[Adopted 3-19-2020 by L.L. No. 1-2020]
A.
There shall be, in the City of Plattsburgh, New York, a sole Assessor.
The Assessor shall be appointed by the Common Council of the City
of Plattsburgh and shall have all the qualifications and training
specified in § 310 of the Real Property Tax Law. The term
of the office shall be six years. Notwithstanding the preceding, the
City may enter into a contract with Clinton County pursuant to § 1537
of the Real Property Tax Law whereby the City hires and retains Clinton
County to provide assessment services to the City, and the County
agrees to provide assessment services to the City, in the manner provided
by Real Property Tax Law.
B.
There shall be, in the City of Plattsburgh, a Board of Assessment
Review which shall consist of five members. The members of the Board
of Assessment Review shall be appointed in accordance with § 523
of the Real Property Tax Law and shall serve for a term of five years.
All other duties, appointment procedures, training requirements and
other obligations of the members of the Board of Assessment Review
shall be as set forth in § 523 of the Real Property Tax
Law. The members shall elect one of their members to be Chairperson.
The Assessor shall, in each year, prepare an assessment roll
of the persons and property taxable within the City in the same manner
and form as required by the rules and regulations of the New York
State Board of Equalization and Assessment. Except as otherwise provided
by law, only one assessment shall be made each year for all the taxes
levied within the City during that year.
The valuation date shall be January 1 of each year.
Taxable status date shall be March 1 of each year. On or before
March 1 of each year, the Assessor shall complete an inventory of
all real property in the City of Plattsburgh, New York, including
the names of the owners.
The Assessor shall complete a tentative assessment roll prior
to May 1 of each year and cause notice of such completion to be published
in the official newspaper of the City of Plattsburgh, New York, on
or before May 1 of each year. The tentative assessment roll shall
be available for public inspection in accordance with § 506
of the Real Property Tax Law.
The assessment roll shall be completed and filed in the office
of the Assessor and copies thereof furnished to the City Clerk and
the Clinton County Board of Legislators on or before July 1 of each
year, and notice of the completion and filing of the final assessment
roll shall be published in the official newspaper of the City on or
before July 1 of each year.
The Board of Assessment Review and the Assessor shall have the
powers and duties prescribed by Title 1-A of the Real Property Tax
Law of the State of New York.
The Common Council must annually cause to be levied and raised
by general taxes upon all taxable property in the City according to
the valuations upon the assessment roll for the current year, corrected
as aforesaid:
A.
The amount of taxes certified to the Common Council of the City by
the Board of Legislators to be assessed by the City.
B.
The amount of all interest and any installment of principal falling
due upon bonded or other funded debts of the City.
C.
The amount necessary to defray the expenses of the Board of Education
for the fiscal year, including all capital appropriations.
D.
The amount necessary to defray the general City expenses of said
City for the current fiscal year as authorized and provided for in
this act and in all other acts relating to the City, including the
Local Finance Law.
E.
Taxes shall be collected as follows: One warrant, which includes
taxes to be levied for all the above purposes, shall be issued, and
said warrant shall provide for the payment of said taxes in four equal
installments, the first installment to be due on March 15 in each
year, the second installment to be due on April 15 in each year, the
third installment to be due on May 15 in each year and the fourth
installment to be due on June 15 in each year, except such dates as
fall on Saturday, Sunday or legal holidays, the next business date
shall be the due date for that installment. Nothing contained herein
however shall prevent the payment by any taxpayer of the total amount
of his annual tax and charges after the issuance of said warrant.
The City Clerk, under the direction of the Common Council, shall
extend and apportion the taxes to be collected on the assessment roll
delivered to the City Clerk, and as often as taxes are directed to
be collected, and shall forthwith file the same in their office and
shall make two copies of the same with the taxes to be collected,
extended or apportioned and shall certify such copies to be correct
duplicate city rolls of state, county and City taxes as the case may
be. Said roll shall then and on or before the first day of February,
or as soon thereafter as practicable, be delivered to the Chamberlain
of the City with the warrant annexed, under the Seal of the City,
commanding the Chamberlain to receive, levy and collect the several
sums in the roll specified as assessed against the person or property
therein mentioned or described, with such percentage or penalty and
interest as is in this act provided, in the manner provided by law
for the collection and levying of county taxes by town collectors
and with the additional powers conferred by this act. From time of
the receipt of the tax roll and warrant by the Chamberlain, all taxes
assessed and levied upon any real estate shall be a lien upon such
real estate for the amount thereof with percentage and interest until
the same shall be fully paid.
Immediately on the delivery of the City roll and warrant attached
to the City Chamberlain, for collection of the amount specified in
said warrant, the Chamberlain shall publish a notice once in the official
newspaper in the City that he has received said roll and warrant for
collection and that the amounts due may be paid at the City Chamberlain's
office during the regular business hours established for said office.
The City Chamberlain is directed to mail to each taxpayer, by depositing
in the post office in the City of Plattsburgh, New York, properly
enclosed in a postpaid wrapper, a notice showing the description of
his or her property and the amount of taxes due thereon. The Common
Council is hereby authorized to employ, within the amount provided
in the budget of each fiscal year, additional clerical help for the
purpose of preparing current tax bills.
Immediately upon receipt of any taxes, the Chamberlain shall
enter in a column upon the tax roll provided for that purpose, and
opposite the name of the person or corporation paying the same, the
fact of payment and the date thereof and give the person paying the
same a receipt therefor. The form and contents of said receipt shall
be fixed and determined by the said City Chamberlain. All taxes or
assessments paid within 30 days of the due date of each installment
of taxes shall be payable without fee, percentage or interest thereon.
On all installments of taxes or assessments remaining unpaid after
the expiration of such 30 days after the due date of each installment,
the City Chamberlain shall collect interest at the rate of 1% per
month from the expiration of said 30 days, which percentage and interest
shall belong to the City.
If any person shall neglect or refuse to pay any tax charged
against him within the 10 days above provided, the Chamberlain shall
forthwith issue his warrant under his hand and the Seal of the City
and addressed to any constable or police officer of the City, commanding
such officer to levy upon any personal property in the City or in
the County of Clinton, belonging to or in possession of the person
whose tax remain unpaid, and cause the same to be sold at public auction
for the payment of such tax and the fees and expenses of collection,
and no claim or property to be made thereto by any other person shall
be available to prevent such sale. The officer to whom such warrant
shall be delivered shall proceed as therein directed. Public notice
of the time and place of sale of the property to be sold shall be
given by posting the same in at least three public places in the City
at least six days previous thereto. The officer conducting such sale
shall return the proceeds thereof together with this warrant to the
Chamberlain within 15 days after the same shall have been issued to
him. He shall be entitled to charge the same fee as constables are
entitled to receive for collection money by virtue of execution. If
the proceeds of such sale shall be more than the amount of such tax,
the fees for collection and the expenses of sale, the surplus shall
be paid to the person against whom the tax is assessed, unless his
right thereto is disputed by some other person, in which case such
surplus shall remain in the hands of the Chamberlain, without liability
on his part or on that of the City for costs, until the rights of
the parties thereto shall be determined by due course of law.
The Chamberlain is hereby authorized and empowered to recover,
by action in any court of competent jurisdiction and in the corporate
name of the City, the amount of every tax remaining unpaid after the
expiration of 90 days from the first publication of the notice specified
herein, with the additions and fees unpaid thereon, and to recover
judgment therefor with 12% interest thereon and the cost and expenses
of such action. The City Judge shall have exclusive jurisdiction to
try such action when the sum claimed does not exceed $500. A transcript
of the judgment obtained in such action may be filed, and such judgment
docketed in the office of the Clerk of Clinton County, and it shall,
however small the amount, thereupon become a judgment of the County
Court of said county and a lien to the amount of said judgment upon
all real estate of the judgment debtor situated in said county and
shall have the same priority over any other lien or encumbrance upon
or transfer of the property charged with the tax for which such action
was brought as the lien sought to be recovered in said action. Upon
any judgment recovered for said unpaid taxes and docketed in said
County Clerk's office, execution may be issued and collected
as provided by law, and all the provisions of law in reference to
sale and redemption of real estate on execution, or to proceedings
supplementary to executions, shall apply to sale, redemptions or such
proceedings which may be had under this act.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Chamberlain to pay over to the Treasurer
of Clinton County the amount of the county and state taxes due to
the same. Payments shall be made at least once each month after City
tax collections have commenced. The aggregate of such periodic payments
shall continuously represent such portion of the whole of such county
and state taxes as shall be approximately equivalent to the ratio
of the total city roll charges which shall have been collected, apportioned
according to the ratio that the total county and state taxes bears
to the total City tax roll charges. The whole of such county and state
taxes due for each year shall be paid to the Treasurer of Clinton
County not later than December 1 of each year.
B.
Upon the final settlement with the County Treasurer, the Chamberlain
may pay from the general funds of the City the amount of uncollected
county and state taxes in his hands for collection, and thereupon
such taxes shall belong to the City of Plattsburgh and shall be deposited
to the credit of the fund or funds from which the original payment
was made.
C.
All other moneys received by him for taxes shall be deposited in
such banks as are made depositories of the City by resolution of the
Common Council.
The Common Council of the City may, in 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 relating
to the same. In case any assessment shall remain unpaid on account
of any irregularity, omission or error in any assessment authorized
by this act, 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 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 Chamberlain
to correct any irregularity, omission or error, and such reassessment
or correction shall have the same effect as if said assessment had
been properly made, but the Common Council shall not alter any valuation
made by the Assessors. Any omission to comply with the provisions
of this act 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 made, assessed or levied under this
act or which has heretofore been made, assessed or levied, or attempted
to be made, assessed or levied, upon property situate within the limits
of the Town of Plattsburgh or Assessor thereof or by the Board of
legislators of the County of Clinton, or the Board of Education of
Free School District No. 1 of the Town of Plattsburgh, shall be or
be declared void, or have failed for want of jurisdiction or for any
irregularity, mistake or inadvertence in levying or assessing the
same, the Common Council shall have 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,
the assessment shall be made to resemble in form as nearly as practicable
the tax list and be provided with a column in which payments can be
entered by the Chamberlain. All provisions relating to the collection
of taxes in this act shall be applicable to the collection of assessments
mentioned in this act, and the amount of all assessments for local
improvements in default at the time of the annual tax levy shall be
added to the amount assessed against the same land for general City
taxes and shall be collected and enforced in the same manner as in
the same provided.
