2023 New York Laws › RPT - Real Property Tax › Article 5 - Assessment Procedure › Title 4 - Miscellaneous Provisions › 578 - County Assistance Under Cooperative Agreements.

§   578.  County  assistance  under  cooperative  agreements.  1.  The
legislative bodies of the counties  and  the  governing  boards  of  the
cities,  towns,  villages  and  school districts or appropriate officers
thereof authorized by such legislative body or governing board,  as  the
case  may  be,  shall have power to enter into contracts with each other
for data processing and other mechanical assistance in  the  preparation
of  assessment  rolls,  tax  rolls,  tax  bills and other assessment and
property tax records and for supplies of field books,  assessment  rolls
and other assessment and property tax forms.
2.  (a) The legislative body of a county and the governing body of any
city, town, village or school district therein shall have the  power  to
enter  into contracts with each other for the collection of taxes by the
county treasurer. Such an agreement  may  either  authorize  the  county
treasurer  to  collect  taxes  jointly  and  concurrently  with  the tax
collecting officer of such city, town, village or  school  district,  or
may delegate to the county treasurer the sole and exclusive authority to
collect  taxes  for such city, town, village or school district. Such an
agreement shall be considered  a  municipal  cooperation  agreement  for
purposes  of  article  five-G  of the general municipal law and shall be
subject to all provisions thereof. Any such agreement shall be  approved
by  both the city, town, village or school district and the county, by a
majority vote of the voting strength of each governing body.
(b) An agreement that authorizes the county treasurer to collect taxes
jointly and concurrently with the tax collecting officer of  such  city,
town,  village  or school district shall have no effect upon the tenure,
powers or duties of the incumbent tax collecting  officer,  except  that
the  county  treasurer shall also be considered a tax collecting officer
of the city, town, village or school district, with all the  powers  and
duties  thereof.  In  no  case  shall  such an agreement be construed to
empower the tax collecting officer of a city, town,  village  or  school
district  to  collect  taxes  that  have  been  returned  to  the county
treasurer as unpaid.
(c) An agreement that delegates to the county treasurer the  sole  and
exclusive  authority  to  collect  taxes for such city, town, village or
school district shall have the effect of making the county treasurer the
sole tax collecting officer  of  such  city,  town,  village  or  school
district,  and  of  abolishing  the  separate  office  of tax collecting
officer in such city, town, village or school district, for as  long  as
the  agreement shall be in effect. Provided, however, that if the office
to be abolished is elective, the agreement shall be  submitted  for  the
approval of the electors of the contracting city, town or village in the
manner  provided by section twenty-three of the municipal home rule law.
Provided further, that such an agreement shall not  take  effect  during
the  term  of  an  incumbent  tax  collecting officer, unless the office
should become vacant prior to the expiration  of  such  term.  Upon  the
termination  of  such an agreement, the office of tax collecting officer
shall be deemed reestablished as an appointive office of the city, town,
village or school district, unless such office has been abolished or its
functions transferred to another officer pursuant to law.