City of Laconia, NH Chapter 9 Assessments, Special

[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Laconia at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 9-1 Petitions.

The City Council, following the receipt of a petition for special assessment, shall give notice and hold one or more public hearings if the petition received:

A. Is signed by the owners of at least 2/3 of the properties proposed for special assessment; or

B. Is signed by the City Manager and is accompanied by the written consents of the owners of at least 1/2 of the properties proposed for special assessment.

§ 9-2 Contents of petition.

Any petition submitted under this chapter shall contain within the text of the petition or by attachments thereto:

A. A clear description of the public improvement proposed, including surveys, plans, engineering drawings, specifications and such other documentation as shall be necessary to clearly set forth the proposal.

B. An estimate of the costs of the proposed improvements, broken down by appropriate categories and line items and substantiated by persons fully qualified to give such estimates.

C. A roll showing the names and addresses of all of the owners of the properties proposed for the special assessment, whether or not they have signed the petition or a consent, and a City Tax Map reference for each such property.

D. A signed certificate indicating the owner of record of the property and the book and page number of the deed recorded in the Belknap County Registry of Deed.

E. A statement of the portion of the total cost proposed to be defrayed by the special assessment.

F. The formula proposed for determining the portion of the special assessment to be imposed on each specific property.

G. The number of installments and the time period over which the total special assessment is proposed to be paid in full.

H. The name, address and phone number of the person who the petitioning or consenting property owners have designated to receive such notices and communications from the City as may be provided for under this chapter (hereinafter, the "petitioner").

§ 9-3 Filing of petition.

Each petition for a special assessment shall be filed in the following manner:

A. An original and two copies of the petition, and all supporting documents as required by the preceding section, shall be presented to the City Council during an official business meeting of the Council and the original placed on file with the City Clerk, a copy delivered to the City Solicitor and a copy delivered to the City Manager.

§ 9-4 Review by City Solicitor.

The City Solicitor shall, following receipt of the petition form the City Clerk, review the submitted petition to determine its conformance with the requirements of § 9-2 of this chapter.

A. If the City Solicitor finds that the submitted petition meets the requirements of § 9-2 of this chapter, he or she shall provide written notification to the City Manager. The City Manager shall then report the City Solicitor's findings to the City Council at the next official business meeting of the Council and provide written notification to the petitioner that the petition meets the requirements of § 9-2.

B. If the City Solicitor finds that the submitted petition does not meet the requirements of § 9-2 of this chapter, then he or she shall provide written notification to the City Manager. This notice shall identify each deficiency and itemize such additional documents as may be necessary in order for the petition to conform to the requirements of § 9-2. The City Manager shall then report the City Solicitor's findings to the City Council at the next official business meeting of the Council and provide written notification to the petitioner that the petition is deficient. The City Manager's notice to the petitioner shall include a copy of the City Solicitor's list of deficiencies and additional documentation required.

C. The petitioner, within 60 days after receiving written notification from the City Manager that the petition is deficient, shall submit directly to the City Manager a revised petition that rectifies all deficiencies and supplies such additional documents as the City Manager has identified.

D. If the petitioner fails to file a complying petition within the thirty-day time period, then the petition will lapse and be removed from the City Council's agenda. A petition may be resubmitted at any time thereafter, but it shall be filed in accordance with § 9-3 above.

§ 9-5 Scheduling of public hearing; notice.

After the City Solicitor has certified that the petition meets the requirements of § 9-2 and the City Manager has in turn so notified the City Council, the Council shall, at its official business meeting at which it receives the City Manager's notice, set the date, time and place for a public hearing and cause notice thereof to be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least seven days prior to the hearing.

§ 9-6 Conduct of public hearing.

At the public hearing, the Council shall hear those who have signed the petition and all others who offer evidence or comments concerning the proposed public improvement, the cost thereof, the property proposed for the special assessment, the portion of the cost to be defrayed by the special assessment, the formula for determining the special assessment for each property, the number of installments or the time period for payment of the assessment. If the Council deems it necessary, the hearing may be adjourned to a certain date, time and place.

§ 9-7 Action by Council.

The Council, within 60 days following the public hearing, shall, by resolution, approve or disapprove the proposed public improvement. If the vote is in favor, the resolution shall state or describe:

A. The improvement and its specifications.

B. The estimated cost of the improvement, including the interest and administrative costs incurred or expected to be incurred in the course of the repayment period, all of which shall be chargeable to and become part of the special assessment to be repaid.

C. The portion of the total cost to be paid by special assessment and the portion, if any, to be a general obligation of the City.

D. The roll of properties on which the special assessment is to be levied, including City Tax Map references for each such property.

E. The formula that the City Assessor shall use to determine the portion of the special assessment to be levied against each property to be assessed.

F. The number of installments and the time period over which the special assessment shall be paid.

§ 9-8 Duties of City Assessor.

After the Council's authorization of any special assessment, the City Assessor shall compute the amount of the special assessment for each property identified on the roll set forth in the Council's resolution and bill the property owner along with the regular periodic real estate tax bills.

§ 9-9 Appeals.

The owner of any property specially assessed in accordance with this chapter shall have such abatement and appeal rights as are afforded under state law relative to a real estate tax assessment.