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The City shall pay such part of the cost and expense of improvements for which special assessments are levied as the Council deems just, which part shall not be less than one-fiftieth of all such cost and expense; and in addition thereto, the City shall pay the cost of intersections. The Council may provide for the payment of the City's portion of all such improvements by the issuance of bonds or notes therefor, and may levy taxes, in addition to all other taxes authorized by law, to pay such bonds or notes and the interest thereon.
The Council may provide in whole or in part the cost of replacing any improvement existing in a street, by levying special assessments as herein provided for; but any assessment for the improvement to be replaced shall be limited to a sum not in excess of fifty percent of the cost of such replacement.
(Amended by electors 11-7-23)
Upon the completion of any improvement, the Director of Finance shall rebate to the then owners of the property which shall have been assessed to pay for such improvement, any unexpended surplus. In the event of a deficit in the fund provided for such improvement, the Director of Finance shall report to the Council a supplementary assessment within the limitations herein provided for, which supplementary assessment shall be made by ordinance of the Council and certified for collection as is provided in the case of original assessments.
The Director of Public Service shall have authority to compel the making of sewer and water connections whenever in view of contemplated street improvements or as a sanitary regulation, sewer or water connections should be in his or her judgment be constructed. The Director of Public Service 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, which notice shall state the number and character of connections required. Such notice shall be served by a person, designated by the Director of Public Service, in the manner provided for the service of summons in civil actions. Non-residents, or persons who cannot be found, may be served by one publication of such notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The notice shall state the time within which such connections shall be constructed; and if they be not constructed within the said time, the work may be done by the City and the cost thereof, together with a penalty of five percent and interest, 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 by electors 11-7-00)
The Council may declare that certain specified sidewalks, curbings, or gutters shall be constructed or repaired. Upon the passage of such resolution, the Director of Public Service shall cause written notice of the passage thereof to be served upon the resident owner, or agent of the owner, of each parcel of land abutting upon said sidewalk, in the manner provided by law for the service of summons in civil actions. For the purpose of such service, if the owner of any such property be not a resident, any person charged with the collection of rent, or the payment of taxes on such property, or having control thereof in any way, shall be regarded as the agent of the owner, and service upon such person shall have the like force and effect as though personal service were made upon the owner thereof. But if it shall appear from any such return that the owner is a nonresident, or that neither such owner nor agent can be found, one publication of a copy of the resolution in a newspaper of general circulation in the City shall be deemed sufficient notice to such owner.
If sidewalks, curbings or gutters be not constructed or repaired within fifteen days from the service of the notice provided for in the preceding section, or the completion of the publication thereof, the Director of Public Service may proceed by direct employment of labor, or by contract, to carry out the said construction or repair at the expense of the owner, as in the case of other improvements. Such expense shall be reported by the Director of Public Service to the Council, which shall by ordinance assess said expense upon the owner or owners of the property bounding or abutting thereon. Such assessment shall be collected in the same manner as other assessments, with a penalty of five percent and interest for failure to pay at the time fixed by the assessment resolution.
The Council may borrow money and authorize the issuance of notes or bonds thereon in anticipation of the collection of assessments levied for the purpose of paying the cost of constructing or repairing sidewalks, curbings, and gutters which are to be or have been constructed by the Director of Public Service, upon the failure of the owners of the property to construct or repair the same.