A. The director shall prepare a report of delinquent utility service charges, and shall mail to the owner of each parcel of real property identified in the report, at the owner's address, a written notice of the city's intention to make the delinquent charges a special assessment against the parcels of real property to which the utility services were rendered. The notice shall inform the owner of the owner's right to file a written objection or protest with the director. Any objection or protest must be received by the director within fifteen (15) days after the date of the director's notice.
B. Upon receipt of a timely written objection or protest, the director shall review the objection or protest and mail a written response to the owner at the owner's address. The director's response also shall inform the owner of the owner's right to object or protest before a hearing officer, and shall notify the owner of the date, time, and location of the hearing, which shall be not less than fifteen (15) days after the date of the director's response. An owner must request a hearing within ten (10) days after the date of the director's response.
C. Only those owners who filed a timely objection or protest in accordance with subsection A of this section, and made a timely request for a hearing in accordance with subsection B of this section, shall be permitted to have their objection or protest heard by the hearing officer. Before the date of the hearing, the director shall transmit to the hearing officer the objections or protests from owners who filed a timely objection or protest and made a timely request for a hearing, a list of the applicable delinquent utility service charges, and all other relevant information.
D. At the hearing, the hearing officer shall consider the delinquent utility service charges together with any objections, protests, and other relevant information received before or at the hearing. The hearing officer is authorized to make revisions to the delinquent utility service charges for any owner appearing at the hearing if the hearing officer finds that revisions are necessary to correct an error or otherwise invalid charge. As soon as practicable after the hearing, the hearing officer shall provide the owners appearing at the hearing with written notice of his or her decision, including any revisions made by the hearing officer to the delinquent utility service charges. The hearing officer also shall transmit any revisions to the director, who shall submit the report of delinquent utility service charges (as revised) to the city clerk to be transmitted to the city council. The director shall mail to the owners who appeared before the hearing officer written notice of the date, time, and location of the public hearing described in subsection E of this section.
E. Upon receipt of the report from the hearing officer, the director shall schedule a public hearing before the city council. The city clerk shall cause notice of the hearing to be published pursuant to California Government Code Section 6066. At the hearing, the city council shall consider any objections or protests de novo, provided that only those owners who filed a timely objection or protest and a timely request for a hearing in accordance with the provisions of subsections A and B of this section, and appeared before the hearing officer, shall be permitted to have their objection or protest considered by the city council. At the conclusion of the hearing, the city council may adopt a resolution adopting the report, with or without modifications. If the city council finds that the objections or protests considered by the city council have been made by the owners of a majority of the separate parcels of property described in the report, the report shall not be adopted.
F. After adoption of the report by the city council, the delinquent utility service charges contained therein constitute a special assessment and lien, effective in accordance with applicable law, against each parcel of real property to which the utility services were rendered. Thereafter the assessment shall be collected at the same time, by the same persons, and in the same manner, together with and not separately, as ordinary secured property taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and same procedures of sale as provided for delinquent ordinary secured property taxes. The assessment shall be subordinate to all existing special assessment liens previously imposed upon the property, and paramount to all other liens except those for state, county, and municipal taxes, with which it shall be on parity. The lien shall continue until the assessment and all interest and penalties due and payable thereon are paid or the lien is released or is prevented from attaching by operation of law. All laws applicable to the levy, collection, and enforcement of secured property taxes shall be applicable to the special assessment and lien, except as may be provided otherwise by state law.
G. On or before August 10th, a copy of the resolution and report, endorsed by the city clerk as a true copy of the resolution and report adopted by the city council, shall be filed with the Sacramento County auditor. The descriptions of the parcels of real property subject to the special assessments and liens shall be those used for the same parcels by the Sacramento County assessor for the current year. (Ord. 2015-0011 § 15; Ord. 2011-051 § 2)