Chap. 162.—An ACT to Amend and Re-enact an"Act entitled an Act Pro-
viding for the Re-assessment of Lands in the Commonwealth, Passed
February 1, 1872, so as to Enable those Counties in the State which
Failed to Avail themselves of the Provisions of said Act to do so.

Became & law March 13, 1873.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That the act passed
February first, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, entitled an
act providing for the re-assessment of lands in the common-
wealth, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Whereas, complaints exist in divers counties of this common-
wealth of inequality and imperfectness of the existing assess-
ment of the value of the lands therein :

$1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That upon
the petition of a majority of landholders in any county or
corporation which has not already availed itself of the
provisions of said act, passed February first, eighteen hun-
dred and seventy-two, or upon the petition of a majority of
the board of supervisors of any such county, or upon the
petition of a majority of landholders in any township of any
such county, it shall be the duty of the court of such
county or corporation, at the April term of said court, in the
year eighteen hundred and seventy-three, to appoint and asso-
ciate two freeholders of said county or corporation, of expe-
rience and judgment, with the assessor for said county or cor-
poration, who acted as assessor under an act approved No-
vember fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled an act to
amend and re enact an act providing for the re-assessment of
the lands throughout the commonwealth, approved July ninth,
eighteen hundred and seventy, in said county, corporation or
township, who shall constitute a board of re-assessment, who
shall proceed to assess the value of lands and lots, with the
improvements thereon, in their respective counties, corpora-
tions and townships, as the same are arranged and established
by law. Upon complaint made at any time within the time
prescribed for correcting assessments of lands under this act,
by three or more citizens of any county, city or town of this
state (which complaint shall be verified by affidavit), that the
lands or lots of any person, situated in such county, city or
town, were assessed too low, the proper court of such county,
city or town shall appoint three intelligent and disinterested
freeholders, whose duty it shall be, after being first duly sworn,
and giving reasonable notice to the owner of the lands or lots
so assessed, to go upon the property and examine the same and
report what, in their opinion, was the fair value of such lands
or lots at the time of their last assessment, upon the return of
which report, and such other evidence as may be introduced,
the court, if satisfied that the assessment was too low, shall
have power to correct the same, and direct at what value the
said lands or lots’ shall be charged: provided, that a majority
of the common council of any city or town having a separate
organization, and not forming a part of any township, shall
have like authority to recommend a re-assessment of the lots
and improvements in such city or town as is hereby given to a
majority of the supervisors of the counties touching re-assess-
ments therein.

§ 2. Each assessor, before entering upon the duties of his
office, shall, before the judge of the county court of his county
in vacation, or before the said court in term, execute a bond,
with good security, in a penalty of five thousand dollars, con-
ditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office,
and shall moreover take an oath that he will faithfully and im-
partially, and to the best of his skill and understanding, execute
all the duties of his office according to law: provided, if said
qualification is in vacation, the certificate thereof and the oath
shall be returned to the clerk of the county court, who shall
record such certificate, and the fact of the taking of the oath,
in the minutes of the next term.

- §3. The said assessors shall, as soon as may be after. their
appointment and qualification as aforesaid, proceed to examine
in person all the lands and lots, with the improvements thereon,
within their respective counties and corporations, or townships,
to be re-assessed, of which examination the land owner shall
be notified; and shall, upon such examination, assess the cash
value thereof, and shall embrace in their assessments any and
all lands heretofore omitted to be assessed. And if at any time
the court shall be satisfied that any assessor appointed under
this act will not, or that from any cause he cannot, perform
the duties devolved on him within the time prescribed, it may
wholly supersede him, and appoint another in his place; but
before any person so appointed shall enter upon the duties of
his office, he shall take the oath and execute bond with security,
as prescribed by the second section of this act, in such penalty
as the court shall direct. In the performance of their duties
the assessors shall be guided, as far as may be, by the copies
of the existing assessments for their respective counties and
corporations, or townships, now on file in the clerk’s office of
their respective counties, cities and corporations; for which
purpose the clerks shall furnish to each board a certified copy
of the same, with a copy of the list of grants so sent to him by
the register of the land office, under the provisions of the third
section of the act aforesaid, and of the list hereinafter provided;
for which services the clerk shall receive such compensation,
. and shall be liable to such penalties, as are provided for and
. prescribed by the said third section. And it shall be the duty
of the register, as soon as possible after the passage of this
act, to transmit to the clerk of each county and corporation
court of the state a list of all grants of land in said county or
corporation issued between the date of the lists made under
the provisions of the said third section and the time of making
the list hereby authorized. The cash value of lands, lots, and
improvements thereon, shall be fixed by first ascertaining the
value upon the usual credit in the neighborhood, and rebating
legal interest when interest is not usually allowed on such
credit or deferred payments.

§ 4. As soon as the’ assessors shall have completed the
assessments in their respective counties and corporations, or
townships, they shal] make out two copies of the assessment in
the form in which the land books are now made out, and shall
make and certify on oath that no lots or lands, with the im-
provements thereon, are to their knowledge omitted, and that
there are no errors to their knowledge on its face; and of these
copies so certified, one shall be filed and preserved in the
clerk’s office of the county or corporation, and the other for-
warded by mail, or other safe conveyance, to the auditor of pub-
lic accounts, on or before the first day of July. It shall be the
duty of the auditor of public accounts, as soon as practicable
after the passage of this act, to prepare proper forms of re-
turns, so arranged as to show the lands and lots in each town-
ship separately, with blanks to be filled up by the assessors,
and instructions used, to cause the same to be printed, and to
forward a sufficient number of copies for the use of the asses-
sors in such counties and corporations as shall avail them-
selves of the provisions of this act, to the clerks of the courts
of the several counties and corporations.

§ 5. Any person feeling himself aggrieved by the assessment
of his lands and lots, with the improvements thereon, made
under the provisions of this act, may, upon giving notice to
the assessors who made it, apply to the court which appointed,
at the first or second term after the assessment shall have
been filed in the clerk's office, and not after, to have said assess-
ment corrected; which notice shall be in writing, and shall
have appended thereto an affidavit that in the opinion of the
affant the assessment is above the true value of the property
assessed; which affidavit may be made by the owner or his
authorized agent. In all such applications the attorney for the
commonwealth in such court shall attend to the interests of
the commonwealth; and if the court shall be satisfied that the
assessment is too high, it shall reduce the same to what, in its
opinion, is the true value of such property; but if it shall be
of opinion that the assessment is too low, then it shall increase
it in like manner; and such application shall have precedence of
all other causes pending in said court. In any case in which
the owner or his agent shall be dissatisfied with the value
assessed because it is too low, the assessors shall adopt the |
estimate of the owner or his agent; but in the case of any ap-
peal from their decision to the court, as herein provided, costs |
shall not be taxed for or against the appellant or the common-
wealth: provided, however, that no alteration shall be made by
the court in the assessments as made by such assessors, unless
a majority of the assessors who made the assessment shall be
present and be examined touching such alteration.

§ 6. It shall be the duty of the clerk of each county and
corporation court to certify forthwith, to the auditor of public
accounts, all changes made by the courts of their several
counties and corporations, in order that the books of assess-
ment in which such alterations are made, and which are on
file in the office of said auditor, may be so changed as to con-
form to the alterations made by the court. And it shall be
the duty of the clerk, in like manner, to certify to the assess-
ors whose assessment may be so changed or corrected, the re-
valuation made by the court, that they may so correct the
books on file with the clerk in conformity with the said orders
of re-valuation.

§ 7. Each assessor shall receive the sum of two dollars for
each day he shall be necessarily employed in the duties of his
office, to be paid out of the county or corporation levy of their
respective counties or corporations, or out of the township
levy of their respective townships, as the case may be. Their
accounts shall be made out and verified by them on oath.

§ 8. The benefits of this act, so far as it applies to the re-
assessment of lands for eighteen hundred and seventy-two,
shall apply to all counties or corporations, or townships of
counties in the state, which may conform to its requirements
and return the books of re-assessment to the auditor of public
accounts on or before the first day of July, eighteen hundred
and seventy-three, as provided in section three of this act.
The superintendent of public printing is hereby authorized to
print and forward to each clerk of the county court of each
county in the state six copies of this act, as soon as practica-
ble after it has received the approval of the governor.

§ 9. This act shall be in force from its passage.