Ceres Municipal Code Ch. 05 Local Claims

This chapter is enacted pursuant to Government Code section 935.

(Ord. No. 2019-1053, § 1, 11-12-2019)

To the extent that the law of the State of California, including but not limited to that portion of the "Government Claims Act" (also known as the "Tort Claims Act" and referred to in this section as "the Act," Government Code § 900 et seq.) dealing with claims, sets forth a procedure applicable to claims against local public entities (including the City) and the officers and employees of such local public entities, such State laws shall govern the requirement for, and the procedure for disposing of, ordinances of the City.

A. All claims against the City for money or damages, including those claims exempted by Government Code section 905 from the claims presentation requirements, and which are not governed by any other statutes or regulations expressly relating thereto, shall be presented in the manner prescribed by Government Code sections 910 through 915.4, inclusive, within the time limitations specified in Government Code section 911.2. All such claims shall be subject to the provisions of Government Code section 945.4 which bars the filing of a lawsuit where a claim has not been properly presented and filed.

B. To the extent that a person is not obligated to file a claim by the terms of the Act or other State law, no person shall bring any action, whether in law or equity, for the payment of any money by the City, its officers or employees, for any reason or upon any cause of action whatsoever without first having presented a claim pursuant to this section. It is the intent of this section that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, all actions against the City for money, whether for damages or otherwise, shall be preceded by an administrative claim.

C. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the required content of the claims required by this section, the time period in which to present such a claim and the procedure for payment of claims, rejection of claims, and notice of insufficiency of claims shall be governed by the Act.

D. Claims for refunds of taxes, penalties or costs (referred to jointly as "taxes" for purposes of this subsection) shall be made as provided in subsections B and C of this section, except that:

1. Claims for refunds of taxes may be made in the following circumstances:

a. Where the taxes were paid more than once, or erroneously or illegally collected.

b. Where the taxes were paid upon an assessment in excess of the actual cash value of the assessed property, by reason of the assessor's clerical error or excessive or improper assessments attributable to erroneous property information supplied by the assessor.

c. Where the taxes are paid on an assessment of improvements when the improvements did not exist on the lien date.

2. Claims for refunds of taxes must be filed with the City Clerk not later than one year after making the payment sought to be refunded. All claims shall be verified by the claimant under penalty of perjury.

Claims for refunds of taxes may be made only by a person who has paid the tax alleged to be improper.

(Ord. No. 2019-1053, § 1, 11-12-2019)

All claims shall be made in writing and verified by the claimant or by his or her guardian, conservator, executor, or administrator. No claim may be filed on behalf of a class of persons unless verified by every member of that class as required by this section. In addition, all claims shall contain the information required by Government Code section 910.

(Ord. No. 2019-1053, § 1, 11-12-2019)

to suit.

In accordance with Government Code sections 935(b) and 945.6, all claims shall be presented as provided in this Section and acted upon by the City Council prior to the filing of any action on such claims and no such action may be maintained by a person who has not complied with the requirements of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2019-1053, § 1, 11-12-2019)

Any action brought against the City upon any claim or demand shall conform to the requirements of Government Code sections 940-949. Any action brought against any employee of the City shall conform with the requirements of Government Code sections 950-951.

The ordinance codified in this chapter shall take effect and be in full force 30 days from and after its adoption. Within 15 days of its adoption, a summary of the ordinance shall be published in the Ceres Courier or other newspaper of general circulation, circulated and distributed in the City of Ceres, State of California, which summary shall include the names of those Council Members voting for and against the ordinance. A certified copy of the full text of such adopted ordinance or amendment shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk.

(Ord. No. 2019-1053, § 1, 11-12-2019)