CARROLL COUNTY. 1803

mailed to the last known address of the owner, or served in person upon
any adult occupying the premises, or in the case of vacant or unimproved
property, posted upon the premises. The classification of and benefit
assessed against any property as made by the Mayor and Council of Mt.
Airy shall be final, subject only to revision by it. The Mayor and Council
of Mt. Airy' may change the classification of properties from, time to time,
as said properties change in the uses to which they are put. Said benefits
shaill be levied for water supply construction upon the number of front
feet abutting upon the street, lane, alley or right-of-way in which the
water main is placed; provided, however, that no lot shall be assessed on
more than one side, that corner lots in this class shall be assessed on that
frontage towards which the building does or would naturally face, and
that all lots in this class shall be assessed for their full frontage even
though a water main may not extend along the full length of any bound-
ary; and, provided, further, that in tho case of irregular shaped lots and
shallow lots fronting on more than one street, the Mayor and Council of
Mt. Airy may determine upon for assessment, and may assess, such
length of frontage as it deems reasonable and fair. Front foot benefit
charges for water supply construction shall be uniform for each class of
property throughout the town. The amount of the charge per front foot
for each class of property for water mains shall be determined from time
to time by the Mayor and Council of Mt. Airy as costs and conditions
require. Said benefit charges shall be paid annually beginning in the
year such construction is begun, by all properties located as above speci-
fied, for a period of years co-extensive with the period of maturity of the
bonds out of the proceeds of which such construction was done; provided,
however, that any owner of property in the residential or sub-division or
business or industrial class may, at his option, extinguish at any time
said benefit charge by the payment, in cash, of an amount which, if put
at interest at 3 1/2 per cent, compounded annually, would yield an annuity
equal to the annual assessments for the period for which the bonds have,
at the time the option is exercised, still to run. The Mayor and Council
of Mt. Airy shall at any time permit a connection with a water main by
a property owner whose property does not abut on said water main, and
who has not previous thereto paid a benefit for the construction of said
water main, provided the said Mayor and Council of Mt. Airy shall first
determine the classification of said property, and a front foot charge to
be paid by said property owner as though his property abutted on said
water main, and in the event of such connection being made said property
owner and said property, as to all charges, rates and benefits shall in
every respect stand in the same position as if the said property abutted
upon a water main. The annual benefit charges as above specified shall
be a first lien upon the property against which they are assessed, subject
only to prior State, county and municipal charges, and shall be enforced
by a judgment upon complaint of the Mayor and Council of Mt. Airy
before any Justice of the Peace or Circuit Court for Carroll County, and
usual execution thereon. No such annual benefit charges shall continue