§ 1102. Definitions. When used in this article:

1. "Charges" or "legal charges" means:

(a) the cost of the mailing or service of notices required or
authorized by this article;

(b) the cost of publication of notices required or authorized by this
title;

(c) the amount of any interest and penalties imposed by law;

(d) the cost of recording or filing legal documents required or
authorized by this article;

(e) the cost of appraising a parcel for the purpose of determining the
existence and amount of any surplus pursuant to section eleven hundred
ninety-six of this article;

(f) the reasonable and necessary cost of any search of the public
record required or authorized to satisfy the notice requirements of this
article, and other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by a tax
district in connection with a proceeding to foreclose a tax lien,
including but not limited to administrative, auction and reasonable
attorney fees and/or costs associated with the foreclosure process;
provided, that: (i) a charge of up to either two hundred fifty dollars
per parcel, or two percent of the sum of the taxes, interest and
penalties due on the parcel, whichever is greater, shall be deemed
reasonable and necessary to cover the combined costs of such searches
and the other reasonable and necessary costs and expenses delineated in
this paragraph, and such an amount may be charged without
substantiation, even if salaried employees of the tax district performed
some or all of such services; and (ii) a tax district may charge a
greater amount with respect to one or more parcels upon demonstration to
the satisfaction of the court having jurisdiction that such greater
amount was reasonable and necessary; and

(g) the amount owed to the tax district by virtue of a judgment lien,
a mortgage lien, or any other lien held by the tax district that is not
a delinquent tax lien.

(h) Charges shall be deemed a part of the delinquent tax for purposes
of redemption and determination of surplus.

2. "Delinquent tax" means an unpaid tax, special ad valorem levy,
special assessment or other charge imposed upon real property by or on
behalf of a municipal corporation or special district, plus all
applicable charges, relating to any parcel which is included in the
return of unpaid delinquent taxes prepared pursuant to section nine
hundred thirty-six of this chapter or such other general, special, or
local law as may be applicable. In no event, however, shall "delinquent
tax" include any unpaid tax or other charge against lands owned by the
state.

3. "Enforcing officer" means any elected or appointed officer of any
tax district empowered or charged by law to enforce the collection of
tax liens on real property; provided, however, that (a) where no law
provides otherwise, the enforcing officer shall be (i) in a county which
is a tax district, the county treasurer or commissioner of finance, (ii)
in a city which is a tax district, the official so empowered or charged
by the city charter, (iii) in a village which is a tax district, the
village treasurer, and (iv) in a town which is a tax district, the town
supervisor; and (b) when the duties and powers of an "enforcing officer"
are vested in two or more elected or appointed officials, the governing
body of the tax district shall designate which of such officials shall
act as enforcing officer for the purposes set forth in this article. The
enforcing officer and other officials of the tax district who have
responsibilities affecting the enforcement process shall work
cooperatively to facilitate the enforcement process.

4. "Lien date" means the date on which the tax or other legal charges
represented thereby became a lien, as provided by section nine hundred
two of this chapter or such other general, special or local law as may
be applicable, provided, that when the taxes of a school district are
enforced by a tax district without being relevied by the tax district,
and the lien date of the school district taxes differs from the lien
date of the taxes of the tax district which are levied upon the same
assessment roll, the later of the two such dates shall be deemed to be
the lien date for purposes of this article.

5. "Person" means an individual, a corporation (including a foreign
corporation and a municipal corporation), a joint stock association, a
partnership, the state, and any other organization, state, government or
county which may lawfully own property in the state.

6. "Tax district" means: (a) a county, other than (i) a county for
which the cities and towns enforce delinquent taxes pursuant to the
county administrative code, or (ii) a county wholly contained within a
city;

(b) a city, other than a city for which the county enforces delinquent
taxes pursuant to the city charter;

(c) a village, other than a village for which the county enforces
delinquent taxes pursuant to section fourteen hundred forty-two of this
chapter; or

(d) a town in a county in which towns enforce delinquent taxes
pursuant to the county administrative code.