The board of county commissioners, upon recommendation of the county engineer, is hereby authorized to combine improvements within the same watershed into a drainage maintenance district, in which the maintenance assessment shall be the same percentage of original cost for each improvement to be maintained. In grouping improvements into drainage maintenance districts, the county engineer and the board of commissioners shall consider uniformity of topography and soil types so that improvements within the same district represent substantially the same maintenance problem and can be kept in proper repair at cost sufficiently uniform as to constitute no substantial inequity for any owners to be included in a district maintenance program. The county auditor shall maintain one drainage maintenance fund for each such district. A maintenance district may include all or any part of a county.

The board of county commissioners, upon recommendation of the county engineer, may combine improvements in accordance with the type of improvement into one drainage maintenance fund so that ditches or drains that are enclosed in tile, or other improvements having similar maintenance costs, may be administered for maintenance under the same maintenance fund.

In the case of each joint county ditch improvement, the county auditor of the county having the majority of the improvement shall maintain a separate maintenance fund for the improvement. The owners subject to the original assessment for the improvement shall constitute one maintenance district for the purpose of repair, upkeep, and maintenance of the improvement.

The county engineer of the county having the majority of the improvement shall serve as the engineer in charge of maintenance and, after consultation with the engineer of any other county affected, shall annually file a report of inspection with a recommendation as to the amount of the maintenance assessment by the same procedure as provided by section 6137.03 of the Revised Code for assessment in the case of a single county ditch.

Effective Date: 04-09-1981 .