Village Clerk / Treasurer’s Office
Clerk / Treasurer: Lisa M. VanBuren | Deputy: Sarah Quackenbush
Phone: (716)735-3303 | Fax: (716)735-3432
Contact the Village Clerk / Treasurer
The Clerk’s office is open to the public:
Monday – Friday
8:30 AM to 4:00 PM
FAQs:
I’m a landlord and want the water / sewer bill sent to my tenant. Will you do that?
We will send a copy of the water / sewer bill to a tenant, but the original bill must be in the property owner’s name and sent to the property owner. Please note that it is the landlord’s ultimate responsibility to make sure the water / sewer bill is paid. If a tenant defaults on a bill, the amount will be added to the property’s Village tax bill.
I’d like to pay my water/sewer and/or tax bill electronically. Do you take electronic payments?
Taxes and water / sewer bills may now be paid online by credit or debit card. If you would rather pay by phone, call (888)604-7888. For water / sewer bill payments use Pay Code A000uh. For tax bill payments use Pay Code A000uf. (Notice: Pay Code’s have ZERO’s).
Does the Clerk’s Office take credit or debit cards for payments?
Yes, we now can accept payments in the Clerk’s Office via credit or debit card for tax payments, water / sewer bill payments, and other fees and payments.
Water / Sewer Billing
Water / Sewer bills are issued May 1st, August 1st, November 1st, and February 1st of each year. If you do not receive a bill, you are still responsible for any penalties that accrue. The NYS Comptroller’s office states that as a homeowner, you should be aware of the bills you are responsible for, so you are responsible for penalties that accrue due to non-payment.
A 10 percent penalty is added onto your water/sewer bill when it remains unpaid 30 days after the billing date. An additional 10 percent penalty is added on when your bill remains unpaid 60 days after the billing date. If a bill remains unpaid 60 days after the billing date, water services can – and will – be terminated. Any unpaid water/sewer bills owing mid-April of each year will be relevied onto the property’s upcoming Village tax bill.
Taxes
The Village’s fiscal year is June 1st to May 31st of each year. The tax billing date is June 1st of each year. Per NYS law, you have until July 1st of each year to pay your taxes without penalty. Any bills unpaid as of July 2nd will have a 5 percent penalty added on. Unpaid bills as of August 1st have an additional 1 percent penalty added on, and another 1 percent is added on in September and October, as well. Should a tax bill remain unpaid as of November 1, the amount is turned over to the Niagara County Tax Office for collection.
If you did not receive a tax bill and should have, you are still responsible for any unpaid penalties. The NYS Comptroller’s office says that property owners should be aware of the bills they are responsible for, and thus, should know when bills should arrive.
If your mortgage is paid in full and your taxes were paid through an escrow account, please be sure to contact the Village Clerk’s office with this information to make sure future tax bills are sent to you. Although banks are supposed to notify us when a mortgage is paid in full, this doesn’t always happen.
Registrar
The registrar issues birth and death certificates. If an individual is born or dies within the Village limits, the appropriate documents must be filed with the registrar. In the event of a death, the certificate must be filed within 72 hours of the time of death, no exceptions.
Certified copies of birth or death records cost $10.00 a piece. There is paperwork that must be completed prior to issuance of these documents. If you need a birth certificate and do not live nearby, the paperwork can be mailed to you. Proof of ID must be submitted with the paperwork.
For more information or to verify if the record is at this location, call or email the Village Clerk.
Village Elections
The Clerk / Treasurer is responsible for running all aspects of the Village’s annual elections. Elections are held the third Tuesday of March.
Records Management
The Clerk / Treasurer is the Records Management Officer (RMO) for the Village and is responsible for maintaining all records. FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests are sent to her attention.
Recreation Programs
The Clerk’s office assists the Directors of the Swim Program and the Village Recreation Program in getting the program running each year.