1068                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 484

or the [commission] Department may reject any and all bids, and,
if in its discretion the prices quoted are unreasonable or unbalanced,
it may re-advertise the work or any part of it or may do any or all
of the work by day labor; provided that at any time the [commis-
sion] Department may, in its discretion, expend by day labor for
construction work an amount not exceeding one thousand dollars
($1,000.00) without advertising or receiving bids. All such contracts
shall be protected by such bonds, penalties and conditions as the
[commission] Department may require, all of which shall be en-
forced in any court having jurisdiction.

19-9.

(a)  For the purpose of paying the interest and principal of the
bonds issued by [said commission] the Department as in this chap-
ter provided for the water supply, sewerage or drainage systems
to be constructed, purchased or established under this chapter, the
[said commission] Department is hereby empowered to establish a
proper and reasonable charge for connection with said water supply,
sewerage and drainage system so to be constructed, purchased or
established as aforesaid and to fix an annual assessment on all
properties, improved or unimproved, binding upon a street, road,
lane, alley or right-of-way in which a water main;, sewer or drain
has been built. The said annual assessment shall be made upon the
front foot basis, and the first payment shall be collected during the
year in which the construction is completed on the water supply,
sewerage or drainage systems, or in which the systems are pur-
chased or acquired. At least sixty days before the beginning of each
fiscal year of the county, the [commission] Department shall certify
to the county treasurer, in such manner as shall be prescribed by
him, the annual benefit assessments to be collected for such year.
The county treasurer shall include such assessments so certified in
the county tax bills for the properties affected and shall remit to
the [commission] Department at regular intervals the proceeds
from the collection of said assessments. If construction of a water
supply, sewerage or drainage system, or any part thereof, is com-
pleted after the beginning of any fiscal year, the properties benefited
shall be charged for such year a proportion of the annual assess-
ments fixed by the [commission] Department for such properties,
determined by the ratio which the number of months in such year
in which service is available bears to the total number of months
of said year. Said partial assessments may be certified to the
county treasurer not more often than once each quarter and, if so
certified, shall be billed by the county treasurer at the same time
or times as county taxes for less than a full year are billed. If not
so certified, said partial assessments shall be added to the assess-
ments certified by the [commission] Department for collection in the
ensuing fiscal year.

(b)  The [said commission] Department for the purpose of assess-
ing benefits shall divide all properties binding upon a street, road,
lane, alley or right-of-way, in which a water pipe or sanitary sewer
is to be laid, into four classes, namely: Agricultural, small acreage,
industrial or business, and subdivision property, and the [commis-
sion] Department may subdivide each of said classes in such manner
as it may deem to be in the public interest. Whenever any water
supply or sewerage project, or part thereof, in any sanitary district