Sec. 18.6. (a) Each year, the county treasurer shall add to the property tax statements of a person owning the taxable parcel affected by a special assessment imposed under section 18.5 of this chapter, designating the special assessment in a manner distinct from general taxes, and indicating that the full annual assessment is due in the year the statement is sent.

(b) An assessment imposed under section 18.5 of this chapter shall be collected in the same manner as other special assessments are collected under IC 6-1.1, except for the following:

(1) An assessment is not the personal obligation of the owner of the taxable parcel affected by the assessment, and only the taxable parcel actually affected by an assessment shall be sold for delinquency.

(2) An annual assessment shall be paid in full on or before the date the first installment of property taxes is due.

(c) At the time of each annual tax settlement, the county treasurer shall certify to the county auditor the amount of the special assessments collected.

(d) The county auditor shall pay special assessments collected by the county treasurer under this section to the commission.

(e) Special assessments collected under this section shall be deposited into a segregated account within the fund. Special assessments deposited into the account may not be transferred into other accounts within the fund. Money in the account may be used only for the following purposes:

(1) To pay expenses directly related to the acquisition, construction, or improvement of real property, a facility, a betterment, or an improvement constituting part of a project of the commission, including acquisition of the site for a project.

(2) To pay expenses directly related to the operation, repair, and maintenance of flood protection systems within the watershed.

(3) To repay bonds issued for the purposes described in subdivision (1).

(4) To make the transfers required by subsection (f).

(f) Subject to subsection (g), the commission shall transfer money from the segregated account referred to in subsection (e) to the northwest Indiana regional development authority established by IC 36-7.5-2-1 as follows:

(1) Two million four hundred thirty thousand dollars ($2,430,000) on July 1, 2013.

(2) One million four hundred sixty thousand dollars ($1,460,000) on July 1, 2014.

(3) Nine hundred twenty thousand dollars ($920,000) on July 1, 2015.

(4) Six hundred ninety thousand dollars ($690,000) on July 1, 2016.

(5) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) on July 1, 2017.

(g) The commission may postpone or reduce the amount of a transfer required by subsection (f) by adopting a resolution, with at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members voting in the affirmative, declaring that an emergency exists. For purposes of this subsection, an emergency may include the following:

(1) A determination that the amount of assessments paid before July 1, 2013, is insufficient to make the transfer required under subsection (f)(1) on July 1, 2013.

(2) A demand from the Army Corps of Engineers for payment in an amount that would prevent the commission from complying with the transfer schedule set forth in subsection (f).

(h) The total amount to be transferred to the northwest Indiana regional development authority under the schedule set forth in subsection (f), as amended for the reasons specified in subsection (g), is six million dollars ($6,000,000).

As added by P.L.106-2012, SEC.11. Amended by P.L.160-2012, SEC.45.