The council, on behalf of the town, shall have
power to:
(a)
Acquire property by condemnation within its corporate
limits for any town purpose, whether or not such property is already
devoted to public use, and to condemn such excess beyond that needed
for actual improvement as may reasonably be required to protect, preserve
and facilitate the making of the improvement, and to sell or lease
such excess property with restrictions to protect and preserve the
improvement;
(b)
Levy and collect taxes in the form of special assessments
upon property in a limited determinable area for special benefits
conferred upon such property by any municipal work or improvement;
and to provide for the payment of all or any part of the cost of the
work or improvement out of the proceeds of such special assessments;
provided, however, that the council may delegate some or all of its
duties pursuant to this chapter to a board of special assessments
pursuant to Charter Chapter IV, Section 7.
Special assessments levied for any improvement
having a life expectancy of ten or more years may be made payable
within ten years in annual or more frequent installments, and interest
charges not to exceed ten percent annually on any unpaid portion of
any assessment may be levied.
The amount assessed against any property for
work or improvement may be equal to but shall not exceed the value
of the benefits accruing to the property therefrom. In addition to
the foregoing restriction, the town shall not accept streets as public
streets except as specifically provided by ordinance passed by the
council.
An appeal from any final action taken pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter by the council may be taken by an
aggrieved person within fifteen days of notice to him or her of said
final action to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford-New
Britain in the same manner as is provided in Chapter XII, Section
12, hereof.
Special assessments levied as provided in the
foregoing provisions of this chapter, together with interest thereon,
shall be paid to said town by those upon whose property the assessment
is made and shall be a first lien and have priority over any other
lien or encumbrance, except for taxes, upon the property assessed,
until the same has been fully paid; and the payment thereof may be
enforced by said town in a civil action in the name of the town, or
by foreclosure in the same manner as a mortgage is foreclosed, or
by a conveyance in lieu of foreclosure or by any other appropriate
remedy as the council may determine by ordinance. Notes or other obligations
may be issued in anticipation of the collection of assessments, pursuant
to the provisions of Section 5 of Chapter VII of this charter, or
pursuant to the provisions of Section 8 of Chapter VII of this charter.
No special assessment shall be held invalid
because the amount thereof is either more or less than the amount
required for the work or improvement for which made. If the amount
is more than necessary, the excess shall first be credited on any
unpaid installments of the assessments already levied against the
individual parcels of property and any balance then remaining shall
be refunded to the property owners in proportion to such assessments.
If the amount assessed is less than necessary, or if the court, upon
appeal, awards a greater sum as damages or assesses a lesser sum as
benefits than that appealed from, the additional amount required shall
be paid by the town.
