§ 20-1. Authority to provide improvements and to levy and collect special assessments against property benefitted thereby.

(a)

Supplemental and in addition to any other means or authority provided by law, ordinance or resolution to make public improvements of any kind, Osceola County may, by its board of county commissioners, on its own initiative or by petition (as set forth below), provide for the construction, reconstruction, repair, paving, repaving, hard surfacing, rehard surfacing, widening, guttering and draining of streets, boulevards and alleys; for grading, regrading, leveling, laying, relaying, paving, repaving, hard surfacing, and rehard surfacing sidewalks; and may order the construction or reconstruction of sanitary sewers, storm sewers and drains, including the necessary appurtenances thereto; and may provide for the payment of all or any part of the costs of any such improvements by levying and collecting special assessments on the abutting, adjoining, contiguous or other specially benefitted property. All facilities to be improved by petition must be dedicated to the public or otherwise be under the control of the county and accepted for county maintenance.

(b)

In the event a public improvement is requested, the county engineer will conduct a feasibility study and, based on the results of a said study, he will calculate, generally, the cost of designing and constructing the requested improvement. The county may participate in up to one-third of the cost based on the above calculations by the engineer and the adjoining property owners will bear the balance of the cost as established by said calculations.

(c)

Prior to construction, when improvements are made upon a petition, thirty (30) percent of the project cost to be borne by the adjoining property owners must be placed in escrow by said adjoining property owners with the county finance department. When, however, the county has sufficient road construction funds on hand, as determined by the county commissioners, this provision may be waived by an affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the board of county commissioners when immediate construction of such local road will be in the best interests of the public.

(d)

After completion of the project, whether by county initiative or by petition, the adjoining property owners shall have thirty (30) days, from the date notice is published pursuant to section 20-5 hereof, to pay their individual assessments without interest. Thereafter, each owner shall have three (3) years, to pay their individual balances, together with interest at the prime rate (as represented in the Wall Street Journal "Money Rates") on the date the project is completed, plus one-half percent. Interest shall be calculated beginning thirty (30) days after the date of publication as set forth in section 20-5 below. After the expiration of the three-year period, monies outstanding, at that time, an additional two (2) percent interest per annum up to the highest amount permitted by Florida law until the balance is paid in full. The changes made to this provision shall apply retroactively to the Diane Court Paving Project and the Jess Court Paving Project.

(e)

The public improvement will not include paved driveway turnouts; however, where sidewalk construction is included in the improvement, paved driveway turnouts may be included from the street through the sidewalk area. Amenities requested by the adjoining property owners that exceed the minimum standards shall be paid entirely by the owners.

(f)

If a county collector road is improved, the same participation ratio as for a local road applies. However, in addition, the county will pay for all increased costs incurred in the construction of a minimum standard collector road, the adjoining property owners' assessment being based on the cost of a local road.

(g)

To be accepted by the board for consideration, petitions must be signed by a majority of the property owners (not renters) abutting the proposed improvements and owning over half of the total frontage to be improved.

(Ord. No. 84-11, § 2; Ord. No. 85-7, § 1; Ord. No. 90-4, § 1, 4-17-90; Ord. No. 94-19, § 1, 8-15-94; Ord. No. 03-02, § 1, 10-20-03)