Sec. 29.45.310. - Enforcement of personal property tax liens by distraint and sale.
(a) A lien for personal property taxes may be enforced by distraint and sale of the property. The municipality shall provide the procedure for distraint and sale by ordinance. A seizure, levy, or distraint is not legal unless demand is first made of the person assessed for the amount of the tax, penalty, and interest, and a sale is not valid unless made at public auction no sooner than 15 days after notice is published. The seizure is made by virtue of a warrant issued by the municipal clerk to a peace officer.
(b) If the personal property sold is not sufficient to satisfy the tax, penalty, and interest, and costs of sale, the warrant may authorize the seizure of other personal property sufficient to satisfy the tax, penalty, interest, and costs of sale. If the property is sold for more money than is needed to satisfy the tax, the municipality shall remit the excess to the former record owner upon presentation of a proper claim. A claim for the excess filed after six months of the date of sale is forever barred.