§ 14-386-301 - Addition of adjacent area to fencing district.
14-386-301. Addition of adjacent area to fencing district.
(a) When any number of owners of either rural acreage or city or town land near or adjacent to any fencing district organized under and pursuant to the law shall present to the county court a petition, in writing, accompanied by a map giving description and setting forth such land as they desire to have enclosed in any such district embraced within the enclosure of the fence of the district, it shall be the duty of the court to give a notice by publication in some newspaper in the county for a period of not less than twenty (20) days of a hearing upon the petition, calling upon all persons whose lands or interest may be affected by the petition to appear and show cause, if any, why the request of the petitioner should not be granted.
(b) If upon the hearing, the court shall deem that owners of a majority in value or acreage of the land affected favor the petition and that the lands should be enclosed within the fencing district and protected by the enclosure or fences kept and maintained by the district, it shall be the duty of the court to make an order enclosing the lands in the district and to direct the commissioner of the district to make such alteration of the fences kept and maintained by the district as may be necessary to bring the lands within the enclosure.
(c) (1) From the date of the order, all lands which shall become a part of the fencing district shall thereafter be liable for such charges, taxes, and assessments as are levied against other lands within the district.
(2) (A) The lands so enclosed in the order shall be liable for any special assessments made by the commissioner of the district, to help defray the cost and expenses of making the alteration necessary to enclose the additional lands.
(B) The assessment shall be paid by the owners of the lands.