(A) Permission of Council required. No extension of a water or a sewer main of the water and sewerage system of the city shall be made by a person other than the city, except and unless the approval of City Council shall first have been obtained.
(B) Application. An application in writing shall be made to City Council, which application shall be accompanied by a plat showing in detail the location and extent of the extension, the size and type of pipe to be used and the placement of valves and fire hydrants.
(C) No extension outside city limits. No extension of a water or sewer main of the water and sewerage system of the city, shall be made to any premises located outside of the corporate limits of the city.
(D) Findings. The City Council hereby finds and determines that certain expenditures of city funds have heretofore been made and will be made in the future for the construction and installation of sewer extension mains to the sewer collection system and the construction and installation of water extension mains to the water distribution system established, operated and maintained by the city; that the extension of the sewer mains were constructed and completed and in the future will be constructed and completed at certain depths enabling further extensions of the sewer collection system of the city to territories within the corporate limits and to unincorporated territories contiguous and adjacent to the corporate limits of the city; that the extension of the water mains where constructed and completed and in the future will be constructed and completed with additional capacities enabling further extension of the water distribution system of the city to territories within the corporate limits and unincorporated territories contiguous and adjacent to the corporate limits of the city.
(E) Determination of policy. The City Council finds and determines and hereby declares that, as a matter of policy, the expenditures made for the extension of sewer mains at the depths and water mains with the capacity sufficient to enable future extensions to service territories within the corporate limits and unincorporated territories contiguous and adjacent to the corporate limits of the city should be allocated among and assessed against the territories and that the assessments shall be due and payable when connections with the sewer collection system and/or water distribution system of the city shall be made to extensions servicing the territories.
(F) Assessment procedure.
(1) The City Council shall review all past expenditures and all future expenditures or sewer main extensions or water main extensions to determine that portion of the expenditures incurred and reasonably allocable to providing the availability of sewer and water services to territories within the corporate limits and contiguous and adjacent to unincorporated territories outside of the corporate limits of the city, specifically identifying the territories benefitted and allocating specific amounts to be assessed against the territories.
(2) An estimate of proper allocation of expenditures to the benefitted territories shall be prepared over the signature of the engineer preparing the plans and specifications for the project involved or the city’s Director of Public Works, and over the signature of the Mayor who shall certify that, in his or her opinion, the allocation of expenditures is proper and includes all lawful expenses incurred in the project which directly benefitted the territories identified.
(3) Upon determination and allocation of specific amounts of expenditures for sewer main extensions and water main extensions and the identification of the territories benefitted thereby, the City Council, by resolution or ordinance, shall make a true and impartial assessment against the territory benefitted by the sewer main extension and/or water main extension and shall cause to be filed a notice of the assessment in the manner and form as provided in division (G) below.
(4) No connection with the sewer collection system or water distribution system of the city to extensions of sewer mains and/or water mains to the territories so benefitted shall be permitted until the assessment is paid in full.
(G) Notice of assessment.
(1) A notice of assessment shall be recorded in the County Recorder’s office, which notice shall be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT IN RE: (Legal Description of Territory) Public notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Sparta, pursuant to § 51.15, Extension of water and sewer system, of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sparta, Illinois, by proper ordinance duly adopted and passed, has hereby determined that expenditures incurred by the City of Sparta for the extension of sewer mains and/or water mains connected to the sewer collection system and/or the water distribution system of the City of Sparta for providing sewer service and water service to the above described territory have been assessed against said territory in the following amounts: For sewer main extension: ($ ). For water main extension: ($ ). Notice is further given that prior to connection with the sewer collection system and/or the water distribution system of the city to serve the above described territory, or any portion thereof, the amounts specified above, or a ratable portion thereof, shall be due and payable to the City of Sparta. By order of the City Council of the City of Sparta this day of , . CITY OF SPARTA BY: Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk |
(2) A copy of the notice of assessment shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the record owner of the unincorporated territory at the last known address of the owner or if the address cannot be reasonably ascertained to the address as it appears on the authentic tax books of the county.
(H) Objections to assessment. The record owner of any territory determined by the City Council to have been benefitted by sewer main and/or water main extensions shall file in writing any objections to the assessment against the territory with the City Clerk within 30 days of the mailing of the notice as assessment. The City Council shall conduct a hearing on the objection after due notice to the record owner and within 60 days of the filing of the objections. At the hearing, the record owner shall be afforded the opportunity to examine the basis of the Council’s determination of the assessment in question and to present testimony and other evidence in regard thereto. At the conclusion of the hearing, the City Council may affirm or modify the assessment as the City Council may determine. If no objection to the assessment is filed within 30 days of the mailing of the notice thereof, the assessment shall be binding on the record owner and all successors in title.
(1994 Code, § 51.10) (Ord. 105, passed 3-28-1960; Ord. 287, passed 9-11-1978; Ord. 377, passed 7-25-1988)