§ 36-9-27-14 — Proceedings affecting more than one county; joint boards

(a) Whenever it appears to the county
surveyor that any proceedings instituted under this chapter may affect
land in more than one (1) county, the county surveyor shall
immediately forward notification of that fact to the chair of the board
of each county in which the land is located, by certified mail with
return receipt requested. The notice must state the number of counties
involved and fix a date, hour, and place for a meeting of a joint board.
The date for the meeting may not be less than twenty (20) nor more
than thirty (30) days after the notice is mailed.
(b) After the notice is given, all proceedings in the matter shall be
heard and determined by a board appointed from the membership of
the board of each county in which lands that may be affected are
located, as follows:
(1) If land in two (2) counties may be affected, the chair of the
board of each county shall appoint two (2) of the members of the
chair's board, other than the county surveyor, to serve on the joint
board. In addition, a fifth member shall be appointed by the four
(4) members of the joint board. The fifth member must reside in
a county that is not affected by the drainage problem.
(2) If land in more than two (2) counties may be affected, the
chair of the board of each county shall appoint one (1) of the
members of the chair's board, other than the county surveyor, to
serve on the joint board. If, as a result of the appointments, the
board has an even number of members, the members of the joint
board shall appoint an additional member to the joint board. The
additional member must reside in a county that is not affected by
the drainage problem.
(3) The surveyor of the county having the greatest length of drain
or proposed drain serves as an ex officio member of the joint
board, and has the same duties, powers, and responsibilities the
county surveyor would have if the proposed construction,
reconstruction, or maintenance affected lands lying solely within
one (1) county.
(c) A joint board may authorize the employment of one (1) or more
persons to assist the county surveyor who serves on the board in the
performance of the county surveyor's duties in connection with the joint
board. The joint board shall set the rate of compensation for the
assistants and authorize an advance on the general drain improvement
fund of each county in proportion to the apparent percentage of the
total land area in each county to be affected by the drain. The cost of
the assistants and the advance is a part of the operating expense of the
joint board, which shall be finally adjusted and allocated as provided
in subsection (e).
(d) Whenever the county surveyor finds that a joint board should be
appointed and that:
(1) the area of affected land in the county surveyor's county
exceeds eighty percent (80%) of the total area of land affected by
the drain; or
(2) ninety percent (90%) or more of the length of the affected
drain lies within the county surveyor's county;
the county surveyor may request in writing that each board in the lesser
affected county or counties waive the right to be represented on a joint
board and that the board of the county surveyor's county be the board
for the proceedings. The request and all subsequent communications
in the proceedings, including notice of any benefits or damages to the
lands within a lesser affected county, shall be forwarded by certified
mail with return receipt requested to the chair of the board of each
lesser affected county. If the county surveyor does not receive a
negative response to the county surveyor's request from the board of a
lesser affected county within thirty (30) days, the surveyor may request
the county surveyor's board to resolve itself as the board for the
proceedings. The board shall serve notice only on the board of a lesser
affected county and shall certify to the auditor of that county a single
claim for all benefits in that county, unless the surveyor or board of that
county furnishes to the board full and acceptable information
concerning all individual parcels of affected land in that county,
including maps.
(e) If the joint board proceeds with the proposed improvement or
maintenance, all operating expense of the joint board, including the
compensation of the fifth member appointed under subsection (b)(1)
and the additional member appointed under subsection (b)(2) shall be:
(1) divided among the counties represented on it in the same
proportion that the total land assessment allocated to each county
bears to the total cost of the improvement or maintenance; or
(2) paid from the joint drain's maintenance fund after the fund is
established and maintenance funds are collected.
If the joint board does not proceed, all operating expense of the joint
board shall be apportioned by the joint board to the counties
represented on it as justice requires.
(f) To the extent applicable, a joint board is governed by the
provisions of this chapter concerning:
(1) the powers, duties, and procedures of a board that serves one
(1) county; and
(2) the rights and remedies of owners affected by the proceedings
of a board that serves one (1) county.
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citations: 19-4-1-14;
19-4-1-15.]
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.101. Amended by
P.L.225-1986, SEC.9; P.L.276-2001, SEC.11; P.L.127-2017,
SEC.329.