The Town Clerk’s office is your Doorway to Local Government
The responsibilities of the Town Clerk are…
Public Relations Officer – Must be dedicated to the Community, informative, patient, cheerful, compassionate, possess the ability to listen, advise, be receptive to new ideas and able to maintain a sense of humor while performing duties in a professional manner.
Recording Secretary – Authors minute books, the only official record of the activities of Town Government, which are retained permanently for legal and historic purposes.
Records Management Officer – Custodian of all Town records responsible for active files, storage and disposition of inactive records and careful maintenance of archival material. Administrator of the Freedom of Information Law which guarantees your right to know the working of government.
Filing Officer – Maintains records of adopted Town Ordinances and Local Laws, Town Oaths of Office, resignations, petitions, proof of publications, annual budgets, fiscal reports, bonds, zoning ordinances and maps. Maintains public signboard, advertises and receives bids for purchases of Town Materials.
Licensing Officer – Issues State licenses/permits including marriages, dog, Conservation (hunting and fishing) games of chance, bingo, handicapped, (town residents only), transient merchants, vendors and garbage collectors.
In addition the clerk files official notices of registration days and polling places, permissive or mandatory referendums. Also voters registration forms and absentee ballot applications are made available to the public.
We welcome any questions you may have.
Contact Information:
Town Clerk: Joseph L. Ranieri
Deputy Clerk: Rose McVicker
Phone Number: 468-3600 ext. 2
Fax Number 487-5721
Taxes
$ County & Town Tax bills are mailed shortly after Christmas. Taxes are due without penalty, through January 31st.
$ School Tax bills are mailed shortly after Labor Day. Taxes are due without penalty for the month of September. The due date will vary a day or two, from year to year.
$Portions of 3 separate School Districts lie within the Town boundaries, they include:
Solvay, Westhill, and West Genesee.
$ IMPORTANT Tax tips: Tax Law, Exemptions, Ownership, Address and Bank changes.
$ Other Services: Partial Payments, Duplicate Receipts, Third Party Notification, Tax Links.
$$ Village of Solvay Taxes are collected at the Village Hall $$
We are here to help you.
County and Town Tax Bills
$ Tax payments may be made in person or by mail. Our office is open 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. If paying by mail, send the full bill to obtain a receipt. If mailing payment close to the deadline, a postmark is the required proof of payment. Mail meter dates are not accepted.
$ Payments may be made by cash or check. We encourage payments by check for better accounting. If paying in cash you must obtain a computer receipt. Third party checks are not accepted. Bank checks should be made payable to JOE RANIERI, for the exact amount of taxes.
PENALTY SCHEDULE PERCENT
January – 0%
February – 1%
March – 1.5%
April – 6%
April payments must be made to:
Onondaga County Chief Fiscal Officer
PO Box 1004
Syracuse, New York 13201-1004
School Tax Bills
$ Payments made in person or by mail. Our office is open 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. If paying by mail, send the full bill to obtain a receipt. If mailing payment close to the deadline, a postmark is the required proof of payment. Mail meter dates are not accepted.
$ Payments may be made by cash or check. We encourage payments by check for better accounting. If paying in cash you must obtain a computer receipt. Third party checks are not accepted. Bank checks should be made payable to JOE RANIERI, for the exact amount of taxes.
$ PENALTY SCHEDULE PERCENT
September 0%
October 2%
November 5%
November payments must be made to:
Onondaga County Chief Officer
PO Box 1004
Syracuse, New York 13201-1004
Taxes unpaid after the 1st week of December, will be added to your County & Town Tax Bill, with the penalty fees applied.
Payment Services/Information
$ Partial Payments
In the center portion of your tax bill is an explanation of the partial payments options. The most important thing to remember are that you must pay at least half of the balance due each time you pay, and that the first payment must be made during the penalty free period.
If you have any questions about what is due or when you pay, please call our office.
Penalties are calculated on amount of the payment during the penalty period.
$Third Party Notification
Under New York State Law, Senior Citizens (65 or over) and disabled homeowners may designate an adult third party to receive duplicate copies of Tax Bills. The intent of the law is to eliminate unfortunate situations where these taxpayers might lose their homes for non-payment of taxes. Please call if you would like forms or more information regarding this service.
Tax Links
www.primaryfoil.com
www.ongov.net
Tax Tips
$ Tax Law (Real Property Tax law 922) New York State Tax Law makes it the responsibility of the property owner to know that taxes are due, even if you do not receive a bill. We make every effort to ensure that you will get your tax bill, but our office sends out almost 7,000 bills for each collection. We have no way of knowing if or when your received yours. Please see “Ownership, Address and Bank Changes” below.
$ Exemptions
All Exemptions are administered through the Assessor’s Office. For more information on this subject, please visit their Web Page, or call 468-0052 Ex4.
$ Ownership, Address and Bank Changes
Due to the many agencies involved in property sales and Escrow accounts,there is often a 2 or 3 month delay before our office is notified. This can frequently result in misdirection of tax bills, which sometimes puts you, the owner in a position of having to pay penalty as well as the tax. To avoid this situation, please notify our office of any of the following:
1- Change of mailing address
2- Change of ownership
3- Close out of Escrow
4- Opening of Escrow
Tax bills are mailed from our office in January and September. If you own Property & pay the taxes yourself, please call if you do not receive your bill.
Licenses & Permits
Dog License:
New York State requires that all dogs over the age of 4 months must be licensed. The Town Clerk’s Office issues dog licenses under the authority of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. New licenses must be obtained in person, whereas annual renewals may be submitted by mail.
To obtain a license, the owner must provide to the Town Clerk’s office veterinary documentation of a current rabies vaccination and, if spayed or neutered, the certificate issued by the surgeon who performed the procedure.
Licensing fees are $7.50 spayed/neutered or $16.50 unspayed/unneutered.
Marriage License:
A New York State marriage license can be obtained from the Town Clerk’s office. Both parties must apply in person and provide appropriate proof of age in the form of a government issued birth certificate (with a raised or multi-colored seal) or naturalization papers, and proof of identity in the form of a Driver’s License, Passport, employment picture id, or immigration record. If it is not the first marriage, applicants must present certified documents of the dissolution of any previous marriages (i.e.-divorce decree, death certificate).
The license is good for 60 days and must be purchased at lease 24 hours in advance.
The marriage license fee is $40.00 and may be issued between the hours of 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Conservation License: The Town Clerk’s Office issues hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses under the authority of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Licenses are valid October 1 through September 30, with new licenses for the following year typically becoming available for purchase in mid-August.
Fees vary. NYS residents age 65 or older are entitled to a senior license at a cost of $5.00.
Proof of New York State residency must be presented to receive licenses at state resident prices.
Non-resident license’s are also available.
Transient Business License:
The definition of Transient Business is as follows, one conducted in a store, hotel, motel, building, lot or structure for the retail or discount sale of goods, wares and merchandise, excepting food products, and from which is intended to be conducted for a temporary period of time and not permanently. If the place in which a business is conducted is rented or leased for a period of six months or less, such fact shall be presumptive that the business carried on therein is a “transient business.
No person shall engage in business as a transient merchant unless he shall first have obtained a license to do so from the Town Clerk no later than 10 business days before the first date of business. The fee for a transient merchant’s license shall be as set from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
Disabled Parking Permits:
In order to obtain a handicap permit from the Town of Geddes Clerk’s office, you must be a resident of this Town.
Disabled Parking permits are issued under the authority of the New York State Department of Motor vehicles. To obtain one, an application form must be completely filled out by the applicant’s medical doctor (MD), nurse practitioner (NP), doctor of osteopathy (DO) or a doctor of podiatric medicine (DPM) and appropriately describe the reasons for the mobility problem necessitating the permit be issued. The application must have the doctor’s original signature (signatures of physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, or others are NOT allowed by the DMV).
When properly completed, the application must be presented at the Town Clerk’s Office along with the applicant’s driver license or non-driver ID card (if applicable). Applicants may authorize a third party to present this information and obtain a permit on their behalf.
Click here to download the DMV application for Disabled Parking