Chapter 3. Payments On Assessments At Bond of California Streets And Highways Code >> Division 7. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 3.

After the street superintendent files his list of unpaid assessments with the treasurer, the principal of each unpaid assessment shall thereafter become due and payable to the treasurer in equal annual payments on each October 15th succeeding the September 1st following the date of the bonds until fully paid. The number of annual payments shall correspond to the number of serial payments to be made on the principal of the bonds issued to represent the unpaid assessment.

The first interest payment on the unpaid assessment shall be payable to the treasurer on the April 15th next succeeding the March 1st or the October 15th next succeeding the September 1st, as the case may be, next following the date of the bonds. The following interest payments shall each be for six months interest and shall be payable to the treasurer on each fifteenth day of April and October, the last interest payment coming due the October 15th immediately preceding the last annual payment of the principal of the bonds issued to represent the unpaid assessment.

If a remittance to cover a payment of interest or interest and principal to be made to the treasurer prior to a certain date and hour or prior to a certain date before being delinquent is sent through the United States mail, properly addressed with postage prepaid, and the cancellation mark is placed on the evelope after it is deposited in the mail:
  (a) Where the cancellation mark shows both date and time, the remittance shall be deemed received on the date shown by the cancellation mark and by the time specified by law for that date.
  (b) Where the cancellation mark shows only the date, the remittance shall be deemed received within the time and date specified when the cancellation mark bears a date on or before which payment is required. The treasurer need not accept such a payment if it is received more than 10 days after the date and time set by law for the payment. This section shall not apply if the letter containing the payment was incorrectly addressed.

If any installment of the principal of the unpaid assessment or of interest thereon is not paid to the treasurer on or before the due date of June 1st or December 1st, as the case may be, next preceding the date upon which the coupons representing it are payable to the bondholder, the treasurer shall, after the close of business on the due date, add to the principal or interest so delinquent a penalty of 2 percent of the total amount of such delinquency, and at the beginning of the business on the first day of each succeeding month until such delinquent payment and all penalties thereon are fully paid, he shall add an additional penalty of 2 percent of the amount of such delinquency. The treasurer shall collect such penalties with and as a part of the delinquent payment. Except as hereinafter provided, the 2-percent penalty first imposed and all subsequent penalties shall be paid to the holder of the bond along with and as a part of such defaulted payment. The legislative body conducting the proceedings may elect, in the resolution of intention, to have the treasurer retain the first 2-percent penalty as a cost of servicing the delinquency. In such case, the following sentence shall be substituted for the last sentence of the default clause in the bond form, as set forth in Section 6460: "The 2-percent penalty first imposed shall be retained by the treasurer as a cost of servicing the delinquency and all subsequent penalties shall be paid to the holder of the bond along with and as a part of such defaulted payment."

At least 15 days before each respective 15th day of April and October, until the assessment is paid in full, the treasurer shall mail, postage prepaid, to each owner of property described in the assessment, at his last known address, as appears upon the tax rolls current at the time of mailing, a postal card notifying him of the amount due and the date when payment is due from him on the assessment and statng that the payment is subject to penalty if not paid on or prior to the due date. The failure of the treasurer to mail the card, or the failure of the property owner to receive it, shall not affect the validity of any penalty or invalidate any act or proceeding. The card shall contain the following in at least 14-point boldface type: If you do not pay this bill, at the request of the bondholder, your property will be sold by the treasurer. This bill is not related in any way to your property tax bill. It must be paid separately.

The treasurer may accept payments of installments of interest unaccompanied by payments of installments of principal which are due. The acceptance of such interest payments shall not effect the delinquent status of any installments of principal.

The treasurer shall, in addition to his other duties, keep a record of all bonds issued by him, of all payments on the bonds with the dates thereof and of all penalties accruing thereon.

The assessment shall be a lien upon the property affected thereby, with priority as fixed in Section 5373, until the bond issued to represent the assessment and which it is hereby declared does represent the assessement, and the accrued interest thereon and the penalties, if any, shall be fully paid according to the terms thereof, but which lien shall in no event continue beyond four years after the date of the last principal coupon attached thereto, and for the purposes of Section 330 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Section 2911 of the Civil Code said date shall be deemed the "due date" of the last principal coupon attached to said bonds.

The owner of or any person interested in any lot or parcel of land upon which a bond has been issued under the terms of this division may at any time before commencement of proceedings for sale pay off the bond and discharge the land described in the bond from the lien of the assessment. The discharge may be had by paying to the treasurer, for the holder of the bond, the following sums: (a) the unpaid principal sum thereof; (b) if the interest thereon has already been paid to the next succeeding January 2 or July 2, as the case may be, no interest will be payable; (c) if the interest to the next succeeding January 2 or July 2 has not been paid, then the interest to that January 2 or July 2, as the case may be, shall be payable; (d) all penalties accrued and unpaid; and (e) premium, if any, required by Section 6464. For the purpose of this section, a bond shall be deemed to be issued on the 31st day after the recordation of the warrant upon any unpaid assessment for which the legislative body has provided for the issuance of a bond to represent said unpaid assessment or the last date for payment of the assessment, as specified in the statement required by Section 5390, whichever may be later.

When all payments on a bond are made to the treasurer, he shall enter the same in his record of the bond and the lien of the assessment shall cease. The treasurer shall forthwith notify the holder of the bond and call in the bond. When the bond has been presented and paid the treasurer shall enter in his record thereof the amount paid and the date of payment to the holder and shall cancel the bond and file it in his office.

Whenever a school district acquires property subject to a bond or bonds issued under the terms of this division for unpaid assessments against said property, the district may include in its annual tax levy, in addition to moneys for all other purposes, an amount sufficient to pay the annual payments of principal and interest due on said bond or bonds. Said tax levy may be made notwithstanding that the said tax levy exceeds the maximum tax rate which may otherwise be imposed by law. No school district shall levy the tax authorized by this section for a period in excess of five years with respect to a particular parcel of property.