§ 88-5. City invoices.

(a)

Payment. The city finance director or his designee may periodically, total the costs, expenses and fees incurred by the city for each application for which a review deposit is required and project and send an invoice to the applicant for payment. The applicant shall have ten days from the date of the invoice to pay to the city the invoiced amount. Thereafter, if payment is not received in the required time, the city finance director or his designee shall apply the review deposit toward payment of the invoiced amounts. If the total costs, expenses and fees incurred by the city for an application for which a review deposit is required and project exceed the review deposit and payment is not received in the required time, the city finance director or his designee shall apply the review deposit to a portion of the invoiced amount and send a notice of non-payment to the applicant and to all city staff and city consultants associated with the applicable application or project informing the applicant, city staff and city consultants to cease all work relating to such unless and until further notified by the city finance director or his designee.

If payment of the balance of the invoice is not received within the required time, then work by the city staff and city consultants shall cease and will not be reactivated on the applicable application or project and neither building permits, certificates of completion nor certificates of occupancy will be issued with respect to such or the real property related to such until such time as all outstanding fees, costs and expenses due under this chapter and the city code are paid in full and a new review deposit for said application or project, in an amount determined by the city manager, is paid to the city. Review of any future application or project with respect to the real property for which payment was not made will not be undertaken by the city until such time as all outstanding fees, costs and expenses due under this chapter are paid in full and a new review deposit paid to the city.

(b)

Code enforcement action for past-due invoices. After project approval, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, if an applicant receives or is granted approval on an application or project or is issued a building permit, certificate of completion, certificate of occupancy, occupational license or other developmental order by the city and thereafter incurs additional fees, costs and expenses or such other fees, costs and expenses attributable to the application are thereafter posted to the project account for work performed associated with said approval or issuance, the applicant or his successor in interest shall pay said costs, fees and expenses incurred by the city for such application and project within ten days from the date of the invoice. Failure to pay the invoiced amount within the requested time shall constitute a violation of this chapter. If payment is not received in the required time and there is no review deposit which can be applied toward payment of the invoiced amount, the city finance director shall notify the code inspector to initiate code enforcement proceedings pursuant to article II of chapter 2 of the Winter Garden Code of Ordinances.

(c)

Deficiency and liens. Any deficiency owed to the city whether incurred before or after project approval, shall bear interest from the date of the aforementioned notice of non-payment at the rate of 18 percent simple interest per annum until paid. The amount of any such deficiency owed to the city shall, together with interest and the costs of collection as hereinafter provided, be the personal obligation of the applicant and shall be a continuing lien on the real property related to the application or project under review. Any subsequent or new owner of the real property related to the application or project shall take title subject to the obligations of the applicant under the terms of this chapter and shall be jointly and severally liable for such obligations. An applicant may not escape liability for the deficiency by abandonment of the application or project, withdrawal of such or sale of the real property with respect to which such has been submitted. If the initial or subsequent invoices are not timely paid and the invoiced amount exceeds the amount of the review deposit, the city may take whatever legal means it deems appropriate to collect the deficiency, including, but not limited to, retaining the services of a collection agency or attorney, initiating legal proceedings for the collection thereof, recording a notice of lien as hereinafter provided, and foreclosing same in the same manner as mortgage liens are foreclosed. To give the public notice of the deficiency, the city may (but shall not be obligated to) record or cause to be recorded a Notice of Lien in the Public Records of Orange County, Florida, stating the description of the real property related to the application or project, the name of the owner of the real property and the amount then due and owing to the city.

(Ord. No. 02-41, § II, 10-24-02)