(A) In the event the owner of the premises fails to correct the unclean or unsanitary condition of the premises as specified in the notice within the time required by this chapter, the town may proceed to correct the condition and shall keep an account of all costs incurred in correction of the unclean or unsanitary condition. The Clerk-Treasurer shall make a certified statement of all costs incurred by the town involved in correcting the unclean or unsanitary condition, and shall cause the certified statement to be issued immediately to the owner of the premises in the same manner as provided for issuance of the notice of noncompliance by this chapter. The owner shall pay the amount of all costs incurred by the town, as noted on the certified statement, to the Clerk-Treasurer within 30 days from the date the certified statement is served upon the owner.
(B) All costs by the town for the removal and disposal of the garbage, rubbish, or solid waste, as provided in this chapter, shall be and the same is hereby declared a lien in favor of the town upon and against the premises from which the garbage, rubbish, or solid waste is removed. All costs, together with any penalty applicable thereto, as provided by this chapter, shall be collected in any manner provided herein. The lien herein created is superior to, and takes precedence over, all other liens except for the lien for taxes. In the event the full amount due the town is not paid to the Clerk-Treasurer by the owner of the premises within 30 days after receipt of the certified statement of expenses for the removal and disposal of the garbage, rubbish, or solid waste as provided herein, the costs shall thereupon become and are hereby declared to be delinquent. A penalty of 25% of the cost shall thereupon attach to the cost and be included in the lien, as herein provided, and shall be collectable in addition to the cost of the removal and disposal. In the event a delinquency occurs for nonpayment of the costs of the removal and disposal, the Clerk-Treasurer shall record in the office of the County Recorder a notice of lien, setting forth the name or names of the owner of the premises upon which the costs have become delinquent, the description of the premises as shown by the records of the County Auditor, and the amount of the delinquent costs and the penalty thereon. The lien shall attach to the premises described in the notice of lien from the time of the recording of the notice of lien.
(C) If the costs incurred by the town for the removal and disposal of the garbage, rubbish, or solid waste are not paid to the town as herein provided and become delinquent, the amount due the town for the removal and disposal, the penalty thereon, and all costs of collection thereof, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, may be recovered by the town in a civil action brought in the name of the town against the owner of the premises responsible for the payment thereof.
(1) If the costs incurred by the town for the removal and disposal of the garbage, rubbish, or solid waste are not paid to the town as herein provided and become delinquent, the town, as an additional or alternative remedy, may foreclose the lien created by this chapter as a means of collecting the amount due the town, including the penalty thereon. In the event an action is brought to foreclose the lien as herein created, the town is entitled to recover the amount due the town for the removal and disposal, any penalty thereon and all costs of the foreclosure of the lien, including a reasonable attorney’s fee. The court shall order that the sale of the premises be made without relief from valuation or appraisement laws.
(2) In the event the costs incurred by the town for the removal and disposal of the garbage, rubbish, or solid waste are not paid to the town as herein provided and become delinquent, the town, as a further additional or alternative remedy, may authorize the Clerk-Treasurer to certify to the County Auditor a true copy of the notice of lien, the amount of delinquent costs and any penalty thereon which shall then be charged to the premises on the tax duplicate of the property affected by the removal, and shall be collected in a manner that taxes are collected by law.
(3) Upon collection of the costs and penalty thereon, the County Auditor or any other appropriate official shall pay to the Clerk-Treasurer the total amount of the costs so collected, together with one-half of the penalty thereon, and retain for the use and benefit of the county, the remaining one-half of the penalty as a fee for the collection.
(D) In addition to the enforcement remedies provided by this chapter, the town may enforce the provisions of this chapter by all other legal remedies, including, but not limited to, the use of a mandatory injunction to require abatement of all unclean or unsanitary conditions within the town by the owner of the effected premises. In all injunctive actions brought by the town to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the town is entitled to recover all costs of the litigation, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.
(2011 Code, § 50.06) (Ord. 1991-4, passed 5-20-1991)