Private Roads Assessment

[unclebuck65]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts. Our town has an Ordinance to authorize road paving and drainage repairs to private roads and assess the abutters for the costs upon consent of at least 50% of the abutters. At the time the abutters were required to sign the consent forms, 62 abutters were to be assessed equally to share the project costs. When the project appropriation was formally voted by the Town Council it stated that the cost was to be assessed to only 51 of the abutters. The Town did not notify us that 11 of the original group of abutters were allowed to opt out after the consent forms had been signed and returned. My attemps to get the Town officials to resolicite consent from the remaining abutters were rebuffed. I have obtained a copy of an earlier legal opinion of the Town Attorney on this Ordinance stating in part "...the code does not distinguish among abutters who will, and will not have work accomplished in front of their properties (drainage would be an example). Rather, the assumption...appears to be that all abutters will benefit from the improvements and all should ...share in the cost. This is certainly the only reading permitted by the Code."
What's the best approach to pursue this with the Town in that it appears they failed to abide by the intent of the Ordinance? So far the town officials have ignored my letters.