When any assessment, or installment thereof, heretofore or hereafter levied, shall become due, delinquent and unpaid, it shall be the duty of the city clerk-treasurer, upon the payment to him or her of any delinquent assessment, installment or installments thereof, together with the interest and penalty to the date of the issuance thereof, to issue such payor a certificate of delinquency against the property upon which the assessment was made. Such certificates may be issued directly to the city and may be sold to any person applying therefor. Such certificates shall constitute a lien against the property against which the assessment was levied and shall bear interest from the date of issuance at the rate of twelve (12) percent per annum, and may be foreclosed after two years from the date of their issuance in the same manner and with the same effect as mortgages upon real estate are foreclosed. Such certificate shall be prima facie evidence that the property against which the same was issued was subject to the assessment at the time the same was assessed, that the property was assessed as required by law, and that the assessment, or installment thereof, was not paid prior to the issuance of such certificate.
(Ord. 178 § 5, 1922)