GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1991 SESSION
CHAPTER 634
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 156-93.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) The board of drainage
commissioners may annually levy maintenance assessments in the same ratio as
the existing classification of the lands within the district. The amount
of these assessments shall be determined by the board of drainage commissioners
of the district. The proceeds of these assessments shall be used for the
purpose of maintaining canals of the drainage district in an efficient
operating condition and for the necessary operating expenses of the
district. Notice of the meeting at which the board of drainage
commissioners determines the amount of the annual levy shall be mailed to the
owners, as shown on the county tax records, of all property subject to
assessment, or shall be published once a week for two successive calendar weeks
in a newspaper having general circulation in the area. The notice shall
be sent or published not more than 30 days nor less than 10 days prior to the
meeting, and shall state the time, place, and purposes of the meeting.
Any interested person has the right to be heard at the meeting prior to the
drainage commissioners taking any action on the proposed assessment. In
the event that any interested and aggrieved party disagrees with the said
assessment, he may, within 20 days of the mailing of the notice of the
assessment, file with the clerk for the county wherein the proceeding is
pending, a notice specifically setting forth his objection. The Secretary
of the District shall file in the records of the proceeding a certification
setting forth the date of the mailing of the notice of the annual maintenance
assessments. The clerk shall thereupon notify the senior resident
superior court judge of such district who shall set the objection down for
hearing at the earliest possible time. The court shall hear the matter
upon the objections duly set forth in the notice of objection. Notice
of the meeting at which the board of drainage commissioners determines the
amount of the annual levy shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the area for four successive days, not more than 30 or less than
10 days prior to the meeting. The notice shall be not less than
one-fourth page in size and shall state the time, place, and purpose of the
meeting. At such meeting any interested person shall have the right to be
heard prior to action on the proposed assessment.
The board of drainage commissioners shall have the authority to employ engineering assistance, construction equipment, superintendents and operators for the equipment necessary for the efficient maintenance of the canals, or the maintenance may be done by private contract made after due advertisement as required for the original construction work."
Sec. 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 1991.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 11th day of July, 1991.
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James C. Gardner
President of the Senate
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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives