11-391. Incurring long-term obligations; public hearing

A. In addition to any other requirements prescribed by law, in a county with a population of less than five hundred thousand persons if the board of supervisors approves incurring any long-term obligation that is not secured by the full faith and credit of the county, the board of supervisors must:

1. Publish a notice of a hearing on the proposal to incur the long-term obligation in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, issue a press release to print and electronic media and post the notice on the county's official web site. The notice must:

(a) Be published and posted at least fifteen days before the date of the hearing.

(b) Include the date, time and place of the hearing, the dollar amount of the proposed long-term obligations and the estimated total financing costs, the purpose of the proposed long-term obligations, including the project or projects that are proposed to be financed by long-term obligations, and that the board will receive:

(i) Oral comments at the hearing.

(ii) Written comments at any time before adopting the resolution of intention to incur long-term obligations, including the board's mailing address. The notice posted on the county's web site shall include an electronic link for commenting electronically.

2. Hold the public hearing, as announced in the notice, at least fifteen days before adopting the resolution for incurring the long-term obligations. At the hearing, the board shall present an analysis of the need for the project, the need to use long-term financing and any other available options to accomplish the project. Any member of the public must be allowed to speak on the issue of incurring the long-term obligations to finance the proposed project.

B. At least fifteen days after the hearing the governing body must hold a public meeting to adopt findings and, following the public comments received at and after the hearing, by roll call vote, either:

1. Adopt and enter a resolution of intention to incur long-term obligations to finance the project, stating the public need for the project, the estimated cost and the amount of the long-term obligations to be incurred.

2. Reject long-term financing of the project and abandon further proceedings.