Rockville                                       2385

manner as shall be provided by ordinance and to purchase, contract to
purchase, lay or contract to lay water mains and trunk and lateral sewers
in said city and to pay the costs of all such work and assess said cost, or
any part thereof, against the abutting property as hereinafter provided
in this section. For the purposes of this section, the term "water mains"
shall include fire hydrants, meters, valves and connections and all other
service equipment. The foregoing action may be initiated by the council
on its own motion without the filing of a petition by abutting property
owners hereinafter provided for.

(b)    Whenever a petition in writing, duly signed, by the owners of
at least twenty per cent of the front footage of all the property abutting
upon any such proposed public improvement shall be filed with the council
praying for the construction of any public improvement herein mentioned,
the council shall, after having given the notice prescribed in the following
section, hold a public hearing upon the matter of such petition, and shall,
as soon thereafter as may be convenient, render its decision thereon
granting or denying the said application, as in its judgment the public
health, safety or comfort may require; provided, however, that, in case
the council shall grant such petition, it shall thereupon proceed in all
respects in the manner and in the form hereinafter provided in this section.

(c)    Before entering upon the construction of any work or improve-
ment specified herein, the council shall, by ordinance, designate the loca-
tion, extent and kind of work or improvement proposed to be done or made,
the kind of materials to be used, the estimated cost of the improvement
and the real property which will be specially benefited thereby and which
it is proposed to assess to pay all or any part of the cost thereof and shall
fix a time and place when and where the owner or owners of the property
to be so assessed therefor can be heard in reference thereto. Notice of
such hearing, embodying the substance of said ordinance, shall be served
upon the owners of said properties by mailing a copy thereof to their last
known post office address of record and by publishing said notice two times
in some newspaper of general circulation in said city, the last publication
to be not less than three days before said hearing.

(d)    If, after the hearing, the council shall be of the opinion that
the public health, safety or comfort requires the work or improvement
proposed to be done or made, they shall provide by ordinance for the same
and may charge the expense thereof or any part of such expense against
the property which they shall find to be specially benefited thereby accord-
ing to the front foot rule of apportionment or some other equitable basis
as may be determined by them; and the council shall include as a part of
the cost of said work to be assessed against the benefited property the cost
of said work embraced in street intersections and exemptions on corner
lots or irregular shaped lots, the actual interest charges covering the term
of indebtedness on the certificates issued for such public work and a
reasonable percentage for advertising, clerical work and other miscella-
neous expenses in connection with said work, and the items above stated
are hereby declared to be a part of the cost of said public work. The council
shall also provide in said ordinance the time and terms upon which payment
of said assessments for said work and improvements shall be made by
said property owners, the rate of interest, if any, that shall be charged
upon deferred payments and shall provide penalties for failure to pay
any deferred payment when due. Assessments so levied as aforesaid shall
be a lien upon the property against which they are charged superior to
all other liens from the date of the approval of such assessments by the
council.