Assessors to make estimate of expense.

Notice when to be pub

lished.

Owners of property may appeal to

council, shall be under the jurisdiction, management and control of the said council, for the purpose of making the improvements before mentioned as the public wants and convenience shall require.

6. Whenever a petition for opening, closing or widening a street, road, park or square shall be presented, the city council shall before taking any proceedings thereon require from a board of assessors an estimate of the expense thereof, and also a designation of what lands will in their opinion be especially benefitted by the improvement, as well as any residue belonging to persons whose property shall be taken, as other lands, and to what amounts respectively; and upon receiving the report of the board of assessors upon the matter so referred to them, the said council shall cause notice to be given in the corporation newspapers for thirty days of the pendency of such petition, the expense of the improvement, and the district of assessment, as reported by the board of assessors. If a majority of the persons to be assessed shall not consent to the making of such improvement, by written communication to the city council, at or before its first meeting after the expiration of the said thirty days, then all proceedings upon said petition shall be thereby discontinued.

§ 7. If such consent as aforesaid shall be given, the city council shall, upon notice of two weeks published in said newspapers, cause application to be made to the county court of the county of Kings, or in case of the disability of the presiding judge of said. court by reason of interest or otherwise, then to a justice of the supreme court in the county of Kings, for the appointment of three commissioners to estimate the damages of the persons whose property will be required for the improvement. The said court shall appoint freeholders in Brooklyn as such commissioners, who shall take the oath prescribed by the constitution, and who shall proceed to estimate said damage, without regard to benefit to other property owned by the same persons. Upon completing their report, they shall file the same in the office of the county clerk, and give notice of the same in said newspapers for ten days, at the expiration of which time they shall hear the parties interested, and amend their report, if they think proper, and then again file the same in said office.

§ 8. Any person whose property shall be taken, may within ten days thereafter, appeal from the said report to the said county county court. court, or in case of the disability of the first judge of said court, to the circuit court of the county of Kings. Such appeal shall be in writing, specifying the objections thereto, filed in the office of the board of assessors, and shall be tried by a jury if desired by the appellant, under the direction of the said court. Two or more persons may join in such appeal, and all appeals in any one proceeding shall be tried by the same jury, who may view the premises.

Duty of

court.

§ 9. The said court shall receive and adjudicate upon the verIt may set it aside for good cause and order a new jury.

dict.

It shall enter judgment on the verdict, and such judgment shall be final and conclusive, as to the compensation to be paid the appellants. If the compensation allowed by the commissioners be not increased on such appeal, the costs of the appeal shall be paid by the appellants.

ments when

§ 10. When the awards of the commissioners and jury shall Improvebe finally made, the city council shall determine whether such to be made. improvement shall, or not be made, and if the amount of such awards shall exceed the amount of benefit as estimated by the assessors, the excess shall, if the said council determine the improvement shall be made, be a general charge to be levied in the next annual tax.

how to be

§ 11. The board of assessors shall apportion and assess the Damages damages awarded by the commissioners and jury, and other ex-assessed. penses, to an amount not exceeding their own estimate of benefit upon the land within the said district according to their relative benefit. The assessment list shall then be filed with the clerk of the city, and notice thereof given in said newspapers for twenty days, in order that parties interested may present objections to the

same.

assessments.

$ 12. The board of assessors shall, at the expiration of the Review of said twenty days, or as soon thereafter as may be, review the said assessments and amend the same as they shall deem proper. The assessment list shall then be presented to the city council, which shall cause notice thereof to be published for ten days, at the expiration of which time it may proceed to amend the same or not as he shall deem proper, and then confirm the same. When confirmed by the said council, such assessments shall be liens on the property assessed.

§ 13. The board of assessors shall apportion and assess the Expense to expense of regulating and paving streets, and of constructing be appo wells and pumps, public cisterns, sewers and drains, and of all other public improvements, except as herein otherwise directed; and the city council shall proceed in regard to the assessments therefor, in the manner herein before provided.

§ 14. No costs of the attorney or counsel shall be charged by them Costs to be in respect to any such improvement; and they shall be charged by taxed. services in all proceedings relating thereto, as part of the duties of their appointment, and shall receive no fees or perquisites therefor, but the costs and expenses shall be taxed and included in the assessment, and be collected and paid to the treasurer of the city for the use of the city.

streets or

$ 15. No street, lane, road, or avenue, shall at any time be Closing of closed by the city council, except upon the written application of t lanes. a majority of the owners of the land bounding upon said street, road, lane, or avenue.

how to be elected.

§ 16. The city shall be divided by the city council into three Assessors districts as nearly equal in respect to population as may be, and so that no ward shall be divided. At the annual election for charter officers, first to be held under this act, there shall be elect

Board of

assessors.

Ward maps to be filed.

Secretary of the board to

ed.

ed from the persons residing in each of said districts, respectively, three assessors, who shall severally hold their office for one, two, and three years, to be determined by the mayor by lot. There shall be elected annually thereafter, one assessor from each of said districts, who shall hold his office for three years. The said council may from time to time, at the end of every third year, alter the said districts as occasion may require.

§ 17. The assessors so elected shall constitute a board of assessors, who shall, in addition to the powers conferred upon assessors in the different towns of this state, have power to rectify all errors in any tax; and any tax thereby released, shall be a charge to be levied in the next annual tax of the ward; but no such rectification, whereby any such tax shall be released, shall be made after the tax lists shall have been returned to the county treasurer by the collector.

§ 18. The ward maps, made or to be made, shall be filed in an office to be provided by the city for the use of the board of assessors, and assessments on lands in the respective wards, shall refer to such maps; and where a portion of any lot of land, laid down on said maps shall be taken for any improvement, the residue shall be deemed to be held for any assessment thereon.

§ 19. The board of assessors shall appoint a competent person be appoint as their secretary, who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the board, attend daily at their office, make out the assessment lists under the direction of said board, and perform such other duties as may be required of him by said board or the city council.

Salaries.

Collector to be chosen to hold for 3

years.

To execute a bond.

§ 20. The city council shall fix an annual compensation for such assessors and secretary, to be levied in the annual tax; and may, by ordinance, regulate their duties under the foregoing provisions, and remove such assessors for incompetency or neglect of duty.

TITLE V.

OF THE COLLECTION OF TAXES AND ASSESSMENTS.

§ 1. There shall be elected at the first charter election after this act takes effect as a law and in every third year thereafter, a collector, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, and until another person shall be elected in his place, and be duly qualified, who shall be called the collector of taxes and assessments in the city of Brooklyn. He shall keep an office in such place in the said city as the city council shall provide, which shall be open for the transaction of business during such hours as the city council shall designate, on each day in the year, except Sundays and such holidays as shall be observed by the general custom of said city, or by recommendation of public authority.

§ 2. The said collector shall execute a bond to the city of Brooklyn with at least two sureties who shall be freeholders in the county of Kings, in such penalty as the city council shall direct, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of

his office and for accounting and paying over, as directed by law, all moneys which shall be received by him as such collector. Such sureties shall severally justify, under oath, to be endorsed on said bond, in sums which together shall constitute at least double the amount of the penalty of the bond, to be approved by the city council. The bond shall be filed with the clerk of the county of Kings, and if not filed within twenty days after the collector shall be notified of his election, his office shall be deemed vacant, and no collector shall enter upon the duties of his office until such bond shall be duly executed, approved and filed. The collector's sureties shall also be renewed during his term of office, whenever and as often as the city council shall direct, and if not so renewed within twenty days after notice to the collector, his office shall be deemed vacant.

may be sus

§ 3. The city council may, by resolution, suspend the collector Collector for official neglect or misconduct, in which case they shall imme- pended for diately cause written notice with a copy of the charges thereof to cause. be left at his office; they shall then proceed to investigate the charges against him, and if such charges are sustained, may remove him from office, in the manner herein before provided for the removal of other officers of the city government.

appoint an

§ 4. The collector shall, as soon as may be, after he has taken Collector to upon himself the execution of his office, appoint some proper per-assistant. son assistant collector of taxes and assessments, to hold his appointment during the pleasure of such collector, and he shall as often as a vacancy shall occur in the office of assistant collector, appoint another in his place. And whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of collector, the said assistant collector shall execute the powers and discharge the duties of collector, until another collector shall be appointed.

ties as he

§ 5. The collector may also appoint as many deputies as he Also as may think proper, who shall hold their appointments during his many depu pleasure. Every appointment of an assistant collector, or a may think deputy collector, shall be in writing, under the hand and seal of proper. the collector, and shall be filed in the office of the clerk, of the county and every such assistant or deputy shall, before he enters on the execution of the duties of his office, take the oath prescribed in the constitution. Any default or misfeasance in office of any such assistant or deputy, shall be deemed to be a breach of the condition of the bond given by the collector who appointed him.

§ 6. The assistant collector shall have the same powers as the Powers of collector, except that of the appointment of deputies, and the assistant. collector, assistant collector and deputy collectors shall have the same powers as the collectors in the several towns of this state; but such assistants and deputies shall, in the exercise of their powers, be subject to the direction and control of the collector.

sureties.

§ 7. If any person who shall have become surety for such Privilege of collector, shall, by notice in writing to be served on the mayor or clerk of the city council, require the said collector to renew his

official bond, such person shall be discharged from any future liability as such surety from and after the settlements of the accounts of the collector for monies received prior to such discharge, who shall be required to make such settlement within thirty days after notice from the city council to that effect.

Expense of collection to § 8. There shall be added to and included in every tax and asbe included sessment levied and assessed in the city of Brooklyn, the sum of in every tax. five per cent, upon the amount of such tax and assessment for the

Penalty for embezzle

ment.

Assessment rolls when to be deliv

lectors.

expense of collection, and so much thereof as shall not be deducted for prompt payment, as hereinafter provided, together with the amount to be added for neglect to pay within the time specified in the warrants of the collectors, shall be for the use of the said city. The city council shall fix the salary or other compensation to be paid the collector, and pay the same to him out of the monies raised by tax for city purposes; and neither the said collector, nor his assistants or deputies, shall receive any other or further compensation for services or for the expenses of his office; but the city council shall provide for said collector all necessary desks, furniture, fuel, lights, books and blank forms.

§ 9. If any collector, assistant collector, or deputy collector, shall convert to his own use, in any way whatever, or shall use by way of investment in any kind of property or merchandise, or shall loan with or without interest any portion of the moneys received or collected by him on any assessment or tax roll, every such act shall be deemed and adjudged to be an embezzlement of so much of said moneys as shall be thus taken, invested, used or loaned, which is hereby declared to be a felony, punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for a term not exceeding five years.

10. The board of supervisors of the county of Kings shall cause the corrected assessment rolls of the several wards, or fair ered to col- copies thereof, with the warrants for collection, to be delivered to the collector on or before the first day of October in each year; and the city council shall cause every assessment roll made for any improvement in said city, or fair copies thereof, with a warrant for collection, to be delivered to said collector within ten days after the same shall be finally confirmed.

Warrants of

ors how made.

11. The warrants of the board of supervisors shall be under the supervis- their hands and seals, or the hands and seals of a majority of them, and shall require the collector, out of the moneys to be collected, to pay over to the city treasurer such sums as shall be raised for city purposes, and to the county treasurer the residue of said monies, within one hundred and eighty days from the date of such warrants. The warrants of the city council shall be signed by the mayor, and shall be under the corporate seal of the city, attested by the clerk, and shall require the collector to pay the monies to be collected to the city treasurer within one hundred and eighty days from the date thereof; and to collect from the several persons named in the assessment roll annexed thereto,