Title 48 — Special Taxing Districts

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, "same general system of works" means any system of drainage works, of whatever character, combination or construction and by whatever means operated, consisting of one or more connected or disconnected parts or portions, and…

When five or more holders of title or evidence of title to agricultural lands which are susceptible of drainage by the same general system of works desire to provide for the drainage of such lands, they may propose the organization of a drainage district under the provisions of t…

A. In order to propose the organization of a drainage district, a petition shall be presented to the board of supervisors of the county in which the lands within the proposed district, or the greater portion thereof, are located, signed by the required number of holders of title …

A. The equalized assessment roll of the county adopted next preceding presentation of the petition for organization of the drainage district shall be sufficient evidence of title for the purposes of this chapter, but no person who has received or acquired title to land within the…

A. At the time and place fixed for the hearing, or at the time and place to which the board of supervisors adjourns the hearing from time to time, not exceeding four weeks in all, and on the final hearing, the board shall make such changes in the proposed boundaries as deemed adv…

A. Any person interested who is a party to the record may appeal to the superior court in the county in which the petition is heard from the order of the board of supervisors provided for in section 48-2605, but if more than one appeal is taken they shall be consolidated for tria…

A. When the boundaries of the proposed district are defined and established, the board of supervisors shall make an order dividing the district into three or five divisions as nearly equal in size as practicable, which shall be numbered consecutively. One director, who shall be a…

A. Upon entry of the order of the board of supervisors, it shall give notice of an election to be held in the proposed district for the purpose of determining whether or not the district shall be organized under the provisions of this chapter. The notice shall designate a name fo…

A person is not entitled to vote at any election held under this chapter unless the person has all the qualifications required of electors for state officers under the general election laws and is the owner of real property located within the boundaries of the district on which t…

A. The ballots to be used at the organizational election shall contain the words, "drainage district - -yes" and "drainage district - -no". The ballots shall contain the names of one or more persons, according to the divisions of the proposed district as prayed for in the petitio…

The board of supervisors shall, on the first Monday succeeding the election, if then in session, or at its next succeeding regular or special session, canvass the votes cast. If upon the canvass it appears that a majority of all votes cast is "drainage district - -yes", the board…

A. The board shall cause a copy of the order, duly certified, to be immediately filed in the office of the county recorder of any county in which a portion of the lands included within the district is located, and immediately forward a copy thereof to the clerk of the board of su…

A. The election or organization may be contested by any person owning property within the proposed district subject to assessment for purposes of the district within twenty days after canvass of the votes and declaration of the result by the board of supervisors. The directors el…

The directors elected at the organizational election shall immediately enter upon their duties as such, upon qualifying in the manner provided in this chapter. The directors shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified.

A. The directors of a district organized under the provisions of this chapter, on the first Tuesday after their election and after they have qualified, shall meet and classify themselves by lot into two classes as nearly equal in number as possible. The term of office of the clas…

The board of directors, when it deems it advisable for the best interest of the district and convenience of the electors thereof, may at any time, but not less than sixty days before an election to be held in the district, change the boundaries of the divisions and election preci…

A. The boundaries of a drainage district may be changed in the manner prescribed by this article, but such change of boundaries of the district shall not impair or affect its organization, or its rights in or to property, or any of its rights or privileges of whatever kind or nat…

A. The holder or holders of title or evidence of title representing one half or more of any body of lands adjacent and contiguous to the boundary of a drainage district which together constitute one parcel of land, may file with the board of directors of the district a written pe…

A guardian, executor or administrator of an estate who has been appointed under the laws of this state, and who, as such guardian, executor or administrator, is entitled to the possession of the land belonging to the estate which he represents, upon being authorized by the court …

A. The secretary of the board of directors shall cause notice of filing of the petition to be given and published in the same manner and for the same time that notice of elections for the issuance of bonds is required to be published under this chapter. B. The notice shall set fo…

A. The board of directors, at the time and place set forth in the notice required by section 48-2635, or at such other time or times to which the hearing of the petition is adjourned, shall hear the petition and all objections thereto presented in writing by any person showing ca…

A. If any person in the district interested in the proposed change of the boundary of the district shows cause why the boundary should not be changed, and does not withdraw the objection, and if the board of directors deems it for the best interest of the district that the bounda…

If at the election a majority of the votes cast is against the change of the boundaries of the district the board shall order that the petition be denied, and shall proceed no further in the premises. If a majority of the votes cast is in favor of the change in the boundaries of …

A copy of the order of the board of directors ordering the change of the boundaries of the district, certified by the president and secretary of the board, shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of each county within which any of the lands of the district are loca…

Upon recording the order as provided in section 48-2639, the secretary shall record in the minutes of the board the petition for inclusion of lands, and thereafter the minutes or a certified copy thereof shall be admissible in evidence with the same effect as the petition.

A. The board of directors of the district, or any landowner whose land is included within the boundaries of the district, may file with the board of supervisors of the county in which the lands included within the boundaries of the district, or the major portion thereof, are loca…

A. On the third Tuesday in October following a regular district election, the directors elected at the regular October election and whose terms have not then expired shall meet and organize the board, elect a president and appoint a secretary who shall hold office during the plea…

The compensation of members of the board of directors shall be determined by the board, but shall not exceed thirty dollars per day for each day's attendance at meetings of the board, and actual and necessary expenses while engaged in official business under order of the board.

A. The board of directors shall hold a regular meeting in its office on the first Tuesday in March, June, September and December, and such special meetings as required for the proper transaction of business. B. All special meetings shall be called by a majority of the board by an…

A. The board shall: 1. Manage and conduct the business and affairs of the district. 2. Make and execute all necessary contracts. 3. Adopt a seal for the district to be used in the attestation of instruments. 4. Provide for the payment from the proper funds of all debts and just c…

A. The board of directors shall adopt a plan for the construction of the works authorized by section 48-2664. B. The board shall give notice by publication thereof for not less than fifteen days in a newspaper published in each of the counties in which lands within the district a…

A. The board of directors may construct works necessary for drainage purposes across any stream of water, water-course, street, avenue, highway, railway, canal, ditch or flume which the route of the conduits or drains intersects or crosses in a manner so as to afford security for…

Condemnation proceedings may be brought by the board of directors in the name of the district, and all laws of the state relating to the exercise of the right of eminent domain and the taking of private property for public purposes and obtaining immediate possession thereof shall…

A. The legal title to all property acquired by the district under the provisions of this chapter, including all water collected in, controlled or handled by means of any drainage works constructed or acquired under the provisions of this chapter, shall immediately vest in the dis…

A. In each district organized under this chapter an election shall be held on the first Wednesday in October of the calendar year next succeeding that in which the organization of the district is completed, and on the first Wednesday in October each second year thereafter, at whi…

The board of directors may, upon the presentation of a petition by a majority of the holders of title or evidence of title of the district, evidenced as provided in this chapter, order that on and after the next ensuing regular election for the district there shall be either thre…

A. Fifteen days before any election held under this article, the secretary of the board of directors shall cause notices to be posted in three public places in each election precinct of the time and place of holding the election, and shall post a similar notice in the office of t…

A. The inspector shall be chairman of the election board and may administer all oaths required during the election, and appoint judges and clerks if, during the election any judge or clerk fails to act. Any member of the board of election or any clerk thereof may administer and c…

A. When the board of election has counted the votes it shall make a certificate on each of the documents containing the poll list and tally lists, or attached thereto, designating the office and stating the number of votes received by the person who was a candidate for such offic…

The conduct of the election, including opening the polls, voting, closing the polls, counting the ballots and making the returns of the election shall, except as otherwise provided in this article, be as nearly as practicable in accordance with the general election laws of the st…

A. A poll list, tally list or certificate from an election held under the provisions of this article shall not be set aside or rejected for want of form if it can be satisfactorily understood. B. The board of directors shall meet at the district office on the first Monday after t…

A. The secretary of the board of directors shall, as soon as the result is declared, enter in the minutes of the board a statement of the result, which shall show: 1. The whole number of votes cast in the district, and in each precinct thereof, if there is more than one precinct.…

The county treasurer of the county in which the district was organized shall be the custodian of all the funds of the district. For this purpose the county treasurers of other counties in which a portion of the district is located shall, not more than twice each year, upon the or…

The board of directors shall, on or before the first meeting of the board of supervisors in July each year, furnish the board of supervisors and the county assessor of the county in which the district is located, or if the district is not entirely within a county, then as otherwi…

If the district is located in more than one county, the total estimate as provided for in section 48-2702 shall be divided by the board of directors in proportion to the value of the real property included within the district in each county. The value shall be determined from the…

A. The board of supervisors of each county in which a district or any part thereof is located shall annually, at the time of levying county taxes, levy a tax to be known as the "(name of district) drainage district tax" sufficient to raise the amount reported to the board in the …

The tax levied by the board of supervisors shall be computed and entered on the assessment roll by the county assessor. If the board of supervisors fails to levy the tax as provided in section 48-2704 the assessor shall do so. The tax, as well as the assessments provided for unde…

The laws of the state prescribing the manner of levying and collecting taxes and the duties of the several county officers with respect thereto, so far as applicable and not in conflict with the specific provisions of this article, shall apply to this article. County officers sha…

A. When a parcel of land located in a drainage district is assessed for district taxes, the tax and each installment thereof may be paid separately and without at the same time paying other property taxes assessed against the same property. The county treasurer shall receive such…

A. The board of directors, when it deems it advisable, may call an election and submit to the qualified electors of the district the question of whether or not a special assessment shall be levied for the purpose of raising money to be applied to any of the purposes provided in t…