CHAPTER 320.
ASSESSORS AND LEVY COURTS.
Title. AN ACT in relation to the duties of Assessors and of the Levy Courts in the several counties of this State.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, of the State of Delaware, in General Assembly met, That it shall not be lawful for any Assessor, in any hundred or assessment district, in either of the counties of the State, hereafter, in making any assessment under the laws of this State, whether the same be a general assessment of real and personal property or any annual assessment which is or may hereafter be required to be made, to place upon such assessment, in addition to the names [of] all persons assessed for poll tax, the name of any person who is not the owner in his own right of taxable real or personal property within the hundred or assessment district, unless such Assessor shall be satisfied from personal knowledge that such person is of lawful age and is a bona fide resident of the hundred or assessment district, except as hereinafter provided.
SECTION 2. Be it enacted as aforesaid, That the Assessor of each hundred or assessment district, within each of the counties of this State shall, within ten days after completing his assessment, whether the same be a general assessment of real and personal property, or any annual assessment, post in at least five of the most public places in said hundred or assessment district an alphabetical list of the persons assessed, with the separate sums of their real, personal and poll rates and their aggregate amounts, and at the same time, places, and in the same manner, he shall give notice that he will attend at the place of holding the general election in said hundred or assessment district, on some day to be named. in said notices, from 10 o'clock A. M., till 5 o'clock P. M., to correct any errors in his assessment and for the purpose of assessing any person who may have been omitted. Such notices may be distinct and separate from, or attached to the alphabetical list aforesaid, and shall state that persons desiring to be assessed must apply in person, at the time and place named in the notices aforesaid, and furnish the proof of identity, age and residence required by the third Section of this act. If any Assessor cannot complete the correction of his assessment on the day named in said notices he may adjourn until the next or some went. subsequent day, not exceeding three days from that time, which shall be announced publicly to those in attendance at the time of said adjournment. Provided, however, and it is hereby made the duty of the Assessors in Wilmington hundred, in order that ample time may be afforded for assessing any person, who may have been omitted, to sit for five consecutive secular days, and at least six hours in each day to hear applications in that behalf; and the said Assessors are expressly required to indicate the said several days in the notices to be by them given under this Section.
SECTION 3. [Be it further enacted as aforesaid,] That it shall be lawful for any Assessor of any hundred or assessment district, and it shall be his duty to place upon the assessment list the name of any person who may have been omitted, who shall appear before him at the time and place specified in the notices required 'to be given by the second Section of this act, and prove his right to be assessed by oath or 'affirmation of some respectable freeholder of the county, which oath or affirmation shall be made before the Assessor who is hereby alone authorized to administer an oath or affirmation for that purpose, which oath or affirmation shall be taken by the Assessor in writing, and subscribed by the person vouching. The said oath or affirmation shall be in the following form: I, --, do swear (or affirm) that I am a free-holder of county, and that is the identical person he represents himself to be, known to me personally to be such; that he is twenty-one years of age, and that he is a bona fide resident in hundred, county, and State of Delaware."
The said Assessor shall reject all affidavits taken before any other person save himself, and the affidavits so, taken by the said be rejected.
Assessor as aforesaid, shall be by him returned to the Clerk of the Peace of the county, and shall be by him filed and preserved in his office.
SECTION 4. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That if any assessor shall refuse or omit to place upon the assessment the name of any person who shall appear before him at the time specified in the notice aforesaid and apply to be assessed, and prove his right to be placed upon the assessment in the manner provided in section (3) three of this act, or if any assessor shall knowingly place upon such assessment any fictitious name, or the name of any person not at the time resident in the hundred or assessment district, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined for every such offense not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
SECTION 5. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That in the case of the inability of any assessor, from sickness or otherwise, to attend at the time and place specified in the notices required to be given by the second section of this act, for the purpose of correcting errors in his assessment and adding thereto the name of any persons omitted therefrom as aforesaid, he shall appoint some other day when he will attend for that purpose, and shall give notice thereof in the same manner as provided in said second section.
SECTION 6. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That it shall not be lawful for the Levy Court in either of the counties of this State, or any member thereof, to take from the assessment returned to the said Levy Court by any assessor, the name of any person legally appearing thereon; nor shall it be lawful for such Levy Court, or any member thereof, to add to any assessment returned as aforesaid the name of any person, unless the party himself personally appears before the Levy Court; accompanied by some respectable freeholder of the county, who shall make oath or affirmation in the form prescribed in section 3 of this act said oath or affirmation shall be made in open court before the Clerk of the Peace, who alone is authorized to take an oath or affirmation for that purpose, and it shall be unlawful for the Levy Court to accept the oath or affirmation of any one taken before any other person than the Clerk of the Peace of the county in which the party applies for assessment ; and an application made in any other manner than prescribed above, shall be refused. It shall be lawful for the Levy Court to propound to the affiant such questions as they may deem proper concerning his knowledge of the applicant, and if he should refuse to answer, they may reject the said oath or affirmation, and further that the Levy Court shall be the judges of the respectability of the affiant, and may reject the affidavit or affirmation of any person upon that ground: Provided, that persons regularly assessed in any hundred may, as under existing law, be transferred to any other hundred in the same county. Every member of the Levy Court of either of the counties of this State who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall forfeit and pay a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars for every such offense. If the Clerk of the Peace
shall neglect to place on the collector's duplicate for any hundred any name which may have been on the assessor's list for said hundred, delivered by the assessor to the Clerk of the Peace, he shall forfeit and pay to the person whose name shall have been so omitted the sum of ten dollars. Proceedings shall be before any Justice of the Peace, and the proceedings shall be in the same form as in actions for debt, and the assessor may be summoned as witness in said case and compelled to exhibit the certificate of assessment from the Clerk of the Peace.
SECTION 7. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That if any person shall procure or cause to be placed upon the assessment in any hundred or assessment district the name of any person not entitled to be assessed in said hundred or assessment district, or shall knowingly procure or cause to be placed thereon any fictitious or fraudulent name, such person so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall forfeit and pay a fine, not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for every such offense.
SECTION 8. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That if any person making any affidavit required under any provisions of this act shall swear falsely, or make a false affirmation, he shall be guilty of the crime of perjury and shall be subject to the punishment prescribed for perjury under the laws of this State.
SECTION 9. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That it shall not be lawful for any assessor or any Levy Court, upon the personal application of any one or otherwise to place upon the assessment in any hundred the name of any person who having failed to pay the county tax assessed against him or her for the preceding year was returned and allowed as a delinquent until after the expiration of the twelve months from the time such allowance as delinquent was made by the Levy Court.
SECTION 10. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That it shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Peace of each of the counties of this State to certify, under his hand and official seal, and deliver to the Sheriff of his county in the month of August, an alphabetical list for each of the hundreds of his county of the delinquent list so made and returned by the Collector at the March session of the Levy Court in the year of holding the general election.
SECTION 11. Be it further enacted as aforesaid, That all laws and parts of laws of this State inconsistent with any of the provisions of this act be and the same are hereby repealed.
Passed at Dover, April 9, 1873.
Amended at Dover, April 8, 1881.