Bulletin: NY000128

Dear Associates:

We have received a copy of correspondence from the NYC Department of Environmental Conservation (DEP) dated December 5, 1996, which summarizes recent changes in the handling of water and sewer charges in New York City.

DEP has completed the transfer of water and sewer billing from the NYC Department of Finance (DOF). DOF continues to handle real estate taxes. DEP has also commenced servicing customers formerly handled by Jamaica Water Supply Company, which was the last private water supplier in New York City.

New Registration Form. One stop shopping is no longer the order of the day for tax searches, since both DOF and DEP must be contacted for registration and searches. The handling of these items by separate agencies has now engendered a new registration requirement.

The form formerly used by DOF for changing its records for both real estate taxes and water/sewer charges now only serves to register the owner to receive real estate tax bills. A new form (available through the references at the end of this bulletin) is required by DEP for registering changes for water/sewer billing. Since most changes in registration are as a result of transfers of title, it would have been more user-friendly for the City to add both forms to the RPT booklet. (That was done for the DOF form, and perhaps the next RPT printing will contain the DEP form.)

As a service to our customers, we are recommending that you attach a copy of the registration form for DEP to the purchaser's certificate of title, and that closers carry a small supply of forms.

Jamaica Water Supply Purchase; Dual Billing System Maintained: Water charges from May 29, 1996 are liens on real estate. Unfortunately, Water supply bills and lien information for water charges for former Jamaica Water Supply customers will continue to be maintained on the former JWS computer. (Sewer charges have already been lienable; the new City CIS system does track these.)