HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd1958-281
CITY OF SEWARD, AI..ASKA
ORDINANCE NO. 281
I AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR THE ASSESSING, LEVYING AND COLLECrING, INCLUDING
I THE FORECLOmE OF, GENERAL PROPERrY TAXES AND SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CITY OF SE.WARD, IN ORDER TO OONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS
OF THE TERRITORIAL LAW IN GENERAL AND IN PARTICULAR WITH CHAPrER 174 OF THE
SESSION LAWS OF A.I...ASKA FOR THE YEAR 1957, AND REPEALING ORDINANCES AND/OR
PARTS OF ORDINANCES TO THE EXTENT OF ANY CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE.
BE IT ORDAINED, by the City Council of the City of Seward as follows:
SECTION 1.
Dates to be fixed b the Counci .
(a) All property, both real and personal, within the City of seward,
not exempt from taxation under the laws of the United States or the Territory
of Alaska, and/or Resolutions and/or Ordinances of the City of ~rd, is sub-
ject to annual taxation for school and municipal purposes at its full and true
value based upon the actual value of the property assessed.
(b) The rate of levy of tax, the date of equalization of the tax and
the date when taxes shall become delinquent, shall be fixed by resolution of
the City Council, and the levy for school and municipal purposes shall be sep-
arately made and fixed, but the aggregate thereof shall not exceed three per-
cent of the assessed value of the property assessed.
SECTION 2. Definitions.
(a) Real property includes not only the land i helf, whether laid out
in lots or otherwise, but also all buildings, structures, improvements, fix-
tures of whatsoever kind thereon, and all possessory rights and privileges
belonging to or in anywise appertaining thereto, and the word -tract- shall
include all lands, pieces or parcels of land which may be separately assessed
together with fixtures and improvements thereon.
(b) Personal property shall include any other property not specifically
listed under real property.
(c) Person includes an individual, a partnership, a corporation, an
association, an organization, a fiduciary and any other entity.
(d) True Value. Property shall be assessed at its full and true value
in money, as of January 1 of the assessment year. In determining the full and
true value of property in money, the person making the return, or the assessor,
as the case may be, shall not adopt a lower or different standard of value be-
cause the same is to serve as a basis of taxation, nor shall he adopt as a
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criterion of value the price for which the property would sell 'at auction, or at
a forced sale, either separately or in the aggregate with all of the property in
the taxing district, but he shall value the property at such sum as he believes
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same to be fairly worth in money at the time of assessment.
SECTION 3. Assessment Method; Time; Listing; Returns; Investigation.
(a) All taxable property must be assessed at its true and full value and
all assessments shall be uniform and equal and based upon the actual value of
the property assessed.
(b) The Municipal Assessor shall annually assess and list on a tax roll
all real and personal property in the name of the person by whom it is owned on
the first day of January. If no owner or claimant to the property can be dis"
covered, the property shall be assessed to the unknown owner.
(c) The assessor shall complete the listing for the annual assessment
roll of all real and personal property wi thin the limits of the corporation
before March 15th of each year. Provided, however, the assessor may list undis-
covered or omitted personal property to be included on a supplemental tax roll.
The listing of all taxable property may be made upon permanent separate ledger
cards which will be the combined assessment roll and tax ledger. Real property
shall be assessed to the owner or record as shown in the records of the U. ~.
Commissioner (and Ex"Officio Recorder of the Precinct); provided, however, that
any other person having an interest in the property may be listed on the assess-
ment records with the owner. The person in whose name any property is listed as
owner thereof shall be conclusively presumed to be the legal owner of record.
If the owner of land is unknown, such land may be assessed to an -Unknown Owner#
or -Unknown Owners#. No assessment shall be invalidated by a mistake, omission I
or error in the name of the owner of the real property assessed, if the property
is correctly described.
(d) The Assessor may list real property located in any subdivision by
lot and block or tract description, and un"subdivided property according to the
land office section and township survey description, or by giving the boundaries
hereof, or by reference to the book and page of the records of the U. S. Com-
issioner where the description nay be found or by designation of tax lot number
referring to a public record kept by the Assessor of descriptions of real prop-
erty, or in such other manner as to cause the description to be capable of being
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made certain. Initial letters, abbreviations, fractions and exponents to desig-
nate the township, range, section or part of a section, or the nurr~er of any
lot or block or part thereof, or any distance, course, bearing or direction, may
be employed in any such description of real property.
(e) Every person shall submit in duplicate to the Assessor a combined
Real and Personal Property Return of any property owned by him, or in which he
has an interest, and of the property held or controlled by him in a representa-
tive capacity, in the manner prescribed in this Ordinance, which return shall
be based on property values existing as of January 1st of the year in which the
return is made. The person making the return in every case shall state an add-
ress to which all notices required to be given to him under this Ordinance may
be mailed or delivered. The return shall show the nature, quantity, description,
amount and value of all real and personal property, the place where the property
is situated, and said return shall be in such form and include such additional
'I information as the City Council may prescribe, and shall be signed and verified
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under oath by the person liable or his or its authorized agent or representative.
Said return shall be filed on or before January 15th of each year. The assessor
may, by notice in writing to any person by whom a return has been made, require
from him a further return containing additional details and more explicit part-
iculars, and upon receipt of the notice, that person shall comply fully with its
f requirements within thirty days.
(f) The Assessor personally, or by any designated assistant, shall,
after identifying themselves, have the right to enter upon and inspect the prem-
ises of any person at reasonable times for the purpose of making an examination,
valuation or assessment of either or both real and personal property. He shall
have access to and may examine all property records involved, and any person
shall, upon request, furnish to the Assessor or his assistant every facility
and assistance for the purpose of such examination, valuation or assessment.
The Assessor shall not be bound to accept as correct the return made by any
'person, but if he thinks it necessary or expedient, or if he suspects that a
person who has not made a return has property subject to taxation, he shall make:
an independent investigation as to the property of that person, and may mahe
his own valuation and assessment of the taxable amount thereof, which shall be
prima facie evidence for all legal purposes and proceedings. The Assessor may
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examine a person on oath or otherwise, and upon request of the Assessor, the
Iperson shall present himself for examination by the Assessor.
(g) All statements on property returns made by any person required under
this Ordinance to file such return shall be confidential, and said return may
not be inspected by any person except officers authorized to administer the tax
laws of the United states or the Territory of Alaska, or a law enforcement of-
[fiCer, or in response to a proper subpoena
violates this restriction by communicating
from a court. Any employee who
any information obtained under these
provisions, except such information as is required by law to be shown on the
assessment rolls or who allows any person not legally entitled thereto to ins-
pect or have access to any return made under these provisions shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor punishable under this ordinance, and shall be immediately dis-
charged from his office of employment.
SECTION 4. Content of Assessment Roll.
The Assessor shall prepare an annual assessment roll in duplicate upon
which he shall enter the following particulars:
(1) The names and last known addresses of all persons with property liable'
to assessment and taxation;
(2) A description of all taxable property;
(3) The assessed value, quantity, or amount of said property; and
(4) The arrears of taxes, if any, owing by any persons.
SECTION 5. Notice. Publication. Correction of Assessment Roll.
(a) The Assessor shall give to every person named in the assessment roll
a notice of assessment, showing the assessed value of his property. On the bac
of each assessment notice shall be printed a brief summary for the information
of the taxpayer, of the dates when the taxes are payable, delinquent, and sub.
ject to interest and penalty, dates when the Board will sit for equalization
purposes and any other particulars specified by the council. The assessment
notice shall be directed to the person to whom it is to be given, and shall be
sufficiently given if it is mailed by first class mail addressed to, or is
delivered at, his address as last known to the assessor; or, if the address is
not known to the assessor, the notice may be addressed to the person at the
post office nearest to the place where the property is situated. The date on
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notice is mailed or is delivered shall be deemed to be the date on
notice is given for purposes of this Ordinance.
(b) When valuation notices have been mailed, the Assessor shall cause
notice that the assessment rolls have been completed to be published in a news-
paper of general circulation once each week for two successive weeks. Such
notice shall also state when and where the equalization hearings shall be held
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land that an appeal may be taken to the Board of Equalization upon the filing of
Inotice in writing with the Board specifying the grounds for the appeal.
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farising in the preparation of the assessment roll at any time before the sitting
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lof the Board of Equalization.
Inotice of assessment to advise the assessor of any error or omission he may have
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jObserved in the assessment of his property, in order that the assessor may cor-
I rect the same.
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(e)
The Assessor may correct any error or supply any omission made or
It shall be the duty of every person receiving a
SECTION 6.
Appeal to Board of Equalization:
notice of appeal; hearing.
Ii (a) Any person who receives notice or whose name appears on the assessment
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roll may appeal to the Board with respect to any alleged error in the valuation,
overcharge, omission or neglect of the assessor not adjusted to the taxpayer's
satisfaction. Whenever it appears to the Board that there are overcharges or
errors or invalidities in the assessment roll, or in any of the proceedings lead
It ing up to or subsequent to the preparation of the roll, and there is no appeal
I: before the Board by which the same may be dealt with, or where the name of any
II person is ordered by the Board to be entered on the assessment roll, by way of
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i addition or substitution, for the purpose of assessment, the Board shall cause
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;,: notice of assessment to be mailed by the assessor to that person
11 giving him at least 30 days from the date of such mailing within
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)1 to the Board against the assessment.
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or his agent
which to appeal I
(b)
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I: shall be
Notice of appeal, in writing, specifying the grounds for the appeal,
filed with the Board within 30 days after the date on which the assess-
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ii' or's notice of assessment was given
I contain a certification that a true
I assessor.
to the person appealing.
Such notice must
oopy thereof was mailed or delivered to the
If notice of appeal is not given within that period, the right of
I appeal shall cease as to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Board, unles
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it is shown to the satisfaction of the Board that the taxpayer was unable to
appeal within the time so limited. A copy of the notice of appeal must be sent
ito the assessor as above indicated.
(c) Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the assessor shall make a
record of the same in such form as the council may direct, which record shall
contain all the information shown on the assessment roll in respect to the sub.
ject matter of the appeal, and the assessor shall place the same before the
Board from time to time as may be required by the Board. The Board shall cause
a notice of the sitting at which the appeal is to be heard to be mailed by the
assessor to the person by whom the notice of appeal was given, and to every
other person in respect to whom the appeal is taken, to their respective add-
resses as last known to the assessor.
(d) At the time appointed for the hearing of the appeal or as soon
thereafter as the appeal may be heard, the Board shall hear the appellant, the
assessor, other parties to the appeal and their witnesses, and consider the
testimony and evidence adduced, and shall determine the matters in question on
the merits and render its decision accordingly. If any party to whom notice I
was mailed, as above set forth, fails to appear, the Board may proceed with the I
hearing in his absence. The burden of proof in all cases shall be upon the
party appealing. The Board shall from time to time enter in the appeal record
its decision upon appeals brought before it, and shall certify to the same.
SECTION 7. Entry of Changes by Assessor; Certification by Clerk;
Completion of Assessment Roll.
(a) The assessor shall enter the changes, so certified, upon his record
and no assessed valuations shall thereafter be changed. After the hearings
held by the Board of Equalization are concluded, the assessor shall complete
the annual assessment roll, at a time to be determined by the City Council,
which shall be based on values as of January 1st immediately preceding, and he
shall certify the same. Such supplementary assessment rolls shall be prepared
and certified as may be necessary or expedient.
(b) The Clerk of the Council shall be Ex-Officio Clerk of the Board of
Equalization and shall record in the minutes of the meeting all proceedings
before the Board, the names of all persons protesting assessments. All changes
revisions, corrections, and orders relating to claims or adjustments and all
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final decisions shall be recorded in a record to be kept by the City Clerk and
to be known as the Appeal Record. Within three days following the final hear-
ings of the Board, the clerk shall transmit to the assessor all corrections,
revisions, or changes authorized and approved by the Board and shall certify
that the changes so reported are as approved by the Board of Equalization.
(c) All taxes to be levied or collected, except as otherwise provided,
shall be calculated, levied and collected upon the assessed values entered in
the assessment roll and certified by the assessor as correct, subject to the
Any person feeling aggrieved by any order of the Board shall have the
Division, Territory of Alaska; provided, however, that the person has first
taken his appeal to the Board of Equalization.
sterr ON 9. Sunplementary Assessment Rolls.
All the duties imposed up the assessor, the clerk of the Council, and the
City Clerk with respect to the annual assessment roll and all the provisions
'of this Ordinance relating to assessment rolls shall, as far as applicable,
apply to supplementary assessment rolls. Provided further, however, that the
delinquent date when taxes shall become delinquent, as determined by the Coun-
cil, shall also apply to property listed on the supplementary assessment rolls.
SECTION 10. Delivery of Assessment Roll to Council; Validity.
(a) When the final assessment records have been completed by the
assessor as herein provided, the assessor shall deliver to the council a state-
ment of the total assessed valuation of all real and personal property within
the city.
(b) Every assessment roll as completed and certified by the assessor,
and as corrected and amended by him from time to time in conformity with this
Ordinance and the decisions of the Board, shall, except insofar as the same
may be further amended as a result of an appeal to the court, as provided by I
this Ordinance, be valid and binding on all persons, notwithstanding any defect1
error, omission or invalidity existing in the assessment roll or any part i
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thereof, and notwithstanding any proceedings pertaining thereto.
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SECTION 11. Tax Rate and Delinquent Date; Tax Statements; Penalty and
Interest.
The Council shall thereupon by resolution fix the rate of tax levy and
; designate the number of mills upon each dollar of assessed real and personal
property that shall be levied and shall levy said tax in accordance therewith,
and shall determine the date when taxes shall become delinquent. The assessor
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shall then prepare and mail tax statements to the person or persons listed as I
the owner on the tax rolls. The taxpayer may be given the right to pay such I
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taxes in two installments and if the first half is not paid when due, the entire
tax becomes delinquent and penalty and interest accrue as hereinafter provided.
If the first half be paid when due, the second half of such taxes shall be pay-
able on the due date fixed by the council for such second half and if not paid,
shall be delinquent after such date. A penalty of eight per centum (8%) shall
be added to all taxes delinquent until the due date fixed for payment of such
second half, and interest at the rate of eight per centum (8%) per annum shall
be charged on the whole of the unpaid taxes (not including penalty) from due
date until paid in full. After the due date for the payment of the second half,
a total penalty of fifteen per centum (15%) shall be added to all delinquent
taxes, and interest at the rate of eight per centum (8%)
per annum shall accrue, I
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penalty) from due date
as herein provided, upon all unpaid taxes (not including
until paid in full.
SECTION 12. Delinquent Tax Roll; Notice and Publication of Foreclosure
List; Payments prior to Sale; Requested Notice.
(a) The City Clerk shall within such time as the Council may direct,
after such taxes have become delinquent and due, make up a roll in duplicate
of all real property then subject to foreclosure. Such roll shall show therein
the names of the persons appearing in the latest tax roll as the respective
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it appears
the tax delinquent properties, a description of each such property as
on the latest tax roll, the year or years for which taxes are del in-
quent, the amount of delinquent taxes for each year and penalty and interest
thereon accruing the day six months after the day of delinquency of taxes of
the latest year, and thereon shall be endorsed under the hand of the City Clerk
and corporate seal, a certificate to the effect that said roll is a true and
correct roll of the delinquent taxes of the city for the years there shown.
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Said roll so made up shall be known as the foreclosure list of the City of
Seward for the year in which the same is made up, the original of which shall
be filed with the City Clerk and remain open to inspection of the public. After:
the completion of the foreclosure list, the City Clerk shall cause to be pub-
lished in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, to be designated by
the council, a notice under the hand of the City Clerk, setting forth that the
foreclosure list of real property for the year, naming it, has been completed
and is open for public inspection at the office of the City Clerk, and that on I
a certain day not less than thirty days after publication of such notice, the
said foreclosure list will be presented to the District Court of the Third Div- :
ision, Territory of Alaska, for judgment and order of sale.
(b) The word tax as used in this Ordinance shall apply to special asses$-
ments for improvements and both such delinquent special assessments as well as
delinquent general taxes shall be included in the same delinquent tax roll and
in the foreclosure list, but shall be stated separately and the penalties and
interest due on each shall also be stated separately.
(c) On the day designated in the publication, a certified copy of the
foreclosure list, together with a petition for judgment, shall be presented to
the court. Notice of such foreclosure proceeding shall be given by four
weekly publications of the foreclosure list in a newspaper to be designated by
the council. The first such publication to corr~ence on the day of the filing
of the list and petition, and it shall not be necessary to mail a copy of any
notice to the owner or to any other person interested in the property. All
persons owning or claiming to own, or having or claiming to have, any interest
in any property, included in the foreclosure list, are charged with notice of
such proceeding and of all steps thereunder.
(d) During the time of the publication of the foreclosure list and up
to the time of sale, any person may make payment on any piece or tract set
forth therein, together with the penalty and interest, and proportionate share
of the costs of publ i cation and forecl )S'lTc; ii:,d the City Clerk snaIl make
proper notation of such payment on both the original delinquent tax roll and
foreclosure list. On receipt of the delinquent tax payments as to a particular
property any time one week prior to the filing of the foreclosure list and
petition, the City Clerk shall remove the property from both the list and the
peti tion.
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(e) A mortgagee or other holder of a recorded lien on real property may
file with the City Clerk a written request that notice of any foreclosure list
including such real property be given to such mortgagee or other lienholder.
The request shall contain the name and address of the person filing it, the
description of the property and the name of the owner or reputed owner thereof,
and the date of expiration of the mortgage or lien. Notice need not be given
I after the expiration of the mortgage or lien unless a further request therefor
is filed. If the mortgagee or lienholder furnishes a duplicate form of request
for the notice, the City Clerk shall certify thereon to the filing and return
the duplicate to the person making the request. Whenever any property described
in the request for notice is included in a foreclosure list, the City Clerk
shall send by registered mail written notice thereof to the mortgagee or other
lienholder. At the time of mailing the notice, the City Clerk shall note that
fact in ink in the latest tax roll opposite the description of the property.
The notation in the tax roll is prima facie evidence that the notice was mailed.
Where the same mortgagee or lienholder has filed requests for notices on two or
more properties included in a foreclosure list, one notice may be issued cover-
ing all such properties.
SECTION 13. Real Property; Foreclosure; Redemption.
(a) One general proceedings shall be brought on the part of the City to I
foreclose the tax liens against each of the properties included in the fore-
closure list. Foreclosure proceedings shall be in accordance with law (Chapter
174 _ SLA 1957). A certified copy of the judgment of the district court shall
constitute a certificate of sale to the City of the Several properties des-
cribed in the j udqrnent and decree.
(b) Period During \ihich Property Held by City; Redemption; AsseBment
During Redemption Period; Redemption of Part of Property.
All real properties sold to the City pursuant to law "shall be held by
the City for the period of one year from and after the date of the j udqrnent and
decree of foreclosure, unless sooner redeemed. During the one-year period, any
person having an interest in the property at the date of the judgment and decre
of foreclosure, or any heir or devisee of such person, or any person holding a
lien of record on the property, or any Independent School District or Public
utility District having a lien on the property, may redeem the property by
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payment of the full amount applicable to the property under the judgment and
decree, with interest thereon as provided by law, and the costs charged against
such property. Property so redeemed shall be subject to assessment for taxa-
tion during the period of redemption, as though it had continued in private
ownership. Any person holding a mortgage or other lien of record covering a
part only of a particular parcel of real property included in the judgment and
decree of foreclosure may redeem such part by payment of the proportionate
amount applicable thereto under the judgment and decree."
(c) Notice of Expiration of Redemption Period.
Not more than 45 days nor less than 30 days prior to the expiration of the
period of redemption of any real property ordered sold to the City under a
judgment and decree, as provided herein, the City Clerk shall publish a general
notice relative to the expiration of the period of redemption. The notice shall
contain the date of the judgment and decree, the date of expiration of the per-
iod of redemption, and warning to the effect that all the properties ordered
sold under the judgment and decree, unless sooner redeemed, will be deeded to
the City immediately on expiration of the period of redemption and that every
right or interest of any person in the properties will be forfeited forever to
the City. The notice shall be published in two weekly issues of a newspaper
designated by the Council within the period of 15 days as specified in this
section. The published notice may be a general notice, and it shall not be
necessary to include therein descriptions of the several properties or the names
of the respective owners.
(d) Deed to City.
Upon filing proof of publication of notice of expiration of redemption
period as a part of the foreclosure proceedings, the properties not redeemed
'within the one-year period prescribed herein shall be deeded to the City by the
Clerk of the Court. All rights of redemption, with respect to the real prop-
erties therein described, shall terminate on the execution of the deed to the
City. No return or confirmation of the sale or deed to the City is required.
(e) Title to City; Title of Purchaser on Resale.
When a city acquires real property under foreclosure procedures, the con-
veyance vests in the City title to the property, free from all liens and
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encumbrances except unpaid taxes and assessments duly levied for local improve-
ents to the property, and liens of the United states and the Territory.
SECTION 14. Personal Property; Delinquency; Remedies.
(a) Owners of personal property assessed shall be personally liable for
the amount of taxes assessed against their personal property and such tax, to-
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gether with penalty and interest, may be collected after the same becomes due byl
a personal action brought in the name of the City against such owner in the
courts of the Territory.
(b) In addition to the remedy given by the last subsection, which shall
not be construed as exclusive, the lien of personal property taxes may be en- II
forced by distraint and sale of the personal property of the person assessed.
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The City Clerk or City Manager shall first make demand of the person assessed fot
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the amount of the tax, penalty and interest, and the said sale shall be made at I
public auction after at least ten days notice given by posting or publication.
The City Clerk shall issue a warrant directing the Chief of Police or any other
police officer of the corporation to forthwith seize, levy upon, distraint, and
sell such personal property of the person assessed as the tax may have been
levied upon; and if the same be not sufficient to satisfy the tax, penalty and
interest, and costs and expenses of such sale, such warrant may authorize the
I seizure, levy, distraint, and sale of such other property
, whom the tax was assessed as may be sufficient to satisfy
of the person against
the tax, penalty,
interest, and cost of sale. The costs and expenses of said proceeding may be
satisfied out of the proceeds of the property sold. The said cost and expenses
of said proceeding that may be satisfied from the proceeds of the property sold
shall in no event exceed twenty percent (20~) of the proceeds received from
said sale.
SECTION 15. Territorial Law Adopted.
The laws of the Territory of Alaska relating to the assessment and levy
of taxes upon real and personal property within the limits of municipal corp-
orations, tax liens, liabilities for taxes, collection of taxes, foreclosure
of tax liens, tax sales, redemption and all other laws of the Territory of
Alaska relating to the levy and collection of taxes on real and personal prop-
erty and special assessments for improvements are hereby expressly incorporated
in this Ordinance, as if fully set out herein.
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SECTION 16. Penalty for Violation.
Unless another penalty is expressly provided by law, every person convicted
of a violation of any provision of this Ordinance shall be punishable by a fine
of no more than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) or by imprisonment for not
by
more than thirty (30) days or/both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 17. Repealer.
Any Ordinances or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby to the
extent of such conflict repealed.
An emergency is hereby declared to exist, and in the public interest the
rules governing the passage of ordinances are hereby suspended and this ordi-
nance shall be given effect immediately upon its passage and approval.
Passed and approved this oZ) .jT day of
JAVIlA~ '/
.I 1958.
APPROVED:
ATrEsr:
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City Clerk