(a) If the owner, occupant or person otherwise in control of a Residential Unit shall either fail to pay the rates due for solid waste collection as established in Section 951.08 for two (2) successive billing periods, or shall fail to provide evidence of vacancy in accordance with said Section, it shall be presumed that a Public Health Nuisance as defined in Section 951.01(f)(2) is being maintained at said Residential Unit.
(b) The Cost of Abatement, as defined in Section 951.01(h), shall be calculated by a person or persons designated by the City Finance Director and shall be forwarded to the Clerk of Council as to each Residential Unit where a Public Health Nuisance is being maintained in violation of this Section. The Clerk shall publish notice once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Ashtabula, which notice shall be substantially as follows:
PUBLIC NOTICE
ASSESSMENT OF COSTS FOR ABATEMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH NUISANCE IN THE CITY OF ASHTABULA, OHIO
The owners, occupants or persons in control of the properties listed below are hereby NOTIFIED that the City of Ashtabula has abated a public health nuisance as to such properties by removing waste, rubbish, offal and/or filth in order to prevent the spread of vermin or infectious diseases. The cost of abatement as to each property is listed below. Unless the cost of abatement is paid within five (5) business days of the last date of publication of this Notice, the cost of abatement shall be certified to the County Finance Director of Ashtabula County, Ohio, for collection as and with real property taxes. Payment must be tendered to the Service Billing Department, City of Ashtabula, 4717 Main Avenue, Ashtabula, Ohio, within said time period in order to avoid the assessment. [Here shall follow in tabular form a list of each property by address with the cost of abatement set forth beside it]
(c) Within thirty (30) days of the last date of publication set forth above, the Finance Director or designee shall provide the Clerk with a final list of properties to be assessed and the amount of the assessment, removing from the above list those properties whose owners, etc., have paid the cost of abatement in full. In accordance with Section 751.26 l(b)(l) of the Ohio Revised Code, the Clerk of Council shall certify the cost of abatement as to each remaining property, together with a proper description of the lands (including the address and permanent parcel number), to the Ashtabula County Auditor who shall place the costs upon the tax list and duplicate. The costs are a lien upon such lands from and after the date the costs were incurred. The costs shall be collected as other taxes and returned to City of Ashtabula, as directed by the Clerk of Council in the certification of the total costs delivered to the Ashtabula County Auditor or Ashtabula County Treasurer. Certification of the total costs shall in all events be completed within one year from the date the costs were incurred. (Ord. 2019-123. Passed 11-4-19.)