[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie 10-15-1997 by L.L. No. 32-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Taxation — See Ch. 183.
A. 
It is hereby found and declared by the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie that assessments of all properties should be fair and uniform. To that end, the Town Board finds that valuations of income-producing properties are often made, by a capitalization of income approach to market value. To that end, the Assessor requires income and expense statements from the owners of income-producing property in order to evaluate the assessments for such properties.
B. 
The Town Board also supports the rights of owners of income-producing property to have fair and equitable assessments. By providing the income and expense information, there will be more accurate tentative assessments and fewer Article 7 lawsuits, benefiting both the owners and the Town.
C. 
The Town Board further recognizes the right of privacy to the income and expense statements filed by owners of properties within the Town of Poughkeepsie.
A. 
Income and expense statements. Where real property is income-producing property, the owner shall be required to submit annually to the Assessor not later than the first day of February in each year, a statement of all income derived from and all expenses attributed to the operation of such property as follows:
(1) 
Where the owner's books and records reflecting the operation of the property are maintained on a calendar-year basis, the statement shall be for the calendar year preceding the date the statement shall be filed.
(2) 
Where the owner's books and records reflecting the operation of the property are maintained on a fiscal-year basis for federal income tax purposes, the statement shall be for the last fiscal year concluded as of the first day of January preceding the date the statement shall be filed.
(3) 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A(1) and (2) of this section, where the owner of the property has not operated the property and is without knowledge of the income and expenses of the operation of the property for a consecutive twelve-month period concluded as of the first day of January preceding the date the statement shall be filed, then the statement shall be for the period of ownership.
(4) 
The Assessor may, for good cause shown, extend the time for filing an income and expense statement by a period not to exceed 30 days.
(5) 
In the first calendar year following the effective date of this chapter, the owner shall submit to the Assessor income and expense statements for the prior two calendar or fiscal years.
B. 
Declaration. Such statements shall contain the following declaration: "I certify that all information contained in this statement is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that the willful making of any false statement of material fact herein will subject me to the provisions of law relevant to the making and filing of false instruments and will render this statement null and void."
C. 
Form. The form on which such statement shall be submitted shall be prepared by the Assessor, and copies of such form shall be made available at said Assessor's offices in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
D. 
Failure to file statement; penalties; enforcement procedures.
(1) 
In the event that an owner of income-producing property fails to file an income and expense statement within the time prescribed in Subsection A of this section (including any extension of time for filing), the owner shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000. Each week that an owner fails to file an income and expense statement, after the prescribed filing date, shall constitute a separate violation.
(2) 
In the event that an income and expense statement required under the provisions of this section has not been timely filed, the Assessor may compel by subpoena the production of the books and records of the owner relevant to the income and expenses of the property and may also make an application to any court of competent jurisdiction for an order compelling the owner to furnish the required income and expense statement and the books and records of the income and expense of the property. In the event that such an order is issued, the Assessor shall be entitled to recover from the owner the costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by the Town in connection with the proceeding to obtain and enforce the order.
E. 
Definition of "income-producing property." As used in this section, the term "income-producing property" means property owned for the purpose of securing an income from the property itself, but shall not include residential property containing three or fewer dwelling units or property classified in Class One as defined in Article 18 of the Real Property Tax Law.
F. 
Penalties for disclosure of information. Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the Assessor or any official or employee of the Town, any member of the Board of Assessment Review, any person engaged or retained by the Town, any person engaged by the Town on an independent contract basis or any person who, pursuant to this section, is permitted to inspect an income and expense statement or to whom a copy, an abstract or a portion of any such statement is furnished to divulge or make known in any manner the amount of income and/or expense or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any such statement required under this section. The officers charged with custody of such statements shall not be required to produce any income and expense statement or evidence of anything contained in said statement in any action or proceeding in any court, except on behalf of the Town or the Assessor. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to any owner or his or her duly authorized representative of a certified copy of any statement filed by such owner pursuant to this section or to prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular statements and the items thereof or delivery of a copy to a legal representative or other professional retained by the Town or the Board of Assessment Review retained with respect to a proceeding to review the assessment of the property at issue for use solely with respect to the review of said assessment and for no other purpose. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court; and, if the offender is an officer or employee of the Town or a member of the Board of Assessment Review, the offender shall be dismissed from office.
If any clause, sentence paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect impair or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this chapter or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.