The commissioner, immediately after receiving the assessment rolls, shall give notice for at least five days in the City Record that the assessment rolls are final and that all taxes shall be due and payable as follows:
1. The provisions of this section shall apply to any installment of tax that becomes due and payable on or after July first, two thousand five.
2. Real property with an assessed value of two hundred fifty thousand dollars or less.
(a) Quarterly installments. All property taxes shall be due in four equal installments.
(b) Due date of installments. The first installment shall be due on July first, the second installment shall be due on October first, the third installment shall be due on January first and the fourth installment shall be due on April first.
(c) Discount for early payment. A discount, at a percentage provided for in subdivision seven of this section, shall be allowed for early payment of an installment in accordance with this subdivision, as follows:
(i) if all the installments due for a fiscal year are paid in full on or before July fifteenth, a discount shall be allowed for such installments.
(ii) if the installments due on October first, January first and April first are paid in full on or before October fifteenth, a discount shall be allowed for such installments.
(iii) if the installments due on January first and April first are paid in full on or before January fifteenth, a discount shall be allowed for such installments.
3. Real property with an assessed value of over two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
(a) Semi-annual installments. All property taxes shall be due in two equal installments.
(b) Due date of installments. The first installment shall be due on July first and the second installment shall be due on January first.
(c) Discount for early payment. A discount, at a percentage provided for in subdivision seven of this section, shall be allowed for early payment of installments if all the installments due for a fiscal year are paid in full on or before July first.
4. Cooperative property. For purposes of this section, property held in the cooperative form of ownership shall not be deemed to have an assessed value of over two hundred fifty thousand dollars if the property's assessed value divided by the number of residential dwelling units is two hundred fifty thousand dollars or less per unit.
5. For purposes of this section, a property's assessed value shall be based on the assessed value listed on the final assessment roll on or around May twenty-fifth.
6. All taxes shall be and become liens on the property on the date such taxes become due and payable, and shall remain liens until paid.
7. Calculation of discount for early payment.
(a) Calculation of discount. Where a discount is allowed under this section, the discount shall be a percentage of the installments paid.
(b) Determination of discount percentage. Not later than the thirteenth day of May in each year, the banking commission shall send a written recommendation to the council of a proposed discount percentage for the ensuing fiscal year. Such recommendation shall include a report detailing the research and analytical methods used by the commission to provide the recommendation on the discount percentage; factors considered when determining the recommendation, including whether the city's current cash balance was a factor; and the rationale for the use of such factors. The information contained in the report required by this paragraph shall be in a searchable and machine-readable format, sortable by council district, real property tax class, and real property tax subclass. Such report shall include the following information for the two previous fiscal years unless otherwise specified, provided that such information shall be reported for fiscal years prior to the 2016 fiscal year only to the extent such information is available, and provided further that the information required in subparagraphs (vi) through (x) of this paragraph shall be reported using discount percentages in the amount of one-half of one percent, one percent, one and one-half percent, two percent, and the six-month London Inter Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) for United States dollars in effect on the thirtieth day of April as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database:
(i) the total number of properties for which the taxes were paid in semi-annual installments, disaggregated by fiscal year, and the estimated total number of properties for which the taxes were paid in semi-annual installments in the current fiscal year;
(ii) the total number of properties for which the taxes were paid in quarterly installments, disaggregated by fiscal year, and the estimated total number of properties for which the taxes were paid in quarterly installments in the current fiscal year;
(iii) the total amount of real property taxes paid for the properties described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, disaggregated by fiscal year, and the estimated amount of real property taxes paid for such properties in the current fiscal year;
(iv) the total amount of real property taxes due for the properties described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph for which a discount for early payment pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision two or three of this section was applied, before the application of any such discount;
(v) the total amount of real property taxes due for the properties described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph for which a discount for early payment pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision two or three of this section was applied, after the application of any such discount;
(vi) the average amount of real property taxes paid for the properties described in subparagraph (v) of this paragraph;
(vii) the average amount of the discount provided for the properties described in subparagraph (v) of this paragraph;
(viii) the difference between subparagraphs (iv) and (v) of this paragraph, disaggregated by fiscal year, including such estimated difference for the current fiscal year;
(ix) the interest income not earned on unpaid taxes due for the properties described in subparagraph (v) of this paragraph, and the estimated interest income not earned on unpaid taxes due for such properties in the current fiscal year;
(x) any other information deemed relevant by the commission; and
(xi) the discount percentage provided for the early payment of real property taxes in comparable cities for the two previous fiscal years.
(c) Not earlier than the fourteenth day of May, the council may adopt by resolution a discount percentage. In the event the council adopts a discount percentage different than the proposed discount percentage recommended by the banking commission pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, such resolution shall contain the research and analytical methods used by the council when determining the discount percentage; factors considered when determining the discount percentage, including the city's current cash balance; and the rationale for the use of such factors.
(d) If the council does not adopt a discount percentage prior to the date that the statement of account or other similar bill or statement is prepared, the discount percentage shall be the annualized interest rate on six-month United States treasury bills, as reported by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in its H.15 report or similar statistical report detailing selected interest rates, plus seventy-five basis points, the sum of which shall be divided by four for the last business day of April preceding the ensuing fiscal year where a discount is allowed for payments made on or before the last day that the installment due July first could be paid without interest, and this percentage shall continue to apply until the council adopts a discount percentage pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
(e) Application of discount percentages.
(i) For properties the taxes for which are due in quarterly or semi-annual installments, the discount percentage applied for payments made on or before the last day that the installment due July first could be paid without interest, as set forth in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section or paragraph (c) of subdivision three of this section, shall be the percentage established pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision or, where applicable, paragraph (d) of this subdivision.
(ii) For properties the taxes for which are due in quarterly installments, the discount percentage applied for payments made on or before October fifteenth, as set forth in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section, shall be two-thirds of the discount percentage described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
(iii) For properties the taxes for which are due in quarterly installments, the discount percentage applied for payments made on or before January fifteenth, as set forth in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section, shall be one-third of the discount percentage described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
(f) A discount shall be allowed only if all prior installments have been paid or are paid at the same time as the payments for which a discount would apply.
(g) (i) The commissioner may provide a discount, at a percentage not more than two times the discount percentage established pursuant to paragraph (c) or (d) of this subdivision, to taxpayers who pay their real property taxes by electronic funds transfer. This subparagraph shall apply only to taxpayers who are not required by law to pay their real property taxes by electronic funds transfer. The commissioner shall establish such discount percentage by rule and may promulgate such other rules as may be necessary to implement this subparagraph.
(ii) The commissioner may provide a discount, at a percentage not more than two times the discount percentage established pursuant to paragraph (c) or (d) of this subdivision, to taxpayers whose annual real property tax liability exceeds one million dollars and who pay their real property taxes before the date such taxes become due and payable, where the commissioner determines by rule that it would be in the best interests of the city to provide an incentive for such payment by a specified date and at a specified discount percentage. The commissioner may promulgate such other rules as may be necessary to implement this subparagraph.
8. As used in this section, "taxes" shall include special franchise taxes in the case of utility companies.
9. If property is acquired by the city in a condemnation proceeding, on the date that title vests in the city, any tax due prior to the title vesting date, and interest, shall be due and payable, and shall become an equitable lien with first priority against any condemnation award.
10. When property tax bills for the quarterly or semi-annual installments of tax due in accordance with this section are available online, the commissioner shall notify by electronic mail owners of real property who have registered an electronic mail address online with the commissioner to receive department of finance property information updates that such bills are available online.
(Am. L.L. 2015/030, 4/20/2015, eff. 4/20/2015; Am. L.L. 2017/004, 1/27/2017, eff. 1/27/2017)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 2008/066.