Within ten (10) days after the filing of the statement referred to in SJBMC 5-6-140, the City Clerk shall cause to be published in the official newspaper of the City, a notice substantially in the following form:
NOTICE
EQUALIZATION OF WEED REMOVAL, NUISANCE ABATEMENT AND CLEAN-ING ASSESSMENTS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of San Juan Bautista, California, will on the _______ day of _______, 20__, in the Council Chamber in the City Hall of the said City, beginning at the hour of 8 o’clock p.m. of said day, hear any protests or objections to weed removal, nuisance abatement, and cleaning taxes for the purpose of correcting, modifying or confirming the same, and the failure to make any objection thereto will be deemed a waiver of the same.
A statement showing all property affected and the respective taxes or charges against the same is now on file in the office of the City Clerk at the City Hall of said City and is open to public inspection.
Dated this _____ day of _______, 20____.
_____________________
City Clerk
Any interested person objecting to the proposed assessment may file a written protest with the City Clerk at or before the time set for the hearing referred to in the notice published in accord with the preceding section. The City Clerk shall present to the City Council all protests so filed with him. The City Council sitting as the Board of Equalization at the hearing which shall be had at the first regular meeting of the City Council next after the expiration of ten (10) days from the date of publication of the notice, may modify or correct any assessment which, in their opinion, is excessive or otherwise incorrect. If no corrections or modifications are made, the assessments shall be deemed confirmed and the City Council’s decision thereon shall be conclusive and the respective assessments shall thereupon become a lien against the property abutting or adjoining the sidewalk, parkway or alley, in the event the property cleaned be the sidewalk, parkway or alley, until the respective assessments are paid. If any correction or modification in any assessment is made by the City Council, such corrected or modified amount shall be deemed confirmed and the City Council’s decision thereupon shall be conclusive and the same shall thereupon become a lien as above provided.
Upon receipt of the assessment roll referred to in the preceding section, the Tax Collector shall record the same in a substantial book to be kept for that purpose in his office.
Thirty (30) days from the day of the receipt by the Tax Collector of the assessment roll referred to in SJBMC 5-6-210, all assessments made under this Chapter and unpaid shall become delinquent and ten percent (10%) shall be added to the amount thereof.
At any time after the delinquency referred to in the preceding section and prior to the sale of any parcels of land assessed and delinquent, any person may pay the assessment thereon, including the cost of advertising, if such payment is made after two (2) days prior to the first publication of this notice of sale.
In addition to the sale authorized by SJBMC 5-6-240 the City may sue in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any assessment made under the chapter and the penalties and costs thereon; provided, that the satisfaction of any judgment thereby obtained shall cancel any lien for the assessment.
The Tax Collector shall, within fifteen (15) days after the date of the delinquency referred to in SJBMC 5-6-225, begin the publication of a notice of sale of the property upon which the assessments have not been paid, which publication must be made by two (2) insertions in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The description of the various parcels of land need not be set out at length, but they may be designated in such notice by the respective numbers of the same as they appear upon the assessment which shall be properly referred to therein. Opposite the description or the designation of each parcel of land shall be set out in such notice, the name of the owner as stated in the assessment, the amount assessed against the same, the penalty for delinquency and its portion of the costs of the sale.
At the time and place fixed therefor, the Tax Collector shall proceed with the sale of land upon which assessments have been made under this Chapter, commencing at the head of the list of lands contained in the notice provided for in the preceding section and continuing in the numerical order thereof until all the property is sold; provided, that he may postpone or continue the sale from day to day until the same is completed. The Tax Collector shall sell separately such parcel of land in such notice, or so much thereof as shall be necessary to realize the amount assessed against the same, together with the penalties and costs, and fifty cents ($0.50) for a certificate of sale. In case there is no bid sufficient to realize such assessment, penalty and costs the same shall be struck off to the City as a purchaser.
The Tax Collector shall issue for each sale under this Chapter an original and duplicate certificate of sale, referring to the proceedings, describing the parcel sold, and giving the name of the purchaser and the amount for which the parcel was sold. The original certificate he shall deliver to the purchaser, and the duplicate he shall keep on file in his office in the form of a stub in the certificate book.
At any time before the expiration of one (1) year from the date of the sale, any property sold under the provisions of this Chapter may be redeemed by the payment to the Tax Collector of the amount for which the property was sold, together with an additional penalty at the rate of one percent (1%) of the amount per month until paid. Such redemption money shall be paid by the Tax Collector to the person holding the original certificate of sale upon his delivering up the same and receipting for the amount received from the Tax Collector shall enter the fact and date of such redemption upon the duplicate certificate of sale thereof.
If property is sold under this Chapter and is not redeemed within a period of twelve (12) months in the original certificate, or to his assignee, a deed of the property described in the certificate, which deed shall refer in general terms to the proceedings under which the same is issued, and shall contain a description of the property. The deed shall convey title in fee to the property, and the grantee, immediately upon receipt thereof, shall be entitled to possession of the property described therein. If the City has purchased the property, the City may become the grantee under the deed.
No assessment or act relating to the assessment or collection of any sum of money for the cleaning of any premises or for any work done by the City Manager under the provisions of this Chapter shall be illegal or void on account of an informality in connection with the levying of the assessment or the doing of the work or because the same was not completed within the time required by law.
Any money erroneously paid or illegally collected under the provisions of this Chapter may be refunded by the City Treasurer upon an order of the City Council, after a proper showing of such erroneous payment or illegal collection. Any claim for any such refund must be verified and must be filed with the City Clerk within ninety (90) days after the payment was made.
Funds collected by the Tax Collector under proceedings provided for in this Chapter, either upon voluntary payment or as the result of sales, shall be paid by the Tax Collector, within a reasonable time, to the City Treasurer, who shall deposit the same in the general fund of the City.