There shall be a Tax Assessor-Collector who shall be appointed by the City Council from recommendations by the City Manager or any member of the City Council. The Tax Assessor-Collector shall serve at the discretion of the City Council and his compensation shall be established by the City Council. The Tax Assessor-Collector shall collect all taxes and special assessments payable to the City. He shall supervise and be responsible for the assessment of all property subject to taxation within the corporate limits of the City for taxation, prepare and maintain property maps and ownership records on all property in the City, shall give all notices and do all other acts required by law for the assessment and collection of all taxes and special assessments levied by and for the City of Midlothian.
(a)
The City Council shall have the power under the provisions of State law to levy, assess and collect an annual tax upon all taxable property within the City not to exceed the maximum provided by the Constitution and general laws of the State of Texas.
(b)
The City Council shall have the power annually to levy and collect a street rental charge against any public service corporation, person, or entity whether holding a franchise or not for the privilege of the use and occupancy of public streets, alleys or grounds of the City, separately from the tangible property of such corporations, companies and corporate institutions, as authorized by the State laws, and shall have the full power to enforce the collection of such rental charges.
(c)
The City Council shall have the right to assess and collect such occupation taxes, licenses and franchise taxes upon trades, professions, occupations and any business transaction carried on in said City as may be authorized by the general laws of the State of Texas.
(d)
All existing taxes, assessments and charges of whatever kind or nature heretofore levied by the City of Midlothian shall remain in full force and effect until and unless repealed or changed by ordinance.
All property, real, personal or mixed, lying and being within the corporate limits of the City of Midlothian on the first day of January, not expressly exempted by law, shall be subject to annual ad valorem taxation at its true market value. The mode and manner of making renditions, tax lists, assessments, tax rolls, delinquent tax rolls, collections and procedures for enforcing collection of such taxes shall be in accordance with the State laws governing the levy and collection of ad valorem taxes by cities, school districts and counties. The City Tax Assessor-Collector shall assess all property which has been omitted from assessment in prior years upon a current supplemental assessment roll. The taxes upon such supplemental assessments shall be due at once, and if not paid within sixty (60) days thereafter, shall be deemed delinquent, and shall be subject to the same penalty and interest as other delinquent taxes for such year. If the ownership of any property should be unknown to the City Tax Assessor-Collector, he shall enter that fact in the record.
In addition to the powers granted by this Section, the City shall have the same power as county tax assessors and collectors in Texas to make back assessments, all at the same value and tax rates as such property should have been assessed and taxed for past years, and indicating the year or years for which it is assessed.
The City Council shall each year appoint three (3) residents, who shall be qualified voters and real property owners, as the Board of Equalization. Such Board shall choose from its membership a chairman. The City Tax Assessor-Collector shall be ex-officio secretary of the Board, provided the City Tax Assessor-Collector, with the consent of the City Council, may designate some other officer or employee of the City to act in his stead. A majority of said Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Members of the Board while serving shall receive such compensation as may be provided for them by the City Council.
At the same meeting that the Council appoints the Board of Equalization, it shall by ordinance fix the time of the first meeting of the Board. After such first meeting, the Board may reconvene and adjourn from time to time, and as long thereafter as may be necessary it shall hear and determine the complaint of any person in relation to the assessment roll. Whenever said Board shall find it their duty to raise the value of any property appearing on the tax lists or tax records of the City, it shall after having examined such lists and records and corrected all errors appearing therein, adjourn to a day not less than ten (10) nor more than fifteen (15) days from the date of adjournment, and shall cause the secretary of said Board to give written notice to the owner of such property or to the person rendering same of the time to which said Board has adjourned, and that such owner or person rendering said property may at that time appear and show cause why the value of said property should not be raised. Such notice may be served by depositing the same, properly addressed, and postage paid, in the City Post Office.
It shall be the duty of such Board to examine and, if necessary, revise the assessments as returned by the City Assessor-Collector, to the end that all property within the City shall be assessed as fairly and as uniformly as possible. The Board of Equalization shall also have the power to:
(a)
Review on complaint of property owners assessments for the purpose of taxation of both real and personal property within the City made by the City Assessor-Collector;
(b)
Administer oaths;
(c)
Take testimony;
(d)
Hold hearings;
(e)
Adopt regulations regarding the procedure of assessment review; and
(f)
Compel the production of all books, documents and other papers pertinent to the investigation of the taxable values of any person, firm or corporation having or owning property within the corporate limits of the City subject to taxation.
The Board shall be required to keep an accurate record of all its proceedings, which shall be available for public inspection. Immediately upon completion of its work the Board shall certify its approval of the assessment rolls. The decision of the Board of Equalization on property values shall be final; provided, however, appeals may be taken to a district court having jurisdiction in accordance with State law pertaining thereto.
All taxes due the City of Midlothian shall be payable at the office of the City Assessor-Collector and may be paid at any time after the tax rolls for the year have been completed and approved, which shall be not later than October 1.
The tax levied by the City is hereby declared to be a lien, charge or encumbrance upon the property upon which the tax is due, which lien, charge or encumbrance the City is entitled to enforce and foreclose in any court having jurisdiction over the same, and the lien, charge or encumbrance on the property in favor of the City, for the amount of the taxes, penalties, interest and other costs due on such property is such as to give the State courts jurisdiction to enforce and foreclose said lien on the property on which the tax is due, not only as against any resident of this State or person whose residence is unknown, but also as against nonresidents. All taxes upon real estate shall especially be a lien and a charge upon the property, real, personal or mixed, upon which the taxes are due, which lien may be foreclosed in any court having jurisdiction. The City’s tax lien shall exist from January 1 in each year until the taxes are paid. Such lien shall be prior to all other claims, and no gift sale, assignment or transfer of any kind, or judicial writ of any kind can defeat such lien.
All persons or corporations owning or holding personal property or real estate in the City of Midlothian on the first day of January of each year shall be liable for all municipal taxes levied thereon for such year.
The City shall be entitled to counterclaim and offset against any debt, claim, demand or account owed by the City to any person, firm or corporation who is in arrears to the City for taxes, in the amount of taxes so in arrears, including all penalties and interest, and no assignment or transfer of such debt, claim, demand or account after the said taxes are due shall affect the right of the City to so offset against the same.
Except as otherwise provided by law, or this charter, the Council shall have the power to provide by ordinance for the assessment and collection of all taxes, and to make such rules, regulations and mode of procedure to enforce the collection by and pay to the Tax Assessor-Collector as it may deem expedient, and shall provide such penalties for the failure to pay such taxes as it may deem expedient. The Council shall also have the power to contract with any entity to perform any or all duties described by this charter necessary for the administration and collection of taxes.