Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 02-19-08 workshop agenda — reading text

of special assessments against the property specially benefited for the entire cost of such work, or for such portion thereof as shall not be borne by the city, such assessments to be and remain liens upon the lands against which assessed until paid, provided that in no event shall the amount of such special assessments exceed the special benefit accruing to the property assessed by reason of such improvement work. In thecase of streets, alleys, ramps, sidewalks, seawalls, bulkheads, breakwaters, and promenades the unit or basis for distributing the special assessment to pay the cost of such improvement shall be according to the front footage of the property' fronting or abutting upon such improvement in the proportion that the particular parcel of land to be assessed bears to the total front footage of all property fronting or abutting thereon; in the case of the drainage or filling in of low places or the construction andmaintenance of water and sewer systems and drains, the unit for the assessment of the share and amount of the cost to be distributed and assessed against any particular parcel of land shall be the platted lot according to the last plat thereof recorded amongst the public records at the time of commencing such work and it shall not be necessary for the city to break the assessment down as a result of any division of such lots which is not revealed by such recorded plat and each such platted lot shall bear such fair and just proportion of the cost of such work as was necessarily expended in connection with the improvement or benefit accruing thereto. The city shall have a lien superior to all other claims, except taxes, against and upon the property for the amounts of the special assessment together with interest and all costs of collection. 1/ 2/2008 http:l/libraryI. municode.com/default/DoeView/ I1041/ l/3/ 12 CHAPTER. IX. ENUMERATION OF PARTICULAR POWERS Page 4 of 6 Whenever the doing of any such thing is provided for by ordinance, the ordinance providing for the same shall be accompanied by plans and specifications therefor and shall state the estimated total cost which will in the opinion of the city council cover the total cost of the work and the proportion to be borne by the city, if any, and the estimated amount per front foot as special assessment to be levied upon abutting property, or the estimated cost to be specially assessed against the platted lot, to be benefited as the case may be, and shall be published once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in Duval County, Florida, or posted for thirty ( 30) days at the city hall and two ( 2) other public places in the said city and the city council shall meet as soon as practicable after the expiration of said publication or posting at a time named in the ordinance, and permit any owner of, or other persons interested in, any property against which it is proposed to levy such special assessment, to present to the city council any objections which he may have to the enforcement of the requirement of such ordinance, and shall have power, if they deem just or right, to revise, repeal, or amend said ordinance in such manner as it may deem necessary to correct or equalize the assessment in proportion to the benefits to be bestowed upon the property assessed, but no such amendment shall increase the amount to be specially assessed against the property, nor shall the assessment against any propertybe in excess of the special benefits accruing to said property by reason of such work. Any person owning or interested in any property to be specially assessed, or generally taxed for said work, who shall not at such meeting present in writing to the city council his objections to said ordinance, shall be deemed to have consented to its provisions, and any person so presenting his objections to such ordinance and not satisfied with the action thereon shall have the right within thirty ( 30) days thereafter to present to any court of competent jurisdiction against the enforcement of said ordinance any legal objection he may have to the enforcement of such ordinance, and the court shall have power, upon proper cause shown, to grant such injunction and any person not presenting his bill for injunction within thirty (30) days, or failing to push to a successful conclusion with due diligence his application for an injunction shall be deemed to have consented to the enforcement of the ordinance, and levy and collection of the special assessment and taxes necessary thereto, and shall not thereafter be heard to defend against or question the validity of such tax or special assessment. The city council is hereby authorized to provide by ordinance for the issuance of special assessment certificates for such amounts and drawing such rates of interest and upon such terms and conditions as may be deemed necessary to enable the city to pay the cost of such work pending the collection of special assessments and taxes and to provide for the payment thereof with interest; and the city council shall, as soon as practicable and within thirty (30) days after the completion of any such work, by resolution, fix a special assessment, per front foot upon the abutting property or the special assessment against the platted lot to be benefited, as the case may be, at an amount not exceeding either the actual cost of the work, or the estimated special assessment stated in the ordinance providing for the work, which said resolution shall specify the amount of the cost of such work so assessed against the abutting or benefiting property and the fact that a lien has been assessed against such property with a breakdown of the specific amount which has been assessed against each particular parcel of property to be particularly described therein and shall provide that the city clerk shall forthwith have prepared and entered in a book, which shall be prepared and kept for that purpose, and kept open to the public for inspection during reasonable office hours, labeled " IMPROVEMENT LIEN BOOK ", the amount of such lien assessed against each lot, the date of the completion of the work and such other information as may be deemed advisable. The city council shall cause said resolution to be published in a newspaper published in Duval County once each week for four (4) consecutive weeks, or by posting same at the city hall and two ( 2) other public placed in said city for a period of thirty (30) days. Any person desiring to contest in any manner the validity ofany such special assessment or lien shall within thirty (30) days after the publication or posting at the city hall and two ( 2) other public places in said city of the resolution fixing the special assessments, institute suit to have the enforcement thereof enjoined, or its validity legally declared, and any person not instituting such suit shall not thereafter be heard to question the validity thereof, or to defend against the enforcement of the lien upon the grounds of its invalidity. Any such special assessment paid within thirty ( 30) days after the publication or posting of such resolution shall be accepted without interest and such assessment not paid within said time shall bear interest from the date of publication or posting of such resolution at a rate not to exceed eight (8) percent per year. The city council may, by ordinance, provide for the payment of such special assessments in installments and for the collection by enforcement of the lien' s by attorney or attorneys C17- 6 1/ 2/ 2008 http:// Iibraryl. municode.com/default/DocView/ l 1041 / 1/ 3/ 12 CHAPTER IX. ENUMERATION OF PARTICULAR POWERS Page S of 6 after any payment has not beenmade in compliance with the provisions of such ordinance. The liens for the amount of such special assessments may be enforced, and any number of liens arising under the provisions of one ordinance may be enforced in and by one proceeding in equity. The city shall have and collect a lien upon any properties affected by such special assessment for reasonable attorneys fees for the collection of unpaid special assessment after the collection thereof shall have been entrusted to an attorney by resolution of-the city council. Section 54. Water, sewer, gas, electric, garbage collection and disposal or incineration services and facilities. The city shall have the power to acquire, purchase, lease, sell, erect, establish, install, operate, maintain, extend, or improve, water, sewer, sewage treatment, gas, electricity, garbage collection and disposal or incineration plants or systems or either thereof, and may engage in the business of furnishing, supplying, transmitting or selling water, gas, electricity, garbage collection and disposal or incineration, sewer, or sewage treatment and disposal services and facilities to any person or corporation either within or outside of the city limits, and the city council shall be authorized to fix rates, fees and charges to be assessed, imposed upon and collected from the users of such services and facilities for making connections thereto and for the services and facilities furnished and provided by said plants or systems, or either thereof, and prescribe reasonable rules and regulations in connection therewith, and provide that upon nonpayment of such charges, fees, or rates, or noncompliance with such rules and regulations for, or as to any of such municipally owned or operated public utilities, services or facilities, all municipally owned or operated utilities' services and facilities may be disconnected or discontinued; and to pledge or hypothecate the revenues derived thereby, or which may be anticipated to be produced therefrom, to finance the cost of acquiring, constructing, establishing, operating, maintaining, extending or improving any such utilities' services or facilities, or any part thereof, or any combination thereof. The city may also issue bonds in the manner now provided by law and use the funds derived from the sale thereof for any of the aforesaid purposes. The city council shall have power by ordinance to require the owner, tenant or occupant of each lot or parcel of land within the city which abuts a street, alley, or other public way containing a city water or sewer service, or which is located within one hundred ( 100) feet thereof, and upon which lot or parcel a building or other inhabitable structure has been or shall be erected for residential, commercial or industrial use, to connect the said building or structure to the said water and sewer systems, orto such of said several and respective systems as may from time to time be or become available within the aforesaid distance, and to enjoin and prohibit said owner, tenant or occupant from using any other method for the several and respective water or sewer utility services after the same become available as aforesaid. Section 55. Amusement or recreation pier. The city is hereby given the power and authority to erect, construct, or grant franchise or franchises to any person or persons for the erection or construction of amusement or recreation piers extending easterly from the bulkhead line of the city into the Atlantic Ocean, a distance not more than one mile; the city, or its grantee under a franchise, shall have the right to operate, maintain, receive, charge, collect and assess charges, tolls, fees, or rents for the uses, privileges or facilities thereof; the city shall be authorized to pledge or hypothecate the revenues derived, or which may be anticipated to be produced from the operation or leasing thereof