property, or other method of enforcing the collection of delinquent taxes, provided the said property is free of all liens and encumbrances except taxes. Such a conveyance shall be as effective for all purposes as a referee's deed issued pursuant to any of the provisions of this article.
[§ 460-d, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
In any action or proceeding to which the City of Rochester, or any of its officers, is a party, and in which it is claimed that annual taxes, including all items added thereto, local assessments or water rates heretofore or hereafter taxed, assessed, levied or charged, are due or owing the City, or in which it is sought to collect the same, the statute of limitations is not a bar or defense to any right of the City or its officers.
[§ 460-e, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; L.L. No. 4-1965]
An action cannot be maintained to recover real estate heretofore or hereafter conveyed under a judgment in an action brought by the City to foreclose the lien of a tax, whether in an action as to foreclose a mortgage or in rem, or to foreclose the equity of redemption remaining after the sale of a tax, or to recover any right, title, interest or equity of redemption, in or to real estate so conveyed, unless the action therefor is commenced within one year after the recording of said deed. The limitations herein provided shall apply to and bar nonresidents, persons temporarily absent from the state, infants, incompetents and all other known and unknown persons and corporations whether or not under disability.
[§ 460-h, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
The City or any purchaser, upon acquiring title to premises under and pursuant to any of the terms or provisions of this article, shall be entitled to a writ of assistance with the same force and effect as if the property had been acquired by virtue of a mortgage foreclosure.
[§ 460-i, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
All annual taxes, including all items added thereto, local assessments and water rates which are now or which hereafter may become due and payable to the City of Rochester must be preferred to all other liens and claims in the distribution of the proceeds of the sale of real or personal property made pursuant to an order of any court or judge, and in the distribution of assets, funds or other property, by or pursuant to an order of any court or judge, or by an assignee, receiver, executor, administrator, trustee or any officer appointed by a court or judge. No decree of judicial settlement shall be made by the Surrogate's Court of Monroe County, without an affidavit that no annual taxes, including all items added thereto, local assessments or water rates are due or owing the City of Rochester from the deceased person, his or her representatives or estate, unless the City of Rochester has appeared by its Corporation Counsel in such proceeding for judicial settlement; and in proper cases it is the duty of said Surrogate's Court to direct that the City be made a party to any proceeding for judicial settlement.
[§ 460-j, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
The powers granted and the duties imposed by this article or any provision thereof, and the applicability thereof to any person, tax districts or circumstances, shall be construed to be independent and severable, and if any one or more sections, clauses, sentences or parts of this article or the applicability thereof to or by any persons, tax districts or circumstances shall be adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remaining provisions thereof or the applicability thereof to other persons, tax districts or circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the specific provisions so held unconstitutional and invalid and to the persons, tax districts and circumstances affected thereby.
[Added by L. 1949, c. 599; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 1, L.L. No. 8-2021]
The judgment in any action brought under this article shall direct the cancellation or satisfaction of record of all tax liens existing on the date of the granting of the final judgment against the property foreclosed, held by any of the parties to the action, except City of Rochester tax liens levied subsequent to the plaintiff's liens being foreclosed by the action. The delivery of copies of said final judgment to the Treasurer of the City of Rochester and to the Director of Finance of the County of Monroe shall be authority for each of them to cancel said taxes on the books in their respective offices.
Title 2 — Collection of Taxes by Appointment of Receiver
[§ 461, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
In addition to any other remedy or procedure provided by law for the collection of taxes, whenever a tax lien shall remain unpaid for two years, the City shall be entitled, upon ex parte application to the Supreme Court or to any judge thereof, or where an action to enforce the collection of a tax lien is pending or brought, upon ex parte application to the court in which such action is pending or brought, to the immediate appointment of the City Treasurer as receiver of the rents, issues and profits of the real properties affected by such tax lien. The Corporation Counsel shall act as attorney and counsel for the City Treasurer as such receiver. The City Treasurer and the Corporation Counsel shall receive such fees as are provided for by the Civil Practice Act for receivers and their attorneys in actions to foreclose mortgages on real property, which fees shall not be received as their respective personal property, but shall be paid over to and become the property of the City of Rochester.
[§ 461-a, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
The City Treasurer acting as receiver pursuant to this Title shall serve without any additional bond and shall collect the accrued and accruing rents, issues and profits thereof and apply such rents, issues and profits in satisfaction of such unpaid taxes, assessments, water rents, interest and penalties, and the costs and charges of the administration of the receivership. The City Treasurer, acting as receiver, shall also have the same powers as receivers who are appointed in actions to foreclose a mortgage on real property and such other and further powers as may be ordered by the court.
[§ 461-b, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
When such unpaid taxes, assessments, water rents, interest, penalties, costs and charges are paid in full, the receiver shall be discharged after payment of the surplus moneys, if any, as directed by the court. Such order of discharge may be granted ex parte.
[§ 461-c, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
In any action or proceeding under this Title, the amounts shown on the City Treasurer's books shall be prima facie evidence of the unpaid balance of such taxes, assessment, water rents, interest and penalties.
Title 3 — Foreclosure of Tax Lien in an Action to Foreclose a Mortgage
[§ 462, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008[1]]
Notwithstanding any general, special or local law to the contrary, when annual taxes upon real estate remain unpaid after the expiration of one year from the date upon which the taxes, including all items added thereto, local assessments, and water rates become a lien, the lien created by the levy of the tax by the Council, together with interest, fees and penalties thereon to the date of judgment, at the rates provided in this Charter, as amended, may be foreclosed in a court of record by the City, or by the purchaser of a delinquent tax lien pursuant to an agreement entered into under § 6-123 of this Charter, or by the holder of such delinquent tax lien. The purchaser of a delinquent tax lien pursuant to an agreement entered into under § 6-123 of this Charter, or the holder thereof, shall be authorized to foreclose such tax lien only by foreclosure in accordance with the provisions of this Title. At any time following the commencement of an action to foreclose a lien, the amount required to redeem the lien, or the amount received upon sale of a property, shall include reasonable attorneys' fees, legal costs, allowances and disbursements.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former §§ 9-105, Tax liens included in action (§ 462-d, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959), 9-106, Presumption of validity (§ 462-e, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959), 9-107, Inapplicability of § 217 of Civil Practice Act, (§ 462-f, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959) and 9-110, Judgment of foreclosure and sale, (§ 462-i c. 793, L. 1948, L.L. No. 1-1959), and renumbered former §§ 9-108 and 9-109 as §§ 9-105 and 9-106, and §§ 9-111 through 9-114 as §§ 9-107 through 9-109, respectively.
[§ 462-a, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
In an action to foreclose a tax lien, as provided for in this article, any person shall be a proper party who has or may have, or any person that the plaintiff has reason to believe has or may have, an interest in or claim upon the real property affected by the tax lien. The County of Monroe, any other taxing body and the people of the State of New York may be made a party to such action to foreclose a tax lien in the same manner as a natural person.
[§ 462-b, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
Except as otherwise provided herein, the procedure in any action pursuant to this Title shall be the procedure prescribed by § 1194 of the Real Property Tax Law, and all provisions of such § 1194 of the Real Property Tax Law shall be applicable to such action. Any person may, on or before the date of sale of the property, redeem the parcel that is the subject of the action hereunder by paying the holder of the tax lien the amount of the lien, plus accrued interest, reasonable attorneys' fees, legal costs, allowances and disbursements.
[§ 462-c, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2021]
The purchaser of a delinquent tax lien pursuant to an agreement entered into under § 6-123 of this Charter, or the holder of such delinquent tax lien, shall, prior to the commencement of a foreclosure action pursuant to this Title, provide the City Treasurer with a notice of intent to foreclose the delinquent tax lien or liens. Said notice shall set forth the record owner of the property, the SBL number, and the amount of the delinquent tax lien, with all accrued interest at the time of the notice. The City may, at its sole option and discretion, elect to repurchase the lien or liens on the property from the tax lien purchaser or holder. The repurchase price shall be the amount of the lien or liens plus all accrued interest. The tax lien purchaser or holder shall provide the notice of intent to foreclose to the City Treasurer by certified mail, return receipt requested, and the City shall have 30 days from receipt of such notice to notify the tax lien purchaser or holder of the City's election to repurchase said lien or liens. If the City elects to repurchase said lien or liens, then the City shall provide payment to the holder thereof within 30 days of the City's exercise of its option to repurchase said lien or liens. If the City shall fail to notify the tax lien purchaser or holder of the City's election to repurchase the lien or liens within said thirty-day period, the tax lien purchaser or holder shall immediately have the right to commence a foreclosure action pursuant to this Title. The plaintiff in any action to foreclose a delinquent tax lien pursuant to this Title shall affirmatively plead compliance with this section. The plaintiff in any action to foreclose a delinquent tax lien pursuant to this Title shall name the City as a party defendant to ensure compliance with this section.
[§ 462-g, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
The provisions of this Title shall apply to and be valid and effective with respect to all defendants even though one or more of them be infants, incompetents, absentees, unknowns or nonresidents of the State of New York.
[§ 462-h, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
Any successful party to an action brought under this Title shall be entitled to recover the necessary disbursements made in such action and the same costs and allowances as are provided in the Civil Practice Law and Rules and the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law in the case of foreclosure of a mortgage on real property by action.
[§ 462-j, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
Any person, including any party to the action, may become a purchaser on a tax foreclosure sale brought under this Title; the Corporation Counsel may bid for and purchase in the name of the City upon such sale, subject to the availability of funds for such purchases.
[§ 462-1, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
After the payment of all reasonable attorneys' fees, legal costs, allowances and disbursements, the plaintiff, and the defendants in said action who are the owners or holders of any tax liens on or interest in the lands, shall be paid from the proceeds of the sale in several amounts of their respective liens and interest thereon to which they may be entitled, so far as the said proceeds shall suffice to pay the same, in the order of the lawful priority of such liens and interest, as the same may be determined in such action. No judgment for any deficiency may be granted in any action pursuant to this Title.
[§ 462-m, c. 793, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 2, L.L. No. 8-2008]
The conveyance made pursuant to a judgment in any action brought under this Title shall vest in the purchaser all right, title, interest, claim, lien and equity of redemption in and against the real property sold of all parties to the action, and of all persons whose right, title, interest, claim, lien or equity of redemption has accrued subsequent in time to the filing of the notice of the pendency of the action by assignment of an interest existing prior thereto from one of the parties to the action or any or either of them, except all taxes or other legal charges of the City of Rochester that have accrued subsequent to the taxes or other legal charges that are the subject of the action, and except for all taxes or other legal charges of the County of Monroe that have accrued subsequent to the date of filing of the judgment in the action. All such parties and persons shall be barred and forever foreclosed by the judgment in such action of all right, title, interest, claim, lien and equity of redemption in and to the real property sold or any part thereof, except that the conveyance shall be subject to all taxes or other legal charges of the City of Rochester that have accrued subsequent to the taxes or other legal charges that are the subject of the action, and subject to all taxes or other legal charges of the County of Monroe that have accrued subsequent to the date of filing of the judgment in the action. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subdivision 2 of § 1354 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, this section shall prevail.
Title 4 — Foreclosure of Tax Lien by Action in Rem
[L.L. No. 3-1979[1]]
Any tax lien at least one year old held by the City of Rochester may be summarily foreclosed by the City in the manner provided in this Title.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law repealed former Title 5 (renumbered as 4) derived from c. 793, L. 1948, as amended.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 11-1984; § 1, L.L. No. 7-1992; § 1, L.L. No. 4-1994; § 1, L.L. No. 5-2004[1]; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006; § 1, L.L. No. 4-2014]
A. 
The Corporation Counsel shall file in the office of the Monroe County Clerk a list of all parcels of the property with tax liens he or she intends to foreclose under this Title, to be known as the "foreclosure list." The list shall contain as to each parcel the following:
(1) 
The tax account number as shown in the records of the City Treasurer, and the street address if possible.
(2) 
The name of the last known owner, as the name appears on the latest assessment roll of the City.
(3) 
The amount of each tax lien to be foreclosed. The foreclosable tax lien shall include an additional fee of $250 per parcel, to defray some of the costs of the foreclosure action.
[§ 1, L.L. No. 1-2017]
The foreclosure list shall be verified as to accuracy in an affidavit of the City.
B. 
The filing of the foreclosure list in the Monroe County Clerk's office shall constitute and have the same force and effect as the filing and recording in said office of an individual and separate notice of pendency of action and as the filing in the Supreme Court, Monroe County, of an individual and separate complaint by the City of Rochester against all of the real property therein described to enforce the satisfaction of any tax liens in the foreclosure list.
C. 
The Monroe County Clerk shall record and index the foreclosure list in a separate book kept for that purpose in the name of the City of Rochester, which shall constitute due recording and indexing in lieu of any other requirement under the Civil Practice Law and Rules. For the receiving, filing, recording and indexing of each list, the Monroe County Clerk shall be entitled to a fee of $10 for the first 100 parcels contained in the list and of $7.50 for each additional 100 parcels or fraction thereof contained in the list, which fee shall be in lieu of any other fees to which the Clerk might be otherwise entitled for such services.
D. 
The Corporation Counsel shall file a copy of the foreclosure list in the office of the City Treasurer and in the office of the Monroe County Treasurer.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 2 of this local law provided an effective date of 7-1-2004.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
A. 
Upon the filing of the foreclosure list in the office of the Monroe County Clerk, the Corporation Counsel shall cause a notice of foreclosure to be published once a week for six successive weeks in two newspapers published in the City of Rochester, at least one of which shall be an official newspaper of the City of Rochester. In the first publication in each newspaper, the list itself shall be published with the notice.
B. 
Before publication, the Corporation Counsel shall designate a date, at least eight weeks from the date of the first publication of the notice of foreclosure, as the "redemption deadline date."
C. 
The notice of foreclosure shall be substantially in the following form:
FORECLOSURE OF TAX LIENS
BY THE CITY OF ROCHESTER
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on __________, the Corporation Counsel of the City of Rochester filed in the office of the Monroe County Clerk a list of parcels of property on which the City of Rochester holds a lien for taxes, assessments, fees or other charges which is at least one year old and which the City of Rochester intends to foreclose by an action in rem pursuant to Title 4 of Part E of Article IX of the Charter of the City of Rochester. (A copy of that list is published herewith.)
(A copy of that list was published in this newspaper on __________)
The foreclosure list contains as to each such parcel:
1.
The tax account number and address;
2.
The name of the last known owner;
3.
The amount of each tax lien.
All persons having an interest in the real property described in the foreclosure list are hereby notified that the filing of the list constitutes the commencement by the City of Rochester of an action in the Supreme Court, Monroe County, to foreclose the tax liens therein described by an action in rem and that the list constitutes a notice of pendency of action and a complaint by the City of Rochester against each parcel of land therein described to enforce the satisfaction of such tax liens. This action is brought against the real property only. No personal judgment will be entered in this action for the delinquent taxes, assessments, fees or other charges.
A copy of the foreclosure list has been filed in the office of the City Treasurer and will remain open for public inspection up to and including __________ day of __________ (here insert the designated redemption deadline date) which is the redemption deadline date.
Any person may on or before that date redeem any parcel on the foreclosure list by paying to the City Treasurer the amount of all delinquent taxes, assessments, fees and other charges stated on the foreclosure list, plus accrued interest and late payment charges.
Any person having any interest in any parcel on the foreclosure list may, at any time up to redemption deadline date, serve a verified notice of interest or an answer upon the Corporation Counsel setting forth in detail the nature and amount of his or her interest or any defense or objection to the foreclosure. The notice of interest or answer must also be filed in the office of the Monroe County Clerk.
Any person who fails to redeem or to serve a notice of interest or an answer by the redemption deadline date shall be barred thereafter from asserting his or her interest in the pending foreclosure action, and judgment in foreclosure may be granted without regard for, and in extinguishment of, the interest of any such person.
_______________
Corporation Counsel
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
A. 
On or before the date of the first publication of the notice of foreclosure, the Corporation Counsel shall mail a copy of the notice to the last known address of the owner of each parcel of property on the foreclosure list, as it appears upon the records in the office of the City Treasurer. If the address of any owner does not appear in such records, no foreclosure notice shall be mailed for that parcel, and the City Treasurer shall so state in an affidavit which shall be filed with the foreclosure list in the office of the Monroe County Clerk.
B. 
Each notice shall identify the parcel of property to which it pertains and shall be accompanied by a statement substantially as follows:
To the Addressee:
The City of Rochester is foreclosing a tax lien on the parcel of property identified above. Our records show that you own or have an interest in this parcel. Unless the delinquent taxes, assessments, fees and other charges, plus interest and late payment charges, are paid, or a notice of interest or an answer is served, by the redemption deadline date specified in the notice, the City will take the property, and your rights to the property will be terminated.
Dated: __________
_______________
Corporation Counsel
C. 
Any person may at any time file with the Corporation Counsel a written request that he or she be notified of any foreclosure action against a specified parcel. The request shall contain the name and mailing address of the person and the tax account number and address of the parcel or parcels in which he or she is interested. At the same time that notices of foreclosure are mailed to property owners, a notice of foreclosure shall be mailed to any person who has filed such a request pertaining to any parcel on the foreclosure list. Any such request shall be honored for five years unless earlier withdrawn. The failure to mail a notice pursuant to this subsection shall not affect the validity of any proceeding brought pursuant to this Title.
[L.L. No. 3-1979]
A. 
At any time up to the redemption deadline date, any person may redeem any parcel on the foreclosure list by paying to the City Treasurer the full amount of the tax lien stated on the foreclosure list, plus accrued interest and late payment charges.
B. 
The person redeeming shall be entitled to a certificate of redemption from the City Treasurer describing the parcel in the same manner in which it is described in the foreclosure list. Upon the filing of such certificate in the office of the Monroe County Clerk, the Clerk shall mark "redeemed" and the date of such filing opposite the description of such parcel on such list. Such notation shall operate to cancel the notice of pendency of action with respect to such parcel, and the foreclosure action shall be deemed withdrawn with respect to such parcel.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 4-1990; § 2, L.L. No. 4-1994[1]]
A. 
At any time up to the redemption deadline date, any person who has any interest in any parcel on the foreclosure list, and who wishes to preserve that interest during the pendency of the foreclosure action, may serve a verified notice of interest upon the Corporation Counsel. Such notice shall specify by tax account number the parcel or parcels to which it pertains and shall set forth the nature and amount of the interest in the parcel.
B. 
At any time up to the redemption deadline date, any person who has any interest in any parcel on the foreclosure list, and who has a legal defense or objection to the foreclosure of the tax lien on such parcel, may serve a verified answer upon the Corporation Counsel. Such answer shall specify by tax account number the parcel or parcels to which it pertains and shall set forth the nature and amount of the alleged interest in the parcel, along with the factual and legal basis for the defense or objection to the foreclosure.
C. 
Any such notice of interest or answer must also be filed in the office of the Monroe County Clerk.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 4 of this local law provided that it take effect 7-1-1994.
[§ 2, L.L. No. 11-1984[1]]
Prior to entry of a foreclosure judgment against a parcel of property, a notice of the foreclosure shall be mailed to all mortgagees of record for that parcel, and any such mortgagee shall be afforded a four-week period in which to redeem the property or serve and file an answer or notice of interest.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 4 of this local law provided that it take effect 7-1-1994.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 3, L.L. No. 11-1984[1]; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
Any person who fails to redeem or to serve a notice of interest or answer by the redemption deadline date, or by the deadline specified in the notice mailed pursuant to § 9-132 if such a notice was mailed to such person, shall be barred thereafter from asserting his or her right, title, interest, defense or objection in the pending foreclosure action, and judgment in foreclosure may be granted without regard for, and in extinguishment of, the interest or defense of any such person.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 4 of this local law provided that it take effect 7-1-1994.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
A. 
If the Corporation Counsel determines that a meritorious defense has been raised in any answer duly served upon him or her, he or she shall direct that the parcel or parcels to which the defense pertains be withdrawn from the foreclosure list.
B. 
If the Corporation Counsel determines that a defense raised in any answer duly served upon him or her is without merit, he or she shall either move the court for summary judgment or, if there appears to be a triable issue of fact, request the court to refer the matter immediately for a hearing.
C. 
Upon the hearing, there shall be a presumption that the tax lien is valid in all respects. A person alleging any jurisdictional defect or invalidity in the tax lien must particularly specify in his or her answer such jurisdictional defect or invalidity and must affirmatively establish such defense. Proof that the tax was paid together with any interest or penalty which may have been due, or that the property was not subject to the tax, shall constitute a complete defense. Any hearing shall be given preference over all other causes and actions.
D. 
If the Corporation Counsel determines that a notice of interest duly served upon him or her is without merit, he or she shall either move the court for summary judgment or, if there appears to be a triable issue of fact, request the court to refer the matter immediately for a hearing. The person asserting the validity of the interest shall have the burden of proving it.
E. 
If no such motion is made to challenge a notice of interest duly served upon the Corporation Counsel, the interest alleged in said notice of interest shall be deemed admitted.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 13-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 10-1980; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
A. 
At any time up to the date two weeks prior to the redemption deadline date, any eligible owner of a parcel on the foreclosure list may apply to the Director of Finance to enter into a delinquency agreement with respect to that parcel.
B. 
The Director of Finance is hereby authorized and directed to make rules and regulations regarding the eligibility of persons to enter into such agreements. In making the rules and regulations, the Director of Finance shall take into consideration the goals of encouraging resident homeownership, maintaining and using property in compliance with the law and City policies, discouraging abandoned or vacant buildings and generally restricting the availability of such agreements to persons with bona fide financial need.
C. 
Any owner who makes timely application, and who is found to be eligible by the Director of Finance, shall be permitted to enter into a delinquency agreement with the Director of Finance.
D. 
A delinquency agreement for any parcel shall require payment to the City Treasurer of the full amount of any tax lien against that parcel on the foreclosure list, plus interest and late payment charges accrued to date; plus any other past due installment of taxes, assessments, fees or charges, including accrued interest and late payment charges, against that parcel, in the following manner. A down payment equal to 10% of the total amount to be paid shall be made at the time of execution of the agreement. The balance of the total amount shall be paid in periodic installments over a specified period of time not to exceed five years. Interest shall accrue on the outstanding balance at the same rate provided generally for taxes in § 6-113 of the City Charter. The agreement shall also require that current installments of taxes, assessments, fees and other charges be paid when due during the term of the agreement. The agreement shall provide that all or any part of the outstanding balance may be paid ahead of schedule to the City Treasurer, with no penalty and with only such interest as has accrued to the date of payment. The Director of Finance is authorized to make rules and regulations regarding the terms, execution and enforcement of delinquency agreements and to incorporate in each delinquency agreement additional and different terms and conditions, as he or she deems appropriate, consistent with the provisions of this section and the applicable rules and regulations.
E. 
All rules and regulations promulgated by the Director of Finance pursuant to this section, including all amendments thereto, shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk and officially communicated to the City Council.
F. 
A delinquency agreement shall not be assignable unless specifically permitted in writing by the Director of Finance.
G. 
The court may, on motion of the Corporation Counsel, grant a stay of proceedings, prior to entry of final judgment in foreclosure, as to any parcel for which a delinquency agreement has been executed.
H. 
Default on a delinquency agreement shall be deemed to occur when any payment required under the agreement, either of the outstanding balance or of an installment of current taxes, assessments, fees and other charges, is not paid within 30 days of its due date under the agreement or when such parcel is sold and the agreement is not assigned to the new owner or when the County of Monroe commences an action to foreclose a tax lien on such parcel or upon the occurrence of any other event designated in the agreement as a default. Upon default the Corporation Counsel may make a motion to the court to vacate the stay with respect to that parcel. The motion shall be made on notice to the owner of the parcel and to any other person who has requested, in writing, that he or she be notified of any default on the agreement. If the court finds that a default on the agreement has occurred, it shall vacate the stay and enter final judgment in foreclosure as to that parcel.
I. 
Upon compliance with all terms of the agreement and payment of all amounts due under the agreement, the foreclosure proceeding shall be withdrawn and discontinued as to that parcel, and the notice of pendency of action as to such parcel shall be canceled.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 3-1983]
A. 
For all parcels for which neither an answer nor a notice of interest has been served or for which an answer or notice of interest has been served but has been determined by the court to be without merit, the court shall make a final judgment authorizing and directing the Corporation Counsel to prepare, execute and record a deed conveying to the City of Rochester title to the parcels and awarding to the City immediate and complete possession of the parcels. The description used in the deed shall be that contained in the foreclosure list and may also include any other description contained in the conveyance to the last known owners of the parcels. Upon the execution of the deed, the City of Rochester shall own each parcel in fee simple absolute free and clear of all liens and encumbrances existing at the time the deed is executed, and all other persons who may have had any interest in or upon any parcel shall be barred and forever foreclosed of all such interest.
B. 
For any parcel for which an answer has been duly served and which has been determined by the court to state a meritorious defense, the court shall make a final judgment dismissing the foreclosure action with respect to the parcel and canceling the notice of pendency of action with respect to the parcel, or granting such other relief as the court may deem just and proper.
C. 
For any parcel for which a notice of interest has been duly served and which has been either admitted by the City or determined by the court to state a valid interest, the court shall make a final judgment directing the sale of the parcel, in accordance with § 9-143.
[L.L. No. 3-1979]
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 9-139, the City and the County of Monroe may enter into an agreement with respect to any parcel of property upon which both the City and county have tax liens and for which the City is entitled to final judgment in foreclosure under § 9-139A, or for which no answer was served and the only valid notice of interest served was by the county. Such an agreement may provide for a conveyance of the parcel to the City or to the county either free and clear of, or subject to, any lien or encumbrance of the other municipality, or subject to an agreed disposition of the proceeds of any subsequent resale of the parcel. If such an agreement is made, the court shall make a final judgment for such parcel directing the Corporation Counsel to execute a conveyance in accordance with the agreement.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 6-1984; § 1, L.L. 9-2008; § 1, L.L. No. 3-2014[1]]
A. 
Any sale directed by the court under § 9-139C shall be at public auction by the City Treasurer. Public notice thereof shall be given once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper published in the City of Rochester. The City Treasurer shall receive no fee or compensation for such service. The description in such notice of the parcel offered for sale shall be that contained in the foreclosure list, with such other description, if any, as the court may direct.
B. 
Any person, including the City, may bid on parcels offered for sale at such auction. Each parcel will be sold to the highest responsible bidder. Subject to the availability of funds for such purchases, upon such sale the Corporation Counsel may bid an amount in excess of the tax lien held by the City and purchase parcels in the name of the City. The proceeds of such sale shall be applied as follows: If the amount of the proceeds is equal to or less than the amount of the tax lien held by the City of Rochester, plus accrued interest and late payment charges, the full amount of the proceeds shall be paid to the City of Rochester. If the amount of the proceeds exceeds the amount of the tax lien held by the City of Rochester, plus accrued interest and late payment charges, an amount equal to the tax lien plus accrued interest and late payment charges shall be paid to the City of Rochester, and the surplus shall be deposited by the City Treasurer in a bank account. Within 120 days after the sale, the City Treasurer shall give written notice by mail to any person who had a duly recorded ownership interest, mortgage or lien on the property prior to the sale, that the property has been sold and that a possible surplus may exist. Any such person shall be required, within 60 days after the date of said notice, to file a proof of claim with the City Department of Law of his or her right to all or part of the surplus funds from that property. Any surplus funds not claimed by filing a proof of claim within said sixty-day period shall become the property of the City and shall be committed for the purpose of tax relief and all claims shall be forever barred.
C. 
With regard to surplus funds held by the City Treasurer as a result of sales that occurred prior to July 1, 2014, the City Treasurer shall give notice to persons who filed a notice of interest or appearance in the foreclosure action that they must file a proof of claim with the City Department of Law of any claim to said surplus funds within 60 days after the date of said notice. Any surplus funds not claimed by filing a proof of claim within said sixty-day period shall become the property of the City and shall be committed for the purpose of tax relief and all claims shall be forever barred.
D. 
For any parcel for which a sale has been directed, the court shall make a final order authorizing and directing the Corporation Counsel to prepare, execute and deliver a deed conveying to the purchaser at the auction title to the parcel. Upon the execution of the deed, the grantee shall own the parcel in fee simple absolute free and clear of all liens and encumbrances existing at the time of the sale, and all other persons who may have had any interest in or upon the parcel shall be barred and forever foreclosed of all such interest.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection D.
[L.L. No. 3-1979; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
The Corporation Counsel is authorized to make rules and regulations as he or she deems appropriate or necessary to carry out his or her duties under this Title. The rules and regulations, and any amendments, shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk and formally communicated to the City Council. The Corporation Counsel is further authorized to take whatever steps he or she deems appropriateor necessary in his or her discretion to conduct or terminate the legal proceedings authorized by this Title.
Title 5 — Collection of Taxes by Action or Supplementary Proceedings Against Owners Personally Liable[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: L.L. No. 3-1979, in amending Title 4, created duplicate section numbers for §§ 9-141 through 9-144. Sections 9-141 through 9-144 of Title 5 were subsequently renumbered by L.L. No. 8-1979 as §§ 9-151 through 9-154.
[§ 464-a, c. 973, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
If any owner of a parcel or portion of real property who is, under the provisions of § 71 of the Tax Law of the State of New York, or other general or special law, personally liable for the taxes assessed against such parcel of real property shall neglect or refuse to pay any such tax imposed upon him or her, the Corporation Counsel may, at any time after one year after the date said tax became a lien and after written notification sent such owner by ordinary mail, addressed to his or her last known place of residence or business, setting forth a brief description of the property, the amount of the tax, and the date it fell due and the intention to apply the procedure prescribed in this Title, collect the same in the name of the City by action or supplementary proceedings.
[§ 464-b, c. 973, L. 1948; L.L. No. 1-1959]
Such action may be commenced in the City Court, in the Monroe County Court or in the Supreme Court, in the same manner as other civil actions are commenced in said respective courts, and the provisions of the Civil Practice Act and the statutes and laws relating to the conduct and prosecution of actions and to practice and procedure in these said respective courts shall apply to such actions.
[§ 464-c, c. 793, L. 1948;[1] L.L. No. 1-1959; § 1, L.L. No. 1-2006]
If such owner is a resident of the County of Monroe, supplementary proceedings to collect such taxes may be commenced by the presentation to a County Judge of Monroe County of an affidavit verified by the Corporation Counsel of the City of Rochester stating: that a tax has been levied against the person, firm, estate or corporation named therein; that said name is correctly entered upon the assessment roll; and the place of residence within the County of Monroe of said person, firm, estate or corporation; the amount of said tax; that the said tax is due and remains unpaid and that more than one year has elapsed since the same became a lien; that a written notice of said tax has been sent to said person, firm, estate or corporation in the manner provided in § 9-142. Thereupon an order may be granted requiring such person, firm, estate or corporation to appear before such County Judge, or before a referee named in such order, and answer concerning his or her or its property; and thereafter the same proceedings shall be had in all respects as in cases of proceedings supplementary to an execution against property as provided by the Civil Practice Act, and the provisions thereof shall thereafter apply to such supplementary proceedings, including but not limited to all such provisions relating to enforcement of collection of judgments.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former provisions contained in Sections 427, 428, 428-a, 428-b, 429, 429-a, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434 and 435 of c. 755, L. 1907 (Section 428 thereof having been amended by Chapter 505 of the Laws of 1917, Section 428-a having been added by Chapter 277 of the Laws of 1932, Section 428-b having been added by Chapter 319 of the Laws of 1943 and Section 429-a having been added by Chapter 425 of the Laws of 1943), were repealed by c. 793, L. 1948.