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Dutchess
County
Real Property
Tax Service Agency
To: Town Supervisors
/330. 'f A J. 11'i5 .Lio 22 Market Street
Poughkeepsie
J i'o~i). 1 A rC,/, f..,. 11 New York
A. ILl) G' 12601
I C;)O . Z) t\ J.I;> ~ (914) 486-2140
COUNTY . GEBACK MEMORANDUM RECEf\!E1j093
OCT 1 4 1999
SU~tn V luvrj i) U,'-i-i' ~
TOWN OF WAPPINGER
William R. Steinhaus
County Executive
Stephen D. Curran
Director
From: Stephen D. Curran, Director
Date: October 13. 1999
RE: NOTICE OF TOWN CHARGES FOR SERVICES IN THE PRODUCTION OF
ASSESSMENT ROLLS AND BILLS, AND REFUNDS RELATED TO ERRONEOUS TAXES
AND JUDGEMENTS.
mSTORY AND EXPLANATION OF CHARGES ATTACHED.
THE FOLLOWING CHARGES WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR TOWN TAX LEVY UNLESS
PAID TO THE COMMISSIONER OF FINANCE BY NOVEMBER 1.
TOWN OF WAPPINGER
FINANCE RPTSA OCIS OCIS TOTAL
Erroneous tax & Escrow Processing & Assessment rolls
Judgements Accounts & Special districts & Binders
.r-' Data entry ..---.. ....- -------
$2I,150.64-~ $I,797<OO~ (\I....p."1 U!1~;Y ./
Town $19,116.14 \~ $381.16 542,444.94 '1
N Hacknsck F $6,882.35 $6,882.35
Ambulance $1,802.36 $1,802.36
Town Wide
Total 529,835.35 $1,797.00 $19,116.14 $381.16 $51,129.65
PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE THESE CHARGES IN YOUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL.
HOWEVER, DO INCLUDE THEM WHEN PROJECTING YOUR RATE ESTIMATES.
CHARGES FOR REFUNDED JUDGEMENTS IN EXCESS OF $25,000 MAY BE
FINANCED.
If you have questions related to this material, please contact the Dutchess County Real Property
Tax Service (914) 4862140.
..
THE HISTORY OF COUNTY CHARGES TO TOWNS
In 1952, the Dutchess County Board of Supervisors fonned the Machine Tabulation Department to process
assessment rolls, tax rolls and bills for the County's 20 towns. Through resolutions commencing in 1953,
production of these items was deemed to be a local charge and levied among the towns and cities according
to an annexed schedule.
In the passage of time, the Board of Supervisors changed to a County Legislature. Pertinent sections of Tax
Law and Education Law were consolidated into Real Property Tax Law. Functions of the machine tabulating
department came to be shared by the Office of Computer Infonnation Services (OCIS) and the Real Property
Tax Service Agency (RPTSA).
Through it all, enabling sections of Real Property Tax Law have allowed this 47-year-old process to
continue. RPTL 578 has been referenced as closest parallel to established procedures. However, RPTL
2006, 2008 and 2012 are also relevant, collectively indicating that a law or resolution in force at the time of
replacement may continue until rescinded or modified.
Within the original process, accumulated county charges were added in mid December to town tax levies by
the County as part of the fmal budget process. By resolution 535 of 1980, the County Legislature directed
RPTSA to disclose these county charges to towns in a timely manner so that towns would be aware of
possible impacts.
THE CHARGES
OCIS charges towns for assessment rolls, tax rolls, tax bills, binders and related processing on a per-parcel
basis. In addition, there are charges for special district processing. Bids for assessment roll and tax binders
are placed in July, after towns respond to OCIS' request for quantities to be ordered. This cost is added to
town charges.
RPTSA charges data entry fees at $2 to $3 per form, depending on fonn type, to towns without on-line data
processing. There is also a per parcel data entry charge for processing the escrow accounts of property
owners. Any other RPTSA charges are satisfied by voucher.
The Commissioner of Finance charges erroneous and illegal taxes back to towns pursuant to section 556(6)a
of the RPTL. "The amount of tax refunded (by the Commissioner) shall be a charge upon each municipal
corporation... to the extent of any such taxes refunded. Amounts so charged shall be included in the next
ensuing tax levy."
Section 726(4) references charges (to towns) as the result of court ordered final judgements: "Provision for
the payment of all amounts charged to a ..town.. shall be included in the next annual budget
estimate....provided, however, that in the event the aggregate amount exceeds $25,000 or 1% of the (town's)
full value, such amount may be financed."
RESOLUTIONS
The by-product of this is that town levies may be increased after adoption. Local officials are forced to
provide explanations to property owners. This is exactly what the County Legislature was attempting to
remedy in 1980. Therefore, we propose the following:
\-
-.
I) Upon receipt of the notice of county charges in mid October, payments in the amounts indicated will be
accepted by the Commissioner of Finance thru the ftrst week of November. Towns desiring to remove these
charges should conftrm their intentions with the Commissioner. Such action will eliminate the problem of
increased tax levies but will also impact contingency fund balances.
2) Towns opting not to pay the county charges at this time would continue in the current process (charges
will be added to the town budget by the County on receipt of the budget).
3) However, we recommend that when a town opts to continue in the current procedure, it should incorporate
the anticipation of these charges in its tax rate projections.
4) For the future, we encourage you to budget for these anticipated county charges within your budget
estimates. To assist you in making an appropriate estimate, we will provide you with a three-year report of
prior charges.