People ex rel. Davidson v. Cole

Citations

• 128 Ill. 158
• 21 N.E. 6

Syllabus

<p>1. Dbainage law—omitting lands from assessment. At the time of the organization of a drainage district under the act of 1879, an assessment of nearly $5000 was levied on the lands of the district. After the act was amended in 1885, the commissioners made a new classification of the lands under section 21 of the amendatory act, and levied a new assessment of $5000, and also an additional assessment of $2000, to be paid in two installments. At the time of making this levy, the commissioners credited certain lands with the full amount levied against them, so as to relieve them entirely from the levy, on the ground they were not benefited : Held, that this was the same as to wholly omit to-assess the lands so credited, and that such action rendered the whole assessment void.</p> <p>2. Drainage commissioners have no power to release lands within the district of their proportion of the assessment based on the last classification. Both the letter and spirit of the statute require that the burdens of the district shall be apportioned on the basis of a classification of lands in the district, which each owner had an opportunity to contest.</p> <p>3. Same — re-elassification of lands—notice to owner. Upon every classification of lands in a drainage district each land owner has an interest, and in order that he may be protected in that interest, he is-entitled to notice of the “time when and the place where” the commissioners will meet to hear any and all objections that -may be made to the classification, and if dissatisfied with the decision of the commissioners, he is given an appeal to three supervisors.</p>