[Adopted 4-3-1990 as Ch. 9, Sections 9-10 through 9-24, of the 1989 Code]
The intention of this article is to facilitate and expedite the collection of taxes in Kent County and thereby generally promote the business of the County Commissioners' office in said county, and for that purpose all the provisions of this article shall be liberally construed, and all powers heretofore belonging to the collectors of taxes in said county, and so far as the same will facilitate the Treasurer of said county in the discharge of his duties hereunder, shall be possessed by and are hereby given to said Treasurer, but he shall not by implication be held to possess any of the powers of such collectors as might tend to delay him in the discharge of his duties or render the purpose of this article difficult.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Bill No. 6-94]
A. 
Tax bills. It shall be the duty of the County Treasurer each year during the term of his office, as soon as the annual levy is made, to give public notice thereof by advertisement inserted once in at least one newspaper of general circulation in Kent County. It shall be the duty of said Treasurer, on or before the beginning of the taxable year, to make up, prepare and mail or deliver to each taxpayer whose name appears on the assessment books for Kent County a statement, bill or account of his or her assessment as well as the amount of taxes due thereon.
B. 
Deposits; withdrawals. It shall be his duty to deposit daily in one or more banks in Kent County all state and county taxes and all state and county funds and all moneys received or collected by him, and all taxes, funds and moneys shall be deposited by the County Treasurer in the name of the Board of County Commissioners, and the money so deposited, as aforesaid, shall only be drawn out upon checks issued by the Board of County Commissioners and signed as hereafter provided in payment of the state's portion of said taxes and in payment of debts, demands and accounts due by said county.
C. 
Investments; checks.
(1) 
All money belonging to the county received by the Treasurer shall, promptly thereafter, be deposited in such bank or banks as the County Commissioners may designate, or, in the discretion of the County Commissioners, any portion of said money may be invested in United States government bonds, in bank or other incorporated stock or in any other good security, but no money shall be drawn from said bank or banks except by a check signed by the Treasurer or Deputy Treasurer and President of the Board of County Commissioners or, in the absence of said President of the Board of County Commissioners, then the member of the Board of County Commissioners who is acting as presiding officer.
(2) 
Money may also be drawn from said bank or banks electronically pursuant to the Maryland Uniform Commercial Code - Funds Transfer, § 4A-101 et seq., of the Commercial Law Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, by order of the Treasurer or his designated agent.
[Added 8-21-2001 by Bill No. 9-2001]
D. 
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to act as agent for the Department of Motor Vehicles.
On the first day of each month, the County Treasurer shall make a written report to the County Commissioners of all receipts (including interest received from all sources) and disbursements of his office for the preceding month showing the source of such receipts and interest and the respective accounts for which such disbursements were made and the amounts of balances on hand and on deposit to his credit in banks, together with the name of the bank or banks where deposited, and said County Treasurer shall, at or within 30 days after the expiration of the end of each fiscal year of his term of office, make a full detailed account and statement of said fiscal year with the County Commissioners of all state and county taxes placed in his hands for collection and of all accounts, receipts and funds and all disbursements, and all erroneous and insolvent tax bills for which he shall claim a credit shall be presented to said County Commissioners before or at the expiration of each fiscal year, and in no case shall said County Commissioners allow a credit for erroneous or insolvent tax bills unless satisfactory proof shall be produced, under oath, that said bills cannot be collected, and said County Treasurer is required to enforce payment of taxes by sale, as hereinafter provided, of all property upon which taxes are in arrears as soon as he is empowered to do so, and at the expiration of his term of, or upon his retirement from, office he is directed and required to forthwith surrender and deliver to his successor all books, papers and accounts whatsoever pertaining to said office and all funds, including all cash in his hands and on deposit as Treasurer, whether from taxes, proceeds of sale of property of delinquent taxpayers or from any other source, and in all cases where a Treasurer has taken steps for the enforcement of the payment of said taxes, and shall die before the collection of said taxes or before said proceedings are completed, his successor is empowered and required to continue and complete said proceedings for the enforcement of the payment of said taxes and to collect the same, and he is hereby clothed with the power and authority in law had by the deceased Treasurer during his term of office for that purpose.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Bill No. 6-94; 3-20-2001 by Bill No. 1-2001]
On the first day of October in each year, County taxes shall be deemed to be in arrears and interest shall be charged and collected on all taxes not then paid at the rate set by the County Commissioners of Kent County. On the 10th day of December in each year, the County Treasurer shall mail or deliver to each delinquent taxpayer from the prior fiscal year an account of his assessment and the taxes and interest due thereon and a warning that unless payment is made in full prior to the first day of January that the same may be collected by due process of law and between the first day of January and the 31st day of January of each year the County Treasurer shall publish a list of those taxpayers still in arrears. Between the first day of March and the Wednesday before the tax sale, the Kent County Treasurer shall cause to be published a notice of tax sale as provided in § 14-808 et seq. of the Tax Property Article of the Annotated Code, including a notice of tax sale of all property on which town taxes in Kent County have not been paid and which are in arrears as provided in the charter of the town. The published notice shall give the names of the persons assessed, with a brief description of the property, the district of its location and such other description as the County Treasurer in his discretion may deem necessary to render the same possible of identification together with the amount of taxes due in arrears thereon, including all taxes on personal property due by the owner of said real estate with interest, costs and expenses accrued and to accrue and thereafter the County Treasurer shall proceed to sell the property as provided in said Tax Property Article.
[Added 4-17-2001 by Bill No. 3-2001]
A. 
The County Commissioners hereby authorize the sale of real property to enforce a lien based on unpaid benefit assessments or other charges for water and wastewater services, pursuant to Paragraph (h), § 9-658 of the Environment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
B. 
By the first day of January of each year the County Commissioners of Kent County shall cause to be delivered to the County Treasurer a certified list of property owners whose water and wastewater assessments, charges, and fees are deemed to be in arrears and are a lien on the real property for which made. This list shall contain the name, mailing address, and the amount due and the state tax identification number. On the fifth day of March of each year the County Commissioners of Kent County shall cause to be delivered to the County Treasurer a certified list of property owners whose water and wastewater assessments, charges, and fees are deemed to be in arrears and a lien on the real property for which made. This list shall contain the names, mailing address, the arrearage, a brief description of the property, the district of its location and such other description as the County Treasurer may deem necessary. The County Treasurer shall conduct a sale of real property to enforce a lien based on unpaid benefit water and wastewater assessments, charges and fees. The procedure for establishment, notification and enforcement of a lien authorized by the governing body shall conform to the provisions of § 152-4 of the Code, governing collection of real property taxes in arrears.
[Added 5-6-2008 by Bill No. 1-2008]
A. 
Definitions. In this section, the following words have the meanings indicated:
COMBINED INCOME
Has the meaning stated in the Tax-Property Article, § 9-104(a), of the Annotated Code of the State of Maryland (the "State Code").
DWELLING
Has the meaning stated in the Tax-Property Article, § 9-104(a), of the State Code.
HOMEOWNER
Has the meaning stated in the Tax-Property Article, § 9-104(a), of the State Code.
HOMEOWNERS PROPERTY TAX CREDIT PROGRAM
The program established under the Tax-Property Article, § 9-104, of the State Code.
TOTAL REAL PROPERTY TAX
Has the meaning stated in the Tax-Property Article, § 9-104(a), of the State Code.
B. 
Creation. There is a local supplement to the Homeowners Property Tax Credit Program for dwellings in the County as authorized by the Tax-Property Article, § 9-215, of the State Code.
C. 
Calculation. The local supplement to the Homeowners Property Tax Credit Program is the difference between the amount of the property tax credit as calculated under the Tax-Property Article, § 9-104(g), of the State Code and the amount of the total real property tax on a dwelling.
D. 
Eligibility for enhanced local supplement. To be eligible for the supplement, a homeowner must be eligible for the State Homeowners Property Tax Credit Program and, as of the end of the calendar year preceding the taxable year for which the enhanced local supplement is sought, must be at least 60 years of age, and have a combined annual income of $35,000 or less.
[Amended 10-6-2015 by Bill No. 4-2015; 2-16-2021 by Bill No. 3-2021]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sections 9-13 through 9-16 of the 1989 Code were deleted 12-6-1994 by Bill No. 6-94.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Bill No. 6-94]
All notices and advertisements required by this article may be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation published in said County.
It shall be the duty of the County Treasurer to finish the collection of all state and county taxes due and payable during his term of office, and whenever the term of office of the County Treasurer shall expire before he shall have collected all said taxes, it shall be the duty of said County Treasurer, and he is hereby authorized, empowered and required to proceed at the time and in the manner hereinbefore provided by advertisement and sale, to complete the collection of all unpaid taxes due and payable during his term of office, provided that it shall be mandatory that he conclude all such proceedings within the period of 12 months from and after the date of the expiration of his said term of office; said County Treasurer, however, shall receive no compensation for the services required of him under the provisions of this section rendered after the expiration of his term of office.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Bill No. 6-94]
The checks drawn by any member of the Board of County Commissioners shall be countersigned by the County Treasurer, and all checks so countersigned shall be conclusive as to the bank on which it is drawn and paying the same that a proper voucher has been issued therefor.
All state and county taxes on real estate shall be liens on the real estate in respect of which they are levied from the date they become payable.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Section 9-23 of the 1989 Code, Taxes to be liens; personal property, which immediately followed this section, was deleted 12-6-1994 by Bill No. 6-94.