NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1967 SESSION
CHAPTER 1085
HOUSE BILL 1133
AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 2 OF CHAPTER 139 OF THE NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL STATUTES CONCERNING PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:
Section 1. G.S. 139-27 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"§ 139-27. Collection and Payment of Assessments; Expenditure of Proceeds Thereof and of Other District Funds. (a)(1) The landowner against whom an assessment is made shall have the option of paying the entire assessment, if he so elects and gives written notice accordingly to the secretary-treasurer of the district within 15 days after the confirmation of the assessment roll and upon his failure to so notify the district, he shall be deemed to have elected to pay the assessment in annual installments. Assessments (and installments of assessments) shall become due and payable on the date provided by law for payment of ad valorem property taxes in the county. Interest shall be charged for late payments, and discounts shall be allowed for prepayment of assessments, in the amounts and during the periods covered by law with respect to payment of ad valorem property taxes in the county. The entire assessment may be paid at any time by payment of the principal and all interest accrued to that date.
(2) It is the intent and purpose of this subsection that any assessment(initial, subsequent or annual) may as determined by the assessment roll be paid and collected in multiple annual installments in such installment amounts and spread over such installment periods as the assessment roll may fix. As to any assessment roll which shall fix and determine multiple annual installment payments spread over periods in excess of three years, the following modifications of designated subsections of this Section shall apply:
a. In subsection (b) "three" shall read "multiple";
b. In subsection (c) "second and third" shall read "subsequent";
c. In subsection (d): "second and third" shall read "subsequent"; "one and two years, respectively" shall read "in subsequent years"; and the form of the order of the board of commissioners to the county tax collector shall be suitably modified;
d. In subsection (h) the form of assessment receipt shall be suitably modified for fourth and subsequent annual installments.
"(b) After confirmation of the assessment roll the district shall have prepared a form of receipt, with appropriate stubs attached, for the assessment due on each tract or parcel of land as recited in the assessment roll. A separate sheet shall be used for each tract or parcel assessed, and each such separate sheet shall contain three perforated receipts attached to a single stub, with appropriate entries and blank spaces substantially as set forth in subsection (h) of this Section. The receipts and stubs for land within each county wherein any part of his district lies shall be separately bound. The bound books of assessment receipts shall be endorsed 'Assessments of the (here give the name of the district) Watershed Improvement District due on the first Monday of October, 19 ,' and the same endorsement shall be printed at the top of each assessment receipt. The necessary cost of printing and binding such books of assessment receipts and the filling in of the same shall be a proper charge against the district and shall be paid by the Board of Trustees.
"(c) During the month of September next following the confirmation of the assessment roll the district shall mail to the landowners the receipts for the first annual installment with the blanks duly filled in. The district shall also remove from the bound books, and retain, the receipts for the second and third annual installments. On or before the twenty-fifth day of such month the appropriate bound book of stubs, with the names of the property owners and assessment and installment amounts duly filled in, shall be delivered to the board of commissioners of each county wherein any part of the district lies. On or before the first Monday of October next following the said boards of commissioners shall cause such bound books to be delivered to their respective county tax collectors, together with appended orders in substantially the following form:
"Tax Collector, County:
"This is to certify that the attached book of assessment stubs embraces watershed assessments made on certain lands in the County of which are located within the boundaries of the Watershed Improvement District. The affected landowners, unless otherwise indicated to the contrary, have elected to pay their assessments in installments, the first of which becomes due on the first Monday of October, 19 , and must be paid and collected within the time and in the manner required by law. (See G.S. 139-27). Interest for failure to pay this installment shall accrue on the principal amount of the installment at the rate and at the times provided by law for property taxes in the county. You will enter the dates of payments on the stubs and retain the book of stubs in a safe place for use in recording subsequent annual installments. You will make monthly settlements of your collections with the secretary-treasurer of the Watershed Improvement District, and in all other respects you will discharge your duties as tax collector as required by law.
"In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and official seal, this day of , 19 .
_______________________________
Chairman. Board of Commissioners,
__________________________County
"(d) The procedure for the second and third annual installments shall be set forth in this subsection. The district shall mail the receipts for such installments with blanks duly filled in to the landowners during the month of September, one and two years, respectively, after the mailing of the receipts for the first installment. On or before the twenty-fifth day of such month there shall be delivered to the boards of county commissioners a notice of the due date of the installment. On or before the first Monday of October next following the said boards of commissioners shall cause to be delivered to their respective county tax collectors orders in substantially the following form, omitting therefrom the appropriate bracketed words and phrases:
"Tax Collector County:
"This is to certify that the [second] [third] installment of the watershed assessment of the Watershed Improvement District becomes due on the first Monday of October, 19 ., and must be paid and collected within the time and in the manner required by law. (See G.S. 139-27). Interest for failure to pay this installment shall accrue on the principal amount of the installment at the rate and at the times provided by law for property taxes in the county. You will enter the dates of payments on the stubs [and retain the book of stubs in a safe place for use in recording the third annual installment] [and thereafter retain or dispose of the book of stubs in the manner provided by law.] You will make monthly settlements of your collections with the secretary-treasurer of the . Watershed Improvement District, and in all other respects you will discharge your duties as tax collector as required by law.
"In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and official seal, this . day of ., 19 ..
_____________________________
Chairman, Board of Commissioners
________________________County
"(e) All watershed assessments shall be collected by the county tax collector in the same manner as county taxes, except as otherwise herein provided, and such collections shall be enforced in the manner provided by G.S. 105-414 and subsections (f) through (v) of G.S. 105‑391; provided however, that there shall be no right to proceed against personal property in enforcing such collections. The tax collector shall be required on the first day of each month to make settlements with the secretary-treasurer of the Watershed Improvement District of all collections of watershed assessments for the preceding month, and to deposit all moneys so collected in an account maintained in the name of the district at an official depository designated by the district. Such account shall also be used for the deposit of all other funds of the district. Expenditures from such account may be made with the approval of the trustees of the district on requisition from the chairman and the secretary-treasurer of the district. The fee allowed the tax collector for collecting the watershed assessments shall be two percent (2%) of the amount collected, except that, where the tax collector is on a salary basis, such fee shall be paid into the General Fund of the County.
"If the tax collector shall willfully fail or neglect to comply with any requirement of law concerning collection or deposit of watershed assessments, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be subject to fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. He shall likewise be liable to a civil action for all damages which may accrue either to the trustees of the district or the holders of its bonds, to either or both of whom a right of action is hereby given.
"(f) No statute of limitation, whether fixed by law especially referred to in this Chapter or otherwise, shall bar the right of the district to enforce any remedy provided by law for the collection of unpaid assessments, save from and after 10 years from and after the due date thereof, or, if payable in installments, 10 years from and after the due date of any installment.
"(g) All proceedings for watershed assessments under the provisions of this Article shall be regarded as proceedings in rem, (and no mistake or omission as to the name of the owner or person interested in any tract or parcel of land affected thereby shall be regarded a substantial mistake or omission.)
"(h) Form of Assessment Receipts with Stub.
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Landowner
_______________________________
Owner's Address _______________________________ Amount of Entire Easement
_______________________________ Date Paid
_______________________________
Amount of each Annual Installment
_______________________________
Date 1st Annual Installment Paid
_______________________________
Date 2nd Annual Installment Paid
_______________________________
Date 3rd Annual Installment Paid _______________________________
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Assessments of the (here give name of District) Watershed Improvement District due on the first Monday of October, 19 ..
Landowner ________________________ Unpaid Balance of Entire Easement __________________________________ Amount of 1st Annual Installment due __________________________________ Interest for failure to pay this installment shall accrue on the principal amount of the installment at the rate and at the times provided by law for property taxes in the county. PAYABLE TO TAX COLLECTOR, ____________________________, County, _______________________ North Carolina Assessments of the (here give name of district) Watershed Improvement District due on the first Monday of October, 19 .. Landowner __________________________ Unpaid Balance of Entire Assessment ____________________________________ Amount of 2nd Annual Installment due ____________________________________ Interest for failure to pay this installment shall accrue on the principal amount of the installment at the rate and at the times provided by law for property taxes in the county. PAYABLE TO TAX COLLECTOR, ____________________________, County ________________________ North Carolina Assessments of the (here give the name of district) Watershed Improvement District due on the first Monday of October, 19 .. Landowner ___________________________ Unpaid Balance of Entire Assessment ____________________________________ Interest for failure to pay this installment shall accrue on the principal at the rate and at the times provided by law for property taxes in the county. PAYABLE TO TAX COLLECTOR, ____________________________, County ______________________ North Carolina." |
Sec. 2. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. With regard to Watershed Improvement Districts hereafter created, this Act shall take effect upon its ratification. With regard to any existing Watershed Improvement District, this Act shall become effective upon the confirmation of the first assessment roll that is confirmed following the ratification of this Act.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 3rd day of July, 1967.