§ 466-A*2 — Volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers

* § 466-a. Volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers. 1.\nReal property owned by an enrolled member of an incorporated volunteer\nfire company, fire department or incorporated voluntary ambulance\nservice or such enrolled member and spouse residing in any county shall\nbe exempt from taxation to the extent of up to ten percent of the\nassessed value and surviving spouses of members killed in the line of\nduty shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of up to fifty per\ncentum of the assessed value of such property for city, village, town,\npart town, special district, school district, fire district or county\npurposes, exclusive of special assessments, provided that the governing\nbody of a city, village, town, school district, fire district or county,\nafter a public hearing, adopts a local law, ordinance or resolution\nproviding therefor.\n 2. Such exemption shall not be granted to an enrolled member of an\nincorporated volunteer fire company, fire department or incorporated\nvoluntary ambulance service residing in such county unless:\n (a) the applicant resides in the city, town or village which is served\nby such incorporated volunteer fire company or fire department or\nincorporated voluntary ambulance service;\n (b) the property is the primary residence of the applicant;\n (c) the property is used exclusively for residential purposes;\nprovided however, that in the event any portion of such property is not\nused exclusively for the applicant's residence but is used for other\npurposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation and the remaining\nportion only shall be entitled to the exemption provided by this\nsection; and\n (d) the applicant has been certified by the authority having\njurisdiction for the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire\ndepartment, or voluntary ambulance service as an enrolled member of such\nincorporated volunteer fire company, fire department, or voluntary\nambulance service, as determined by the governing body of a city,\nvillage, town, school district, fire district or county; provided,\nhowever, that such governing body shall establish a minimum service\nrequirement for each applicant between two years of service and five\nyears of service. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the\ngoverning body of each municipality, school district and/or fire\ndistrict which adopts a local law, ordinance or resolution pursuant to\nthis section to determine the procedure for certification.\n 3. Any enrolled member of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire\ndepartment or incorporated voluntary ambulance service who accrues more\nthan twenty years of active service and is so certified by the authority\nhaving jurisdiction for the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire\ndepartment or incorporated voluntary ambulance service, shall be granted\nthe ten percent exemption as authorized by this section for the\nremainder of such member's life as long as their primary residence is\nlocated within such county provided that the governing body of a city,\nvillage, town, school district, fire district or county, after a public\nhearing, adopts a local law, ordinance or resolution providing therefor.\n 4. After the local legislative body of a county, city, town, or\nvillage passes a local law, or a school district passes a resolution,\nnotwithstanding any other provision of law, real property owned by a\nsurviving spouse of a enrolled member of an incorporated volunteer fire\ncompany, fire department, or incorporated voluntary ambulance service\nkilled in the line of duty, shall be exempt from taxation to the extent\nof fifty per centum of the assessed valuation thereof. Within such local\nlaw or resolution, the local legislative body or school district may\nreduce the percentage of exemption authorized pursuant to this section,\nprovided, however, that:\n (a) such surviving spouse is certified by the authority having\njurisdiction for the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire\ndepartment or incorporated voluntary ambulance service as a surviving\nspouse of an enrolled member of such incorporated volunteer fire\ncompany, fire department or incorporated voluntary ambulance service who\nwas killed in the line of duty; and\n (b) such deceased volunteer had been an enrolled member for at least\nthe minimum number of years of service, between two and five years,\nestablished by the municipality under this section; and\n (c) such deceased volunteer had been receiving an exemption prior to\ntheir death.\n 4-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the\nprovisions of this section shall apply to any real property held in\ntrust solely for the benefit of a person or persons who would otherwise\nbe eligible for a real property tax exemption, pursuant to subdivision\nfour of this section, were such person or persons the owner or owners of\nsuch real property.\n (a) For the purposes of this section, title to that portion of real\nproperty owned by a cooperative apartment corporation in which a\ntenant-stockholder of such corporation resides and which is represented\nby their share or shares of stock in such corporation as determined by\nits or their proportional relationship to the total outstanding stock of\nthe corporation, including that owned by the corporation, shall be\ndeemed to be vested in such tenant-stockholder.\n (b) Provided that all other eligibility criteria of this section are\nmet, that proportion of the assessment of such real property owned by a\ncooperative apartment corporation determined by the relationship of such\nreal property vested in such tenant-stockholder to such real property\nowned by such cooperative apartment corporation in which such\ntenant-stockholder resides shall be subject to exemption from taxation\npursuant to this section and any exemption so granted shall be credited\nby the appropriate taxing authority against the assessed valuation of\nsuch real property; the reduction in real property taxes realized\nthereby shall be credited by the cooperative apartment corporation\nagainst the amount of such taxes otherwise payable by or chargeable to\nsuch tenant-stockholder.\n (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this subdivision, a\ntenant-stockholder who resides in a dwelling that is subject to the\nprovisions of either article two, four, five or eleven of the private\nhousing finance law shall not be eligible for an exemption pursuant to\nthis section.\n (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this subdivision, real property\nowned by a cooperative apartment corporation may be exempt from taxation\npursuant to this section by a municipality in which such real property\nis located only if the governing body of such municipality, after public\nhearing, adopts a local law, ordinance or resolution providing therefor.\n 5. Surviving spouses of deceased volunteer firefighters or volunteer\nambulance workers. Any local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this\nsection may be separately amended, or a local law, ordinance or\nresolution may be separately adopted to continue an exemption or\nreinstate a pre-existing exemption to a surviving spouse of a deceased\nenrolled member of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire\ndepartment, or incorporated voluntary ambulance service; provided,\nhowever, that:\n (a) such surviving spouse is certified by the authority having\njurisdiction for the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire\ndepartment or incorporated voluntary ambulance service as a surviving\nspouse of a deceased enrolled member of such incorporated volunteer fire\ncompany, fire department or incorporated voluntary ambulance service;\nand\n (b) such deceased volunteer had been an enrolled member for at least\ntwenty years; and\n (c) such deceased volunteer and surviving spouse had been receiving\nthe exemption for such property prior to the death of such volunteer.\n 6. Application for such exemption shall be filed with the assessor or\nother agency, department or office designated by the municipality,\nschool district and/or fire district offering such exemption on or\nbefore the taxable status date on a form as prescribed by the\ncommissioner.\n 7. No applicant who is a volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance\nworker who by reason of such status is receiving any benefit under the\nprovisions of this article on the effective date of this section shall\nsuffer any diminution of such benefit because of the provisions of this\nsection.\n 8. Any city, village, town, school district, fire district or county\nthat currently, through local law, ordinance or resolution, provides an\nexemption from taxation for an enrolled member of an incorporated\nvolunteer fire company, fire department or incorporated voluntary\nambulance service, such enrolled member and spouse, or a surviving\nspouse shall be authorized to continue to provide such exemption,\nprovided however, such city, village, town, school district, fire\ndistrict or county shall adopt a local law, ordinance or resolution to\nconform to the provisions of this section no later than three years\nafter the effective date of this section.\n 9. Notice to affected municipalities. On or before December\nthirty-first, two thousand twenty-two, it shall be the duty of the\ncommissioner or such commissioner's designees to notify or cause to be\nnotified, in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, the chief\nexecutive officer of each and any municipality in which former sections\nfour hundred sixty-six-a, four hundred sixty-six-b, four hundred\nsixty-six-c, four hundred sixty-six-d, four hundred sixty-six-f, four\nhundred sixty-six-g, four hundred sixty-six-h, four hundred sixty-six-i,\nfour hundred sixty-six-j, and four hundred sixty-six-k of this title\napply, of the provisions of chapter six hundred seventy of the laws of\ntwo thousand twenty-two that added this section.\n * NB There are 2 § 466-a's\n