Title 36, LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Sec. 64. (a) Whenever: (1) a new open drain is to be constructed under this chapter; and (2) the drain will cross a tract of land in such a manner that the owner of the tract will be deprived of ingress and egress to part of the tract unless a private crossing is constructed acro…

Sec. 65. (a) Not less than five (5) days before the board's hearing on a petition for a new regulated drain, any owner of land affected by the report of the county surveyor or by the schedules of damages and assessments may file with the board written objections to the report, sc…

Sec. 66. (a) Whenever: (1) land has been assessed as benefited by the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of a regulated drain; (2) there is no open or tiled drain connecting the land with the regulated drain; and (3) the waters from the land flow over or through land ow…

Sec. 67. (a) In the county surveyor's written report setting forth the county surveyor's order of priority for regulated drains under section 35 of this chapter, the county surveyor may designate any drain that is classified as in need of reconstruction as an urban drain. In adop…

Sec. 68. The county surveyor shall perform the following duties with respect to all urban drains within the county surveyor's jurisdiction: (1) Prepare and make available to the public design standards of rainfall intensity and frequency for urban land, design standards of storm …

Sec. 69. (a) After the county surveyor has filed the county surveyor's report on the construction or reconstruction of an urban drain, the county surveyor shall consult with the board, and the board may adopt or modify the designations recommended by the surveyor. The board shall…

Sec. 69.5. (a) As used in this section, "development" does not include utility infrastructure owned, controlled, installed, or constructed by a public or municipally owned utility. (b) Unless otherwise required by an ordinance of the county, a person who lays out a: (1) subdivisi…

Sec. 7. (a) The board shall organize at a meeting each January, by electing one (1) of its members as chair and one (1) of its members as vice chair. At the same time, the board shall elect a secretary, who need not be a member of the board. (b) The county surveyor may not hold a…

Sec. 70. (a) This section applies whenever the plans and specifications for the construction or reconstruction of any regulated drain disclose that the center line of the drain at any point will come within three hundred (300) feet of any levee that is subject to or was construct…

Sec. 71. (a) When, in the construction or reconstruction of a regulated drain, the county surveyor determines that the proposed drain will cross a public highway or the right-of-way of a railroad company at a point where: (1) there is no crossing; or (2) the crossing will not ade…

Sec. 72. (a) When, in the reconstruction or periodic maintenance of a regulated drain, the county surveyor determines that a private crossing will not adequately handle the flow of water from the drain or will be endangered by such flow, the county surveyor shall in the county su…

Sec. 73. (a) There is established in each county a general drain improvement fund, which shall be used to pay the cost of: (1) constructing or reconstructing a regulated drain under this chapter; and (2) removing obstructions from drains under IC 36-9-27.4. In addition, if a main…

Sec. 74. (a) This section applies to a county having a population of more than four hundred thousand (400,000) and less than seven hundred thousand (700,000). (b) Each year, the county shall levy the tax authorized by section 73 of this chapter at a rate on each one hundred dolla…

Sec. 75. The board may accept gifts or grants from any source for the purpose of paying all or part of the costs of constructing, reconstructing, or maintaining a drain under this chapter. The gifts or grants shall be used to reduce the costs assessed to affected owners. [Pre-Loc…

Sec. 76. The board may cooperate in joint effort with any state or federal agency in a proceeding to construct, reconstruct, or maintain a drain under this chapter. If the board is cooperating with a federal agency, and the rules or procedures of the agency are in conflict with t…

Sec. 77. (a) Whenever: (1) the board orders the construction or reconstruction of a drain, and the order is not stayed under section 108 of this chapter; or (2) the board determines that maintenance work shall be let by contract; the board may contract for the work to be done as …

Sec. 78. (a) Whenever the board is ready to let contracts, it shall publish notice in accordance with IC 5-3-1. The notice must: (1) state that at a date, time, and place the board will receive bids on the work; (2) generally and concisely describe the nature of the work to be do…

Sec. 79.1. Notwithstanding sections 77 and 78 of this chapter, the following provisions apply whenever the board estimates that the amount of the contracts to be let is not more than the threshold for public bidding of a public works project under IC 36-1-12-4: (1) The board need…

Sec. 8. The board may bring civil actions in its own name to enforce any of the provisions of this chapter. [Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation: 19-4-6-12.] As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.101.

Sec. 80. A person who enters into a contract with the board under section 78 or 79 of this chapter may not subcontract any part of the contract without the written consent of the board. The board may withhold its consent only for good cause. [Pre-Local Government Recodification C…

Sec. 80.5. (a) If a change in the original specifications of a contract for the construction or reconstruction of a drain becomes necessary during the construction or reconstruction, the county surveyor may issue a change order to add, delete, or change an item in the contract. A…

Sec. 81. The county surveyor may, without first obtaining the approval of the board, authorize partial or progress payments to a contractor for work performed in amounts not in excess of eighty-five percent (85%) of the contract price of the work then completed. The county survey…

Sec. 82. (a) Whenever a contract under this chapter calls for a payment to be made to the contractor on the completion of work, the county surveyor shall inspect the work done and file with the board a written report approving or disapproving the work. The board may not allow a c…

Sec. 83. (a) A subcontractor, laborer, or other person may file a claim with the board if: (1) at the request of a contractor, the subcontractor, laborer, or other person has performed any work or other service or has furnished any material used under the contract; and (2) the su…

Sec. 84. (a) After letting a contract for the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of a drain, the board shall determine the full cost of the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance, including the contract price, incidental expenses, damages, interest on any bonds is…

Sec. 85. (a) The board shall certify the list of assessments apportioned under section 84 of this chapter to the auditor of each county in which there are lands to be assessed. (b) Whenever the order of the board establishing an annual assessment for periodic maintenance becomes …

Sec. 86. (a) Not later than thirty (30) days after the county auditor receives the certification of final costs for the construction or reconstruction of a drain, the auditor shall deliver a copy of the ditch duplicate to the county treasurer. The treasurer shall either: (1) not …

Sec. 87. If one (1) person or association owns two (2) or more separate pieces of property subject to assessment under this chapter, the board may issue one (1) itemized bill. The assessment must clearly show the pieces of property being assessed, the assessment for each piece of…

Sec. 88. All final assessments, other than annual assessments for periodic maintenance, are due and may be paid upon the date of certification of the final assessment to the county auditor, except that: (1) the owners liable for the payment of the assessments may elect to pay the…

Sec. 89. (a) The lien of a ditch assessment attaches to the land assessed on the date of certification of the final assessment to the county auditor, and is inferior only to tax liens. (b) The lien of a ditch assessment terminates on the date it is paid in full or on the last day…

Sec. 9. The board may employ and fix the compensation of an attorney to represent and advise the board. [Pre-Local Government Recodification Citation: 19-4-1-6 part.] As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.101. Amended by P.L.137-1989, SEC.17.

Sec. 90. When any ditch assessment against land owned by a municipal corporation becomes delinquent, the county auditor shall: (1) certify the amount of the delinquency to the state board of accounts and to the person who receives semiannual distribution of taxes on behalf of the…

Sec. 91. (a) This section applies whenever: (1) a court or jury acting under section 107 of this chapter: (A) increases an award of damages; or (B) decreases an assessment of benefits; that was made by the board for the construction or reconstruction of a drain; and (2) as a resu…

Sec. 92. (a) Whenever the owner of a tract of land assessed under this chapter subdivides or otherwise transfers part of the tract to another owner, the owner of the tract may file with the board a written request for reassessment in recognition of the transfer. The request must …

Sec. 93. (a) Whenever: (1) the board adopts a schedule of annual assessments for the periodic maintenance of a drain or a combination of drains established under section 41 of this chapter; and (2) a transfer of a part of any tract that is assessed by the schedule is subsequently…

Sec. 94. (a) Whenever the board determines by resolution spread upon its minutes that the cost of constructing or reconstructing a particular drain is in excess of that amount that the owners of land to be assessed may conveniently pay in installments over a five (5) year period,…

Sec. 95. Neither a member of the board, the county surveyor, nor any other officer may receive any fees for the sale of bonds to finance the construction or reconstruction of a drain. However, the attorney for the board is not required to perform services under a general retainer…

Sec. 96. (a) Bonds issued to finance the construction or reconstruction of a drain are not the general obligation of the county, the board, or any person. The bonds are a lien only upon the land assessed for benefits for the construction or reconstruction in the ratio of the asse…

Sec. 97. (a) A bond redemption fund is established for each construction or reconstruction project for which the board authorizes the sale of bonds. The fund consists of all assessments paid by the owners assessed as benefited by the construction or reconstruction, and may be use…

Sec. 97.5. (a) Whenever the board determines by resolution spread upon its minutes that the cost of constructing or reconstructing a particular drain is an amount that the owners of land to be assessed may conveniently pay in installments over a ten (10) year period, it may ask t…

Sec. 98. (a) Whenever a regulated drain is: (1) located wholly or partly within a municipality; and (2) constructed, reconstructed, or maintained under this chapter; the municipal fiscal body may, on behalf of the owners assessed or to be assessed within the municipality, pay the…

Sec. 99. A municipal or county fiscal body may, by resolution, establish a cumulative drainage fund under IC 6-1.1-41 for the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of drains under this chapter. In the case of a county, however, the fund may be established only upon the rec…