[Amended 2-16-1959]
The Commission shall have power to provide for the payment of
all or any part of the cost of construction, re-construction, repair,
operation, or maintenance of any structure or work in the nature of
public improvement, by levying and collecting special assessments
upon property specially benefitted. Any special assessment levied
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be made payable in
yearly installments for a period not exceeding 20 years.
[Adopted 2-16-1959]
The Commission shall have the power to levy and collect special
assessments upon property specially benefitted by existing public
improvements originally financed by revenue bonds, for the purpose
of providing for the retirement of any such outstanding revenue bonds
in whole or in part. Any such special assessment may include the amount
of any premium to be paid upon the calling of the bonds to be retired.
[Amended 11-7-1950]
The Commission in order to ascertain whether or not a reasonable
number of property owners to be assessed, desire a public improvement
to be made under the provisions of this Chapter, may request that
a petition therefore[1] be presented to it, or the property owners to be assessed,
may of their own volition file such a petition, but in either of such
cases the petition so filed shall be considered as advisory only and
shall not be jurisdictional.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
[Amended 9-12-1950]
When the Commission shall determine to make any public improvement,
or repairs, alterations or additions to any public improvement, and
defray the whole or any part of the cost and expenses thereof by special
assessment, they shall so declare by resolution stating the nature
of the improvement and what portion of the cost and expenses thereof
shall be paid by special assessment, and what portion, if any, shall
be borne by the City, and shall designate the district or lands and
premises upon which the special assessments shall be levied.
Before ordering any public improvements or repairs, any part
of the expenses of which is to be defrayed by special assessment,
the Commission shall cause estimates of the expenses thereof, to be
made, and also plats and diagrams, when practicable, of the work and
of the locality to be improved, and deposit the same with the Clerk
for public examination; and they shall give notice thereof and of
the proposed improvements, and of the district to be assessed, and
of the time and place when the Commission will meet and consider any
objections thereto, by publication once at least five days prior to
such meeting in a newspaper published and circulating in the City.
When any special assessment is to be made pro rata upon the
lots and premises in any special assessment district, according to
frontage or benefits, the Commission shall, by resolution, direct
the same to be made by the City Assessor and shall state therein the
amount to be assessed and whether according to frontage or benefit;
and describe or designate an assessment district comprising the lands
to be assessed.
Upon receiving such orders and direction, the City Assessor
shall make out an assessment roll, entering and describing therein
all the lots, premises, and parcels of land to be assessed, with the
names of the persons, if known, chargeable with the assessment therein;
and shall levy thereon and against such property the amount to be
assessed, in the manner directed by the Commission and provisions
of this Charter applicable to the assessment. In all cases where the
ownership of any description is unknown to the City Assessor, he or
she shall, in lieu of the name of the owner, insert the word "Unknown"
and if by mistake or otherwise, any person shall be improperly designated
as the owner of any lot, or parcel of land or premises, or if the
same shall be assessed without the name of the owner, or the name
of any person other than the owner, such assessment shall not for
any cause be vitiated, but shall, in all respects, be as valid upon
and against such lot, parcel of land, or premises, as though assessed
in the name of the proper owner, and when the assessment shall have
been confirmed, it shall be a lien on such lot, parcel of land, or
premises, and collected as in this Charter provided.
If the assessment is required to be according to frontage, the
City Assessor shall assess to each lot or parcel of land such relative
portion of the whole amount to be levied, as the length or front of
such premises abutting upon the improvement bears to the whole frontage
of all lots to be assessed, unless on account of the shape or size
of any lot, an assessment for a different number of feet would be
more equitable. If the assessment is directed to be according to benefits,
then he or she shall assess upon each lot such relative portion of
the whole sum to be levied as shall be proportionate to the estimated
benefit resulting to such lot from the improvement. When he or she
shall have completed the assessment roll, he or she shall report the
same to the Commission; such report shall be signed by the City Assessor,
and may be in the form of a certificate, endorsed on the assessment
roll, as follows:
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STATE OF MICHIGAN, CITY OF ROYAL OAK -- SS.
TO THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF ROYAL OAK:
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I hereby certify and report that the foregoing is a special
assessment roll, and the assessment made by me pursuant to a resolution
of the Commission of said City, adopted (give date) for the purpose
of paying that part of the cost which the Commission decided should
be paid and borne by special assessment for the (insert here object
of the assessment); that in making such assessment, I have, as near
as may be, according to my best judgment conformed in all things to
the directions contained in the resolution of the Commission hereinbefore
referred to, and the Charter of the City relating to such assessment:
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Dated _________________________
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____________________________
City Assessor
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When any expense shall be incurred by the City upon or in respect
to any separate or single lot, parcel of land or premises, which,
by the provisions of this Charter, the Commission is authorized to
charge and collect as a special assessment against the same, and not
being that class of special assessments required to be made pro rata
upon several lots or parcels of land in a special assessment district,
an account of the labor, material, or services for which such expense
was incurred, verified by the Manager, with a description of the lot
or premises, upon or in respect to which the expense was incurred,
and the name of the owner or person, if known, chargeable therewith,
shall be reported to the Commission in such manner as they shall prescribe.
The provisions of the preceding section of this chapter with reference
to special assessments generally, and the proceedings necessary to
be had before making the improvements, shall not apply to assessments
to cover the expenses incurred, in respect to that class of improvements
contemplated in this section.
The Commission shall determine what amount or part of every
such expense shall be charged, and the person, if known, against whom,
and the premises upon which the same shall be levied as a special
assessment, and as often as the Commission shall deem it expedient
they shall require all of the several amounts so reported and determined,
and the several lots or premises, and the persons chargeable therewith,
respectively, to be reported by the Clerk to the City Assessor for
assessment.
Upon receiving the report mentioned in the preceding section,
the City Assessor shall make a special assessment roll, and levy as
a special assessment therein, upon each lot or parcel of land so reported
to him or her and against the persons chargeable therewith, if known,
the whole amounts of all the charges so directed as aforesaid to be
levied upon each of such lots or premises respectively, and when completed
he or she shall report the assessment to the Commission, and all the
several assessments shall be kept separately.
[Amended 11-7-1950]
When any special assessment roll shall be reported by the City
Assessor to the Commission, as in this Charter directed, the same
shall be filed in the office of the Clerk. Before confirming the assessment
roll the Commission shall set a date for the review of the same and
shall cause a notice to be published once not less than five days
prior to the date set for such review, in a newspaper of general circulation
in the City to be designated by the Commission, which notice shall
set forth the fact of the filing of the assessment roll with the City
Clerk, the time when the Commission and City Assessor will meet to
review the assessment roll, and a description of the lots, premises,
and parcels of land assessed. Any person objecting to the assessment
against lands owned by him or her may file his or her objections thereto
in writing with the Clerk.
At the time and place appointed for the purpose as aforesaid
the Commission and City Assessor shall meet and there, or at some
adjourned meeting, review the assessment roll, and shall hear any
objections to any assessment which may be made by any person deeming
himself or herself aggrieved thereby, and the Commission may correct
said roll as to any assessment, or description of premises, appearing
therein, and may confirm it as reported, or as corrected or they may
refer the assessment back to the City Assessor for revision; or annul
it and direct a new assessment, in which case the same proceedings
shall be held as in respect to the previous assessment. When a special
assessment be confirmed, the Clerk shall make an endorsement upon
the roll showing the date of the confirmation.
When any special assessment roll shall be confirmed by the Commission
it shall be final and conclusive.
All special assessments shall, from the date of confirmation
thereof, constitute a lien upon the respective lots or parcels of
land assessed, and shall be a charge against the respective owners
of the several parcels as assessed until paid.
[Amended 2-16-1959]
Upon the confirmation of any special assessment, the amount
thereof may be divided into not more than 20 installments, one of
which shall be collected each year, at such times as the Commission
shall determine, with annual interest at the rate not exceeding 6%
per annum, provided no interest shall be charged until 30 days after
confirmation; if the last day of any month, falls on Sunday or a legal
holiday, or a day when the Treasurer's Office is officially closed,
then such payment may be made without interest, or without additional
interest, as the case may be, on the next secular day. The whole assessment
may be paid to the City Treasurer at any time after confirmation in
full with accrued interest thereon.
All special assessments, except such installments thereof as
the Commission shall make payable at a future time, as provided in
the preceding section, shall be due and payable upon confirmation.
[Amended and adopted 11-2-1954]
In all cases of special assessments of any kind against any
property where such assessments have failed to be valid in whole or
in part, the Commission shall have and are hereby authorized to cause
to be reassessed such special taxes or assessments, and to enforce
their collection. It is further provided that whenever for any cause,
mistake, or inadvertence, the amount assessed in any assessment district
shall not be sufficient to pay the cost of the improvement for which
the assessments were made, that it shall be lawful and the Commission
is hereby directed and authorized to cause a reassessment to be made
upon all the property in said local assessment district to pay for
such improvements and to continue requiring such reassessments until
a valid and sufficient assessment shall have been made. It is further
provided that if the special assessment collected in any special improvement
district shall exceed the full cost of such improvement, including
the estimated cost of engineering and all other costs required in
connection with the said improvement, by more than 5% of such total
cost, the amount of such excess shall be credited on the assessment
roll to the respective properties assessed on said roll, or in case
of any assessment which has been paid in full, the amount of such
excess shall be refunded to the person paying such assessment.
No judgement or decree, nor any act of the Commission vacating
a special assessment, shall destroy or impair the lien of the City
upon the premises assessed, for such amount of the assessment as may
be equitably charged against the same, or as by a regular mode of
proceeding might have been lawfully assessed thereon.
Whenever any special assessment shall be confirmed and be payable,
the Commission may direct the Clerk to report to the City Assessor
a description of such lots and premises as are contained in said roll,
with the amount of the assessment levied upon each, and the name of
the owner or occupant against whom the assessment was made, and direct
said City Assessor to levy the several sums so assessed respectively.
The City Assessor shall levy the sums therein mentioned upon the respective
lots and premises to which they are special assessed, and against
the persons chargeable therewith, as a tax, in the general tax roll
next thereafter to be made, in a column for special assessments, and
thereupon the amount so levied in said tax roll shall be enforced
and collected with the other taxes in the tax roll, and in the same
manner; and shall continue to be a lien upon the premises assessed
until paid, and when collected shall be paid into the City Treasury.
[Amended and adopted 11-7-1950]
Whenever any special assessment roll shall be confirmed, the
Commission instead of requiring the assessments therein to be reported
to the City Assessor, as provided in the preceding section, may direct
the said assessments to be collected directly from the special assessment
roll together with any interest which may become due thereon; and
thereupon the Clerk shall attach his or her warrant to said special
assessment roll, commanding the Treasurer to collect the amount of
money assessed against each lot, premises, or parcel of land described
in said roll together with any interest which may become due thereon,
at such times and in such manner as prescribed by the City Charter
and by resolution of the Commission. Said warrant shall further require
the City Treasurer on the first day of April following the date when
such assessments, or any installment thereof, have become due, to
submit to the Commission a sworn statement setting forth a description
of the lots, premises, and parcels of land as to which such delinquency
exists, and the amounts of such delinquency, including accrued interest
computed to April 1st of such year.
Upon receiving said special assessment roll and warrant the
Treasurer shall proceed to collect the amount assessed therein. If
any person shall neglect or refuse to pay his or her assessment upon
demand, the Treasurer shall seize and levy upon any personal property
found within the City or elsewhere within the State of Michigan, belonging
to such person and sell the same at public auction, first giving six
days' notice of the time and place of such sale, by posting such notice
in three public places in the City or township where such property
may be found. The proceeds of such sale, or so much thereof as may
be necessary for that purpose, shall be applied to the payment of
the assessment, the costs and expenses of seizure and sale, and the
surplus, if any, shall be paid to the person entitled thereto.
The Treasurer shall report delinquent assessments or installments
thereof, as required in the warrant of the Clerk.
[Amended and adopted 11-7-1950]
In case the Treasurer, pursuant to the provisions of the warrant
of the City Clerk, shall report as delinquent any assessment or installment
thereof, the Commission shall certify the same to the City Assessor,
who shall reassess the same on the next annual City tax roll, in a
column headed "Special Assessments," with interest to April 1st of
such year, and an additional penalty of 5% of such total amount, and
such total amount when so reassessed upon said tax roll, shall be
collected in all respects as provided for the collection of City taxes.
Unpaid special assessments reassessed upon the City tax roll shall
be returned to the County Treasurer for collection at the same time
and in the same manner as City taxes.
At any time after a special assessment has become payable, the
same may be collected by suit, in the name of the City, against the
person assessed, in an action of assumpsit, in any court having jurisdiction
of the amount. In every such action a declaration upon the common
counts for money paid shall be sufficient. The special assessment
roll and a certified order of resolution confirming the same shall
be prime[1] facie evidence of the regularity of all the proceedings
in making the assessment, of the whole amount due, and of the right
of the City to recover judgement therefor.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
If, in any such action, it shall appear that by reason of any
irregularities or informalities, the assessment has not been properly
made against the defendant, or upon the lot or premises sought to
be charged, the court may nevertheless, on satisfactory proof that
expenses have been incurred by the City, which is a proper charge
against the defendant, or the lot or premises in question, render
judgement for the amount properly chargeable against such defendant,
or upon such lots or premises.
If the owner or occupant of any lot or premises shall fail to
remove the snow, ice, and filth from the sidewalk upon which such
property abuts, or to remove and keep the same from obstruction, encroachments,
encumbrances, or other nuisances, or fail to perform any other duty
required by the City in respect to such sidewalks or the premises
of any person within such time and in such manner as the City shall
require, the City may cause the same to be done, and the expenses,
or such part thereof as the City shall have determined, together with
a penalty of 10% may be charged and collected as a special assessment
against such property as in this Charter provided.
Revenues and moneys raised by taxation in every special assessment
district in the City, shall be credited to separate special assessment
funds; and money so raised shall be used solely for the purpose specified.
Provided, if there be a surplus after paying for the specified improvement
such surplus shall be refunded pro rata as follows: By refund where
the tax has been paid in full, and by credit on the assessment roll
where the tax has not been fully paid.
When expenses for any improvement shall be assessed in a special
assessment district and there shall be lands belonging to the City
school buildings, or other public buildings or public grounds not
taxable fronting upon such improvement, such part of the expense of
such improvement as in the opinion of the Commission would be justly
apportionable to such public grounds, buildings, and City property,
and to any interior squares or spaces formed by the intersection of
streets, were they taxable, shall be paid from the general City funds,
and the balance of such expense shall be assessed upon the taxable
lots and premises included in the special assessment district, in
proportion to their number of feet frontage upon such improvement.
When such assessment is to be made upon lots in proportion to their
frontage upon the improvement, if from the shape or size of any lot
an assessment thereon in proportion to the frontage would be unjust
and disproportionate to the assessment upon other lots, the Commission
may assess such lots for such number of feet frontage as in its opinion
will be just, or the City may issue bonds or notes therefor as they
may determine.
[Amended and adopted 11-7-1950]
Any resolution, notice, or other proceeding under this chapter
may relate to one or more improvements, district, or assessment rolls
as the case may be. Bonds in anticipation of the collection of special
assessments spread upon more than one roll may be included in one
issue or series of bonds: provided, that the same shall not obligate
one special assessment district to answer for the default of another.
