Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-03-09
DELINQUENT TAXES
Auditing Committee Finds About
100000 on Personal List.
Joint Meeting OF Councils to Select COL
lector of Delinquent Personal Taxes
Tuesday Nlght-About $4,000 Dolin-
qucnt Taxes Each Year From 1890.

Next tuesday night Is the time for
holding the April meeting of the Sc
lect Council, and at the request OF the
Auditing Committee, Mr.. J. Frank East,
president of the Common Council, has
called IL special meeting of that branch
TO pass the delinquent personal tax col
lector ordinance, after which there will
be joint meeting of the Councils TO
choose the Collector OF Delinquent Per-
sonal Taxes There are two applica-
tons for appointment to this Office al
ready before the Councils-thosc of MIR.
w. j. Duff and All. j. ". w. Keeling.
Several other applicants will file their
petitions before the Council meeting
The Auditing Committee has been en-
gagged in preparing an ordinance deiin-
ing the duties and fixing the compen-
saton of the Collector of Delinquent
Personal Taxes
At q meeting yesterday the committee
decided that the collector Should re-
ceive twenty per cent. of the taxes he
collects. He will be required To- turn in
the amount OF his collections TO the
City Treasurer weekly ana the latter
officer will be required To make monthly
reports to the Councils of the taxes
collected under the new ordnance. The
bond of the Collector OF Delinquent Per-
Sonal Taxes will be fixed ut $1,000. Some
OF the Councilman thought Il larger
bond should be required but as The
collector Will never have in his hands
more than one weeks collections, the
majority of the committee thought q
1000 bond sufficient.
There was much discussion rs to the
compensation the collector should re-
ceive. In Lynchhurg, s;taunton and
perhaps Richm ond. this officer receives
-tNCnrV=fjNp nf H. oil
taxes he turns into the treasurer'S Of
flee. The committee aSccrtained by
looking over the delinquent list that
there were some bills as low as fifty
cents. while some were very high. In
order to insure an honest effort to col
lect the small bills as we'll as the large
ones, the committee considered the plan
OF making the compensation of the col
lector graduated commission, but this
did not seem feasible. and a straight
commission OF twenty per cent. was
agreed upon.
The delinquent personal taxes for the
past ten years-sincc lS90-wil be put
into the hands of the collector. The
Auditing Committee ascertaincd that
these taxes amount to about $4,000 n
year. In other words, there is about
100000 owing To the city as personal
taxes, and these taxes. for some rea-
son. have never been credited by the
Councils to the City Collector. In this
connection there was discussed an or
dinancc-scction 81 of general ordinan-
ces relating TO the city onccrs-in re-
gard to the settlement OF the City Col
lector's account This provides that
the collector Shall within twenty days
after the expiration of ten months from
the time the copy OF the Commissioner
of Revenues roll shall have been de-
livered to him. settle his account of the
taxes therein mentioned. With the
trea surer, under the supervision of
the Committee on Finance, and all other
taxes, assessments, dues, rents and
levies. which ought to have been coll
lected, and II the collector shall have
heen unable to collect any part of said
taxes, by reason of the insolvency OF
any of the persons owing the same or
other good cause, he shall. on oath, de-
liver this 10 al such insolvcnts de-
| iinquents, and ali other tax returns I'M
| collected 10 the treasurer to he laid
before the Councils. and If approved,
he shall be credited with the amount
| thereof, and so much as may be APP
| proved.
| II any taxes mentioned In the Com
missioner of Revenues roll book shall
not be collected and paid to the treas
urer by the collector for ten months,
ana twenty days after the same shall
have been delivered to him. he. and
the surelics on his bond. shall be am
| awcrablc for the same, except such as
.et-ted ed 10 ii44iiAt4 before Iaaia-
tened, and his bond shall be put in suit
by the Treasurer ana City Attorney.
And the collector and his sureties on his
bond shall he likewise responsible for all
other taxes or levics not collected and
paid over by him. which he is, or may
be. required by law TO collect.
One of the committeeman remarked
that this ordinance had not been strict
Is complied with. in his opinion.
The Auditing Committee has had un-
der considcra ton the petition of the
City Collector to be credited with the
delinquent taxes to date for n couple of
weeks, and will report on the same to
the Councils.
The Collector of Delinquent Taxes to
bn- elected by Councils TueSllay
night will hold Office until July. when
the new Councils will eject his success
or. TO hold Office for two years.