If a proposed improvement or project is submitted
to a vote of the taxpayers and the majority of all votes cast at the
taxpayers' election is in favor of said improvement or project, the
City Council shall forthwith proceed to carry out the same. If necessary,
the City Council shall raise by tax the sum of money so voted for
such purpose. No such tax shall be raised except as provided in the
statement and for the purposes approved by the taxpayers' election.
A.
No street, alley or highway in said City shall hereafter be paved, curbed or guttered except upon written petition to the City Council of said City signed by a majority of the taxpayers of said City owning land abutting upon the street, alley or highway or the portion thereof proposed to be improved or upon written petition to the City Council of said City signed by the owner or owners of a majority with front footage abutting upon the street, alley or highway or the portion thereof to be improved, except as herein otherwise provided. Joint tenants, tenants by the entirety, tenants in common or other cotenancies shall be considered to constitute a single owner for computation of a majority. Upon the presentation of such a petition to the City Council, the Council shall proceed to consider the same, and, if by resolution it shall determine to grant such petition, the same shall be referred to the Director of Public Works and Assessor in accordance with § C-48D for hearings and reports to the City Council.
B.
Whenever the Director of Public Works shall submit a recommendation, in writing, to the City Council that any specified street, alley or highway or portion thereof be paved, curbed or guttered, together with reports of the Director of Public Works and the Assessor made in accordance with § C-48E, such recommendations shall be considered by the City Council, which may preliminarily accept the same, notwithstanding the fact that no petition as herein provided for or otherwise shall have been presented. The Council shall thereupon fix a date for a hearing thereon and cause notice thereof to be mailed in postpaid envelopes to the owners of the land abutting upon said street or way or portion thereof proposed to be paved, to their addresses as the same may appear on the last assessment roll, notifying said owners of proposed action by the City Council regarding the improvement of such street, alley or highway. Said property owners shall have the right to appear and be heard thereon before said City Council at the hearing, which shall be held not less than 10 days subsequent to the mailing of notices as aforesaid. The City Council shall have the power, after hearing such property owners or, in default of their appearing as above provided, by a 3/4 vote of the entire Council to order that such street, alley or highway or portion thereof be improved, specifying in such resolution the approved recommendations contained in the reports of the Director of Public Works and the Assessor.
The City Council may determine that the entire
cost of all original pavement, curbs and gutters shall be a general
City charge or that the entire cost shall be raised by assessment
upon the abutting property or owners; or it may determine and provide
that a portion of the cost of such improvements shall be borne by
the abutting property or owners and a portion thereof by the City
and what said portions shall be.
A.
The City Council shall have the power to resurface, repair or rebuild all or any portion of existing pavement, curbs and gutters and sidewalks. To meet the expenditure for this purpose, the Council is authorized to include all or a portion of that expenditure in the annual budget and levy the same by direct tax. The expenditure authorized by this section for pavement and curbs and gutters shall be borne by the City at large. The cost of sidewalk repairs and any driveway repairs necessitated by other repairs authorized by this section shall be borne entirely by the record owner of the abutting property; provided, however, that the cost to abutting property owners shall not exceed the actual value of the benefit received. The Director of Public Works must approve all specifications prior to the initiation of work by a private contractor of any sidewalk repairs and/or driveway repairs. Reports prepared in accordance with § C-48E et seq. for sidewalk and driveway repairs may be submitted after completion of the improvements, and the authority to select actual improvements or repairs to be made in any specific year may be delegated to the Director of Public Works at the time of the approval of the budget for general improvements and repairs.
B.
Upon successful
completion of sidewalk repair work and approval by the Director of
Public Works and/or his or her designee, the property owner shall
be reimbursed $3 per square foot as a materials rebate for any and
all newly installed sidewalk blocks.
[Amended 7-26-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
[Amended 8-28-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017; 11-25-2019 by L.L. No. 1-2020]
Every tax and assessment imposed under any of
the provisions of this article shall be a lien upon all real estate
against which the same shall be assessed from the time of the assessment
and levy thereof by the City Council and for 10 years thereafter,
unless sooner paid, with interest. The cost and expense of engineering
and inspection in the course of construction of all public improvements
constructed in said City shall be borne and paid by the City at large.
There shall not be charged any fees or commissions for the collection
of any paving tax or tax or assessment for putting in any sewer connections,
provided that such tax or assessment is paid to the City Clerk/Treasurer
when the same is due and payable.
