New Jersey § acts:saved-54 - (2)

§ acts:saved-54. (2)

2. That the said commissioners of adjustment, when appointed for any city, shall have

power and jurisdiction, and they are hereby directed and required, in all cases when

any tax, assessment or water rate levied or imposed, or attempted to be levied or

imposed on any land therein, prior to the passage of this act, remains unpaid and

in arrears, to examine into and fix, adjust and determine as to each parcel of land,

how much of such arrearages and subsequent taxes, assessments or water rates, if any,

ought, in the way of tax, assessment or water rate, in fairness, equity and justice

to be laid, assessed and charged against and actually collected from said land for

or on account of said taxes, assessments or water rates and claims for local improvements

heretofore made, and the said commissioners, in dealing with the said arrearages as

matters of fact, according to their judgment of what shall be equitable, fair and

just, as hereinbefore directed, shall treat the same without regard to any supposed

want of jurisdiction, invalidity, irregularity or defect in any of the proceedings

had for the levying, imposing or confirming of any of said taxes, assessments or water

rates so in arrears; and in ascertaining the amount that should be assessed and charged

on any of the said lots, tracts or parcels of land, the said commissioners, in dealing

with the assessments or claims for street or sewer improvements, shall not assess

or charge any lot, tract or parcel of land, for or on account of any such improvement,

in excess of the benefit derived therefrom at the time the said improvement was made,

or in excess of its due and equable proportion thereof, with interest; provided,

that in all cases in which an assessment or a reassessment has been made on any lot

or tract of land under a valid law for the benefit conferred by any local improvement,

the said commissioners shall have regard to that fact, and shall not reduce the principal

sum of such assessment unless, in their judgment, after investigation, they determine

that the amount heretofore so assessed thereon does, in fact, exceed the benefit conferred

upon the property at the time the improvement was made; the said commissioners shall,

within thirty days after their appointment, cause a notice, signed by themselves,

to be published in at least two newspapers printed and circulating in the city for

which they were appointed, making known thereby that the said commissioners will meet

at a time and place to be therein designated, not more than forty nor less than thirty

days from the date of the first publication of the notice, to hear all persons interested

in the reassessment or adjustment, under this act, of the taxes, assessments or water

rates in arrears in the city, or in such part thereof as the said commissioners shall

designate in the notice; such notice shall be continued in said newspapers at least

once each week until said meeting; at the time and place mentioned in said notice,

all persons interested in said matters, either as taxpayers, owners of assessed lands

or otherwise, shall be entitled to appear before said commissioners and be heard either

personally or by counsel, and said commissioners shall have the right to examine witnesses

under oath in relation to all of said matters, which oath any one of them is hereby

authorized to administer; after such hearing and after due examination of the property

mentioned in said notice, the said commissioners shall proceed as speedily as may

be to fix and adjust the said arrearages of taxes, assessments and water rates upon

the principles aforesaid; and in like manner and upon like notice the said commissioners

shall proceed until all the arrearages of taxes, assessments and water rates in such

city have been reviewed, fixed, adjusted and determined, as provided in this act;

the amount of taxes, assessments and water rates for which certificates of sale have

been given to and are held by the city, whether such sales are invalid or not, shall

be deemed to be in arrears within the meaning of this section, and to have been so

in arrears from the date when said taxes, assessments and water rates were assessed,

levied or confirmed, or attempted to be assessed, levied or confirmed; the term “water

rates”, in this act, shall be construed to include “water rents”.