CHAPTER 135 An act to amend the charter of the city of Asheville. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:
Section 6. The amount of assessment for such streets improvement and for sidewalks exclusive of curbing and for road-ways, as hereinbefore provided, on each piece of real estate, being estimated as above directed, shall be a lien on such real estate, and the said mayor and aldermen shall cause the city engineer to make a survey and a report of the amount of work done [and] the cost thereof, upon, which street and sidewalk, the name of each abutting owner thereon, the number of feet of each lot, and the pro rata share of such cost of such street and sidewalk improvement to be assessed against such real estate; and upon the adoption of said report the said lien shall become complete and operative, which said report shall be transcribed upon the minutes of said board of aldermen, and the amount of said lien and of said assessment against all property abutting on said street as aforesaid shall become due as follows: one-sixth in six months and the balance in five equal amount installments, The adoption of said report of said surveyor by such board of aldermen shall constitute the said lien for the amount therein stated against each of the separate pieces of real estate therein described, and the same shall become due and payable as aforesaid; and in case of failure to pay either of said assessments in thirty days after its maturity then all shall become due at once and an execution shall issue by the clerk of said board of aldermen, directed to the marshal of said city, who shall advertise the land upon which said defaulting assessments are made as aforesaid, or [as] required by law for sale of land for taxation under the provisions of the charter of said city, and shall sell the same and give to the purchaser a receipt stating the time the land was advertised, the day of sale, the purchaser, the price paid, the assessment due thereon, the cost of sale, the name of the owner of the land, and the description of the lands sold; and the owner of the land sold shall have twelve months within which to redeem said land by paying to the purchaser the amount he paid and twenty per centum additional; but if the land is bid off for the city or for said sinking fund then the owner in order to redeem the same must pay the assessment due on said land, the cost of sale and twenty per centum on said assessment; if the land is not redeemed within twelve months then the marshal shall make to the purchaser a deed for said land, and the same shall operate to pay [convey] to the purchaser the title to said land, and the proceeds of said sale shall be applied, first, to the payment of all that then may remain unpaid upon said assessment and liens, together with the cost of such sale, which cost shall be the usual fees allowed the marshal for selling land for taxation and receive; the balance, if any, of such proceeds shall be paid to the owner of said land at the time of said sale: Provided, however, that any owner of said land may have the privilege of paying off all of said assessment before due, and upon such payment the said lien shall be released and discharged pro facto: Provided further, that any owner of land upon which said lien for such assessment exists, shall have the right to file before the mayor and board of aldermen of said city [an] affidavit denying that the whole or any part of the amount, if any he admits to be due, which amount so admitted to be due he shall pay or tender, accompanying his affidavit with it, and before it shall be received, and then the said affidavit shall be received only for the balance, and all such affidavits so received shall be returned to the superior court of Buncombe county for trial, and it shall be considered that the issue as to the amount then due is raised upon reception of such affidavit and without any plea upon the part of the city of Asheville, but this shall not be construed to prevent the said city of Asheville from filing an answer or any other defence to which it may be entitled under the laws of North Carolina; and upon such trial if the issues be all found in favor of the affiant then the lien shall be discharged; if, however, the issues shall be found in favor of the said city of Asheville to any amount, and if it be thereby ascertained that the affiant is due to said city any amount by virtue of the matters therein referred to, then the said amount so found, together with eight per centum (8 per centum) interest thereon from the date of its maturity, and together with the costs thereon accrued, which costs shall be assessed as costs in other civil actions, shall be and continue a lien against the property upon which the original assessment was placed, and shall be collected by an execution issuing from said superior court directed to the marshal of said city, which shall be collected by him by the sale of said land as hereinbefore provided in case of execution issuing from the clerk of said city.