KENT COUNTY, MARYLAND
COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S

PUBLIC HEARING - 3/13/2001

A Public Hearing was held on Tuesday, March 13, 2001, at 10:30 a.m. in the County Commissioners' Hearing Room, County Government Center, Chestertown, Maryland on Code Home Rule Bill No. 1-2001 which is: an Act to repeal and re-enact with amendments Section 152.4 of Chapter 152, Taxation, of the Code of Public Local Laws of Kent County, making certain substantive and stylistic changes for clarification.

County Commissioners Ronald H. Fithian, Larry B. Beck and W. Michael Newnam were in attendance as well as Ernest Cookerly, County Attorney, Wayne Morris, Director, Department of Water and Wastewater Services, one citizen and members of the media.

Notice of the public hearing was read into the record by Commissioner Fithian.

Mr. Cookerly stated that purpose of this legislation was to clarify the current law as it relates to tax sale property. The law is proposed to read as follows:

On the 1^st day of October in each year, county taxes shall be deemed to be in arrears and interest shall be charged and collected on all taxes not then paid at the rate set by the County Commissioners of Kent County. On the 10^th day of December in each year, the County Treasurer shall mail or deliver to each delinquent taxpayer from the prior fiscal year an account of his assessment and the taxes and interest due thereon and a warning that unless payment is made in full prior to the 1^st day of January that the same may be collected by due process of law and between the 1^st day of January and the 31^st day January of each year the County Treasurer shall publish a list of those taxpayers still in arrears. Between the 1^st day of March and the Wednesday before the tax sale, the Kent County Treasurer shall cause to be published a notice of tax sale as provided in Paragraph 14-808 et seq. of the Tax Property Article of the Annotated Code, including a notice of tax sale of all property on which town taxes in Kent County have not been paid and which are in arrears as provided in the charter of the town. The published notice shall give the names of the persons assessed, with a brief description of the property, the district of its location and such other description as the County Treasurer in his discretion may deem necessary to render the same possible of identification together with the amount of taxes due in arrears thereon, including all taxes on personal property due by the owner of said real estate with interest, costs and expenses accrued and to accrue and thereafter the County Treasurer shall proceed to sell the property as provided in said Tax Property Article.

A citizen had a question concerning the meaning of the bill. Mr. Cookerly addressed the question by explaining that the bill effected the tax sale process.

The third reading of this proposed legislation will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2001, the next legislative day.

This hearing was taped for reference and adjourned at 10:35 a.m.