How the county pays for improvements on tax-exempt land

(a) Whenever any public land, or any land by law exempted from assessments of the character provided for in this chapter, forms part of any improvement district or fronts upon or is situated with relation to any special improvement or area to be so improved in such manner that such land would, if privately owned or not exempt from such assessment, be subject to assessment, the council shall, nevertheless, without assessing such public or exempted land for any part of the cost of such improvements, by general ordinance appropriate and pay toward such improvements out of general revenues the portion of the cost thereof which would otherwise be assessable against the same in lump sum, or, at the election of the council, in such equal installments with such interest thereon as the council shall determine. In the event, however, any part of such exempt land, except public lands, may be required for right-of-way or easement purposes within such improvement districts the value thereof shall be chargeable to the improvement district, and upon acquisition the owner shall be compensated therefor in the following manner: (1) Where the value of the part taken together with any severance damages exceeds the portion of the cost of the improvements which would otherwise be assessable against the exempt land, the County shall pay the difference to the owner; or (2) Where the value is less than the portion of the cost of improvements which would otherwise be assessable against such exempt lands, the value of the land shall be deducted therefrom and the County shall pay the balance of the assessment as provided herein. (b) With respect to any such proposed improvement where any part of the cost is to be borne by the County, the council shall have the same right of approval or protest as though the County were the private owner of the public or exempted land so involved. As to such expenditure for public and exempt lands, the County shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of State revenues by appropriations to be made from time to time by the legislature to the extent of fifty percent of all assessments regularly apportioned against persons, corporations or entities, which are part of any improvement district or frontage improvement and are exempted by law from IMPROVEMENTS BY ASSESSMENTS § 12-5 the payment of such assessments. The County shall be entitled to be likewise reimbursed for the full amount of assessments regularly apportioned against public lands which are a part of any improvement district or frontage improvement, which public lands are owned in fee simple by the United States, or by the State, and which are not set aside for schools maintained by the County, for County parks, or for other County purposes or for street areas or frontages; provided, that in case any land exempted by law from assessments as herein provided, other than public land, or any part thereof, is sold or leased after the establishment of a frontage improvement or an improvement district, the grantee in the one case and the lessor in the other, shall assume the payment of assessments from the date of such sale or lease in the same manner as if the property had not been exempted from assessments and as if assessments apportionable against the property had been paid in installments to such date of sale or lease. All payments received from such grantee or lessor, as the case may be, shall be paid into the permanent improvement fund. (c) Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice any rights of the State to reimbursement from the United States for assessments herein assumed by the State, but the latter shall be subrogated to the rights of the County on such assessments so assumed.