267.160 Viewers' classification of land for assessment -- Rate of assessment.
529 words·~2 min read·
/ky/chapter-267/267-160A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
(1)The viewers shall meet on the day named in the notice provided by KRS 267.150,
or as soon thereafter as practicable, and proceed with their work, for which the clerk
shall furnish them with the duplicate plan of drainage adopted by the board. As soon
after their first meeting as possible, the viewers shall examine the land in the
district; the railroad property in the district; all other improvements, highways and
bridges that may be affected by the proposed improvement; and all ditches, drains,
ponds, lakes, creeks and watercourses in the district, or that are partly within and
partly without the district. A majority of the viewers shall control and decide all
questions.
(2)The viewers shall classify the land in the district with reference to the benefit it will
receive from the improvement. In the case of drainage, the degree of wetness of the
land, its proximity to the ditch or a natural outlet and the fertility of the soil shall be
considered in determining the amount of benefit it will receive by the construction
of the ditch. Except as provided in subsection
(3)of this section, the land benefited
shall be separated into five classes. The land receiving the highest benefit shall be
marked "Class A"; that receiving the next highest, "Class B"; that receiving the next
highest, "Class C"; that receiving the next highest, "Class D"; and that receiving the
smallest benefit, "Class E." The holding of any one landowner need not be all in one
class, but the number of acres in each class shall be ascertained, though its boundary
need not be separately marked on the ground nor shown on the map. The total
number of acres owned by one
(1)person in each class and the total number of acres
benefited shall be determined. The total number of acres of each class in the entire
district shall be determined and presented in tabulated form. The scale of
assessment to be made by the board upon the several classes of land returned by the
viewers shall be in the ratio of five (5), four (4), three (3), two
(2)and one (1).
Whenever five
(5)mills per acre are assessed against the land in "Class A," four
mills per acre shall be assessed against the land in "Class B," three
(3)mills per acre
in "Class C," two
(2)mills per acre in "Class D," and one
(1)mill per acre in "Class
E." This shall form the basis of the assessment of benefits to the land for drainage
purposes, and in calculating the assessment against each landowner the board shall
follow the classification.
(3)If the viewers believe that existing conditions would cause substantial injustice to
any landowner by strict conformity to the five-class rule, the classification may be
changed by diminishing or increasing the number of classes to conform to such
conditions, or the viewers may report the benefits they estimate will accrue to each
tract of land without dividing the land into classes. If the classification is changed
the viewers shall indicate to the board the ratio of assessment for such changed
classification as compared with the five-class rule.