Title 7, Title 7

(1) A finding of the board of county commissioners in favor of the genuineness and sufficiency of the petition and notice shall be final and conclusive against all persons except the state of Montana upon suit commenced by the attorney general. Any such suit must be commenced wit…

(1) Any district incorporated as provided in this part and part 23 shall have power to: (a) have perpetual succession; (b) sue and be sued, except as otherwise provided herein or by law, in all actions and proceedings in all courts and tribunals of competent jurisdiction; (c) ado…

A district that is incorporated as provided in this part may: (1) construct, purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire and operate and maintain water rights, waterworks, sanitary sewerworks, storm sewerworks, canals, conduits, reservoirs, lands, and rights useful or necessary to stor…

The board of directors shall have power to construct works across any stream of water, watercourse, street, avenue, highway, railway, canal, ditch, or flume which the route of said works may intersect or cross; provided such works are constructed in such manner as to afford secur…

The right-of-way is given, dedicated, and set apart to locate, construct, and maintain district works over and through any lands which are the property of this state, and the district has the same rights and privileges relating to the right-of-way as are granted to municipalities…

(1) Any district incorporated as provided in this part may: (a) accept funds and property or other assistance, financial or otherwise, from federal, state, and other public or private sources for the purposes of aiding the construction or maintenance of water or sewer development…

The provisions of Title 13, chapter 1, part 5, govern all district elections provided for under this part and part 23.

(1) The board of county commissioners in its discretion may combine in one election the election on the formation of the district, the election of directors, the election on incurring bonded indebtedness, and, if applicable, the vote on the proposed monthly salary for members of …

A county water and/or sewer district system shall supply water and sewer services to a subdivision proposed for review under Title 76, chapter 3 or 4, if: (1) the proposed subdivision requests the connection; (2) a boundary of the subdivision is within 501 to 1,000 feet of any co…

(1) A district whose boundaries include a municipality or unincorporated territory may include on its board of directors a nonvoting ex officio member or members as allowed in 7-13-2232. (2) A nonvoting ex officio member: (a) must be appointed by the mayor of the municipality or …

(1) The district shall elect a board of directors, except as provided in subsection (2). (2) If no qualified electors reside in the district at a time when directors of the district are to be elected, the directors must be appointed in a certificate of appointment. The certificat…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (4), the board of directors must consist of five elected members or three elected members if there are 10 or fewer qualified electors in the district. (2) If the boundaries of the district include a municipality, the board may include one addi…

(1) To be eligible for election or appointment to a board of directors, an individual must be: (a) registered to vote as required by law; (b) 18 years of age or older; (c) a citizen of the United States; and (d) a resident of the district or an owner of real property in the distr…

(1) The term of office of a director begins on the first Monday of the month following the date of the director's election or appointment. A director, elected or appointed, shall hold office until the term of office of the director's successor begins. (2) Except as provided in su…

(1) A declaration of candidacy must be filed with the election administrator within the time period specified in 13-1-502. The election administrator shall endorse on the declaration the date on which it was presented. (2) If the district lies in more than one county, the declara…

If a person elected fails to qualify, the office must be filled as if there were a vacancy in the office as provided in 7-13-2262(1).

The mode of appointment of a director, including the appointment of a nonvoting ex officio board member, by a mayor or by a board of county commissioners must be by certificate of appointment signed by the mayor or issued by the board of county commissioners and transmitted to th…

In municipalities in which there is no mayor, the duty imposed upon said officer by the provisions of this part and part 23 shall be performed by the president of the board of trustees or other chief executive of the municipality.

Every incumbent of an elective office, whether elected by popular vote for a full term, elected by the board of directors to fill a vacancy, or appointed by a mayor or the board of commissioners for a full term, is subject to recall by the qualified electors of any district organ…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (4), any vacancy in the board of directors, whether the vacant office is elective or appointive, must be filled by majority vote of the remaining directors. (b) A vacancy must be determined in accordance with 7-13-2263. (2) If…

A vacancy is created when any of the following events occurs before the expiration of the term of the incumbent: (1) death; (2) a determination pursuant to Title 53, chapter 21, part 1, that the incumbent is mentally ill; (3) resignation; (4) removal from office; (5) neglect or r…

(1) A new board of directors shall hold its first meeting on the sixth Monday after the election of directors. It shall choose one of its members president and shall provide for the time and place of holding its meetings and the manner in which its special meetings may be called.…

(1) The president shall sign all contracts on behalf of the district and perform other duties as may be imposed by the board of directors. (2) The president may propose a monthly salary in excess of the amounts provided in 7-13-2273(2) for the members of the board of directors. T…

(1) Each of the members of the board of directors may receive a monthly salary. (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a salary may not exceed the following amounts: (a) $60 in districts with a population of no more than 500 persons; (b) $80 in districts with a population that…

(1) All legislative sessions of the board of directors, whether regular or special, must be open to the public. Notice of the sessions must be given and the sessions must be held in compliance with the requirements of Title 2, chapter 3, parts 1 and 2. (2) A majority of the board…

(1) The ayes and noes must be taken upon the passage of all ordinances or resolutions and entered upon the journal of the proceedings of the board of directors. An ordinance or resolution may not be passed or become effective without the affirmative votes of at least a majority o…

(1) Ordinances may be passed by the qualified electors of any district organized under the provisions of this part and part 23 in accordance with the methods provided by the general laws of the state for direct legislation applicable to cities and towns. (2) Ordinances may be rep…

(1) The board of directors shall, at its first meeting or as soon thereafter as practicable, appoint by a majority vote a general manager and a secretary. A director may not be the general manager or the secretary. The board of directors may assign the district's operator, as def…

(1) The general manager has full charge and control of the maintenance, operation, and construction of all works and systems of the district, with full power and authority to employ and discharge all employees and assistants at pleasure and prescribe their duties, and shall, subj…

(1) In lieu of imposing rates and charges to pay the capital costs of any improvement provided for in this part, a district may levy special assessments to defray the costs against property within the district and benefited by the improvement. The costs of the improvement may inc…

(1) A notice, signed by the secretary and stating that the resolution levying a special assessment to defray the cost of making the improvements is on file in the office of the secretary and is subject to inspection, must be: (a) published as provided in 7-1-2121; (b) mailed to t…

(1) At the time fixed, the board of directors shall meet and hear all objections and for that purpose may adjourn from day to day. (2) The board of directors may by resolution modify the assessment in whole or in part. A copy of the resolution, certified by the secretary, must be…

(1) When any resolution of assessment has been certified by the secretary and the county clerk and recorder, it is the duty of the county treasurer in the county in which the lot, tract, or parcel is located, in accordance with the provisions of this title, to collect the assessm…

(1) When any special assessment levied and assessed under any of the provisions of this part is considered unlawful by the party whose property is assessed, the person may pay the assessment or any part of the assessment considered unlawful under protest to the county treasurer. …

(1) Whenever, by reason of any alleged nonconformity to law or by reason of any omission or irregularity, any special assessment is either invalid or its validity is questioned, the board of directors may make all necessary orders and may take all necessary steps to correct, reas…

(1) When, under any of the provisions of this part, special assessments are assessed against any lot or parcel of land as the property of a particular person, a misnomer of the owner or supposed owner or other mistake relating to the ownership of the land may not affect the asses…

(1) The payment of the assessment to defray the cost of constructing any improvement may be spread over a term not to exceed 40 years. (2) The assessments are payable in equal semiannual installments of principal, with interest on the unpaid installments, or, if the board of dire…

The installments of assessments remaining unpaid bear simple interest at an annual rate equal to: (1) the sum of: (a) the average interest rate payable on the outstanding bonds issued to finance the improvement in respect of which the special assessments are levied; plus (b) addi…

Any special assessment made and levied to defray the cost and expenses of any improvement, together with any amounts imposed for delinquency and for cost of collection, constitutes a lien upon and against the property upon which the assessment is made and levied from and after th…

(1) Whenever property created as a condominium is proposed to be assessed for costs of an improvement pursuant to 7-13-2280 and the property is not solely a certain unit in the condominium, then the owner of the property created as a condominium that is entitled to protest under …

(1) The board of directors shall fix all water and sewer rates and shall, through the general manager, collect the sewer charges and the charges for the sale and distribution of water to all users. (2) (a) The board, in furnishing water, sewer service, other services, and facilit…

(1) If for any reason the revenue of the district is inadequate to pay the interest or principal of any bonded debt as it becomes due, exclusive of revenue or special assessment bonded indebtedness incurred pursuant to 7-13-2333 or bonded indebtedness incurred to refund the reven…

(1) When the amount of money required for any purpose enumerated in 7-13-2302 has been determined, the county commissioners or board of directors may use one or any combination of the following methods of assessment: (a) Each lot or parcel of land to be assessed may be assessed w…

(1) When the written estimate of the amount of money required has been delivered to the board of county commissioners, the board shall give notice of its intention to levy and collect a tax sufficient for the payment of bond obligations and other expenses. (2) The notice must be …

The legislature hereby finds, determines, and declares that the giving of notice in accordance with 7-13-2304(2) is reasonably calculated to inform the owners of taxable real property located within the boundaries of the district of the hearing provided for in 7-13-2306(4) and th…

The notice required by 7-13-2304 must state: (1) the amount of money required; (2) the method of assessment that the board or boards of county commissioners intend to employ; (3) the boundaries or description of the lands to be assessed, which may be recited in full or may be giv…