(a) If the owner, operator or person in possession or control of the property herein fails to comply with the notice provided in Section 557.03, the Director of Zoning shall cause such noxious weeds and/or grasses to be cut and destroyed and may employ the necessary labor to perform abatement of the nuisance.
(1) The Director of Zoning will calculate the total cost of nuisance abatement by adding together the labor hours to abate said nuisance, fuel surcharges, hours of inspection, records research, and time spent on notifications.
(2) The Director of Zoning, after abating the nuisance under this chapter may recover the total cost of said abatement as follows:
A. If the owner, operator or person in possession of the property has one or more utility services provided and receives a monthly utility billing statement from the City, the total cost of monthly nuisance abatements will be added to the customer's utility bill and enforced by Chapter 937 Utility Billing, Payment and Disconnection Policy of the Codified Ordinances.
B. Bill the owner, operator or person in possession of the property for reimbursement of the costs of abatement. The bill shall be mailed to the owner's last known address, when the name and address of the owner are known.
C. Prepare a statement of the charges for the services, the amount paid for the performance of such labor and the cost of publication of the notice provided pursuant to Section 557.03, and a proper description of the lots and lands as to which noxious weeds have been cut and destroyed. The Director of Finance shall cause to be prepared and delivered to Council an ordinance levying against such lots and lands such charges, amounts and fees. When the Council has passed such ordinance a copy thereof, together with a list of such charges, amounts and fees to be so assessed shall be delivered by the Director of Finance to the County Auditor, and such charges, amounts, and fees shall be entered upon the tax list and duplicate and become a lien upon such lots and land from and after the date of the entry and be collected as other taxes and assessments and be returned to the City, according to law.
D. Nothing in this section shall prevent the City Solicitor from taking any other action necessary to collect the costs of abatement described by this section.
(Ord. 2022-49. Passed 9-6-22.)