§ 5-518 — Collection of special assessments

§ 5-518 Collection of special assessments. 1. Any provision of law to\nthe contrary notwithstanding, all special or local assessments levied\nagainst real property shall be collected as in this section provided.\n 2. Whenever an expenditure is made or a contract awarded for a purpose\nfor which bonds cannot be issued and the amount of a local or special\nassessment, inclusive of interest to maturity of obligations, if any,\nissued to finance such expenditure, is finally fixed, determined and\nconfirmed, such assessment may be paid without penalty at any time\nwithin a period of thirty days, computed from the date of such\nconfirmation.\n 3. If an expenditure is made or a contract awarded for a purpose for\nwhich bonds may be issued pursuant to the local finance law, the board\nof trustees may provide for the payment of special assessments by any\none of the following methods:\n a. The board of trustees may adopt the procedure described in\nsubdivision two of this section.\n b. The board of trustees may determine that such assessments may be\npaid in annual installments. In such case, it may give a period of\nthirty days from date of confirmation in which assessments may be paid\nin full without penalty. Upon the expiration of such period, obligations\nshall be issued pursuant to the local finance law for the total unpaid\nassessments. The amount of the unpaid assessment against each parcel of\nland shall be divided into such annual installments as shall be\nnecessary to completely amortize the principal amount of such\nobligations as they shall mature. There shall be added to the amount of\neach installment a sum sufficient to meet a pro rata share of the annual\ninterest payable on such obligations. The board of trustees shall\nannually levy the amount of the annual installment, unless same shall\nhave been prepaid as provided in paragraph c of this subdivision, with\ninterest as aforesaid, on a special assessment roll and such amount\nshall be extended on such roll against the real property benefited. The\nboard of trustees may determine that such annual installment shall be\ndue at the same time as real property taxes, in which event the amount\nof such installment shall be extended in a separate column in the annual\ntax roll. In the latter case, the same penalties for non-payment shall\nattach as in the case of non-payment of the village tax, as provided in\nthe real property tax law and there shall be no relevy of the unpaid\ninstallment as prescribed in subdivision five of this section, but such\nunpaid installment shall be collected as provided in said real property\ntax law.\n c. Whenever an unpaid assessment has been divided into annual\ninstallments pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision the board of\ntrustees may, at the time of making such division, or at any time\nthereafter, provide that all future annual installments may be prepaid\ntogether with a sum sufficient to meet all future pro rata shares of the\nannual interest payable on such obligations and which would otherwise\nhave been added to such future installments had same not been prepaid.\nAll sums received from such prepayments shall be deposited and retained\nin a separate account in a depositary designated in the manner provided\nby section ten of the general municipal law to be applied only to the\npayment of the obligations issued pursuant to paragraph b of this\nsubdivision. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such sums so received may be\ninvested in the manner permitted in section eleven of the general\nmunicipal law.\n 4. If any assessment or annual installment thereof be not paid within\nthe prescribed thirty day period, penalties shall be computed from the\nexpiration date of such thirty day period at the rate of one-half of one\nper centum per month or portion thereof until the assessment is paid or\ndischarged. All penalties collected shall be credited to the general\nfund.\n 5. At least thirty days before the end of the fiscal year, the officer\nor official charged with the collection of such special or local\nassessments shall transmit to the board of trustees a statement of all\ndelinquent special or local assessments, showing the amounts thereof\nwith penalties computed to the first day of the month following the\nmonth in which the fiscal year commences, and thereafter he shall not\ncollect or receive payment of any such special assessment in default.\nThe board of trustees shall include the amounts shown on such statement\nin the annual tax levy and such amounts shall be extended on the annual\ntax roll against the real properties concerned in a separate column.\nSuch special assessments shall thereafter be deemed for the purposes of\ncollection to be a part of the annual village tax and the assessment\nshall be deemed to have been cancelled as of the date of the tax levy.\n 6. Whenever any special assessment or installment thereof shall be\nextended on the village tax roll, whether pursuant to subdivision three\nor subdivision five of this section, the special assessment account\nshall be credited with the amount of the special assessment or\ninstallment, less penalties. The amounts so extended, including\npenalties, when collected, shall be paid into the general fund.\n