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TITLE IV.

Action of common council on

provements.

land situated on the line of the improvement, each of such persons being the owner of at least one building lot on said line, of the usual size of city lots.* Whenever such petition shall be presented, the common council shall cause a petition for imnotice to be published in the corporation newspapers, published in said city, that such application has been made, and of the time (which shall not be less than twenty days after the first publication of such notice,) when they will proceed on such petition, which notice shall be published daily in the corporation newspapers for two weeks successively; and in case a remonstrance against the proposed improvement, signed by a majority of the owners of the lots of land within the district of assessment which shall be fixed by the common council for said improvement, shall be presented to them on or before the day specified in said notice, they shall not allow the said improvement to be made or proceed further therein. But nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as in any way to affect the proceedings heretofore commenced by the common council of said city.-Laws of 1859, Chap. 213, Sec. 1.

exceed one

§ 29. No proceedings shall be commenced by the com- Expense not to mon council of said city of Brooklyn, or by any of the third value of officers of said city, to regulate and grade, or to pave, or to property. regrade and repave any street or avenue, or for the digging down or filling in lots in said city, the expense of which shall impose upon any lot of land an assessment exceeding onethird of its value, independent of any erection of buildings thereon, and which value shall be ascertained as hereinafter provided.-Ibid, Sec. 2-(See Laws of 1871.)

sessment to be

§ 30. The common council shall lay out a district of as- District of assessment in every case contemplated in this act before any laid out-exother proceedings are had therein, and shall cause a map to pense of imbe made under the direction of the board of commissioners be estimated. provement to of city works, by a competent surveyor, on which map shall be designated, by feet and inches, as near as may be, the several pieces of land and premises to be assessed for the improvement, and shall estimate the expense of any improvement or work referred to in the first and second sections of this act; and the assessors of said city, or such of them as shall be required so to do by the said common council, shall ascertain the value of the premises proposed to be assessed, in conformity with the second section of this act, for such expenses, stating how much of said expense is proposed to be assessed upon each lot, and shall report the same to the common council before any such improvement or work shall be ordered or determined upon by the said

* In relation to digging down and filling up lots, see Section 13, Sub-Division 23 of Title II, as amended by Laws of 1868, Chap. 635, and 1871, Chap. 866. + Amended in regard to filling in lots by Laws of 1871, Chap. 866.

TITLE IV.

Who chargeable with expense where petition is refused.

When the improvement may be ordered and how.

Expense not to be a charge against city.

common council; such assessors shall, at the same time, report to the common council, for their information, an estimate of the amount of benefit which such lot will derive from such improvement, but such estimated benefit shall not be computed as a part of the value of said lots for the basis of assessment referred to in this act.-Ibid, Sec. 3.

§ 31. The person so applying, and who shall have signed a petition for any such improvement, shall be chargeable with, and are hereby declared liable for, all charges and expenses which may accrue on such application, if the same is refused by the said common council.—Ibid, Sec. 4.

32. Upon the presentation of any application for any improvement or work specified or referred to in the first section of this act, and after taking the action directed in the preceding section, the said common council, if they determine that a petition for such improvement has been presented by a majority of the persons owning lands situated on the line of the improvement, and that the assessment proposed to be imposed upon each lot is in just proportion to the benefit which said lot is to receive from such improvement or work, and is the just proportion of the expense of such improvement or work which said lot should bear, and also that such assessment does not exceed onethird of the assessed value of such lot as directed to be ascertained by this act, and in case no sufficient objections are made thereto, the said common council may then proceed to order such improvement or work to be done; and the determination, in good faith, of the common council, in respect to all the facts to be ascertained for the purpose of commencing and carrying on such proposed improvement or work, shall be final and conclusive; provided that such action shall be in conformity with this act, and that no contract for such improvement or work shall be made which shall in any event exceed in amount the estimated expense of such improvement or work, and that the assessment for the expense of such improvement shall be confined to the district of assessment laid out by the common council as aforesaid.-Ibid, Sec. 5.

§ 33. In no event shall any expense for any improvement or work contemplated by the first and second sections of this act be a charge against the city of Brooklyn; except so far as said city may be the owner of lands to be assessed for such work or improvement.-Ibid, Sec. 6.

Money not to be paid on ac§ 34. It shall be a misdemeanor, and punishable as such, count of improvement, un for any person or officer in the city of Brooklyn to take less as provided. from the treasury of said city, by warrant or otherwise, any

money for or on account of the expense of any local improvement hereafter to be made in said city, unless the same has been first assessed, collected and paid into the treasury to the credit of said improvement.-Ibid, Sec. 7.

TITLE IV.

ing or draining

§ 35. Nothing in this act contained shall be construed so Filling in, gradas to prevent the common council of said city from causing of lots. lots to be filled, graded or drained, in the manner now provided by law, in cases where the board of health, or the common council as a board of health shall determine that such filling in, grading or draining is necessary in order to secure or protect the public health; but such determination shall be reduced to writing, and shall set forth the particular reason or reasons which render such filling in, grading or draining necessary, and notice thereof shall be immediately published for three successive days in the corporation newspapers, with a description of the lot to be so filled in, graded or drained, and such determination shall also be reported to the mayor at least one week before the common council shall take any action thereon.—Ibid, Sec. 8.*

streets, etc.

§ 36. The mayor and common council of the city of Macadamizing Brooklyn, in addition to any powers that they now possess in relation to the grading or paving of streets or avenues, shall also have the power to macadamize any street or avenue in said city, and lay an assessment therefor on any property that they may deem benefited by such improvement, in the same way as is now provided by law for the grading and paving of streets and avenues in said city. Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to allow any street or avenue to be so macadamized, except it shall be done in the manner provided for the grading or paving of streets in the first and second sections of this act.-Ibid, Sec. 9.

local improve

§ 37. No assessment for a local improvement in the city of Assessment for Brooklyn shall be confirmed, or be a lien upon the property ments, when to to be assessed therefor, until after the work shall have been be a lien. completed according to contract. The comptroller of the said city is hereby authorized to pay from the proceeds of assessment bonds, to be issued in accordance with this act, to the contractors on all contracts confirmed by the common council for regulating, grading, regrading, paving or filling any street or avenue in the city of Brooklyn; but no When monies moneys shall be paid on account of said assessments or con- shall be paid on tracts until the whole work has been completed, and a copy pense of local of the original contract has been filed with the comptroller improvements.

*See title II., Sec. 13, sub-division 23, in relation to digging down and filling lots, &c.

account of ex

TITLE IV.

Penalty for

of the city by the board of commissioners of city works or other head of the department having such work in charge, with a certificate in writing from such board of commissioners of city works or other head of such department, stating that the said contract has been fulfilled and completed according to the terms of the original contract. Upon receiving said certificate the comptroller shall pay seventy per cent., as aforesaid, and the remaining thirty per cent. shall be reserved until the final collection of the said assessment.-Laws of 1860, Chap. 444, Sec. 1.

§ 38. If the certificate of the board of commissioners of false certificate. city works or other head of any department in the last section mentioned and referred to shall be in any respect false or untrue, within the knowledge or notice of the person making such certificate, he and all persons aiding or abetting therein shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding the amount on such certificate represented to be due, and by imprisonment not exceeding five years.-Ibid, Sec. 2.

Assessment bonds authorized.

Contractors,

paid for work

on local improvements.

39. For the purpose of providing for the payments contemplated by this act, it shall be the duty of the common council to authorize and direct the comptroller of the said city from time to time to borrow such sums as may be necessary for the purpose in the second section mentioned, upon bonds to be executed by and on behalf of the city of Brooklyn, to be known as "assessment bonds," at a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent. per annum; and the bonds so issued shall be paid from the collections made on the assessment lists when confirmed by the common council of the city of Brooklyn, and which collections are hereby specifically pledged for such purpose.-Ibid, Sec. 3.

§ 40. It shall be the duty of the comptroller to endorse how and when all payments to the contractors upon the contract upon which the payment is made. No payment shall be made upon any contract beyond the amount thereof, and the final payment thereon shall not be made until the street commissioner, or other head of the department having such work in charge, shall furnish to the comptroller, who shall file the same in his office, a certificate signed by the board of commissioners of city works or the head of such department, that the work mentioned in such contract has been completed according to the terms of said contract, and to the satisfaction of the board of commissioners of city works or the head of the department giving such certifi cate. The final payment reserved upon any such contract shall be at least thirty per cent. on the amount thereof, and the certificate for such final payment shall not be given

until the work shall have been completed according to the contract, and until the assessment for said work shall have been confirmed by the common council. The assessment shall include a sum sufficient to cover interest at seven per cent. upon the moneys advanced to the contractors.-Ibid, Sec. 4.

TITLE IV.

to be kept-sur

§ 41. The comptroller shall keep a record of all," assess- Record of asment bonds" so to be issued, specifying the particular work sessment bonds on account of which the same were issued; and all moneys plus interest to collected on account of any work for the payment of which be paid into sinking fund. said bonds were issued shall be faithfully applied as aforesaid. All sums received or retained by the comptroller for interest from the contractors, beyond the amount paid as interest upon the assessment bonds authorized by this act, shall be paid into the sinking fund pledged for the redemption of the city debts.-Ibid, Sec. 5.

§ 42. All that part of title two, section twenty-six of an Defaults to be act entitled "an act to consolidate the cities of Brooklyn paid into sinking fund. and Williamsburgh and the town of Bushwick," passed April seventeenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, whereof the mayor of the city of Brooklyn is authorized to remit penalties or defaults for the delay in the completion of contracts is hereby repealed, and the said defaults, together with the interests above mentioned, shall be paid into the said sinking fund.—Ibid, Sec. 6.

land owners to "petition for im

§ 43. The common council of the city of Brooklyn shall Majority of have power to cause streets and avenues to be graded, paved, turnpiked or macadamized in said city, but no pro- provements of ceedings shall be had unless upon a petition signed by a majority of the persons owning land situated on the line of the said improvement.-Laws of 1861, Chap. 169, Sec. 1.

streets.

sessment to be

given for re

§ 44. Whenever a petition for grading, paving, turnpik- District of asing or macadamizing any street or avenue in said city, fixed, public signed by a majority of the persons owning land situated notice to be on a line of the same, shall be presented to the common monstrances. council, they shall first fix and determine the limit or district beyond which the assessment for said improvement shall not extend; they shall then cause a notice to be published in all the corporation newspapers for ten days successively, that such application has been made, together with a description of the limit or district within which the assessment shall be confined (which shall not be less than twenty days after the first publication of such notice,) when they will proceed on said petition, and unless a remonstrance, signed by a majority of the persons who will be assessed for the expense thereof, shall be presented to them on or

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