§ 4. Duty of City Tax Assessor.

The City Tax Assessor, between the first day of January and the fifteenth day of August, shall ascertain to the best of his ability all taxable property within the City and the respective values, and as far as practicable the owners thereof and shall list the same on an assessment roll. All persons, corporations, and firms owning real or personal property taxable by the City are hereby required to make return of the same to the Assessor before the first day of April in each year. The returns shall be made, if the City so require by ordinance, on blanks prepared and furnished on application by the City, and shall contain a complete list and description of all the taxable property belonging to such person, corporation or firm, on the first day of January, in the year for which the return is made, together with the full cash value of each item thereof, including the full cash value of each piece of real estate. The Assessor may consider the descriptions and valuations thus returned, but shall not be bound by them in making the assessment. In any case where a return shall not be made, the Assessor shall assess the property in the name of the owner or reputed owner, or as belonging to an unknown owner, and in no cash shall any assessment be declared invalid or not lawfully made, nor shall the enforced payment of the taxes levied thereon be resisted by reason of the property having been assessed otherwise than in the name of the owner. Real estate may be designated by lots and blocks, if so platted, or by section, township and range, or in parts or fractions of either, or by metes and bounds or courses and distances, but no assessment shall be held invalid for want of sufficient description if the description is such that the real estate can be located thereby. Contiguous lots or tracts belonging to the same owner may be assessed together in the discretion of the assessor. The assessment of personal property shall be separate from that of the real estate, and the words "personal property" shall in each case be a sufficient description of personal property for the purposes of taxation, and personal property assessed need not be otherwise specified or designated on the assessment roll. The apportionment of mileage and property of railroad companies and of telegraph companies to the City of Orlando shall be ascertained as provided in the general revenue laws of the state. Bank stock shall be assessed in the manner provided for the collection or assessment of the state taxes on bank stock.

(Laws of Fla. ch. 15394(1931), § 4; Laws of Fla. ch. 69-1391, § 1)