If it comes to the knowledge of the city assessor and collector at any time after the levy of taxes for the year that any personal property subject to taxation in the city is about to be removed from the city, and the owner of such property has no other tangible property in the city sufficient to satisfy all assessments against him, the assessor and collector shall, if said property has not been assessed, proceed at once to assess the same and he shall thereupon levy upon a sufficiency of such property to satisfy such taxes and all costs and sell the same as provided in the preceding section; and the ordinance levying taxes for the year and the assessment made upon such property shall be sufficient warrant for so doing and to vest title in the purchaser.
The City of Wichita Falls shall be authorized and it is hereby given the right to institute suit in any court in Wichita County having jurisdiction under the constitution and laws of the state at any time after taxes become due and are delinquent as herein provided, and recover personal judgment for the amount of taxes remaining unpaid by any person, firm or corporation, together with all interest, penalties and costs, and if any part of such delinquent tax shall be due upon any landed property, the city shall have the right in the same or any subsequent writ to have its lien thereon foreclosed and such property sold as provided by law for the foreclosure and sale of property under mortgage or other liens; provided that in all cases where the lands are sold, the owner shall have the right of redemption as may be specified by the Texas tax laws, and failing to do so, the title of the purchaser shall become absolute without further act or proceeding.
In all suits for the foreclosure of a lien upon lands or lots by the city, if the defendants or any of them be alleged to reside in any county of the State of Texas, service shall be had as required by law in civil suits. And if the defendants or any of them be alleged to be nonresidents, or if the residences of such defendants are unknown, or the owner or owners of said land or lots are unknown and the city tax assessor and collector or city attorney shall make oath to that effect at the time of filing the petition, or at any time subsequent thereto, then citation shall issue and service shall be had as is now required by law in suit for the collection of state and county taxes in like cases.
In case the service of citation provided in the preceding section be by publication the case shall stand for trial at the time and manner now provided by the Statutes of this State in similar cases. The suit shall be held in all respects to be a proceeding in rem, and the court shall hear proof and render judgment in favor of the City of Wichita Falls against each parcel of land for the amount of tax, interest, penalty and costs legally chargeable against the same, and shall foreclose the lien of the city thereon and condemn the land to be sold under execution for the purpose of satisfying such judgment, provided that for the purpose of foreclosing the lien of the city on all lands and lots where the owners thereof are alleged to be unknown, it shall not be necessary to institute a separate suit against each piece of property, and all such property may be embraced in one suit and judgment entered against each parcel and condemning the same to be sold as aforesaid; and provided further, that in all cases where lands are sold under judgment based upon service by publication, the owner shall have the right of redemption as may be specified by the Texas tax laws, and upon failure to do so the title of the purchaser shall become absolute without further act or proceeding.
The privilege of redemption herein given shall constitute a part of the judgment and deed made to the purchaser in such case and need not be inserted therein. In such sales each lot or parcel of land shall be sold separately and the purchase price shall be stated in the deed.