The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 24 Appendix : Municipal Charters

Chapter 261 : Village of Orleans

• § 20. Power of trustees in laying sewers; proceedings by persons dissatisfied

  Whenever the public health or convenience shall require the construction of a common sewer or main drain in the Village of Orleans, the trustees of said Village, upon application in writing of five or more freeholders and legal voters of said Village, are hereby authorized and empowered to lay, make, and maintain such common sewer or main drain and relay and repair the same from time to time when necessary, and for such purposes may take the land of individuals and corporations on making compensation for the land so taken; and the trustees shall proceed in the same manner as is by law prescribed for the selectboard in taking land for public highways and in awarding damages therefor; and the said trustees shall make a return of their doings to the office of the Clerk of said Village, who shall record the same in the records of the Village. Every person whose particular drain shall enter into any such sewer or main drain or who in the opinion of such trustees shall receive benefit thereby for draining his or her premises shall be liable to contribute his or her just share towards the expense of laying and constructing such sewer or drain, and shall be assessed therefor by said trustees such share; and notice of the time and place of such assessment for said contribution shall be given to such person, his or her agent, tenant, or lessee, and a certificate of such assessment shall be left with the Clerk of said Village and recorded by said Clerk, and when so recorded the amount so assessed shall be and remain a lien in the nature of a tax upon the land or premises so assessed or benefited until the same shall be paid; and if the owners of such lands shall neglect for the space of more than 60 days after the final decision of said trustees, or in case of an appeal to the County Court for more than 60 days from the final decision of said court, to pay to the Village Treasurer the amount of said assessment, the trustees shall issue their warrant for the collection of the same directed to the Village collector of taxes who shall have power and authority to sell at public auction so much of said land or personal effects or other property not exempt by law from attachment, levy of execution, or distraint for taxes, of such delinquent, as will satisfy such assessment and all legal costs and fees, and who shall proceed in the same manner as Collectors of Taxes are required by law to proceed in selling real estate or personal effects or property of delinquent taxpayers at auction for collection of town taxes. When any person shall be dissatisfied with the decision of said trustees in the award of damages for land taken for a sewer or drain or in any assessment for contribution for the same, such person may petition the County Court for Orleans County for a reassessment of such damages or contribution, and any number of persons aggrieved may join in the petition, but such petition shall not delay the laying or repairing such sewer or drain; such petition shall be served on the Clerk of such Village within 60 days next after the award of damages or said assessment for contribution shall be filed in said Clerk’s office. Such proceedings shall be had in said County Court on said petition as are provided by law for the reassessment of damages for land taken for highways by the laws of the State except as herein provided, and the commissioners appointed by said County Court to reexamine any assessment or contribution shall notify the Clerk of said corporation of the time and place when they shall hear said matter. (Added 1892, No. 114, § 20; amended 1908, No. 256, § 1.)