Whenever the Common Council shall, by vote, at a regular meeting
of 2/3 of all the members of said Council voting therefor, decide
to lay out, open, make, alter, widen, contract or discontinue any
square, street, alley, lane or highway, it shall cause a notice of
such decision to be published daily for two successive weeks in the
official newspaper, stating the day upon which it will act thereupon,
which day shall be at least two weeks subsequent to the first publication
of notice.
In case it shall not be necessary to appropriate, for any purpose
contemplated in the preceding section, any real estate which shall
not belong to the City, or which shall not be given to the City for
the purpose, the Common Council, upon the day fixed in the notice,
may proceed to lay out, alter, widen, contract or discontinue such
square, street, alley, lane or highway mentioned in the notice.
In case it shall be necessary to appropriate, for any street,
alley, square, lane, highway, walk, bridge, drain or sewer, any real
estate, property, right or easement which the City may not be permitted
by the owner freely to appropriate, and cannot purchase by contract
with the owner thereof, in addition to the notice provided for in
§ C13-1 of this Charter, the Common Council shall cause
a notice to be served upon each of the owners of such real estate,
if they can be ascertained, that the Common Council will act upon
the question of making an appropriation thereof for the purpose proposed
at a time mentioned therein, which shall be at least two weeks after
such service. The notice shall be served personally upon persons residing
in the City, or by leaving the same at their places of abode with
some person of suitable age and discretion. Upon nonresidents it may
be served personally or by mailing it, addressed to them at their
reputed places of abode. In case the owners are unknown, or their
places of abode cannot be ascertained, the publication of the notice,
once in each week for two successive weeks in the official newspaper,
shall be equivalent to personal service.
Upon proof's by affidavit of the service of the notice required
by the last preceding section being filed with the Clerk, the Common
Council may apply to the County Court of Columbia County, in term
or at chambers, or to the Supreme Court, at a special term thereof,
held for the Third Judicial District, for the appointment of Commissioners.
Previous to such application the Common Council shall cause a notice
of the time and place, when and where such application will be made,
to be published in the official newspaper once in each week for at
least two successive weeks, and, at the time such application shall
be made, proof by affidavit shall be furnished to said Court of the
due publication of such notice, and any party interested shall be
entitled to be heard upon such application. At the time mentioned
in such notice, upon the application of the Common Council, the Court
shall appoint three disinterested freeholders of the City Commissioners,
whose duty it shall be to ascertain and report a description of the
real estate required to be appropriated, with the names of the owners
and the compensation which should be made to them respectively therefor;
what the whole expense will amount to; whether any, and, if any, what,
part thereof, ought to be borne by the City, and whether any, and,
if any, what, real estate would be benefited by the improvement requiring
the appropriation of such real estate, specifying the same in parcels,
described with certainty, with the names of the owners, if they can
be ascertained, and the proportion and amount of benefit which each
parcel would receive. The Commissioners aforesaid shall, before entering
upon their duties, make and file with the City Clerk an oath or affirmation
faithfully and impartially to discharge their duties according to
the best of their ability. They shall cause a notice of the time and
place of their first meeting to be published in the official newspaper
at least six days before such meeting, and they shall continue their
meetings by adjournment from time to time until they shall complete
their report. They shall view the premises and receive any evidence
that may be offered touching the question before them, and may administer
oaths to witnesses who may be examined before them, and shall with
all convenient dispatch make their report.
On the coming in of the report, as provided in the last preceding
section, the Common Council shall cause to be published in the official
newspaper a notice that the same is filed with the Clerk, and that
at the time specified therein, which shall be at least six days after
the first publication of said notice, it will act upon the same. Prior
to such day, any person objecting to the matters contained in the
report, or to the proposed improvement, may file with the Clerk his
objections in writing, which objections shall be read before the Common
Council before any action shall be had on said report. The Common
Council may confirm or reject said report; and, if the same shall
be rejected, it may, in the manner provided in the last preceding
section, apply to either of said Courts for the appointment of three
other disinterested freeholders as Commissioners as aforesaid, who
shall proceed anew in the premises. Upon the coming in of their report
the same shall be filed with the Clerk in the same manner as the report
of the first Commissioners. The second report shall be final without
further confirmation. The Commissioners shall be paid for their service
such compensation as the Common Council shall deem proper.
Upon confirming the first report of the Commissioners or upon
the filing of the second report as above provided, the Common Council
may, by a vote of a majority of all its members, authorize and direct
the appropriation of the real estate and the making of the improvement.
In such case it shall cause an assessment to be made by transcribing
so much of the report acted upon as contained the description of each
parcel of real estate to be benefited by the improvement, with the
name of the owner, if known, and the amount of the proportion of benefit
which it would receive, directing such amount to be assessed upon
such parcels of real estate respectively. The assessment shall be
made to resemble in form, as nearly as practicable, the tax list,
and be provided with a column in which payment can be entered by the
Treasurer. Two copies thereof shall be made and signed by the Mayor
and Clerk, one of which shall be filed with the Clerk and the other
delivered to the Treasurer.
The assessment lists so filed with the Clerk and delivered to
the Treasurer shall, in all courts and places, be evidence of the
assessments therein specified, and all sums of money assessed therein,
upon or in respect to any real estate, shall be liens thereon for
two years from the time the assessment lists are filed with the Clerk.
Upon receiving an assessment list, pursuant to any of the provisions
of this article, the Treasurer shall cause to be published in the
official newspaper a notice similar to the one required upon receiving
the tax list, and the Treasurer shall attend at his office for the
purpose of receiving the moneys due upon said assessment lists, as
provided in § C18-7 of this Charter, and at the expiration
of the month mentioned in said section the Treasurer shall make a
return to the Common Council of all sums remaining unpaid upon said
list, and thereafter, whenever directed by the Common Council, shall
proceed to advertise and sell the premises upon which, or in respect
to which, there shall remain any unpaid assessment, in the same manner
as is provided in § C18-16 of this Charter, and the provisions
relating to sales for unpaid taxes in this Charter shall be applicable
to sales for unpaid assessments mentioned in this section.
All moneys received by the Treasurer, upon any assessment list
made pursuant to the provisions of this article, shall be kept by
him distinct from all other moneys, and shall be drawn from him only
by orders expressly directing their application to the payment of
the expenses for which the assessment was made. No money belonging
to the City shall be paid out by the Treasurer upon orders drawn against
moneys to be raised upon any such assessment list.
In case the Common Council shall at any time ascertain that
the expense of any public improvement cannot be defrayed by the money
raised upon the assessment list provided therefor, it may cause the
deficiency to be assessed upon the real estate described therein,
in sums proportioned to the former assessment. All the provisions
of this article relative to the assessment list heretofore mentioned,
to the assessment therein and to the collection and payment of the
moneys thereon shall be applicable to the second assessment list in
this section provided.
In case the amount raised for any public improvement by assessment
shall exceed the cost of the same, such excess shall be refunded in
proportion to the amount paid by each person or parcel of real estate.
No real estate shall be taken or appropriated for the opening,
widening or altering of any street, lane, highway, alley, drain or
sewer in the City without the permission of the owner, until the compensation
reported by the Commissioners to be proper therefor shall be paid
or tendered to the owner or deposited to his or her use in one of
the banks of the City to be designated by the Common Council for that
purpose.
When such owners of real estate shall be known to be infants
under the age of 21 years, the County Judge of Columbia County, or
the City Judge of the City, may, on the application of the infant
or someone in behalf of said infant or of the Common Council, appoint
a guardian for such infant, taking from him adequate security for
the faithful performance of his duties as such, and all notices required
to be served upon the infant shall be served upon such guardian, who
shall see to the protection of the rights of such infant.
