Except as otherwise provided, the construction and maintenance of public sanitary sewers, storm sewers, and public waterlines shall be paid for as follows:

1. Unless otherwise provided for in this section, all mains and submains constructed by a municipality shall be paid for by the municipality. If a petition signed by the owners of more than one-half (1/2) of the area of the land that will be drained or benefited by the construction of such mains or submains is filed with the governing body or the governing body finds that certain property will be specially benefited thereby, the governing body may create a district and order the construction of such mains and submains and provide for the payment therefor to be made by the owners of the property included within the district in accordance with the procedure for the construction of and payment for district sewers and district waterlines. The petition shall be filed with the city clerk. The petition shall state in bold, capitalized letters at the top of the page that the cost of the proposed improvements shall be assessed against the property benefited by the improvements;

2. Laterals shall be paid for by the owners of the property abutting on such laterals in the manner provided for by law for the estimate of cost and assessments for district sewers and district waterlines;

3. If a main or submain is constructed in any alley or other place where a lateral would otherwise have been constructed and the main or submain serves the purpose of a lateral for the property abutting thereon, the owners of the property shall be assessed in amounts equal to that which they would have been required to pay for a sufficient lateral; and

4. If any private connection is made with a main or submain instead of with a lateral, the owner of the premises so connected shall pay to the municipality an amount equal to that which he would have been required to pay for a lateral so constructed as to provide similar service. The amounts to be charged for connections with mains and submains, or for mains or submains used as laterals, shall be ascertained by the municipal engineer or the engineer in charge of such work and assessed against the property and collected in the manner provided for by law in the case of district sewers.

Added by Laws 1977, c. 256, § 37-205, eff. July 1, 1978. Amended by Laws 1984, c. 126, § 69, eff. Nov. 1, 1984; Laws 2001, c. 54, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2001.