The City of El Reno shall have the power to construct or cause
to be constructed special improvements consisting of curbing, and
curbing and guttering, grading, paving or surfacing of streets, including
surface drainage of such streets and disposition of same by storm
sewers; storm sewer systems constructed separately from paving; sanitary
sewer systems; water distribution facilities; and street lighting.
Said city shall have the power to assess the cost of such improvements
against the property benefited; provided that, except as provided
by this charter or the statutes of the State of Oklahoma, no such
construction shall ever be done against the protest of the owners
of more than fifty (50) percent in area of the land to be benefited
by such improvement; provided further that the owners of all property
benefited by any such improvement shall be given the right to be heard
on the manner of apportionment of benefits to be derived from such
improvement, and the right to protest on the apportionments and assessments
of such benefits when same have been done contrary to the provisions
hereof.
Likewise, the City of El Reno shall have the right to construct
or cause to be constructed sidewalks, together with the incidental
excavating and leveling necessary for such construction; provided
that, in lieu of the right of protest against such sidewalk construction,
property owners shall be given the right to construct such sidewalk
at their own expense within a thirty-day period prior to the commencement
of such construction by or under the direction of the city.
All assessments for improvements covered in this article, and
each installment thereof, and the interest thereon, are hereby declared
to be a lien against the lots and tracts of land so assessed, from
the date of the passage of the ordinance levying the same, co-equal
with the lien of other taxes and special assessments and prior and
superior to all other liens against such lots or tracts of land; and
such liens shall continue as to all unpaid installments of assessments
and interest until such assessment and interest thereon shall have
been paid, but unmatured installments shall not be deemed to be within
the terms of any general covenant of warranty.
[Amended 2-7-1989 by resolution, approved at election 4-4-1989]
The City of El Reno shall have the power to issue bonds to obtain
money to finance all improvements mentioned in this article, and such
bonds shall be known as improvement bonds, shall be negotiable in
the State of Oklahoma and shall never become a general obligation
of the City of El Reno but shall be issued against the assessments
to be derived from the owners of the property benefited by such improvements.
Such bonds may be sold by the City of El Reno at public sale or may
be delivered to the contractor upon completion and acceptance of the
work, but such bonds shall never be disposed of by said city at less
than their par value. Such bonds may run for any period not more than
ten (10) nor less than three (3) years.
Such bonds may be sold in a manner consistent with the provisions
of 62 O.S. § 354 (1963) or any amendment thereof.
[Amended 2-7-1989 by resolution, approved at election 4-4-1989]
All estimates and assessment rolls to be compiled by the city
engineer in proceeding hereunder shall be based upon two prices, one
to be the estimated cash cost of the improvement, and a second and
higher price to be the cost when paid for by the method of extended
annual payments; and the extended payment price shall exceed the cash
price by an amount to be determined by the council of the City of
El Reno, subject to the limitations specified herein, and which difference
shall be known as the cost of financing and shall be delivered to
the purchaser of the improvement bonds. The cost of financing the
different improvements shall in no case exceed the limitations imposed
by state law in 62 O.S. § 354 (1963) or any amendment thereof.
[Amended 2-7-1989 by resolution, approved at election 4-4-1989]
Improvement bonds of the City of El Reno shall draw interest.
The process of the sale of said bonds and the amount of interest that
they shall bear shall be determined by compliance with the procedures
set forth in 62 O.S. § 354 (1963) or any amendment thereof.
Whenever the City of El Reno issues said bonds, the city shall set
out in the ordinance or resolution providing for the issuance of the
bonds and in the printed bonds for the said combined purposes the
amount authorized to be excluded for each purpose as set out in each
proposition submitted and approved by the electors; and said bonds
may be designated general obligation bonds or as may be determined
by the city council. When one or more issues of bonds, including a
combined bond issue referred to herein, except funding or refunding
bonds, shall be made or ordered by the city, the proper officers shall,
before selling such bonds, cause at least ten (10) days' notice
to be given of the time and place, when and where bid therefor will
be received. Such notice shall be signed by the city clerk and shall
be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a legally
qualified newspaper published in said city. Provided that the date
mentioned in such notice for the sale of such bonds shall not be less
than ten (10) days after the first publication thereof. Provided,
however, that in the event a municipal corporation has by separate
propositions voted bonds for two (2) or more purposes, the proper
officers shall set out in such notice of sale whether the bids will
be received for a combined bond issue for all such purposes as one
unit, or whether bids will be received for separate bond issues for
each purpose. All bonds shall be sold to the bidder who will pay therefor
par and accrued interest, and who will stipulate in his bid the lowest
rate of interest which such bond should bear. And upon the acceptance
of such bid or bids, the bonds shall be issued in accordance herewith
and shall be delivered to said purchaser upon payment of the purchase
price thereof. Provided that each bidder shall submit with his bid
the sum in cash or its equivalent, equal to two (2) per cent of his
bid; and upon the acceptance of any bid, such deposit shall become
the property of the city selling said bonds and shall be credited
for the purchase price thereof upon the understanding that, if the
purchaser shall fail for five (5) days after tender of the bonds to
pay the balance of the purchase price, said sale shall be thereby
annulled, and said deposit shall be in such event retained by the
city and credited to the account for which such bonds are being issued
and shall be used accordingly. Provided that no tender of the bonds
shall be valid until after the expiration of the period of contestability
as now provided by applicable state law. All other deposits shall
be returned. This city shall sell such bonds and shall have the right
to reject all bids and readvertise the bonds for sale. Provided, however,
that no funding or refunding bonds issued hereunder shall bear a higher
rate of interest than the indebtedness which is funded or refunded.
Provided that the provisions of this act shall not apply to the sale
of bonds issued by a vote of the people to the United States government
or any agency thereof; and the governing board of this city is hereby
authorized to sell such bonds to the United States government or any
agency thereof at a private sale for a sum of not less than par with
accrued interest added; and the governing board shall fix the rate
of interest which said bonds shall bear which shall not be a larger
rate of interest than that authorized by the electors voting at the
bond election.
The City of El Reno shall have the power to enforce collection
of all assessments for improvements made hereunder by an action to
secure judgment and foreclosure and sale of property for delinquent
assessments the same as is now provided by the general statutes of
the State of Oklahoma, and specifically by 11 O.S. 1961, §§ 81-113,
151 and 152, or, as regards water distribution facilities, 11 O.S.
1961, §§ 330.1 — 330.14, or as may
be provided hereafter by law.
The City of El Reno shall have the power to establish and create
a special improvement guarantee fund to be used to guarantee the payment
when due of all improvement bonds issued according to this article,
and shall have the power to appropriate into such fund any balance
remaining in any fund of a district heretofore constructed, and which
balance is not needed for the payment of any bonds or interest thereon
remaining unpaid in such district, and any similar unneeded balance
that may accrue in the future, together with the funds provided for
in Section 39 of this charter. Such special improvement guarantee
fund may be invested in any security provided by law for the investment
of sinking funds of the City of El Reno, and may also be used as a
revolving fund for the investment in special improvement warrants
issued in payment for labor or material during construction of any
improvement constructed hereunder, under such rules and restrictions
as the council of this city shall by ordinance provide. When such
funds shall equal an amount which is in excess of twenty (20) per
cent of all the improvement bonds outstanding, issued or with reasonable
certainty to be issued, under this article, such excess may be invested
in improvement bonds or general obligations of the United States Government,
or be appropriated into the general fund of the city, as the council
may direct.
The manner of apportioning benefits and determining the amount
of assessments for the different kinds of improvements mentioned herein
shall be as follows:
On any improvement to the surface of a street including storm
sewers when constructed with such improvement, and excepting sidewalks,
such apportionment and assessment shall be made according to the method
now provided by 11 O.S. 1961, Section 101, or as may be provided hereafter
by law.
For street lighting and sidewalks, such apportionment and assessment
shall be made to the property fronting and abutting thereon, and in
the case of sidewalks the approaches thereto from the curb lines at
street intersections shall be apportioned and assessed against the
abutting corner lot.
For storm sewers constructed separately, for sanitary sewers,
and for water distribution facilities, such apportionment and assessment
shall be made to any lot, tract or parcel of land in the proportion
that the area of such lot, tract or parcel of land bears to the area
of all the land, exclusive of streets, alleys or other public ways,
served and benefited by such improvement.
The city engineer shall in all cases make the apportionment
and assessments, and same shall be approved by the council of the
city, and if necessary reviewed and adjusted by it.
The City of El Reno shall have the power to let the contract
for any such improvement complete in place, or may contract for the
purchase of the materials and make the installation of same by direct
labor of its own forces.
The method and manner of constructing any improvement included
in this article, and which method and manner is not otherwise provided
for herein, shall be fully provided for by ordinance or ordinances
duly enacted by the council of the City of El Reno, consistent herewith
and otherwise complying with the statutes of this state in such cases
made and provided. Such ordinances shall be published in full in a
newspaper of general circulation within the city on two successive
Thursdays in case of a daily newspaper, or in two successive issues
in case of a weekly newspaper. The council shall have power to determine
the fees to be paid to engineers for services in connection with special
improvements.
Neither the authority, jurisdiction or rights of such council
as to all things attendant upon proceedings for the construction of
any special improvement now granted by said existing statutes, or
which shall be granted by future statutes, nor any existing right
as to higher judicial authority now granted or to be granted to the
City of El Reno, with reference to the manner of constructing and
collecting assessments for improvements in general, shall ever be
forfeited or abrogated by this article, and all such existing or future
rights shall be deemed to be of full force and effect and applicable
to all proceedings made and had hereunder, when not inconsistent herewith.