§ 68-2823. Cost of comprehensive visual inspection program.

A.  For each fiscal year, the cost of the comprehensive program of visual inspections for real property and the cost of physical inspections of personal property shall be paid by appropriate warrants from those who receive the revenues of the mill rates levied on the property of the county as prescribed by this section.  School districts are hereby authorized to pay such costs from revenues accruing to their building funds.  The county assessor shall prepare a budget for the comprehensive program of visual inspections for real property and the cost of physical inspections of personal property and file such budget with the county excise board or county budget board.

B.  The county excise board or county budget board shall apportion such cost among the various recipients of revenues from the mill rates levied, including the county, all cities and towns, all school districts, all sinking funds of such recipients, and all jurisdictions specified in subsection D of this section, in the ratio which each recipient's total tax collection authorized from its mill rates levied for the preceding year bears to the total tax collection authorized of all recipients from all their mill rates levied for the preceding year.  The cost shall include only those expenses directly attributable to the visual inspection program and those expenses directly attributable to physical inspections of personal property and shall not include any expenses of the office of the county assessor which, in the judgment of the county excise board or county budget board, are expenses of county assessor's office which would exist in the absence of such program or in the absence of physical inspection of personal property.  Expenses that are attributable both to the visual inspection program and physical inspection of personal property, and which would exist in the absence of such program or inspection, including but not limited to salaries, employee benefits, office supplies and equipment, may be prorated; provided, no portion of the salary of the county assessor shall be included in such costs.

C.  Upon receipt of the billing statement provided for in subsections D and E of this section by each such recipient, the mill rates to be established by the board for each such recipient for the current year shall include and be based upon such amounts and shall constitute an appropriation of such amounts to the county assessor for expenditure for the expenses of administering the visual inspection program each year.  In the case of a sinking fund of a recipient, if, after approving its budget, the governing body of a recipient notifies the board in writing that there are no funds appropriated to pay the amount of the billing statement for such sinking fund, such notice shall constitute conclusive evidence of a financial obligation of the recipient as it relates to such sinking fund.  The board may seek a judgment for the amount of such obligation and court costs in the district court of the county in which the board is located.

D.  The county assessor shall render a statement to each of the jurisdictions within the county which receive revenue from an ad valorem mill rate.  Such statement shall include the following information:

1.  The current fiscal year in which the charge has been incorporated in the jurisdiction's budget;

2.  All jurisdictions receiving statements from the county assessor, the mill rate for each in the previous year, and the proportion of each to the combined mill rates of all jurisdictions within the county for the previous year.  The proportions specified in this paragraph should equal a total of one hundred percent (100%);

3.  The charge for the entity receiving the statement as well as the charge for each jurisdiction of the county based upon the proportions specified in paragraph 2 of this subsection.  The total of all current year charges for all county jurisdictions should equal the total visual inspection program budget for the current fiscal year;

4.  The amount of the total budget for the office of the county assessor and the percentage that visual inspection program expenses are of such total budget; and

5.  A copy of the County Budget Visual Inspection Account and a brief description of the areas to be visually inspected for the current fiscal year, consistent with the plan on file with the Oklahoma Tax Commission pursuant to Section 2820 of this title.

E.  In any county wherein any jurisdiction's budget and mill rates are not subject to review and approval by the county excise board, the county assessor shall nevertheless include any such jurisdiction in the calculations required under subsection A of this section.  The county assessor shall also render a billing statement to any such jurisdiction showing the charge for the current fiscal year due from the jurisdiction.  Such billing statement shall also show all the information specified in subsection D of this section.  Such billing statement shall clearly indicate that the charge payable by the jurisdiction is due and payable by December 31 of the current fiscal year.

Added by Laws 1988, c. 162, § 23, eff. July 1, 1992.  Amended by Laws 1991, c. 249, § 8, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1992, c. 208, § 2; Laws 1994, c. 326, § 3, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 2001, c. 358, § 19, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 476, § 4, emerg. eff. June 6, 2002.