(a) A petition for the incorporation of a utility district shall be filed with the Tennessee board of utility regulation for review and approval and to the county mayor of any county in which the proposed district is situated, the petition to be signed by not less than twenty-five (25) owners of real property, who shall reside within the boundaries of the proposed district. The petition shall include:(1) A statement of the service or services to be supplied by the proposed district and the necessity for such service or services;(2) The proposed corporate name and boundaries of the district;(3) A statement showing why existing utility districts, or municipal or county services, could not adequately provide the needed service because of cost, time, or other service delivery factors;(4) An estimate of the costs of the acquisition or construction of the facilities of the district, which estimate shall not, however, serve as a limitation upon the financing of improvements, or extensions of the facility; an estimate of the costs of operating the proposed facilities; an estimate of anticipated personnel needs; and an estimated schedule of rates and charges for the services to be rendered; and(5) The nomination of three (3) residents of the district for appointment as commissioners of the district. The petition shall be signed in person by the petitioners with the addresses of their residences and shall be accompanied by a sworn statement of the person or persons circulating the petition, who shall state under oath that they witnessed the signature of each petitioner, that each signature is the signature of the person it purports to be, and that, to the best of their knowledge, each petitioner was, at the time of signing, an owner of real property within and a resident of the proposed district.
(1) A statement of the service or services to be supplied by the proposed district and the necessity for such service or services;
(2) The proposed corporate name and boundaries of the district;
(3) A statement showing why existing utility districts, or municipal or county services, could not adequately provide the needed service because of cost, time, or other service delivery factors;
(4) An estimate of the costs of the acquisition or construction of the facilities of the district, which estimate shall not, however, serve as a limitation upon the financing of improvements, or extensions of the facility; an estimate of the costs of operating the proposed facilities; an estimate of anticipated personnel needs; and an estimated schedule of rates and charges for the services to be rendered; and
(5) The nomination of three (3) residents of the district for appointment as commissioners of the district. The petition shall be signed in person by the petitioners with the addresses of their residences and shall be accompanied by a sworn statement of the person or persons circulating the petition, who shall state under oath that they witnessed the signature of each petitioner, that each signature is the signature of the person it purports to be, and that, to the best of their knowledge, each petitioner was, at the time of signing, an owner of real property within and a resident of the proposed district.
(b) A nonprofit property owners' association whose membership is constituted by at least six thousand (6,000) owners of lots, which owns, operates, or maintains water or sewer service systems for the exclusive use of the association, and which is unable to obtain such services from the local utility district, may petition the county mayor of the county in which the association is located for incorporation of the association as a utility district. If the association is located within the service area of an existing utility district that does not provide both water and sewer service, the association may petition the county mayor for exclusion from such utility district and for recognition and incorporation as a separate and independent utility district providing the service that the existing district does not provide. The association, once designated as a utility district, continues to own, operate, or maintain water or sewer service systems for the exclusive use of its property owner members. The commissioners of a utility district incorporated pursuant to this subsection (b) are the board of directors of the association, as long as the members of such board are elected by a vote of all the property owners in the association. If the members of the board of directors of the association are not elected by vote of the property owners, then the commissioners must be appointed by the county mayor as set forth in § 7-82-307. Commissioners serve in office until their successors are elected and qualified.