Title 14, Local Government

(a) On sales of land condemned to be sold for the taxes of drainage districts and other improvement districts in this state, the land shall first be offered subject to the lien of all improvement district assessments then existing on it. (b) If no one will purchase on those terms…

(a) It shall not be lawful for:(1) The board of the district, or any officer, member, or agent thereof, to pledge or deposit any bond or coupon issued under the provisions of this act as security for payment of any borrowed money or any debt or obligation of board or any person, …

(a) In order to hasten work, the board may borrow money at a rate of interest as provided for in a resolution of the commissioners, may issue negotiable bonds therefor, signed by the members of the board, and may pledge all assessments for the repayment thereof. It may also issue…

(a) All bonds issued by commissioners under the terms of this act shall be secured by a lien on all lands, railroads, and tramroads in the district. The board of directors shall see to it that a tax is levied annually and collected under the provisions of this act, so long as it …

(a) (1) For the purpose of paying the principal and interest of any bonds issued to pay preliminary expenses, either original or refunding bonds, when an assessment of benefits has not been made on the real property of the district, the court by which the district was established…

(a) Any drainage district organized under and pursuant to the laws of the State of Arkansas in which an additional tax levy has been made for the purpose of preserving the drainage system and of keeping the ditches clear from obstruction and of extending, widening, or deepening t…

(a) Any drainage district in this state which has issued and sold bonds, prior to the assessment of benefits on the property of the district, for the purpose of paying preliminary expenses of the district is authorized and empowered to issue refunding bonds for the purpose of pay…

The provisions of §§ 14-121-204 and 14-121-205 shall apply to the organization of a subdistrict the same as to the organization of the district.

(a) (1) When three (3) or more owners of real property within a proposed subdistrict, composed of land wholly within a drainage district, or partly within and partly without that district, shall petition the county court to establish a subdistrict to embrace their property, descr…

(a) Where the main drainage district, of which the proposed subdistrict is to become a part, shall have been organized by a circuit court, the petition for the proposed subdistrict shall be presented to the circuit court and all subsequent proceedings had therein. (b) Where the m…

When the county or circuit court has established a subdistrict, it shall appoint the commissioners of the main district of which the subdistrict is to become a part to act as commissioners of the subdistrict, and the proceedings thereafter shall conform to the provision of this a…

A subdistrict of a drainage district organized under, or made subject to, §§ 14-121-101, 14-121-102, 14-121-104, 14-121-105, 14-121-201 — 14-121-205, 14-121-207, 14-121-301, 14-121-304, 14-121-305, 14-121-307, 14-121-310, 14-121-311, 14-121-313, 14-121-401 — 14-121-406, 14-121-40…

The terms and provisions of this subchapter shall never at any time be applicable to a drainage district organized under the general drainage laws of this state for the primary purpose of constructing levees and other flood control projects under the terms and provisions of the F…

Throughout this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires, “original district” includes the district which was first created in the circuit court and all subdistricts within and appurtenant to that district.

Any drainage district in this state not organized for the primary purpose of constructing levees and receiving federal aid under Flood Control Acts of Congress, approved May 15, 1928, and June 15, 1936, and amendments thereto, comprising lands in more than one (1) county and orga…

(a) Any five (5) owners of land within the boundaries of the original district may file a petition in the circuit court of the county in which the district was originally organized, setting forth the fact that:(1) The improvement for which the district was originally organized ha…

(a) The county court shall appoint three (3) owners of real property within the boundaries of the separate district as commissioners thereof. (b) Each commissioner shall take the oath of office required by Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 20, and shall also swear that he will…

When the order has been entered by the county court and the commissioners have qualified as such under provisions of this subchapter, the lands in each county shall no longer be a part of the district as originally organized, and the power of the original district and the commiss…

The separate districts shall have the power to preserve the portion of the drainage system located in the county as provided in § 14-121-412 in the same manner as if the separate district had originally been organized under the laws of Arkansas as a drainage district comprising l…

Where any slough, marsh, or lake has been drained into the drainage ditches of any drainage district which has completed its work of construction, lands benefited by the draining of the slough, marsh, or lake may be added to the drainage district in the manner provided by § 14-12…

(a) If any sanitary sewer district drains into the ditches or conduits of any drainage district which has completed its work of construction, or if private or other public sanitary sewers drain into the ditches or conduits, the lands within the sanitary sewer district or the land…

(a) When the commissioners of any such drainage district find that lands, lots, or blocks such as are described in §§ 14-121-701 and 14-121-702 of this subchapter have been benefited by the connection established with the drainage ditches or conduits of the district, they shall f…

(a) When lands have been annexed, the assessor of the drainage district shall proceed to assess the benefits in the annexed territory. (b) Where there are no assessors, the board of commissioners shall act as assessors. (c) The benefits shall be assessed, advertised, and equalize…

Any increased revenues by reason of the annexes to a district together with any other revenues of any district not required for bonds and interest payments may be used by the commissioners for the purpose of cleaning, widening, deepening, or maintaining the drainage ditches of th…

All proceedings brought under this subchapter and all suits to enjoin such proceedings or questioning the assessment of benefits had hereunder shall be deemed matters of public interest and shall be disposed of at the earliest possible moment. Appeals therefrom must be taken and …

(a) All drainage districts organized under the laws of Arkansas, within whose boundaries the federal government has been, or shall hereafter be, authorized to do improvement work in aid of drainage and flood control, pursuant to an act of Congress, whereby the ditches and drains …

All contractors shall be required to give bond for the faithful performance of the contracts awarded them, with good and sufficient securities, in an amount to be fixed by the board. The board shall not remit or excuse the penalty or forfeiture of the bond or the breaches thereof…

(a) The commissioners, engineers, and contractors engaged in drainage work have the right to pass, with their equipment, over all the lands of the district, being liable to the owner for any damage done thereto. (b) Any owner who prevents the passage over his or her land is guilt…

(a) Any landowner within the district may build ditches to drain his lands into the public ditches. (b) If any intervening landowner should refuse permission to cross his lands with such ditch, the landowner seeking to construct the ditch may, by proceedings in the circuit court …

(a) The commissioners shall have the right to carry the ditches across any highway. (b) Ditches may also be carried under or through any railroad track or tramway, and the owner thereof shall have no claim for damages on that account but shall bridge the ditch at its own expense.…

The district shall build bridges to carry the county highways over the ditches dug by it.

(a) In order to prevent damages to drainage systems and to secure the best results from their construction, the board of commissioners of any district may:(1) Make regulations for and may prescribe the manner of building fences and bridges across any ditch or other construction; …

(a) In case it is necessary to do so in order to obtain a proper outlet for the drainage system or otherwise to perfect the system of improvements, the commissioners may construct ditches or do other work on land beyond the jurisdiction of the county court or which for other reas…

(a) All drainage districts organized under special acts of the General Assembly are given authority to construct, reconstruct, repair, and replace levees and to construct setbacks abutting drainage ditches whenever deemed necessary and proper by the board of directors of the dist…

In case the right-of-way for the improvement is through timber, the ownership of the timber shall pass to the district with the control of the right-of-way, and the board of commissioners may use or dispose of the timber as they deem best.

(a) (1) Boards of commissioners of drainage districts organized under the laws of Arkansas are authorized upon petition of the majority of the property owners in their districts, or upon petition of the owners of the majority of the property in their district, to purchase, lease,…

For the purpose of keeping a small cash fund on hand with which to clean out the public drains of this state, the county judge, county clerk, and sheriff of each county of this state wherein are located any public drains shall be and compose a board, of which the county judge sha…

The county treasurers of this state shall keep upon their books a separate account with each public drainage district of their county, and no money collected under the provisions of § 14-121-901 shall be paid out only for the purpose of keeping clean the particular public ditch f…

(a) Whenever there shall remain due and unpaid at the date of the passage of this act any amounts for labor performed in cleaning out any of the public drains of this state, it shall be the duty of the board provided for in this act to take these amounts into consideration in mak…

This chapter shall be construed to be cumulative of existing laws relating to the creation, operation, and existence of municipal improvement districts and shall not repeal any existing law unless that law is in direct conflict herewith, it being the intent of this chapter to pro…

Any city of the first class in this state having a mayor-council form of government, may, by ordinance of the governing body, create a drainage improvement district in that city encompassing all or any part of the territory within the limits of the city.

When the governing body of any city enacts an ordinance pursuant to the authority granted herein, creating a drainage improvement district encompassing all or any part of the territory within the limits of the city, the governing body shall cause a notice of the adoption of the o…

If petitions signed by not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the qualified electors voting on the office of mayor in the city at the last preceding general election are filed with the city clerk of the city within forty-five (45) days after the enactment of the ordinance creatin…

If referendum petitions are not filed within the time prescribed herein or if such petitions are filed and the electors voting at the special election held thereon do not reject the ordinance, the governing body of the municipality shall proceed to establish the drainage improvem…

(a) The board of commissioners for the district, consisting of five (5) owners of real property in the district or officers or stockholders of a corporation owning real property within the district shall be appointed as follows:(1) Four (4) commissioners shall be appointed by the…

The board shall meet as soon as is practicable after appointment and qualification of its members, shall elect a chairman, a secretary, and such other officials as it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities, and shall form plans for the improvement of drainage facilitie…