ARTICLE VIII. - TAX ASSESSOR AND COLLECTOR

801. - Tax assessor.#

There may be within the department of finance the office of the tax assessor, who shall be appointed by the town council upon the recommendation of the town manager. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.

802. - Qualifications.#

The tax assessor shall be a person who holds a degree from an accredited college or university, having taken courses in business management or equivalent, shall hold a Rhode Island license as a real estate broker, and shall have had no less than three (3) years' experience as a real estate broker.

803. - Powers and duties.#

The tax assessor shall: (1)

Supervise and be responsible for the fixing of an assessed valuation for purposes of taxation upon all real estate and all taxable personal property;

(2)

Apply to or apportion upon the assessed valuation of real estate and personal property the amount of tax ordered to be levied or imposed thereon;

(3)

Make and prepare all regular and special assessment rolls and a tax roll for the town in the manner provided by law;

(4)

Establish a uniform and equitable system for assessing all classes and kinds of property;

(5)

Prepare tax maps and land value maps;

(6)

Give such notices of assessments and taxes, and to perform [and perform] such other duties as may be required by law and ordinance;

(7)

Subject to the approval of the director of finance, employ from time to time, within the limits of available appropriations, such clerical assistants and such technical consultants as may be necessary;

(8)

Cooperate with the board of canvassers and registration in the preparation of the lists of electors;

(9)

Serve as an ex officio member of the board of assessment review.

804. - Tax collector.#

There may be within the department of finance the office of tax collector, who shall be appointed by the town council upon the recommendation of the town manager. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.

805. - Qualifications.#

The tax collector shall be [a] person who has graduated from a recognized college or university with courses emphasizing business management, accounting, business, or public administration and at least three (3) [years'] experience in a supervisory capacity.

806. - Powers and duties.#

The tax collector shall: [The tax collector:] (1)

Collector[Shall collect] and receive all taxes and special assessments for the collection of which the town is responsible, and shall have all the rights, powers, and duties prescribed by the laws of the state and by ordinance.

(2)

Conduct[Shall conduct] a tax sale of all properties upon which property taxes, sewer assessments, [or] sewer use and/or other town liens that remain [other town liens remain] unpaid for a period of 18 months from the date the property taxes first became due.

(3)

Within fifteen (15) days of the time of being sworn into office, [shall] give bond to the town in such sum and with such sureties as the council shall prescribe for the faithful performance of the duties of such office. The cost of such bond shall be paid by the town.

(4)

With the approval of the finance director, may abate interest on delinquent tax payments.

Editor's note— Subsection (2) of this section was amended by Question 13 approved at the November 5, 1996, General Election.

807. - Board of assessment review.#

(A)

There shall be a board of assessment review consisting of three (3) members appointed by the town council, each to serve a three-year term, no more than two (2) of whom shall be members of the same political party at any one time, and all of whom shall be electors and residents of the town. The terms of the members of said board shall be arranged in such manner that the term of one (1) member shall expire each year. All members of said board in office at the time of the taking effect of this Charter shall continue to serve until the expiration of their respective terms, and all members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified, or until they shall cease to have the qualifications for office set forth in this section. All vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the manner prescribed for appointments to the board in this section.

(B)

The town council shall provide, by ordinance, for the organization and procedure for the board of assessment review and for the manner of receiving, considering, and disposing of appeals, provided that the procedure before the board shall be informal and of a nature calculated to effect justice in as simple a manner as possible, and provided that the requirements stated in [subsection] (C) [of this section] following are observed.

(C)

The board of assessment review shall hear and consider the appeals of any property owner concerning the amount of his assessed valuation as determined by the tax assessor. The assessor shall attend all hearings of the board in order to explain his valuation, but shall have no vote. The board shall keep an accurate record of its proceedings which shall be available for public inspection. The board shall meet on the first business day after the expiration of twenty (20) days subsequent to the date on which taxes become due and payable, and at such times thereafter as may be necessary to hear appeals. No appeal shall be considered unless it is made in writing and is received by the board no later than three (3) months from the date the tax becomes due and payable. No appeal shall be considered by the board unless the tax due and payable has been paid under protest, except that the Town Council or the Board of Assessment and Review may waive such requirement in instances where the assessment of the Town is deemed to be in error. If it shall appear that the valuation of any property has been incorrectly or inequitably assessed, the board shall have power to change the assessment and shall determine the correct valuation of such property. It shall be the duty of the director of finance to make payment of any refund that may be due to the property owner.

(D)

The taking of an appeal to the board of assessment review or any action thereon shall not be construed to limit or restrict the right of any taxpayer to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for relief from any assessed valuation or tax originally determined by the tax assessor or subsequently by the board of assessment review.

Editor's note— The unnumbered introductory paragraph of this section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election. In addition, subsection (C) was amended by Question 4 approved at the June 19, 2001, Special Election.