[R.O. 2007 §32-23; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.470]
For the purposes of this Article, the word "pave" shall mean to improve a street or way with all kinds of street paving,
including macadamizing.
[R.O. 2007 §32-24; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.460]
Proceedings for the opening, improving, grading, paving, macadamizing,
guttering and vacating of streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks, curbing,
bridges and culverts shall be done in accordance with and governed
by the provisions of State law applicable to Cities of the Third Class,
applicable provisions of this Code and in conformity to special ordinances
passed regulating the same.
[R.O. 2007 §32-25; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.470]
The City shall have the power to grade, pave, gutter, curb and
otherwise improve streets and alleys and parts of same and to construct
and repair any paving, grading, guttering and curbing and to make
and repair sidewalks, bridges, culverts and crosswalks and to condemn
and destroy any such street, curb, gutter, sidewalk bridge, culvert
or crosswalk deemed unfit for use and replace the same with a new
one of the same or different material and to exercise exclusive control
over streets and alleys and establish and re-establish grades thereon.
[R.O. 2007 §32-26; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.400]
It shall be unlawful for any person to break, destroy, remove,
construct or reconstruct any pavement, concrete curb or concrete sidewalk
within the City without first having obtained from the Superintendent
of Streets a permit to do so.
[R.O. 2007 §32-27; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.730]
All City work, whether done by contract or otherwise, shall
be carried on under the supervision of the City Engineer or other
designated official and Superintendent of Streets who shall see that
the same is executed in strict accordance with the ordinances of the
City.
[R.O. 2007 §32-28; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.620]
Before the Council shall be authorized to make any improvement
under the provisions of this Article, when the improvement is to be
paid for with special tax bills, they shall, by resolution, declare
that they deem such improvement necessary to be made and shall cause
such resolution to be published in some newspaper printed and published
in the City for two (2) consecutive insertions in a weekly paper or
seven (7) consecutive insertions in a daily paper and if a majority
of the resident owners of the lands that would be liable for the costs
of the improvement, at the date of the passage of the resolution,
who shall own a majority of the front feet owned by residents of the
City, abutting on the street or part of the street proposed to be
improved, shall not within ten (10) days after the date of the last
publication file with the City Clerk their protest against such improvement,
then the Council shall have the power to cause the improvement to
be made; and if the Council shall find and declare by ordinance that
no such majority have so filed such protest, such finding and declaration
shall be conclusive, after the execution of the contract for the making
of the improvement, and thereafter no special tax bill shall be held
invalid for the reason that the protest sufficiently signed was filed
with the Clerk.
[R.O. 2007 §32-29; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.630]
Before the City shall make any contract for any improvement
authorized by this Article, excepting repair, an estimate of the cost
thereof shall be made by the City Engineer or other designated official.
Such estimate shall be filed with the City Clerk and no contract shall
be made for a price exceeding such estimate. The Council shall require
any contractor doing work to guarantee that such improvement will
last for such length of time as said Council shall deem proper and
during such term will be kept in repair and to require the contractor
to give to the City approved bonds for the faithful performance of
any obligation.
[R.O. 2007 §32-30; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.640]
The Council shall have the power to repair any sidewalk, curbing,
guttering or paving without letting any contract for such work, but
can have such work done in such manner as may be provided for by ordinance.
When such work is done by the City, not through a contractor, the
tax bills shall be issued to the City and the City shall have the
same power to collect such tax bills as other owners of tax bills.
[R.O. 2007 §32-33; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.540]
Any of said street improvements may be paid for by the City
out of the general revenue funds, if the City Council so desires,
but all such improvements shall be paid for with special tax bills
unless the proceedings of the City for same specify that payment will
be made out of the general revenue funds.
[R.O. 2007 §32-34; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.480]
The cost of bridges, culverts and footwalks across streets and
alleys shall be paid for out of the General Revenue Fund of the City.
[R.O. 2007 §32-36; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.550]
The charges made against lands for all of the improvements made
within the City under this Article shall be known as special assessments
or taxes for improvement and shall be charged and assessed by issuing
special tax bills against the lands chargeable with the cost of the
improvements; each special tax bill so issued shall be a special lien
on the land against which it is issued.
[R.O. 2007 §32-37; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.560; Ord. No. 4441 §1, 11-5-1979]
A. On
the completion of any improvement in accordance with the contract
for the same, the City Engineer or other designated official shall
compute the cost thereof and apportion said cost among the tracts
of land chargeable therewith, charging each tract of land with its
proportionate part of said cost as herein required and shall make
a written report to the City Council that the improvement has been
completed in accordance with the contract for same, which report shall
also contain a description of each tract of land chargeable with a
part of the cost of the improvement and the amount with which it is
chargeable. If the Council accepts said work and approves said report,
which acceptance and approval may be made by a motion duly adopted,
then the City Clerk shall immediately thereafter issue and deliver
to the contractor who did the work special tax bills in payment for
the work in accordance with the City Engineer or other designated
official's report, which tax bills shall be signed by the Clerk and
under the corporate Seal of the City.
B. At
such time as the City Council accepts said work and approves said
report, the City Council may also direct that the tax bills for designated
streets shall be issued with an agreement by the City that the City
shall guarantee the payment of the amount due under said tax bill
or, in the alternative, purchase the tax bill from the contractor
or the then present holder thereof.
[R.O. 2007 §32-38; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.570]
Each tax bill made pursuant to this Article shall in substance
contain a brief general statement of the facts authorizing its issue,
the amount for which it is issued, the name of the contractor to whom
it is issued, the rate of interest which it bears and when it begins
to bear interest and shall state that it is a special lien against
the land therein described and give the time that the lien continues.
It need not give the name of the owner of the land against which it
is issued. All such special tax bills shall bear no interest for thirty
(30) days after their date, but after the expiration of said thirty
(30) days, they shall bear interest at the rate of eight percent (8%)
per annum, unless the City shall by special ordinance fix a different
rate of interest, but no rate fixed by the City shall exceed eight
percent (8%) per annum and every special tax bill shall be a lien
against the land described therein for five (5) years after its date,
unless sooner paid, excepting tax bills payable in installments as
herein specified, the lien of which shall not expire until one (1)
year after the date of the maturity of the last installment.
[R.O. 2007 §32-39; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.580]
All special tax bills authorized by this Article shall be assignable
and the owner or holder of any such tax bill may enforce the collection
thereof by an action in any court having jurisdiction thereof and
in all actions thereon such tax bill shall be prima facie evidence
of its own validity, of the facts authorizing its issue and that it
is a special lien on the land described in it. In any case where it
becomes necessary to bring a suit to enforce the lien of any tax bill
herein authorized, the lien of such tax bill shall continue until
the expiration of the litigation.
[R.O. 2007 §32-40; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.650]
The City Clerk shall keep a record of all tax bills issued by
the City in a special book provided for that purpose, which record
shall show the date and amount of each tax bill, the rate of interest
it bears and a description of the land against which it was issued,
the name of the party to whom it was issued, the street or part of
street or alley improved and the kind of improvement.
[R.O. 2007 §32-41; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.590]
Any error that may be made in issuing any tax bill may be corrected
by interlineation, either by interlineations in it or by issuing a
new tax bill in lieu of the erroneous one, but when a tax bill is
corrected by interlineations, the date of making the same shall be
certified to by the Clerk or his/her successor in office on the margin
or back of the bill.
[R.O. 2007 §32-42; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.600]
In any action brought on any tax bill authorized by this Article,
the court shall have power to correct any error in the amount of the
tax bill and in any case where it may be shown that the work done
was not as good as required by the contract, the court may give judgment
for the reasonable value of the work chargeable against the land described
in the tax bill.
[R.O. 2007 §32-43; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.610]
The cost of the improvements authorized by this Article may
be paid for in five (5) annual installments, payable respectively
in one (1), two (2), three (3), four (4) and five (5) years after
the date of the special tax bill, each installment to be one-fifth
(1/5) of the original amount of the tax bill together with all of
the accrued interest; provided that the owner of any tract of land
chargeable with part of the cost of any improvement shall, prior to
the acceptance of the work by the City, notify the City Clerk in writing
that he/she desires to so pay the tax bill to be issued against his/her
property. In such case, the special tax bill shall be so payable and
shall provide that if any installment is not paid when due, the remaining
unpaid installments shall at the option of the holder of the tax bill
become immediately due. The owner of the land against which any such
installment tax bill is issued shall have the privilege of paying
all of such tax bill at any installment paying date.
[R.O. 2007 §32-44; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.660]
When any tax bill has been paid and the same is presented to
the City Clerk marked paid, he/she shall note on the record the satisfaction
of the tax bill. Anyone desiring to pay any tax bill may pay the same
to the City Collector who shall make out duplicate receipts therefor,
one (1) of which shall be filed with the City Clerk who shall then
note on the record the satisfaction and thereafter such tax bill shall
be considered as canceled.
[R.O. 2007 §32-45; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.670]
The City Collector on the presentation to him/her of such tax
bill by the owner or holder of same shall pay to him/her the amount
collected. The City shall be liable to the owner and holder of tax
bills so paid for the amount so collected by the City Collector who
shall be liable to the City on his/her bond for such collections;
provided that the City Collector shall receive no fee for such services.
[R.O. 2007 §32-46; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.680]
All contracts shall be awarded to the lowest and best responsible
bidder who shall comply with the requirements and provisions of the
letting. The Council may, however, reject all bids, if, in their judgment,
the best interest of the City shall require such action. If, in any
case, all bids received shall be rejected, the Council may instruct
the City Clerk or other proper officer to again advertise for bids
as in the first (1st) instance.
[R.O. 2007 §32-47; Rev. Ords. 1951 §§32.690,
32.700]
A. Upon
the award of any work by the City Council, the Mayor shall enter into
a written contract with the successful bidder for the faithful performance
of the work awarded to him/her in accordance with the conditions,
requirements and specifications respecting the same.
B. Every
contract executed under the provisions of this Article shall be drawn
by the City Attorney or the form thereof shall be submitted to him/her
for his/her approval and when the same has been duly executed, it
shall be filed and kept in the office of the City Clerk.
[R.O. 2007 §32-48; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.710]
Any person who shall make any contract with the City and who
agrees to be paid in special tax bills for the work done by him/her
shall have no claim or lien upon the City therefor and the City shall
in no event or in any manner whatever be liable for or on account
of the work; and no work, the payment of which is to be made in special
tax bills, shall be awarded to any contractor who will not so agree
in any and every event to release the City from liability on account
of said work.
[R.O. 2007 §32-49; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.420]
All materials used in the reconstruction or construction of
any pavement or curb within the City shall comply with the specifications
for same as approved by the City Engineer or other designated official.
[R.O. 2007 §32-50; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.720]
No change shall be made in the plans or specifications of any
work contracted to be done or in the materials to be furnished or
in the manner of executing the work, unless the Council shall, by
ordinance, authorize such change and the same shall be agreed to by
the contractor. The City Engineer or other designated official, Superintendent
of Streets or other City Officer, who shall have charge of or who
shall superintend such work, is hereby expressly prohibited from directing,
consenting to or permitting the same to be done in any manner different
from the specifications of the ordinance authorizing such work.
[R.O. 2007 §32-51; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.740]
Crossings at the intersections of streets shall be constructed
of such material and in such manner as the Council may, from time
to time, deem most expedient. The cost of making all street crossings
and the expense of keeping the same in repair shall be paid out of
the General Revenue Fund of the City and all such work shall be done
under the direct supervision of the Superintendent of Streets.
[R.O. 2007 §32-52; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.280]
A copy of specifications for the construction or repair of sidewalks
shall be kept and filed with the City Engineer or other designated
official.
[R.O. 2007 §32-53; Rev. Ords. 1951 §32.260]
All material which may be used in the construction of sidewalks
shall be carefully inspected by the City Engineer or other designated
official or Superintendent of Streets as it is being used and if any
of such material does not, in quality or dimensions, conform to the
specifications of the ordinance and contract under which the work
is being done, the same shall be rejected and if at any time during
the progress of any such work any rejected or inferior material should
be found in a sidewalk being built under contract or any portion of
the work found improperly done, such materials and work shall be removed
and replaced by proper material and work at the expense of the contractor.