The Town Clerk’s office is your Doorway to Local Government

Town Clerk: Alison Dorchester
Deputy Clerk: Lisa Bagozzi
Phone: (315) 468-3600 ext. 2
Fax Number: (315) 487-5721

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.

Please visit our Department Pages

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 AM to 4 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 ALISON DORCHESTER, 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 AM to 4 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 ALISON DORCHESTER, 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

Are accepted. Please see back of the tax bill for directions. 

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 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.

FOIL Request

All Freedom of Information Law Request’s must be submitted to the Town Clerk’s office.

FOIL Request Form