§ 15-1955 — Proceedings for assessment and collection of cost

§ 15-1955. Proceedings for assessment and collection of cost.\n 1. Except as otherwise provided by law, all costs and expenses\nnecessary for the formation, improvement and maintenance of a drainage\nimprovement district shall be met from funds collected from the owners\nof lands benefited or affected or from public corporations as provided\nin title 19 of this article. The fiscal year shall start on the first\nday of July.\n 2. On or before the first day of July each year the department shall\nprepare and file for each existing or proposed district having\noutstanding indebtedness or for which the borrowing of money has been\nauthorized, an itemized statement of the amounts that must be collected\non the tax roll to be prepared that year to meet the fiscal obligations\nof the district for the following fiscal year, including retirement of\noutstanding or contemplated evidences of indebtedness, interest thereon,\nrepayments to the drainage fund and all other costs of whatever name or\nnature. Such statement shall set forth separately each project or parts\nof a project or other items in such manner as to facilitate the\npreparation of the tax rolls as herein provided. The total of each such\nitem shall further be subdivided to show the amount thereof to be paid\nby each county, town, city or village and the amount to be levied on the\nindividual properties. This last amount shall be further subdivided to\nshow the total amount to be levied and collected in each county, town,\ncity or village, all as previously determined by the department.\n 3. Such statement shall be approved as to the various amounts by the\nComptroller. Certified copies of each statement shall be filed with the\nComptroller, with the clerk of the county legislative body, or such\nother similar official as shall have been designated by the county\nlegislative body, the clerk of each town and the clerk of each city or\nvillage affected thereby.\n 4. The amount shown on each statement to be due from any county, town,\ncity or village shall be by such municipality assessed, levied and\ncollected in the same manner as provided by law with reference to\ngeneral taxes and paid to the treasurer of the county, who shall\nforthwith forward the same to the Comptroller to be paid by him into the\ndrainage improvement district fund applicable to such district or\nproposed district or into the drainage fund. That portion of each such\nitem which is to be levied on the individual properties in any town or\ncity shall be handled as follows. The appropriate board of assessors\nshall ascertain from the maps filed and apportionment of cost filed or\nrecorded, the various parcels liable for any part of such item and shall\nenter in appropriate columns in the annual assessment roll before the\ndelivery thereof to the county legislative body the number of each such\nparcel, the name of the owner as far as the same can be ascertained by\nthe assessors and the figure to be used in determining the amount to be\nborne by each parcel, be it area, enhancements, modified enhancements,\nassessed valuation or percentage, all as shown by the above-mentioned\nmaps or statements. Should a parcel have been subdivided, each division\nshall be so entered separately and the area, enhancement or other\nfigures shall be subdivided accordingly by the assessors.\n 5. The county legislative body shall each year, at the time the annual\ntax levy is made, levy upon each separate parcel so shown on the\nassessment rolls an amount which shall bear the same relation to the\ntotal to be collected as shown by the annual statement as the area,\nenhancement or similar figure assigned to that parcel bears to the total\nof all such areas, enhancements or similar figures. Should the board of\nsupervisors discover errors in the work of the assessors, they hereby\nare specifically empowered to correct the same so that the full amount\nshown by the annual statement of the department shall be assessed upon\nthe properties liable therefor and it shall be the duty of the assessors\nto aid the county legislative body in making such corrections.\n 6. The amount so levied shall be collected and shall be a like lien as\ngeneral taxes until the amount thereof is paid to the county treasurer,\nsuperior in force and effect to all other liens except unpaid general\ntaxes, provided, however, that the collection of such tax shall be\nenforced only by sale of the land or property assessed. On or before the\nfirst day of June in each year the county treasurer shall pay the amount\nso to be raised in his county, as shown by the annual statement of the\ndepartment of the previous year, to the Comptroller who shall pay the\nsame into the drainage improvement district fund or into the drainage\nfund as the case may be. The tax collectors and county treasurers\ncollecting and paying such taxes to the Comptroller shall be governed by\nand have all the powers specified in the Real Property Tax Law, which\nformerly were specified in articles 4 and 7 of the Tax Law for the\ncollection of taxes and sale of property by county treasurers for unpaid\ntaxes and redemption of lands.\n