§ 156-114. Conveyance of land; change in assessment roll; procedure. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 156‑114. Conveyance of land; change in assessment roll; procedure.

(a)        Status of Land Fixed. – The boundaries of lands as surveyedand mapped, the ownership thereof, and the classification and assessmentthereof as appears in the final report and map and upon the assessment roll,shall be and remain as of the time when the district was established and thefinal report of the board of viewers was approved by the court.  No conveyanceor devise of land or devolution by inheritance after the petition has beenfiled or the owner thereof has been served with the original summons, either bypersonal service or by publication, shall affect the status or liability ofsuch land as a part of such drainage district, except as herein provided.

(b)        Conveyance before Final Report. – If the owner of any landsincluded in such district shall, after the filing of the petition, and afterbeing served with the original summons and before the approval of the finalreport, convey the whole or any part of such lands, or the title thereto shallbe otherwise changed, then and in such event the grantor and grantee or newowner, or either, may file a petition in an ancillary proceeding before theclerk of the superior court setting forth the facts, with a description of thelands conveyed either in part or the entire body of land, together with adescription of the land excepted and not conveyed.  If the grantor or granteeor new owner, in whole or in part, file such petition, the other not so joiningshall be served with notice of same.  The clerk may require the petitioner toattach to the petition a map showing the boundaries of the entire body of landas it appears in the record of the proceedings, and also showing the partconveyed.  If the ownership of such land has been changed by devise orinheritance, or any joint ownership has been changed by partition, such newowner may file a petition as herein provided.  Such petition shall concludewith a prayer that the grantee or new owner be made a party to the proceeding. The court after a hearing may make the grantee or new owner a party to thedrainage proceeding and shall certify to the engineer and viewers a descriptionof the land so conveyed or held by the new owner, with directions to verify theboundaries and to classify the land to the same extent as if the grantee wasthe original party.  Any part of such lands not so conveyed shall be and remaina part of the district.

(c)        Conveyance after District Established. – After the districtshall be established, the lands classified, the final report approved, and theassessment roll filed, no conveyance of any land in the district shall affector change the existing status or liability of such land as to assessmentcharges or otherwise, except in the manner herein defined.  When the title andownership of any tract of land embraced in the district have been changed orvested in others by grant, devise, or inheritance, or by partition betweenjoint owners, subsequent to the establishment of the district, the assessmentroll may be amended in the following manner: The grantor and grantee, or thenew owners, may file a petition with the chairman of the board of drainagecommissioners alleging that the ownership of the land has changed, and themanner thereof, in whole or in part.  If the whole body of land as appears inthe final report or on the assessment roll has changed ownership, a generaldescription consistent with such final report and map shall be sufficient.  Ifthe ownership of the body of land has changed only as to part thereof, thepetition shall contain a description of the part thereof claimed by the newowners, and the number of acres and the classifications, or the several classesif it be in more than one class, and also a description of that part of theland the title to which remains in the original owner, with the number of acresand with the classification and the several classes if it contains more thanone class of land.  The petition shall so describe the land and the number ofacres in each class as to that part of which the ownership has changed as tomaintain the number of acres originally assessed, and the class or classes inwhich the same has been assessed, and the chairman of the board of drainagecommissioners may require the petitioners to have the lands surveyed, andsubmit a map if the same shall be necessary.

(d)        Duty of Chairman of Drainage Commissioners and Clerk. – Thechairman of the board of drainage commissioners shall present this petition tothe clerk of the superior court at any time thereafter, not later than thefirst Monday in July following.  It shall be the duty of the clerk to examineand verify the facts set forth in the petition, and particularly to determineif the number of acres assessed and the classes thereof against the new owners addedto the number of acres and the classes assessed against that part of the land,the title to which has not changed, shall equal the total number of acres andthe classes so assessed as appear against such entire body of land in the finalreport and assessment roll.  If the clerk shall be so satisfied, he shall enteran order or decree changing the original assessment roll, or the assessmentroll as theretofore amended, by adding the name of the new owner with thenumber of acres assessed in each class, and by amending the number of acresassessed and the classes thereof against the original owner as appears on theoriginal assessment roll or assessment roll as theretofore amended.  It shallbe the duty of the clerk after such order to make such changes in theassessment roll.  It shall be the duty of the clerk of the superior court inmaking changes in the original assessment roll from time to time to observe andmaintain the total number of acres in each class, to the end that the revenueproduced from the annual assessment shall not be thereby diminished.  Thechairman of the board of drainage commissioners, instead of presenting to theclerk of the court each petition of landowners separately, may combine a numberof petitions and present the same to the court at one and the same time.  Thefirst Monday in July in each year is hereby set apart as a special day on whichpetitions for changing the assessment roll may be submitted, at which time theclerk shall hear all petitions not theretofore submitted.

(e)        Failure of Chairman of Board to Act. – If the chairman ofthe board of drainage commissioners shall fail to act when any petition shallbe submitted to him as herein provided, or the chairman or any member of theboard shall fail to discharge any duty imposed by this section or any otherprovision of the general drainage law, it is hereby made the duty of the clerkof the superior court, either independently or upon the request of anylandowner in the district, to cite such chairman or member to appear before himupon a certain day and show cause why he should not be removed from office, andunless good cause be shown, it shall be the duty of the clerk to remove thechairman or any member of the board of drainage commissioners and to certifyhis action, to the end that another member may be elected according to law.  Ifthe failure of the chairman or any member of the board of drainagecommissioners to discharge such duty shall be willful, he shall be guilty of aClass 1 misdemeanor.

(f)         When Owner May File Petition with Clerk. – If the grantorand grantee, or all those claiming to have acquired title to any body of landon the assessment roll and whose assessment will be affected, cannot agree uponjoinder in a petition to the chairman of the board of drainage commissioners,or if the said chairman fails within a reasonable time to discharge his duty bypresenting the petition to the court, then either party interested in the tractof land as it appears on the assessment roll may file a petition with the clerkof the superior court setting forth the facts as to the change in ownership andtitle of such land, with the description of the entire tract of land and thenumber of acres in each class, together with a description of that part of theland as to which the ownership has changed, with the number of acres in eachclass, and pray the court to order that the assessment roll be amended inaccordance with the title and interest of the several owners.  At the time offiling the petition a summons shall issue to the other parties interested inthe tract of land to show cause, on a day certain, why the prayer of thepetition should not be granted.  Upon the return day the clerk of the courtshall hear all the evidence, find the facts, and enter up a judgment directingthe appropriate amendment to the assessment roll.  It shall be the duty of theclerk to amend the assessment roll in accordance with his judgment.

(g)        Effect of Change in Assessment Roll. – No judgment oramendment of the assessment roll shall be valid unless the number of acres andthe classes assessed against the original and new owners shall equal the areaand classification as contained in the tract of land as it appears on theoriginal assessment roll.  This petition may be presented to the court at anytime, but the first Monday in July in each year is hereby designated as the dayupon which all petitions for amendments to the assessment roll may besubmitted.  Any amendments to the assessment roll ordered after the last day ofAugust in each year shall not become effective until the first day of Septemberthe following year, and the assessment roll as it appears on the first day ofSeptember of each year shall constitute the assessment roll to be delivered tothe sheriff on the first Monday in September, and he shall collect the drainageassessments as they appear thereon without regard to any changes in title orownership or any changes in the assessment roll made by the court after thethirty‑first day of August.  All amendments sought to be made to theassessment roll shall have reference to the assessment roll as it appears atthe time the amendment is sought, which shall be either the original assessmentroll or as amended; but it shall be the duty of the clerk of the superior courtto examine frequently the assessment roll as amended, and before the same shallbe further amended, and make certain that the aggregate number of acres in eachclass as appeared on the original assessment roll shall not be reduced, nor theaggregate annual assessments reduced.  Any amendments ordered shall be made onthe assessment roll and become due in the following September, and on allsubsequent assessment rolls which have not become due or collectible.

(h)        Clerk to Prepare New Assessment Rolls. – It shall be theduty of the chairman and the secretary of the board of drainage commissionersof the district to render to the clerk of the court any clerical assistanceinvolved in changes in the assessment rolls, but the primary duty andresponsibility in making such amendments shall remain with the clerk of thesuperior court, and he shall be held liable for any error or omission which maywork a loss to the district or the bondholders.  If such amendments to theassessment rolls shall make necessary the preparation of new assessment rolls,the clerk of the superior court shall be required to prepare such newassessment rolls with the clerical assistance of the chairman and secretary ofthe board of drainage commissioners, and such new assessment rolls shall besigned by the chairman and secretary of the board of drainage commissioners andby the clerk of the superior court before delivery to the sheriff or taxcollector as required upon the original assessment rolls.  The originalassessment rolls shall be preserved by the clerk of the court among his recordsfor future reference.

(i)         Number of Copies. – In the event it shall be necessary toprepare new assessment rolls, the clerk shall prepare four copies, one copy forthe drainage record, another for the sheriff or tax collector, another for thechairman of the board of drainage commissioners, and the other for filing andpreserving among the records, and which fourth copy shall never be mutilated orinterlined, but shall be preserved in its original form for reference.  As toall drainage districts heretofore established, the clerk of the court shallprepare an additional copy of all the original assessment rolls for the severalyears the lands in such districts are assessed and securely preserve the same,at least until all outstanding bonds of the district shall be paid, to the endthat they may always be accessible for reference and comparison.  It shall notbe necessary hereafter to deliver to the sheriff or tax collector a copy of theassessment roll for the current year in which assessments are due and payable,but the copy provided for him may remain among the records of the clerk of thecourt for safekeeping and reference by him.

(j)         Costs Determined. – As compensation to the clerk of thecourt for the performance of duties imposed herein, he shall be paid such sumby the board of drainage commissioners of such drainage district as they maydeem fair and adequate, and the same is hereby declared a proper charge againstsaid district, but no additional compensation shall be paid to the clerk inthose counties where he receives a salary in lieu of fees.  Any costs which mayaccrue in amendments to the assessment rolls shall be adjudged against theparties in interest, in the discretion of the clerk, and such costs shall bepaid before the amendment shall become effective.  As to all petitions whichshall be filed and submitted to the court on the first Monday in July, no costsshall be paid or adjudged against any party in those counties where the clerkand sheriff receive a salary in lieu of fees.

(k)        Chairman Represents Board. – As to all petitions filed withthe chairman of the board of drainage commissioners, or as to the discharge ofany duty by the chairman required of him under the general drainage law, heshall be presumed to act for the board, and the chairman shall do all thingsnecessary to protect and maintain the interests of the drainage district.  Ifthe chairman shall be or become a landowner in the drainage district and maydesire an amendment to the assessment rolls, he may file his petition beforeany other member of the board, or file the same directly with the clerk of thesuperior court.

(l)         Application of Section. – The provisions of this sectionshall apply to landowners in districts heretofore established and to drainageproceedings heretofore instituted to the same extent as to drainage proceedingshereafter instituted and established. (1917, c. 152, s. 4; 1919, c. 208, s. 1; C.S., s. 5370; 1993, c. 539,s. 1078; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)