[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of Vicksburg 8-18-1975 by Ord. No. 110 (Ch. 58 and Sec. 22-1 of the 1995 Village Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
In any case where the provisions of this chapter may prove to be insufficient to carry into full effect the making of any special assessment, the Council shall provide, in the resolution authorizing the improvement, additional steps or procedures required.
A. 
A special assessment project may be commenced by resolution of the Village Council on its own initiative or by an initiatory petition signed by property owners whose aggregate property in the special assessment project was assessed for not less than 60% of the total assessed value of the privately owned real property located therein, in accordance with the last preceding general assessment roll; however, in the case of special assessments for paving, or similar improvements which are normally assessed on a frontage basis against abutting property, such petitions shall be signed by the owners of not less than 60% of the frontage of property to be assessed. Any petition bearing less than 60% shall not prevent the Council from declaring any project a public necessity and commencing the project on its own initiative.
B. 
Such initiatory petitions shall be signed by the owners and shall state the petitioner's address, lot number and the name of the subdivision, if any, and the date of the signing.
C. 
The circulator of each petition shall verify that the petition signers are the owners of the property described on the petition and that each signature on the petition is the genuine signature of each respective petitioner.
D. 
Initiatory petitions shall be filed in the office of the Village Manager, and all petitions shall be circulated and signed on printed forms furnished by the Village Manager and must contain all information requested prior to being circulated.
E. 
The Village Manager shall record the date of filing on any such petitions, notify the Village Council of the filing in writing, and refer the same to the Village Attorney. The Village Attorney shall review all petitions to determine whether they conform to the requirements of this section and shall report his or her findings to the Council, which may accept, reject, defer or refer such petitions.
[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 124]
Upon the adoption of a resolution commencing a special assessment project or the acceptance of a special assessment project petition, the Village Council shall, by resolution, refer the same to the Village Manager, directing him to prepare a report which shall include necessary and pertinent information in order to permit the Council to ascertain the probable cost, extent and necessity of the proposed improvement; the boundaries; the estimated useful life; and a suggested method of apportioning the costs of the proposed improvement, if any, that should be paid by the Village at large. The Village Council shall not order the making of any special assessment improvement prior to the filing of the report of the Village Manager and until after a public hearing has been held for the hearing of objections to the making of such special assessment improvement.
[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 124]
The report of the Village Manager required in § 395-3 shall be made to the Council at a regular or special meeting. The Council shall review the report, and a resolution may be passed determining the subsidy of the improvement; setting forth the nature and stating the expected life of the improvement; determining the benefits expected to be received by affected properties and what proportion, if any, shall be paid by the Village at large; designating the limits of the special assessment district to be affected' prescribing what proportion of such improvement shall be paid by special assessment upon the properties especially benefited; designating whether benefits are to be assessed by frontage or by other manner; placing the complete information on file in the office of the Village Manager, where the same may be found for examination; and directing the Village Manager to give a notice of a public hearing on the proposed improvement, at which opportunity will be given interested persons to be heard.
[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 124]
A. 
Notice shall be made by one publication in one or more newspapers published or circulated within the Village and shall be given to each owner of or party in interest in property to be assessed whose name appears upon the last local tax assessment records by mailing by first class mail addressed to that owner or party at the address shown on the tax records at least 10 days before the date of the hearing. The last local tax assessment records means the last assessment roll for ad valorem tax purposes that has been reviewed by the Local Board of Review, as supplemented by any subsequent changes in the names or the addresses of the owners or parties listed on that roll.
B. 
The notice of hearing shall include a statement that appearance and protest at the hearing in the special assessment proceedings is required in order to appeal the amount of the special assessment to the state tax tribunal and shall describe the manner in which an appearance and protest shall be made. An owner or party in interest, or his or her agent, may appear in person at the hearing to protest the special assessment or shall be permitted to file his or her appearance or protest by letter, and his or her personal appearance shall not be required. The Village Council shall maintain a record of parties who appear to protest at the hearing. If a hearing is terminated or adjourned for the day before a party is provided the opportunity to be heard, a party whose appearance was recorded is considered to have protested the special assessment in person.
At the public hearing on the proposed improvement, all persons interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard, after which the Council may proceed in such a manner as it shall deem to be in the best interests of the Village as a whole. If after such hearing the Council determines to proceed with the special assessment project, a resolution shall be passed ordering the proposed improvement to be made. No contract or expenditure except for the cost of necessary legal review and engineering plans and estimates shall be made for the project until the special assessment roll to defray the costs of the same has been confirmed.
If at or prior to the adoption of the resolution required by § 395-6 written objections have been filed by the owners of property in the special assessment district, which according to estimates will be required to bear more than 50% of the cost, or by a majority of the owners of property to be assessed, no resolution to proceed with the improvement shall be adopted, except by the affirmative vote of five or more members of the Council, while such objections remain.
[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 124]
No deviation from construction plans and specifications, as approved by the Council, shall be permitted by any official or employee of the Village without authority of the Council by resolution; however, minor changes authorized by the Village Manager may be made without such approval. A copy of the resolution authorizing such changes or deviations, other than the minor changes authorized by the Village Manager, shall be certified by the Village Manager and attached to the original plans on file in his or her office.
[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 124]
The Village Assessor shall make a special assessment roll of all lots or parcels of land within the special assessment district, as finally determined by the Council, and assess to each lot or parcel of land the amount benefited. The amount spread in each case shall be based upon the estimated cost of the project or the actual final cost as reported to and as approved by the Council.
Special assessments shall be based upon or in proportion to the benefits derived or to be derived, as determined by the Council.
Whenever any property is acquired by condemnation, or otherwise, for the purpose of any public improvement, the cost and the cost of the proceedings to acquire such property may be added to the cost of such improvement, provided that the cost of the improvement assessed against the property for benefits derived shall not exceed the value of such benefits.
[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 124]
When the Village Assessor shall have completed the assessment roll, he or she shall present it to the Council for review and certification. The Council, by resolution, shall order the special assessment roll to be filed in the office of the Village Manager for public examination, shall fix the time and place to review the roll, and shall direct the Village Manager to give notice of a public hearing in the manner set forth in § 395-5. The hearing may be held at any regular, adjourned or special meeting of the Council.
[Amended 5-15-1991 by Ord. No. 186]
The Council shall review such special assessment roll and consider all objections to the roll. The Council may correct or amend the roll as to any assessment or description of property or any other matters appearing therein. The Council may reject such assessment roll, and the same proceedings shall be had in making a new roll as in the making of an original roll. If after hearing all objections and making any corrections of the special assessment roll which it deems necessary, the Council determines that assessments are in proportion to the benefits derived or to be derived, it shall pass a resolution reciting such determination, confirming such roll, and stating the date upon which the special assessment, or the first installment, if installment payments be allowed, shall be due and payable; the number of annual installments as provided in Section 4 of Act No. 116 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1923 (MCLA § 41.414), as amended, in which the special assessment may be paid; and the rate of interest to be charged upon such deferred installments, and directing the Village Manager to attach his or her warrant authorizing and directing the Treasurer to collect the various amounts on the roll in accordance with the resolution. Such roll shall have the date of confirmation by the Council endorsed thereon by the Village Manager, and such roll shall be final and conclusive for the purpose of the improvement to which it pertains.
No suit or action of any kind shall be instituted or maintained for the purpose of contesting or enjoining collection of any special assessment unless, within 45 days after confirmation of the special assessment roll, written notice is given to the Village Manager of the intention to file such suit or action, stating the grounds on which it is claimed such assessment is illegal, and unless such suit or action is commenced within 90 days of confirmation of the roll.
[Amended 5-15-1991 by Ord. No. 186]
All special assessments shall be due and payable upon confirmation of the roll except such installments as the Council shall make payable at a future time. After the Council has confirmed the roll, the Treasurer shall notify, by mail, each property owner on the roll, stating the amount assessed against the property owned by him, and if such assessment is payable in installments, the due dates of the installments, the number of installments, the interest charge on deferred installments and the date from which interest begins to run. Failure to receive notice shall not invalidate any special assessment roll of the Village nor excuse the payment of interest or collection fees, or both. Unless the Council orders the first installment of a special assessment roll to be collected on the next tax roll of the Village, each property owner shall have not less than 30 nor more than 60 days, as specified by the Council by resolution, from the date of notification to pay the assessment in full, or any part in a sum not less than the first installment as set by the Council, without interest or penalty. Following such period the property owner may pay the first installment of the special assessment, or any greater part or all of his or her assessment at any time, but shall be required to pay interest to the due date of the next installment. Installments of special assessments to be paid after the first installment may be ordered by the Council to be spread, with accrued interest, upon the Village tax roll for the year in which the same become due and payable, in which case they shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as Village taxes upon such roll.
Whenever any special assessment roll shall have been confirmed and is payable, the Council shall direct the assessment made in the roll to be collected directly therefrom or from the general tax rolls, and the Village Manager shall attach his or her warrant to the roll commanding the Treasurer to collect the several amounts stated and shall file the same with the Treasurer within five days after the roll has been confirmed by the Council. Special assessments and all interest and charges, from the date of confirmation of the roll, shall be and remain a lien upon the property of the same character and effect as the lien created by Act No. 3 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1895 (MCLA § 69.18), as amended, for Village taxes, until paid.
Installments on a special assessment roll shall be collected in the following manner:
A. 
When special assessments are not spread upon the Village tax roll, the amount due on the first installment on a special assessment roll, if unpaid at the end of the allowed period, shall have a 5% collection fee added and, together with the accrued interests, shall be spread upon the next tax roll for the collection of taxes in the Village. When so spread, such a special assessment shall be collected in like manner and subject to the same conditions as taxes spread on such roll.
B. 
Remaining installments becoming due upon any special assessment roll may be ordered by the Council to be spread and collected upon each subsequent Village tax roll, until all installments have been so spread.
Moneys raised by special assessment to pay the cost of any improvement shall be placed in a special fund to pay such cost or to repay the money borrowed therefor. Such fund shall be an accounting entry in the bookkeeping or accounting system of the Village and shall be a separate bank account. Each special assessment account must be used only for the improvement project for which the assessment was levied.
The Council may combine several districts into one project for the purpose of effecting a saving in the costs, provided that for each district there shall be established separate funds and accounts to cover the cost of the same.
The Village Manager shall, after the completion of each project, compile the actual cost and certify the cost to the Council. When any special assessment roll shall prove insufficient to meet the cost of the improvement for which it was made, the Council may make an additional assessment; provided, however, that no additional assessment shall exceed 10% of the original assessment and shall not be made unless reviewed at a meeting of the Council, for which meeting notice shall be published as provided in § 395-5. Should the entire amount, as finally collected on the assessment roll, prove larger than necessary by 5% of the total cost of the improvement or more, the Council shall make a refund of the entire amount of the excess pro rata according to assessments. Should the entire amount as finally collected on the assessment roll prove larger than necessary by less than 5% of the total cost of the improvement, the Council may transfer such excess to the general funds of the Village or make a refund pro rata according to assessment.
Whenever the Council shall deem any special assessment invalid or defective for any reason, or if any court of competent jurisdiction shall have adjudged such assessment to be illegal for any reason, in whole or in part, the Council shall have power to cause a new assessment to be made for the same purpose for which the former assessment was made, whether the improvement or any part has been completed and whether any part of the assessment has been collected or not. All proceedings on such reassessment and its collection shall be made in the manner as provided for the original assessment. If any portion of the original assessment shall have been collected and not refunded, it shall be applied upon the reassessment, and the reassessment shall, to that extent, be deemed satisfied. If more than the amount reassessed shall have been collected, the balance shall be refunded to the person making such payment.
If it shall become necessary to abate a hazard or nuisance as described in Section 2455 of the Public Health Code, Act No. 368 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1978 (MCLA § 333.2455), as amended, the Council shall determine what amounts or part of each such expense shall be charged and the property upon which the same shall be levied as a special assessment. The Council shall require all the amounts so determined, the lots or premises affected, and the persons chargeable therewith to be notified by the Village Manager, as required by Act No. 162 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1962 (MCLA § 211.741), as amended. Such notice shall state the basis for the assessment, the cost thereof, and shall give a reasonable time, which shall not be less than 30 days, in which payment shall be made. In all cases where payment is not made within the time limit, the same shall be reported by the Village Treasurer to the Council, which shall direct the Village Manager to spread such amounts, with 10% added thereto, against the descriptions of property chargeable therewith on the next general tax roll for the collection of taxes in the Village.