Sec. 78-3Penalties

(a) All penalties imposed by this article are part of the tax or assessment and are to be collected as such. The proceedings to collect the original tax, the tax constituted from penalties imposed, and the interest shall all be conducted in the same manner. Any provision of law for criminal prosecution shall not operate to relieve any taxpayer of any tax, penalty, or interest imposed by this article.

(b) In any instance in which any taxpayer fails to pay a tax or assessment within 120 days of the due date, the taxpayer shall pay a penalty of five percent of the amount of the tax due, together with interest as specified herein. Where the taxpayer continues to fail to pay a tax or assessment beyond the initial 120 days, this penalty shall increase by five percent every 120 days, however the maximum penalty that may ever be imposed is 20 percent of the principle amount due.

(c) The mayor and council may waive, in whole or in part, the collection of any amount due as a penalty under this ordinance to the extent said body finds and determines the default giving rise to the penalty was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect or disregard of this article.

History: (Ord. No. 16-06, § 2, 8-4-2016)