N.Y. Village Law § 5-518: Collection of special assessments

§ 5-518 Collection of special assessments. 1. Any provision of law to

the contrary notwithstanding, all special or local assessments levied

against real property shall be collected as in this section provided.

2. Whenever an expenditure is made or a contract awarded for a purpose

for which bonds cannot be issued and the amount of a local or special

assessment, inclusive of interest to maturity of obligations, if any,

issued to finance such expenditure, is finally fixed, determined and

confirmed, such assessment may be paid without penalty at any time

within a period of thirty days, computed from the date of such

confirmation.

3. If an expenditure is made or a contract awarded for a purpose for

which bonds may be issued pursuant to the local finance law, the board

of trustees may provide for the payment of special assessments by any

one of the following methods:

a. The board of trustees may adopt the procedure described in

subdivision two of this section.

b. The board of trustees may determine that such assessments may be

paid in annual installments. In such case, it may give a period of

thirty days from date of confirmation in which assessments may be paid

in full without penalty. Upon the expiration of such period, obligations

shall be issued pursuant to the local finance law for the total unpaid

assessments. The amount of the unpaid assessment against each parcel of

land shall be divided into such annual installments as shall be

necessary to completely amortize the principal amount of such

obligations as they shall mature. There shall be added to the amount of

each installment a sum sufficient to meet a pro rata share of the annual

interest payable on such obligations. The board of trustees shall

annually levy the amount of the annual installment, unless same shall

have been prepaid as provided in paragraph c of this subdivision, with

interest as aforesaid, on a special assessment roll and such amount

shall be extended on such roll against the real property benefited. The

board of trustees may determine that such annual installment shall be

due at the same time as real property taxes, in which event the amount

of such installment shall be extended in a separate column in the annual

tax roll. In the latter case, the same penalties for non-payment shall

attach as in the case of non-payment of the village tax, as provided in

the real property tax law and there shall be no relevy of the unpaid

installment as prescribed in subdivision five of this section, but such

unpaid installment shall be collected as provided in said real property

tax law.

c. Whenever an unpaid assessment has been divided into annual

installments pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision the board of

trustees may, at the time of making such division, or at any time

thereafter, provide that all future annual installments may be prepaid

together with a sum sufficient to meet all future pro rata shares of the

annual interest payable on such obligations and which would otherwise

have been added to such future installments had same not been prepaid.

All sums received from such prepayments shall be deposited and retained

in a separate account in a depositary designated in the manner provided

by section ten of the general municipal law to be applied only to the

payment of the obligations issued pursuant to paragraph b of this

subdivision. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such sums so received may be

invested in the manner permitted in section eleven of the general

municipal law.

4. If any assessment or annual installment thereof be not paid within

the prescribed thirty day period, penalties shall be computed from the

expiration date of such thirty day period at the rate of one-half of one

per centum per month or portion thereof until the assessment is paid or

discharged. All penalties collected shall be credited to the general

fund.

5. At least thirty days before the end of the fiscal year, the officer

or official charged with the collection of such special or local

assessments shall transmit to the board of trustees a statement of all

delinquent special or local assessments, showing the amounts thereof

with penalties computed to the first day of the month following the

month in which the fiscal year commences, and thereafter he shall not

collect or receive payment of any such special assessment in default.

The board of trustees shall include the amounts shown on such statement

in the annual tax levy and such amounts shall be extended on the annual

tax roll against the real properties concerned in a separate column.

Such special assessments shall thereafter be deemed for the purposes of

collection to be a part of the annual village tax and the assessment

shall be deemed to have been cancelled as of the date of the tax levy.

6. Whenever any special assessment or installment thereof shall be

extended on the village tax roll, whether pursuant to subdivision three

or subdivision five of this section, the special assessment account

shall be credited with the amount of the special assessment or

installment, less penalties. The amounts so extended, including

penalties, when collected, shall be paid into the general fund.