Ordinance 001318
ORDI RAZE 110. 13.
An Ordinance to provide for the Annual Assessment of property
within the Town of Edmonds for the purpose of general and special
taxation, and to provide for the levying and collecting of the
Town revenues of the Town of Edmonds.
Be it ordained by the Council of the Town of Edmonds.
�yYr SECTION I: The annual assessment rolls or books of the Town
!� of Edmonds shall be made in such number of volumes as the Town
Ov�Council may direct, each of which, shall be ruled in appropriate
columns and headed in such form as the Council may adopt or ap-
prove, and the assessments shall be arranged in said volumes in
alphabetical order.
SECTION 2: The Town Assessor shall annually make up in said
volumes, and said volumes separately or together, shall contain
r�Lcv a correct assessment roll of all persons and property liable to
dv�taxation by the said Town of Edmonds, in which shall be included
4f the Valuation of such property. He shall enter therein the names
0,Kof all such persons, alphabetically arranged, and opposite the
name of each person in separate columns the subject of taxation
of which he is chargeable, that is to say; the names of all male
inhabitants of said Town between twenty-one and fifty years of
age liable to pay road or street poll taxes, and all persons own-
ing or otherwise having control of real or personal property sub-
ject to taxation. He shall enter therein, in numerical order,
complete lists of all lands or lots subject to taxation, showing
the names of the owners, if to him known, so stated opposite each
tract or lot, the number of acres or parts of acres, and the lots
or parts of lots or blocks included in each description of pro-
perty, and when divided into lots and blocks, then the number of
the lot and block and name of the plat or addition to said town
in which the same is situated. The full cash value of each lot
and parcel of land assessed, the total valuation of all personal
property; the total valuation of all property assessed, real and
personal. He shall, when assessing real and personal property,
designate the number of the school district and road district in
which each person assessed is liable for taxes, which designation
'shall be made by writing the number of the district opposite each
assessment in a column provided for that purpose in the assess-
ment book. He shall make an alphabeticallist of the names of all
persons in said town liable to an assessment on personal property
and require each person to make a correct list and statement of
such property according to the form prescribed by the Town Council,
which statement and list shall be subscribed and sworn to by the
person listing the property. And the "lessor shall, therefore,
determine the value of the property included in such statement
and enter the same in the assessment book opposite the name of
the party assessed. And in making such entry in his assessment
roll or book, he shall give the name and postoffice address of
the party listing the property, and the street and number, if
any, or other brief description of his residence or place of
business. He shall determine, as nearly as practicable, the true
and fair value of each tract or lot of real property listed for
taxation and shall enter the value thereof upon the assessment
roll or book, including the value of all improvements and struc-
tures thereon in separate columns opposite each description of
property; provided, however, that all buildings, structures and
improvements, trees or other fixtures of Whatsoever kind thereon,
and all rights and privileges thereto belonging or is any wise ap-
pertaining; and all mines and minerals, quarries and fossils in
and under the same shall be assessed as real property.
SECTION 3: That when any person is assessed as Guardian,
Trustee, Executor or Administrator, a designation of his repre-
sentative character shall be added to his name, and such assess-
ment shall be entered in a separate line from his individual as-
sessment.
SECTION 4: That it will be sufficient to describe lands in
1 proceedings relative to assessing, advertising or selling the
/same for taxes by initial letters, abbreviations and figures to
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designate the Township, Range, Sections, or parts of Sections,
and also the numbers of lots aad Block$, whenever the abbrevia-
tions "do" or characters %" or any similar abbreviations or 7_1Z_
characters shall be used in any such proceedings, they respec-
tively shall be considered and held as meaning and being the
same word, initial, letter or letters, abbreviations or figures
as the last preeeeding such "do", or other similar charac-
ters.
SECTION 5: That where the name of the owner of any lot, block,
or tract of land is unknown to the Assessor, the same shall be ;;4, b m
listed by him under the name of "unknown owner" and they shall be
assessed in the same manner as known owners.
SECTION 6: That partnerships in mercantile or other business
may be jointly assessed for the partnership property, or the mem--��
bers thereof, may be severally assessed for their individual
t0are in the property. SECTION 7: The As56ssdt _shalx . add. up and note
.amount of cash column in his assessment books; he shall also
make -in each book under proper headings, a tabular statement shoo--
ing'the footings of the several columns upon each page, and shall -�
add up and set down under the respective headings, the total a-
mounts of the several columns; and, on or before the first ;ion- �c'Lo'_,
day of May in each year, he shall make and return to the Town
Clerk of his assessment books and deliver therewith the lists axed
statements of all persons assessed, all of which shall be filed
and preserved in the office of the Town Clerk; such returns shall
be verified by the Affidavit of the Assessor substantially in
the following form:
State of Washington ) es
County of Snohomish )
I ,Assessor, of the Town of Edmonds in said County
and State, do solemnly swear that the book to whichthis is at-
tached contains a correct and full list of all the real property
(or personal property as the case may be) subject to taxation in
the said Town of Edmonds, so far as I have been able to astertain
the same; and that the assessed value set down in the proper
column opposite the several kinds and descriptions of property is,
in each case, the true and fair value of such property to the
best of my knowledge and belief, and that the footings of the
several columns in said book, and the tabular statement returned,
herewith, are correct as I verily believe.
,Assessor.
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this day of 189_4.
SEAL
Notary Public in and for the State of
Washington. Residing at Edmonds.
SECTION 8: That all assessments of persons and property shall lUJ),"X
be made between the first Monday of February and the first Monday fp
of May in each year.
SECTION 9: The Assessor shall,at the time of making out the��
assessment roll, make a list of all male persons residing within���
the limits of the town over the age of twenty-one years and verify
the same by his oath and shall deposit the same with the Town
Clerk on or before the First Monday of May in each year.
SECTION 10: That after the return of each annual assessment 121,W
roll to the Town Clerk, said assessment shall be open to public �-
inspection at the Town Clerk's office during the business hours
of each day until the revision thereof and equalization of as-- G4 4-
sessments thereon, by the Town Council, shall have been complet�- ,
ed; immediately after the returning to the Clerk of the assess- �zze_
ment roll by the'Town Assessor, said town Clerk shall give pub-
lic notice of the return of said assessment roll, and that the
same will be open to public inspection at his office, as provid-
ed in this Section, and of the time fixed for the revision of
said assessment roll and equalization of taxes thereon by the
Council, by publication of such notice in a newspaper published
in the Town of Edmonds, at least five days prior to the sitting
of said Council as a Board of Equalization.
I. OVAVe`(� SECTION 11: That the Town Council shall, on the second
I-L _4L�_ Tuesday of May of each year at ten o'clock in the forenoon of
ao �?�c jz6aid. day, sit as a Board of ,Equalization, and continue in ses-
6p ,r, a,6-sion from day to day until all the returns of the assessment
�R,r-u have been rectified. Diring the session of the Board of Equaliza-
tion, the Town Assessor shall be in attendance and shall enter
upon the assessment list all changes and corrections made by the
Board, and may assess and add to said list any property in said
town not previously assessed. At said meeting said assessment
_
tall shall be revised and corrected and property and names may be
added to, or strwcken from, such roll, and valuations may be in-
creased or diminished; but no increase shall be made without
previous notice to the person whose property is to be effected
thereby, which notice shall be given the party or person interest-
ed by mailing to him a written or printed notice thereof postpaid
at least three days prior to taking action thereon by the Board of
Equalization, or of the day when the matter shall be investigated;
provided, however, that no reduction must be made in the valuation
of property unless the party effected thereby or his agent makes
and files with the Board a written application therefor, verified
by his oath showing the facts upon which it is claimed such reduc-
tion should be made, any member of said Board shall have power to
administer oaths and affirmations in the matters before said Board.
Witnesses may be examined on behalf of any taxpayer or on behalf
of the Town, the corrected list for each tax shall be the assess-
ment roll for said tax for said year, it shall be certified by
the Clerk who shall act as Clerk of the Board of Equalization; as
being the assessment roll for said tax and shall be the assess-
ment roll upon such tax to be levied in said year.
SECTION 12: That after the Board of Equalization shall have
�-- Icompl.eted their duties, the Town Clerk shall add up the calumny of
valuations and enter the total valuation of each description of
property in the list, and the total value of all property assessed
and listed thereon; and thus equalized and added up the Clerk
shall, on the first Tuesday of June thereafter, deliver it to the
T own Counc it .
SECTION 13: That on the third Tuesday of June of each year
&i:' after the completion of the revision of the assessment roll and
equalization of the assessment thereon in each year, the Town
Council shall proceed by Ordinance to levy upon all property in
the Town taxable by law for state purposes, a tax for the current
year to such an amount as the Council may deem necessary for the
purposes for which taxes are authorized under the laws of the
State of Washington, and not exceeding the amount by the laws of
said State, which the said Town of Edmonds is authorized to levy
and collect, provided, that if any names or property shall not
have been placed on the assessment roll or tax listthe Town marshal
shall when said list is in his hands for collection, proceed to
add the same in supplemental list and shall collect the same as
other taxes, and said supplementallist shall be legal and binding
as fully as if said assessment levy had been regularly made by
the Council. Every tax so levied is made a lien which shall at-
tach on said day in each year, to and against all real property
gj,141 assessed for the amount assessed against it; and if said property
be assessed to a wrong person or by a wrong name, said lien shall
in no wise be affected or invalidated, and it shall not be satif-
fied or removed until the taxes are paid, or the property is ab-
solutely vested in a purchaser under, and by virtue of a sale for
such taxes. Every tax assessed upon personal property is a lien
on the real property of the owner thereof, from and after the
time of the levy of such tax. The terms "real and personal pro-
perty" shall have the same meaning as the same terms are used in
the revenue laws of the State of Washington.
SECTION 14: As soon as the Town Council has declared and
� levied the tax in a year as in the receedin section
,provided,
6Lthe Ulerk shall carry out in a separate money column in�the vlist,
el the amount of taxes assessed against each individual, firm, com-
pany, corporation or unknown owner and add and put down the ag-
gregate of all taxes as shown by the list. And as thus carried
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out the Clerk shall certify to its correctness and on or before
the fifteenth day of July, thereafter, deliver it to the Town
marshal and shall charge him with the amount of tax as footed up
and take receipt therefor.
SECTION 15: The Town marshall on receiving the assessment o Z
list certified by the Clerk shall proceed to collect the taxes r
specified therein and pay over the same into the Treasury, taking
his receipt for the same, for the purpose of collecting the taxeS�W6_6,atao
authorized by this Ordinance, and by the Statute under which the
Town of Edmonds was organized. A marshal shall have such powers
as are given by the Revenue Laws of this State to collectors of
State and County taxes, so far as the same are applicable. All
taxes unpaid at the close of official business on IV -he thirty-first
day of October, shall be deemed delinquent, after which time the e-e_"-
marshal shall receive no money for taxes; and he shall upon saidt�
day enter upon assessment roll a levy upon all property therein /4�.x-e_z
assessed, taxes upon which remain unpaid, and shall immediately
ascertain the total amount of taxes unpaid, and file in the office
of the Town Clerk a list of all persons and property then owing
taxes, verified by his oath, which list shall be known as the de-
linquent list.
SECTION 16: On the thirty -fist day of October of each year, �0-4 o
at six o'clock 2.21. of said day, all unpaid taxes are delinquent � and thereafter the Town Attorney must collect thereon for the use
of the Town an addition of five percent.
SECTION 17: On or before the fifteenth day of November of
each year the Town marshal must deliver to the Town Clerk a complete
delinquent list of all persons and property then owing taxes; ands
in the list so delivered, must set down in commercial order all el, f -
matters and things contained in the assessment roll relating to
delinquent persons or property.
SECTION 18: The Town Clerk must carefully compare such de- .2
�linquent list with the assessment roll, and if satisfied that it n
contains a full and true statement of all taxes due and unpaid,
he must foot up the total amount of taxes so remaining unpaid,h
credit the Town marshal therewith, and make a final settlement
with him of all taxes charged against him on the assessment roll;
and must require from him the Treasurer's receipt for the full a-
muunt of taxes collected.
SECTION 19: After settlement with the Town marshal,as pre-
scribed in the preceeding Section, the Town Clerk must charge thee,,df�
Town Attorney with the amount of taxes due on the delinquent list ��
with five percent added thereto, and within three days thereafter ���l-�
deliver the list duly certified to such Attorney.
SECTION 20: On or before the first day of December of each
year, the Town Attorney must publish the delinquent list, which ZAI Aj
must contain the name of the persons and a description of property
delinquent, and the amount of taxes and costs due opposite each
name and description, with the taxes due on personal property
added to taxes on real estate, where the real estate is liable
therefor, or the several taxes due from the same person, and the Pe,C,ez
said list must be appended, and with it published, a notice that _
unless the taxes dellnquent,together with the costs and percentage,
are paid, the real property upon which said taxes are a lien will
be sold at public auction, and designating therein the time and
place of such sale which must take place in or in front of the
Town Clerk's office, and not less than fourteen, nor more than
twenty-one days from the first publication.
SECTION 21: Said list must be published three times a week 4-V"44,,e p�
for two successive weeks in some newspaper supplement thereto 1��z �CC-
published in said town and when such publication is completed
and before commencing the sale, the Town Attorney must file with Tt012
the Town Clerk a copy of the publication with his affidavit 14m(I`
attached thereto; that it is a true copy of the same and that the
publication was made in a newspaper or a supplement thereto,
stating the name and place of publication, such affidavit shall
be bona fide evidence of facts therein stated; provided, however,
that if no daily newspaper is published in said Town. Said list
shall be published once a week for two successive weeks in some
weekly newspaper or supplement thereto published in said town.
And, provided further, that if no newspaper is published in said
town, then said list must be posted for a period of two success-
ive weeks in five of the most public places in said town. The
expense of the publication of the delinquent list is to be paid
for by the town.
] e-- SECTION 22: The Town Attorney must collect in addition to
yyt, q the taxes due on the delinquent list and five percentum added
et
thereto, fifty cents on each lot, piece or tract of land separate-
ly assessed and on each assessment of personal property one-half
of which must go to the town and the other to the town marshall
in full for preparing the list.
SECTION 23: On the day fixed for the sale or on some sub-
sequent day to which he may have postponed it of which he must
.�I acx- give notice to the Town, Attorney between the hours of ten A.M.,
and four o'clock ?.M., must commence the sale of the property ad-
vertised commencing at the head of the list and continuing al-
phabetically on in numerical order of lots and blocks, until
completed.
µ ��u - SECTION 24: He may postpone the day of commencing the sale
�yIZQ the sale from day to day, but the sale must be completed with-
in two weeks from the day first fixed.
SECTION 25: The owner or person in possession of any real.
--- estate offered for sale for taxes due thereon, may designate in
�lYvll"i� writing to the Town Attorney prior to the sale what portion of
'.✓�the property he wishes sold if less than the whole, but if the
`owner or possessor does not, then the Town Attorney may desig-
nate it, and the person who will take the least quantity of the
land, or in case an undivided interest is assessed, then the
smallest portion of the interest and pay the taxes and costs due,
including ftfty cents to the Town Attorney for the duplicate cer-
tificate of sale, is the purchaser.
SECTION 26: After receiving the amountof the taxes and costs,
ri d the Town Attorney must make out in duplicate a certificate dated
on the day of sale, stating, when known, the name of the person
assessed, the description of the land sold, the amound paid there-
for, that it was sold for taxes, giving the amount and year of the
assessment, and specifying the time when the purchaser will be
entitled to a Deed.
Q ,{,+ ed, SECTION 27: The certificate must be signed by the Town At
�,s� torney and one copy delivered to the purchaser, and the other
+ : filed in the office of the County Auditor.
SECTION 28: The Town Attorney, before delivering any cer-
tificate, must in a book enter a description of the land sold
corresponding with the description in the certificate, the date
of sale, purchaser's name and amount paid; regularly number tte
description on the margin of the book and put a corresponding
number on each certificate. Such book must be open to public
inspection without fee, during office hours when not in actual
use.
C �kLV SECTION 29: On filing the certificate with the County
,Auditor, the lien of the Town vests with the purchaser and is
d my divested by the payment to him, or to the Town Treasurer,
for his use, of the purchase money and five percent thereon.
� � SECTION 30: A redemption of the property sold may be
made by the owner or by any person having an interest therein
' within two years from the date of the purchase, who shall pay
into the Treasury of the town for the use of the person thereto
entitled: First: If such piece, lot or parcel of land shall
3
have been bid in for the Town and the .right of the Town shall . not
have been assigned. The amount for which the same was bid in
with interest and the amount of delinquent taxes, penalties, costs
and interest thereon; second, if the right of the Town shall have
been assigned, the amount paid by the assignee with interest from
the day when so paid, and all unpaid delinquent taxes, interest,
—costs and penalties that may be accrued on such piece -or parcel,
after such assigmment;4nd if, he shall have paid any delinquent
taxes, penalties, costs or interest accruing subsequent to the as-
eignment, the amount so paid by him with interest from the date
of such payment; third, if the same shall have been sold to a
purchaser, the amount paid by such purchaser with interest, and if
he shall have paid any subsequent delinquent taxes, penalties,
costs or interest accruing subsequent to the sale, the amount so
paid by him with interest from the date of paying the same, and all
unpaid delinquent taxes, interest and costs, and penalties accru-
ing, subsequent to such sale, the Town Clerk shall certify to the
amount due upon such redemption and on payment of the same to the
Torn Treasurer, he shall make duplicate receipts for the certified
amount describing the property redeemed, oneof which shall be filed
with the County Auditor which shall have the effect to annul the
sale. If the amount so paid for the purpose of redemption be less
than that required by law, it shall not invalidate such redemption;
but the Clerk shall be liable for the deficiency to the person en-
titled thereto.
SECTION 31: On receiving the certificate of sale the Auditor B aT,
must file it and make an entry in a book similar to that re -
quired of the Town Attorney, on the presentation of the receipt of a�
the person named in the certificate or of the Town Treasurer for
his use, of the total amount of redemption money. The Auditor must
mark the word "redeemed", the date, and by whom redeemed on the
certificate, and in the margin of the book where the entry of the
certificate is made.
SECTION 32: If the property is not redeemed within the time ,"_a
allowed by law for its redemption, the Town Attorney or his suc-
cessor in office, must make to the purchaser or assignee, a Deed
to the property reciting in the Deed substantially the matters
contained in the certificate, and that no person has redeemed the
property during the time allowed for its redemption. The Town
Attorney shall be entitled to receive from the purchaser three
($3.00) dollars for making the Deed.
SECTION 33: The matters recited in the certificateof sale W OAc4,t
must be recited in the geed and such Deed duly acknowledged or cG'
proved, is prima facia evidence, that: first, the property was
assessed as required by law. Second, the property was equalized �i4wk�-
as required by law. Third, the taxes were levied in accordance
to law. Fourth, the taxes were not paid. Fifth, that at a pro-
per time and place the property was sold as prescribed by law,
and by the proper officer. Sixth, the property was not redeemed.
Seventh, the person who executed the Deed was the proper officer.
Eighth, when the real estate was sold to pay taxes on personal
property, that the real estate belonged to the person liable to
pay the taxes.
SECTION 34: Such Deed duly acknowledged or proved is, ex- �L
cept as against actual fraud, conclusive evidence of the regular-
---ity of all other proceedings from the assessment by the Assessor
inclusive up to the execution.of the Deed and conveys to. the
Grantee the absolute Title to the lands described therein free fron
encumbrances.
And all such certificates and Deeds made upon qny sale of
property for taxes or special assessments, under the provisions
of this Ordinance, or..under the provisions of the law of the
State of Washington, relative to the Towns of the fourth class,
shall have the same force and effect, in evidence, as is or may
hereafter be provided by law for Deeds for property sold for non-
payment of State or County taxes.
SECTION 35: The assessment roll or delinquent list or a f copy thereof certified Vy the Town Clerk showing unpaid taxes 6MC /,,,,A "tc
against any personal property is prima facia evidence of the
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assessment, the property assessed, the delinquency, the amount
due and unpaid, and that all the forms of law in relation to the
assessment and levy of su h taxes have been complied with.
SECTION 36: In construing this Ordinance every word impart-
ing the singular number only may be extended to embrace the
plural number; and every word imparting the plural number may be
applied and limited to the singular number.; and every word im-
parting the masculine gender only may be extended gAd applied to
females as well as males. Wherever the word "oath" is used in
this Ordinance, it may be held to mean affirmation, and the word
"swear" in this Ordinance may be held to mean affirm. The terms
"true and fair value" and "full cash value" whenever used in this
Ordinance shall be held to mean the usual selling price at the
place where the property, to which the term or terms, is applied,
shall be at the time of the assessment, being the price which
could be obtained therefor at private sale and not at forced or
auction sale. The term "person" whenever used in this Ordinance
shall be construed to include firm, company or corporation.
I I SECTION 37: No assessment or act relating to assessment or
V collection of taxes, is illegal or shall be illegal on account of
informality nor because the same was not completed within the time
required by law, and no such act shall effect the validity of any
tax sales or other proceedings for the collection of any taxes.
SECTION 38: That this Ordinance shall take effect and
force from and after its passage, approval and publication.
-Passed the Council of the Town of Edmonds this eighth
September 1891.
Approved this eighth day of September 1891.
Filed this eleventh day of September 1891.
James Brady, Clerk.
be in
day of
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