[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Council of
Wicomico County as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Department of Finance — See
County Charter, Article V.
Taxation — See Ch. 203.
STATUTORY REFERENCES
Revenue and taxes — See Tax-General
and Tax-Property Articles of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
[Adopted 10-15-1982 by Bill No. 1982-9.[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 29, Director of Finance, adopted and amended by P.L.L., 1930, Art. 23, secs. 204 through 209, 211, 214, 216 through 221, 223 and 225 through 230; 1959 Code, secs. 229 through 249; 1904, ch. 14, sees. 8 through 13, 15, 17, 19 through 24, 26, 28 through 32 and 34; 1920, ch. 494, sees. 12, 13 and 28; 1924, ch. 523; 1927, ch. 226, secs. 8, 9 and 30; 1931, ch. 206, sec. 208; 1933, ch. 70; 1935, ch. 144; 1943, ch. 562; 1943, ch. 678; 1943, ch. 967; 1945 Session Laws, p. 1997; 1945, ch. 320; 1947, ch. 676; 1951, ch. 540; 1953, ch. 269; 1957, ch. 72; 1959, ch. 24; 1959, ch. 92; 1959, ch. 93; 1959, ch. 94; 1961, ch. 179, sec. 244, a); 1963, ch. 825, sec. 25; 2-15-1978 by Bill No. 1978-6; and 6-13-1980 by Bill No. 1980-17.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
As soon as possible after the annual levy by
the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, the Director
of Finance shall place thereon all credits, whether for money received,
transfers, insolvencies, discounts or abatements; and it shall be
the further duty of said Director to enter alphabetically on his records
the entire account of each taxpayer in one place, so that the whole
may be seen and easily examined; and it shall be the further duty
of said Director to keep the accounts as provided above in this section
for each election district of Wicomico County. It shall also be the
duty of said Director to keep a full and fair cash account, showing
all sums of money received by him, so as to indicate the source whence
the same was received, respectively, and showing all sums of money
paid out by him either to or for the County or to the Treasurer of
the State of Maryland.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
All books, documents, papers and computer data
pertaining to the County Director of Finance’s office shall
be the property and records of Wicomico County and shall be available
in said Director’s office and shall at all times be subject
to examination by authorized persons; and all said books, documents,
computer data and papers, accounts, credits and deposits belonging
to said Director’s office or in the custody of said Director
shall be delivered up and transferred by him to his successor in office
when such successor is duly appointed and qualified.
It shall be the duty of the Director of Finance
during the month of July after such annual levy to prepare the tax
bills of each taxpayer and forward same by mail or deliver same to
the person or persons or corporate institution, or to the agent of
the person or persons or corporate institution, to whom the property
included in such bills as are assessed, so far as their residence
or post office address may be known or ascertained by said Director
on or before the first day of August next succeeding said levy; and
such tax bills shall also contain a clear statement relative to the
discount to be allowed and the interest to be charged on all tax bills.
Beginning July 1, 1944, it shall be the duty of said Director to prepare
and send by mail to each taxpayer a tax bill for each separate parcel
of real estate assessed against said taxpayer and a separate tax bill
for taxes levied against all other personal property.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
The Director of Finance shall deposit in a national
or state bank in Wicomico County all taxes received or collected by
him up to the date of such deposit, to be deposited to the credit
of Wicomico County; and he shall once each month forward to the State
Treasurer a check for the amount of state taxes to his credit in the
bank, and he shall receive from said bank, or either of them, a certificate
of deposit for each deposit to the credit of the county, and said
money shall only be drawn from said bank upon the check of the County
Executive, countersigned by the Director, in payment of debts and
accounts properly due by Wicomico County.
The Director of Finance, within 15 days after
the first day of February succeeding the levy, shall deliver or mail
to the last known post office address of each delinquent taxpayer
an aggregate account of the amount of his assessment and taxes thereon,
with a notice to said delinquent thereto attached, that unless payment
is made in full before the first day of March next after the mailing
or delivery of said notice, that same will be collected by process
of law, and the Director shall enforce the payment of all personal
property taxes remaining unpaid on the first day of March next after
the delivering or mailing of said notices, in the manner prescribed
by law, by a sale of personal property of the delinquent. In the case
of unpaid taxes on real property, the provisions of statewide law
shall apply as provided in Article 81 of the Annotated Code of Maryland,
subtitled "Tax Sales."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See now the Tax-Property Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
All taxes due and owing by any taxpayer upon
real or personal property, or both, shall be a prior lien on all the
real estate of such taxpayer, and personal property may be sold to
pay such taxes. Real estate also may be sold to enforce the payment
of taxes following the procedure in Article 81 of the Annotated Code,
subtitled "Tax Sales."[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See now the Tax-Property Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
Whenever it shall be necessary to enforce the
payment of taxes by a sale of personal property, said Director shall
make out a bill of such taxes in the usual form, with an order at
the bottom of said bill directing the Sheriff of said county to levy
upon the personal property of the delinquent and to sell same to satisfy
and pay the taxes so due, and it shall be the duty of said Sheriff,
upon receiving such tax bill and order, to levy upon and sell the
personal property of such delinquent in the same manner and upon the
same notice; and he shall be entitled to the same fees as if he were
proceeding under an execution from a court of law; and he shall, immediately
after such sale, pay over to said Director the amount due on said
tax bill; and any surplus which may remain after the payment of taxes,
interest and cost shall be paid by said Sheriff to such delinquent
taxpayer, and said Sheriff's bond shall be liable for all such tax
bills placed in his hands by such Director to the same extent and
in the same manner that it is liable for execution claims issued to
him.
Every tax deed shall contain the name of the
former owner of the property it conveys, and the Clerk of the Circuit
Court in whose office the same may be recorded shall index it not
only in the name of the grantor and grantee, but also in the name
of and as from the former owner to the grantee.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
The Director shall deposit in the manner hereinbefore
provided all county taxes and all moneys due said county and collected
by him; and when said county taxes for any year shall have been collected
in full, he shall deliver to the County Executive and County Council
a statement of account showing such collection in full; and he shall
also pay into the treasury of the State of Maryland, according to
law, all the state taxes levied in said county and collected by him
and in the manner hereinbefore prescribed, and he shall be allowed
three years from date of each levy placed in his hands for collection
to complete the collection thereof, and to make his final settlement
with said County Executive and County Council and with the Treasurer
of Maryland respectively, and immediately after the expiration of
said three years, it shall be the duty of said County Executive to
bring suit upon the bond of said Director for all county taxes in
his hands uncollected or unaccounted for to said County Executive.
All claims for erroneous, insolvent or uncollectible
tax bills, for which said Director shall claim a credit, shall be
presented to the County Council before or at the time specified for
said final settlement, and in no case shall said Council allow credit
for erroneous, insolvent or uncollectible taxes unless satisfactory
proof is produced that same cannot be collected.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
The County Executive, at any time after the
termination of the employment of any County Director of Finance or
at the time of the final settlement in this article provided for,
may direct and require him to deliver over to his successor in office
all collectible taxes due upon the levies with which he was charged
and also to deliver over the notices, schedules and other proceedings
had for the enforcement of payment of said taxes, and, in such cases,
the said successor, upon the delivery to him of the bills for such
taxes, shall be empowered and required to enforce the payment of said
taxes in the same manner as his predecessor could have done, and he
shall have all the power and authority in law with which his predecessor
was clothed for that purpose, and in such case the bond of the new
or succeeding Director shall become responsible for the proper collection
and distribution of such taxes, and the bond of the preceding Director
shall be held responsible for such taxes as remain uncollected from
fault or negligence of his own.
In the event that the bond of any Director of
Finance shall become liable to Wicomico County or to the State of
Maryland for any unpaid or uncollected taxes, the sureties on said
bond shall be empowered to enforce the payment of said taxes in the
same manner as said Director of Finance could have done.
The Director of Finance shall issue, whenever
requested and upon the payment to him of a fee of $0.50, a certified
statement over his signature of all taxes assessed since the first
day of January 1902 that may be due and unpaid at the time of making
said certificate and are a lien upon any certain real estate located
in Wicomico County and on any tax sale affecting said piece of property
since that date. Said certificate shall be a bar to the collection
or recovery from any purchaser of real estate after the issue of said
certificate of any tax assessment omitted therefrom and which may
be a lien upon the real estate mentioned therein, but said certificate
shall not affect the liability therefor of the person who owned the
real estate at the time such tax was levied or at any time after such
levy and before the issue of said certificate, and said Director shall
be responsible to said county for any loss of taxes that may arise
from error in said certificate.
[Added 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
The Director of Finance shall have a deputy,
who shall perform such duties as said Director shall require and for
whose official conduct said Director shall be responsible and who,
in the absence of the Director, shall act in his place.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 29-15, Office;
hours, was repealed 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11.
The provisions of the Code of Public General
Laws of Maryland now in force, or hereafter enacted, applicable to
collectors of state and county taxes, except when the same are repealed
by or inconsistent with the provisions of this article, shall be held
to apply to the Director of Finance of said county, who, as to his
power, rights, duties and liabilities, both civil and criminal, and
those affecting his bond or bondsmen, shall be in all respects in
the same position as state and county collectors of taxes, except
as herein provided.
[Amended 10-17-2006 by Bill No. 2006-11]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership,
corporation or other entity to issue and/or deliver unto said Wicomico
County, the Director of Finance thereof or unto any of its officials
or agencies any instrument purported to be a check, money order, draft
or other order for payment which is not collectible at or by the institution
upon which it is drawn. In the event that any such check, money order,
draft or instrument is issued or delivered to said Wicomico County,
its Director of Finance or any of its officials or agencies and in
the event that such check, money order, draft or instrument is returned
by reason of nonpayment by the institution upon which it is drawn
for lack of funds or for any other reason, the Director of Finance
of Wicomico County may, in his discretion, levy upon such person,
firm, corporation or entity who issued such check, money order, draft
or instrument a penalty in such sum as may be determined by the Wicomico
County Council from time to time. When such levy is made by the Director
of Finance, such charge shall become a lien upon the real and personal
property of the person who issued such check, money order, draft or
other instrument, as in the case of real estate taxes, and shall be
collectible in the same manner as real estate taxes assessed against
any such property.
[Adopted 3-19-2013 by Bill No. 2013-03;[1] amended in its entirety 9-1-2020 by Bill No. 2020-05]
For the purposes of this article, the following words or terms
shall have the meaning:
A grant identified by the general nature and source of the
grant and the department or agency that will administer the grant
in the Annual Budget and Appropriation Bill, as initially enacted
by the Council.
Revenue that is specified as revenue from an anticipated
grant in the Annual Budget and Appropriation Bill and for which the
expenditure thereof is itemized therein by amount(s) and purpose(s)
of the grant, subject to such conditions and restrictions as Council
may impose upon the expenditure.
Shall have the same meaning as used expressly or implicitly
in the County Charter in regard to the County's operating budget
and capital budget ("expense budget").
Revenue from a grant, other than an anticipated grant, that
the Council has approved by amendment of the County's budgets
to identify the general nature and source of the grant and the department
or agency that will administer the grant, specify the revenue from
the grant, and itemize the expenditure thereof by amount(s) and purpose(s)
of the grant, subject to such conditions and restrictions as Council
may impose upon the expenditure.
A.
Together with a request or submission for the Council's appropriation
of grant revenue, either as anticipated in the proposed County budgets
or as unanticipated grant revenue, the County Executive shall provide
to Council the documentation stating the terms and conditions of the
grant and its award or proposal by the source of the grant. If such
documentation refers to regulatory or controlling matters regarding
the grant that are not part of the Maryland Code, the United States
Code, the Code of Maryland Regulations ("COMAR") or the Code of Federal
Regulations, a copy of the pertinent provisions shall be furnished
with the request or submission. If thereafter there is any change
in those provisions or in the terms or conditions of the grant, the
County Executive shall promptly furnish to Council the pertinent documentation
or details of oral discussion thereof. For unanticipated grant revenue,
the County Executive shall also provide written recommendation to
approve the grant and a proposed document to amend the budget(s) to
approve it and appropriate the grant revenue in accordance with this
article.
B.
The County Executive shall furnish to Council promptly upon request
such other documentation regarding a grant as Council may request,
including correspondence between the County and the source of the
grant or its representative or agent.
C.
Upon approval by Council in accordance with this article, anticipated
and unanticipated grant revenue shall be deemed to be appropriated,
effective upon grant award, for the specified purposes of the grant;
provided, however, that in its approval of a grant, either in the
initial enactment or subsequent amendment of the Annual Appropriation
and Budget Bill, the Council may impose restrictions and conditions
upon the expenditure of grant revenue that do not conflict with the
terms and conditions of the grant and designate particular purposes
of expenditure thereof in any manner and to the extent not inconsistent
with or prohibited by the terms and conditions of the grant that are
expressly stated in the documentation regarding the grant that has
been furnished by the County Executive to the Council prior to its
approval.
D.
If the County receives grant revenue in excess of the amount specified
in the approval by Council, such excess shall be deemed to be appropriated
for expenditure in accordance with the terms and conditions of the
grant, subject to such conditions and restrictions as Council may
impose upon the expenditure that do not conflict with the terms and
conditions of the grant, and the County's budgets shall be revised
to state the total appropriation amount and revenue under the grant
and expenditure thereof.
E.
If the grant is for reimbursement for other funds expended for the
purpose of the grant, the grant revenue shall be applied to restore
any appropriation or borrowing of other County funds expended in order
to obtain the reimbursement and to discharge County debt for any funds
it has borrowed for such expenditure.
F.
Council may waive any provisions in this section.
A.
The Executive Branch shall promptly furnish to the Council a copy of each application to, or proposal by a source of grant funding that is made or received by the Executive Branch. This duty shall be performed by the County Executive or by head of the department or agency that has made the application or received the proposal. The procedures stated in § 29-19 shall apply to the grant following the initial submission of the application or proposal.
B.
At the request of the County Executive, the Council may approve a
grant application or written response to a grant proposal that is
submitted with the request, which shall provide the details, discussed
below, either by reference to specific provisions in the application
or proposal or in the request itself. Such approval, unless otherwise
stated therein, shall constitute approval by the Council of the nature
and source of the grant, appropriation of the grant revenue, effective
upon grant award, for expenditure as itemized by amount(s) and purpose(s)
of the grant, and the department or agency that will administer the
grant, that must be provided in the request by the County Executive
but subject to such conditions and restrictions and designated purposes
of expenditure of the grant revenue as the Council may impose in its
approval that are not inconsistent with or prohibited by the terms
and conditions of the grant that are expressly stated in the application
or proposal.
If the expenditure of matching or other funds by the County
is required by the terms and conditions of a grant in order to obtain
funding thereunder, such funds shall be deemed to be appropriated
by amendment of the County budget(s) if such expenditure is expressly
stated and identified by amount(s) and purpose(s) in the documentation
regarding the grant that has been furnished by the County Executive
to the Council prior to its approval of the anticipated or unanticipated
grant revenue; provided, however, that such appropriation of County
funds is not subject to increase or other change except by subsequent
approval by the Council.
Council members and the Council's staff may directly but
informally discuss any aspect of a grant with any personnel in the
Executive Branch either before the anticipated or unanticipated grant
revenue is approved or thereafter.
A.
Upon satisfaction of the conditions imposed on an appropriation by
this article, the Director of Finance, without the necessity of further
action by the County Council, shall reflect the receipt and expenditure
of grant funds and any matching or other County funds in the County
financial system and budget(s) showing the appropriation to and expenditure
by the department that will administer the expenditure of the grant
and any matching or other County funds.
B.
The Director of Finance shall send a report to the County Executive
and the Council Administrator that, for each grant, describes the
grant, the amount of the appropriation, the department responsible
for administration of the grant and, if applicable, the resolution
that approved the application for the grant. The report shall be submitted
by the end of each fiscal year and included in the notes to the financial
statements of the annual audit.
Nothing contained in this article or in any action by the Council
pursuant to this article shall be deemed to waive, alter or extinguish
requirements of the Wicomico County Charter regarding the County's
budgets or the control and expenditure of appropriated funds, which
shall apply to any grant revenue and County matching or other funds
heretofore or hereafter approved by Council.
