2014 North Dakota Century Code Title 11 Counties Chapter 11-28.3 Rural Ambulance Service Districts
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CHAPTER 11-28.3
RURAL AMBULANCE SERVICE DISTRICTS
11-28.3-01. Territory to be organized - Petition.
Whenever twenty percent of the qualified electors, as determined by the vote cast in the last
preceding gubernatorial election, residing in any rural territory, equivalent in area to one
township or more not presently served by an existing emergency medical service, elect to form,
organize, establish, equip, and maintain a rural ambulance service district, they shall signify
their intention by presenting to the county auditor of the county or counties in which the territory
is situated a petition setting forth the desires and purposes of the petitioners. The petition shall
contain the full names and post-office addresses of the petitioners, the suggested name of the
proposed district, the area in square miles [hectares] to be included therein, and a complete
description according to government survey, wherever possible, of the boundaries of the real
properties intended to be embraced in the proposed rural ambulance service district. A plat or
map showing the suggested boundaries of the proposed district shall accompany the petition,
and the petitioner shall also deposit with the county auditor a sum sufficient to defray the
expense of publishing the notices required by sections 11-28.3-02 and 11-28.3-03. Provided
further that any city located within the area, whether such city has emergency medical services
or not, may be included in the rural ambulance district if twenty percent or more of the qualified
electors residing in the city sign the petition.
11-28.3-02. Election in affected counties.
When a petition is filed in the office of the county auditor pursuant to section 11-28.3-01, the
county auditor shall determine and certify that the petition has been signed by at least twenty
percent of the qualified electors voting at the last general election for governor and residing
within the boundaries of the proposed district. If the proposed district is situated within two or
more counties, the county auditor of the county wherein most of the petitioners reside shall
confer with the other affected county auditors for the purpose of determining the adequacy of
the petitions in all the counties affected.
If the county auditor or county auditors determine that the petitions submitted are adequate
according to the provisions of this chapter, the question of whether the rural ambulance service
district shall be formed and organized shall be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors
residing in the proposed district at the next ensuing countywide special, primary, or general
election. The election provided for by this chapter shall be conducted in the same manner as
other county elections are conducted, except as otherwise provided by this chapter.
11-28.3-03. Notice of election.
In addition to the usual requirements of notices of election, the notice for an election at
which the question provided for in this chapter will be voted upon shall include a statement
describing the boundaries of the proposed rural ambulance service district, expressed,
wherever possible, in terms of the government survey, a statement setting forth a specified mill
levy for the proposed district, which levy shall not exceed the limitation in section 57-15-26.5.
The notice of election shall also state the voting areas in which the question provided by this
chapter will be on the ballot.
11-28.3-04. Form of ballot - Vote required to approve.
The ballot on the question of forming a rural ambulance service district must be in
substantially the following form:
Shall (name of taxing district or districts) levy a tax of not to exceed _______ mills for the
purpose of forming a rural ambulance district?
Yes â
No â
If a majority of all the votes cast on the question of levying a tax and forming a rural ambulance
service district are in favor of such a tax levy, then the formation of the district is approved.
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11-28.3-05. Notice by county auditor of meeting to organize district.
If a rural ambulance service district is approved as provided in this chapter, the county
auditor of the county in which the proposed district is located shall issue notice of a public
meeting to organize the rural ambulance service district. The notice shall be given by publication
once a week for two consecutive weeks, the last notice appearing seven days before the date of
the meeting in a newspaper of general circulation within the proposed district. The notice shall
be addressed to all qualified electors residing within the boundaries of the district, shall describe
the boundaries of the district, and shall state the date, time, and place of the meeting. If the
district is located within two or more counties, the county auditors of the counties shall confer
and set the date, time, and place of the meeting and shall cause the publication of the meeting
notice in each of said counties.
11-28.3-06. Organization - Board of directors.
At the time and place fixed by the county auditor for the public meeting as provided in
section 11-28.3-05, the qualified electors present who reside within the boundaries of the district
shall proceed to organize the district. Permanent organization must be effected by the election
of a board of directors consisting of not less than five nor more than ten residents of the district.
The board of directors shall meet as soon after the organizational meeting as possible to elect a
president, a vice president, and a secretary-treasurer. All directors and officers must be elected
for two years and hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified, except that
at the first election the vice president must be elected as provided in this section for a one-year
term, and one-half, or as close to one-half as possible depending upon the total number of
directors, of the directors elected at the first election after July 1, 1977, must be selected by lot
in the presence of a majority of such directors to serve one-year terms. All officers and directors
shall serve without pay.
11-28.3-07. Regular meeting to be held.
A regular meeting of the electors who reside within the boundaries of a district shall be held
in the first quarter of each calendar year, and special meetings may be called by the board of
directors at any time. The secretary-treasurer shall give notice of the meeting by one publication
in a legal newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the district is situated. The
meeting shall be held not less than seven nor more than fourteen days after the date of
publication of the notice.
11-28.3-08. Powers of board of directors.
The board of directors shall have the following general powers to:
1. Develop a general emergency medical service program for the district.
2. Make an annual estimate of the probable expense of carrying out the program.
3. Annually certify that estimate to the proper county auditor in the manner provided by
section 11-28.3-09.
4. Manage and conduct the business affairs of the district.
5. Make and execute contracts in the name of and on behalf of the district with regard to
a general emergency medical service program.
6. Purchase or lease ambulances, or other emergency vehicles, supplies, and other real
or personal property as shall be necessary and proper to carry out the general
emergency medical service program of the district.
7. Incur indebtedness on behalf of the district within the limits prescribed by section
11-28.3-10, authorize the issuance of evidences of indebtedness permitted under
section 11-28.3-10, and pledge any real or personal property owned or acquired by the
district as security for the same.
8. Organize, establish, equip, maintain, and supervise an emergency medical service
company to serve the district.
9. Generally perform all acts necessary to fully carry out the purposes of this chapter.
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11-28.3-09. Emergency medical service policy to be determined.
The board of directors shall establish a general emergency medical service policy for the
district and shall annually estimate the probable expense for carrying out that policy. The
estimate shall be certified by the president and secretary to the proper county auditor or county
auditors, on or before June thirtieth of each year. The auditor or auditors shall levy a tax not to
exceed ten mills upon the taxable property within the district for the maintenance of the
ambulance service district for the fiscal year as provided by law. The tax shall be:
1. Collected as other taxes are collected in the county.
2. Turned over to the secretary-treasurer of the rural ambulance service district, who
shall be bonded in the amount of at least five thousand dollars.
3. Deposited by the secretary-treasurer in a state or national bank in a district account.
4. Paid out upon warrants drawn upon the district account by authority of the board of
directors of the district, bearing the signature of the secretary-treasurer and the
countersignature of the president.
In no case shall the amount of the tax levy exceed the amount of funds required to defray the
expenses of the district for a period of one year as embraced in the annual estimate of expense,
including the amount of principal and interest upon the indebtedness of the district for the
ensuing year. The district may include in its operating budget no more than ten percent of its
annual operating budget as a depreciation expense to be set aside in a dedicated emergency
medical services sinking fund deposited with the treasurer for the replacement of equipment and
ambulances. The ten percent emergency medical services sinking fund may be in addition to
the actual annual operating budget, but the total of the annual operating budget and the annual
ten percent emergency medical services sinking fund shall not exceed the approved mill levy.
11-28.3-10. Indebtedness of district limited.
No district shall become indebted for an amount that may not be payable from ninety
percent of twenty times the current annual maximum tax levy as authorized by section
11-28.3-09. Within the limits herein authorized, the district may borrow money and issue
appropriate evidence of indebtedness. No evidence of indebtedness issued under the
provisions of this chapter and sold privately shall bear interest at a rate or rates and be sold at a
price resulting in an average annual net interest cost higher than eight percent. There shall be
no interest rate ceiling on those issues sold at public sale. No evidence of indebtedness issued
under the provisions of this chapter shall be sold for less than ninety-eight percent of par value
plus accrued interest, if any interest has accrued as of the date of delivery thereof.
11-28.3-11. Funds collected to be deposited.
All funds collected on behalf of the district through the levy of taxes, all donations,
contributions, bequests, or annuities, and all borrowed money received by or on behalf of the
district shall be deposited in a state or national bank to the credit of the district account and shall
be drawn out only by warrant.
Claim vouchers shall be authorized by the board of directors and shall bear the signature of
the secretary-treasurer and the countersignature of the president. The secretary-treasurer of the
district shall, at each annual public meeting of the district, present a financial report concerning
the affairs of the district.
11-28.3-12. Rural ambulance service district may enter into contract.
Any rural ambulance service district may enter into a contract with another rural ambulance
service district to consolidate or cooperate for mutual ambulance services or emergency vehicle
services, or may enter into a contract with any federal, state, or local government agency for
ambulance services or emergency vehicle services, upon terms suitable to all concerned.
11-28.3-13. Boundaries of rural ambulance service district - Dissolution of the district.
The boundaries of any rural ambulance service district organized under the provisions of
this chapter may be changed in the manner prescribed by sections 11-28.3-01 through
11-28.3-06, but a change in the boundary of a district does not impair or affect its organization or
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its right in or to property; nor does it impair, affect, or discharge any contract, obligation, lien, or
charge for or upon which it might be liable had such change of boundaries not been made.
When a boundary change is requested, the petition, notice of election, and ballot must all
indicate that the purpose of the election is to alter the boundaries of an existing rural ambulance
service district. The petition and notice of election must describe with particularity both the
present and the proposed boundaries of the district.
Dissolution of a rural ambulance service district may be accomplished in the manner
prescribed by sections 11-28.3-01 through 11-28.3-04. The petition and notice of election must
state that the purpose of the election is to dissolve the rural ambulance service district and must
describe its boundaries. The ballot to dissolve a rural ambulance service district must be in
substantially the following form:
Shall (name of taxing district or districts) cease to levy a tax for the purpose of maintaining a
rural ambulance service district, and shall such district be dissolved?
Yes â
No â
If a majority of all votes cast on the question are in favor of dissolution, then the district is
dissolved thirty days after the canvass of the votes. After all debts and obligations of the district
are paid, any remaining funds must be deposited in the general fund of the county in which the
district was contained. If the dissolved district was located in more than one county, then any
funds remaining after all debts and obligations are paid must be divided among those counties
in the same proportion as the geographical area of the district in each county bears to the total
geographical area of the dissolved district.
11-28.3-14. Payments by certain organizations.
Any property tax-exempt club, lodge, chapter, charitable home, dormitory, state or county
fair association, or like organization located within a rural ambulance service district and outside
the boundaries of any city shall pay to the board of directors of the district annually for
emergency medical service an amount agreed upon, but not less than twenty-five percent of the
amount which would be levied against the property under the provisions of this chapter if the
property were subject to levy.
Funds derived from such payments shall be expended by the district for emergency medical
service supplies and equipment and the training of emergency medical service personnel.
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