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Sub. H. B. No. 244 As Passed by the SenateAs Passed by the Senate
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Flowers, Mallory, Uecker, Chandler, Wagner, Bacon, Batchelder, Blessing, Combs, Daniels, Dolan, Domenick, Dyer, Fessler, Gardner, Hagan, R., Hite, Hughes, Koziura, McGregor, J., Mecklenborg, Patton, Schindel, Schneider, Sears, Setzer, Williams, B., Yuko, Zehringer
Senators Cates, Schuler, Seitz, Fedor, Harris, Spada
A BILL
To amend sections 515.04, 515.05, 515.08, 515.11,
515.12, and 515.15 and to enact section 515.16 of
the Revised Code to authorize townships to
relocate overhead cables, wires, and
appurtenant
equipment underground upon petition; to pay for a
relocation by assessing abutting and otherwise
specially benefited properties; to collect
interest on unpaid assessments for an underground
relocation project or an artificial lighting
district project; and to exempt townships from
liability for outages or other damage caused by a
relocation project, and to exempt the owners of
the cables, wires, and appurtenant equipment from
liability, unless the outage or other damage was
caused by the owner's negligence.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 515.04, 515.05, 515.08, 515.11,
515.12, and 515.15 be amended and section 515.16 of the Revised
Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 515.04. The township
fiscal officer shall fix a
day,
not more
than thirty days from the date of notice to the
board of
township
trustees, for the hearing of the petition
provided for
authorized by
section
515.02 or 515.16 of the Revised Code.
The
township
fiscal
officer or the fiscal officer's designee shall
prepare and deliver
to any of the
petitioners a
notice in writing
directed to the
lot and land
owners and to the
corporations,
either public or
private, affected
by the
improvement.
The notice
shall set
forth the substance,
pendency,
and prayer of the
petition and
the time and place of
the hearing
on it.
A copy of
the notice shall be served upon each lot or
land
owner or left at
the lot or land owner's usual place of
residence,
and upon an
officer or agent of each
corporation
having its place
of
business in
the district or area, at least
fifteen days before
the date
set for the hearing. On or before the
day of the hearing,
the person
serving
the notice shall make
return
on it, under oath,
of the
time and manner of
service and shall file
the return with
the
township fiscal
officer.
The
township fiscal officer or the fiscal officer's designee
shall give
the notice to each
nonresident lot or
land owner, by
publication once, in a newspaper
published in and
of general
circulation in the county in which the
district or area is
situated, at least two weeks before the day
set for
hearing.
The
notice shall be verified by affidavit of the
printer or
other
person knowing the fact and shall be filed with
the
township
fiscal officer or the fiscal officer's designee on or before the
day of hearing. No
further notice of the
petition or the
proceedings
under
it shall
thereafter be
required.
Sec. 515.05. At the time and place specified in the notice
for hearing on a
petition for the lighting of streets and public
ways, as provided authorized by section
515.04 or 515.16 of the
Revised Code,
the board of township trustees shall meet and hear
any and all
proof offered by any of the parties affected by such
the improvement,
and by other persons competent to testify. Such
The board shall go
over and along
such streets and public ways,
and, by actual view
thereof, and of the premises
along and
adjacent thereto and to be
lighted or benefited thereby, it shall
determine the necessity of
the improvement. The board may find
that the
improvement will
result in general as well as special
benefits. The board may
adjourn from time to time and to such
place as necessity requires.
Sec. 515.08. On accepting a bid for artificial lighting
and
bond as provided by section 515.07 of the Revised Code, the
board
of township trustees shall enter into a contract with the
successful bidder for the furnishing of such lights according to
specifications. The contract shall not be for a longer term than
ten years. The cost and expenses of furnishing and maintaining
such lights, and of the proceedings in relation thereto, shall be
paid from a fund raised by special assessments against the lots
and lands in the district which are benefited by such lighting,
provided, if the board finds that the lighting will result in
general as well as special benefits there may be paid from the
general fund of the township treasury such portion of the cost
and
expenses, except for any accrued interest on unpaid assessments,
as is found to
represent the value of the general
benefit.
Such Special assessments shall not be in excess of the
special
benefits resulting from such lighting, they shall be paid
and
collected in equal semiannual installments, equal in number to
twice the number of years for which the contract is made, and
they
shall be paid and collected in the same manner and at the
same
times that taxes are paid and collected. Any such
assessment in
the amount of five dollars or less, or with an
unpaid balance of
five dollars or less, shall be paid in full,
and not in
installments, at the time the first or next
installment would
otherwise become due and payable. Such
assessments may be made and
levied by any one of the following
methods:
(A) By a percentage of the tax value of the property
assessed;
(B) In proportion to the benefits which may result from
the
lighting;
(C) By the foot frontage of the property bounding and
abutting upon the streets, or public ways so lighted;
(D) In an equal amount against each benefited lot, this
amount to be determined by dividing the total cost per semiannual
installment by the number of benefited lots in the district.
The board of township trustees, by resolution, may provide
for the payment of interest on unpaid assessments, which shall be
treated as part of the costs and expenses of furnishing and
maintaining the lights. The resolution shall specify the rate of
interest, which shall be based on the current prime rate.
After the levy of such special assessment the board may, at
any time during any year in which installments thereof become
due,
pay out of the general fund of the township the full amount
of the
contract price for that year, provided such amount does
not exceed
the aggregate amount of the installments due for that
year.
Sec. 515.11. The board of township trustees shall certify
to
the county auditor the boundaries of the district in which
lights
are to be erected, and, when requested to do so by the
board, the
auditor shall apportion the valuation for taxation of
any lot or
parcel of land lying partly within and partly without
the
district.
The board shall, by resolution, assess against the
benefited
lots and parcels of land in the district, in accordance
with
section 515.08 of the Revised Code, such portion of the
costs of
furnishing and maintaining the lights, for the period of
the
contract and the proceedings in relation thereto, as does not
exceed the special benefits resulting from the lighting, and
shall
certify such costs to the auditor. The auditor shall
annually
place upon the tax duplicate, for collection in
semiannual
installments as provided in that section, the two
installments of
the assessment for that year, which installments, together with
any accrued interest on unpaid assessments,
shall be paid and
collected as
provided in that section.
If the number of lights to be furnished and maintained in a
district under any such contract is increased, pursuant to
section
515.09 of the Revised Code, the board shall make such
additional
assessments as are necessary to pay the cost of
furnishing and
maintaining the additional number of lights. If
the cost of
providing the lights increases, the board may make
such additional
assessments as are necessary to pay the
additional cost of the
lights. The additional assessments shall
be made, certified, and
collected in the same manner as an
original assessment, but shall
be only for the unexpired portion
of the term of the contract.
The additional assessments and any unpaid interest thereon,
when collected, shall go into the township
treasury and shall be
used by the board only for the purpose for
which they were levied
and collected.
Sec. 515.12. (A) All officers shall receive for services
performed under sections 515.01 to 515.11 515.16 of the Revised
Code
the
same fees allowed for other similar services.
The township
fiscal officer shall receive for
the
fiscal
officer's services the sum
of fifty cents from each lot or
land
owner for whom a notice is
prepared and the sum of fifty
cents for
each annual assessment
certified to the county auditor.
All payments
for the
services of township officials
shall be
included in the cost of
the lighting district or relocation and
assessed against the property.
The
compensation shall be in
addition to all other compensation
provided by law.
(B) The board of township trustees may, by resolution,
employ
additional personnel in place of the township
fiscal
officer to
prepare and certify notices for each lot or land owner
and shall
pay a reasonable sum not to exceed fifty cents for each
lot or
land owner for whom a notice is prepared and a reasonable
sum not
to exceed fifty cents for each annual assessment certified
to the
county auditor. The actual cost of
the additional
personnel,
together with other reasonable expenses incurred by the board,
shall
be assessed proportionately against each lot or
land owner
and
shall be included in the cost of the lighting
district or
relocation.
Sec. 515.15. A board of township trustees may contract only
with any the corporation, company, partnership, association,
municipal corporation, or person that owns overhead cables,
wires,
and appurtenant equipment on a street or right-of-way
located
within the township for the relocation of the overhead
cables,
wires, and appurtenant equipment underground. Nothing in this
section requires the owner of the overhead cables, wires, and
appurtenant equipment to agree to a contract that contains terms
or conditions that are not acceptable to the owner. Unless a
pre-existing arrangement provides otherwise or the parties to the
contract agree otherwise, the township shall pay the cost of the
relocation as provided in the contract. A proceeding for the
relocation may be combined with a proceeding for the furnishing
of
new street lighting facilities or other street improvement.
Any corporation, company, partnership, association,
municipal
corporation, or person with which the board of township
trustees
contracts for the relocation of overhead cables, wires,
and
appurtenant equipment underground shall identify and consult
with
the owner of such cables, wires, and equipment during the
planning
of the relocation, and shall notify the owner at least
twenty-four
hours in advance of beginning the relocation.
A board of township trustees may, by resolution, adopt and
enforce regulations requiring owners of property abutting a
street
in which overhead wires, cables, and appurtenant equipment
supplying a utility service have been relocated underground and
service connections have been provided to the street,
right-of-way, or property line, to install underground wires,
cables, or conduits from the street or right-of-way to the
buildings or other structures on the property to which the
utility
service is supplied. The township may pay the cost
incurred in
installing underground wires, cables, or conduits
from the street
or right-of-way to the buildings or other
structures on the
property to which the utility service is
supplied.
For the purpose of relocating overhead wires, cables, and
appurtenant equipment and installing underground wires, cables,
conduits, and appurtenant equipment, a township may enter upon
any
private land to examine or survey lines for the wires,
cables,
conduits, and appurtenant equipment and may appropriate
as much
land as is necessary for the relocation and installation.
The township is not liable for any service outages or other
damage caused by the underground relocation project. The owner of
the overhead
cables, wires, and appurtenant equipment is not
liable for any
service outages or other damage caused by the
underground relocation project,
unless the outage or other damage
was caused by the owner's
negligence. Nothing in this section
otherwise alters township liability under Chapter 2744. of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 515.16. Any person may file a petition with the township
fiscal officer requesting the board of township trustees to
relocate underground any overhead cables, wires, and appurtenant
equipment on streets or rights-of-way and designated private
streets in an unincorporated area of
the township. The petition
shall specify the metes and bounds of
the area to be included in
the underground relocation project and any designated properties
served by private streets as designated in the petition and shall
be
signed by at least seventy-five per cent of the landowners in
the
specified area whose land either abuts the streets or
rights-of-way, including any designated properties served by
private streets, or otherwise would be specially benefited by the
project.
The township fiscal officer shall give notice of the petition
and a copy of it to the board of township trustees, schedule a
hearing on the petition, and provide notice in the manner set
forth in section 515.04 of the Revised Code. The board shall hear
the petition in the manner set forth in section 515.05 of the
Revised Code.
If the board of township trustees decides in favor of the
petition, it shall contract only with the corporation, company,
partnership, association, municipal corporation, or person that
owns the overhead cables, wires, and appurtenant equipment that
are to be relocated. Nothing in this section requires the owner of
the overhead cables, wires, and appurtenant equipment to agree to
a contract that contains terms or conditions that are not
acceptable to the owner. Unless a pre-existing arrangement
provides otherwise or the parties to the contract agree otherwise,
the township shall pay the cost of the relocation project as
provided in the contract. Any part of the costs of the relocation
project to be paid by the township pursuant to the contract shall
be assessed upon abutting or specially benefited property.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the costs and
expenses of the underground relocation project and related
proceedings
ultimately shall be paid by special assessments
against the
properties located in the project area that abut the
streets or
rights-of-way in question, including any designated
properties served by private streets, or that otherwise are
specially
benefited by the project. The assessments shall be made
and levied
in one of the following methods:
(A) As a percentage of the tax value of the property.
(B) In proportion to the special benefit resulting from the
relocation project.
(C) By the foot frontage of the property abutting the streets
or rights-of-way.
(D) In an equal amount against each property.
The board of township trustees, by resolution, shall assess
all lands abutting the streets or rights-of-way in the project
area, including any designated properties served by private
streets, and lands otherwise specially benefited by the project.
The
resolution may allow the assessments to be paid over a number
of
years, but not more than ten years.
The board of township trustees, by resolution, may provide
for the payment of interest on unpaid assessments, which shall be
treated as part of the costs and expenses of the underground
relocation
project. The resolution shall specify the rate of
interest, which
shall be based on the current prime rate.
If the board of township trustees finds that the underground
relocation
project will result in general as well as special
benefits, the
board may pay from the township general fund a
portion of the
costs and expenses of the project, except for any
accrued interest on unpaid
assessments, that represents the value
of the general benefits. In
no case shall the total assessments
exceed the special benefits to the entire project area resulting
from the project.
The board of township trustees shall certify the assessments
and interest on unpaid assessments, when applicable, to the county
auditor. The auditor shall place the assessments and interest on
unpaid assessments, when applicable, upon the tax duplicate and
collect the assessments and interest in the same manner and at the
same time that taxes are paid and collected. The collected
assessments and collected interest shall be deposited into the
township general fund.
During any year in which installment payments of the
assessments are due, the board of township trustees, by
resolution, may waive the payments for all the assessed lands and
pay the aggregate amount of the assessments for that year minus
any accrued interest on unpaid assessments out of
the township
general fund.
The township is not liable for any service outages or other
damage caused by the underground relocation project. The owner of
the overhead
cables, wires, and appurtenant equipment is not
liable for any
service outages or other damage caused by the
underground relocation project,
unless the outage or other damage
was caused by the owner's
negligence. Nothing in this section
otherwise alters township liability under Chapter 2744. of the
Revised Code.
The provisions of section 515.15 of the Revised Code govern
relocation projects requested by petition under this section.
Section 2. That existing sections 515.04, 515.05, 515.08,
515.11, 515.12, and 515.15 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
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