[Amended 5-26-1888 by L. 1888, c. 413]
The trustees of said village shall have power to raise, levy and collect by a tax upon the taxable inhabitants and property, except farm lands, in said village, for the purchase of any real or personal property for the use of said corporation, and to carry out the general objects and to defray the ordinary expenses thereof, such sums as they shall deem proper, not exceeding five hundred dollars in any one year; and also such additional sums as shall be authorized by a vote of the electors who are taxable upon their real or personal property at the annual meeting for the election of officers in each year.
The said trustees shall also have power to assess, levy and collect by tax upon the taxable inhabitants and property in said village, annually, such an amount denominated highway tax as they shall deem necessary, not exceeding the sum hereinafter specified, which highway tax shall be assessed as follows: Each male inhabitant of twenty-one years and upwards, shall be assessed fifty cents, and the balance shall be assessed among and upon all persons owning property and estate, real and personal, incorporated companies, banks and banking associations in said village, according to the value of their real and personal estate in said village, not exceeding fifty cents for each three hundred dollars of assessment, which moneys shall be expended by the superintendent of highways, under the direction and control of the trustees, upon the streets, highways and bridges in said village, and as otherwise by this act authorized and directed. All bridges across the stream or river called "Black Creek," in said village, shall be built and re-built by the town of Riga in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.
The assessment roll of said village shall contain near the right-hand margin, three several and distinct columns, severally denominated and headed "general tax," "highway tax," and "local assessments"; and an additional column, headed "total," in which to set down the sum total of all said taxes and assessments. The real estate assessed shall be briefly but properly described, and non-resident lands, if any there be, shall be assessed in the same manner as the lands of residents. The amount of tax and highway tax levied upon each person named in the roll, shall be set down in the proper column; and also the amount of local assessment, if any, against the real estate of such person; and in all cases where any tax, highway tax or local assessment is charged upon any real estate, it shall be set opposite the particular real estate, upon which it is charged, and the roll shall contain an entry briefly specifying for what purpose any such local assessment was made. The assessment roll when completed, and the taxes, highway taxes and local assessments as are thereon entered, shall be filed with the clerk, and shall then be denominated the tax roll of said village; a duplicate thereof shall be made, which, with the proper warrant under the hands of the trustees and seal of said village, directed to the collector, shall be the authority of the collector to collect said taxes, highway taxes and assessments.
All tax rolls, when corrected and completed and filed with the clerk of the village, shall be a lien on the real estate therein described to the amount of the several taxes and assessments as aforesaid; and all taxes and assessments levied as aforesaid, shall be collected by the collector of said village, subject to the provisions of this act, by virtue of such warrant as aforesaid, together with his fees, which shall be one per cent. If paid within twenty days after public notice given by the collector of the receipt of such roll, and the times and places where the same may be paid to him; and upon all sums paid and collected after that time, five per cent; and in case any person shall refuse to pay his or her taxes and assessments, or any of them, and the fees aforesaid, the collector shall levy the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the delinquent, in the same manner as collectors of town and county taxes are authorized to do; and such warrant shall command, require and authorize such collection of such taxes and assessments, and such enforcement thereof; and all moneys collected by the collector shall, after deducting his compensation therefor, be paid by him into the treasury of the village.
Every person elected or appointed collector under the provisions of this act, shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office as collector, and within five days after the tax roll shall be filed with the clerk, execute to the said village by its corporate name, and file with the clerk, a bond with two or more sureties, to the freeholders of the county of Monroe, and to be approved by the trustees, and in such penalty as they shall direct, and conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties as such collector, and for the honest and faithful accounting for and paying over all moneys which shall come to his hands as such collector.
Whenever the collector shall receive any warrant for the collection of any tax or assessment, directed to be levied by the trustees, as provided by this act, it shall be his duty to give the notice required to be given by town collectors, as to the place where, and the days in which he will receive payment of taxes for twenty days, and which shall be at least two days in each week during said twenty days, and to receive payment within the time aforesaid, with the fees of collection as herein provided, but after the expiration of the time mentioned in said notice, it shall be his duty to proceed and collect the same out of any personal property of the persons whose real or personal estate is assessed or taxed, in the manner required by law for the collection of town and county taxes by collectors of towns; and in case the said collector cannot find sufficient personal property from which to levy and make any tax or assessment upon any real estate assessed or taxed on said roll with his fees and costs, it shall be his duty to advertise the premises assessed or taxed, to be sold, in the manner and for the time required in cases of sales of real estate on execution, and conduct the sale in the same manner. Any person may stop the proceedings at any time before sale, by paying to the collector the amount of tax and assessment charged upon such real estate, with the interest thereon, collector's fees, and the costs and expenses of advertising. All sales of real estate under this act, shall be for the shortest period for which any bidder will take the premises, and pay the amount of tax, assessments, collector's fees, costs and expenses. When any sale shall be made by the collector he shall make and subscribe duplicate certificates thereof, containing a description of the property sold, the amount and time for which it was sold, stating the amount of taxes and assessments, and the items of the fees, costs and expenses for which sale was made, and the time within which the premises may be redeemed; one of which shall be filed with the clerk, and the other shall be delivered to the purchaser. The owner and his judgment creditors shall have the same right of redemption in all cases of such sale, in the same manner and to the same extent as is allowed by law in cases of sales of real estate by execution. The money, in case of redemption may be paid to the purchaser, or village clerk for him. In case of no redemption at the expiration of fifteen months from the day of sale, or in case of redemption by any creditor or creditors of the original owner, it shall be the duty of the president and clerk to issue to the purchaser or to the redeeming creditor, as the case may be, a declaration, under the corporate seal of the village, and signed by said president and clerk, containing a description of the premises sold, the aggregate amount of taxes, assessments, collector's fees, costs and expenses of sale, and the period for which the premises was sold, which declaration shall be sufficient evidence of the right to the use and occupancy of said premises for said period, to be occupied from the day of sale. All buildings which may be erected on the premises during the period of such occupancy, under the right given by such sale and proceedings, may be removed at or before the expiration of the time for which the premises were sold; and all the provisions of the act entitled "an act authorizing mortgagees to redeem real estate sold for taxes and assessments," passed May fourteen, eighteen hundred and forty, shall apply to any such sale; and any mortgagee of the premises, or any part thereof, shall have the benefit of said act; and the notice required to be given by the second section of said act, shall not be given until after the time limited for the owner, or his assignees to redeem.
Any person who shall be assessed for a poll tax shall be permitted to pay the same by working on the roads in said village, under the direction of the superintendent of the highways, at the rate of fifty cents for eight hours' labor; and in case of his neglect or refusal to labor or pay his said tax, on the demand of the superintendent, he shall be proceeded against in the same manner as provided in cases of persons neglecting or refusing to work their highway tax, by the general statutes of this State, in such cases made and provided.
In any suit brought for such poll tax, the tax roll filed with the clerk, or the duplicate in the hands of the collector, shall in all cases, be sufficient evidence, on behalf of the corporation, that such tax has been duly assessed against the persons whose names and taxes are assessed upon said roll.
The warrant of the trustees to the collector, annexed to the tax roll delivered to him, shall be returnable within forty days after the receipt thereof by the collector; and on receiving such tax roll and warrant, the collector shall make thereon a certificate, signed by him, stating the time of its receipt by him, which certificate shall be sufficient evidence in all cases, of the time of the receipt of such tax roll and warrant by said collector; and in case where the collector is obliged to resort to the sale of real estate for the collection of any tax or assessment, the sale of such real estate may be made at any time within three months after the return day of said warrant, and such sale shall be valid, notwithstanding such return day shall be passed.
Within forty days after the receipt of any tax roll and warrant by the collector, he shall pay over all moneys collected by virtue thereof to the treasurer of the village; and if any taxes or assessments remain unpaid or uncollected for any cause, he shall make a return containing a statement of such taxes and assessments, the persons against whom the same are assessed, and, if any of them are charged upon real estate, the said statement shall contain a brief description of such real estate, corresponding substantially with the entries on the tax roll, which return or statement shall be verified by oath and filed with the clerk; and if any collector shall refuse or neglect to pay over to the treasurer the sums required by his warrant to be paid over or account for the sums so unpaid, the treasurer shall, after the expiration of ten days from the time such warrant is returnable, issue a warrant under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of the county of Monroe, commanding him to the same effect, in substance, as in a warrant authorized by law to be issued by a county treasurer against a delinquent collector, upon which the sheriff shall proceed on such warrant issued by a county treasurer; and if any money shall remain uncollected on said warrant to the sheriff, the village treasurer shall immediately give notice thereof to the president, whose duty it shall be to cause the bond of the collector and his sureties to be prosecuted in the name of the corporation, and the moneys collected in such suit shall be paid into the village treasury.
If any tax assessed upon the personal estate of any person, corporation, or banking association in said village, shall not be paid, and no goods or chattels of such person can be found whereof to make the same by distress and sale, such tax may be levied and made by a sale of any real estate in said village owned by and assessed to such person, corporate or banking association, in the same manner as if the same were assessed upon such real estate; and any tax upon personal estate of any person, corporation or banking association, to whom any real estate owned by such person, corporation or association, is assessed, shall be a lien thereon in the same manner as if assessed thereon; and in all cases where any tax or assessment shall remain unpaid or uncollected, for want of sufficient goods and chattels whereof to make the same by distress and sale, at any time after the time for the return of the warrant to the collector shall have expired, an action may be brought and maintained by the corporation against the person, corporation or association taxed or assessed to recover the same, with costs of suit, in any court having cognizance thereof.
If, at the time of levying any annual tax, any tax or assessment levied upon any real estate in any previous year shall, by reason of defective description of such real estate, or for any cause, remain unpaid, the amount thereof, with interest, may be added to such annual tax, and charged upon the real estate upon which it was originally assessed, and the same proceedings in all respects for the collection thereof may be had, and with the like effect, as in cases of the tax or assessment on the same real estate for the then current year; but in all cases of the changing of any tax or assessment of any previous year upon such real estate, the year or years in which the same was originally levied shall be specified on the roll, and the amount thereof shall be separately specified in the proper column, and the real estate upon which it is charged shall be properly and sufficiently described on the roll by the trustees, in case it be not sufficiently described thereon by the assessors.