The order of the court of probate establishing said district shall have all the force of a judgment, and the court shall forthwith levy a uniform tax of not more than $1.00 per acre upon each acre of land owned by the landowners within such district to be used for the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred in establishing said district or to be incurred in organizing said district, making surveys of the same and assessing benefits and damages and to pay other expenses necessary to be incurred before the board of commissioners provided for in this article shall be empowered by the subsequent provisions of this article to provide funds to pay the total cost in connection with the works of improvement of the district. In case the boundaries of the district shall be extended under subsequent sections of this article so as to include land and other property not contained within the district as organized by order of the court of probate in the first instance, the same uniform tax shall be made on such lands as soon as the same shall have been annexed and included in the district. Such tax shall be due and payable as soon as levied and, if not paid by December 31 of the year in which it is levied shall become delinquent and shall be turned over to the tax collector of the county in which the lands are located for collection, and the collection of such taxes shall be proceeded with in the same manner as delinquent general state and county taxes. This tax shall be a lien, equal in dignity with the lien for general state and county taxes on the land against which it is levied from the time the levy is made. In case the sum raised from such levy exceeds the total cost of items for which the same has been levied, the surplus shall be placed in the general funds of the district and used to pay the cost of construction, rights-of-way and operations and maintenance of works of improvements.