40:43-18. Joint meeting; property and indebtedness apportioned

Whenever a joint committee is created as provided by section 40:43-17 of this title the governing body of the newly created municipality shall appoint a time and place for a meeting of said joint committee, and shall give at least ten days' written notice thereof to the presiding officer and clerk of each of the governing bodies of the municipalities a portion of which has been taken by the newly created municipality.

At the appointed time and place said joint committee shall meet, and shall then and there, or as soon thereafter as may be, proceed to appraise, state an account of, allot and divide between such newly created municipality and such other municipalities, all the moneys on hand, property, assets and liens of every kind, and all the indebtedness of such municipalities, in the proportion that the taxable property within the portion of any municipality so taken shall bear to the whole taxable property of said municipality as the same was before such portion was taken.

Such apportionment shall be based upon the last abstract of ratables made for the purpose of levying taxes in each of the municipalities a portion of which has been included in the newly created municipality.

Any real estate belonging to any old municipality, acquired and held for public use, shall be and remain the property of the municipality within whose limits it may lie after separation as aforesaid, and any indebtedness then existing which had been incurred for or on account of said property shall be or become the indebtedness of the municipality within whose limits the property may then be, and neither said property nor said indebtedness shall be included or taken into account in making the apportionment and division provided for herein.