Any municipal corporation in this State (hereinafter referred to as “municipality”) may by ordinance elect to use the assessments and supplementary assessments for property in the municipality as established annually or quarterly by the board of assessment or board of assessment review in which such municipality is located, subject to statutory judicial appeals, as the assessment roll of such municipality for municipal taxation.

The election by the municipality to use the county assessments shall be made before February 1 of any year and shall continue in effect from year to year until revoked by ordinance adopted by the municipality. Notice of such election shall be given to the board of assessment or board of assessment review prior to March 1 in the year in which such election occurs and shall be published at least once a week for 2 weeks prior to March 1 of each year in at least 2 newspapers in the municipality, or to the extent no such newspaper exists, then in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which such municipality is located.

The municipality shall be entitled to receive a copy of the county assessments for the properties in the municipality from the board of assessment or board of assessment review upon payment of the costs of producing the copy.

At the time of certification provided in § 8314 of Title 9, the board of assessment or board of assessment review shall certify the total assessed valuation for properties in the municipality to each municipality which shall have theretofore furnished the notice provided for in § 1102 of this title.

(a) When any total reassessment of taxable properties within a municipal corporation of this State (hereinafter “municipality”) shall have become effective, a tax rate shall be computed so as to provide the same tax revenue as was levied during the prior fiscal year. That rate shall be known as the “rolled-back rate.” Any initial assessment made on new construction shall not be taken into account in determining such limitation.

(b) The ordinance establishing a property tax rate upon total reassessment shall state the percent, if any, by which the tax rate to be levied exceeds the rolled-back rate computed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, which shall be characterized as the percentage increase in property taxes adopted by the governing body. Within 15 days of the meeting at which the ordinance shall be considered by the governing body, the municipality shall advertise, in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality, said percentage increase in the tax rate.

The municipality shall use the county assessment, regardless of any election under § 1101 of this title, for all property within a municipality whose value has been assessed by the county pursuant to §§ 8328-8337 of Title 9 for its agricultural, horticultural or forestal use.