Sec. 274-27. - Special assessments.
Whenever the owners of 51 percent of the front footage of property abutting, adjoining or contiguous to any previously constructed canal outside the limits of any municipality but within a subdivision of land, a plat of which has been prepared and recorded according to law, shall present to the board of county commissioners of Collier County (hereinafter called board), a petition in such manner and form as the said board may prescribe, requesting that said canal be cleared, maintained in any manner, or dredged (hereinafter called improvements), the said board may adopt its resolution ordering that the work and improvements described in the petition be done.
(Laws of Fla. ch. 67-1239, § 1)
Sec. 274-27. - Special assessments.
To provide for the payment of the costs of any improvements constructed under the authority of this article, the board may levy and collect special assessments on the abutting, adjoining, contiguous, specially benefited property, in the manner following:
(1)
Special assessments against property deemed to be benefited by local improvements, as above provided, shall be assessed upon the property specially benefited by the improvement in proportion to the benefits to be derived therefrom, said special benefits to be determined and prorated according to area of the respective properties specially benefited by said improvement or the footage abutting on the canal, or by such other method as the board may prescribe.
(2)
When the board may determine to make any improvement as authorized under this article and defray the whole or any part of the expense thereof by special assessments, the board shall so declare by resolution stating the nature of the proposed improvement and its location by route, termini, area or other appropriate means, and the portion of the expense thereof to be paid by special assessments, the manner in which said special assessments shall be made, when said assessments are to be paid, what part, if any, shall be apportioned to be paid from any other sources or funds, and said resolution shall also designate the lands upon which the special assessments shall be levied, and in describing said lands it shall be sufficient to describe them as "all lots and lands adjoining and contiguous to such improvements or otherwise, and further designated by the assessment plat hereinafter provided for." Such resolution shall also state the total estimated cost of the improvement.
(3)
At the time of the adoption of the resolution provided for in subsection (2) above, there shall be on file with the clerk of the circuit court of Collier County an assessment plat showing the area to be assessed, with plans and specifications, and an estimate shall be open to the public for inspection during regular office hours of said clerk.
(4)
Upon the adoption of the resolution provided for in subsection (2) above, the board shall cause said resolution to be published in a newspaper of general circulation published in Collier County, Florida, one time by two publications one week apart.
(5)
Upon the adoption of the resolution aforesaid, the board shall cause an assessment roll to be made in accordance with the method of assessment provided for in said resolution, which assessment roll shall be completed and filed with the clerk of the circuit court, as ex officio clerk of the board as promptly as possible; said assessment roll shall show the lots and lands assessed, the amount of the assessment against each lot or parcel of land, and if said assessment is to be paid in installments, the number of annual installments in which the assessment is divided shall also be entered and shown upon said assessment roll.
(6)
Upon the completion of said assessment roll, the board shall by resolution fix a time and place at which the owners of the property to be assessed, or any other persons interested therein, may appear before said board and be heard as to the propriety and advisability of making such improvements, as to the cost thereof, as to the manner of payment therefor and as to the amount thereof to be assessed against each property so improved. Ten days' notice in writing of such time and place shall be given to such property owners which shall be served by mailing a copy of such notice to each of such property owners at his last known address, the names and addresses of such property owners to be obtained from the records of the tax assessor of Collier County, Florida, proof of such mailing to be made by affidavit of the chairman of the board, the clerk of the board, or its attorney having knowledge of the fact. Proof of mailing shall be filed with the clerk of circuit court, and ex officio clerk of the board, provided that failure to mail any of said notices shall not invalidate any of the proceedings hereunder. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall also be given by two publications, one week apart, in a newspaper of general circulation in Collier County, Florida, with the last publication being at least one week prior to the hearing. Said notice shall describe in a general manner the improvements to be constructed and advise all persons that the description of each property to be assessed and the amount to be assessed to each piece or parcel of property may be ascertained at the office of the clerk of the circuit court in and for said county. Such service by publication shall be verified by the affidavit of the publisher and filed with the clerk of the circuit court.
(7)
At the time and place named in the notice provided for in subsection (5) above, the board shall meet as an equalizing board to hear and consider any and all complaints as to such special assessments, and shall adjust and equalize the said assessments on a basis such a tax assessments are equalized, and when so equalized and approved by resolution of the board, such assessments shall stand confirmed, and remain legal, valid and binding first liens upon the property against which such assessments are made, until paid; provided, however, that upon completion of the improvement the board shall credit to each of said assessments the difference in the assessment as originally made, approved and confirmed, and the proportionate part of the actual cost of said improvement by special assessments as finally determined upon the completion of said improvement, provided that in no event shall the final assessments exceed the amount of benefits originally assessed. Promptly after such confirmation, the assessments shall be recorded by the clerk of the circuit court, as ex officio clerk of the board, in a special book to be known as the Improvement Lien Book, which shall be a public record, and the record of the lien in said book shall constitute prima facie evidence of its validity.
(8)
Said assessments shall be payable at the time and in the manner stipulated in the resolution providing for said improvements, and said special assessments shall remain liens, co-equal with the lien of other taxes, superior in dignity to all other liens, titles and claims, until paid, and shall bear interest at a rate of six percent per annum from the date of the acceptance of the improvement and may, by the resolution aforesaid, be made payable in not more than ten equal annual installments, plus interest as aforesaid on the balance from time to time unpaid; provided that said assessments may be paid without interest at any time within 30 days after the improvement is completed, and a resolution accepting the same has been adopted by the board.
(9)
Each annual installment provided for in subsection (8) above shall be paid upon the dates specified in said resolution, with interest upon all deferred payments, until the entire amount of said assessment has been paid, and upon the failure of any property owner to pay any annual installment when due, or any part thereof, or any annual interest upon deferred payments, the board shall cause to be brought the necessary legal proceedings by a bill in chancery or like procedure to enforce payment thereof, with all accrued interest, together with all legal costs incurred, including a reasonable attorney's fee, to be assessed as part of the costs, and in the event of default in the payment of any installment of an assessment, or any accrued interest on said assessment, the whole assessment with the interest thereon shall immediately become due and payable and subject to foreclosure. In the foreclosure of any special assessment service of process against unknown or nonresident defendants may be had by publication, as now provided by law in other chancery suits. The foreclosure proceedings shall be prosecuted to a sale and conveyance of the property involved in said proceedings as now provided by law in suits to foreclose mortgages.
(Laws of Fla. ch. 67-1239, § 2)