[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City
of Schenectady 11-15-1971 by L.L.
No. 10-1971. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
As used in this chapter the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
- ASSESSMENT ROLL
- The assessment roll prepared by the Assessor, either before or subsequent to the correction thereof by the Board of Assessment Review, but prior to its delivery to the Director of Finance for the extension of taxes therein.
- ASSESSOR
- The City Assessor.
- BOARD
- The Board of Assessment Review.
- DEPARTMENT
- The Department of Assessment and Taxation.
- DEPUTY
- A Deputy City Assessor.
- OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
- The newspaper or newspapers designated by the Council for the publication of official notices of the City or of any department or agency thereof.
- PERSON
- Includes an individual, partnership, association or corporation and the official of the City in whose name the City holds title to any real property which the City has acquired.
- TAX ROLL
- The assessment roll after it has been delivered to the Director of Finance for the extension of taxes therein.
B.
Words of the masculine gender include the feminine
and the neuter and may refer to a corporation or to a board or other
body; and, when the sense so indicates, words of the neuter gender
may refer to any gender.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985; 5-13-1991 by Ord. No. 91-27; 8-2-1993 by Ord. No. 93-33]
That taxable status of all real property subject
to taxation in the City of Schenectady shall be fixed for the succeeding
fiscal year on the first day of March in each year, and the valuation
date used to determine the taxable status values shall be the prior
January 1.
The Assessor shall make diligent effort to ascertain
the name of the owner of each parcel of real property which is assessed
and shall charge the land to such owner on the assessment roll. However,
a tax shall not be invalid against the real property because of the
omission of the name of the owner or error in the name of the owner
on the assessment roll or tax roll.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
All real property exempt from taxation shall
be listed in the assessment roll and valued in the same manner as
property subject to taxation. Applications requesting real property
exemption, as provided by law, shall be submitted to the Assessor
prior to the 20th of May of each year except an application for partial
tax exemption for real property of aged persons, which must be filed
on or before May 1 of each year at the offices of the City Assessor.
A.
In addition to the requirements of §§ 502
and 504 of the Real Property Tax Law in relation to the form of the
assessment roll, the Assessor shall, in a separate column or otherwise
on such roll, designate each parcel of real property title to which
the City has obtained by foreclosing a tax lien thereon or accepting
a deed in satisfaction of such lien and which parcel of real property
is exempt from taxation pursuant to § 406 of the Real Property
Tax Law.
B.
The Assessor, by rules and regulations, may provide
for the convenient grouping, assessing and taxation of lots or subdivided
real property which are under the same ownership.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
The tentative assessment roll shall be completed
on the first day of May of each year.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
A.
Upon the completion of the tentative assessment roll,
the Assessor shall publish a notice twice a week during the next two
weeks in the official newspaper of the City, stating the following:
(1)
The tentative assessment roll is completed and is
open to inspection at the Assessor's office at City Hall during office
hours and shall remain open to public inspection until the fourth
Tuesday in May of each year.
[Amended 3-16-1992 by Ord. No. 92-07]
(2)
The Board of Assessment Review shall meet to hear
any person who claims he is aggrieved by the assessment of his real
property.
B.
Such notice shall also state that all complaints shall
be submitted to the Clerk of the Board not later than the fourth Tuesday
in May prior to the Board of Assessment Review hearing date which
is identified in the Assessor's published notice. If said complaint
is filed within three business days preceding the Board of Assessment
Review hearing, the Board must grant an Assessor's request for an
adjournment to permit the Assessor time to prepare a response to the
complaint.
[Amended 3-16-1992 by Ord. No. 92-07]
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
On or before the 20th day of May of each year,
the Assessor may enter in the assessment roll, for the ensuing fiscal
year, the assessed valuation of any parcel of real property which
did not appear in such roll or may increase the value of any parcel
of real property therein. Immediately after making such entry, the
Assessor shall notify the owner of record of such property by registered
mail, and an affidavit of such mailing shall be filed in the office
of the Department. Such owner shall be permitted to inspect the tentative
assessment roll at the City Assessor's office during regular office
hours. Such owner may apply to the Board of Assessment Review for
a correction of such assessment within 15 days after the mailing of
such notice with the same force and effect as if such application
were made on or before the 20th day of May of such year.
A.
There shall be created a Board of Assessment Review
consisting of five members. The members shall be appointed by the
City Council and shall have a knowledge of property values in the
City. Each member of the Board shall be a resident of the City of
Schenectady at the time of his appointment, and his office shall immediately
become vacant when he ceases to be a resident of the City of Schenectady.
[Amended 9-17-1990 by Ord. No. 90-70]
B.
The members of the Board shall all be appointed by
the City Council for periods of five years; provided, however, that
the initial term of the three original members shall be for staggered
terms such that not more than one member's term expires in the same
year, and subsequent members shall be appointed for terms of five
years, as terms expire. The term of the two additional members of
the Board shall commence October 1, 1990, and expire on September
30, 1993, unless extended by a further act of the City Council.
[Amended 9-17-1990 by Ord. No. 90-70]
C.
The City Assessor, or any member of the staff, is
ineligible to accept appointment as a member of the Board.
D.
In the event of a vacancy occurring therein during
the term of any member, the City Council shall appoint a successor
for the period of the unexpired term.
E.
The Mayor, upon recommendations of the Board, shall
appoint a Clerk of the Board whose duties shall be to perform such
clerical assistance as may be required by the Board.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
F.
The City Council shall appoint two temporary members
to the Board of Assessment Review for a term to expire June 30 in
the year of their appointment as is authorized pursuant to § 523-a
of the Real Property Tax Law. Each new temporary member of the Board
shall be a resident of the City of Schenectady at the time of his
appointment, and his office shall immediately become vacant when he
ceases to be a resident of the City of Schenectady. Said temporary
members shall be familiar with real estate values in the City of Schenectady,
and their compensation shall be $150.
[Added 5-26-1992 by Ord. No. 92-26]
A.
The City Council may provide that the members of the
Board of Assessment Review and the Clerk of said Board shall be paid
for their respective services for the meetings to hear complaints
and for subsequent adjourned hearings.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
B.
The Board shall choose a Chairman from its membership.
The City Council may remove any member of the
Board of Assessment Review after giving such member a copy of the
charges against him and an opportunity to be heard in his defense.
A.
At the time and place during the hours specified in
the notice given pursuant to § 506 of the Real Property
Tax Law, the Board of Assessment Review shall meet to hear complaints
in relation to assessments brought before it. Complainants shall file
with the Clerk of the Board not later than the fourth Tuesday in May
prior to the Board of Assessment Review's hearing date, which is identified
in the Assessor's published notice, a statement specifying the respect
in which the assessment complained of is illegal, erroneous or unequal,
which statement must be made by the person whose property is assessed
or by some person authorized to make such statement who has knowledge
of the facts stated therein. The Board of Assessment Review may adjourn
from time to time for the purpose of hearing complaints and shall
not have authority to accept a complaint on any adjourned day.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985; 3-16-1992 by Ord. No. 92-07]
B.
The Board of Assessment Review may administer oaths,
take testimony and hear proofs in regard to any complaint and the
assessment to which it relates. If not satisfied that such assessment
is illegal, erroneous or unequal, it may require the person whose
real property is assessed, or his agent or representative, or any
other person, to appear before the Board and be examined concerning
such complaint, and to produce any papers relating to such assessment.
If the person whose real property is assessed, or his agent or representative,
shall willfully neglect or refuse to attend and be so examined or
to answer any material question put to him, such person shall not
be entitled to any reduction of the assessment subject to the complaint.
C.
The Board of Assessment Review shall thereafter determine
the final assessment of the real property of each complainant, and
the assessment roll shall then be corrected accordingly. Such assessment
may be the same as or less than the original assessment or if determined
to be illegal, the same shall be stricken from the roll.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
A.
Complaints shall be in writing and shall be certified
and affirmed by the complainant as true under the penalties of perjury.
Complaints shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Board not later
than the 20th day of May of each year. A complainant may indicate
in his complaint whether he prefers to appear at an evening session
of the Board, and, in such case, the Board shall endeavor to hear
such complaint at an evening session.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
B.
The Board shall meet from time to time, when called
by the Chairman, between May 2 and June 15 inclusive of each year.
Hearings upon complaints shall be held in the order in which complaints
are received so far as practicable, except that the Board may classify
complaints; in which event, hearings on complaints within each class
shall be held in the order in which such complaints are received.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
C.
The Clerk of the Board shall prepare a docket or dockets
of the complaints setting forth the date, time and place at which
the Board intends to hear each complaint. A copy of each such docket
shall be made available to the public at the office of the Assessor.
D.
Procedure before the Board shall be as informal as
practicable.
E.
Two members of the Board shall constitute a quorum,
and the consensus of at least two members shall be required for a
determination by the Board. The determination of the Board shall be
immediately certified to the Assessor by the Clerk of the Board.
F.
The Clerk of the Board shall keep a record of its
proceedings which shall be filed in the office of the Assessor.
G.
The Board may request the presence at any of its hearings
of any City officer or employee.
H.
The Assessor, his deputy or a member of his staff
designated by him shall attend all meetings of the Board. He or his
representative shall have the right to be heard on any complaint,
and upon his request, his views with respect to any complaint shall
be recorded in the minutes of the Board.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
The final determination of the Board of Assessment
Review on any complaint shall be rendered not later than the 15th
day of June of each year. If the Board shall fail to render a determination
on any complaint, the action of the Assessor to which the complainant
objected shall be deemed to be the final determination of the Board.
Upon receiving any determination of the Board
of Assessment Review from the Clerk thereof, the Assessor shall forthwith
correct the assessment roll to conform to such determination.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
Any complainant who is dissatisfied with the
determination of the Board of Assessment Review upon his application
for revision of his real property assessment, for the ensuing year,
may petition for a judicial review of the assessment as it appears
in the verified and finally completed assessment roll, pursuant to
Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law, including the Small Claims
Court procedures of Real Property Tax Law § 730.
[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
The assessment roll shall be completed and verified
on or before the 31st day of June of each year.
When the assessment roll has been finally completed,
the Assessor shall appear before an officer authorized to administer
oaths. He shall swear to an oath in substantially the following form:
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I, the undersigned, depose and swear
that I have set down in the foregoing assessment roll all of the real
property situated in the City of Schenectady according to my best
information and that, with the exception of those cases in which the
value of said real estate has been changed by the Board of Assessment
Review and with the exception of those cases in which the value of
any special franchise has been fixed by the State Board of Equalization
and Assessment, I have estimated the value of said real property at
the sums which I, as Assessor of the City of Schenectady, have decided
to be the full value thereof, according to my best judgment and belief.
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[Amended 9-9-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
On or before the first day of July of each year,
the Assessor shall file, with the Clerk of the Board of Representatives,
the assessment roll of the City for the ensuing fiscal year. Such
assessment roll shall remain in his office for not more than 10 days,
when it shall be returned to the office of the Director of Finance,
where it shall remain open to public inspection for a period of 15
days.
[Amended 8-30-1993 by Ord. No. 93-36]
Upon the return of the final assessment roll to the office of the Director of Finance, the Assessor shall publish a notice once in each official newspaper of the City stating the following: "The final assessment roll of the City of Schenectady has been completed and is now filed in the office of the Director of Finance, where it will be open for public inspection for a period of 15 days." The Assessor shall, upon completion of the final assessment roll, certify a copy to the City Clerk, which copy shall remain a public record for a minimum of 10 years from the date the final completion of the assessment roll was filed pursuant to § 10-19 of the Schenectady City Code. The final assessment roll certified to the City Clerk shall be retained by the office of the City Clerk, but for convenience purposes said roll will be physically found in the Assessor's office as a public record for a minimum of 10 years from the date the final assessment roll was filed pursuant to § 516, Subdivision 2, of the New York State Real Property Tax Law.
As provided by law, the Board of Representatives
of the County of Schenectady shall use the assessment roll filed with
them by the Assessor for the purpose of equalizing the valuation contained
in said assessment roll with those of the several towns of the county,
and for assessing, levying and directing the collection of the state
and county taxes apportioned to the City of Schenectady. In equalizing
the value of the real estate in the County of Schenectady, the Board
of Representatives shall make no discrimination between the several
wards of the City of Schenectady but shall consider the City as a
town for the purpose of equalization.
A.
Any person having a legal or equitable interest in
any parcel of real property or a prospective mortgagee or a prospective
purchaser of all or part of a parcel of real property may apply to
the Assessor for:
(1)
An apportionment of the real property and the assessed
valuation of such parcel of real property on the assessment roll;
or
(2)
An apportionment of such parcel of real property and
of a lien or liens of the City thereon on any tax roll or other records
of the City in which such liens are set forth; or
B.
The application shall contain the following information:
(1)
A statement of the interest of the applicant in such
real property.
(2)
The name, address, nature and degree of the interest
of the owners, mortgagees or holders of tax liens on such real property
or any other person having any other legal or equitable interest in
such real property so far as the applicant can ascertain the same
from the records of the Director of Finance.
(3)
The relief sought by the applicant.
(4)
Any other information which the Assessor may require
by his rules and regulations.
A.
Upon receipt of the application, the Assessor shall notify, by mail, the persons mentioned in § 10-22B(2) of this chapter of the contents of the application and shall inform them that, within 10 days of the date of such notice, they may present a written objection to such apportionment or request that a hearing be held thereon. An affidavit of such mailing shall be filed in the office of the Department. If he deems it necessary, the Assessor may also request the applicant to publish a notice to that effect addressed to all the persons mentioned in § 10-22B(2) of this chapter. In such event, such notice shall be published once in the official newspaper, and an affidavit of such publication shall be filed with the Assessor.
B.
The Assessor may, on his own initiative, decide to hold a hearing on such application and shall hold a hearing if requested to do so by any person pursuant to Subsection A of this section. The Assessor shall notify the applicant and the other parties mentioned in § 10-22B(2) of this chapter of the time and place of the meeting. However, the applicant, or any such party, may waive notice of such hearing by a written statement.
C.
The Assessor may, in his discretion, make an apportionment
only of the parcel of real property and the assessment thereof on
the assessment roll, or he may also make an apportionment of the parcel
of real property and the lien or liens thereon on the tax roll or
rolls.
D.
If the Assessor apportions the assessment, he shall
cancel such assessment on the assessment roll and shall enter the
new assessments therein which shall equal in the aggregate the cancelled
assessment.
E.
If the Assessor shall also apportion the lien or liens,
then the aggregate of the new liens shall equal the old lien or liens.
The Assessor shall notify the Director of Finance immediately after
making such apportionment, and the Director of Finance shall cause
the proper entries to be made on the tax roll or rolls and other records
of his department to give effect to such apportionment.
In addition to the power granted to the Council,
pursuant to § 558 of the Real Property Tax Law to reassess
property which has been erroneously or illegally assessed, the Assessor
may present to the Council a petition for the correction of any of
the following errors:
A.
Any parcel of real property, subject to taxation,
has, by mistake, been placed on the assessment roll for the ensuing
fiscal year or for the current fiscal year at a value different from
that which the Assessor intended for such property.
B.
Any parcel of real property, subject to taxation,
has been omitted from the assessment roll for the current fiscal year
or for any of the three preceding fiscal years.
A.
The Council shall set a date for a hearing upon the
receipt of any petition which, if granted, would increase the valuation
of a parcel of real property on the assessment roll or would cause
an omitted tax to be levied on such parcel of real property. The Assessor
shall, within five days after presenting such petition to the Council,
serve a copy of such petition on the owner of such real property,
personally or by registered mail with a return receipt requested,
and an affidavit of service shall be filed in the office of the Department.
Such notice shall state when the hearing shall be held.
B.
At such hearing, the Council shall have all the powers
which the Board of Assessment Review possesses in reviewing and correcting
an assessment roll. The property owner shall have the right to make
an agreement in writing with the Assessor in relation to any petition,
subject to the approval of the Council. However, if in such agreement
the property owner consents to the additional valuation or the insertion
of the omitted valuation which is sought in the petition, the Assessor
shall notify the Council of such agreement, and the hearing shall
not be held.
A.
If any parcel of real property, subject to taxation,
has been placed on the assessment roll for the ensuing or current
fiscal year at a value different from that which the Assessor intended
for such parcel of real property, the Council shall cause the same
to be corrected. If any additional tax is due, the Council shall levy
such additional tax, and if any refund is due to the taxpayer, the
Council shall cause such refund to be paid from the appropriation
in the budget for erroneous taxation and refunds.
B.
If any parcel of real property has been omitted from
the assessment roll for the current fiscal year, the Council shall
cause such parcel of real property to be inserted in the assessment
roll at a valuation to be fixed by the Assessor in his petition. The
Council shall also levy a tax on such parcel of real property at the
tax rate of the current year.
C.
If any parcel of real property has been omitted from
the assessment roll for any of the three previous years, the Council
shall insert such property on the assessment roll for the current
year at a valuation to be fixed by the Assessor in his petition. The
valuation so inserted shall be the value for the year omitted. The
Council shall also levy a tax on such real property at the tax rate
of the omitted year.
Upon receiving any determination of the Council
on such a petition, the Assessor and Director of Finance shall forthwith
correct the assessment roll, tax roll and any of the necessary records
in their respective offices to conform to such determination. The
Director of Finance shall make any refunds or collect any additional
taxes which are required by any determination of the Council.