[Amended 9-23-1985 by L.L. No. 6-1985, approved 10-15-1985]
The taxable status date of all real property assessable in the
City of Port Jervis shall be fixed for the succeeding fiscal year
on the first day of March in each year.
[Amended 9-23-1985 by L.L. No. 6-1985, approved 10-15-1985]
A.
The Assessor shall in each year, on or before May 1, prepare and
file with the City Clerk-Treasurer a tentative assessment roll of
the taxable real property within the city. In the assessment of any
such real property within the city for any purpose, it shall be sufficient
to state the name of any one of the owners and the street and number
of any building thereon. If the land be vacant or the building not
numbered, then the name of the street on which it fronts shall be
given. If in the preparation of the roll an error or omission is made
in the description of a parcel of real property or in entering or
failing to enter the name of the owner, last known owner or reputed
owner, such omission shall not prevent the levy, collection and enforcement
of the payment of the taxes thereon if the parcel can be identified
and located with reasonable certainty.
B.
The Assessor shall forthwith cause a notice, in the manner and form
required by the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, to
be published once in the official newspaper of the city, stating that
the tentative assessment roll has been completed and filed with the
City Clerk-Treasurer and is available for public inspection by any
person until the fourth Tuesday in May. After publication of the notice
and until the fourth Tuesday of May, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall
make the tentative assessment roll available for public inspection.[1]
C.
On the fourth Tuesday of May, the Board of Assessment Review will
meet to hear and determine complaints in relation to assessments according
to the provisions of the Real Property Tax Law. The members of the
Board of Assessment Review, or a majority of them, shall prepare and
verify a statement showing any changes determined to be made by them
in the assessments and deliver such statement to the Assessor.[2]
D.
On or before the first day of July, the Assessor shall finally complete
the assessment roll and file a certified copy thereof in the office
of the City Clerk-Treasurer. The Assessor shall forthwith cause a
notice, in the manner and form required by the Real Property Tax Law
of the State of New York, to be published once in the official newspaper,
stating that the assessment roll has been finally completed and a
certified copy thereof so filed for public inspection. One (1) certified
copy of the assessment roll shall remain on file and available for
public inspection in the office of the City Clerk-Treasurer until
the first day of October. [3]
The Legislature of Orange County, after receiving the said certified
copy of the assessment roll, shall equalize the same with other tax
districts of the county as provided by law, and by resolution declare
and direct the amount of tax to be levied in said city for county
and state purposes, and shall thereupon cause the said tax so equalized
to be extended, apportioned and spread upon the assessment roll. A
warrant of the County Legislature shall be annexed to said roll, which
shall thereupon become the tax roll of the city, authorizing the City
Clerk-Treasurer, as Tax Collector of the city, to collect from those
named in the assessment roll the several sums noted in the column
opposite their respective names, and pay over the same in the manner
directed in said warrant.
Within five (5) days of the issuance of the warrant for collection
of taxes by the Orange County Legislature to the City Clerk-Treasurer,
said City Clerk-Treasurer, as Collector of Taxes, shall execute to
Orange County and to the City of Port Jervis a bond in the amount
of said taxes issued by a surety company qualified to do business
in the State of New York, providing that he will faithfully discharge
his duties as Collector of Taxes, pay over all moneys received by
him and account for said sums in the manner and time provided by law.
The bond, with the approval of the Mayor and Corporation Council endorsed
thereon, shall be delivered to the County Commissioner of Finance,
and upon his approval shall be filed in the office of the Orange County
Clerk. Thereafter, said bond shall be a lien on all the real property
held jointly or severally by the City Clerk-Treasurer, or his sureties,
within the county at the time of the filing thereof, and shall continue
to be such lien until its conditions, together with all costs and
charges which may accrue from the prosecution thereof, shall be satisfied
and discharged by law. The expense of securing such bond shall be
paid by the city. The bond premium so paid by the city, shall be included
in the next ensuing levy of county taxes upon the taxable property
within the city and shall be repaid to the city from the first moneys
collected pursuant to such levy.
[Amended 12-22-1997 by L.L. No. 11-1997]
Upon receiving said tax roll and warrant, the City Clerk-Treasurer,
as Collector of Taxes, shall cause a notice thereof to be published
once a week for two (2) successive weeks, in the official newspaper,
stating that he will attend at his office with said roll and warrant
for the month of January, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excepted,
from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., prevailing time, to receive state and
county taxes. All taxes paid within said month of January shall be
payable without fee, percentage or interest thereon. On all taxes
remaining unpaid after the 31st day of January, the City Clerk-Treasurer
shall collect 6% additional up to the first day of March ensuing,
and all taxes remaining unpaid after the first day of March shall
bear, and there shall be collected thereon, in addition, interest
at the rate of one per centum (1%) per month from the said first day
of March, which percentage and interest shall belong to the city.
If any such tax shall remain unpaid on the first day of February
after the delivery of the tax rolls and warrants to said City Clerk-Treasurer
as Collector of Taxes, he shall thereupon cause a written notice to
be given to every person residing in the city from whom such tax may
be due, specifying the amount of tax and the interest and penalties
thereon, requiring the same to be paid on or before the 15th day of
February of the same year at his office. Such notice may be served
upon any such person personally, or by leaving at his residence in
said city, or by depositing the same in the post office in said city,
properly enclosed in a postpaid wrapper, directed to him at his last
known place of residence or business.
If any such tax shall remain unpaid on the first day of February,
the City Clerk-Treasurer may proceed to levy upon any personal property
in the County of Orange and sell the same. Such levy and sale and
the disposition of the proceeds thereof shall be made in accordance
with the provisions of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New
York.
If any such taxes shall remain unpaid at the expiration of six (6) months after the same shall have become a lien, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall report the amount of such unpaid taxes to the Common Council as provided in § C6-19, and the Common Council shall cause the full amount thereof, exclusive of interest and penalties, to be paid to the Commissioner of Finance of Orange County. The full amount of such unpaid taxes reported to the Common Council and paid to the County Commissioner of Finance as herein provided shall be included in the next ensuing levy of county taxes upon the taxable property within the city, and any tax anticipation notes issued in anticipation of the collection of such taxes shall be paid from the first moneys collected pursuant to such levy.
Upon payment by the city to the County Commissioner of Finance
of the full amount of unpaid state and county taxes, as hereinbefore
provided, such unpaid taxes, as set forth upon the state and county
tax roll in and for the city, shall be due and owing to the city,
shall be deemed city taxes and shall be a lien upon the real estate
against which they were levied. The city shall collect such taxes,
together with the penalties and interest thereon, in accordance with
the provisions of law relating to the collection of city taxes, and
all provisions of law relating to ordinary city taxes shall apply
to all such taxes, penalties and interest.
For the purpose of the assessment of city taxes, the original
assessment roll made by the Assessor and hereinbefore required to
be completed and filed with the City Clerk-Treasurer by the first
day of August in each year, or a certified copy thereof made by the
City Clerk-Treasurer and not used for the assessment of state and
county taxes, shall constitute the city assessment roll for the ensuing
year.
If a special election is required to be held in that year, then immediately after the holding of such election, the Common Council shall cause the amounts authorized to be raised for all city purposes to be levied and assessed upon the property of each person, company, corporation or association appearing on said assessment rolls as the owner and to be set opposite the name of such person, company, corporation or association, respectively, in the column of said tax rolls to be headed "City taxes," in proportion to the valuation therein stated. After said assessment roll has been so completed and the taxes thereon extended, the same shall be confirmed and adopted by a resolution of the Common Council, and filed with the City Clerk-Treasurer, and when the warrant hereinafter provided for is annexed thereto, shall become the tax roll of said city. At the first Common Council meeting in March of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the Common Council shall cause to be annexed to said roll a warrant under the corporate seal of the city, signed by the Mayor or Acting Mayor, or a majority of the members of the Common Council, directing the City Clerk-Treasurer, as Collector of Taxes in and for said city, to receive and collect, from the several persons, companies, corporations and associations named in said tax roll, the several sums mentioned and set down opposite their respective names as taxes for general city and other purposes, in the manner in this Charter provided. Said city tax roll shall also contain a column headed "local assessments," and the Common Council of said city is hereby authorized to levy and incorporate in said roll and add thereto, opposite the name of any person, company, corporation or association liable therefor, in said column headed "local assessments," the amount of any such local assessment for any purpose specified in Article V of this Charter, and thereby cause the same to be collected at the same time and in the same manner as other city taxes are hereby authorized to be collected; or it may cause a separate tax roll to be issued for the collection of such local assessment as hereinbefore provided.
In addition to said city tax roll, the City Clerk-Treasurer
shall, annually, before any taxes for the year are collected, cause
to be entered the word "arrears" or "sold," as the fact may be, opposite
the assessment of any property thereon, either on which any local
assessment shall remain unpaid which was due or confirmed during the
previous fiscal year, or which may have been sold for any tax or assessment,
and yet be redeemable.
Immediately upon receiving any tax or assessment, the City Clerk-Treasurer,
as Collector, shall enter in a column provided for the purpose, and
opposite the name of the person paying the same, the fact of payment
and the date thereof, and shall give the person paying the same a
receipt therefor. Such receipt shall specify the date of such payment,
the name of the person making the payment, the description of the
property as shown on the tax roll, the name of the person to whom
the same is assessed, the amount of such tax and the amount of the
fees, interest or penalty collected therewith and the date of delivery
to said City Clerk-Treasurer of the tax roll on account of which such
tax was paid. Any person may pay one (1) or more taxes or assessments
upon his property, leaving others unpaid to be enforced in the manner
provided by this Charter. All receipts issued by said City Clerk-Treasurer
for taxes paid to him shall be numbered consecutively, commencing
with the number one (1) on the first receipt issued for taxes for
any one year, and he shall not receipt for more than one (1) year's
taxes on the same property, on any one tax receipt; but shall use
a separate and distinct series of numbers and receipts for the taxes
of each year for which the same are levied and assessed. The City
Clerk-Treasurer shall cause all tax receipts to be printed and numbered
and firmly bound together in book form, so arranged that when a receipt
is torn therefrom a corresponding stub will remain, and at the time
of giving such receipt the City Clerk-Treasurer shall make the same
entries on the corresponding stub as are required to be made on the
receipt. Such book shall be subject to public inspection and shall
remain on file in the office of the City Clerk-Treasurer as a part
of the public records.
If any such tax or assessment shall remain unpaid on the first day of July after publication of the notices hereinafter required to be given pursuant to § C6-17, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall serve or cause to be served upon the person, company, corporation or association, against whom such tax or assessment remains charged, a written notice requiring said person, company, corporation or association to pay the same within a time to be therein specified. Such notice may be served upon any such person, company, corporation or association personally or by leaving it at the last known residence or place of business of said person, company, corporation or association in said city, or by depositing it in the post office in said city, properly enclosed in a postpaid wrapper, directed to said person, company, corporation or association at the last known residence or place of business of said person, company, corporation or association. It shall not be necessary to make any other demand of payment of said tax.
If any person, company, corporation or association shall neglect
or refuse to pay any tax or assessment charged against him, her or
them within the time specified in the preceding section, the City
Clerk-Treasurer may proceed to levy upon any personal property of
such person, company, corporation or association in the County of
Orange and sell the same. Such levy and sale and the disposition of
the proceeds thereof shall be made in accordance with the provisions
of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York.
From the time of receipt of the tax roll and warrant by the
City Clerk-Treasurer as Collector, all taxes assessed and levied upon
any real estate set forth in such tax roll and warrant shall be a
lien upon such real estate for the amount thereof, with penalties
and interest, until the same shall be fully paid.
[Amended 12-22-1997 by L.L. No. 11-1997]
Upon receiving said tax roll and warrant, the City Clerk-Treasurer,
as Collector of Taxes, shall cause a notice thereof to be published
in the official newspaper once a week for two (2) successive weeks,
stating that he will attend at his office with said roll and warrant
for the month of April, Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excepted,
from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., prevailing time, to receive such taxes
and assessments, and that during said month of April one-half (1/2)
of said taxes and assessments shall be payable without penalty or
interest thereon. If said first installment remains unpaid after the
30th day of April, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall collect, in addition
to said installment, 6% of said installment. At least five (5) and
not more than ten (10) days before the first day of June in the same
year, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall publish in the same manner a
similar notice stating that he will attend at his office with said
roll and warrant for the month of June, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00
p.m., prevailing time, to receive the second one-half (1/2) of said
taxes and assessments, and that during said month of June the second
one-half (1/2) of said taxes and assessments shall be payable without
penalty or interest thereon. If said second installment remains unpaid
after the 30th day of June, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall collect,
in addition to said installment, 6% of the amount of said installment.
On all taxes and assessments remaining unpaid after the 30th day of
June, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall collect, in addition to said
6%, interest at the rate of one per centum (1%) per month from the
first day of July, which percentage and interest shall belong to the
city. Payment of the second installment of any tax or assessment levied
on the annual city tax roll shall not be made until the first installment
of taxes and assessments levied on said roll against the same property,
together with any penalty and interest thereon, is paid. Such warrant
shall be returnable at such time as the Common Council shall direct,
which time may be extended from time to time by resolution of a majority
of the Common Council, and said Common Council is also hereby authorized
to issue a new warrant for the collection of any such taxes and assessments,
and shall specify in such warrant when the same shall be returned,
and the same proceedings may be had thereon as upon the first warrant.
The taxes and assessments upon any real estate occupied by any person,
company, corporation or association other than the owner may be paid
by the occupant, and he shall have the right and is hereby authorized
and empowered to collect and retain the amount thereof, if paid by
him from, or set off the amount thereof against, the claim of the
owner for rent.
Within five (5) days of the issuance of the warrant for collection
of city taxes and assessments by the Common Council to the City Clerk-Treasurer,
said City Clerk-Treasurer, as Collector of Taxes, shall execute to
the City of Port Jervis a bond in the amount of said taxes issued
by a surety company qualified to do business in the State of New York,
providing that he will faithfully discharge his duties as Collector
of Taxes, pay over all moneys received by him and account for said
sums in the manner and time provided by said warrant and by law. The
bond, with the approval of the Mayor and Corporation Counsel endorsed
thereon, shall be filed in the office of the Orange County Clerk as
are the bonds of town officers who collect or receive taxes and assessments.
Thereafter, said bond shall be a lien on all the real property held
jointly or severally by the City Clerk-Treasurer or his sureties,
within the county at the time of the filing thereof, and shall continue
to be such lien until its conditions, together with all costs and
charges which may accrue from the prosecution thereof, shall be satisfied
and discharged by law. The expense of securing such bond shall be
paid by the city.
At the expiration of six (6) months after any tax or assessment
shall have been imposed upon any real estate in said city, the City
Clerk-Treasurer, as Collector, shall make and present to the Common
Council, at a regular meeting thereof, a transcript of any and all
such taxes or assessments which remain unpaid, and a statement of
the amount of the interest and penalties due thereon, and to which
shall be attached the certificate of said City Clerk-Treasurer that
said taxes remain unpaid; such certificate shall be presumptive evidence
of the truth of the statements therein in all courts and places, and
in all actions and proceedings, and any tax roll filed with the City
Clerk-Treasurer, or a copy of the same certified by him, shall be
presumptive evidence of the contents thereof, and the regularity of
such assessment in all courts and places, actions and proceedings,
and of the right to levy and tax or make any assessments therein mentioned.
Said Common Council shall as soon as practicable thereafter review
such unpaid taxes and assessments and correct all errors of every
description, except valuation, which have been made, either in the
original assessments or subsequent proceedings, and shall make or
cause to be made a correct and full description of the several parcels
of land, giving the location thereof and the lot number, if any, or
boundaries of such parcel, and the size or estimated quantity of land
in each parcel; and in case any such lands shall have been erroneously
assessed, then said Common Council shall make, or cause to be made,
and include in said statement a correct assessment thereof at the
same valuation as fixed in the original assessment roll, after giving
at least ten (10) days' notice to the person whose land is affected
thereby in the manner hereinafter provided, and such corrected assessment
and amount of taxes levied upon such lands shall be as valid and effectual
for all purposes as though they had been originally correct. Said
corrected lists, including the descriptions of the lands upon which
said taxes or assessments remain unpaid, shall be prepared under the
supervision of the City Clerk-Treasurer, and it shall be the duty
of any and all officers of said city to render such assistance as
may be necessary or required in obtaining correct descriptions of
such several parcels of land. Said Common Council shall have power
and jurisdiction and it is hereby authorized, empowered and directed
in all cases where any tax or assessment levied or imposed, or attempted
to be levied or imposed, by the Board of Trustees of the Village of
Port Jervis, on any land in said former village and now included within
said city, at any time within ten (10) years prior to the incorporation
of the City of Port Jervis, remains unpaid and in arrears, to add
all such taxes and assessments, with a description of the parcel of
land against which they were levied or attempted to be levied, to
the list or statement in and by this section directed to be prepared,
upon the same notice and in the same manner and with the same effect
as herein provided for arrears of city taxes, and shall treat the
same without regard to any supposed want of jurisdiction, irregularity
or defect, imposing or confining any of said taxes or assessments
so in arrears. When there is more than one (1) tax upon the same parcel
of land, the description of said parcel shall be inserted in said
list or statement but once, and the collection of all such taxes and
assessments shall be enforced by a sale of the real estate in the
manner hereinafter provided. The notice in and by this section required
to be given to persons whose lands are affected, by reason of being
placed on said list or statement of arrears, shall designate a time
when, and a place where, the Common Council will meet to hear objections
to any tax or assessment so in arrears, and any reason why any part
of such arrearages should be reduced or remitted; and it shall be
the duty of any owner or person having any interest in or lien on
said lands affected by said arrearages, and desiring to make objections
thereto, to file with the City Clerk-Treasurer, on or before the day
of such hearing, a brief and concise statement in writing of such
objections to said arrearages and their reasons why the same or any
part thereof should be reduced or remitted, and to serve a copy of
said statement on the Corporation Counsel within the same time. Said
statement shall be verified in the same manner as a pleading in an
action in the Supreme Court, and any person who shall file and serve
such objections shall be heard before said Common Council in person
or by counsel, if he demand such hearing, in a notice endorsed on
or attached to said objections and filed therewith, at the meeting
herein provided for, or at such other time and place as said Common
Council may designate. Said Common Council shall have power to call
witnesses and examine them under oath, in relation to all matters
concerning said taxes and assessments so in arrears, and compel the
production of papers and documents, and it shall be the duty of the
Corporation Counsel to assist in any such examination. The notice
in and by this section required to be given shall be served on the
owner, occupant, tenant or agent of the property affected, if known,
either personally or by leaving it at his last known residence or
place of business in said city, or by depositing it in the post office
in said city properly enclosed in a postpaid wrapper, directed to
him at his last known place of residence or business. If such owner
is unknown and the property is vacant and unoccupied, service may
be made by affixing said notice upon a conspicuous part of said premises
at least ten (10) days before the date of said hearing. Affidavits
of due service of the notices in this section required to be given
shall be made and filed in the office of the City Clerk-Treasurer
and shall become a public record, and shall be prima facie evidence
in all courts and places of the facts therein stated. The determination
of said Common Council in reference to said arrearages shall be final
and conclusive upon all persons.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
Prior to the date set for the sale of land for taxes, the Common Council may vote to exclude some of the parcels included on the list of delinquent properties from the properties offered to the public at tax sale pursuant to Section C6-20 of the Charter of the City of Port Jervis. The Common Council must vote to accept a bid on behalf of the City of Port Jervis for those excluded parcels to be retained by the City on the date designated for the tax sale for the sums owed the City for each lot or parcel with the result that those designated lots and parcels shall not be available or offered to the public at the tax sale conducted by the City Clerk-Treasurer. The City shall be designated as the sole and successful bidder for those parcels designated in the Common Council's resolution bidding upon and retaining said lots and parcels. Said lots so retained by the City shall still be subject to provisions of Sections C6-24, C6-25, C6-26 and C6-27 of the Charter of the City of Port Jervis, as amended herein, relating to redemption from tax sale, as well as all of the remaining Sections of Article VI of the Charter of the City of Port Jervis relating to the conveyance of real estate sold for taxes or otherwise.
The City Clerk-Treasurer shall cause a list of all the lots
and parcels of land, the taxes on which have been returned as unpaid,
and descriptions of which have been placed on said list of arrears,
together with such descriptions, to be published in the official city
newspaper once in each week for four (4) successive weeks, next preceding
a day to be hereby specified and fixed for the sale of such lands,
together with a notice, that if such taxes, assessments, fees and
penalties be not paid to the City Clerk-Treasurer, with interest,
penalties and expenses, on or before the day fixed for such sale,
such lands will be sold at public auction at the time and place designated,
to the highest bidder. If such taxes, interest, penalties and expenses
be not paid, the lands so advertised shall be sold by the City Clerk-Treasurer.
Before the sale, the owner of any parcel of land, or his representative,
or any person interested therein, may avoid the sale thereof by paying
the tax or assessment to the City Clerk-Treasurer, with all accrued
interest, penalties, fees, additions and expenses.
On the day named in the notice of sale, the City Clerk-Treasurer
shall commence the sale of such lands and shall continue such sale
thereafter from day to day successively until the whole thereof shall
be sold, except that adjournments may be made over Saturdays, Sundays
and legal holidays. Each parcel shall be sold at public auction to
the highest bidder. The purchasers at such sales shall pay the amount
required to complete their respective purchases to the City Clerk-Treasurer
forthwith after each parcel shall be struck off, and upon their failure
so to do, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall than and there reoffer the
parcel for sale again without any additional notice, as though said
parcel had not been struck off. Should there be no bid of the amount
due on any lot or parcel of land to be sold, then the City Clerk-Treasurer
shall bid in the same for the city, and the city is hereby authorized
to acquire said parcels and the Common Council shall have the care
and control of all such parcels and may lease, sell or convey the
same. The City Clerk-Treasurer shall keep a record of every such sale
in a book to be kept for that purpose. As soon as practicable after
the sale, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall prepare, execute and acknowledge
three (3) certificates of sale of each parcel of land so sold; one
(1) of said certificates shall be delivered to the purchaser, one
(1) filed in the City Clerk-Treasurer's office and one (1) filed in
the office of the Clerk of Orange County within ten (10) days after
the close of such sale. If there be two (2) or more purchasers, a
certificate shall be delivered to each. Such certificates shall contain
a brief general description of the parcel sold, the time of the sale,
the name of the purchaser, the amount bid and paid therefor, the name
of the person or persons against whom such tax or assessment was levied,
a statement of the fact that said premises were sold to pay a tax
or assessment and the time when such sale will become absolute and
the purchaser be entitled to a conveyance according to law. The certificate
herein required to be filed in the Orange County Clerk's office shall
be recorded by said Clerk in the same manner as deeds are required
by law to be recorded and shall be indexed against the party assessed
as the grantor, adding thereto "by the City of Port Jervis," and in
the name of the purchaser as grantee. The expense of filing and recording
such certificate shall be a part of the expenses of sale to be included
therein and collected therewith. No error in the description of lands
in any list published in any newspaper shall render any sale void
or in any manner affect its validity. If from any cause the City Clerk-Treasurer
shall be unable to attend at the time and place of the sale, the Common
Council, or in case it shall not have acted, the Mayor or Acting Mayor,
shall designate some other city officer to conduct the sale, and all
sales made by any such designated officer shall have the same force
and effect as if made by the City Clerk-Treasurer. In making sales
of real estate under the provisions of this Article, the officer making
the same shall require the purchaser to pay, forthwith after a sale,
a sum sufficient to pay the tax, assessment, interest, expenses and
charges against the parcel so sold, and the terms of sale shall require
the purchaser to pay the balance of the amount bid, if any there shall
be, to the City Clerk-Treasurer within five (5) days after the time
for redemption of such real estate shall expire, according to the
provisions of the Article. At the time and place of each sale, each
purchaser shall sign a memorandum of purchase, in which shall be incorporated
his agreement to pay the amount of his bid in accordance with the
terms of this section.
The proceeds of the sale of each parcel of land sold shall be
applied to the payment of the expenses of the sale as herein provided,
and the payment of the tax, assessment and penalty or interest for
which it was sold. The City Clerk-Treasurer, after the period of redemption
shall have expired, shall pay any surplus which may be paid to him
in a case where the bid exceeds the tax, assessment, penalty or interest,
and costs and expenses of sale as hereinbefore provided, to the person
or persons entitled thereto, and such person or persons shall be ascertained
in the same manner and by the same proceedings as in the case of a
surplus arising from the foreclosure of a mortgage on real estate.
In case any taxes shall be assessed and levied on real estate which
has been sold for taxes, subsequent to such sale, and before the redemption
thereof or conveyance thereof to the purchaser, and the same shall
be unpaid, the City Clerk-Treasurer may deduct the amount thereof
from any surplus in his hands of the sum bid for the sale, if there
be any surplus; if there be no surplus, or the same shall be insufficient
to pay such taxes, the person redeeming shall pay the same, otherwise
the purchaser shall pay the same before he shall receive his conveyance
for the land so sold.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
The owner of any real estate sold at a City Tax Sale, may redeem
same from such sale at any time within two (2) years from the date
of said sale by paying to the City Clerk-Treasurer for the use of
the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, or, if the same shall have been
redeemed by any other person than the owner thereof, then for the
use of such person, such sum or amount as may have been paid for by
the purchaser at or before the time of receiving his certificate,
together with interest thereon from the date of said certificate at
the rate of twelve per centum (12%) per annum, and all other sums
which he may have paid for taxes or assessments on said real estate,
together with interest thereon from the date of any such payments,
at the rate of twelve per centum (12%) per annum. In all cases of
redemption it shall be necessary to pay, in addition to the amounts
above provided for, the amount of any other tax or assessment which
has been levied upon such property, subsequent to the sale thereof,
and also the actual and necessary expenses which have been incurred
by the purchaser in the service of notices herein provided to be given,
in reference to the redemption of said property, and also any and
all expenses incurred by the city in connection therewith since said
sale; and on such payments' being made, the title acquired by such
sale shall cease and determine. In computing interest upon any sum
required to be paid to redeem any such parcel of land, interest shall
be computed for no less a period than one (1) month. Where payments
are made during any month of the period limited for redemption, interest
shall be computed for the whole of that month. In case of the redemption
of any land sold as herein provided, by the person who was the owner
thereof at the time of the sale, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall give
such owner a receipt for the amount paid by him to effect such redemption,
and on the production thereof by such owner to the County Clerk of
Orange County, and the payment of his fees therefor, such Clerk shall
cancel the certificate of sale by a proper entry upon the record of
such certificate in his office. Said sale shall likewise be canceled
by the City Clerk-Treasurer upon the record thereof kept in his office.
In case such payment is made by the owner of said real estate, then
and in the event all mortgages, judgments, decrees or claims which
were a lien upon said real estate at the time the tax or assessment
for which the sale has been made became a lien thereon, or which were
liens at any time before such sale was made, shall be and remain liens
upon said real estate, anything hereinbefore contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
The lien of a mortgage, duly recorded or registered at the time
of the sale of any lands for nonpayment of any tax or assessment thereon,
shall not be in any manner affected, except as provided in this section.
The purchaser at any such sale shall give to the mortgagee a written
notice of such sale within six (6) months from the expiration of the
time to redeem, requiring him to pay the amount of purchase money,
with interest at the rate allowed by law in case of redemption by
occupants within six (6) months after giving the notice. Such notice
must be given by personal service upon the mortgagee at the last known
address for said mortgagee, and an Affidavit of such service, in recordable
form, shall be kept by the City. The City Clerk-Treasurer shall receive
from each Tax Sale purchaser a mortgagee search certified as correct
by a licensed New York State title insurance agent, paid for by the
Tax Sale purchaser on each parcel. Said search must contain the last
known name and address of the mortgagee on each parcel. If the mortgagee
fails to comply with the requirements of such notice within the time
herein specified, the lien of such mortgage, upon the lands so sold,
shall thereby be canceled. The City of Port Jervis shall be obligated
to comply with all of the foregoing requirements to be performed or
completed by Tax Sale purchasers as set forth in this Section for
those properties excluded from the Tax Sale and retained by the City
of Port Jervis.
The holder of any mortgage which is duly recorded at the time
of the sale may, at any time after the sale of all or any part of
the mortgaged premises for unpaid taxes, and before the expiration
of six (6) months from the giving of the notice mentioned in the preceding
section, redeem the premises so sold, or any part thereof, from such
sale. Such redemption shall be made by filing with the City Clerk-Treasurer
a written description of his mortgage and paying to him for the use
of the purchaser, or his legal representatives, heirs or assigns,
the sum hereinbefore required to be paid for the purpose of redeeming
such lot, together with interest at the rate allowed by this Article,
and all costs and expenses which have accrued thereon. The holder
of such mortgage shall have a lien upon the premises redeemed for
the amount so paid, with interest from the time of payment, in like
manner as if it had been included in the mortgage, which sum, in case
of foreclosure of his mortgage, may be added thereto and collected
therewith.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
During the three (3) months preceding the expiration of the
time for redemption by the owner or occupant of any parcels of lots
so sold, the City Clerk-Treasurer shall commence the publication of
a notice of redemption from such sales, which shall show the year
when the sale took place and the last day for the redemption of the
lands not already redeemed by the owners, without other or further
description, and such notice shall be published at least once in each
of said three (3) months in the official newspaper of the city. A
copy of such notice shall be served personally on the owner or occupant
of the lands, or, if unoccupied, posted on the premises, at least
twenty (20) days before the expiration of such time for final redemption.
The publication and service of such notice shall bar and preclude
any and all persons except the purchaser or the City of Port Jervis,
having excluded and retained said lot or parcel from Tax Sale, on
such sale, or his assigns, or the person finally redeeming, from claiming
any interest in or lien upon such lands or any part thereof, in case
the said lands shall not be redeemed from such sale as hereinbefore
provided.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
Every such purchaser or the City of Port Jervis, having excluded
and retained said lot or parcel from Tax Sale, or assignee of a purchaser,
by himself or agent, shall, before he shall be entitled to a deed,
make an affidavit of his having complied with the conditions of the
Article, stating particularly the facts relied upon as such compliance,
to which affidavit shall be attached proof of the service of the notices
hereinbefore required to be given. Such affidavit and proof shall
be delivered to the City Clerk-Treasurer, to be by him entered in
the records of his office and carefully preserved among the files,
and such records and affidavit shall be prima facie evidence of the
facts therein stated.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
At any time after the expiration of two (2) years from the date
of sale of any lot or parcel of land for taxes or assessments, if
the same or any part thereof shall not have been redeemed as herein
provided, the City Clerk-Treasurer, upon request, and on the production
of the certificate of purchase, and upon compliance by the purchaser
or the City of Port Jervis, having excluded and retained said lot
or parcel from Tax Sale, or his assignee with all requirements of
this Article, and filing the proof thereof as required in the preceding
section, shall execute and deliver to the purchaser, including the
City of Port Jervis, or its or his heirs, successors or assigns, a
deed of conveyance of the real estate so sold for taxes and not redeemed,
under his hand and the seal of the city, and attested by the Mayor
or Acting Mayor of the city, and such deed shall vest in the grantee,
or his heirs, successors or assigns, an absolute estate in fee simple;
and such deed, when so executed, shall be conclusive evidence that
the sale was regular, and also presumptive evidence that all previous
proceedings were regular according to the law and provisions of this
Charter. After two (2) years from the date of such conveyance, such
presumption shall in every particular be conclusive. Every certificate
or conveyance executed in pursuance of this Charter may, when acknowledged,
be recorded in the same manner and with like effect as a deed acknowledged
or proved before any officer authorized by law to take the proof and
acknowledgment of deeds.
[Amended 7-27-2015 by L.L. No. 5-2015, approved 7-27-2015]
The purchaser or the City of Port Jervis, having excluded and
retained said lot or parcel from Tax Sale, may at any time after the
delivery of the deed of conveyance, and not before, obtain actual
possession of the premises by an action or proceeding at law, or by
causing the occupant of such real estate to be removed therefrom,
and the possession thereof to be delivered to him in the manner and
by the same proceedings, by and before the same officers, as in the
case of a tenant's holding over after the expiration of his term without
the permission of his landlord.
In addition to the remedies hereinbefore provided for the collection
of unpaid taxes and assessments, the Common Council shall have power,
at any time after the expiration of six (6) months from the time when
the warrant for the same was issued to the City Clerk-Treasurer, to
collect, by civil action in the name of the City of Port Jervis, any
city tax imposed for any of the purposes in this Charter mentioned;
and all assessment rolls and certificates and special assessments
filed with, or delivered to, the City Clerk-Treasurer, or a certified
copy thereof, shall be evidence in all courts and places, and in all
actions and proceedings, that the taxes and assessments therein contained
have been regularly and duly assessed and imposed and of the right
of the city for the recovery thereof. Any civil action so brought
shall not impair or affect the lien of such tax or assessment upon
any real estate against which it is assessed, or be held to constitute
a bar to any proceeding for the sale of the lands upon which such
tax or assessment is a lien. Such civil action may be brought against
any person, company, corporation or association liable for such tax
or assessment, or against their legal representatives, successors
or assigns, in any court of competent jurisdiction; and the amount
collected by any such suit shall be used and applied by said City
Clerk-Treasurer in the same manner as though the same had been collected
by the sale of real estate. Any judgment which may be recovered for
such tax or assessment shall include such tax or assessment with interest,
penalties and the costs and disbursements of the action, and may be
enforced against any property of the defendant within the state.
Whenever any purchaser under such sale, or his heirs or assigns,
shall be unable to recover or retain possession of any real estate
sold to him, by reason of irregularity or error in the assessment
of any person or property, or the levying of any tax thereon, or in
any proceeding for the collection of any tax, the Common Council shall
reimburse the purchase money so paid with interest from the time of
its payment at the rate of six per centum (6%) per annum, the amount
thereof to be presented and audited as other city charges; and thereupon
the Common Council of said city shall make a reassessment of any amount
or sums so paid upon the same real estate or against the same person,
in the same manner as hereinafter provided, which assessment shall,
for all purposes of this Charter, be deemed and taken to be an original
general city tax as of the date of such assessment.
It shall be presumed that every tax levied is valid and regular,
and that all the steps as required by law were taken and had until
the contrary shall be made to appear. Any action or proceeding commenced
by any person or persons to test the validity or regularity of any
tax levied shall be commenced within one (1) year from the date of
the delivery to the City Clerk-Treasurer, as Collector, of the roll
in which said tax is contained. The invalidity or irregularity of
any tax shall not be available as a defense to any action or proceeding
commenced after the expiration of one (1) year from the delivery of
the roll, as aforesaid, for the collection of said tax or assessment,
or for the enforcement of any right or title by virtue of any sale
thereunder, unless an action or proceeding to test the validity or
regularity of such tax shall have been commenced within the time hereinbefore
limited for commencing the same, and shall be still pending, or such
tax shall have been adjudged to be irregular or invalid.
Where the invalidity or irregularity of any tax or assessment
appears upon the face of the proceedings, any party in interest may,
after having made application to the Common Council of the city as
herein provided, apply by petition to the Supreme Court for an order
canceling the same. Said Court shall require reasonable notice to
be given to the city of such petition, and shall hear the proofs and
allegations of the parties, and shall, in case such irregularity or
invalidity is established, order such tax to be canceled, and thereupon
the same shall be canceled by the City Clerk-Treasurer.
The Common Council of the city may, at its discretion, release,
discharge, remit or commute any portion of the taxes assessed or levied
against any person or property for any error, irregularity or omission
in the levying of said taxes, or in any of the proceedings in relation
to the same. In case any assessment shall remain unpaid on account
of any irregularity, omission or error in any assessment authorized
by this Charter, or the laws in force when such tax was levied, or
in case of error in the description of lands or in the description
of the owner or occupants, the Common Council may, in its discretion,
or upon the application of any person interested, proceed to correct
such irregularity, omission or error, or cancel, remit or commute
such tax, or cause the amount so unpaid to be reassessed on the property,
the assessment against which remains unpaid, or upon the owner or
occupant thereof; and the Common Council is hereby authorized and
empowered to make such reassessment upon giving ten (10) days' personal
notice thereof to the owner, agent or occupant of the property against
which the amount remains so unpaid. It may direct the City Clerk-Treasurer
to correct any irregularity, omission or error, and such reassessment
or correction shall have the same effect as if the said assessment
had been properly made. But the Common Council shall not alter any
valuation made by the Assessor. Any omission to comply with the provisions
of this Charter in making an assessment or levying a tax, or creating
a lien, shall not render such assessment, or the tax levied thereunder
or the assessment made or lien created thereby, void, but shall be
treated as an irregularity merely, and it shall be the duty of any
and all courts, in case it shall appear that such irregularity exists,
to direct the same to be corrected or amended or the omission supplied,
if possible. In case any tax or assessment shall be void, or have
failed for want or jurisdiction or for any irregularity, mistake or
inadvertence in levying or assessing the same, the Common Council
shall have the power, and it shall be its duty, to cause the same
to be reassessed in a proper manner. Any sum paid thereon shall be
credited upon the tax so reassessed, and, if the sum paid shall exceed
the amount so reassessed, the excess shall be refunded to the person
entitled thereto.
Whenever an assessment shall be ordered for local improvements,
if the assessment is not added to the general city tax list, the assessment
shall be made to resemble in form, as nearly as practicable, the tax
list issued for general city purposes, and be provided with a column
in which payments can be entered by the City Clerk-Treasurer. All
provisions of this Charter relating to the collection of taxes shall
be applicable to the collection of local assessments, except so far
as they are herein modified or specifically provided for.
