USA > Alabama > Montgomery County > Montgomery > Directory of the city of Montgomery, and historical sketches of Alabama soldiers > Part 5
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CHAPTER FOUR-Election, Bond, Duties and Powers of Tax Assessors.
SEC. 26. Be it further enacted, That the tax assessor elected in each county on the sixth day of November, 1865, is hereby declared to be the duly elected assessor for the time for which he was elected, and that the tax assessor in each county shall be elected by the legally qualified voters of the county, on the first Monday of August, 1867, and every two years thereafter.
SEC. 27. Be it further enacted, That before entering upon the duties of his office, the assessor shall execute his bond with security in the sum of two thousand dollars, payable to the State of Alabama, and conditioned faithfully to discharge the duties of his office
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as tax assessor, which bond shall be approved by the probate judge of the county, and executed in duplicate parts, one of which must be filed in the office of the probate judge and the other by the assessor in the office of the Comptroller of the State.
SEC. 28. Be it further enacted, That the assessor shall give at the least fifteen days notice, by bills posted at three or more public places, in each election precinct, or twenty days notice in some newspaper published in the county, of the time and place in each election precinct that he will attend to assess the taxes,
SEC. 29. Be it further enacted, That upon failure of the assessor to attend any ap- pointment made by him in any precinct, he shall, after legal notice, fill a new appoint- ment for such precinct, or at his option forfeit all claims to fees for such persons in such precinct, as were disappointed by his non-attendance as assessor.
SEC. 30. Be it further enacted, That the taxable property of each tax payer, shall be entered by the assessor upon blank assessment lists in the forin of an account which will show the number, amount, or value of each itemn upon which they are liable to pay taxes, the amount of tax therein extended, and the total amount of tax due by such tax payer. The tax payer shall sign an affidavit thereon, and it shall be dated and attested by the assessor.
SEC. 31. Be it further enacted, That after the fifteenth day of May in each year, the assessor shall make a personal demand upon delinquent tax payers, wherever he may find them for lists of taxable property, and when unable to find them, he may leave a written notice at the place of residence of such delinquent tax payer. and it shall be the duty of all such delinquents within the next fifteen days to make return to the as- sesor at his office or to his deputy wherever he may be found.
SEC. 32. Be it further enacted, That having failed to procure from any delinqunt a list of taxable property before the first of August, the assessor shall ascertain from en- quiry or otherwise, the property and other items of taxation upon which such person is liable to be taxed to the best of his information and judgment, and assess a double tax upon the same.
SEC. 33. Be it further enacted, That whenever the assessor shall discover persons who, or property which have escaped taxation in previous assessments, he shall assess the taxes thereon for such years as such persons or property shall have escaped taxation, and where he has reason to believe that any person who has been assessed is about to leave the county he shall at once notify the tax collector, and on the failure of the tax collector to act, he shall collect the taxes of such person and pay the same over to the tax collector taking his receipt therefor.
SEC. 34. Be it further enacted, That the better to enable the assessor to comply with the requirements of paragraph two. section two, of this act, he shall be empowered to summon witnesses to appear before him at such time and place in the precinct in which the real estate is located, as he may designate to testify upon oath (which oath the assessor may administer) as to the value of any real estate, of which he may be otherwise unable to form a judgment.
SEC. 35. Be it further enacted, That the sheriff or any constable of the county shall receive out of the county treasury upon the certificate of the assessor, and order of the commissioners' court such compensation as is by law allowed for summoning other witnesses.
SEC. 36, Be it further enacted, That the assessor may himself summon, instanter, any person or witness, to testify upon oath, as to the correctness or fairness of any assess- ment of which he may have reason to suspect the truth or fairness.
SEC, 37. Be it further enacted, That the assessments provided for in section thirty shall be entered in a book, suitably ruled and substantially bound, which book shall show, in separate columns, the names of the persons assessed in each precinct in alpha- betical order, the number of acres of land assessed to each person, the value of the same together with any other real estate, the number, amount, or other species of taxable property, the amount of tax on each item, the amount of tax against each person, the amount of the ten per cent. penalty (hereinafter provided for) total amount of each item and the tax thereon for each page and precinct, and the whole number, amount and value of each separate item entered therein, the aggregate amount of taxes thereon, and the total amount of the assessment for the county, which book of assessment shall be delivered to the probate judge of the county by the first Monday of September of each year.
SEC. 38. Be it further enacted, That whenever the commissioners' court of any county, at the last term in any year, shall deem that the revenue would be augmented thereby, the probate judge shall order the assessor at his next assessment, in addition to the or- dinary duties of his office, to make out a list of all the lands in such county in a book properly ruled and bound, beginning with the lowest section, township and range, and proceeding in numerical order to the highest setting down opposite to each division or sub-divison of section, the name of the owner thercof; and when the owner is not known, then the words "Owner Unknown," and he shall charge up to the owner un- known in the assessment book, as to an individual the taxes upon such lands; such state- ment, or list may be included in the same volume with the assessment of tax.
SEG. 39. Be it further enacted, That tax assessors shall be authorized to appoint a deputy, and the acts of such deputy in his capacity as such shall be recognized as the act of the assessor: Provided, however, That the assessor only shall be responsible for any loss sustained by any tax payer by reason of any unlawful act or assessment of such deputy, and that such deputy shall receive no compensation for his services out of the county or State revenue.
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SEC. 40. Be it further enacted, That the assessor is authorized to purchase or con- tract for the books, stationery and printing necessary to carry out the provisions of this act, and the commissioners' court shall order payment for the same.
CHAPTER FIVE-Compensation of Assessors.
SEC. 41. Be it further enacted, That the assessors shall be entitled to receive from the tax collector out of the first money's received for the State, giving duplicate receipts therefor, the following conmissions upon the amount of State taxes as assessed by him, to-wit; on the first five hundred dollars, ten per cent. ; on the next five hundred dollars, five per cent .; on the next one thousand dollars, two and one-half per cent .; upon the amount of taxes assessed upon property which has escaped taxation in previous assess- ments, twenty per cent .; and on the balance, two per cent .; and he shall also receive from the tax collector one-half of the above rates of commission upon the amount of county taxes, giving duplicate receipts therefor.
SEC. 42. Be it further enacted, That the assessor shall receive for the labor required. of him by section 38, out of the county treasury, the sum of one hundred dollars ..
SEC. 43. Be it further enacted, That for making the demand or giving the notice re- guired by section 31, the assessor shall be entitled to charge each delinquent tax payer, if paid at the time, fifty cents, or if not paid at the time, one dollar, to be charged upon the assessment of such delinquent, which the tax collector shall collect as other taxes and pay over to the assessor.
CHAPTER SIX-Election, Bond, Duties and Powers of Tax Collectors.
SEC. 44. Be it further enacted, That the tax collector elected in each county on the 6th day of November, 1865, is hereby declared to be the duly elected tax collector for the term for which he was elected, and that the tax collector shall be elected by the legal vo- ters of each county on the first Monday in August, 1867, and every two years thereafter.
SEC. 45. Be it further enacted, That when a vacancy occurs from any cause, the com- missioners' court shall fill such vacancy as soon as a special term of said court can be called for that purpose, or at a regular term thereof.
SEC. 46. Be it further enacted, That before entering upon the duties of his office, the tax collector shall give bond in double the probable amount of the taxes of the county, to be determined by the judge of probate of the county, which must be executed in du -. plicate parts, approved by such judge, one part to be filed and"recorded in his office, and the other to be filed by such tax collector in the office of the Comptroller of Public Ac- counts.
SEC. 47. Be it further enacted, That such bond shall operate from its execution as a lien in favor of the State or county on the property of such tax collector for the amount of any judgment which may be rendered against him in his official capacity for State or. county taxes, and on the property of his securities from the date of his default.
SEC. 48. Be it further enacted, That the tax collector shall give at least fifteen days notice, by bills posted at three or more public places in each election precinct, or twenty days notice in some newspaper published in the county, of the time and place in each precinct that he will attend for the purpose of receiving the taxes.
SEC. 49. Be it further enacted, That upon failure of the collector to attend any ap- pointment made by him in any precinct, he shall at his option, after legal notice, fill a new appointment for such precinct, or forfeit all claims to fees from such persons in such precinct as were disappointed by his non-attendance as collector.
SEC. 50. Be it further enacted, That he shall proceed at such appointments to collect the taxes provided for in this act, together with the county tax and such other special taxes, forfeitures and fees as may be by law required of him to collect, receipting for the same upon the original assessment, which he shall deliver to the tax payer.
SEC. 51. Be it further enacted, That after the fifteenth day of December in each year the collector or his authorized deputy shall make a personal demand .upon delinquent tax payers wherever they"may be found for the amount of their taxes and costs, and when unable to find them shall leave a written notice at the place of residence of such tax payers, and it shall be the duty of such delinquents, within the next fifteen days, to make payment in full of their taxes, forfeitures and fees to the collector or his deputy.
SEC. 52. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the collector, while en- gaged in the collection of taxes, to assess the taxes of all persons who have escaped the tax assessor, entering up all such assessments in the back part of the books of assessment for each year.
SEC. 53. Be it furthur enacted, That the collector shall enter in a book, which he shall keep.for the purpose, a list of all such tax payers as become liable to the forfeiture hereinafter imposed, for failure to render lists of their taxable property by the fifteenth day of May, and to pay the same by the fifteenth day of December, the amount of such forfeiture, and the total amount of forfeitures for the county, to the correctness of which he shall make oath before the probate judge on or before the first day of March in each year, and he shall settle with the county treasurer and assessor by the same.
SEC. 54. Be it further enacted, That during the first week of January in each year the tax collector shall account to the Comptroller for the whole amount of State taxes by him collected up to that date, first deducting the commissions and fees allowed him by law ; and on or before the first day of March following he shall make a final settlement with, and pay over to the Comptroller the balance of the taxes due from his county.
SEC. 55. Be it further enacted, That after the first day of January in each year the tax collector shall proceed without delay to levy upon any personal property of delinquent
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tax payers (and no property shall be exempt from sale for taxes) and after ten days no- tice, at three or more public places in the precin ct in which such delinquent resides, shall sell the same at the place of voting in such precinct, or so much as may be suffi- cient to satisfy the taxes, forfeitures, fees and costs of such sale. Provided, the tax pay- er may at any moment before the sale pay the taxes &c., and thereby release his proper- ty : and provided further, that no personal property sold for taxes shall be subject to re- demption except at the option of the purchaser.
SEC. 56. Be it further enacted, That where no personal property can be found, the tax collector shall after the fifteenth day of January, levy upon the real estate of any delin- quent tax payer and such as has been assessed to "owner unknown" and taxes remain- ing unpaid, and after three weeks notice by bills posted in three public places in the precinct where such real estate is located, and at the court house door, or by three in- sertions in any weekly newspaper in the county, such advertisement describing con- cisely such real estate, shall proceed to sell the same to the highest bidder for the tax- es, forfeitures, fees and costs.
SEC. 57. Be it further enacted, That the tax collector shall report to the commissioners' court at the February term in each year, on oath, a list of persons out of whom he has been unable to make the taxes which shall be termed "List of Insolvencies," and also a list of such persons as have been over-charged by the assessor which shall be termed "List of Errors in Assessment," and each court shall give him credit for the amount of county taxes due thereon. The probate judge shall certify such list to the Comptroller, who shall allow the collector credit on his final settlement for the amount of taxes due the State thereon.
SEC. 58. Be it further enacted, That immediately after the sale, provided for in section fifty-six, the tax collector shall make out and deliver to each purchaser of real estate at such sale. a certificate of purchase, which shall show a description of the real estate, that such real estate was assessed by the assessor, to whom assessed, the date of the as- sessment, for what year the taxes were due, the amount of the taxes due thereon, the forfeitures, fees and costs, that it was advertised, and how long was offered for sale and at what time, who became the purchaser, and at what price.
SEC. 59. Be it further enacted, That when such real estate shall fail to demand a bid sufficient to cover the taxes and costs, the collector shall bid off the same in the name of the State of Alabama, and make a certificate of purchase to the State and deliver the same to the Comptroller, on his final settlement.
SEC. 60. Be it further enacted, That the collector shall, within five days after the sale of any real estate for taxes, make out and deliver to the judge of his county, a statement of such sale upon oath, showing in appropriate columns the discription of the real estate, to whom assessed, the amount of taxes for which it was sold, the aggregate amount of forfeitures, fees, and costs, by whom purchased, the amount of purchase money, and the date of sale, which statement must be put upon record by the probate judge in the re- cord book of deeds, which record shall be free for the inspection of all persons.
SEC. 61. Be it further enacted, That no sale of personal property or real estate for taxes is invalid, on account of the same having been assessed to any other than its owner, if such real estate, were in other respects sufficiently described and the taxes, costs, and expenses were unpaid at the time of the sale.
SEC, 62. Be it further enacted, That it is illegal for any tax assessor. collector or judge. of probate in the county in which any real estate is sold for taxes, to bid at such sale, either directly or indirectly, except as provided in section fifty-nine, of this act.
SEC, 63. Be it further enacted, That whenever the proceeds of the sale of any property for taxes shall amount to more than the taxes and other charges against the same, the collector shall deposit such excess with the county treasurer, taking separate receipts for the overplus in each case.
SEC. 64. Be it further enacted, That whenever the former owner of any property sold for taxes shall apply to the tax collector for the excess of purchase money, the collector shall deliver to him the receipt for the same, which he shall present to the county treas- urer for payment.
SEC. 65. Be it further enacted, That the tax collector in each county shall pay into the State Treasury all gold and silver coin received by him for taxes.
SEC. 66. Be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of any tax collector when- ยท ever upon information or otherwise he has reason to believe that any person owing taxes to the State, is about to leave or remove his property from the county or State and that the State is in danger of losing such taxes-to make out a bill showing the amount of taxes for which such person is liable, which bill shall be certified by him, and such cer- tified bill shall operate as a writ of fieri facias, and he shall proceed to collect the same by levy and sale, and the same proceedings shall be had thereon, and the same fees shall be allowed as are allowed upon proceedings on writs of fieri facias by the sheriff.
CHAPTER SEVEN .- Compensation of Collectors.
SEC. 67. Be it further enacted, That the tax collector shall be entitled to commissions to be allowed by the Comptroller on his settlements in January and February upon the amount of State taxes collected by him as follows ; on the first five hundred dollars of State taxes, ten per cent., on the next five hundred dollars, five per cent .; on the next thousand dollars, two and one-half per cent., on the amount of taxes by him assessed, twenty per cent. and on the balance two per cent., and he shall be authorized to retain the same rate of commissions out of the county taxes.
SEC. 68. Be it further enacted, That the collector shall receive eight dollars, and at
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that rate for every hundred miles traveled, in going to and returning from the seat of government for the purpose of making bis returns and paying the taxes, twice in each year, by the nearest public route of travel.
SEC. 69. Be it further enacted, That for making the demand or giving the notice re- quired by section 51, the collector shall collect for his own use. in addition to the tax seventy-five cents; and for making a levy and sale the collector shall be entitled for each to one dollar.
SEC. 70. Be it further enacted, That for advertising, he shall charge for every section or fractional part of a section so advertised one dollar, and for making the certificates required in sections 58 and 59, to be paid by the grantees, one dollar each.
CHAPTER EIGHT .- Duties and Powers of Probate Judges and Commis- sioners' Courts in Matters of Revenue.
SEC. 71. Be it further enacted, That the commissioners' court of each county shall on the first Monday of September in each year, eximine the books of the assesor and the original assessments and in case errors are found shall require the assessor to enter the necessary corrections plainly on the book, and upon the original assessment : and the book so corrected shall be deemed the original assessment book and shall remain in the custody of the probate judge as a book of record and the original assessments as taken and attested . by the assessor and so corrected shall be delivered to the tax collector for col- lection.
SEC. 72. Be it further enacted, That if the performance of the duty imposed by the preceding section shall require more than three days the judge of probate and one com- missioner, aided by the assessor shall be competent to continue such examination and revision.
SEC. 73. Be it further enacted, That the commissioners' court at such term shall de- termine and order the 'rate of per centage to be collected for county purposes upon the amount of State tax, as shown by the next assessment book ; provided however that the county tax shall not exceed fifty per centum of the State tax as aforesaid.
SEC. 74. Be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of the probate judge and assessor in each county, during the September term of the commissioners' court in 1866 to destroy all the tax lists heretofore taken : and the books of assessment for previous years shall hereafter be deemed evidence of the contents of such lists.
SEC. 75. Be it further enacted, That on or before the first day of October, in each year, the probate judge of each county shall make out and forward to the Comptroller a correct abstract of the new tax book, showing the total number, amount or value of each item of taxation contained therein, the aggregate tax on each item extended into a col- umn and the total amount by the addition of the suis so extended of the State tax due from the county, which abstract shall be made out and certified upon blank forms fur- nished by the Comptroller.
SEC. 76. Be it further enacted. That it shall also be the duty of the probate judge in each county to issue and collect the money for such licenses and to assess and collect such taxes as are provided for in sections third and fourth of this act.
SEC. 77. Beit further enacted, That it shall be duty of the judge of probate of cach county in this State under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Comptroller of of public accounts for that purpose, to make returns to the office of the Comptroller at least once in every three months, on oath, which returns shall show the amount of moneys received to date on account of the State for licenses or on any other account ; such re- turns must show to whom and for what each licence was granted and the amount received therefor, the amount received from any other person and for what, and said return must be transmitted in duplicate to the Comptroller for the last. and at the commencement of every new quarter, or other period fixed by comptroller, and the comptroller is authorized to require payment upon such returns as he may prescribe in circulars issued for that purpose, or by special directions as he may think the best interest of the State requires. Provided, That he may authorize the monthly or quarterly deposit by judges of probate or any other officer holding public moneys in any bank located in or convenient to the county of such public officer, upon such terms as he may prescribe. Provided, That it shall be the duty of all judges of probate and tax collectors to report to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, from time to time, whenever the receipts of such office shall amount to the sum of one thousand dollars.
SEC. 78. Be it further enacted, That where any real estate shall be redeemed, it shall be the duty of the probate judge to enter in the records provided for in section sixty, opposite the tract or tracts redeemed, in columns left for the purpose, the name of the person so redeeming the same and the amount of redemption money paid by such per- son and the judge shall deposit such redemption money in the county treasury, and when the purchaser shall demand of the probate judge the amount of the redemption money he shall give such purchaser an order on the Treasurer for the same.
SEC. 79. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the probate judge in each county, by himself or agent to enquire of every person doing or offering to do any busi- ness or thing for which a license is required or a tax to be paid to him, and ascertain whether the law has been complied with, and if not, to cause such person to be bound over to court.
SEC. 80. Be it further enacted. That it shall be the duty of the probate judge in each county, on the first day of each circuit court to furnish to the solicitor of the district a statement in writing, showing the licenses granted and the taxe- received under
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sections third and fourth of this act, within the two years preceeding such court, to whom and for what such license was granted ; and from whom and for what such taxes were received.
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