The Oswego Common Council hereby finds it appropriate
to provide taxpayers with the opportunity to pay delinquent taxes
by means of installment payment agreement.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ELIGIBLE DELINQUENT TAXES
The delinquent taxes, including interest, penalties and other
charges, which have accrued against a parcel as of the date on which
an installment agreement is executed.
ELIGIBLE OWNER
An owner of real property who is eligible to or has entered
into an installment agreement.
INSTALLMENT AGREEMENT
A written agreement between an eligible owner and the City
Treasurer providing for the payment of eligible delinquent taxes in
installments pursuant to the provisions of this article.
PRINCIPAL
The amount of the delinquent tax, excluding all interest,
penalties and other charges.
Installment payment of eligible delinquent taxes
shall be available to each eligible owner on a uniform basis pursuant
to the provisions of this article. Such installment payment of eligible
delinquent taxes shall commence upon the signing of an agreement between
the Oswego City Treasurer and the eligible owner. The agreement shall
be kept on file in the office of the Oswego City Treasurer.
The installment agreement shall be on the following
terms and conditions:
A. The term of the agreement shall be two years or 24
months.
B. The amount due under the agreement shall be the eligible
delinquent tax plus the interest that is to accrue on each installment
payment.
C. The amount due shall be paid, as nearly as possible,
in equal amounts, semiannually, on the last day of the month in which
it is to be paid.
D. Upon execution of the agreement, the eligible owner
shall pay to the Oswego City Treasurer a sum equal to 25% of the eligible
delinquent taxes.
E. Payments shall be applied first to interest, penalties
and other charges and then to principal.
Interest on the total amount of eligible delinquent
taxes, less the amount of the down payment made by the eligible owner,
shall be that amount as determined pursuant to § 924-a of
the Real Property Tax Law. The rate of interest in effect on the date
the agreement is signed shall remain constant during the period of
the agreement. If an installment is not paid on or before the date
it is due, interest shall be added at the rate prescribed by § 924-a
of the Real Property Tax Law for each month or portion thereof until
paid. In addition, if an installment is not paid by the end of the
fifteenth calendar day after the payment due date, a late charge of
five percent of the overdue payment shall be added.
A property owner shall be eligible to enter
into an agreement pursuant to this article no earlier than thirty
days after the delivery of the return of unpaid taxes to the Oswego
City Treasurer.
A property owner shall not be eligible to enter
into an agreement pursuant to this article where:
A. There is a delinquent tax lien on the same property
for which the application is made or on another property owned by
such person and such person and such delinquent tax lien are not eligible
to be made part of the agreement pursuant to this article.
B. Such person is the owner of another parcel within
the City of Oswego on which there is a delinquent tax lien, unless
such delinquent tax lien is eligible to be and is made part of the
agreement pursuant to this article.
C. Such person was the owner of property on which there
existed a delinquent tax lien and which lien was foreclosed within
three years of the date on which an application is made to execute
an agreement pursuant to this article.
The provisions of this article shall not affect
the tax lien against the property except that the lien shall be reduced
by the payments made under an installment agreement, and that the
lien shall not be foreclosed during the period of installment payments,
provided that such installment payments are not in default.