Drafter
Clerk 7/2/2007
Title
AN ORDINANCE requiring the mailing of a notice concerning real estate taxes to all taxpayers whose lender has requested and received the tax information for the taxpayer's property; and adding a new chapter to K.C.C. Title 4.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County is a regional government providing a broad array of basic services to approximately one million eight hundred thousand residents of King County.
2. King County is also the local government for nearly three hundred fifty thousand residents living in unincorporated King County outside city boundaries.
3. A large source of the revenue necessary to both the regional and local services is property tax.
4. The manager of the treasury operations section of the finance and business operations division mails to the taxpayer listed on the tax roll an annual real estate tax statement for each tax parcel, except no tax statement is sent to a taxpayer whose lender has requested and is sent the tax information for that parcel.
5. The King County council believes it is in the best interest of the county to provide the information contained in the tax statement to taxpayers who receive no real estate tax statement because their lender requests and is sent the tax information concerning their property.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Sections 2 through 6 of this ordinance should constitute a new chapter in K.C.C. Title 4.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 2. A. RCW 84.56.050 requires the county treasurer to notify each taxpayer of the amount of the real and personal property, the current and delinquent amount of tax due on the real and personal property and to print on the notice the name of each tax and the levy included in the statement.
B. It is the intent of the council that all taxpayers, as listed on the tax roll, with a designated mortgage lender, be sent an annual written notice concerning the real estate taxes, fees and charges owed on their property when the lender of a taxpayer has requested and been sent the tax information.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 3. A. The treasury operations section of the finance and business operations division shall provide the notice set forth in section 2 of this ordinance by the first Wednesday in April of each year.
B. If the treasury operations section of the finance and business operations division does not send out the notice by the first Wednesday in April the manager of the treasury operations section of the finance and business operations division shall file two copies of a written notice with the clerk of the council by the first Wednesday in April, for distribution to the chair of the council. The notification shall list the circumstances causing failure to meet the deadline and include a timeline for completing the mailing.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 4. The treasury operation section of the finance and business operations division shall determine the design and descriptive title for the notice concerning real estate taxes, which notice shall at a minimum contain amounts for the following information:
A. The amount of the current tax year billing information, as set forth on the tax statement;
B. The current billing distribution of the current year taxes to local taxing districts as set forth on the tax statement. The current billing distribution includes:
1. State;
2. Local school support;
3. County;
4. City;
5. Unincorporated road;
6. Port;
7. Fire;
8. Sewer and water;
9. Library;
10. Other;
11. Emergency medical services; and
12. Other charges; and
C. Delinquency information including tax year, and delinquent principal taxes, fees and charge, interest and penalties.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 5. The treasury operations section of the finance and business operations division shall clearly indicate on the notice concerning real estate taxes that the notice is not a bill and is for informational purposes only. The treasury operations section of the finance and business operations division should design the notice concerning real estate taxes in such a way as to have a different appearance than the real estate tax statement.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 6. The treasury operations section of the finance
and business operations division shall begin mailing the notice of real estate taxes
required under this ordinance in March 2008.
SECTION 7. This ordinance expires May 1, 2012.
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