A.R.S. tit. 48 ch. 4 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 48 Chapter 4 — Municipal Improvement Districts

48-501. Definitions In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "City council" and "council" includes any body or board in which is vested by law the legislative power of a municipality. 2. "Clerk" or "city clerk" includes any person or officer who acts as clerk of the city or town council. 3. "Improvement" includes all the improvements mentioned in this article, and the term or terms "street opening or widening" and "opening or widening" include all improvements mentioned in this article. 4. "Municipality" and "city" includes counties, incorporated cities and towns and other corporations organized for municipal purposes. 5. "Owner" and "any person interested" includes: (a) The person owning the fee to real property. (b) The person in whom, on the day any protest or petition is filed, the legal title to real property appears by deeds recorded in the county recorder's office of the county in which the city or town is situated. (c) Any person in possession of real property, as the executor, administrator, trustee under an express trust, guardian or other legal representative of the owner. (d) Any person in possession of real property under a recorded written contract of purchase thereof. (e) Any person in possession of real property, as lessee thereof under a recorded lease which requires such lessee to pay or discharge all assessments for street or other public improvement that may be levied or assessed against such real property, and the holder of a mortgage or lien against the real property. 6. "Property of a railroad or street railroad" includes property owned or controlled by any person, as a railroad, street railroad or interurban railroad right of way whether owned or controlled in fee or as an easement or by virtue of a franchise or otherwise, and the roadbed, ties and rails located on such right of way. Such property shall be assessed and the assessment thereof enforced in the same manner and to the same effect as other lands and property in the assessment district. 7. "Street superintendent" includes any officer or board who, by law, has charge of streets or the improvement thereof in a city or town. In a city or town having no street superintendent, the council may appoint a person to perform the duties imposed on the street superintendent, and such person shall be deemed "street superintendent." 8. "Treasurer" or "city treasurer" includes any person or officer who has charge and makes payment of city or town funds. 48-502. Scope of article; acquisition of property by condemnation When the public interest or convenience requires, the city or town council of a municipality may order the laying out, opening, extending, widening, straightening or closing up, in whole or in part, of any public street, subway, square, lane, alley, court, place or right of way for any water course, irrigation ditch, pipe line, water main or sewer for sanitary or drainage purposes, within the municipality, and acquire, by condemnation, any property necessary or convenient for that purpose. 48-503. Off-street parking sites in cities; acquisition of property; exceptions to acquisition of property A. When the public interest or convenience requires, the city or town council of such municipality may order the laying out, opening, extending, widening, straightening or closing up, in whole or in part, of any off-street parking site within the municipality, and acquire any property necessary or convenient for that purpose, by the exercise of the right of eminent domain. B. If in connection with any lot or parcel within a proposed assessment district, adequate off-street parking facilities have been provided, such lot or parcel shall be excluded from the assessment district and shall not be assessed for such improvements if within the time and in the manner provided in section 48-507 the owner or owners file a written protest. For the purposes of this subsection in cities having a zoning code or ordinance, such off-street parking facilities shall not be deemed adequate unless the off-street parking facilities provided meet or exceed the requirements of the zoning code or ordinance for a lot or parcel of that size in that zone, and in cities not having a zoning code or ordinance, the facilities provided shall not be deemed adequate unless parking space for one motor vehicle is provided for each three hundred square feet of floor space in the building served by such off-street parking site. If any lot or parcel within a proposed assessment district organized for the acquisition of off-street parking sites is zoned and used exclusively for single family residential purposes, such lot or parcel shall be excluded from the assessment district, and shall not be assessed for such improvements, if within the time and in the manner provided in section 48-507 the owner or owners file a written protest. 48-504. Exceptions to taking of property Notwithstanding the provisions of section 48-503, if a natural person or persons own a business building and the land on which same is located which is not sought to be taken and operates a business therein within the proposed district, additional land owned by such person contiguous to the business building containing an area equal to or less than the area occupied by such building shall not be subject to taking by eminent domain without the consent of the owner for the purposes of section 48-503, provided the owner has operated such business on such land for at least one year prior to the adoption of the resolution of intention. The owner shall designate in writing to the council the description of the area which shall not be subject to taking within fifteen days after receiving a written request from the council. In the event the owner fails to designate such area within such fifteen days, then the council by resolution may designate the area to be taken. 48-505. Resolution or ordinance of intention to order improvement; petition Before ordering an improvement to be made, the city or town council shall comply with both of the following: 1. Pass a resolution or ordinance declaring its intention to do so, describing the improvement and the land necessary or convenient to be taken therefor, and specifying the boundaries of the assessment district to be benefited by the improvement and to be assessed to pay the expense of the improvement. The resolution or ordinance of intention may be combined in a single resolution or ordinance of intention to make public improvements pursuant to section 48-576. 2. If the city or town council determines that the district should be formed and after the final resolution of any protests made pursuant to section 48-507, the city or town council shall submit within one hundred twenty days to the city or town clerk a petition to form the district that is signed by owners of more than one-half of the taxable property units within the area of the proposed district and that is signed by persons owning collectively more than one-half of the assessed valuation of the property within the area of the proposed district. Property that is exempt pursuant to title 42, chapter 11, article 3 is not considered in determining the total assessed valuation of the proposed district and owners of property that is not subject to taxation are not eligible to sign the petition. On verification of the petition signatures, the city or town council may form the improvement district and order the improvement as otherwise provided by law. 48-506. Notice of resolution A. The street superintendent shall cause to be conspicuously posted along all streets and parts of streets within the assessment district described in the resolution, at not more than three hundred feet in distance apart, not less than three notices of the passage of the resolution. B. The notices shall be headed "Notices of public work" in letters not less than one inch in height, shall state the fact and date of passage of the resolution, shall briefly describe the improvement proposed, shall refer to the resolution for further particulars, and shall publish the notice in a newspaper as required by section 39-204. 48-507. Protests; filing; presentation to council; hearing A. Any person interested and objecting to the improvement, or to the extent of the assessment district, may file a written protest with the city or town clerk within fifteen days after completion of posting the notice, or within fifteen days after the date of the last publication of the notice if such date is subsequent to the completion of the posting. B. The protest shall contain a description of the property in which each signer thereof is interested and the nature of his interest therein, and shall be accompanied by the affidavit of one of the signers thereof that each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name is thereto subscribed. If a signature is made by an agent, there shall be attached to the protest the affidavit of the agent that he is duly authorized to sign the protest. A protest not complying with the foregoing requirements shall not be considered. If property is held by tenancy in common, and a cotenant signs the protest, only the proportionate share of the frontage represented by his interest shall be counted in determining the amount of frontage represented by the protest. C. The clerk shall endorse on the protest the date of its filing, and, at the next meeting of the council after the expiration of the time for filing protests, shall present to the council all protests filed with him. If the protests are against the improvement, and the council finds that they are signed by the owners of a majority of the frontage of the property fronting on streets or parts of streets within the assessment district, all further proceedings under the resolution of intention, excepting in the cases otherwise provided in this article, shall be barred, unless the owners of a majority of the frontage of the property fronting on streets or parts of streets within the assessment district shall in the meantime petition therefor. D. The council at the meeting shall fix a time for hearing protests, not less than ten days thereafter, in the following cases: 1. If the protests are against the improvement, and the council finds that they are not signed by the owners of a majority of the property fronting on streets or parts of streets within the assessment district. 2. If the protests are only against the extent of the assessment district. 3. If the proposed improvement is for opening or extending a street for a distance of not more than two blocks intervening between the terminations of two different streets, or two portions of the same street, both of which are at least five blocks in length, and which existed at the time the resolution of intention for the proposed improvement was adopted, and the opening or extending of the streets will, together with the different streets or portions of the same street so existing, make, as nearly as practicable, one connecting or continuous street. 4. If the proposed improvement is for opening or extending a street into a different street for a distance of not more than one block intervening, and the street so proposed to be opened or extended through the intervening block existed for a distance of at least five blocks at the time the resolution of intention was adopted. 5. If the proposed improvement is for opening or extending a public street, lane, alley, court or place through the remainder of a block when the public street, lane, alley, court or place existed at the time the resolution of intention was adopted for at least one half the distance through the block. E. The council shall cause notice of the time of the hearing to be published for at least two days in a daily newspaper published and circulated in the city or town, or if there is no daily newspaper, by at least one publication in a weekly newspaper so published and circulated, the first publication to be not less than five days before the hearing. F. The council shall hear the protest at the time appointed, or any time to which the hearing thereof may be adjourned, and pass upon it, and its decision thereon shall be final and conclusive. If any protests are sustained, no further proceedings shall be had under the resolution of intention, but a new resolution of intention for the same improvement may be passed at any time. If the protests are denied, the proceedings shall continue as if such protests had not been made. G. At the expiration of the time within which protests may be filed, if none are filed, or if protests are filed and are denied, the council shall acquire jurisdiction to order the improvement described in the resolution of intention. 48-508. Order for improvement; initiation of condemnation proceedings Having acquired jurisdiction, the council may, by resolution, order the improvement to be made and direct an action to be brought by the city or town attorney, in the name of the municipality, for condemnation of the property to be taken. The action shall be brought within thirty days after passage of the resolution ordering the improvement, but the council may, by resolution, extend the time for bringing the action for an additional period not exceeding thirty days. The action shall be governed by the law of eminent domain, except as otherwise provided. 48-509. Complaint in condemnation action The complaint filed in the action provided for by section 48-508 shall set forth, or state the substance of, the resolution ordering the improvement, but need not set up the proceedings had before bringing the action. The resolution shall be conclusive evidence in the action of the public necessity of the proposed improvement, and that the improvement is located in the manner which will be for the greatest public good and the least private injury. 48-510. Choice between trial or appointment of referees to determine compensation When all defendants to the condemnation action have answered, or have been served with summons and their default entered, the plaintiff or any defendant whose default has not been entered, may, upon five days notice to the parties, except defendants in default, move the court to set the action for trial. If, upon hearing the motion, a trial by jury or by the court without a jury is not demanded, the trial shall be deemed waived by all parties not so demanding, and the court shall appoint three disinterested persons as referees to ascertain the compensation to be paid to the defendants waiving trial. The referees shall be residents of the municipality where the improvement is to be made, and over the age of eighteen years, and shall take and file with the court an oath to discharge their duties faithfully and impartially. If a referee fails to qualify, resigns, is removed by order of court or is unable to act, the vacancy created shall be filled by the court. 48-511. Referees; duties; report A. The referees shall at once proceed to view the lands sought to be condemned and ascertain the proper compensation to be paid to such of the parties interested in each parcel as have waived a trial by jury or by the court. B. The referees may examine witnesses under oath to be administered by any of them, and may have subpoenas issued by the clerk of the court requiring the attendance of witnesses, or production of evidence before them. C. The referees shall make and file with the court a written report of their findings, and their necessary expenses within thirty days after the date of their appointment, or within such extended time, not exceeding ninety days, as the court, upon good cause shown, may allow. D. If a vacancy in the referees occurs and is filled, or if new referees are appointed, or if a new report from the same referees is ordered, as provided in this article, the time for filing the report shall be thirty days from the date of the order filling the vacancy, or appointing new referees, or ordering a new report from the same referees, and the time may be extended as above provided. Any two of the referees who agree thereto may make the report. 48-512. Compensation and damages; date of accrual; apportionment A. The compensation and damages shall be deemed accrued at the date of the order appointing referees or of the order setting the cause for trial, and its actual value at that date shall be the measure of compensation for all property to be actually taken, and of damages to property not taken but injuriously affected. Improvements placed upon the property subsequent to the date of publishing the notice of the passage of the resolution of intention shall not be included in the assessment of compensation or damages. B. The referees, the court or the jury, shall find separately the value of each parcel of property sought to be condemned, and all improvements thereon pertaining to the realty and of each separate estate or interest therein. If a parcel sought to be condemned is only a part of a larger parcel, they shall find the damages which will accrue to the portion not sought to be condemned, and to each separate estate or interest therein by reason of its severance from the portion sought to be condemned, and the construction of the improvement in the manner proposed by the plaintiff. Such damages shall be fixed irrespective of any benefit from the improvement. 48-513. Referee's report; objections; notice of hearing; court action on report A. Upon filing the referee's report the court shall, upon motion of any party, appoint a day for hearing the report, not less than fifteen days thereafter. Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall, at least ten days before the time so appointed, be served on all other parties, except those in default. B. The plaintiff, or any defendant who has answered, may file objections in writing to the report, specifying the grounds, at any time not less than one day prior to the hearing. C. The clerk of the court shall give notice of filing the report and of the time and place appointed for the hearing to all persons owning or having an interest in any property included within the assessment district described in the resolution of intention, by causing the notice to be published for two days in a daily newspaper published and circulated in the city. If there is no daily newspaper, then publication shall be by at least one insertion in a weekly newspaper so published and circulated. The publication shall commence at least five days before the time appointed for hearing the report, and shall require all persons owning or having an interest in any property included within the assessment district to intervene in the action, and file, in the office of the clerk of the court, their objections in writing to the report specifying the grounds upon which the objections are based. The notice shall also contain a description of the assessment district as set forth in the resolution of intention. D. At any time within not less than one day prior to the hearing, a person not a party to the action owning, or having an interest in, any property included within the assessment district, may intervene in the action and file objections in writing to the report, specifying the grounds upon which the objections are based and such person so intervening may appear and contest the report and introduce evidence in support of the objections. E. After hearing the report and objections, the court may confirm the report, may modify it and confirm it as modified or may set it aside and order a new report from the same referees, or from new referees to be appointed. If new referees are appointed, the same proceedings shall be had as upon the first reference. 48-514. Notice of trial; intervention; continuance A. If there is a trial of the action by a jury, or by the court without a jury, the clerk of the court shall give notice of the time and place of the trial to all persons owning or having an interest in any property within the assessment district for the improvement. The notice shall be published in the same manner and for the same time as required by section 48-513, subsection C and shall require all persons owning or having an interest in any property included within the assessment district for the improvement to intervene in the action, and to appear at the trial thereof and introduce evidence relative to the compensation and damages to be awarded to the defendants therein. B. At any time within not less than one day prior to the trial, any person not a party to the action having an interest in any property included within the assessment district may intervene in the action, and, upon the trial thereof, may appear and introduce evidence relative to the compensation and damages to be awarded to the defendants therein. C. The cost of publication of the notices required by this section and section 48-513 shall be paid by the plaintiff, and allowed as costs in the action. D. If a hearing or trial is continued by the court to a subsequent date, no notice need be given by the clerk of the continuance. 48-515. Judgment; fees A. Upon confirmation of the report of the referees, or receipt of the verdict of the jury, or the filing of findings of the court, the court shall enter judgment in accordance with the report, verdict or findings, that upon payment to the respective parties, or into court for their benefit, of the several amounts found due them as compensation, and of the costs allowed to them, the property shall be condemned to the use of the plaintiff, and dedicated to the use specified in the complaint. B. The court shall allow the referees, as costs to be paid by plaintiff, a reasonable compensation to be fixed by the court upon the hearing of the report, and their necessary expenses. 48-516. Appeals An appeal may be taken from the judgment within thirty days from the entry thereof, and from any order granting or denying a new trial within ten days after the entry of the order. 48-517. Abandonment of proceedings; return of assessments paid The council may, at any time prior to payment of the compensation awarded the defendants, abandon the proceedings and cause the action to be dismissed without prejudice. If any of the assessments levied to pay the expense of the improvements, as provided in this article, have been actually paid in money at the time of abandonment, the money shall be refunded to the persons by whom it was paid. 48-518. Diagram of improvement district Upon entry of judgment, the council shall order the city or town engineer to make and deliver to the street superintendent a diagram of the improvement and the property within the assessment district described in the resolution of intention. The diagram shall show the land to be taken for the proposed improvement, and also each separate lot, piece or parcel of land within the assessment district, and the dimensions of each lot, piece or parcel of land, and its relative location to the proposed improvement. 48-519. Delivery of diagram; assessment of expenses A. The city or town engineer shall deliver the diagram to the street superintendent, and shall endorse thereon the date of delivery. B. The street superintendent shall, within thirty days after receiving the diagram, assess the total expenses of the proposed improvement upon and against the lands, including the property of a railroad or street railroad, within the assessment district, except the land to be taken for the improvement, in proportion to the benefits to be derived from the improvement. The council may extend the time for completing the assessment for a period not exceeding thirty days. C. The total expense of the improvement to be assessed shall include the amounts awarded to defendants by the judgment for condemnation, their costs, the compensation and expenses of the referees allowed by the court, costs of the plaintiff, the expenses of making the assessment, and all expenses necessarily incurred by the city or town in connection with the proposed improvement. 48-520. Written assessment A. The street superintendent shall make the assessment in writing, describing each lot, piece or parcel of land assessed for the improvement, designating each with a number, and shall also designate each lot, piece or parcel of land on the diagram with the same number. The diagram shall thereupon be attached to and become a part of the assessment. B. The assessment shall show the total sum to be raised thereby, as provided in this article, and the items of the total sum, and opposite each lot, piece or parcel of land assessed the amount assessed thereon and the name of the owner thereof, if known to the street superintendent, or if unknown, the word "unknown" shall be written instead of the name. C. An error or mistake in the designation of the owner of a lot, piece or parcel of land, or of his interest therein, shall not affect the validity of the assessment. 48-521. Filing of assessment and diagram; notice A. When the assessment is completed the street superintendent shall file it, with the diagram attached, with the city clerk, who shall give notice of the filing by publication for at least five days in a daily newspaper published and circulated in the city or town, or if there is no daily newspaper, by two successive insertions in a weekly newspaper so published and circulated. B. The notice shall: 1. State the date of the first publication of the notice. 2. Require all persons interested to file with the clerk their objections to the confirmation of the assessment within fifteen days thereafter. 3. State that at the first meeting of the council after the expiration of the time for filing objections the council will hear all objections filed and may confirm, modify or correct the assessment and may reduce or increase the amount assessed against any lot, piece or parcel of land without further notice. 4. State that all persons interested have a right to be present at the meeting and be heard on any proposed increase. 48-522. Objections to assessment; hearing A. All objections to assessments shall be in writing and shall be filed with the clerk within the time prescribed in the notice. B. The clerk shall, at the next meeting of the council after expiration of the time for filing objections, present the assessment and all objections properly filed to the council. The council shall hear the objections at the meeting, or at an adjourned hearing, and pass upon the assessment, and may confirm, modify or correct the assessment, reduce or increase the amount assessed against any lot, piece or parcel of land without further notice, or may order a new assessment, upon which like proceedings shall be had as in an original assessment. Before any increase is ordered, however, all persons present at the meeting interested in the assessment shall be given an opportunity to be heard. If there are no objections, the council shall, at any meeting after the expiration of the time for filing objections, confirm the assessment. C. The action of the council upon such objections and assessment shall be filed and conclusive. 48-523. Delivery of assessment; recording; assessment roll; assessment as lien A. The clerk shall deliver to the street superintendent the assessment as confirmed with his certificate of confirmation, and the date thereof. B. The street superintendent shall record the assessment and diagram in his office, in a book kept for that purpose, and append thereto his certificate of the date of the recording, and the record shall be the assessment roll. C. From the date of the recording all persons shall be deemed to have notice of the contents of the assessment roll. D. Immediately upon recording, the several assessments in the assessment roll shall become due and payable and shall be a lien upon the property against which it is made. 48-524. Payment of assessment by setting off compensation The owner of any property assessed, who is entitled to compensation under the award made by the judgment, may, at any time after the assessment becomes payable, and before the sale of the property for nonpayment, as provided in this article, demand of the street superintendent that the assessment, or any number of assessments, be set off against the amount to which he is entitled under the judgment. If the amount of setoff is equal to or greater than the assessments, including penalties and costs due thereon, the assessments shall be marked "paid by setoff." If the amount is less than the assessments, and penalties and costs due thereon, the person demanding the setoff shall at the same time pay the difference to the street superintendent, and the assessments shall, upon payment be marked paid, the entry showing the portion paid by setoff and the portion paid in money. As a condition of the setoff, such person shall execute to the city or town, and deliver to the street superintendent, duplicate receipts for such part of the amount due him under the judgment as is set off against the assessments, penalties, and costs. One of the duplicates shall be filed by the street superintendent in his office, and the other with the clerk of the superior court, and the clerk shall satisfy the judgment to the extent paid by the assessment. 48-525. Notice that assessments are due; payment; delinquent assessments A. The street superintendent shall, upon recording the assessment, give notice by publication for at least two days in a daily newspaper, published and circulated in the municipality, or by at least two successive insertions in a weekly newspaper so published and circulated. B. The notice shall state: 1. That the assessment has been recorded in his office. 2. That all sums assessed therein are due and payable immediately. 3. The date of the first publication of notice. 4. That payment thereof shall be made to him within thirty days thereafter. 5. That all assessments not paid before the expiration of the thirty days will become delinquent, and that thereupon five per cent upon the amount of each assessment will be added thereto. C. The street superintendent shall also notify the owners of the several lots, pieces and parcels of land affected by the assessment, as shown by the assessment rolls of the city or town, by mailing a copy of the notice to the last known address of such persons, and the affidavit of the street superintendent of the mailing shall be conclusive evidence thereof. D. When payment for any assessment is made, the street superintendent shall mark opposite the assessment the word "paid," the date of payment, and the name of the person by or for whom the assessment is paid, and give receipt therefor. E. On the expiration of thirty days, all assessments then unpaid shall become delinquent, and the street superintendent shall certify that fact at the foot of the assessment roll, and mark each such assessment "delinquent," and add five per cent to the amount of each assessment delinquent. 48-526. Delinquent list; publication; notice of sale of delinquent property A. The street superintendent shall, within ten days from the date of the delinquency, publish in a newspaper not less than three times a list of the delinquent assessments, which shall contain a description of each parcel of property delinquent, and opposite or against each description the name of the owner as stated in the assessment roll, and the amount of the assessment, penalty and costs due, including the cost of advertising. The cost of advertising shall not exceed fifty cents for each lot of land separately assessed. B. The street superintendent shall append to and publish with the delinquent list a notice that unless each assessment delinquent, together with the penalty and costs thereon, is paid, the property upon which the assessment is a lien will be sold at public auction at a time and place to be specified in the notice. The time of sale shall be not less than five nor more than ten days after the expiration of the period of publication of the list, and the place of sale shall be in, or in front of, the office of the street superintendent. 48-527. Payment prior to sale At any time after delinquency, and prior to the sale of any piece of property assessed and delinquent, any person may pay the assessment on the piece of property, together with the penalty, and costs then due, including the cost of advertising, and the assessment shall be marked "paid." 48-528. Sale of delinquent property; purchase by municipality A. On the day fixed for the sale, the street superintendent shall, at 10 o'clock a.m., or at any time to which the sale may be adjourned or continued by him, commence the sale of the property advertised, beginning at the head of the list, and continuing in numerical order of lots or parcels of land until all are sold. Each lot, piece or parcel of land separately assessed shall be offered for sale separately, and the person who will take the least quantity of land, and then pay the amount of the assessment, penalty and costs due shall become the purchaser. B. If there is no purchaser for any lot, piece or parcel of land offered for sale, it shall be struck off to the municipality, as purchaser, and the city or town council shall appropriate from the general fund of the treasury the amount required for the purchase, and shall order the treasurer to place the amount in the special fund for such improvement. 48-529. Certificate of sale; vesting and divesting of assessment lien; entry of sale on assessment roll A. After the sale, the street superintendent shall execute, in duplicate, a certificate of sale setting forth: 1. A description of the property sold. 2. The name of the owner as given on the assessment roll. 3. That the property was sold for a delinquent assessment, specifying the improvement for which the assessment was made. 4. The amount for which the property was sold. 5. The date of sale. 6. The name of the purchaser. 7. The time when the purchaser will be entitled to a deed. B. The street superintendent shall file one copy of the certificate in his office, and deliver the other to the purchaser, or if the municipality is the purchaser, to the clerk, who shall file the certificate in his office. C. Upon filing the copy of the certificate in the office of the street superintendent, the lien of the assessments shall vest in the purchaser, and is divested only by redemption of the property, as provided in this article. D. The street superintendent shall also enter on the assessment roll, opposite the description of each piece of property offered for sale, a description of the part thereof sold, the amount for which it was sold, the date of the sale and the name of the purchaser. 48-530. Redemption of property A. Redemption of a parcel of property sold for delinquent assessment may be made by any party in interest, at any time prior to the execution and delivery of a deed therefor, by paying to the street superintendent the amount for which the property was sold, and interest thereon from the date of sale at the rate of ten per cent per annum if paid within twelve months, or fifteen per cent if paid thereafter. B. When redemption is made, the street superintendent shall note that fact on the duplicate certificate of sale in his office, and deposit the amount paid with the city or town treasurer, who shall credit the purchaser named in the certificate of sale with the amount, and pay such amount to the purchaser, or his assignee, upon surrender of the certificate of sale. C. When the municipality is the purchaser, the treasurer shall notify the clerk of the redemption, and the clerk shall cancel the certificate of sale on file in his office. 48-531. Procedure for purchaser to obtain deed; evidentiary effect of superintendent's deed A. At any time after the expiration of twelve months from the date of sale, the superintendent shall execute and deliver to the purchaser, or his assignee, on his application, if he has fully complied with this section, a deed to the property sold, in which shall be recited substantially the matters contained in the certificate, any assignment thereof, and that no person has redeemed the property. B. The purchaser or his assignee shall at least thirty days before application for a deed, serve upon the owner, and if the property is occupied, upon the occupant, a written notice that the property, giving the description, has been sold for a delinquent assessment, specifying the improvement for which it was made, the amount for which it was sold, the amount necessary to redeem at the time of giving notice, and the time when the purchaser or assignee will apply to the street superintendent for a deed. C. If the owner cannot be found, after due diligence, the notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place upon the property at least thirty days before the time stated therein of the application for a deed. The applicant shall file with the superintendent an affidavit showing that notice of the application has been given, as required by this section, and if the notice was not served on the owner personally, that due diligence was used to find the owner. D. If redemption of the property is made after the affidavit is filed, and more than eleven months from the date of sale, the person making the redemption shall pay for payment to the purchaser, three dollars in addition for service of notice and making the affidavit. E. The deed of the superintendent shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of all matters recited therein, and of the regularity of all proceedings prior to the execution thereof, and of title in the grantee. 48-532. Transmittal of assessment payments to treasurer The street superintendent shall, from time to time, pay to the treasurer all monies collected by him on account of assessments made under this article. The treasurer shall, on receipt thereof, place the monies in a special fund, designating the fund by the name of the improvement for which the assessment was made. 48-533. Payment of condemnation judgments; final judgment A. When there is sufficient money in the special fund allocated to the proposed improvement to pay the amounts awarded to the defendants by the judgment of condemnation, or such parts thereof as have not been paid by setoff against assessments, the amounts shall be paid to the parties entitled thereto, or into court for their benefit. B. After proof has been made to the court of the payment of the amounts awarded by the judgment to the parties entitled thereto, or into court for their benefit, the court shall direct the judgment to be satisfied and shall enter a final judgment condemning the lands described in the complaint to the use of the plaintiff for the purposes specified in the complaint. 48-534. Procedure to supply deficiency in fund; refund of surplus funds A. If there is a deficiency in the fund for the improvement, the council may provide for the deficiency by an appropriation from the general fund of the treasury, or by ordering a supplementary assessment to be made by the street superintendent upon the property in the assessment district, under the same procedure as the original assessment, and to avoid delay, the council may advance the deficiency from the treasury and reimburse the treasury from the collections under the original or a supplementary assessment. B. If there is a surplus the council shall order the surplus refunded and prorated to the parties who paid the assessments. 48-535. Publication of notices by posting A. If there is no daily or weekly newspaper published and circulated in the city or town, then the notices and delinquent lists required to be published in a newspaper shall be posted in three public places in the city or town for the length of time required for the publication in a weekly newspaper. B. Publication or notice other than that herein provided is not necessary to give validity to any proceedings had under this article. 48-536. Proof of publication or posting Proof of publication of any notice required by this article shall be made by affidavit of the publisher or any person in the employ of the publisher, and proof of posting shall be made by affidavit of the person posting the notice, setting forth the facts surrounding the posting. An officer required to publish or post the notice shall obtain and file in his office the affidavit of proof thereof, but failure to do so shall not affect the validity of the proceedings. The affidavit so filed shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated relative to the publication or posting. 48-537. Purpose of article; choice of method A. The proceedings authorized by this article are intended to provide an alternate system of proceedings for making the improvements provided for. B. It is within the discretion of a municipality to proceed in making the improvements, either under the provisions of this article, or under the provisions of other laws, but when proceedings are commenced under this article the provisions thereof, and none other, apply to all the proceedings. C. The election of the council to proceed under this article shall be expressed in its resolution of intention to order the work done. 48-538. Issuance of improvement bonds to represent assessments The council may, at or before the confirmation of the assessment or assessment roll in proceedings under this article, by resolution, determine that improvement bonds be authorized and issued to represent the assessments. The bonds shall be issued in the name of the municipality, but shall be made payable only from the special fund collected by the municipality from special assessments levied and assessed upon the lots included within the limits of the assessment district. All sums collected from the special assessment shall be placed in the special fund and shall be used for no other purpose than payment of the principal and interest of the bonds. 48-539. Description of improvement bonds in resolutions and notices A. When the city council determines that improvement bonds shall be issued, it shall so declare either in the resolution of intention for the improvement, or by a special resolution adopted at or before the confirmation of the assessment or assessment roll in proceedings under this article, and shall specify the rate of interest which they shall bear. A like description of the bonds shall be inserted in all notices of the proceedings required to be published or posted subsequent to the adoption of the resolution providing for the issuance of improvement bonds, and also a notice that the bonds will be paid from a special fund collected in not to exceed twenty-five annual installments from the assessments of fifty dollars or over, remaining unpaid thirty days from the date of the first publication of the notice provided for in section 48-525. B. All other proceedings for the improvement up to and including the recording of the assessment and diagram, as provided in section 48-523, and the payment of assessment by setting off compensation, as provided in section 48-524, shall be in all respects as provided by this article. 48-540. List of unpaid assessments; issuance of bonds; denominations; coupons; due date A. When the city council has determined that improvement bonds shall be issued, and after the expiration of the thirty day period provided for from the date of publication of the notice that assessments are due, as provided in section 48-525, the superintendent of streets shall make and certify to the clerk a complete list of all assessments unpaid which amount to fifty dollars or over upon any assessment. B. If any person before certification of the list to the clerk presents to the superintendent his affidavit that he is the owner of a lot in the list, accompanied by the certificate of a searcher of records that the person is the owner of record, and notifies the superintendent in writing that he desires no bond to be issued for the assessment upon the lot, then the assessment shall not be included in the list and shall remain collectible as provided by this article. Omission to file the notice shall bar any defense against the bonds except the defense that the council did not have authority to issue the bonds. C. The clerk shall present the list to the council at its next meeting, and the council shall thereupon, by resolution, direct improvement bonds to be issued for the amount of the assessments remaining unpaid, prescribing the number and denomination of the bonds, and the times when payable, which shall be so fixed that an approximately equal amount of the total sum shall be paid each year until the whole amount is paid, not exceeding twenty-five years and three months from the date of the bonds, but any fractional amounts may be added to the amount due in any year, so that the amounts due in all other years shall be in equal multiples of one hundred dollars each. Except for a bond to represent any odd amount due in any year, the denominations of the bond shall be fixed at one hundred dollars or some multiple thereof, not exceeding one thousand dollars. The resolution shall also fix the place, if any other than the office of the treasurer, at which the bonds and interest thereon shall be payable. D. The bonds shall be issued as of the date of the recording of the assessment and diagram provided for in section 48-523 and shall bear interest from such date at the rate specified in the resolution of intention or the resolution determining that improvement bonds shall be issued. The bonds shall have semiannual interest coupons attached, the first of which shall be payable on January 1 or July 1, as the case may be, occurring no earlier than ninety days after the date of the bond or the expected completion of the work, whichever is later, and shall be for the interest accrued at that time. E. The due date of all bonds shall be January 1 in the years in which they respectively become due. F. The bonds shall be signed by the mayor, attested by the clerk and sealed with the corporate seal of the city or town, and the interest coupons shall bear the facsimile signature of the mayor and clerk. G. The bonds shall be substantially in the following form: "City (or town) of . . . . . . . . . . . . improvement bond, Know all men by these presents: That the city (or town) of . . . . . . . . . . . , Arizona, a duly organized municipal corporation, promises to pay as hereinafter stated to the bearer hereof, on the . . . . . . day of . . . . . . . . . . . , the sum of . . . . . . . . . . . dollars, together with interest on said sum at the rate of . . . . . . . . . per cent per annum, payable semiannually on the first day of January and July of each year, as evidenced by and upon the presentation and surrender of the interest coupons hereto attached as they severally become due. Both principal and interest are payable at the office of the city (or town) of . . . . . . . . . . . . or at . . . . . . . . , at the option of the holder. This bond is issued in pursuance of law, and is one of a series of . . . . . . . . . . bonds of like tenor and date for the total sum of . . . . . . . . . . . dollars issued for that certain improvement in said municipality consisting of (briefly describing improvement), initiated by resolution no. . . . . . . of (name of municipality), and is payable only out of the special fund to be collected from special assessments imposed on the lots or parcels of land benefited by said improvement. Said special fund is set apart by law for the payment of said bonds, and can be used for no other purpose. It is hereby certified and declared that the improvement for which this series of bonds is issued is authorized by law, that all of the acts, conditions and things required to be done, precedent to and in the issuance of this series of bonds, have been done and performed in regular and due form as required by the laws of the state of Arizona, the charter of (name of municipality), and all ordinances and resolutions thereof, that the special assessments out of which said bonds are to be paid are first liens on the property assessed, subject only to the lien for general taxes and prior special assessments, and any bona fide purchaser for value of this bond has the right to rely on the recitals herein contained. For the assessment or reassessment, collection and payment of said special assessments, the full faith and diligence of said municipality are hereby irrevocably pledged." 48-541. Certification of unpaid assessments; payments by installment; interest; payments in advance A. The superintendent, at the time he certifies the list of assessments unpaid to the clerk, shall write the word "certified" on the record of the assessment opposite each assessment included in the list, and thereupon all assessments of fifty dollars or over shall cease to be payable in cash and shall thereafter be payable only in equal annual installments on December 1, in each year preceding January 1 on which the bonds become due. The governing body may provide a plan whereby the annual installment may be collected in partial payments prior to the time the installment is due, and the lien of each assessment on the property assessed shall continue and remain in full force and effect for two years after the last installment on the assessment becomes due, or until the assessment is fully paid. B. An uncollected installment shall be added to the succeeding installment, and together with interest and penalties shall be payable therewith. C. The number of installments in which the assessment is payable shall correspond to the number of years in which there are bonds to be paid, but the total number of installments shall not exceed twenty-five. D. All assessments of fifty dollars or more not paid before the certification of assessments unpaid to the clerk shall bear interest from the date of the recording of the assessment and diagram provided for in section 48-525 at the same rate as that specified for in the bonds. The interest shall be payable on June 1 and December 1 of each year, immediately before the interest becomes due on the bonds, but the governing body may provide a plan whereby the interest may be collected in partial payments prior to the date it becomes due. E. The governing body may provide for receiving payment of the installments of the assessment before they become due, and using the proceeds thereof in redeeming such bonds as may be presented for redemption by the owners thereof, or for investing the proceeds in improvement bonds for other work or other satisfactory investment, but no investment of such fund shall be made so as to prejudice the prompt payment of the bonds on the date they become due. 48-542. Validity of bonds; priority of bond lien Improvement bonds issued under this article shall by their issuance be conclusive evidence of the regularity and validity of all proceedings thereto, and shall be first liens upon the property assessed, superior to all other liens, charges and encumbrances except liens of prior assessments and municipal, state and county taxes. 48-543. Sale of bonds; disposition of proceeds A. Improvement bonds issued under this article may be sold to the highest cash bidder, after advertising for bids by publication at least three times in a daily newspaper published and circulated in the city or town, or if there is no daily newspaper, then once in a weekly or semiweekly newspaper so published and circulated. B. The council may not sell the bonds for less than par. If sold in excess of par the excess shall be paid into the general fund of the city or town. The proceeds of the sale shall be paid into a fund representing the assessments on which the bonds were issued. 48-544. Purchase of improvement bonds by city The city or town may, without advertising or selling the improvement bonds, advance to the appropriate fund the par value of all or any part of the bonds, whereupon the city or town shall have the same rights for the enforcement and collection thereof as a purchaser, and may at any time sell the bonds to reimburse itself therefor. 48-545. Collection of assessment installments; notice of delinquent installment A. All assessments not certified through the clerk shall remain collectible by sale of the property as provided in this article, but the superintendent shall promptly collect all installments of principal and interest on the assessments so certified to the clerk. The superintendent shall, thirty days before any installment of principal or interest becomes due, give notice by mail to every person interested who has filed his name and address with the superintendent, and by publication in not smaller than eighteen point type at least two times in a daily newspaper published and circulated in the municipality, or at least two successive insertions in a weekly or semiweekly newspaper so published and circulated. B. The notice shall serve for all assessments in the municipality becoming due on the date specified therein, and shall be substantially in the following form: "Notice of special assessments due on improvements. All persons owning property heretofore assessed for improvements, will take notice that an installment of _______________ becomes due and payable on or before the _____ day of _______________, l9____ and if not so paid on or before said date the same will become delinquent and five per cent penalty will be added to the amount thereof." C. The council may publish a more detailed notice, in smaller type, but the heading of the notice shall not be smaller type than eighteen point. The first publication of notice shall be at least thirty days before the installment is payable. The method of publication of notice provided for in this section shall apply to and govern all bonds and assessments heretofore issued and levies, and all notices of special assessments due on improvements shall be given and published in accordance herewith. D. When an installment is paid, the superintendent shall note in his record the date of the payment, the name of the person by or for whom it is paid and shall, if requested, give receipt therefor. E. On the day succeeding the date on which the installment becomes due all installments unpaid shall become delinquent, and the superintendent shall certify such fact on his records and mark each installment delinquent and add five per cent to the amount of each installment. 48-546. List of delinquent installments; publication of notice; sale of delinquent property A. The superintendent shall, within twenty days from the date of the delinquency, begin publication of the list of assessments on which any installment is delinquent. The list shall contain a description of each parcel of property, and opposite each description the name of the owner as stated in the assessment, or, if no name is stated in the assessment, the word "unknown", and the amount of the installment delinquent, together with penalty and costs due, including the cost of advertising. B. The superintendent shall append to and publish with the list, a notice that unless each delinquent installment, together with the penalty and costs thereon, is paid, the whole amount of the assessment will be declared due by him, and the property upon which the assessment is a lien will be sold at public auction at a time and place to be specified in the notice. The publication shall be published and circulated in the municipality for a period of ten days in a daily newspaper, or for two weeks in a weekly newspaper so published and circulated. If published in a daily newspaper, publication shall be made in two issues of the paper, and eight days shall intervene between the first and last publication. C. The time of sale shall not be less than five days nor more than ten days after the last publication, and the place of sale shall be in or in front of the office of the superintendent, or in or in front of the usual place of meeting of the governing body of the municipality. 48-547. Payment after delinquency and before sale At any time prior to the sale of any lot assessed, any person may pay the delinquent installment on the lot together with the penalty and costs then due, including the cost of advertising, whereupon the superintendent shall note on his records the day of payment, the name of the person by or for whom it is paid, and the amount paid. 48-548. Sale of delinquent property; right of redemption; deed to purchaser; purchase by municipality A. The sale shall be conducted as nearly as possible as are sales of property for delinquent assessments and as proceedings subsequent thereto are conducted under this article so that the rights of the purchaser shall vest in the purchaser and redemption from the sale may be made to the treasurer. If the property is not redeemed, a deed shall issue to the purchaser in like manner and effect as sales for delinquent assessments. B. If there is no purchaser for any lot, piece or parcel of land offered for sale, it shall be struck off to the municipality, as purchaser, and the city or town council shall appropriate from the general fund of the treasury the amount required for the purchase and shall order the treasurer to place the amount in the special fund for such improvement. Thereafter the lien of the assessment shall not be extinguished for nonpayment of general taxes or prior special assessments and the annual installments of principal and interest of the assessment shall constitute a first lien on the respective lot, piece or parcel of land, coequal with the lien for general taxes. If the lien has not been extinguished prior to the property being stricken off to the state, such lien shall extinguish upon sale of the property pursuant to title 42, chapter 18, article 7 and the municipality shall share pro rata in the proceeds of such sale to the extent of the delinquent assessments. 48-549. Resolution calling hearing when improvement bonds remain unsold; publication; determination of continuance or abandonment of project A. When bonds authorized to be issued under the provisions of this article have been advertised for sale under the provisions of section 48-543, and the bonds have not been sold within two years from the date of the first advertisement for sale, the governing body of the municipality authorizing issuance of the bonds may provide for a hearing of all persons interested in the property affected by the opening or widening proceedings for the purpose of determining whether or not the proceedings shall be abandoned under the provisions of section 48-517 or whether they shall be continued by sale of the improvement bonds theretofore authorized without reappraisal of compensation and damages, or benefits, or whether they shall be continued under a reappraisal of the compensation and damages awarded for taking the property and of the benefits assessed for such opening or widening. B. The hearing may be provided for by resolution which shall state: 1. The name of the street proposed to be opened or widened. 2. The approximate limits between which the opening or widening is to be made. 3. The time and place of the hearing. 4. That the purpose of the hearing is to determine whether or not the proceedings shall be abandoned or shall be continued by sale of the improvement bonds theretofore authorized without reappraisal of compensation and damages, or benefits, or whether they shall be continued under a reappraisal of compensation and damages awarded for the taking of property and of the benefits assessed for such street opening or widening. 5. That all owners of property and persons having an interest in or lien upon property proposed to be taken