NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1963 SESSION

CHAPTER 744

HOUSE BILL 1139

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE COUNTY OF DURHAM AND THE CITY OF DURHAM TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF TAX LISTING AND TAX COLLECTION FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNTY AND CITY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. For the purpose of effecting economy and efficiency by eliminating a duplicity of effort and expense and for the purpose of promoting greater convenience to citizens and taxpayers of the City of Durham and the County of Durham, full power and authority is hereby granted to the County of Durham and to the City of Durham and to their respective governing bodies to enter into contracts and to take such other necessary and proper action pursuant to this Act for the consolidation of any or all of the respective functions of the County of Durham and the City of Durham in listing, supervising and collecting taxes and assessments levied by Durham County and by the City of Durham, respectively, and to provide for the appointment, compensation, and supervision of such officials and such clerks and assistants as may be deemed necessary to perform any or all of the functions and duties of listing, supervising and collecting of the taxes and assessments of the said County and City, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 2. The County of Durham and the City of Durham are hereby authorized and empowered to enter into a contract or contracts each with the other for the purpose of providing for and effecting any one or all of the following: (a) for the listing, supervision or collection of any or all taxes and assessments levied by Durham County and by the City of Durham, to be performed by Durham County under such financial arrangement as may be agreed upon between the respective governing bodies of Durham County and the City of Durham; (b) for the listing, supervision or collection of any or all taxes and assessments levied by Durham County and by the City of Durham, to be performed by a consolidated agency or agencies which may be established by contract and governed and controlled by the governing boards of Durham County and the City of Durham in accordance with the terms and conditions of any such contract as may be agreed upon pursuant to this Act.

Sec. 3. In the event any such contract shall provide for the listing, supervision or collection of taxes levied by the City of Durham to be listed, supervised or collected by any department or official of the County of Durham, or by any consolidated department or agency of, or official or officials acting for, both the said City and County, such officials shall be known as the County-City tax supervisor, the County-City tax listers, and the County-City tax collector, as the case may be; and all powers, duties and functions vested in or imposed upon any official of said City or of the said County with respect to the listing, supervision or collection of taxes, by any applicable law, shall become vested in and imposed upon any such County-City official or officials provided for by any contract made pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 4. The power and authority conferred by this Act shall be exercised only by written contract by and between the County of Durham and the City of Durham, authorized and approved by a resolution duly adopted by a majority vote of all the members of the governing body of the County of Durham and by a resolution duly adopted by a majority vote of all of the members of the governing body of the City of Durham. The contract, which must be embodied in the resolution adopted by each of the said governing bodies, respectively, may be enlarged, diminished, or altered from time to time, but only by an agreement in writing duly authorized by resolution adopted by a majority vote of the members of the respective governing bodies. All such contracts shall be acknowledged and probated in accordance with the laws of this State providing for the acknowledgement and probate of deeds of conveyance and shall be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of Durham County.

Sec. 5. The contract shall prescribe the plan of consolidation agreed upon and, among other things, shall provide for (a) the time when it shall become effective, (b) the respective financial obligations of Durham County and the City of Durham with respect thereto, (c) records showing separately the amount of county taxes assessed and collected and the amount of city taxes assessed and collected, (d) separate surety bonds to be given by the County-City tax collector and such of his assistants, deputies, and clerks as may be deemed necessary to insure the faithful performance of his or their duties and for the faithful accounting to Durham County and the City of Durham, respectively, of taxes collected, and (e) such other arrangements, procedure and details as may be deemed necessary, requisite or proper for the expeditious discharge of all duties, obligations, powers and rights now or hereafter imposed upon or granted to either the Tax Collector of Durham County or the Tax Collector of the City of Durham.

Sec. 6. In the event that the County of Durham and the City of Durham enter into a contract in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Act establishing the County-City tax collector, and providing for the consolidation of the tax collecting functions of the City of Durham and the County of Durham, the County-City tax collector shall have all the powers and authority, all the duties and obligations, and be subject to all the pains and penalties which are now conferred, owed or imposed, or which may hereafter be conferred, owed or imposed, upon the Tax Collector of Durham County with respect to county taxes and upon the Tax Collector of the City of Durham with respect to city taxes, and upon sheriffs, or other tax collectors respecting the collection and remittance of either county or city taxes to the proper authorities. This Act shall in no way diminish the taxing powers of Durham County or the City of Durham, nor diminish the rights and remedies now existing or hereafter provided for the collection of past due, current or future taxes. Any act or thing which the Tax Collector of Durham County might lawfully do with respect to county taxes and any act or thing which the Tax Collector of the City of Durham might lawfully do with respect to city taxes may be done by the County-City tax collector with respect to either or both taxes. Express authority is hereby granted to the County-City tax collector to combine, where practicable, all steps in the procedure of collecting county taxes and city taxes, including specifically the sending of combined county and city tax bills or notices, advertising tax liens and property for sale for delinquent taxes, selling property for delinquent taxes, jointly garnisheeing or otherwise subjecting property by legal process for the payment of county and city taxes; provided, however, that all such combined actions shall clearly show separately the amount of taxes due to or collected for Durham County and for the City of Durham; and provided, further, where partial payments are made by any taxpayer insufficient to pay in full both city and county taxes for any particular year, said payments shall be divided between the City of Durham and Durham County in proportion that the tax rates bear to each other.

Sec. 7. Any contract providing for the consolidation of the tax listing, tax supervision or tax collecting functions of the City of Durham and the County of Durham, authorized and executed pursuant to the powers conferred by this Act, may be terminated at any time by either the City of Durham or the County of Durham upon written notice of the intention to terminate the contract given to the other party to the contract at least ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the fiscal year in which the resolution directing such termination is adopted, such termination to be effective at the end of said fiscal year; provided, that such notice to terminate any such contract shall have been authorized by resolution duly adopted by a majority vote of the governing body of either the said County or said City, as the case may be; provided, further, that on and after any such termination date, the said County and the said City shall each handle the listing, supervision and collection of its taxes separately.

Sec. 8. When any contract entered into under the provisions of this Act shall provide for the consolidation of the performance of any of the functions authorized by this Act, by a consolidated agency, the County of Durham and the City of Durham are each hereby fully authorized and empowered to make appropriations out of general funds for the purpose of defraying the necessary costs and expenses of operating such agency, the relative proportion of such costs and expenses to be agreed upon as a part of the contract. When any contract shall provide for the performance of any of the functions to be done by the County of Durham for the City of Durham, then such amounts as may be agreed upon as compensation and costs for the performance of such function by Durham County shall be paid by the City of Durham, and appropriations from general funds for such purpose are hereby fully authorized and directed.

Sec. 9. Any contract entered into in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be in the name of the county and the municipality involved and shall be binding upon the subsequent governing bodies of the respective parties to the contract, and shall continue in effect and operation until such contract shall expire in accordance with express provisions of the contract or until terminated by a majority vote of the respective governing bodies of both parties to the contract or by written notice by either of said governing bodies to the other as herein provided for. Any subsequent agreement or notice terminating any contract shall be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of Durham County and a notice of such termination shall be published once in a newspaper published in Durham County.

Sec. 10. In the event a consolidated agency is established under the provisions of this Act, the respective governing bodies of Durham County and the City of Durham shall have full power and authority and are hereby directed to adopt, amend or revise such rules and regulations as may be necessary and desirable for the operation of such consolidated agency, and all acts performed by such consolidated agency in accordance with such rules and regulations and with the provisions of the contract establishing such agency shall be binding and valid as if performed by the county or municipality, as the case may be.

Sec. 11. Any contract entered into under the provisions of this Act may contain such provisions requiring bonds, audits, reports, statements, accountings, oaths, and any other requirements incident to the functions to be performed under the contract, as the County or the City is otherwise authorized, empowered or directed by law to require.

Sec. 12. Where the words "tax collector" are used in this Act they shall include "Collector of Revenue".

Sec. 13. If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this Act shall for any reason be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this Act, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

Sec. 14. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 15. The provisions of this Act shall be applicable only to the City of Durham and to the County of Durham.

Sec. 16. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 6th day of June, 1963.