The City is empowered to levy front-foot assessments on all properties abutting its sanitary sewer system to provide for the cost of constructing, establishing, extending or altering said system. An annual front-foot assessment at the rate of $10.78 per foot shall be levied on all properties, improved or unimproved, abutting on a street, road, alley or right-of-way in which sanitary sewer main is laid as part of the extension of the sanitary sewer system south of U.S. Route 40, except that those properties for which the owners have agreed with the City, prior to the adoption of this Part
3, on another or additional basis of assessment upon their property shall be exempt from the front-foot assessment provided for herein.
The first annual assessment shall be collectible during the
year that construction is started on the extension of the sanitary
sewer system. Interest at the rate of 6% per annum shall be charged
on all such annual assessments remaining unpaid on October 1 after
such assessment shall be due and payable.
All front-foot assessments shall run for an equal term of years;
provided, however, that any property owner may, at any time, extinguish
the same by payment of the principal balance due, together with interest
accrued. Where the property owner desires to extinguish the assessment
prior to completion of construction, the City shall estimate the property
owner's proportionate share on a front-foot basis which, together
with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of levy, shall
be the amount required for extinguishment. In estimating the cost
for purposes of extinguishment, the City may add thereto a reasonable
margin to protect itself against possible increases in the cost of
construction.
The assessments provided for herein shall be and constitute
a lien upon the property chargeable with the same until paid. The
City is empowered to enforce such lien by an action at law or equity,
together with interest accrued and its reasonable costs of collection
in the event that such annual assessment is not paid when due.
The City shall, at any time, permit a connection with a sanitary
sewer main by a property owner whose property does not abut on the
street, road, alley or right-of-way in which such sanitary sewer main
has been built and who has not previously thereto paid a front-foot
benefit assessment for the construction of such sanitary sewer main,
provided that the City shall determine a front-foot assessment to
be paid by such property owner as though the property abutted upon
such sanitary sewer main, and such property owner and such property
as to all assessments and charges shall stand in every respect in
the same position as if the property abutted on the street, road,
alley or right-of-way in which the sanitary sewer main has been built.
If, for any year, it shall appear to the City that the extension
of the sanitary sewer system will not be financially self-supporting
based upon the rate of assessment provided for herein, the amount
of the deficit shall be determined and each property owner with assessable
frontage property will be charged the proportion of the deficit represented
by the number of assessable feet frontage of such property as compared
with the total assessable frontage of all properties benefited by
the extension. Such charge shall be added to the annual assessments
for such properties and shall be due and collectible in the same manner
as herein provided for front-foot assessments and shall constitute
a lien upon all properties chargeable with the same until paid.
The City may, from time to time, change, amend or adjust the
front-foot assessment provided for herein. A public hearing on such
change, amendment or adjustment shall be held, at which time interested
persons may attend and be heard. Said public hearing shall be advertised
in a newspaper of general circulation in the City.
The assessments provided for herein are and shall be in addition
to, and not in substitution of, any other charges, taxes or assessments,
including sewer connection and service charges, levied by the City.