for such hearing, the common council shall proceed to SECTION 12. Section six of title five is hereby amended by inserting after the word "petition," in the fourth line thereof, the following words: "or any part thereof." Amended. sessment. SECTION 13. Section 8 of title 5 is hereby amended When commisby striking out there from the last six lines of said sec- sion unable to tion, and insert in place thereof the words, "But in complete ascase the commissioners shall report that they have been unable to complete the assessment the common council may, by resolution, extend the time for making such a report to the next succeeding regular council meeting. The commissioners shall meet and make their assessment and conduct their proceedings, upon the premises to be taken, or at the common council chamber, and they shall have power to administer oaths in taking testimony in the case. SECTION 14. Section 15 of title 5 is hereby repealed. Repealed. SECTION 15. Section 19 of title 5 is hereby amended Amended. by striking out therefrom all after the words "provided, however," and insert in place thereof the following words: "That no ordinance or resolution for the vacating of any street, alley or public ground, or any part thereof, shall be adopted unless such ordinance or resolution shall have been heard before the council, and notice of such hearing shall have been given as provided in section 2 of this title. On the vacation of any street, alley or public ground, or of any part thereof, the common council shall, upon the request of any Amended. Amended. Amended. Amended. Amended. Amended. party interested, or may of its own motion, provide for the appointment of commissioners to assess damages and benefits, and such assessment shall have the same force and effect as assessments made upon the opening of streets. SECTION 16. Section 3 of title 6 is hereby amended by striking out therefrom the words and figures "one thousand (1000)," where they occur, and insert in place thereof the words and figures, "fifteen hundred (1500)." SECTION 17. Section 7 of title 6 is hereby amended by adding to the end of said section the following words: "And that the sum chargeable to any ward may be raised by a ward tax in addition to the amount authorized to be raised in such ward as an annual ward tax." SECTION 18. Section 12 of title 6 is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence thereof, commencing with the words "such certificate," and insert in lieu thereof the following: "Such certificate shall, after the sale of taxes by the county treasurer, bear ten per cent. interest and be exchangeable with the city treas urer for tax certificates, on the lands sold for such special assessments, or be paid to the owner thereof, after the amount thereof shall have been received into the city treasury." 66 SECTION 19. Section 1 of title 12 of said act is hereby amended by striking out all between the words city treasurer," in the seventh line of said section, and the words "the assessor," in the tenth line of said section, and insert in place thereof the following words, viz: "For all services by him to be rendered, fifteen hundred dollars; to the city attorney, five hundred dollars." SECTION 20. Section 1 of title 13 is hereby amended by inserting after the word "shall," in the third line of said section, the words following, viz.: "On or be fore the first Monday of September of each year." And also by striking out all of subdivision eight in said section, and insert in place thereof the following, viz.: "8. A sum not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars may be levied annually on the taxable property of each ward, for lighting the streets of such ward and for other ward purposes." SECTION 21. Title 14 of said act is hereby repealed, and the following title inserted in place thereof, viz: TITLE XIV. ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION OF TAXES. and collection SECTION 1. After the completion of the assessment Assessment and correction of the assessment-roll returned by the of taxes. assessors, the city clerk shall, within the time required by law, make an aggregate abstract of the assessment and statistics required by law, and return the same to the county clerk of Racine county in pursuance with the general law; he shall also prepare a tax-roll in the usual form with appropriate columns and headings for general city, ward, special, school, and state and county taxes, on which he shall carry out opposite to the description of each parcel of land, and to the names of each person taxed the appropriate proportion of the state, county and school taxes, as certified by the county clerk of Racine county, as the apportionment of taxes against the city, and the general city, ward and special taxes and assessments levied by the common council. To such tax-roll shall be annexed a warrant signed by the mayor and city clerk, and sealed with the corporate seal of the city, directed to the city treasurer, commanding him to collect the taxes and assessments therein specified. Such tax-roll, before being delivered to said treasurer, shall be compared by the clerk with the corrected assessment-roll; and he shall append to it his certificate, that the same has been so compared by him, and that the said assessment-roll and the whole thereof has been copied by him into said tax-roll; and said tax-roll, when so certified, shall be prima facie evidence in any court, that the lands and persons therein named, were subject to taxation, and that the assessment was just and equal. treasurer in SECTION 2. The city treasurer, upon receipt of the Duty of city tax-roll, shall proceed to collect the taxes and assess- collection of ments at the same time, as is required by law of town treasurers to collect taxes. taxes. SECTION 3. The city treasurer shall, upon the re- The same ceipt of the tax-roll, publish a notice in the official paper of the city and in such other local paper as he may deem proper, specifying that all taxes and assessments, whether upon real or personal property in said tax-roll, shall be paid before the last day of December of each year, and that all taxes and assessments not paid by that day will be collected by the seizure and sale of the goods and chattels of the person, company or corporation charged with such taxes and assess4 -LAWS. Seizure and sale of goods for taxes. ments, and the publication of such notice shall be deemed and taken to be a demand, and failure to pay the taxes and assessments within the time limited in such notice, shall be deemed a refusal to pay the same. The city treasurer shall charge no fees for collection of taxes and assessments paid to and collected by him prior to the first day of January of each year, and shall charge and collect five per cent. upon all taxes and assessments remaining unpaid on the first day of January of each year; provided, that the common council shall have power to extend the time for collecting such taxes for a period not exceeding thirty days. SECTION 4. At the expiration of the time specified for the collection of taxes the city treasurer shall proceed to collect such taxes and assessments remaining unpaid, by seizure and sale of the goods and chattels of the respective persons or corporations, and he shall bave the same powers to collect such taxes and assessments, and to levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person owing such taxes and to sue for the same, as is, or may be given to town treasurers. And the city treasurer may make a list of such delinquent taxes on real and personal property, and attach or affix thereto his warrant directed to the chief of police of the city, requiring and commanding him to collect such taxes and assessments, of the persons or corporations liable to pay the same, by the seizure and sale of their goods and chattels. The chief of police shall proceed to collect such taxes and assessments as directed, and make return of the warrant, within the time to be specified in such warrant, to the city treasurer, and the chief of police shall have the same powers to collect and levy such taxes by distress and sale as is given to the city treasurer, and to his return he shall annex his affidavit, that after diligent inquiry, he has been unable to discover any goods or chattels belonging to persons or corporations charged with such taxes, as shall then remain unpaid on his tax list. The chief of police shall receive as compensation five per cent. collection fee upon all taxes by him collected, and in addition thereto, in case of a levy and sale, such further fees as are allowed to constables upon a levy on execution. The chief of police, before receiving such tax list, shall execute to the city treastreasurer a bond in such penal sum as the treasurer shall require, conditioned that he will account [for] and pay over to the treasurer all taxes by him collected, and make due return of his warrant whenever required. SECTION 5. In case no goods or chattels shall be when no goods found out of which to collect the taxes on any lot or can be found. real estate, it shall be the duty of the city treasurer to make a delinquent return to the county treasurer of Racine county, of all such taxes and assessments on real estate in said city, at the time and in the manner as required by town treasurers, and at such time he shall pay over to the county treasurer all moneys collected by him belonging to said county, and all state taxes in the same manner as required by law of town treas urers. SECTION 6. It shall be the duty of the county treas- Duty of county urer of Racine county, and he is hereby required, when treasurer. lots or pieces or parcels of land have been returned by said city treasurer for any tax or assessment authorized by law, immediately after the sale of the lands for delinquent taxes, to pay to the city treasurer the amount which may have been returned delinquent, belonging to said city, either in cash or in certificates of sale of the lots or parcels of land returned as delinquent. Collection of scnal property SECTION 7. The city treasurer may at any time after his return of delinquent taxes on real property, proceed taxes on perin the collection of any taxes on personal property remaining unpaid, and may issue new warrants for the collection of personal property taxes to the chief of police, and may in such lists include unpaid personal property taxes for any previous years; and such taxes may be collected in the same manner as herein prescribed. validity of tax. SECTION 8. All directions herein given for the as- Informalities sessment of lands, and levying and collection of taxes not to vitiate and assessments, shall be deemed only directory, and no error or informality in any of the proceedings of any of the officers entrusted with the same, not affec ing the substantial justice of the tax itself, shall vitiate or affect the validity of the tax so assessed. SECTION 9. After the tax-roll shall have been deliv. When remission of taxes ered to the city treasurer, it shall not be lawful for the lawful. common council to remit, annul or cancel any tax charged against any real or personal property, except in the following specified cases: 1st. When a clerical error shall have been made in transcribing the assessment from the assessment-roll to the tax-roll, or in the extension of the tax. 2d. When, by an error of the assessors, improvements shall have been assessed on the wrong parcel of land. 3d. When the property taxed shall be exempt from taxation. |