Effective 28 Aug 1978

257.310. Creation of district for primary drainage basin including previously formed district, procedure — establishment of subdistricts — officers, employees, powers — disincorporation of such district. — 1. Where any conservancy district is organized and established within a primary drainage basin and the area of such district is a secondary drainage basin or a tributary drainage area, the balance of the primary drainage basin may be the basis for initiating, organizing, and establishing a conservancy district for the entire primary drainage basin. Other provisions of this chapter shall apply to the initiating, organizing, establishment, and function of the primary drainage basin conservancy district, except:

(1) The provisions of this chapter for initiating, organizing and establishing a conservancy district shall apply only to such balance of the primary drainage basin as lies without any other conservancy district, but the jurisdiction of the court shall be determined on the basis of the entire primary drainage basin. In addition to the petitioning procedure as it shall apply to initiating a primary drainage basin conservancy district under this section, any established conservancy district of lesser extent within the primary drainage basin shall have the right to be a petitioner under this section, regardless of limitations on petitioners provided by this chapter, and may, solely and by itself, sign and present a petition to the court for the organization and establishment of a conservancy district for the primary drainage basin of which the lesser district is a part. It is understood hereby that

(a) The existence and function of any conservancy district of lesser extent within the primary drainage basin shall in no way constitute a bar or limitation on the establishment of a conservancy district for the entire primary drainage basin;

(b) The referendum therefor shall be by vote of qualified voters within those areas of the primary drainage basin which are without the boundaries of any established conservancy district;

(c) The procedure and basis for selection of trustees of the primary drainage basin conservancy district shall be in no way different from that otherwise provided for in this chapter for any conservancy district.

(2) Upon establishment of a primary drainage basin conservancy district under this section,

(a) Any conservancy district of a lesser extent, including any subdistrict thereof, within the primary drainage basin established as a conservancy district, upon such establishment shall forthwith become a subdistrict, subject to whatever the regular prosecution of the affairs of the primary drainage basin district shall resolve, in accord with the objects, purposes, and other provisions of this chapter;

(b) The trustees of any conservancy district of lesser extent shall no longer hold office and shall cease to function upon qualification of the trustees of the primary drainage basin district but shall be held responsible, with appeal therefor to the court by any party of interest, for a proper handling, transfer, and consolidation of the affairs of their district being assumed by the primary drainage basin district trustees as district trustees or as subdistrict trustees;

(c) The further position and responsibility of any other officer, employees, agents or persons responsible to any such former conservancy district shall be a matter of decision by the board as district or subdistrict trustees. Such personnel shall be subject to the same provisions for responsibility as the former trustees of the lesser district are subject to in this section.

2. In addition to the formation of a subdistrict as previously provided for in this section, whenever it is desired to accomplish the purposes of this chapter and exercise the powers of the board of trustees where such purposes and powers will affect only a part of a conservancy district, a subdistrict may be formed within such part of the district.

3. Establishment of such a subdistrict shall be preceded by a plan for the proposed subdistrict, which plan may be part of an official plan for the entire district or part of the district, or may be a separate official plan in itself. In any case the procedure for creating a subdistrict plan shall be, in all respects, the same as provided herein for originating and securing an official plan, with the additional provision that the plan shall include a name for the subdistrict.

4. When the plan for a proposed subdistrict has been approved and made official, it may be subject to further action as follows:

(1) The district board shall issue notice of the approval of the plan and may announce in such notice, or in a later notice, its intention to submit the question of establishing the subdistrict, subject to a determination of the boundaries of the proposed subdistrict.

(2) If the district board, at the time of its notice of the approval of the plan or within thirty days after publication of such approval notice is complete, does not give notice of its intention to call an election, subject to such determination of the boundaries, a petition for such action toward a subdistrict may be presented to the board. The number of petitioners and their qualifications shall be the same as provided in this chapter for initiating the establishment of a conservancy district. Upon receipt of such petition, and finding it valid, the board shall take action forthwith on the proposed subdistrict as though on its own initiative. In such case, however, the board may require the petitioners to give bond for the costs of determining the boundaries and of the election. If the election for a subdistrict fails, such costs shall be paid by the petitioners. If the subdistrict is established, the costs shall be paid by the subdistrict.

5. At the time of the subdistrict election, questions of additional tax and bond issue may be presented to the voters if so indicated by the official plan, and if the board in calling the subdistrict election on its own initiative has so stated or if, in the case of a petition, the petitioners have so requested the board. If such questions are presented to the voters the respective provisions of this chapter for tax and bond elections shall be followed insofar as such would apply.

6. The result of the election for the establishment of a subdistrict shall be entered upon the records of the board. If the voters approve the subdistrict establishment, certified copies of the board's record thereof shall be filed with the secretary of state, the county recorder of the county or counties within the subdistrict, and the state reviewing agency.

7. Upon entry in the records of the board of the vote approving establishment of the subdistrict, the subdistrict shall be organized and established thereby, with the trustees of the conservancy district thereupon becoming trustees also of the subdistrict. Thereafter, the proceedings in reference to the subdistrict shall in all matters conform to the provisions of this chapter; except that in the issuance of bonds for the subdistrict, in the levying of taxes by the subdistrict, and in all other matters affecting only the subdistrict, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the subdistrict as an independent conservancy district, and it shall not, in these things, be amalgamated with the district. It is understood that such provisions for a subdistrict shall in no way restrict a conservancy district's taxing and bonding authority or limitations in the area of the subdistrict or elsewhere in the district; except, no lesser district, absorbed as a subdistrict into a primary drainage basin conservancy district, shall be subject to a general obligation bond tax by the primary district when the lesser district has a bond tax of its own, unless the primary district tax provides for the assumption of the lesser district bonds; and provided further, that no bond tax shall be levied upon said lesser district until a sufficient time shall have expired that would have permitted said district to have retired all of the bonds originally voted and retired if said bond tax had been levied to retire the original amount of the bonds voted and retired by a bond tax levied upon the assessed valuation within said lesser district.

8. The board of trustees, chief engineer, attorney, secretary and other officers, agents and employees of the district shall, so far as it may be necessary, serve in the same capacities for such subdistrict. Contracts and agreements between the district and the subdistrict may be made. The distribution of administrative expense between the district and subdistrict shall be in proportion to the interests involved and the amount of service rendered, such division to be made by the board of trustees.

9. Any subdistrict may be disincorporated in the same manner as provided herein for a conservancy district insofar as securing a vote of disincorporation is concerned. If disincorporation is voted, the board of trustees shall have the sole responsibility for all liquidating, taxing, financial, and other procedures, shall have the authority to exercise such taxing power of the subdistrict as is necessary to dispose of any indebtedness of the subdistrict, and shall, upon payment of all debts of the subdistrict, consolidate into the district all else formerly a part of the subdistrict for such action or procedure as would be the case in the regular prosecution of its affairs by the district.

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(L. 1959 S.B. 199 § 31, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971)