§ 25A. Street improvements.

(a)

General authority. The City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, is hereby authorized and empowered to establish and change the grade of any streets, avenues, alleys, lanes, and other public places in the City of Fort Valley, and improve the same by curbing, paving, macadamizing, and draining the same whenever, in its judgment, the public convenience and welfare may require such improvements, subject only to the limitations described in this act [section].

(b)

Declaration of necessity; publication; protest; petition. Whenever the said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall deem it necessary to grade, pave, macadamize, drain, or otherwise improve any street, avenue, alley, lane, or any part thereof within the limits of the City of Fort Valley, said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall, by resolution or ordinance, declare such work or improvement necessary to be done, and such resolution or ordinance shall be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a daily or weekly newspaper published and having a general circulation in the City of Fort Valley; and if the owners of more than one-half (½) of the linear front feet of the land fronting on such improvement, and liable to assessment, to pay for such improvement on such street, alley, lane, or highway, shall not within fifteen (15) days after the last publication of such resolution or ordinance file with the clerk of the said mayor and city council of Fort Valley their protest in writing against such improvement, then said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall have power to cause such improvements to be made, and to contract therefor and to levy assessments as herein provided for. Any number of streets, avenues, alleys, lanes, or other public places or parts thereof to be so improved may be included in one resolution or ordinance, but any protest or objection shall be made as to each street or other highway separately, except as treated as one project, as hereinafter provided; provided, however, that if the owners of more than one-half (½) of the front feet of the land liable to assessment for any such improvement shall petition the City of Fort Valley for such improvement of any street or part of street, alley, lane, or avenue, or other public place described in such petition, the character of the improvement desired, the width of the same, and the material preferred by petitioners for such improvement, it shall thereupon be the duty of said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, to promptly cause the said improvement to be made in accordance with the prayer of said petition, the type of improvement, curbing, guttering, or sidewalk, the width of same, and the materials to be used to be determined by the mayor and city council of Fort Valley, and in such cases, the resolution or ordinance hereinbefore mentioned shall not be required; provided, however, that where two (2) or more streets running in the same general direction from one continuous way, they may be treated as one street, and the improvement thereof, as in this act [section] provided, shall constitute one project and shall be dealt with accordingly as to resolutions, ordinances, or petitions of property owners or protest by property owners, or other proceedings.

(c)

Cost; pro rata payment; assessment. The lots, pieces, or parcels of land fronting and abutting upon both sides of said improvement shall be charged with the cost thereof, and each property owner to pay his pro rata portion of the entire cost on his particular street or continuous street improvement [in] one project according to the linear frontage of the property owned by each property owner on the portion of the street or streets improved, provided that the City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, may in its discretion in the foregoing resolution or ordinance provide that the frontage of intersecting streets, avenues, alleys, or lanes shall be assessed as real estate abutting upon the street, alley, lane, or avenue paved or otherwise improved, in which case, said City of Fort Valley shall be, for all intents and purposes of this act [section], an owner or legal representative of real estate abutting on any street, lane, alley, or avenue or project, and shall possess the same rights and privileges as all other owners of real estate abutting on any such street, lane, alley, or avenue, or other project, and shall pay from the city treasury a just pro rata of the entire cost of said work or improvement for the said frontage, such payment to be made out of the general funds of the City of Fort Valley accruing from taxes collected during the current year, or other sources of current revenue; and provided further, that the City of Fort Valley may at any time and in the manner provided by law hold a bond election for the purpose of raising such amount as may be necessary to defray the pro rata share of the City of Fort Valley in any paving project provided for in this act [section], and to reimburse to the fund such sum or sums as may have been withdrawn therefrom as herein provided; provided, however, that the paving of any sidewalk or sidewalks shall not necessarily be included in any general paving project and the cost thereof pro rated as in this act [section] provided, but all sidewalk paving may be done separately and apart from a general paving project, and the entire cost thereof levied and assessed against the abutting property.

Charter reference— Sidewalk improvements generally, § 26.

(d)

Installation of water, gas, sewer pipe. Whenever the petition provided for in section 3 [subsection (b)] of this act [section] is presented, or when the City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall have determined to curb, pave, or improve any street, avenue, lane, or alley or other public place, and shall have passed the resolution or ordinance provided for in section 3 [subsection (b)] of this act [section], the said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall then have the power to enact all ordinances and to establish all such rules and regulations as may be necessary to require the owners of all property subject to assessment to pay the entire cost of such improvement, and to cause to be put in and constructed all water, gas, or sewer pipe in and underneath the streets, avenues, lanes, alleys, and all other public places where such public improvements are to be made, or any storm sewerage or drainage installation which may be necessary collaterally to care for the proper drainage of any paving project or projects provided for in this act [section], and all cost and expense thereof shall be taxed against such property, and shall be included and made a part of the general assessment to cover the cost of such improvement.

(e)

Commencement of work; advertisement for bids; award of contract. After the expiration of the time for objection or protest on the part of the property owners, if no sufficient protest be filed, or on receipt of the petition for such improvement signed by the owners of more than one-half (½) of the linear front feet of the land to be assessed, if such petition shall be found to be in proper form and properly executed, the said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall adopt a resolution reciting that no such protest has been filed, or the filing of such petition, as the case may be, and expressing the determination of said city to proceed with the improvement, stating the material to be used and the manner of construction, and defining the extent, character, and width of the improvement, and other such matters as may be necessary to instruct the agent or engineer of said city in the performance of his duties in preparing for such improvements the necessary plans, plats, profiles, specifications, and estimates. Said resolution shall set forth any such reasonable terms and conditions as said City of Fort Valley deems proper to impose with reference to letting the contract and the provisions therefor, and the said city shall, by said resolution, provide that the contractor shall execute to the city a good and sufficient bond in an amount to be stated in such resolution, conditioned for the full and faithful performance of the work and the performance of the contract, and for the protection of the city and all property owners interested against any loss or damage by reason of the negligence or improper execution of the work, and may require a bond in an amount to be stated in such resolution for the maintenance of good condition of such improvement for a period of not less than five (5) years from the time of its completion, or both, in the discretion of said city. Said resolution shall also direct the agent or engineer of said city to advertise for sealed proposals for furnishing the materials and performing the work necessary in making such improvements. The notice for such proposals shall state the street, streets, or other public places to be improved, the kinds of improvements proposed, what, if any, bond or bonds will be required to be executed by the contractor aforesaid and shall state the time when and the place such sealed proposals shall be filed, and when and where the same will be considered by said City of Fort Valley. Said notice shall be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a daily or weekly newspaper having a general circulation in the City of Fort Valley. At the time and place specified in such notice, the City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall examine all bids received, and, without unnecessary delay, award the contracts to the lowest and best bidder who will perform the work and furnish the materials which may be selected and perform all the conditions imposed by the said City of Fort Valley as prescribed in such resolution and notice for proposals, which contract shall in no case exceed the estimate of cost submitted by the agent or engineer of said city with the plans and specifications; and the said city shall have the right to reject any and all bids and readvertise for other bids when any such are not, in its judgment, satisfactory; provided, however, that the City of Fort Valley in submitting proposals for bids shall have full right and authority to decide upon any one or more different types of paving and kinds of materials, reserving full right to contract for the type of paving and materials to be used as, in the opinion of the mayor and city council of Fort Valley, may be for the best interest of the City of Fort Valley, and being authorized to reject any and all bids submitted; it being the purpose of this provision to enable the City of Fort Valley to defer the determination of the type of paving and the materials to be used until after proposals shall be received upon the various types thereof.

(f)

Board of appraisers; appointment, duties, etc.; appraisal, apportionment of cost, protest; assessment a lien. As soon as the said contract is let and the cost of such improvements, which shall include all other expenses incurred by the City of Fort Valley, its mayor and city council, shall by resolution appoint a board of appraisers, consisting of its agent or engineer, the clerk of the said city, and a member of the board of tax assessors, to appraise and apportion the cost and expense of the same to the several tracts of land abutting on such improvement. Within ten (10) days from the date of the resolution appointing said board, the said board shall file a written report of the appraisal and assessment and apportionment of such expense and cost of the several lots and tracts of land abutting on such street, streets, alley, lane, avenue, or other public place so improved, with the clerk of said city. When said report shall have been returned and filed, the said city shall appoint a time for the holding of a session of its mayor and city council, or shall designate a regular meeting of its mayor and city council for the hearing of any complaints or objections that may be made concerning the said appraisement, apportionment, and assessment as to any such lots or tracts of land abutting on said improvement, and notice of such session for a said hearing shall be published by the clerk of said city at least once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a daily or weekly newspaper having a general circulation in said city, and said notice shall provide for an inspection of such return by any property owner or other party interested in such return. The time fixed for said hearing shall not be less than five (5) nor more than ten (10) days from the last publication. The said mayor and city council at said session shall have power to review and correct said appraisement, apportionment, and assessment, and to hear objections to the same, and to confirm the same either as made by said board or as corrected by said mayor and city council. Assessments in conformity to said appraisement and apportionment as confirmed by said mayor and city council shall be payable in ten (10) equal installments, and shall bear interest at the rate of seven (7) percent per annum until paid, payable in each year at such time as the several installments of the assessments are made payable each year. The said mayor and city council shall by ordinance levy assessments, in accordance with the said appraisement and apportionment as so confirmed, against the several tracts of land liable therefor, and shall cause said appraisement and apportionment to be recorded on the mortgage records of Peach County, duly certified as correct by the clerk of the mayor and city council of Fort Valley; and when so recorded, the charges assessed against the various parcels of land shall become a first lien thereon, superior to all other liens, except those to the State of Georgia, the County of Peach, and the City of Fort Valley.

(g)

Payment of assessment by installments, within thirty [(30)] days. The first installment of said assessments, together with interest to that date upon the whole, shall be due and payable on the first day of September next succeeding the passage of said ordinance, and one installment, with the yearly interest upon the amounts remaining unpaid, shall be payable on the first day of September in each succeeding year until all shall be paid, provided that, if such assessing ordinance shall be passed after the first day of August in each year, the first installment of such assessment and interest shall be due and payable on September first of the following year. Said ordinance shall also provide that the owners of the property so assessed shall have the privilege of paying the amounts of their respective assessments within thirty (30) days from the date of the passage of said ordinance. The owners of the property so assessed shall be allowed to make payments of their respective assessments without interest, within said period of thirty (30) days, to the treasurer of the City of Fort Valley, and relieve their property from the lien of such assessment, which money so paid to said treasurer shall be dispersed pro rata between the contractor and the city in proportion to the respective interests.

(h)

Nature of lien. Such special assessment and each installment therefor and the interest thereon are hereby declared to be a lien against the lots and tracts of land so assessed, from the date of the ordinance levying the same, coequal with the lien of other taxes and prior to and superior to all other liens against such lots or tracts, and such liens shall continue until such assessments and interest thereon shall be fully paid, but unmatured installments shall not be deemed to be within the terms of any general covenant or warranty.

(i)

Bonds; issuance, payment, registration. The said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the passage of said ordinance confirming and levying said assessments, shall by resolution provide for the issuance of bonds in the aggregate amount of such assessment remaining unpaid, bearing the date fifteen (15) days after the passage of the ordinance levying the said assessments, and of such denominations as the said City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall determine, which bond or bonds shall in no event become a liability of the City of Fort Valley, or its mayor and city council issuing same. One-tenth ( 1/10 ) in amount of any such series of bonds, with the interest upon the whole series to that date, shall be payable on the fifteenth day of September next succeeding the maturity of the first installment of the assessment and interest, and one-tenth ( 1/10 ) thereof with the yearly interest upon the whole amount remaining unpaid shall be payable on the fifteenth day of September in each succeeding year until all shall be paid. Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding seven (7) percent per annum from their date until maturity, payable annually, and shall be designated as "Fort Valley Street-Improvement Bonds," and shall on the face thereof recite the street or streets, or other public places for the improvement of which they have been issued, and that they are payable solely from assessments which have been levied upon the lots and tracts of land benefited by said improvements under authority of this act [section]. Said bonds shall be signed by the City of Fort Valley by the mayor and city council of Fort Valley, and shall have the impression of the corporate seal of such city thereon, and shall have interest coupons attached, and all bonds issued by authority of this act [section] shall be payable to the bearer at such place, either within or without the State of Georgia, as shall be designated by said mayor and city council of Fort Valley. Said bonds shall be sold at not less than par, and the proceeds thereof applied to the payment of the contract price and other expenses by the said mayor and city council, or such bonds in the amount that shall be necessary for that purpose may be turned over and delivered to the contractor at par value in payment of the amount due him on his contract, and the portion thereof which shall be necessary to pay other expenses incident to and incurred in providing for said improvements shall be sold or otherwise disposed of as the said city council shall direct. Said bonds may be registered by the said clerk of the mayor and city council of Fort Valley in a book to be provided for that purpose, and certificates of registration by the clerk of said mayor and city council of Fort Valley shall be endorsed upon each of said bonds.

(j)

Collection of assessments; sale of property in event of nonpayment. The assessments provided for and levied under the provisions of this act [section] shall be payable by the persons owning the said lots or tracts of land as the several installments become due, together with the interest thereon, to the treasurer of the City of Fort Valley, who shall give proper receipt for such payment. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to keep an accurate account of all such collections by him made, and such collections shall be kept in a special fund to be used and applied for the payment of such bonds and the interest thereon, and for no other purpose. It shall be the duty of said treasurer, not less than thirty (30) days and not more than forty (40) days before the maturity of any installment of such assessments, to publish in a daily or weekly newspaper having a general circulation in said city, once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks, a notice advising the owner of the property affected by such assessment of the date when such installment and interest will be due, and designating the street or streets or other public places for the improvement of which such assessments have been levied, and that, unless the same shall be promptly paid, proceedings will be taken to collect said installment and interest. And it shall be the duty of said treasurer, promptly at the date of the maturity of any such installment or assessment and interest, and on or before the fifteenth day of September of each year, in case of a default in payment of such installment or assessment with interest, to issue an execution against the lots or tract of land assessed for improvement, or against the party or persons owning the same for the amount of such assessment with interest, and shall turn over the same to the marshal of the City of Fort Valley, or his deputy, who shall levy the same upon the adjoining real estate liable for such improvement. And after advertisement and other proceedings, as in case of sales for city taxes of said city, the same shall be sold at public outcry, as in other city tax sales, to the highest bidder, and such sales shall vest an absolute title in the purchaser, subject to the lien of the remaining unpaid installments or assessments with interest, provided, that the defendant shall have the right to file an affidavit denying that the whole or any part of the amount for which said execution issued is due, and stating what amount he admits to be due, which amount so admitted to be due shall be paid or collected before the affidavit is received, and affidavit received for the balance. All affidavits shall set out in detail the reason why the affiant claims the amount is not due, and when received by the city marshal shall be returned to the superior court of Peach County, Georgia, and there tried and the issue determined as in cases of illegality for delay under the Code of Georgia; and it shall be the duty of the judge of said superior court to give preference to the trial of these cases over all other cases pending in said court. The failure of said treasurer to publish said notice of the maturity of any installment of said assessment and interest shall in no wise affect the validity of the assessment and interest and the execution issued therefor.

(k)

Suit to set aside, enjoin improvements; limitation. No suit shall be sustained to set aside any such assessment or to enjoin the said City of Fort Valley or its mayor and city council from making such assessment or levying or collecting any such assessment, or issuing such bonds or providing for their payment as herein authorized, or contesting the validity thereof on any ground or for any reason other than for the failure of the City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, to adopt and publish the preliminary resolution or ordinance provided for in section 3 [subsection (b)] of this act [section] in cases requiring such resolution or ordinance and its publication, and to give the notice of the hearing of the appraisers as herein provided for, unless such suit shall be commenced within sixty (60) days after the passage of the ordinance making such final assessment, provided, that in the event any special assessment shall be found to be invalid or insufficient for any reason whatsoever, the said mayor and city council of Fort Valley may at any time, in the manner provided for the levying of an original assessment, proceed to cause a new assessment to be made and levied, which shall have like force and effect as an original assessment.

(l)

Cumulative effect of section. In all cases where the City of Fort Valley, by its mayor and city council, shall deem it necessary to repave, redrain, remacadamize, or otherwise improve any street, alley, avenue, lane, or other public place, which had not been paved or improved prior to the passage of this law, such pavement or improvement is hereby authorized to be done under and in pursuance of the provisions of this act [section]; and in such cases, all provisions of this act [section] for making such improvement and levying assessments therefor and the issuance of bonds shall apply; it not being the intention of this act [section] to repeal any present or existing laws for the paving or improving the streets of Fort Valley, but it is intended for this act [section] to be cumulative as to all such improvements in said city.

(m)

Computation of time for notice. The publication of all notices in a daily or weekly newspaper called for in this act [section] shall be the number of days therein specified, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays.

(n)

Procedure when governmental unit owns property abutting improvement. Whenever the abutting landowners of any street, alley, avenue, or lane of said city petition the City of Fort Valley as herein set out, or the mayor and city council of said city pass the resolution or ordinance provided for in section 3 [subsection (b)] of this act [section], for the pavement of any street, sidewalk, avenue, alley, or lane or other public place, where the state or any of its political subdivisions is the owner of any property on said street, the frontage so owned is to be counted as if owned by an individual, and shall be likewise treated for the purpose of assessment; and where the state is the owner of the property, the governor is authorized to sign any petition provided for in this act [section], for and in behalf of the state, and where the county is the owner, the Ordinary [judge of probate] of Peach County sitting for county purposes is authorized to sign in behalf of the county; and where the City of Fort Valley is the owner, the mayor of Fort Valley is authorized to sign in behalf of the city.

State law reference

Street improvements, O.C.G.A. § 36-39-1 et seq.

Editor's note

The above act [section] has been arbitrarily designated as section 25A by the editor.