N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 20 §§ 8185-1.1
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 51, December 18, 2024
Section 8185-1.1 - Definitions(a) Terms used in Parts 8185 through 8201 of this Title shall have the same meaning as in the Real Property Tax Law. In addition, when used in Parts 8185 through 8201 of this Title: (1) Account means those accounts and subaccounts which are prescribed by the New York State Public Service Commission, the Federal Surface Transportation Board or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in their uniform systems of accounts for electric, gas, pipeline, steam, telegraph, telephone and water corporations, for cable television companies, and for railroad companies, and which include mass property.(2) Action includes a project or activity directly undertaken, funded or approved by the commissioner. Actions include, but are not limited to: (ii) policy formulation; and(iii) establishment of procedures.(3) Adirondack Park parcels means parcels of wild or forest lands owned by the State and located within the boundaries of the Adirondack Park which are subject to taxation, in whole or in part, pursuant to section 532 (a) and (b) of the Real Property Tax Law, and for which assessments were approved by the State Board for the 1960 assessment roll.(4) Adjudicatory proceeding means any activity which is not a rule making proceeding, a hearing to afford a party an opportunity to be heard in relation to the determination of rates, ratios or assessments, an employee disciplinary action in which the rights, duties or privileges of named parties are to be determined on a record after a hearing, or a review of a local disciplinary action by an appointing authority against an assessor. It shall include but not be limited to hearings conducted by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of the Real Property Tax Law concerning:(i) the failure of an assessor, county director of real property tax services or other public officer, employee or board of assessment review member whose duties relate directly to real property tax administration to comply with the provisions of any statute or rule relating to such duties;(ii) the failure of county directors of real property tax services, assessors or real property appraisers to complete required training;(iii) the revocation of an assessor's or county director's appointment to office; or(iv) the declaration of vacancy in the office of elected assessor. Unless otherwise provided by law, adjudicatory proceedings shall be in the name of the commissioner and shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Real Property Tax Law, the State Administrative Procedure Act, and these rules, and in accordance with the standards of due process applicable to administrative hearings in general.
(5) Adjusted prior assessment means a prior assessment increased by reason of the addition of new property or decreased by reason of fire, demolition or destruction adjusted in accordance with the provision of subdivisions (4) and (5) of section 1904 of the Real Property Tax Law.(6) Adjustment index means a factor computed to adjust approved assessments and transition assessments on the prior roll for a change in level of assessment or a revision to a change in level of assessment. Where a change in level of assessment was computed but not used in the computation of approved assessments and transition assessments for the prior roll, that change in level of assessment shall be the adjustment index. Where a change in level was used but subsequently revised, the adjustment index shall be the revised change in level of assessment divided by the change in level of assessment actually used.(7) Adverse party means: (i) with respect to a complainant which is a special franchise owner or a railroad company, the assessing unit in which the subject special franchise or railroad real property is located;(ii) with respect to a complainant which is an assessing unit, the owner of the subject special franchise or of the subject railroad real property.(8) Affidavit of compliance means the affidavit of the owner or operator of a business facility which has previously received an initial approval, in order to obtain a certificate of eligibility.(9) AFE means authorization for expenditure.(10) Aggregate additional assessment means the amount computed to comply with the minimum assessment requirements for: (i) Adirondack Park parcels, pursuant to section 542 (3) of the Real Property Tax Law; or(ii) River regulating district parcels, pursuant to section 15-2115 of the Environmental Conservation Law.(11) Annual change report, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means report of additions and/or retirements of railroad property in a year subsequent to the date of the initial report of such railroad.(12) Applicant or applicants means the person, or persons, who execute and file a complaint. For purposes of Part 8201 of this Title, applicant means a city, town, or county assessing unit; a county assessing on behalf of a city or town assessing unit; or a consolidated assessing unit or coordinated assessment program.(13) Approved assessment means the assessed value of lands owned by the State as certified by ORPTS, pursuant to either section 542 of the Real Property Tax Law or section 15-2115 of the Environmental Conservation Law, for purposes of the levy of taxes.(14) Arm's-length transfer means a sale of a fee or all undivided interests in real property in the open market, between an informed and willing buyer and seller where neither is under any compulsion to participate in the transaction, unaffected by any unusual conditions indicating a reasonable possibility that the full sales price is not equal to the fair market value of the property assuming fee ownership. The following sales shall be presumed not arm's-length transfers unless adequate documentation is provided demonstrating that the full sales price is equal to the fair market value of the property assuming fee ownership: (i) a sale between relatives or former relatives;(ii) a sale between related companies or partners in business;(iii) a sale where one of the buyers is also a seller;(iv) a sale where a government agency or a lending institution is either buyer or seller, including a mortgage or tax foreclosure sale and a sale in bankruptcy;(v) a sale where deed type is not warranty or bargain and sale;(vi) a sale where the interest conveyed is not a fee or all undivided interests in the property;(vii) a sale where the sale of a business is included in the full sale price;(viii) a sale where there are other unusual factors affecting sale price;(ix) a sale of real property where the date of sale is more than one year subsequent to the date that the contract for the sale is executed; and(x) a sale of property where full sale price minus personal property is less than or equal to $10.(15) Array means an ordered arrangement of data such as a listing of variables in order of magnitude.(16) Assessed value means the monetary amount at which a property is put on the assessment roll.(17) Assessment information file means a collection of records for every parcel shown on the assessment roll, where related information for assessment administrative purposes, including the initial recording of all transfers, is maintained.(18) Assessment record billing owner or ARBO means assessment record billing owner as defined in section 103(B-1) of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL), subject to the following: (i) The first step in ascertaining ARBO information shall be obtaining the parcel identification numbers of those parcels which may be acquired by the condemnor for its public project. Tax maps may be used to obtain such numbers if appropriate.(ii) Once the parcel identification numbers of the potentially affected parcels have been obtained, the ARBO information applicable to such parcels shall be ascertained by any of the following methods: (a) inspecting the latest assessment roll and the real property transfer information available in the county real property tax service agency or the office of the assessor, as the case may be, pertaining to transfers occurring after the applicable taxable status date within that assessing unit;(b) submitting a written request to the assessor's office for a search of the assessment roll data file, where such office has agreed to process such request; or(c) submitting a written request to the county real property tax service agency for a search of the current property ownership records maintained by such office, where such office has agreed to process such requests.(iii) Where it appears from such search or inspection that there has been a recent change of ownership, the ARBO shall be deemed to be the new owner, not the former owner.(iv) Where it appears that taxes on a parcel are paid through an escrow account, the ARBO's tax billing address for purposes of EDPL section 103(B-1) shall be deemed to be the ARBO's own mailing address, not the address of the mortgage investing institution or its agent, notwithstanding the provisions of RPTL 502(9), unless no mailing address for the ARBO is found in the assessment records.(19) Assessor is defined in section 102 of the Real Property Tax Law. For purposes of Part 8188 of this Title, assessor means elected officer, appointed officer or one of a body of officers charged by law with the duty of assessing real property for an assessing unit other than a village for the purposes of taxation and special ad valorem levies.(20) Assessor's report means the report for equalization purposes and of exempt property prepared pursuant to Part 8193 of this Title.(21) Audit trail means a set of procedures used to trace and verify that file maintenance was conducted properly.(31) Average deviation means the arithmetic mean of the absolute values of the deviations of a set of numbers from a measure of central tendency such as the median.(32) Base manuscript means a working planimetric map prepared from aerial photographs by photogrammetric procedures upon which shall be shown all physical features necessary in the preparation of a tax map.(33) Base property means that portion of special franchise property which was assessed for the year 1953 in an assessing unit which has not completed a revaluation and which is not expected to complete a revaluation.(34) Base year, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means the year to which the cost of tangible property as of any year is compared in order to compute a cost index.(35) Book cost, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means the amount at which property is recorded in accounts without deduction for provisions such as depletion, depreciation or amortization.(36) Buyer means a transferee listed on a conveyance.(37) Cable television company means any individual, trustee, partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity owning, controlling, operating, managing or leasing one or more cable television systems within the State.(38) Cable television system means any system which operates for hire the service of receiving and amplifying programs broadcast by one or more television or radio stations or any other programs originated by a cable television company or by any other party, and distributing such programs by wire, cable, microwave or other means, whether such means are owned or leased to persons in one or more municipalities who subscribe to such service. This definition does not include any master antenna television system.(39) Capital expenditures means expenditures for improvements to the economic unit which have a useful life of more than one year and are necessary to maintain production.(40) Central tendency means a measure of typicality within a set of observations, such as the mean, median, or mode.(43) Change in level of assessment factor means the change in level of assessment expressed as an index.(44) Check digit means a mathematical computation based on positioned data contained in the parcel key which can be used to prevent the accessing of a wrong record due to transposition of digits in the parcel key.(45) Coefficient of dispersion or COD means the average deviation of a group of assessment ratios, taken around the median, arithmetic mean, or weighted mean ratio and expressed as a percent of that measure. For the purposes of Part 8201 of this Title, the COD measures the extent to which uniformity has been achieved by an assessing unit.(46) Common law easement means an easement created pursuant to common law for conservation purposes acquired on or before January 1, 1990 on land within the Adirondack or Catskill Parks.(47) Complaint review panel means a panel which provides for compliance with statutes, rules and procedures in the review of State equalization rate, class equalization and class ratio complaints. The complaint review panel shall be comprised of staff members of ORPTS, appointed by the deputy commissioner, or his or her designee.(48) Conservation easement means an easement, covenant, restriction or other interest in real property, created pursuant to title 3, article 49 of the Environmental Conservation Law which limits or restricts development, management or use of such real property for the purpose of preserving or maintaining the scenic, open, historic, archaeological, architectural or natural condition, character, significance, or amenities of real property.(49) Construction work in progress means taxable real property under construction but not finished or completed as of the close of the calendar year for special franchise owners which report to the Public Service Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and as of the close of the fiscal year for all other special franchise owners.(50) Contributed property means railroad transportation property constructed or acquired at other than railroad company expense.(60) Conveyance means every instrument in writing, by which any estate or interest in real property is created, transferred, assigned or surrendered, except that it shall not include a will, an easement, a right-of-way, a lease, a license agreement or a mortgage.(61) Cost index, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means a number expressing the relationship of the cost of tangible property as of any year to its cost as of the base year.(62) Cost of removal, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means the cost of abandoning in place, demolishing, dismantling, tearing down or otherwise removing tangible property, including the cost of transportation, handling and disposal incidental thereto.(63) County director means a director of a county real property tax service agency appointed pursuant to section 1530 of the Real Property Tax Law or other official assigned the duties set forth in Real Property Tax Law, section 1532. T he Chairman of the Nassau County Board of Assessors and the Tompkins County Director of Assessment shall be deemed county directors, except for purposes of Part 8188 of this Title.(64) Critical infrastructure means systems, assets, places or things, whether physical or virtual to the State that the disruption, incapacitation or destruction of such systems, assets, places or things could jeopardize the health, safety, welfare or security of the State, its residents or its economy.(65) Crossing frog, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means the complete unit for a crossing of one track over another, where no switches are involved.(66) Current roll means the assessment roll for which a State equalization rate, special equalization rate, class equalization rate or class ratio is determined, and the assessment roll for which an assessor's report is being completed.(67) Daily average barrels means a unit of measurement that may be used to express the annual production of oil. It is calculated by dividing the annual production by 365.(68) Date of sale means the date a conveyance transferring title to real property is made as set forth therein.(69) Densely populated area means those areas where 20 percent or more of the area consists of land parcels having a frontage of 40 feet or less.(70) Depletion means an allowance calculated according to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, which accounts for the reduction in the value of the oil or gas property as the resource is removed.(71) Depreciation means an allowance for the recapture of investment.(72) Depreciation accounting, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means the generally accepted method to recognize over time the decline in the usefulness of an asset. Under depreciation accounting, the original cost of the property at the time of the purchase, less its expected salvage value, is prorated and written off over the life of the asset as a depreciation expense.(73) Digital data means spatial and related attribute data that can be stored and managed in a computer.(74) Dispersion means the general term for the extent to which a set of data is clustered (tightly or loosely) around its measure of central tendency. A number of measures of dispersion are used, including the coefficient of dispersion, the standard deviation, the coefficient of variation, and the coefficient of concentration.(75) Dry hole costs means a charge for dry holes encountered in developing the economic unit. This charge does not allow for cost of dry holes during exploration.(76) Economic obsolescence means the loss of value of property due to the fact that it has not been a paying property, as defined in this Subpart, in any of the five fiscal years of the special franchise owner immediately preceding the valuation date.(77) Electric corporation means every corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever (other than a railroad or street railroad corporation generating electricity solely for railroad or street railroad purposes or for the use of its tenants and not for sale to others) owning, operating or managing any electric plant except where electricity is generated or distributed by the producer solely on or through private property for railroad or street railroad purposes or for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale to others.(78) Engineering costs, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means pay and expenses as defined in account 1 of the uniform system of accounts for railroads prescribed by the Surface Transportation Board.(80) Equalization change means an increase or decrease in total assessed value of taxable real property, existing on both the current roll and the prior roll for which there has not been a physical or quantity change, or, in the case of a special assessing unit, an increase or decrease in initial assessed value of taxable real property existing on both the current roll and the prior roll for which there has not been a physical or quantity change.(91) Excluded action means an action undertaken, funded or approved prior to September 1, 1976.(92) Exempt action means: (i) enforcement proceedings, or the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in determining whether or not to institute such proceedings;(ii) ministerial acts; and(iii) maintenance or repair involving no substantial changes in an existing structure or facility.(93) Exempt assessed value means the part of the assessed value of a parcel exempt from taxation.(94) Exempt parcel means a parcel which receives an exemption from taxation in whole or in part.(95) Fence miles, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means the number of miles of railroad right-of-way protected by fences.(96) Field verification means an onsite confirmation of property characteristics by the crew chief, or equivalent, for the purpose of establishing the accuracy of the data collector's observations and recording.(97) File code, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a code number prescribed by ORPTS to facilitate the identification of property and to indicate the purpose for which the property is being reported.(98) File maintenance means the procedures used to correct information found to be in error in a file and the adding and deleting of records to maintain the file in current condition.(99) Final assessment roll data file means the organized collection of information stored by a computer on electronic media which corresponds to a final assessment roll.(100) First levy date means the last statutory day for the levy of any tax for any purpose upon the final assessment roll or a portion thereof.(101) Flight lines means the direction and number of passes an aircraft must make over an area where aerial photography is being obtained.(102) Full detail report, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a statement of annual changes to property and property investment, in accordance with instructions issued by ORPTS for reporting under titles 2-A and 2-B of the Real Property Tax Law.(103) Full sales price means the price actually paid or required to be paid for real property or an interest therein, whether paid or required to be paid by money, property, or any other thing of value, including the cancellation or discharge of an indebtedness or obligation, and the amount of any lien or encumbrance on the real property or interest therein which existed before the delivery of the deed and which remains thereon after the delivery of the deed, but excluding the fair market value of any personal property received by the buyer.(104) Full value standard means: (i) for purposes of a State equalization rate, the manner in which the full value of taxable real property is computed when computing a State equalization rate. Where only one market value survey is used in the computation of an equalization rate, the full value of the taxable real property is the value as of the valuation date. Where two surveys are used in the computation of an equalization rate, the full value of the taxable real property is a weighted average of the values as of each of the valuation dates; or(ii) for purposes of special equalization ratios, the date as of which the full value of real property is estimated when computing the special equalization ratios.(105) Functional obsolescence means the impairment of operating capacity or efficiency resulting in a loss in value brought about by the failure of the tangible property to meet present or projected needs or where the capacity of the tangible property exceeds reasonable anticipated demands.(106) Gas corporation means every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or managing any gas plant except: (i) where gas is made or produced and distributed by the maker on or through private property solely for its own use or the use of its tenants and not for sale to others; and(ii) where manufactured gas is sold by the producer only for use or resale by a gas corporation and such gas of the producer and any affiliated producers does not exceed in any one year 30 percent of the total gas sold by any purchaser thereof in the area in which such manufactured gas is resold either as manufactured gas or as a component of mixed gas.(107) Gross income means the revenue generated by selling the gas or oil minus wind-fall profits taxes and royalty payments.(108) Highly complex properties means unique properties where the appraisals require either the professional use of highly specialized engineering skills or the development of highly complex earnings or economic analyses.(109) Homestead assessing unit means an approved assessing unit which adopts the provisions of section 1903 of the Real Property Tax Law, pertaining to the homestead base proportion on or before the completion of the roll which is designated the base year roll for a market value survey.(110) ICC land zone, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means area of land of uniform value and characteristics, as used by the Surface Transportation Board for purposes of land appraisal.(121) Initial assessment means the assessed value of an individual parcel before any adjustment for the transition assessment provisions of article 18 or 19 of the Real Property Tax Law and before the subtraction of any exempt assessed value.(122) Initial report, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means inventory of railroad transportation property, as of a given date, as reported to ORPTS in accordance with revised instructions for reporting under titles 2-A and 2-B of article 4 of the Real Property Tax Law.(123) Intangible property means the franchise, right, authority or permission to construct, maintain or operate in, under, above, upon or through any public place mains, pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers with their appurtenances for conducting water, steam, light, power, electricity, gas or other substance.(124) Inventory date, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, for railroad ceilings means December 31st of the year preceding the year in which the assessment roll, on which the railroad ceiling will be entered, is filed in the office of the city or town clerk; except that the inventory date is December 31st of the second year preceding the date required by law for filing of the final assessment roll for purposes of city assessment rolls required to be filed between January 1st and June 1st, inclusive, and for all village assessment rolls.(125) Inventory date for special franchises means the date as of which the condition and ownership of special franchise property is determined for purposes of determining special franchise assessments pursuant to Subpart 8197- 4 of this Title.(126) Isolated property means properties to be isolated in the particular market value surveys as provided in the procedures established for the market value survey or surveys used for the calculation of State equalization rates, class equalization rates or class ratios.(127) Land parcel means a term in tax mapping used interchangeably with the term lot. All real property parcels separately assessed apart from the land shall be identified to the land parcel.(128) Land rights means rights in land less than fee ownership, such as easements and permits.(129) Lending institution means any bank, trust company, national bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, Federal savings bank, Federal savings and loan association, private banker, credit union, Federal credit union, investment company, pension fund, licensed mortgage banker or any other entity which maintains a real property tax escrow account for real property located in this State.(130) Levy roll means the final assessment roll upon which taxes are to be levied.(131) Life code, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a three-letter code, designating types of property, for use in the setting of service lives by ORPTS.(132) Locally assessed property means real property for which the assessed value is determined by the assessor, excluding transportation properties of ceiling railroads (Real Property Tax Law, article 4, titles 2-A and 2-B), taxable State land and wholly exempt properties.(133) Lot means a contiguous land area delineated on a tax map under a single fee ownership as far as may be practicable, used or intended for use as a single piece. A lot shall also include each separately delineated lot on a subdivision map accepted for filing by a county clerk, unless the assessor determines the separate assessment of one or more such lots to be impracticable. A lot shall not be divided by a State, county, city, town, village or school district boundary line; provided, however, that in a special assessing unit where, at the election of the assessor, a land parcel which is separately assessed for general municipal purposes lies partly within a village or school district, it shall be delineated on the tax map and with respect to such portion, an identifying suffix or suffixes shall be appended to the section, block and lot number assigned to the affected land parcel. In determining what constitutes a lot, an assessor shall regard an abandoned subdivision as a single tract if an instrument abandoning that subdivision has been filed with the assessor and with the clerk of each assessing unit in which the subdivision is located and with the appropriate recording officer.(134) Lot number means a two-digit number assigned to each lot to distinguish it from each other lot within the same block.(135) Majority of cities and towns means either:(i) a simple majority of cities or towns within the county or cities or towns partly or wholly within a school district; or(ii) two or more cities or towns partly or wholly within a school district or county where the full value of taxable real property of those cities or towns, or segments thereof, in aggregate exceeds 50 percent of the full value of taxable real property within the entire school district or county.(136) Market value ratio means the ratio of assessed value to full value of the taxable real property on a final assessment roll.(137) Mass property, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means items of tangible property that are sufficiently similar physically and functionally that they are commonly accounted for as uniform components of a group or class rather than as individual items.(138) Master antenna television system means any system which serves only the residents of one or more apartment dwellings under common ownership, control or management and any commercial establishment located on the premises of such apartment house and which transmits only signals broadcast over the air by stations which may be normally viewed or heard locally without objectionable interference, and which does not provide any additional service over its facilities.(139) Mcf means 1,000 cubic feet of gas.(140) Measured roll means an assessment roll from which observations, either sample parcels for appraisal or sales, are chosen in conducting a market value survey or from which aggregate full values are estimated based upon local reassessment activity. The procedures for market value surveys shall provide which assessment rolls are to be measured. Any reference in Part 8186 of this Title to base year rolls shall include measured rolls and any reference therein to measured rolls shall include base year rolls.(151) Ministerial act means an action performed upon a given state of facts in a prescribed manner imposed by law, without the exercise of any judgment or discretion as to the propriety of the act, even though such law may require, to a limited degree, a construction of its language or intent.(152) Moderately complex properties means unique properties where the appraisals require either the professional use of moderately specialized engineering skills or the development of moderately complex earnings or economic analyses.(153) Mortgage investing institution means any bank, trust company, national bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, Federal savings bank, Federal savings and loan association, private banker, credit union, Federal credit union, investment company, pension fund, licensed mortgage banker or any other entity which maintains a real property tax escrow account for real property located in this State.(154) Municipality means a city, town or village other than a village which is not an assessing unit.(155) Mylar means a stable base polyester drafting film matte on one or both sides.(156) Net cable operating income means operating income less operating costs, including adjustments for income taxes and officers' salaries, as reported in financial statements submitted by a cable television company to ORPTS or to the New York State Commission on Cable Television. The adjustments for income taxes and officers' salaries shall be obtained from a schedule to be adopted by ORPTS.(157) Net operating income means net utility operating income, net cable operating income or operating revenues less operating expenses as determined from financial statements submitted by an unregulated special franchise owner to ORPTS.(158) Net railway operating income means operating revenues less operating expenses, as reported in financial statements submitted by railroad companies to the Interstate Commerce Commission or the New York State Department of Transportation.(159) Net salvage percent means net salvage value expressed as a percentage of reproduction cost new.(160) Net salvage value means the salvage value of property retired less the cost of removal.(161) Net taxable value means the taxable value of a parcel after computation of all partial exemptions to which the parcel is entitled.(162) Net utility operating income means operating revenues less operating expenses as reported in financial statements submitted by a special franchise owner other than a cable television company or an unregulated special franchise owner to a regulatory agency other than the New York State Commission on Cable Television.(163) New York coordinate system means the system of coordinates located in four zones of the State of New York for land boundary and survey station descriptions as enacted by the Laws of 1938, chapter 545 and amended by the Laws of 1995, chapter 605.(164) New York State Real Property System or RPS means computer software and related documentation which have been developed by ORPTS.(165) Nonresidential property means locally assessed properties which are not residential property.(166) Office or ORPTS means the Office of Real Property Tax Services.(167) Oil and gas rights identification code means a number which uniquely identifies oil and gas rights not capable of being identified by a tax map land parcel number as defined in paragraph (279) of this subdivision.(168) Operating expenses means costs necessary to maintain the production of gas or oil and does not include depreciation, capital expenditures or the cost of developing new wells or plugging old wells.(169) Original cost, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means the cost of property to the corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, first devoting it to public service and the cost of contributed property.(170) ORPTS means the Office of Real Property Tax Services.(180) Overhead factor, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means interest during construction, engineering costs and other general expenditures.(181) Parcel means a separately assessed lot, piece or portion of real property, except publicly owned bridges and land used for street, highway or parkway purposes. When used in Part 8201 of this Title, time share interests in individual units are not separate parcels nor are entries for omitted parcels and penalty taxes.(182) Parcel identification number means a unique number which distinguishes each parcel in the county from all other parcels in the county. For a land parcel, this number might be the tax map land parcel number or another unique number which identifies the parcel on a tax map. For a property not capable of being identified by a tax map land parcel number, for example, utility mass account property, an Adirondack or Hudson River-Black River aggregate assessment, or a State-owned land transition assessment, this means a number which uniquely identifies such entity for assessment purposes.(183) Parcel key means a unique number consisting of the SWIS code or equivalent and the tax map land parcel number. In the case of condominiums and multiple ownership of improvements to leased land, said number shall also identify each separate ownership interest.(184) Parcel size means the quantity of land delineated on a tax map.(185) Parties shall mean the complainant or complainants, the respondent or respondents and any municipal corporation which is allowed to intervene in an adjudicatory proceeding.(186) Paying property means property which produces a net operating income sufficient to meet taxes which were not included in the determination of net operating income, interest on indebtedness and fixed charges.(187) Person means individual, firm or co-partnership.(188) Physical or quantity change means either an increase in assessed value from the prior roll to the current roll resulting from new construction, property annexed from another assessing unit, property omitted from the prior roll, property discovered during tax mapping, and property which has become a locally assessed property or taxable State land, or a decrease in assessed value from the prior roll to the current roll resulting from fire, demolition, loss of parcels from the roll due to tax mapping, removal of mobile homes, removal of duplicate parcels from the roll and property which is no longer a locally assessed property or taxable State land. It is not the result of the splitting or merging of parcels. Increases in assessments of oil and gas rights assessed pursuant to Real Property Tax Law, article 5, title 5, which are a result of increased production shall be treated as increases resulting from new construction. Decreases in assessments of oil and gas rights assessed pursuant to Real Property Tax Law, article 5, title 5, which are the result of decreased production, shall be treated as decreases resulting from demolitions. Where new property has replaced previously existing property, the installation of the new property shall be treated as new construction and the removal of the previously existing property shall be treated as a demolition, notwithstanding the fact that the new property may be similar or identical, in function or otherwise, to the previously existing property. In special assessing units or homestead assessing units, physical or quantity changes shall also include a change in class designation and the annexation or removal of a parcel from a portion.(189) Pipeline corporation means a corporation organized to construct and operate, wholly within or partly without this State, lines of pipe for conveying or transporting therein petroleum, liquids, gas or any products or property, or to maintain and operate for such purposes lines of pipe already constructed.(190) Portion class means the homestead or non-homestead class in a homestead assessing unit, or the real property class in a portion in a special assessing unit.(191) Price level index, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means a cost index expressing the relationship of the cost of tangible property as of the date of valuation to its cost as of the base year.(192) Prior roll means the assessment roll completed, verified and filed in the year before the current roll revised for all corrections of errors and small claims court adjustments but not for other court-ordered adjustments to date.(193) Property classification code means a number established or accepted by ORPTS for classifying property by type.(194) Property description means a description sufficient to identify the parcel, including the surnames of the abutting property owners and the names of the abutting streets or highways, the approximate number of square feet, square rods or acres or a statement of the linear dimensions.(195) Property inventory file means a collection of records containing the real property valuation data items for each parcel.(196) Property retired, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means property which has been removed, sold, abandoned, destroyed or which for any cause has ceased to be used and useful in the service of the public.(197) Property tax exemption code means a number established or accepted by ORPTS for identifying each type of exemption.(198) Property use means a classification established by ORPTS for classifying property by use.(199) Public utility property means any property owned by persons or corporations and used for electric and gas production, transmission or distribution of water and other products, communications, including cable television, transportation and waste disposal.(200) Real property transfer report means the form (RP-5217) prescribed in section 8191-2.1 of this Title, or an alternative report authorized by section 8191-2.2 of this Title, except that for purposes of Subpart 8191-3 of this Title, real property transfer reports shall also include: (i) equivalent reports prepared pursuant to or on the basis of documents prescribed by chapter 21 of title 11 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York;(ii) adequately documented corrections made in accordance with section 8191-2.3 of this Title unless the context otherwise requires; and(iii) assessment information provided pursuant to sections 8191-2.4 and 8191- 2.5 of this Title pursuant to Real Property Law, article 9, section 333.(211) Reassessment means a systematic review of the assessments of all locally assessed properties, valued as of the valuation date of the assessment roll containing those assessments, to attain compliance with the standard of assessment set forth in subdivision two of section 305 of the Real Property Tax Law.(212) Records means records held by ORPTS that are available for inspection and copying under the Freedom of Information Law and any other provisions of law.(213) Regulatory agency, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means the Surface Transportation Board, the New York State Department of Transportation, or any other regulatory agency of the State or Federal government which has jurisdiction of railroad property.(214) Residential property means all one-, two-, and three-family residential property in real property class one for special assessing units including such dwellings used in part for nonresidential purposes but which are used primarily for residential purposes but excluding parcels with an assessment limitation and parcels held in a cooperative or a condominium form of ownership, and, for all other assessing units, all locally assessed properties with a property classification code beginning with a "2," other than property held in a cooperative or a condominium form of ownership.(215) Respondent shall mean any person notified to appear before the commissioner in an adjudicatory proceeding other than as a witness.(216) Retail activity means the making of retail sales of goods or services at a business facility to customers who personally visit such facility to obtain such goods or services.(217) Retirement-replacement-betterment accounting, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, is the method historically used for track structures. Under this accounting method, the initial track installation cost is capitalized and the investment is never written down. Track replacements of similar quality are written off as maintenance expenses in the year incurred, and the incremental cost of betterments is added to the property accounts as a capital investment. When a line is abandoned, the original investment and the capital improvements (betterments) are written out of the property accounts, at their original cost, as expenses.(218) River regulating district, or RRD parcels, means land owned by the Hudson River or Black River Regulating Districts made taxable by section 15-2115 of the Environmental Conservation Law.(219) Roll section means a separate section of the assessment roll used to enter assessment information for specific real property.(220) Roll section 1 means all taxable real property not specifically included in another roll section.(221) Roll section 3 means the part of the assessment roll used to enter parcels identified as taxable state land as defined.(222) Roll section 5 means property defined as special franchise in section 102 of the Real Property Tax Law.(223) Roll section 6 means the part of the assessment roll used to enter parcels identified as utility property other than special franchise.(224) Roll section 7 means railroad real property subject to railroad ceilings determined by ORPTS.(225) Roll section 8 means real property which is wholly exempt from taxation.(226) Roll section 9 means the optional roll section which may be established for the entry of the assessed value of real property which: (i) is transferred from exempt to taxable status as per section 520 of the Real Property Tax Law;(ii) was omitted from the prior year's roll; or(iii) is subject to penalty or rollback taxes due upon the conversion of certain agricultural or forest lands.(227) Roll section identification means a system for indicating under which section of the assessment roll each parcel is to be listed.(228) RP-5217 control number means for sales occurring before July 1, 1994, the seven- digit number printed on the form; for sales occurring on or after July 1, 1994, the SWIS code, liber and page of the recorded deed evidencing that sale.(229) RPS means the Real Property System.(230) Sale means any transfer, whether for value or not, giving rise to a conveyance, including but not limited to a gift, exchange, distribution from an estate, distribution from a partnership or corporation to a partner or shareholder, mortgage foreclosure, transfer in lieu of foreclosure and a transfer pursuant to court order or in settlement of litigation.(231) Sale between related companies means a sale where the buyer and seller are effectively controlled by the same persons or corporations. A sale between a corporation and a stockholder or office of the corporation or a sale between corporations having a common stockholder or officer and the same principal address shall be presumed between related companies.(241) Sale between relatives means a sale where the buyer and seller are related by consanguinity or affinity or were previously related by affinity.(242) Sales inventory file means a collection of records for every valid sale, containing the verified property inventory at time of sale and verified selling price.(243) Salvage value, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means the amount received for property retired, less any expenses incurred in connection with the sale or in preparing the property for sale or if retained, the amount at which the material recoverable is chargeable to materials and supplies or other appropriate account.(244) School district code means a number established by ORPTS whereby each school district is assigned a unique identifying number.(245) Segment means the part of a city or town within a taxing jurisdiction which is a school district, a special district or a village which is not an assessing unit and which is located in two or more towns. A segment special equalization rate means a special equalization rate established for a segment.(246) Seller means a transferor listed on a conveyance.(247) Service life means the anticipated duration of use of property for the purpose for which it was installed.(248) Signal miles, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means the number of track miles protected by automatic signals.(249) Small claims court means a court established pursuant to title 1-A of article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law.(250) Soil group or subdivision thereof means a class of soil mapping units established by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets.(251) Special district code means a uniform code which uniquely identifies each special district within a county, and which sets forth the basis of taxation for each district.(252) Split-merge number means a unique number used to identify parcels that have been split (including subdivisions) or merged since the prior roll. All parcels involved in the same split or merger are coded with the same number.(253) State Board means the State Board of Real Property Tax Services as defined in section 200 of the Real Property Tax Law.(254) State parcel number means a unique seven-digit identifier assigned to each parcel of taxable State land by ORPTS.(255) Statewide information system code or SWIS code means a numbering system established by ORPTS to uniquely identify each county, city, town and village, and that portion of a town outside of incorporated villages.(256) Steam corporation means every corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever owning, operating or managing any steam plant, except where steam is made or produced and distributed by the maker on or through private property solely for the maker's own use or the use of the maker's tenant and not for sale to others.(257) Structural item, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means an item of real property, other than land, for which cost can be segregated, and which can be located by tax district code numbers, such as buildings, separate paving, bridges, trestles, culverts.(258) Subsequent property means that portion of special franchise property which was first assessed after the year 1953 in an assessing unit which has not completed a revaluation and which is not expected to complete a revaluation.(259) Supplemental assessment means an assessed value of taxable State land established by ORPTS pursuant to section 542 (4) of the Real Property Tax Law for an assessment roll completed prior to the current roll.(260) Surviving original cost, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means the original cost by year of installation of property existing as of the inventory date.(261) Switch, double slip, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a slip switch effective for both directions of each of the two tracks involved.(271) Switch, single slip, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a slip switch effective for one direction of each of the two tracks involved.(272) Switch, slip, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a switch used for diverting rolling equipment from one track to a second track over which the first track crosses.(273) Systematic edit means the application of procedures to data items, individually and logically grouped, to insure their accuracy and reasonableness.(274) Tangible property means mains, pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers, with their appurtenances for conducting water, steam, light, power, electricity, gas or other substance or any other tangible property situated in, under, above, upon or through any public street, highway, water or other public place.(275) Tax bill number means a unique sequential number assigned to each parcel on a tax roll, for which taxes are extended.(276) Tax billing address means the address designated by the buyer of the property to which tax bills shall be sent. A tax billing address may be expressed in the form of a code. Provided, however, that the tax billing address of an assessment record billing owner for purposes of section 103(B-1) of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law shall be determined as provided by paragraph (18) of this subdivision.(277) Tax district code, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means a seven-digit number assigned by ORPTS for each city, town and village.(278) Tax map means a map, maps or digital data prepared primarily for assessment purposes which has been approved for such use pursuant to Part 8189 of this Title.(279) Tax map land parcel number means a unique number consisting of the section number, the block number and the lot number which distinguishes each land parcel in the county from all other land parcels in the county. Also see section 8189.9 of this Title.(280) Taxable assessed value, for purposes of Subpart 8186-4 of this Title, means the assessed value of taxable real property subject to county taxation plus the amounts of assessed value partially exempt from county taxation pursuant to sections 458, 460 and 464 of the Real Property Tax Law and pursuant to such other sections of law as the county legislative body designates by resolution to be included in the total valuation. In determining the assessed value of taxable real property subject to county taxation, the restricted assessed value as defined by subdivision 2 of section 581 of the Real Property Tax Law shall be used for property owned or leased by a cooperative corporation or on a condominium basis.(281) Taxable assessed value for special assessing units means the assessed value that is actually subject to taxation by a special assessing unit or portion thereof. Where property is exempt from taxation in some, but not all, of the municipal corporations in which it is located, the taxable assessed value for the special assessing unit or portion thereof shall be the assessed value that is taxable for its own purposes; provided, that for New York City, the taxable assessed value of properties exempted under sections 458 and 458-a of the Real Property Tax Law shall be the amount that is taxable for city purposes. For each parcel that is subject to a transition assessment pursuant to the provisions of section 1805 (3) of the Real Property Tax Law, taxable assessed value shall be the lesser of transition assessment or the initial assessment.(282) Taxable common law easement means a common law easement held by the State for conservation purposes.(283) Taxable conservation easement means a conservation easement held by the State on lands within the Adirondack and Catskill Parks or on lands within the watershed of Hemlock and Canadice Lakes in the Towns of Livonia, Conesus, West Sparta and Springwater in Livingston County; the Towns of Canadice and Richmond in Ontario County; and the Town of Wayland in Steuben County.(284) Taxable real property means real property other than property which is wholly exempt from county taxation.(285) Total assessed value means the assessed value of taxable real property before the subtraction of any exempt assessed value but after adjustment for the transition assessment provisions of articles 18 and 19 of the Real Property Tax Law.(286) Track, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means railway trackage, classified in accordance with Federal Railroad Association (FRA) rules and regulations for maximum operating speeds for passenger and freight as follows: Class 1 - highspeed: All passenger freight (60 mph or greater)
Class 2 - medium speed: Freight (40 mph to 59 mph)
Class 3 - lowspeed: Freight (under 40 mph)
Class 4 - electronic classification yards
Class 5 - all other yards
(287) Turnout, main, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a turnout from a main track.(288) Turnout, side, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a turnout from a side track.(289) Transition assessment means the assessed valuation established by the commissioner pursuant to section 545 of the Real Property Tax Law.(290) Type I action means an action or class of actions listed in 6 NYCRR 617.4.(291) Type II action means an action or class of actions listed in 6 NYCRR 617.5 or in section 185-4.3 of this Part.(300) Uniform percentage of value means the percentage of value at which all real property is assessed pursuant to Real Property Tax Law, section 305.(301) Unit of measurement, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means, as appropriate to the context of these rules: (iii) number of turnouts;(v) number of crossing frogs;(vi) cubic yards of grading;(vii) wire fence per mile; or(viii) miscellaneous communication (electronic signals) per mile.(302) Unique property means property distinguishable from other property of the same specific type because of one or more of the following factors: (i) there are few properties of this type within the county or municipality; or(ii) the property has unusual structural earnings or economic characteristics.(303) Unlisted action means any action that is not an excluded, exempt, type I or type II action.(304) Unregulated special franchise owner means a special franchise owner which is not subject to regulation.(305) Valid sale means an arm's-length transaction between a willing buyer and a willing seller, both having full knowledge of the facts and neither being under any compulsion to act.(306) Valuation section, when used in Part 8200 of this Title, means a geographical unit within which railroad records are maintained and reported to the Surface Transportation Board. Only valuation sections in existence as of the reporting date shall be used.(307) Valuation unit, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means that portion of either railroad real property or tangible property of a special franchise, as the case may be, which is within an account or accounts by year of installation.(308) Verification of sales means a procedure to ascertain the actual property inventory at time of sale and the selling price, not to include personal property.(309) Village school assessing unit means a village assessing unit whose boundaries are coterminous with the boundaries of a union free school district, as defined in section 1202 (5)(c) of the Real Property Tax Law.(310) Waterworks corporation means every corporation, association, joint-stock association, partnership and person, their lessees, trustee or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or managing any water plant or waterworks, except where water is distributed solely on or through private property solely for the use of the distributor or its tenants and not for sale to others.(311) Year index, when used in Parts 8197 and 8200 of this Title, means a cost index expressing the relationship of the cost of tangible property as of the year of installation to its cost as of the base year.N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 20 §§ 8185-1.1