A.
"Assessor," as used in this Charter, shall mean the
person appointed pursuant to the Real Property Tax Law, charged with
the duty of assessing real property in the City of Auburn and to perform
and discharge the usual duties and functions of an Assessor under
the Real Property Tax Law.
B.
Conformity with state law. Except as otherwise provided
in this Charter, the assessment of real property in the City of Auburn
shall conform to the Real Property Tax Law.
C.
Board of Assessment Review. There shall be a Board
of Assessment Review consisting of five members who shall be appointed
and shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by the Real Property
Tax Law.
The rolls upon which such assessments are made,
herein called and known as "assessment rolls," shall be prepared so
as to conform so far as practicable to the Real Property Tax Law and
shall be in such form and with such columns as the Council may direct.
A.
City tax. As soon as practicable after the adoption
of the annual City budget, the City Clerk shall forthwith proceed
to extend and apportion the amount to be raised by local taxation
on the assessment roll upon all real property on such roll liable
to taxation in the City, according to the valuations thereof on such
roll. Such tax when completed and extended shall be the "City tax."
B.
County and state tax. Upon receiving from the County
Legislature the amount to be raised for county, state and other purposes
and known as the "county and state tax" budget, the City Clerk, when
directed by the Council, shall forthwith proceed to extend and apportion
the same upon such assessment roll for the year upon all real and
personal property liable to taxation, according to the valuation thereof
on such roll. Such tax when so completed and extended shall be the
"county and state tax." The annual cost and expense of such extension
and apportionment, fixed on the basis of the ratio of apportionment
of the state and county tax between the City and the towns, shall
be a county charge, payable by the county to the City.
C.
Authority of Council. The Council may at any time
prescribe that the City tax and county and state tax budgets shall
all be apportioned and extended upon the same roll, or the same copy
of such roll, or upon separate copies of such roll, and may direct
and prescribe how and in what manner the same shall be done and when
completed.
When the City Clerk shall have apportioned and
extended any tax on such assessment roll as directed and completed
the same, he or she shall forthwith present the same to the City Manager,
and, when approved by the City Manager, a warrant shall be annexed
thereto signed by the City Manager and the City Clerk in substance
commanding the City Treasurer, or such officer as may be designated,
to receive, levy and collect the several sums in said assessment rolls
specified as assessed and taxed against the persons or property therein
described and named. The completed roll containing the City tax, apportioned
and extended as aforesaid, shall be delivered to the City Treasurer
on or before the 20th day of June in each year. The completed roll
containing the county and state tax, so apportioned and extended,
shall be delivered to the City Treasurer on or before the 20th day
of January in each year. The term "City Treasurer," as used herein,
shall mean and apply to the officer performing the usual duties and
functions of City Treasurer, by whatever name he or she may be known.
A.
The said City tax and county and state tax shall,
from the time a warrant for the collection of each, respectively,
is delivered to the City Treasurer, be and become a lien upon the
lands upon which the same, and each of said tax, is assessed and taxed.
Each installment of an assessment for a local improvement shall likewise
become a lien upon the lands upon which the assessment is made from
the time when such installment becomes due and payable. The lien of
any such tax upon any real property shall be superior to all other
liens and encumbrances thereon.
B.
If any such tax is not paid within three months after
it is due, it may be enforced and collected by action against the
person against whom assessed or the lien thereof foreclosed the same
as in a mortgage foreclosure case. Any such action or proceeding shall
be instituted in the name of the City of Auburn.
Every amount which may be directed by the Council
to be paid by any property owner for any improvement, benefit or work
done to or for his property, or to preserve the City from liability,
and which is not represented by a local improvement assessment shall
be a lien upon such property from the time when the amount thereon
is determined by the Council and ordered paid. If such amount is not
paid when the next City tax becomes payable, it shall be added to
such tax against such property.
Any warrant delivered for the collection of
a tax or local assessment, or any resolution determining the cost
of any improvement, benefit, removal or remedying of a dangerous condition,
shall be presumptive evidence in all actions and proceedings that
all the previous proceedings, including the assessing, extending and
levying of the tax, notice of the improvement and of the determination
of the amount thereof, were regular and according to law.
No error or mistake in the name of the owner
of any lands assessed upon any general tax roll, or upon any roll
for a local improvement, or the fact that the name appearing upon
such roll as the owner of any lands is not the owner thereof, nor
any irregularity in advertising or certifying any resolution or notice,
nor any omission of any officer, agent or contractor to carry out
any detail of any resolution, provision of ordinance or of contract,
shall invalidate such assessment, or such assessment roll, excepting
only where fraud is shown.
At any time after the completion of any assessment
or tax roll, whether the same is for a general tax or local improvement,
the Council may direct the correction of any error made in any name,
or in copying, or in levying or extending any tax; provided, however,
that five days' previous notice thereof shall be given to the party
or person interested or affected.
At any time the Council may order and cause
to be stricken from any assessment roll any property which is illegally
assessed and wrongfully thereon, or the assessment of which is for
any reason illegal and wrongful, and may cancel and annul any tax
extended and apportioned thereon and may order repayment of any such
tax which has been paid. In case any tax or assessment of any kind
shall be void, or fail for want of jurisdiction, or because of any
omission or irregularity in any respect in the levying or assessment
thereof, or in the sale or proceedings taken for the sale of real
estate upon which it was assessed, the Council shall have power, and
it shall be its duty, to cause the reassessment of such property,
or of the proper amount of such tax or assessment thereon, or may
order the Assessor to reassess the cost of a local improvement thereon,
or may direct a resale of such property. Any such reassessment shall
for all the purposes of this Charter be deemed and taken to be an
original assessment, and such resale an original sale.
The Council of the City shall have power to
prescribe by ordinance for the assessment of any property which has
been omitted from any assessment roll and to order and direct that
a just and equitable amount be assessed, levied and extended against
such property for the periods for which taxes or improvements are
so omitted and to order and direct that such amount so ordered assessed
be added to the next City tax against such property. The fact that
title to such property has changed since such omission occurred shall
not prevent the Council from making such a just and equitable assessment
to cover such omission.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
Every tax levied, assessed or extended upon
any roll shall become delinquent if not paid within one month after
the same becomes due and payable, and thereafter there shall be added
to such tax 1% per month or part thereof, to be collected by the City
Treasurer at the time such tax is paid. Such interest charges shall
belong to the City.
Upon receiving the tax or assessment rolls for
the City, county and state taxes, or any of them, the City Treasurer
shall cause a notice to be published in reference to the collection
thereof in a daily paper published in the City of Auburn twice a week
for four weeks, beginning respectively as follows: City tax beginning
the first week in July; county and state taxes beginning the first
week in March. Such notice shall be to the effect that he (or she)
has received rolls for such taxes and such taxes shall be collected
as follows: City taxes shall be payable in installments of 1/2 during
the month of July, the second half during the month of January, and
county and state taxes shall be paid during the month of March; that
the City Treasurer will, during such periods, receive payment of such
taxes without percentage, and that thereafter 1% per month will be
charged and collected for each delinquent installment of the City
and county and state taxes. Such notice, when so published, shall
be deemed a personal demand upon each and every person upon such roll
for the payment of the tax assessed against him or her. In addition,
the City Treasurer shall mail to each owner whose name appears upon
any tax or assessment roll a statement pursuant to Real Property Tax
Law § 922.
A.
Upon receiving payment of any tax or rent, the City
Treasurer shall enter, in a column on the assessment roll, opposite
the description of the property, the fact of payment and the amount
and date thereof, or, with the approval of the Council, the City Treasurer
may install a tax and rent card system for the recording of payment
of taxes and rents. Such card system shall contain at least one card
for each parcel subject to taxes or rents and shall contain a description
of each parcel of property in the same manner as required on the assessment
rolls of the City. On each card the amount of taxes levied or charges
made shall be entered and the fact of payment, the amount of payment
and the date of payment shall be recorded thereon. In the event of
the installation of a card recording system, the entries thereon shall
constitute a record of the payment of taxes or rents, and thereafter
no entries relating to the payment of taxes or rents shall be required
on the assessment rolls.
B.
Upon the payment of taxes or rents, the City Treasurer
shall give the person paying such tax or rent a receipt as provided
by § 986 of the Real Property Tax Law.
The City Treasurer is authorized to receive
payment of any tax or assessment for local improvement in advance
of the time when the same becomes due and payable as herein provided
and to give a proper receipt therefor, provided the amount of such
tax or assessment is ascertainable.
The Council shall have the power to extend the
time for the collection of any tax or assessment for local improvement,
for such period as it may deem advisable, and to postpone or regulate
the time for the collection of penalties or additions for delinquent
taxes. It may also postpone and change the date when either the City
tax or county and state tax shall become due and payable if in its
judgment such postponement is desirable or warranted by reason of
any unusual delays in the preparation of assessment rolls or budgets,
extension of taxes or the giving of any notices to property owners
directed by the Council.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 58, which
immediately followed this section and provided for the deposit of
school taxes, was deleted as obsolete. See L. 1953, c. 878.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
On the first day of April of each year, the
City Treasurer shall pay over to the County Treasurer the amount of
the collected county and state tax. Thereafter, the City, unless otherwise
directed by the Council, shall be indebted to the county for the amount
of the uncollected county and state tax, and said tax, together with
the lien thereof, and all additions and penalties, shall be and become
the property of the City. Payment over of the indebtedness presented
by the uncollected state and county tax shall be made by the City
to the county on the 10th day of each month as said tax is actually
collected through payment thereof or enforcement of the collection
thereof by tax sale and the foreclosure of the tax lien either by
procedure under this Charter or pursuant to the Real Property Tax
Law, such payment in any event to be completed not later than October
31 of the next succeeding year after the levy of the tax, pursuant
to Subsection C of § C-42 of the Charter.
If any tax or assessment appearing upon the
county and state tax roll, the money for which tax the City has paid
or credited to the County Treasurer, is for any reason uncollectible,
because of error, illegality or other cause, a record of the amount
of such uncollectible taxes or assessments so paid or credited by
the City shall be kept by the City Treasurer and reported each year
to the Council. The Council may direct that such amount of uncollectible
tax be added to the amount of the next county and state tax budget,
when reported to it, and be levied, extended and collected with such
budget amount. When collected such amount shall be credited to the
City.
On May 1 of each year, the City Treasurer shall
prepare a statement of all taxes outstanding and unpaid on the City
and county and state tax rolls and combine and assemble the same to
show the total outstanding against each piece of property; thereafter
such statement shall be known as the "total tax" unpaid. Upon payment
of any tax in such statement, and before advertisement of sale, as
herein provided, the same additions shall be charged for penalties
as if each such tax were separate.
Upon completion of such total tax statement,
the City Treasurer shall file it with the City Manager, who shall
report the same to the Council with his (or her) recommendations.
The Council may thereupon by ordinance direct that constables of the
City be employed to make such collections and may authorize the City
Manager to issue a special warrant to each such constable he or she
may designate commanding such constable to levy the amount of any
unpaid tax or assessment named in said warrant, and 5% thereon for
his or her fees, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of
the person upon whose real or personal property such unpaid tax or
assessment is levied, or of any goods or chattels in his or her possession,
wherever the same may be found in said City, and further directing
that such officer pay the same over to the City Treasurer forthwith,
and to make return of such warrant not later than the date therein
stated. Such ordinance shall provide that such constable shall give
at least five days' public notice previous to the sale, by notice
to be posted in at least three public places in said City, and that
no claim of property made to such goods and chattels so found in the
possession of such person shall be available to prevent a sale, and
may contain such other provisions in reference to such collections
and sale and the enforcement of the collection for such unpaid taxes
or assessment as the Council may direct.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
A.
On or about the first day of June in each year the City Treasurer shall cause to be published at least once a week for two weeks in a newspaper published in the City of Auburn a notice of sale of real property for unpaid taxes, specifying a day (no earlier than five days after the second notice is published) and the time at which the sale will commence and the location of such sale. Such notice shall contain a list of the real property to be sold giving a brief description of each parcel by street, tax map or other map number, or other appropriate designation, the name of the owner or occupant as the same appears on the tax roll and the aggregate amount due on each parcel as of the time of sale, such amount to include the unpaid taxes for the year advertised, including all interest (at the rate and for the periods set forth in § C-51 above), penalties and all other expenses chargeable against the parcel (including but not limited to such parcel's share of the expense of publication and notice). The notice shall state that if the aggregate amount stated in the notice is not paid prior to the date and time set forth in the notice for the sale, the City Treasurer shall sell the real property on which or in respect to which such taxes have been imposed or levied at the sale in accordance with this Article IV to pay such taxes, interest, penalties and charges. No error with respect to a parcel in any list shall render the sale void or in any manner affect the validity thereof except as to the effect, if any, on the particular parcel in respect to which such error occurred.
B.
Proof of the publication of the notice shall be filed
in the office of the City Treasurer.
C.
The City Treasurer shall also, prior to the commencement of publication required by Subsection A of this section, cause notice of such tax sale to be sent by first class mail to the name and address of the owner or occupant, as shown on the tax roll, of each parcel to be sold. Such notice shall contain a brief description of such parcel, the aggregate amount due on such parcel at the time of sale, and a statement that unless such amount is paid prior to the commencement of the tax sale proceedings the real property will be sold. The expense of mailing such notice shall be an additional expense chargeable against the parcel.
D.
On the day and at the hour specified in such notice,
the City Treasurer, or such other person as may be directed by the
City Manager as provided below, shall commence such sale and continue
the same from day to day until all such real property shall be sold.
If in case of sickness, absence, inability or other cause the City
Treasurer is unable to conduct such sale, the City Manager may name
some other officer to conduct such sale by filing in the office of
the City Clerk a written designation. Such person shall have the same
powers as herein given to the City Treasurer in reference to such
sale. The City Treasurer may in his/her discretion decline to receive
a bid on any parcel if in his/her opinion the bid is made by or for
any person not acting in good faith. In such event, the parcel may
be sold the same as if such bid had not been made. The factors which
the City Treasurer may consider in determining whether a person is
acting in good faith include, but are not limited to, the history
of such person or any affiliate of such person of timely paying taxes
and maintaining its property in good condition and repair.
E.
The purchaser of each parcel, immediately upon the
conclusion of the sale of such real property, shall pay the amount
of such sale to the City Treasurer. Upon payment of such amount, the
City Treasurer shall furnish the purchaser with a written certificate
describing the real property purchased and the amount paid thereon
and dating the certificate as of the date of the sale; provided, however,
if payment shall be made by check, the certificate shall not be delivered
to the purchaser until payment on such check is received by the City,
but the certificate shall, when delivered, be dated as of the date
of the sale. Such certificate shall also contain a statement to the
effect that if the real property described thereon is not redeemed,
the purchaser may complete the purchase and take a conveyance of the
real property. Such certificate shall also state that if a conveyance
is not taken within five years of the date of the certificate, the
certificate shall become void and no claim may thereafter be made
on such certificate, unless such certificate was originally purchased
by and still held by the state, the County of Cayuga or the City of
Auburn.
F.
If a purchaser fails to pay the amount of the bid as required under Subsection E above, the City Treasurer may set aside the sale to such purchaser and all rights of the purchaser thereunder shall be extinguished. A certificate of sale may thereafter be issued to any person paying the amount of such bid. If after the expiration of 30 days no one has paid such amount, the City of Auburn shall become the purchaser, the same as if the City had been the successful bidder for the entire parcel at the sale. Notwithstanding the setting aside of such sale or the issuance of a certificate to the City, such bidder shall remain liable to the City for the amount bid, plus interest thereon at the rate of 10% per year computed from the date of the bid.
G.
Each such certificate shall be conclusive evidence
that the sale and all proceedings prior thereto were regular and according
to the provisions of this Charter and all laws in any manner relating
thereto.
H.
Each such certificate shall be executed in the same
manner as a deed, acknowledged or proved before any officer by law
authorized to take the proof and acknowledgment of a deed.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
In case such property shall be sold for an amount
in excess of the unpaid taxes, interest, penalties, additions and
expenses, the surplus shall be paid by the City Treasurer into the
County Court of Cayuga County by delivering the same to the Clerk
thereof, accompanied by a statement of the facts connected therewith,
and such Court shall ascertain and determine, upon application made
to it for that purpose by any person interested, who is entitled to
such money and shall make such order and decree of distribution and
payment as may be just and proper.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
A.
If upon such sale, with respect to any parcel of real property, no bid shall be made, or if the highest bid shall be less than the aggregate amount stated in the notice of sale, the City Treasurer may declare the same sold to the City of Auburn for the aggregate amount stated in the notice of sale for such real property, and the City Treasurer shall issue the City a certificate of sale describing the property and stating the amount set forth in the notice of sale. The City Treasurer may subsequently issue and deliver a certificate of sale to any person who shall pay the amount chargeable thereon. Within 40 days after the last day of the sale conducted under § C-60, the City Treasurer shall report to the Council the total amount and the accounting of such real property sold to the City.
B.
In the event the City shall be the purchaser at the sale, or by declaration, the City shall, for all purposes of this Article IV, be deemed the purchaser, and, except as otherwise specifically stated herein, such purchases by the City shall be subject to the same right of redemption as purchases by any other person. If a parcel sold to the City is not redeemed, the deed therefor shall have the same effect and become absolute in the same time and upon the same conditions as in the case of a conveyance to any other person.
C.
The City Treasurer shall reject all bids made on any
parcel of real property in which the City has an interest and shall
bid on such parcels for the City for the amount stated in the notice
of sale.
D.
Notwithstanding any other provision, the Council may,
by resolution, authorize and direct the City Treasurer to purchase
real property at the tax sale, without competitive bidding, for the
aggregate amount stated in the notice of sale.
E.
Installment payments of delinquent taxes.
(1)
When delinquent taxes may be paid in installments.
(a)
When any taxes, including any assessments for local improvements, upon any real property in the City of Auburn shall have remained delinquent and unpaid and such real property has been sold for such unpaid taxes or assessments and a certificate or certificates have been taken therefor by the City of Auburn and such certificate or certificates has (have) not been assigned or sold by the City of Auburn, the City Treasurer may, but shall not be obligated to, permit payment of such delinquent taxes and assessments and the fees, interest charges, penalties and other charges thereon in such monthly installments as may be necessary to ensure full payment thereof within a period not to exceed the total number of months for which there are such delinquent and unpaid taxes and assessments, or 48 months, whichever is shorter. No property shall be eligible for the method of payment of delinquent taxes and assessments authorized under this Subsection E(1)(a) unless it shall be improved by a one-, two- or three-family residential (or residential/mixed-use) dwelling and the owner of the property shall be and, during the term of the agreement, shall continue to be domiciled in such dwelling. The City Treasurer in his sole discretion shall determine whether an owner is domiciled or continues to be domiciled in such a dwelling and whether a domicile has been created or acquired artificially or in bad faith.
(b)
When any taxes, including any assessments for local improvements, shall remain delinquent and unpaid upon any real property in the City of Auburn, which real property does not meet the requirements of Subsection E(1)(a) above (i.e., such real property is commercial, industrial, four-or-more-family residential, the owner is not domiciled therein, etc.) and a certificate or certificates has or have been taken therefor by the City of Auburn and such certificate or certificates has or have not been assigned or sold by the City of Auburn, the City Manager may, but shall not be obligated to, permit payment of such delinquent taxes, assessments, fees, interest charges, penalties and other charges in such monthly installments as may be necessary to ensure full payment thereof within a period not to exceed the total number of months for which there are such delinquent and unpaid taxes and assessments, or 48 months, whichever is shorter.
(2)
Agreement and installment payments.
(a)
No person shall be entitled or permitted to pay such delinquent taxes and assessments in installments as provided in Subsection E(1) above until he shall first have applied for and executed an agreement in writing with the City Treasurer or City Manager, as the case may be, upon a form to be furnished by the City Treasurer (or City Manager), which form shall be approved by the office of the Corporation Counsel for the City of Auburn, wherein the applicant shall agree to:
[1]
Pay all taxes and assessments and unpaid interest,
penalties and other charges upon such real property which are delinquent
and unpaid as of the date of such agreement, together with interest
on all such amounts at the rate of 10% per year from the date of such
agreement;
[2]
Make such monthly payments regularly in the
amounts and at the times therein provided;
[3]
Pay, on all real property within the City of
Auburn owned by such applicant, all installments on current taxes
and assessments and any fees and penalties thereon promptly as they
respectively become due and payable and in any event prior to any
sale thereof; and
(b)
The City Treasurer (and City Manager, as the case
may be) is authorized to provide in such agreement that so long as
the provisions of § C-52E and the agreement are fully and
timely complied with, the City and its officers will not take a tax
deed for or bring any action to foreclose the lien of the taxes or
assessments on such real property which are delinquent and are covered
by the agreement during the period covered by such agreement; provided,
however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the City Treasurer from
proceeding with the procedures set forth in §§ C-61,
C-62, C-63, C-64, C-65, C-66 and C-67 of this Charter, or enforce
any judgments obtained against such person in any action brought by
the City to recover such delinquent taxes. Any agreement entered into
by the City Manager pursuant to the above authority shall provide
that the payments made thereunder shall be made to the City Treasurer,
and a copy of such agreement shall be furnished to the City Treasurer.
(3)
Application of installment payments. The City Treasurer
shall enter in a special account the amounts of payments made under
each such agreement, to the credit of the respective taxpayers. Each
such payment shall be applied first to the interest at the rate provided
in the agreement, and the balance shall be then applied to the items
of interest, penalties, charges, taxes and assessments, in that order,
and such amount shall be applied to the year of the oldest delinquency.
To the extent that the amount of such payments entered in such account
is sufficient to pay, in full, the interest, penalties, charges, taxes
and assessments for a given year, the City Treasurer shall so apply
such payments and issue to the taxpayer a satisfaction and discharge
therefor.
(4)
Taxpayer's default.
(a)
In the event of a failure to comply with the agreement or with the terms of this Subsection E, such agreement shall, without further notice, terminate and be void and of no effect, and in such event the City Treasurer shall retain the sums, if any, which have been paid under the agreement and the same shall be applied to the items of unpaid taxes, assessments, interest, fees, penalties, and charges as provided above.
(b)
No such installment payment or payments, and no discharge
as to any portion of taxes and assessments to which such payments
have been applied, shall prejudice or prevent the City or its officers
in any way, in case of default under the agreement, from taking tax
deeds or instituting foreclosure proceedings or resuming tax collection
procedures without further notice, as though no such agreement had
been made, or from enforcing any terms or conditions of the agreement
or from commencing an action for breach of the agreement.
(5)
Installment payment with Council approval. Notwithstanding anything provided to the contrary in this Subsection E, in the event the City Treasurer has refused to enter into an agreement, under the authority granted in Subsection E(1)(a) above, with the owner of property which meets the requirements of Subsection E(1)(a) or the City Manager has refused to enter an agreement under the authority granted in Subsection E(1)(b), then in either such event the owner of such property may make a written request for the Council to authorize the City of Auburn to enter into an agreement with said property owner for the installment payment of tax arrears. After the receipt of such written request, the Council may, but shall not be obligated to, enter an agreement with the property owner for installment payments for the delinquent taxes, which agreement, if authorized by the Council, shall contain such terms and conditions as may be satisfactory to the Council.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
The owner, or any person interested in any real
property sold for taxes, may redeem such property at any time before
the issuance of a deed to such purchaser by paying to the City Treasurer,
for the use of such purchaser or those claiming under him, or the
City, as the case may be, the sum equal to:
A.
The sum for which the property was sold, together
with interest thereon at the rate of 10% per year computed from the
date of such certificate; and
B.
Provided the City Treasurer has been notified, in writing, of such amounts prior to the redemption, the amount of any tax, special ad valorem levy or special assessment, including penalties and interest thereon prescribed by law, on such real property which the purchaser has paid after the sale and prior to the date of redemption, plus such amounts as may have been paid by the purchaser to redeem such property from prior or subsequent tax sales, plus the amounts referred to in § C-65 below, with interest on all such amounts referred to in this Subsection B at the rate of 10% per year from the date of payment thereof.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
If such real property is redeemed, or the amount
of such unpaid taxes, penalties, interest and other charges is paid
at any time after sale, by the holder of any lien or purchaser at
any prior tax sale, then such amount so paid may be added to the lien
of such lienor or the amount of the claim of such prior purchaser
at the prior tax sale.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
The purchaser at any sale may, at the purchaser's
expense, have an abstract of title or certified search prepared on
such real property, and such expense (not to exceed $750), together
with any expense of mailing, service or publication, if certified
(with receipt for payment attached) by the purchaser to the City Treasurer
before such property is redeemed, shall be added to the charges against
such property and to the amount required to redeem.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
A.
Neither the owner, occupant nor any other person shall
have the right to despoil any lands sold at the tax sale by removing
buildings or other improvements or cutting, removing or destroying
timber or other valuable products growing, existing or being thereon
at or after the time of sale.
B.
The purchaser at any such sale, or those claiming under him, shall not enter upon or exercise acts of ownership on such real property until after the expiration of the redemption period and the delivery of a deed under this Article IV. Any such purchaser whose bid therefor has been fully paid, his assigns or representatives may at any time before obtaining his deed cause to be served a notice on any person despoiling such real property or interested in making such despoliation, either personally or by leaving the same at the residence of such person or with any member of his family of suitable age and discretion. The notice shall describe the real property sold, shall state that the real property was sold for taxes by the City Treasurer and that an action to recover the value of the buildings, timber or other products destroyed or removed therefrom after the date of sale will be instituted against all persons concerned in such despoliation.
C.
If such real property is not redeemed, every person
despoiling such lands or interested in making such despoliation upon
whom service of the notice has been made shall be liable to pay to
the holder of the tax sale certificate thereon the full value of any
buildings, improvements, timber or other products cut or destroyed
or removed therefrom from the date of the tax sale to the termination
of such action and may be restrained by injunction from committing
any waste thereon.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
A.
To whom, by whom and when sent. The purchaser at the
sale or any person claiming under such purchaser, no earlier than
nine months after the date of the sale, shall serve a notice of redemption
upon the following persons, as such persons may exist on the date
such notice is sent: the owner of the real property (as such owner
and at such address as may be shown on the then-current assessment
roll); the holder of any mortgage, judgment or other lien appearing
of record in the County Clerk's office (at the address of such person
as shown in such mortgage, judgment or lien); the purchaser of any
prior tax sale (according to the records of the City Treasurer); any
occupant of such real property (to the address of such real property);
and upon any other person shown, in records on file in the Cayuga
County Clerk's office, to have an interest in or lien on such real
property (to the address of such person as shown in the instrument
creating such interest or lien). No other, further or different notice
of the expiration of the time to redeem shall be required to be served
or given.
B.
Contents. The notice of redemption shall:
(1)
Be in writing;
(2)
Briefly describe the real property to which the notice
of redemption applies;
(3)
Identify the owner against whom the property was assessed
at the time of the sale under which the purchaser acquired its interest
in the real property;
(4)
State the amount paid by the purchaser at the sale;
(5)
State the amounts the purchaser is entitled to be paid under § C-63 above, including, without limitation, interest, the amounts paid by the purchaser after the purchase for taxes, interest, penalties, charges and to redeem the property from prior or subsequent tax sales;
(6)
State the last day upon which the real property may
be redeemed (which date shall be at least 90 days from the date such
notice of redemption is served);
(7)
Contain a concise statement of the aggregate amount
required to be paid to redeem, as of the date of the notice, together
with a per diem interest amount;
(8)
State that unless the amounts required to be paid
to redeem, with interest, are paid to the City Treasurer for the benefit
of the purchaser or those claiming under the purchaser by the last
day to redeem, the real property will be conveyed to the purchaser
and the conveyance shall be absolute and the party to whom the notice
is addressed shall be forever barred from redeeming such real property;
and
(9)
State that no other or further notice to redeem is
required to be given.
C.
D.
Affidavit. Within one month after the giving of such
notice of redemption the purchaser shall file with the City Treasurer
and with the Cayuga County Clerk's office a copy of the notice served
and an affidavit stating that the notice was served in accordance
with this section and specifying the person(s) served and the mode
of service in each instance.
E.
"Occupant." The term "occupant" as used in this section
means a person who has lawfully entered and is in possession of the
real property to the exclusion of others.
F.
Certificate of redemption. Upon the redemption of
a parcel of real property, the City Treasurer shall deliver to the
person redeeming such real property a certificate of redemption which
shall refer to the certificate of sale, briefly describe the real
property and state that the real property has been redeemed.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
A.
If the real property sold for taxes is not redeemed by the date specified in the notice of redemption (which date shall be no earlier than 90 days after the notice of redemption is served), upon the written application of the purchaser to the City Treasurer to convert the purchaser's tax sale certificate into a quitclaim deed, and upon the City Treasurer being satisfied that the notice of redemption has been served in accordance with this Article IV and the necessary affidavit filed with the City Treasurer, the City Treasurer shall execute and deliver to the purchaser a quitclaim deed to the real property so sold and unredeemed, which quitclaim deed shall rest in the grantee an absolute estate in fee, free from all liens, claims, demands and encumbrances, subject, however, to:
(1)
All claims of the county, City and state for taxes,
liens or other encumbrances (except for those taxes which formed the
basis for the sale of the unredeemed certificate);
(2)
All easements and rights-of-way which were in existence
at the time of the levy of the tax the nonpayment of which resulted
in the tax sale; and
(3)
The rights, if any, of the purchaser of a tax sale
certificate issued subsequent to the tax sale certificate then being
converted.
B.
Every such conveyance shall be executed by the City
Treasurer under his/her hand and the Seal of the City of Auburn, and
the execution thereof shall be acknowledged before a proper officer
the same as other conveyances of real estate are acknowledged under
the laws of New York and shall recite the fact of such assessment
and tax, the failure to pay the same, the sale and that such real
property has not been redeemed.
C.
The City Treasurer shall receive $100 for preparing
such conveyance.
D.
If application for a conveyance which demonstrates compliance with the requirements of this Article V is not made within five years from the date of the certificate of sale (except where such certificate was purchased at the sale by and is still held by the state, the County of Cayuga or the City of Auburn), the certificate of sale shall become void and no claim may be thereafter made on such certificate; provided, however, that any such certificate issued prior to January 1, 1993, shall not become void as provided above until January 1, 1998.
E.
In the event the City of Auburn is the purchaser, no written application under Subsection A above shall be required, and the conveyance shall run to and name the City of Auburn as grantee and the title thus acquired by the City may be disposed of at such time and upon such terms or shall be determined by the Council at any meeting thereof.
F.
Such deed shall be presumptive evidence that the sale
and all proceedings prior thereto, from and including the assessment
of the real property sold, and all notices required by law to be given
previous to the expiration of the time allowed by law for the redemption
thereof were regular and in accordance with all the provisions of
law relating thereto; provided, however, that if application is made
to a court of competent jurisdiction within two years from the recording
of such conveyance, such conveyance shall be subject to cancellation
by reason of the prior payment of the taxes, the nonpayment of which
resulted in the sale; the illegal levy thereof by the City; or any
defect in the proceedings affecting jurisdiction upon constitutional
grounds. After two years from the date of the recording of such conveyance,
such presumption shall be conclusive, and all occupants, mortgagees
and other persons interested in such real property shall thereupon
be forever barred from all liens upon, claims against, interest in
or right or title thereto.
G.
Every certificate of sale, certificate of redemption, certificate of cancellation of sale, certificate of termination of cancellation or deed executed in pursuance of this Article IV may be recorded in the same manner and as a deed acknowledged or proved before any officer authorized by law to take the proof and acknowledgment of deeds.
H.
Upon the receipt and recording of such a conveyance,
the grantee may possess and enjoy for his/her own use the real property
described therein and may cause the occupant(s) of such real property
to be removed therefrom and the possession to be delivered to him/her
in the same manner and by the same proceedings as in the case of a
tenant holding over after the expiration of the term without the permission
of the landlord.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
The City Treasurer shall not convey any real estate sold for taxes if he/she discovers before such conveyance that the sale was for any cause invalid or ineffectual to give title to the real property sold. In such event he/she shall cancel the sale and cause the purchase price (less any surplus moneys paid into Court under § C-61) to be refunded to the purchaser and at the same time issue, for recording in the Cayuga County Clerk's office, a certificate of cancellation of the sale.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original §§ 73
and 74, which immediately followed this section, were repealed by
L. 1943, c. 712.
[Amended 5-27-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993; 7-7-1994 by L.L. No.
2-1994]
A.
The City Treasurer may, and shall upon the application
of any person aggrieved thereby made within one year of the date of
such cancellation of sale, set aside any cancellation of sale made
by him/her, or any predecessors in office, in any of the following
cases:
(1)
When cancellation was procured by fraud or misrepresentation;
(2)
When cancellation was procured by the suppression
of any material fact bearing on the case;
(3)
When cancellation was made under a mistake of fact;
or
(4)
When cancellation was made upon an application which
the City Treasurer or any predecessors in office had no jurisdiction
or legal right to entertain at the time of such cancellation.
B.
Eight days' written notice of an application made
pursuant to this section shall be served upon the person upon whose
application such sale was canceled or his/her heirs or grantees.
C.
In the event that any of the parties to be served
are not residents of the state or cannot after reasonable diligence
be found within the state, such notice may be served by the publication
thereof in a newspaper published in the City once each week for three
weeks immediately preceding the day upon which such application is
to be made and also by mailing a copy of such notice, first class
mail, postage prepaid, to each of such parties at his last known place
of residence. On or before the day of the first publication, all papers
upon which such application is to be made shall be filed with the
City Treasurer.
D.
The City Treasurer shall in all cases specify the grounds upon which such cancellation is set aside. Every such cancellation set aside by him/her shall in all respects have the same force and effect as though no cancellation had ever been made, except that the five-year period referred to in §§ C-60E and C-68D shall be tolled during the period between the issuance of the certificate of cancellation of sale and the issuance of the certificate of termination of cancellation. Upon setting aside such cancellation, the City Treasurer shall file a certificate of termination of cancellation in the Cayuga County Clerk's office.
A.
In personam actions to collect taxes or assessments.
Whenever any tax or assessment levied or assessed upon any person
or property in the City of Auburn with the fees, interest, penalties,
charges and expenses which may by law be added thereto shall remain
unpaid for six months after the warrant for its collection has been
placed in the hands of the City Treasurer, the City Treasurer may
maintain an action in the name of his office for and on behalf of
the City of Auburn to recover the amount of such tax, interest, fees,
penalties, charges and expenses remaining unpaid and uncollected against
any person liable for such tax or the personal representatives or
successor in interest respectively of such person, together with the
attorney fees incurred or to be incurred by the City of Auburn in
such action, in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the amount
collected by any such suit shall be used and applied by the City Treasurer
in the same manner as though the same had been collected by the sale
of real estate. Nothing in this section contained shall be construed
in any way to restrict, limit, or abridge any power otherwise possessed
by any officer for the collection of taxes in the City of Auburn.
B.
Other remedies to collect taxes not effected. The methods, actions and procedures set forth in this Article IV are in addition to all other remedies and procedures available at law or in equity for the collection of taxes.
[Added 12-12-1993 by L.L. No. 4-1993]
A.
Residential buildings reconstructed, altered, or improved
shall be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies to the
extent provided hereinafter.
B.
Period and extent of exemption.
(1)
Such buildings shall be exempt for a period of one
year to the extent of 100% of the increase in assessed value thereof
attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or improvement and
for an additional period of seven years; provided, however, that the
extent of such exemption shall be decreased by 121/2% of the initial
exemption in each year during such additional period; provided, further,
that such exemption shall be limited to $80,000 in increased market
value, or such other sum less than $80,000 but not less than $3,000
of the property attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or
improvement, and any increase in market value greater than such amount
shall not be eligible for the exemption pursuant to this section.
For the purposes of this section, the market value of the reconstruction,
alteration or improvement shall be equal to the increased assessed
value attributable to such reconstruction, alteration or improvement
divided by the Class I ratio in a special assessing unit or the most
recently established state equalization rate or special equalization
rate in the remainder of the state, except that where the state equalization
rate or special equalization rate equals or exceeds 95%, then the
increase in assessed value attributable to such reconstruction, alteration
or improvement shall equal the market value of such reconstruction,
alteration or improvement.
(2)
The exemption shall be applicable to the reconstruction,
alterations or improvements of residential dwellings or limit exemption
to one or more of such categories; provided, further, that the term
"improvements" shall include only that which would otherwise result
in an increase in the assessed valuation of the real property and
which consists of addition, remodeling or modernization to an existing
residential structure to prevent physical deterioration of the structure
or to comply with applicable building, sanitary, health and/or fire
codes.
(3)
No such exemption shall be granted for reconstruction,
alterations or improvements unless:
(4)
For purposes of this section the terms "reconstruction,"
"alteration" and "improvement" shall not include ordinary maintenance
and repairs.
C.
Such exemption shall be granted only upon application
by the owner of such building on a form prescribed by the State Board.[2] The original of such application shall be filed with the
Assessor of the city, town, village or county having the power to
assess property for taxation on or before the appropriate taxable
status date of such city, town, village or county. A copy thereof
shall be filed with the State Board.
[2]
Editor's Note: "State Board" refers to the
State Board of Real Property Services.
D.
If the Assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this section, he shall approve the application and such building shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies as herein provided commencing with the assessment roll prepared after the taxable status date referred to in Subsection C of this section. The assessed value of any exemption granted pursuant to this section shall be entered by the Assessor on the portion of the assessment roll provided for property exempt from taxation.
E.
For the purposes of this section, "residential building"
shall mean any building or structure designed and occupied exclusively
for residential purposes by not more than two families.
F.
In the event that a building granted an exemption
pursuant to this section ceases to be used primarily for residential
purposes or title thereto is transferred to other than the heirs or
distributees of the owner, the exemption granted pursuant to this
section shall cease.
