Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-18
WATER MAIN ASSESSMENTS
DRAFT OF BILL TO AMEND THE
LAW.
Object of Measure to Relieve Property
Owners From Alleged Ex-
cessive Charges.

| The Distric: Commissioners have submit
| ted ito the ;ha rmen of The Senate and
| House District committees the draft Of d
| bill relating TO the assessment and reas-
sessment Of water main taxes in the Dis
trct. with n recommendation that it be
enacted into law.
THE object of this BILL state the Com
missioners. lis to relieve property owners in
font of whose land water mains are laid
from the excessive charge which the Com
sI0ners are row required to impose upon
such land by the pubcat ton of the notice
prescribed in section one of the act ap-
proved June =. 1900, entitled An act to
amend an act entitled An act to author
iZc the reassesSment of water main taxes
| in The District of Columbia, and for other
purposes approved jail: s, 1s.fS.' That
| law requires II daily insertion of the notice,
Sundays excepted, for two weeks in two
n w&papers. The cosi thus imposed fire.
quently equals and often exceeds the actual
COS of laying the main. The Commission
cTs are informed and believe that the legs-
| lation whose repeal is here sought was
dc signed in the interest of the taxpayer, al
though il neither recommended nor
approved by them. But. however well in
It Eded its purposes, it has in many cases
proved almost ccntiscatOry. In one instance
the cost of publishing the notice was nearly
three times the amount of the assessment
and IN another nearly seven times as great.
The bill which the Commissioners sub
nit proposes 10 change the number of times
Of publication from daily publication for
two weeks TO a publication once a week in
each of two successive weeks, and to sup
PIGMENT this publication by a personal ser
wee. such as is now given in the case of
spe cial assessments for sidewalks, alleys
and the like"
Text Of the Bill.
The bill is follows:
That section one of the act approved
June ., 1900 entitled An act to amend an
act entitled An act to authorize the as
Sc ssment of water main taxes in the Dis
trict of Columbia. and for other purposes"
approved July g. 1885, is hereby amended
So that it will read as follows:
THAT the act entitled AN act to au-
thoriZe the reassessment of water main
taxes in the District Of Columbia, and for
other purposes" approved July 8, 1898, be,
and the same Is hereby. amended by strk-
ing out the following words at the end of
section two thereof That said water main
tax or assessment, or reasSeSSment, shall be
due. payable and collectible on each lot or
parcel of land or premises on and after the
date on which the connection is made from
the water main to the said lot or parcel of
land or premises and inserting In lieu
thereof the following: THAT hereafter.
whenever water main mains shall be
laid in the District of Columbia. the water
main assessment or tax authorized by law
shall be assessed within thirty days after
such water main or mains shall have been
laid and the owner or owners affected by
this assessment or tax shall be notified that
the same has beer assessed by notice
which shall be published once week for
two successive weeks in two daily newspa-
pers published in the District of Columbia,
beginning on the first Monday after the
levy and authorization of such assessments
or taxes by the Commissioners OF said Dis
payable in four equal installments, the first
of which shall be payable without interest
within thirty days from the date OF the
last publication Of said notice. the second
within one year, the third within two years
and the fourth within three years from the
date of the last publication Of said notice,
and interest at the rate of 10 per centum
per annum shall be charged on all amounts
which shall remain unpaid at the expira-
ton of thirty days from the date of the
last publication of said notice; provided,
that If the assessment or tax is paid in full
at any time within thirty days after the
last publication of said notice an abate-
ment of 6 per centum shall be allowed on
the entire amount of said assessment. The
cost of publication of the notice herein pro-
vided for shall be added to the amount of
said assessment and collected in the same
manner that said assessment is collected.
Service of Personal Notice.
The officer designated by the Commits
authority conferred by An act to authorize
the reassessment Of water main taxes in
the District of Columbia, and for other pur-
pcses,' approved July 8, 1898, to give the
aforesaid notice, shall. during the period
hereinbefore prescribed for the publication
of said notice also cause notice of said
sessment or tax to be served upon the own
err of each lot affected by said assessment,
If such owner be a resident of the District
of Columbia whose place of residence Is
known. If such owner be a nonresident OF
the District, or a person whose residence is
not known such notice shall be served on
the tenant or agent Of such owner as the
case may be; if there be no tenant or
agent known TO the Commissioners the SER
vice Of such notice shall be by leaving the
same with some person of suitable age at
the residence or place of business OF sucn
owner agent or tenant, and return OF
such service stating the manner thereon,
shall be made in writing and filed in the
office of said Commissioners.
IAN laws or parts of laws inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed.