The City Manager shall have authority to compel the making of sewer, water, gas and other connections whenever in view of contemplated street improvements or as a sanitary regulation, sewer, water, gas and other connections should, in his or her judgment, be constructed. He or she shall cause written notice of his or her determination thereof to be given to the owner of each lot or parcel of land to which such connections are to be made, or to the person in whose name the same may be assessed for taxation upon the tax duplicate, which notice shall state the number and character of connections required. Such notice shall be served by a person, designated by the City Manager, in the manner provided for the service of a summons in civil actions or by certified mail addressed to such owner or person at his or her last known address or to the address to which tax bills are sent, or by a combination of the foregoing methods. If it appears by the return of service or the return of the certified mail notice that one or more of the owners cannot be found, such owners shall be served by one publication of such notice on electronic media as deemed appropriate by Council and in a newspaper of circulation in the Municipality. The return of the person serving the notice or a certified copy thereof or a return receipt for notice forwarded by certified mail accepted by the addressee or anyone purporting to act for him or her shall be prima-facie evidence of the service of notice under this section. The notice shall state the time within which such collections shall be constructed and that if they are not constructed within such time, the work may be done by the Municipality, and the cost thereof, together with a penalty of five percent and interest, may be assessed against the lots and lands for which such connections are made. Said assessments shall be certified and collected as other assessments for street improvements.
(Amended Nov. 4, 2008; Nov. 5, 2013)