Title 81, FOURTH CLASS CITIES

Sec. 1. Any city may acquire, purchase and erect all such public buildings as may be required for the use of the corporation and may purchase, acquire, appropriate and own such real estate as may be necessary for public grounds, parks, markets, public buildings and other purposes…

Sec. 2. When the council shall deem it for the public interest, grounds and buildings for city prisons, workhouses and other necessary public uses, may be purchased, erected and maintained beyond the corporate limits of the city; and in such cases the council shall have authority…

Sec. 3. The council shall have authority to lay out, establish and enlarge, or vacate and discontinue public grounds and parks within the city, and to improve, light and ornament the same, and to regulate the care thereof, and to protect the same and the appurtenances thereof fro…

Sec. 1. The council of any city may establish, construct and maintain sewers and drains whenever and wherever necessary, and of such dimensions and materials, and under such regulations as they may deem proper for the drainage of the city; and private property, or the use thereof…

Sec. 10. Special assessments for the construction of sewers shall be made in the manner provided in this act for making special assessments.

Sec. 11. When the owner of a majority of the lands liable to taxation in any sewer district or part of the city which may be constituted a sewer district, shall petition for the construction of a sewer therein, the council shall construct a district sewer in such location, and if…

Sec. 12. Whenever the council shall deem it necessary for the public health, they may require the owners and occupants of lots and premises to construct private drains therefrom to connect with some public sewer or drain, and thereby to drain such lots and premises; and to keep s…

Sec. 13. The owners or occupants of lots and premises shall have the right to connect the same, at their own expense, by means of private drains, with the public sewers and drains, under such rules and regulations as the board of public works shall prescribe.

Sec. 14. The board of public works may charge and collect annually from persons whose premises are connected by private drains with the public sewers, such reasonable sum, not exceeding 2 dollars per year, as they may deem just, in proportion to the amount of drainage through suc…

Sec. 15. Such part of the expenses of providing ditches and improving water-courses as the council shall determine, may be defrayed by a special assessment upon the lands and premises benefited thereby, in proportion to such benefits.

Sec. 16. The expenses of repairing public sewers, ditches and water-courses may be paid from the general sewer fund. The expenses of reconstructing public sewers shall be defrayed in the manner herein prescribed for paying the expenses of the construction thereof.

Sec. 17. The council may enact such ordinances as may be necessary for the protection and control of the public drains and sewers, and to carry into effect the powers herein conferred in respect to drainage of the city.

Sec. 2. The board of public works shall have the management, supervision and control of the sewers, sewerage system and drainage of the city, and the charge of their construction, subject to the general direction and approval of the council as herein provided, and the council may…

Sec. 3. Whenever it may become necessary, in the opinion of the council, to provide sewerage and drainage for the city or for any part thereof, it shall be their duty to instruct and direct the board of public works to devise, or cause a plan of such sewerage or drainage to be de…

Sec. 4. Such plan shall, in the discretion of the board, be formed with a view to the division of the city into main sewer districts, each to include 1 or more main or principle sewers, with the necessary branches and connections; the districts to be numbered and so arranged as t…

Sec. 5. Main sewer districts may be subdivided into special sewer districts in such manner that each special district shall include 1 or more lateral or branch sewers connecting with a main sewer, and such lands as in the opinion of the board, subject to the approval of the counc…

Sec. 6. The council may, however, provide for main or trunk sewers without reference to sewer districts, and may direct the board of public works to prepare diagrams, or plats thereof, which, when approved by the council, shall be recorded in the office of the clerk, in the book …

Sec. 7. The cost and expenses of establishing and making any main or trunk sewers constructed without reference to sewer districts shall be paid from the general sewer fund, excepting that portion as the council shall deem to be of benefit to adjacent private property, which prop…

Sec. 1. The council shall have supervision and control of all public highways, bridges, streets, avenues, alleys, sidewalks and public grounds within the city, and shall cause the same to be kept in repair, and free from nuisance. No city subject to the provisions of this act sha…

Sec. 11. The council shall have the power to prohibit and prevent obstructions and encumbrances in, and encroachments upon the public highways, streets and alleys of the city, and to remove the same, and to punish those who shall obstruct, encumber, encroach or maintain any encro…

Sec. 12. The council may provide for and regulate the planting of shade and ornamental trees in the public highways, streets and avenues of the city, and for the protection thereof; and may light the streets and public places, and regulate the setting of lamps and lamp posts ther…

Sec. 13. The council may regulate the making of all openings in, and removals of, the soil of public streets, and for the laying or repair of sewers, drains, tunnels, gas pipes, water pipes, or for any other purpose; and may prohibit and prevent all such openings, and removals of…

Sec. 14. The council may regulate the use of the public highways, streets, avenues and alleys of the city, subject to the right of travel and passage therein. They shall have authority to prescribe the stands for all vehicles kept for hire, or designate the places where loads of …

Sec. 2. The council shall have authority to lay out, open, widen, extend, straighten, alter, close, vacate or abolish any highway, street or alley in the city, whenever they shall deem the same a public improvement; and if in so doing it shall be necessary to take or use private …

Sec. 3. When the council shall deem it advisable to vacate, discontinue or abolish any street, alley or public ground, or any part thereof, they shall by resolution so declare, and in the same resolution shall appoint a time, not less than 4 weeks thereafter, when they will meet …

Sec. 4. The council may cause all public streets, alleys, and public grounds to be surveyed, and may determine and establish their boundaries and cause those surveys and descriptions to be recorded in the office of the city clerk, in a book of street records; and they shall cause…

Sec. 5. The council shall have authority to determine and establish the grades of all streets, avenues, alleys and public grounds within the city, and to require improvements and buildings adjacent to or abutting upon such streets, alleys or grounds to be made and constructed in …

Sec. 6. Whenever any street, alley or public highway shall have been graded, or pavement shall have been constructed in conformity to grades established by authority of the city, and the expense thereof shall have been assessed upon lots or lands bounded by or abutting upon such …

Sec. 7. Whenever the grade of any street or sidewalk shall have been heretofore, or shall hereafter be established, and improvements shall thereafter be made by the owner or occupant of the adjacent property in conformity to such grade, such grade shall not be changed without com…

Sec. 8. The council shall have power to grade, pave, plank, gravel, curb, and otherwise improve and repair the highways, streets, avenues, lanes, and alleys of the city; and for that purpose, and for defraying the expenses thereof, may divide the city into street districts. The t…

Sec. 9. Such part of the expenses of improving any street, lane or alley, by grading, paving, planking, graveling, curbing, or otherwise, and of repairing the same as the council shall determine, may be paid from the general street fund or from the street district fund of the pro…

Sec. 1. The city council shall have control of all sidewalks in the public streets and alleys of the city, and may prescribe the grade thereof, and change the same when deemed necessary. They shall have power to build, maintain and keep in repair sidewalks and crosswalks in the p…

Sec. 2. The council shall also have authority to require the owners and occupants of lots and premises to build, rebuild and maintain sidewalks in the public streets adjacent to and abutting upon such lots and premises and to keep them in repair at all times, and to construct and…

Sec. 3. The council shall also have power, either by ordinance or resolution, to cause and require the owners and occupants of any lot or premises to remove all snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of or adjacent to such lot and premises, and to keep the same free from obstru…

Sec. 4. If the owner or occupant of any lot or premises shall fail to build, rebuild or maintain any particular sidewalk as mentioned and prescribed in the last 2 sections, or shall fail to keep the same in repair, or remove the snow, ice and filth therefrom, or to remove and kee…

Sec. 5. The council shall have power to regulate and prohibit the placing of signs, awnings, awning posts, and of other things upon or over sidewalks, and to regulate or prohibit the construction and use of openings in the sidewalks, and of all vaults, structures and excavations …

Sec. 1. The council may determine that the whole or part of the expense of a local public improvement or repair shall be defrayed by special assessments upon the property specially benefited and so declare by resolution.

Sec. 2. The complete special assessment procedure to be used, including the time when special assessments may be levied, the kinds of local public improvements for which a hearing is required on the resolution levying the special assessments; the preparing of plans and specificat…

Sec. 3. After the date of confirmation of any roll levying a special assessment, the full amount of the assessment and all interest thereon shall constitute a lien on the premises subject thereto and that amount shall also be a debt of the person to whom assessed until paid and, …

Sec. 4. An action of any kind shall not be instituted for the purpose of contesting or enjoining the collection of any special assessment unless, within 45 days after the confirmation of the special assessment roll, written notice is given to the council indicating an intention t…

Sec. 5. The city council may borrow money and issue bonds of the city therefor in anticipation of the payment of special assessments in 1 or more special assessment districts, which bonds may be an obligation of the special assessment district or may be both an obligation of the …

Sec. 1. Private property may be appropriated for public use in any city for the purpose of opening, widening, altering or extending streets, alleys and avenues; for the construction of bridges, for public buildings and for other public structures, for public grounds, parks, marke…

Sec. 10. To assist the jury in arriving at their verdict, the probate court may allow the jury, when they retire, to take with them the petition filed in the case and a map showing the location of the proposed improvement and of each and all parcels of property to be taken, and m…

Sec. 11. Amendments either in form or substance may be allowed in any paper, petition, process, record or proceeding, or in the description of property proposed to be taken, or the name of any person, whether contained in a resolution passed by the council or otherwise, whenever …

Sec. 12. Upon filing the report and award made by any jury with said probate court he shall enter it upon the docket of his proceedings, and a copy thereof may be taken by the city attorney for the use of the council; and at any time thereafter, and within 40 days after the impan…

Sec. 13. If such jury should be unable to agree upon a verdict, or for any cause should fail to render a verdict, said probate court shall, on the application of the city attorney, designate some day and hour when another jury may be impaneled, and such other jury shall be obtain…

Sec. 14. If any juror, after being sworn, and before the hearing shall have been commenced, shall die, or from sickness or any other cause be unable to discharge his duties as a juror, said probate court may cause to be drawn another person to serve in his place, who shall be swo…

Sec. 15. Any party aggrieved by the judgment of confirmation hereinbefore mentioned, may, within 10 days after the entry thereof, appeal therefrom to the circuit court of the county, by filing with the probate court a claim of appeal, in writing, under oath, in which he shall set…

Sec. 16. Within 10 days after taking such appeal said probate court shall make and certify a return to said appeal, setting forth a transcript from his docket of all the proceedings and the judgment of confirmation entered therein, and shall attach thereto the report of the jury,…

Sec. 17. Upon filing the return to the probate court, as mentioned in the preceding section, the circuit court shall have jurisdiction of the case. The parties may proceed to trial by jury without reference to any term of court upon the question as to the amount of damages to be …