04-14-12 Special Meeting of La Porte City Council (council retreat)

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PARTI-CHARTER CHARTER COMPARATIVE TABLE assessor -collector, immediately upon completion of the board's work. 4. Records. The board shall be required to keep an accurate record of all its proceedings, which record shall be available for public inspection. 5. Public hearing and notice to owner. At the same meeting that city council appoints the board of equalization, it shall by ordinance fix the time of the first meeting of the board which shall be on the tenth day of May, or as soon thereafter as practicable. After such first meeting, the board may reconvene and adjourn from time to time, and as long thereafter as may be necessary, it shall hear and determine the complaint of any person in relation to the assessment roll. Whenever said board shall find it their duty to raise the value of any property appearing on the lists or books of the assessor -collector, it shall, after having examined such lists and books and corrected all errors appearing therein, adjourn to a day not less than ten (10) nor more than fifteen (15) days from the date of adjournment and shall cause the secretary of said board to give written notice to the owner of such property or to the person rendering same of the time to which said board has adjourned, and that such owner or person rendering said property may at that time appear and show cause why the value of said property should not be raised. Such notice may be served by depositing the same, properly addressed, and postage paid, in the city post office. C. Payment of taxes. 1. When due and payable. All taxes due the city shall be payable at the office of the assessor -collector and may be paid at any time after the tax rolls for the year have been completed and approved, which shall be not later than October first. Taxes shall be paid before February first following the year for which the tax was levied, and all such taxes not paid prior to such date shall be deemed delinquent and shall be subject to such penalty and interest as city council may provide by ordinance. 2. Tax liens. The tax levied by the city is hereby declared to be a lien, charge or encumbrance upon the property upon which tax is due, which lien, charge or encumbrance the city is entitled to enforce and foreclose in any court having jurisdiction over the same, and the lien, charge and encumbrance on the property in favor of the city, for the amount of taxes due on such property, is such as to give the state courts jurisdiction to enforce and foreclose said lien on the property on which the tax is due, not only as against any resident of this state or person whose residence is unknown, but also as against nonresidents. All taxes upon real estate shall especially be a lien and a charge upon the property upon which the taxes are due, which lien may be foreclosed in any court having jurisdiction. Editor's note— The references in this section to board of equalization are obsolete as city ad valorem taxes are assessed and collected pursuant to V.T.C.A., Tax Code § 6.01 et seq. 5.02. - Purchase procedure. All purchases made and contracts executed by the city shall be pursuant to a requisition from the head of the office, department or agency whose appropriation will be changed, and no contract or order shall be binding upon the city unless and until the city manager or his designee approves the same and certifies that there is to the credit of such office, department or agency a sufficient unencumbered appropriation and allotment balance to pay for the supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services for which the contract or order is to be issued. Before the city may enter into a contract that requires an expenditure of more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), the city must comply with the Page 18 of 32 La Porte, Texas, Code of Ordinances