The Director of Finance is directed to collect taxes on personalty within 1 year from the date of the levy thereof, and at the expiration of the said period of 1 year, payment of all personal taxes then remaining unpaid shall be enforced by process of law. Taxes levied on real estate he is directed to collect as now provided by law. City Code, 1893, art. 50, §70 1927, art. 46, §79 1950, art. 37, §48 1966, art. 28, §47 1976/83, art. 28, §20 Res. 1880-063 Ord. 76-141

The Director of Finance of the City of Baltimore is hereby authorized and directed, from time to time as may in his judgment seem necessary or desirable for the convenience of the public, to appoint banks, trust companies, and other financial institutions to act as agents of the said Director in the collection of State and City taxes, water rents, fees, and other charges:provided that the financial institutions hereinabove mentioned are chartered by the United States of America or the State of Maryland and have authority under their charters to receive and hold money on deposit; and provided further that they have been previously designated and approved for the purpose by the Board of Finance. The Director is further authorized and directed to provide and establish such forms of receipts, blanks for daily reports, and other material as he may deem necessary in the execution of this section. Municipal bills receipted by any financial institution so appointed shall have the same force and effect as if the same has been receipted by the Director. No agreement made by the Director with any bank or trust company pursuant to the authority granted by this section shall be binding on the City until it shall have been approved by the Board of Estimates. City Code, 1950, art. 37, §34 1966, art. 28, §35 1976/83, art. 28, §4 Ord. 28-512 Ord. 35-034 Ord. 47-057 Ord. 65-503

Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, this section applies to every bill, invoice, or other statement issued by or for the City to collect a tax, fee, or other charge that, by operation of law, constitutes a lien on real property. This section does not apply to water and wastewater bills for:a residential property; or a property that is owned by a religious group or organization and is exempt from taxation under § 7-204(1) or (2) of the State Tax-Property Article. Each bill, invoice, or other statement to which this section applies shall contain the following warning, prominently and conspicuously displayed in bold face type: “<strong>Warning: These charges are a lien on the property identified. Failure to timely pay these charges can lead to sale of the lien at auction and possible foreclosure of the property identified. Foreclosure can result in the loss of ownership of the property.</strong>” Ord. 15-411 Ord. 20-336 Subsection (a) was amended by Ordinance 20-336 {“Water Accountability and Equity Act”} to add an exception for certain water and wastewater bills. That Ordinance was enacted on January 13, 2020, but with a delayed effective date of July 13, 2020. Subsequently, Ordinance 20-468 {“Water Accountability ... Act – Modifications”}extended the effective date for this exception to Jan, 13, 2021. See Editor’s Note in City Code <cite data-path="|24">Article 24 {“Water”}</cite>, at the end of that article’s Subtitle 2 {“Bills”} – especially the quote there from Ord. 20-468, Sections 3 and 5(e)(5).