http://www.state.in.us/legislative/ic/1999/title36/ar2/ch12.html
IC 36-2-12
Chapter 12. County Surveyor
IC 36-2-12-1
Sec. 1. This chapter applies to all counties.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-2
Sec. 2. (a) The county surveyor must reside within the county as
provided in Article 6, Section 6 of the Constitution of the State of
Indiana. The surveyor forfeits office if the surveyor ceases to be a
resident of the county.
(b) The term of office of the county surveyor under Article 6,
Section 2 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana is four (4)
years and continues until a successor is elected and qualified.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.3-1987, SEC.547.
IC 36-2-12-3
Sec. 3. (a) The surveyor shall keep his office in a building
provided at the county seat by the county executive. He shall keep his
office open for business during regular business hours on every day of
the year except Sundays and legal holidays. However, he may close his
office on days specified by the county executive according to the
custom and practice of the county.
(b) The county executive shall provide the surveyor with all
necessary supplies and equipment, including:
(1) ordinary office supplies, equipment, and accessories of
the type furnished to other county offices; and
(2) surveying instruments and materials necessary for the
discharge of his duties.
Supplies and equipment furnished under this subsection are property of
the county.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-4
Sec. 4. A legal action required to be taken in the surveyor's
office on a day when his office is closed under section 3 of this
chapter may be taken on the next day his office is open.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-5
Sec. 5. The surveyor may procure and use an official seal.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-6
Sec. 6. (a) The surveyor may:
(1) administer oaths necessary in the discharge of the
surveyor's duties; and
(2) administer and certify any oath required to be taken by:
(A) a commissioner for the partition of real property; or
(B) a commissioner to view, mark, locate, or relocate a
public highway.
(b) If the surveyor is appointed to one (1) of the offices covered
by subsection (a)(2), the surveyor is not required to take an oath
under that provision. The surveyor's duties as a commissioner comprise
part of the surveyor's official duties, and the surveyor's signature
on any proceedings required of a commissioner is sufficient.
(c) The surveyor may take, and certify with the surveyor's seal
and signature, acknowledgments of mortgages and deeds for the
conveyance of real property.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.3-1989, SEC.227.
IC 36-2-12-7
Sec. 7. (a) At the expiration of his term of office, the surveyor
shall turn over to his successor all engineering and survey work in
which he is engaged.
(b) At the expiration of the surveyor's term of office, his duties
as surveyor, including his duties as county engineer or as the
engineer on public improvement work of any kind, cease, and those
duties shall be performed by his successor, unless by mutual agreement
the surveyor whose term is expiring is permitted to continue
performing his duties on public improvements.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-8
Sec. 8. (a) If he is a competent civil engineer, the surveyor
shall plan and supervise all surveying and civil engineering work of
the county under the direction of the county executive.
(b) If the surveyor is not a competent civil engineer, the county
executive shall appoint a competent civil engineer for each surveying
or civil engineering project that the executive orders or receives a
petition for. If the executive refuses to appoint such an engineer for
a project, the surveyor is entitled to a hearing in the circuit or
superior court of the county to determine his competence to perform
the project. The order of the court under this section is final and
conclusive.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-9
Sec. 9. A survey by the surveyor constitutes prima facie evidence
in favor of the corners and lines it establishes.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-10
Sec. 10. (a) The surveyor shall maintain a legal survey record
book, which must contain a record of all the legal surveys made in the
county showing outline maps of each section, grant, tract,
subdivision, or group of sections, grants, tracts, and subdivisions in
sufficient detail so that the approximate location of each legal
survey can be shown. Legal surveys shall be indexed by location.
(b) A landowner desiring to establish the location of the line
between the landowner's land and that of an adjoining landowner by
means of a legal survey may do so as follows:
(1) The landowner shall procure a land surveyor registered
under IC 25-21.5 to locate the line in question and shall compensate
that surveyor.
(2) The land surveyor shall notify the owners of adjoining
lands that the land surveyor is going to make the survey. The notice
must be given by registered or certified mail at least twenty (20)
days before the survey is started.
(3) If all the owners of the adjoining lands consent in
writing, the notice is not necessary.
(4) The lines and corners shall be properly marked, monumented
by durable material with letters and figures establishing such lines
and corners, referenced, and tied to corners shown in the corner
record book in the office of the county surveyor or to corners shown
on a plat recorded in the plat books in the office of the county
recorder.
(5) The land surveyor shall present to the county surveyor for
entry in the legal survey record book a plat of the legal survey and
proof of notice to or waiver of notice by the adjoining landowners.
The land surveyor shall give notice to adjoining landowners by
registered or certified mail within ten (10) days after filing of the
survey.
(c) The lines located and established under subsection (b) are
binding on all landowners affected and their heirs and assigns, unless
an appeal is taken under section 14 of this chapter. The right to
appeal commences when the plat of the legal survey is recorded by the
county surveyor in the legal survey record book.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.23-1991, SEC.34.
IC 36-2-12-11
Sec. 11. (a) The surveyor shall administer this section if the
surveyor is registered as a land surveyor under IC 25-21.5. If the
surveyor is not registered, the surveyor shall, with the approval of
the county executive, appoint a person who is registered as a land
surveyor and is a resident voter of the county to administer this
section. If a resident, registered land surveyor is not available, a
land surveyor who resides in another county may be employed.
(b) The surveyor shall keep and maintain a corner record book,
that must contain:
(1) a record and an index by location of all the original
government survey corners;
(2) outline maps of each section, grant, tract, and
subdivision or group of sections, grants, tracts, and subdivisions in
the county showing the location of each corner on record and stating
at the location of each corner on the map where the reference for that
corner may be found; and
(3) a reference index for each corner.
A separate card index system may be used in lieu of the index required
by subdivision (3).
(c) The record of each corner referenced in the record book must
contain:
(1) the location of the corner;
(2) an accurate description of the monument used to mark the
corner such as "stone" or "iron pin";
(3) the distance and bearings from the corner to three (3) or
more permanent objects or structures;
(4) the date the corner was last checked and the condition of
the monument and references;
(5) the name of the surveyor making the check; and
(6) the method of establishing or relocating the corner.
(d) The records of the corners shall be established and
perpetuated in the following manner:
(1) Each year the surveyor shall check and reference at least
five percent (5%) of all corners shown in the corner record book.
(2) The surveyor may enter in the surveyor's corner record
book the findings submitted by a private land surveyor who checks and
references corners and is registered under IC 25-21.5.
(e) Any money in the county surveyor's corner perpetuation fund
collected under IC 36-2-7-10 or IC 36-2-19 may be appropriated in the
manner provided by law for the purposes of this section.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.342-1983, SEC.2;
P.L.76-1989, SEC.2; P.L.23-1991, SEC.35.
IC 36-2-12-12
Sec. 12. While doing work under section 10 or 11 of this chapter,
a land surveyor registered under IC 25-21.5, an unregistered county
surveyor, or the employees of a county surveyor are not considered
trespassers and are liable only for the actual damages they cause to
property.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.342-1983, SEC.3;
P.L.23-1991, SEC.36.
IC 36-2-12-13
Sec. 13. (a) A person may, for excavation, mineral extraction, or
other purposes related to the person's business, temporarily remove a
monument marking a corner. The person must notify in writing the
county surveyor at least thirty (30) days before removing the
monument. The person must replace the monument within a reasonable
time at the person's expense under the supervision of the county
surveyor or, if the county surveyor is not registered under IC 25-21.5
or IC 25-31, the registered person who is selected under section 11 of
this chapter. The surveyor shall file a copy of the notice in the
corner record book.
(b) Only a county surveyor or a designee may change the location
of any monument. A person who wishes to have the location of a
monument changed must make a request to the surveyor in writing and
furnish written approval of all landowners whose property is affected
by the proposed change. The surveyor may approve, reject, or modify
the request and shall file a copy of the notice and the landowners'
consents in the corner record book.
(c) When, in the construction or maintenance of a county or
municipal road or street, it is necessary to remove or bury a monument
marking a corner, the owner of the public right-of-way shall notify
the county surveyor in writing at least fifteen (15) days before
commencing the work.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.343-1983, SEC.1;
P.L.76-1989, SEC.3; P.L.2-1997, SEC.80.
IC 36-2-12-14
Sec. 14. (a) The owner of property surveyed under this chapter may
appeal that survey to the circuit court for the county:
(1) within ninety (90) days if he is a resident of the county
and was served with notice of the survey; or
(2) within one (1) year if he is not a resident of the county
and notice was by publication.
(b) When an appeal is taken under this section, the surveyor shall
immediately transmit copies of the relevant field notes and other
papers to the court, without requiring an appeal bond.
(c) The court may receive evidence of any other surveys of the
same premises. If the court decides against the original survey, it
may order a new survey to be made by a competent person other than the
person who did the original survey, and it shall:
(1) determine the true boundary lines and corners of the lands
included in the survey; and
(2) order the county surveyor to:
(A) locate and perpetuate the boundary lines and corners
according to the court's findings by depositing durable markers in the
proper places, below the freezing point;
(B) mark the boundary lines and corners; and
(C) enter the boundary lines and corners in his field notes.
(d) A new survey made under this section may be appealed under
this section.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1.
IC 36-2-12-15
Sec. 15. (a) If the surveyor serves as highway supervisor or
county highway engineer and is compensated for that service in an
amount greater than the compensation fixed under this title, then that
compensation is in lieu of the compensation fixed under this title.
(b) When fixing the compensation of county officers under this
title, the county fiscal body shall fix:
(1) compensation for the surveyor as if he is registered under
IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31; and
(2) compensation for the surveyor as if he is not registered
under IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31.
The compensation fixed under subdivision (1) must be one and one-half
(1 1/2) times that fixed under subdivision (2). The county fiscal body
shall then determine whether or not the surveyor is registered under
IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31 and shall fix his compensation in the proper
amount.
(c) In addition to the compensation fixed under subsection (b), if
the
surveyor describes and certifies the number of miles of active
regulated drains in the county to the county executive, he is
entitled, with the approval of the county executive, to:
(1) two dollars ($2) per mile for each mile described and
certified, if he is not registered under IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31; or
(2) four dollars ($4) per mile for each mile described and
certified, if he is registered under IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31.
(d) In addition to the compensation fixed under subsections (b)
and (c), the surveyor is entitled to:
(1) two dollars ($2) for each corner reference required under
section 11 of this chapter, if he is not registered under IC 25-21.5
or IC 25-31; or
(2) four dollars ($4) for each corner reference required under
section 11, if he is registered under IC 25-21.5 or IC 25-31.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by Acts 1981, P.L.309,
SEC.103; P.L.342-1983, SEC.4; P.L.2-1997, SEC.81.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.212, SEC.1. Amended by Acts 1981, P.L.309,
SEC.103; P.L.342-1983, SEC.4; P.L.2-1997, SEC.81.
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