Bill > S1939

This bill authorizes the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea to make permanent improvements to private ways, which are roads not maintained by the town, and to assess "betterments" to pay for these improvements. Betterments are special assessments levied on property owners who directly benefit from public improvements, like new paving or drainage. The town can borrow money to fund these repairs and improvements, and this debt will not count towards the town's overall debt limit. The cost of these improvements and borrowings will be divided among the benefited property owners as a betterment, with the town's assessors determining how many years these assessments will be levied, potentially for fewer than twenty years. The bill also allows the town to adopt bylaws to implement these provisions and specifies that the act takes effect immediately upon its passage.