KRS 267.160: Viewers' classification of land for assessment -- Rate of assessment.

(1) The viewers shall meet on the day named in the notice provided by KRS 267.150,

or as soon thereafter as practicable, and proceed with their work, for which the clerk

shall furnish them with the duplicate plan of drainage adopted by the board. As soon

after their first meeting as possible, the viewers shall examine the land in the

district; the railroad property in the district; all other improvements, highways and

bridges that may be affected by the proposed improvement; and all ditches, drains,

ponds, lakes, creeks and watercourses in the district, or that are partly within and

partly without the district. A majority of the viewers shall control and decide all

questions.

(2) The viewers shall classify the land in the district with reference to the benefit it will

receive from the improvement. In the case of drainage, the degree of wetness of the

land, its proximity to the ditch or a natural outlet and the fertility of the soil shall be

considered in determining the amount of benefit it will receive by the c onstruction

of the ditch. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the land benefited

shall be separated into five classes. The land receiving the highest benefit shall be

marked "Class A"; that receiving the next highest, "Class B"; that receiving the next

highest, "Class C"; that receiving the next highest, "Class D"; and that receiving the

smallest benefit, "Class E." The holding of any one landowner need not be all in one

class, but the number of acres in each class shall be ascertained, though its boundary

need not be separately marked on the ground nor shown on the map. The total

number of acres owned by one (1) person in each class and the total number of acres

benefited shall be determined. The total number of acres of each class in the entire

district shall be determined and presented in tabulated form. The scale of

assessment to be made by the board upon the several classes of land returned by the

viewers shall be in the ratio of five (5), four (4), three (3), two (2) and one (1).

Whenever five (5) mills per acre are assessed against the land in "Class A," four (4)

mills per acre shall be assessed against the land in "Class B," three (3) mills per acre

in "Class C," two (2) mills per acre in "Class D," and one (1) mill per acre in "Class

E." This shall form the basis of the assessment of benefits to the land for drainage

purposes, and in calculating the assessment against each landowner the board shall

follow the classification.

(3) If the viewers believe that existing conditions would c ause substantial injustice to

any landowner by strict conformity to the five -class rule, the classification may be

changed by diminishing or increasing the number of classes to conform to such

conditions, or the viewers may report the benefits they estimat e will accrue to each

tract of land without dividing the land into classes. If the classification is changed

the viewers shall indicate to the board the ratio of assessment for such changed

classification as compared with the five-class rule.