§ 503 — Tax maps

§ 503. Tax maps. 1. (a) Each county, except a county wholly within a\ncity, shall prepare and maintain in current condition for each city and\ntown therein a tax map approved by the commissioner. Copies of such maps\nshall be supplied to each city, town and village in accordance with the\nprovisions of subdivision two of this section; provided, however, that a\ncounty need not furnish a tax map for a village unless such village\nprovides for the payment of the cost thereof. It shall be the duty of\nthe assessors of the assessing units for which tax maps have been\nprovided to use such maps in their assessment work and in making up the\nassessment rolls in accordance with the forms and the instructions\nfurnished by the commissioner.\n (b) The commissioner shall promulgate rules which establish standards,\nspecifications and procedures for the preparation and maintenance of tax\nmaps and shall approve tax maps which satisfy such requirements. Such\nrules may take into consideration other potential land uses of such\nmaps. The commissioner may require from any county applying for approval\nof a tax map such information as may be necessary including a copy of\nsuch tax map.\n 2. The originals of tax maps approved under this section shall be\nfiled in the office of the county director of real property tax\nservices. With the cooperation and concurrence of the assessor, the\ncounty director shall make such changes from year to year upon such tax\nmaps as may be necessary to maintain the maps in current condition. The\nexpense of maintaining such tax maps in current condition shall be a\ncounty charge and shall be levied ad valorem upon all taxable property\nin the county. On such dates as are appropriate for use in connection\nwith the preparation of assessment rolls, the county director shall\nfurnish each city, town and village that assesses real property for\npurposes of taxation with a copy of the approved tax map or pertinent\nportion thereof in current condition. Such copy of the map shall be a\npublic record and shall be filed in the office of the assessor of the\ncity, town or village; provided, however, that if the city, town or\nvillage does not maintain an office for the assessor, the map shall be\nfiled in the office of the city, town or village clerk. The county\ndirector may file an additional copy of the tax map in the office of the\ncounty clerk and shall provide such additional copies to such county or\nother government agencies as the legislative body of the county may\ndirect.\n 3. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to preclude a\ncity, town or village from preparing and maintaining a tax map in\naccordance with the provisions of this section. The originals of tax\nmaps prepared by a city, town or village and approved under this section\nshall be filed in the office of the assessor of the city, town or\nvillage and shall be maintained in current condition by such assessor.\nIf the city, town or village does not maintain an office for the\nassessor the map shall be filed in the office of the city, town or\nvillage clerk. The assessor shall file an additional copy of such map\nwith the county director, the county clerk and with the officer vested\nwith the power and duty to enforce the collection of taxes.\n 4.(a) In the preparation of initial tax maps pursuant to this section,\nthe county shall utilize existing tax maps and similar maps to the\nextent practicable and for such purpose shall obtain from each city,\ntown and village within the county a copy of its existing tax map or\nsimilar map, if any. Each city, town or village shall either provide a\ncopy to the county, or shall make such map or maps available to the\ncounty for copying. The county shall compensate the city, town or\nvillage for such existing map or similar map upon the basis of the\namount by which the cost of preparing the county tax map for the area in\nthe city, town or village is reduced as a result of the utilization of\nsuch map.\n (b) The cost of the preparation of initial tax maps in accordance with\nprovisions of this section may be levied upon the several cities and\ntowns in the county in accordance with the cost of the maps for such\ncities and towns respectively or may be levied ad valorem upon all\ntaxable real property in the county, as determined by resolution of the\ncounty legislative body. In either event the amount so levied shall\ninclude the compensation to cities, towns and villages for existing tax\nmaps or similar maps determined as provided in paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision. Such cost so levied, whether imposed ad valorem upon all\ntaxable property in the county or charged-back against the respective\ncities and towns in the county, shall be deemed to be a county purpose.\n 5. The preparation of tax maps in accordance with the provisions of\nthis section shall not be deemed to be the practice of land surveying\nwithin the meaning and intent of article one hundred forty-five of the\neducation law. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as\nprohibiting a licensed land surveyor from performing such service. The\ndetermination and furnishing of vertical and horizontal control when\nnecessary for photogrammetric purposes to be used in the preparation of\na tax map, or any measurement function necessitating ground surveys\nshall be performed by or under the supervision of a person licensed to\npractice land surveying under article one hundred forty-five of the\neducation law.\n 6. The commissioner shall advise and assist counties with respect to\nthe preparation and maintenance of tax maps. All agencies of the state\nshall cooperate with counties in the preparation of tax maps and, upon\nrequest, shall furnish to counties at no cost copies of existing maps in\nthe possession of such agencies which will be of assistance in the\npreparation of such maps.\n 7. Nothing contained in this section shall preclude a county\nlegislature at its option, by resolution, from fixing a fee in an amount\nnot to exceed twenty-five dollars for a one through three lot\nsubdivision map, whether intended as an original subdivision or as an\nalteration, including correction of a prior subdivision, or an\ninstrument abandoning such subdivision map, or a condominium map; fifty\ndollars for a four through nine lot subdivision map, whether intended as\nan original subdivision or as an alteration, including correction of a\nprior subdivision, or an instrument abandoning such subdivision map, or\na condominium map, and one hundred dollars for a ten or more lot\nsubdivision map, whether intended as an original subdivision or as an\nalteration, including correction of a prior subdivision, or an\ninstrument abandoning such subdivision map, or a condominium map. Such\nfee shall be paid to the real property tax service agency by any person\nor corporation filing a map in accordance with the provisions of any\ngeneral, special or local law or ordinance or of any county, city or\nvillage charter, if such map necessitates any change upon a tax map in\norder to maintain the map in current condition.\n 8. Notwithstanding any provisions of subdivision seven of this section\nto the contrary, in a county where there is a tax commission as defined\nin subdivision four of section fifteen hundred thirty of this chapter,\nwhere tax maps are prepared and maintained by cities and towns within\nthe county, the provisions of subdivision seven of this section shall be\napplicable to such cities and towns in the same manner as if it were a\ncounty and the legislative body of the city or town at its option may\nfix a fee in connection with the filing of a subdivision map as provided\ntherein, such fee to be paid to the city or town, as the case may be.\nCertification that the fee authorized by this section has been paid as\nrequired by section three hundred thirty-four and section three hundred\nthirty-nine-s of the real property law and section five hundred sixty of\nthis chapter shall be made by the chief executive officer of the city or\ntown.\n