New York Consolidated Laws, Village Law - VIL § 22-2200 Local improvements;  apportionment;  bonds

1. Whenever the board of trustees of any village shall make local improvements at the expense of the owners of the lands benefited thereby, or partly at the expense of such owners and partly at the expense of the village at large, the board, before making any such local improvements, shall give notice to all persons interested by publishing a notice in the official newspaper that a hearing will be held, not less than ten days after the first publication of such notice, to consider the same, and after such hearing the board may make such improvements, either by contract or by village employees, and determine the portion of the cost to be assessed upon the lands benefited thereby and the portion, if any, to be borne by the village at large, and also determine what lands will be benefited by such local improvements, and shall prepare and file in the office of the village clerk a map or plan of the proposed assessment district, showing the lands so determined to be benefited, as soon as practicable after such hearing.

2. When the cost of any such local improvements has been determined the board shall apportion and assess the part of the expense to be raised by local assessments upon the lands in such assessment district, according to frontage, area, or otherwise, as the board may determine during the proceedings to be just and equitable, and file a copy thereof in the office of the village clerk.  After making such apportionment the board shall publish in the official paper and serve upon each land owner, personally or by mail, at least ten days before the hearing, a notice of the filing of such apportionment and assessment map or plan, and that at a specified time and place a hearing will be had to review and complete the same, and that the said apportionment and the said map or plan can be examined by any person interested therein at the office of the village clerk during usual business hours, prior to such hearing.  The board shall meet at the time and place specified in such notice and hear objections to such apportionment and to such assessment map.  It may modify and correct the same and add or exclude land to or from the area of local assessments, but no assessment shall be increased, and no lands added thereto without notice to the owner and an opportunity to be heard.  The board may adjourn the hearing from time to time without further notice and, as soon as practicable, shall complete the said apportionment and assessment, and the said assessment map and file the same in the office of the village clerk, and publish notice of such completion and filing in the official paper, and any person deeming himself aggrieved thereby may, within fifteen days after the filing of such apportionment and map apply to a court of record for an order of certiorari to review said assessments.  The apportionment, the assessments and the map shall be deemed final and conclusive unless such an application to   1 be made within such fifteen days.

3. The expense of any such local improvement may be raised in an entire amount or in installments as the board of trustees may determine.  If any portion of such expenses to be borne by the village at large, or if the entire expense of such improvement is to be assessed against the property benefited thereby, such expense may be financed pursuant to the local finance law.

4. All local assessments levied against real property as provided herein shall be collected pursuant to section 5-518 of this chapter.