2009 Louisiana Laws TITLE 33 Municipalities and parishes :: RS 33:9073 The lake willow subdivision improvement district

§9073.  The Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District

A.  Creation.  The Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District, a special taxing district, hereinafter referred to as the "district", is hereby created in Orleans Parish.

B.  Boundaries.  The district shall be comprised of the area of Orleans Parish located between Morrison Road on the north, the Lawrence Drainage Canal on the west, the I-10 Service Road on the south, and on the east by a line approximately two hundred feet west of the west line of Crowder Road, excluding Lots 1B, 1C, and 1D shown on said plan, which said plan of subdivision is registered in COB692, folio202, Orleans Parish, comprising all of the Lake Willow Subdivision.

C.  Purpose.  The district is established for the primary object and purpose of promoting and encouraging the beautification, security, and overall betterment of the Lake Willow Subdivision.

D.  Governance.  (1)  In order for the orderly development and effectuation of the services to be furnished by the district and to provide for the representation in the affairs of the district of those persons and interests immediately concerned with and affected by the purposes and development of the area, the affairs of the district shall be managed by a nine-member board of commissioners appointed as follows:

(a)  The Lake Willow Homeowners Association's board of directors shall appoint five members.

(b)  The mayor of New Orleans shall appoint one member.

(c)  The member or members of the New Orleans city council who represent the area which comprises the district shall appoint one member.

(d)  The member or members of the Louisiana House of Representatives who represent the area which comprises the district shall appoint one member.

(e)  The member or members of the Louisiana Senate who represent the area which comprises the district shall appoint one member.

(2)  All members of the board shall own property within the district.

(3)  The members of the board shall serve without compensation.

(4)  The minute books and archives of the district shall be maintained by the board's secretary or acting secretary.  The monies, funds, and accounts of the district shall be in the official custody of the board.

(5)  The duties of the officers shall be fixed by bylaws adopted by the board.  The board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or advisable for conducting its business affairs which rules and regulations relative to public notice and conduct of public meetings shall all conform to the open meeting provisions of R.S. 42:4.1 et seq.  It shall hold regular meetings as shall be provided in the bylaws and may hold special meetings at such times and places within the district as may be prescribed in the bylaws.

(6)  A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.  The board shall keep minutes of all meetings and shall make them available through the board's secretary to members of the district.

E.  Taxing authority.  (1)  The city council of the city of New Orleans is hereby authorized to levy and collect the special taxes or fees, as authorized by the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District, as hereinafter specifically provided for a term not to exceed five years, which may be renewed in subsequent elections, from and after the date the first tax or fee is levied pursuant to the provisions of this Section in the same manner and at the same time as all other ad valorem taxes on property subject to taxation by the city are levied and collected, a special ad valorem tax or fee not to exceed three hundred fifty dollars upon all taxable real property situated within the boundaries of the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District.*  Any such unpaid tax or fee will be added to the tax rolls of the city and shall be enforced with the same authority and subject to the same penalties and procedures as are unpaid ad valorem taxes.  The fee or tax shall be imposed only after the question of its imposition has been approved by a two-thirds majority of the registered voters of the district, voting at an election held for that purpose in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code.  No other election shall be required except as provided by this Subsection.

(2)  The proceeds of said tax or fee shall be used solely and exclusively for the purposes and benefit of the district.  Said proceeds shall be paid over to the Board of Liquidation, City Debt, day by day as the same proceeds are collected and received by the appropriate officials of the city of New Orleans and maintained in a separate account.  The city of New Orleans shall remit to the district all amounts collected not more than thirty days after collection. However, the city may retain one percent of the amount collected as a collection fee.

F.  Budget.  (1)  The board of commissioners shall adopt an annual budget in accordance with the Local Government Budget Act, R.S. 39:1301 et seq.  The budget and all amendments shall be subject to the approval of the New Orleans city council.

(2)  The district shall be subject to audit by the legislative auditor pursuant to R.S. 24:513.

G.  Plan.  (1)  The board shall prepare or cause to be prepared a plan or plans, such plan or plans hereinafter referred to collectively as the "plan", specifying the public improvements, facilities, and services proposed to be furnished, constructed, or acquired for the district, and it shall conduct such hearings, publish notice with respect thereto, and disseminate such information as it in the exercise of its sound discretion may deem to be appropriate or advisable and in the public interest.

(2)  Any plan shall include:

(a)  An estimate of the annual and aggregate cost of acquiring, constructing, or providing the services, improvements, or facilities set forth therein.

(b)  An estimate of the taxes or fees required to be levied in each year on the taxable real property within the district in order to provide the funds required for the implementation or effectuation of the plan for furnishing the services specified and for capital improvements or debt service, or both.

H.  Miscellaneous provisions.  (1)  The district shall have the power, acting through its board, to enter into contracts with the New Orleans Police Department or with a private security company which has been certified by the superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department for the provision of security patrols in the district. The district will perform or have performed any other function or activity necessary for the achievement of its primary objective of encouraging the beautification, security, and overall betterment of the Lake Willow Subdivision Improvement District.

(2)  It is the purpose and intent of this Section that the additional security patrols, public or private, as provided through these taxes or fees authorized herein shall be supplemental to and not in lieu of personnel and services provided in the district by the New Orleans Police Department.

Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 143, §1, eff. May 5, 1998; Acts 1998, No. 53, §2, eff. June 24, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 1078, §2; Acts 1999, No. 1233, §2.

*As appears in enrolled bill.