2010 Wyoming Statutes
Title 18 - Counties
Chapter 12 - Improvement And Service Districts

CHAPTER 12 - Improvement and Service Districts

 

18-12-101. Title; purpose; application and construction.

 

This act may be cited as the "Improvement and Service District Act".

 

18-12-102. Definitions.

 

(a) As used in this act:

 

(i) "Assessed value" means the total assessed value of real property within the district. Assessed value shall be determined from the last assessment roll of the county within which the district is located;

 

(ii) "Board" means the board of directors of an improvement and service district;

 

(iii) "Bonds" means bonds, warrants, notes or other evidences of indebtedness of an improvement and service district;

 

(iv) "Charges" means fees, tolls, rates and rentals;

 

(v) "Commissioners" means the board of county commissioners;

 

(vi) "District" means an improvement and service district as organized under the terms of this act;

 

(vii) "Elector" or "voter" means a person who is a qualified elector or an owner of land in the district, including any corporation, partnership or association owning land in the district provided the individual who casts the vote for a corporation, partnership or association presents the election judge with a written authorization to vote for the corporation, partnership or association. No person is a qualified elector who is under eighteen (18) years of age, a mentally incompetent person, or who has been convicted of a felony and his civil or voting rights have not been restored. In applying provisions of the Special District Elections Act of 1994 to this act, the terms "elector" or "voter" shall include qualified electors and landowners;

 

(viii) "Improvement" means and includes buildings, structures and all facilities of a public nature intended for public use, including but not limited to streets, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, alleys and other public ways, parks, recreational facilities, water, sewage, solid waste disposal and other sanitary systems and facilities, and with respect to the foregoing, such additional facilities or improvements as relate or contribute to the full public use and enjoyment thereof;

 

(ix) "Service" means the operation and maintenance of improvements and any other service authorized by this act;

 

(x) "Landowner" or "owner of land" means the person or persons holding a majority interest in the record fee title to one (1) or more parcels of real property or a person or the persons who are obligated to pay general property taxes under a contract to purchase real property;

 

(xi) "This act" means W.S. 18-12-101 through 18-12-140;

 

(xii) "Written authorization" means an affidavit filed with the election official conducting the election setting forth a general legal description of the property owned, the street or common name address for the property, the name or names of all owners of the property described, and a statement that the person signing the written authorization is the only person having authority to act on behalf of the owner or owners of the property.

 

18-12-103. Districts authorized; general function.

 

 

(a) Any unincorporated territory in this state may be formed into an improvement and service district to perform any of the following functions:

 

(i) Acquire, construct, operate and maintain improvements of local necessity and convenience;

 

(ii) Obtain improvements or services hereunder by contracting for the same with any city, town, county or other entity;

 

(iii) Furnish or perform any special local service which enhances the use or enjoyment of any improvement or facility.

 

(b) A district is a separate entity and a political subdivision of the state.

 

(c) Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 157, 4.

 

18-12-104. Jurisdiction.

 

The commissioners of each county shall hear proceedings for the creation of improvement and service districts within the county which unless specifically otherwise provided, shall be governed by the Special District Elections Act of 1994.

 

18-12-105. Commencement by petition.

 

Proceedings for the formation of a district shall be commenced by filing a petition addressed to the commissioners of the county in which the land proposed to be included in the district is situated. The petition shall be accompanied by a filing fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00).

 

18-12-106. Petition for formation.

 

A petition to form a district shall be signed by not less than sixty percent (60%) of the persons owning land within the territory proposed to be included in the district, whose land in the proposed district has an assessed value of sixty percent (60%) or more of the assessed value of all of the land within the proposed district.

 

18-12-107. Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

 

18-12-108. Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

 

18-12-109. Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

 

18-12-110. Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

 

18-12-111. Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

 

18-12-112. Powers of district.

 

(a) Each district may:

 

(i) Have and use a corporate seal;

 

(ii) Sue and be sued, and be a party to suits, actions and proceedings;

 

(iii) Enter into contracts for the purpose of providing any authorized improvements and the maintenance and operation thereof, or otherwise to carry out the purposes of the district;

 

(iv) Accept from any public or private source grants, preferred loans, contributions and any other benefits available for use in the furtherance of its purposes;

 

(v) Borrow money and incur indebtedness and other obligations and evidence the same by certificates, notes or debentures, and issue bonds;

 

(vi) Assess the costs of improvements within the district against the property specially benefited upon a frontage, zone, or other equitable basis, in accordance with benefits;

 

(vii) Adopt bylaws not inconsistent with law;

 

(viii) Establish and collect charges for water, sanitation and related services and the use of improvements or services provided by the district, including authority to change the amount or rate thereof, and to pledge the revenues therefrom for the payment of district indebtedness;

 

(ix) Acquire and own or lease real or personal property, including easements and rights-of-way, within or without the district for district purposes;

 

(x) Contract with other districts for common use of improvements and services for the benefit of the inhabitants of all contracting districts;

 

(xi) Supply the inhabitants of the district with water for domestic and any other lawful use;

 

(xii) Provide for the collection, treatment or disposal of sewage, waste and storm water of the district and its inhabitants;

 

(xiii) Provide for the collection and disposal of garbage or refuse matter;

 

(xiv) Provide all services necessary to protect the health and welfare of residents in the district and the value of property therein and to enter into agreements with any public or private agency, institution or person for the furnishing of such services;

 

(xv) Provide for public recreation by means of parks, including but not limited to playgrounds, golf courses, swimming pools or recreation buildings;

 

(xvi) Provide for street lighting;

 

(xvii) Provide for the opening, widening, extending, straightening and surfacing in whole or part of any street and maintenance, reconstruction, snow removal and clearance for the same or other roads or streets;

 

(xviii) Provide for the construction, maintenance, reconstruction and improvement of bridges, culverts, curbs, gutters, drains and works incidental to any street improvement;

 

(xix) Provide subdivision control;

 

(xx) Do any and all other things necessary to carry out the purposes hereof;

 

(xxi) With the approval of the board of county commissioners, establish and collect charges for the use of any improvement to cover the cost of operating and maintaining the improvement. Following approval of the county commissioners and upon application by a district, an assessment roll shall be created by the county assessor's office to facilitate the collection of the improvement operation and maintenance charges, whether or not the assessor has created an assessment roll for the collection of indebtedness.

 

18-12-113. District board of directors.

 

(a) The district shall be managed and controlled by a board of directors consisting of three (3) or five (5) members. The initial board shall consist of three (3) or five (5) members elected at the organizational election. A simple majority of members shall serve an initial term of two (2) years and the remaining members shall serve an initial term of four (4) years after formation of the district and until their successors are elected and qualified at the regular scheduled subsequent director election as provided in W.S. 22-29-112. Thereafter, members shall be elected for terms of four (4) years. A vacancy occurring on the board during the term of an original director or his successor shall be filled as provided in the Special District Elections Act of 1994.

 

(b) Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 157, 4.

 

(c) Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 157, 4.

 

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, any district may increase or decrease the membership of its board from three (3) to five (5) members if a proposition for the modification is submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the district and a majority of those casting their ballots vote in favor of the increase or decrease. Additional offices created under this subsection shall be filled as provided in W.S. 22-29-112(a). At the election, not more than one (1) member shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, and the election ballots shall so state. Each term shall otherwise be four (4) years. A vote to decrease membership shall be in the election preceding the election of three (3) members.

 

18-12-114. Compensation; officers; rules and regulations; meetings.

 

 

(a) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance of their duties.

 

(b) The board shall adopt rules, regulations and procedures for the district whether or not included in its bylaws, including those to govern the use and enjoyment of public improvements, facilities and services of the district.

 

18-12-115. Cost assessed in accordance with benefits.

 

When an improvement proposed by the board will benefit specific property in the district to a greater extent than other property the improvement may be financed with an assessment against the property specially benefited upon a frontage, zone or other equitable basis, in accordance with benefits.

 

18-12-116. Resolution of intent to provide for special assessment.

 

 

(a) The board may declare by resolution their intent to order improvements to be paid for by special assessment. The resolution shall specify:

 

(i) The nature of the improvement proposed;

 

(ii) The extent of the district to be improved;

 

(iii) The probable cost per unit of measurement as shown by estimates of a qualified engineer;

 

(iv) The time in which the cost will be payable; and

 

(v) The time when a resolution authorizing the improvements will be considered.

 

(b) Any resolution or directive in the premises may be modified, confirmed or rescinded at any time prior to the passage of the resolution authorizing the improvements.

 

18-12-117. Notice of resolution; hearing; objections.

 

 

(a) At the request of the board the county clerk shall give notice, by advertisement once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, to the owners of the property to be assessed to provide:

 

(i) The nature of the improvement proposed;

 

(ii) The extent of the district to be improved;

 

(iii) The probable cost of the improvement;

 

(iv) The time at which the cost will be payable;

 

(v) The time when a resolution authorizing the improvements will be considered by the board;

 

(vi) That maps, estimates and schedules showing the approximate amounts to be assessed and all resolutions and proceedings are on file and may be seen or examined at the office of the county clerk or other designated place; and

 

(vii) That all complaints and objections concerning the proposed improvement by owners of property subject to assessment will be heard and considered by the board before final action, under the provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

 

(b) If objections to the improvement are made by owners or agents representing property subject to thirty percent (30%) or more of the projected dollar assessments the improvement may not be authorized and a new resolution for the same or a similar purpose encompassing property representing objections may not be considered within one (1) year thereafter.

 

18-12-118. Notice of apportionment; assessment roll.

 

(a) A copy of the resolution as finally adopted shall be recorded by the county clerk who shall within sixty (60) days after the adoption of the resolution by written notice, mailed or otherwise delivered, notify each owner of property to be assessed of the amount of assessment, the purpose for which the levy is made, the tax against each lot or parcel of land, and the date it becomes delinquent. The county clerk shall also notify each owner of property the amount of any operation and maintenance charges to be assessed within sixty (60) days after the assessment is approved by the board of county commissioners under W.S. 18-12-112(a)(xxi).

 

(b) The county assessor shall prepare a local assessment roll showing land assessed, the total amount of assessment and operation and maintenance charges if approved under W.S. 18-12-112(a)(xxi), the amount of each installment of principal and interest if the same is payable in installments, and the date when each installment will become due, and deliver the same, duly certified, to the county treasurer for collection.

 

18-12-119. Duty of county officials to levy and collect taxes.

 

The body having authority to levy taxes or make assessments within each county shall levy the taxes or assessments authorized herein and all officials charged with the duty of assessing property and collecting taxes shall assess property and collect proceeds at the time and in the form and manner with like interest and penalties as property is assessed and other taxes are collected, and when collected they shall pay the same to the district ordering the assessment or levy and collection. The payment of the collections shall be made monthly to the treasurer of the district and paid into its depository to the credit of the district. All taxes levied under this act, together with interest thereon and penalties for default in payment thereof, and all costs of collecting the same, constitute, until paid, a perpetual lien on and against the property taxed, and such lien shall be administered as and on a parity with the tax lien of other general taxes.

 

18-12-120. Bond elections; resolution for submission of proposition to voters.

 

By resolution of its board a district may submit to its qualified voters, by mail ballot or at an election on a date authorized under W.S. 22-21-103, as determined by the board of county commissioners, the proposition of issuing bonds pursuant to this act to provide funds for the acquisition, construction, improving or financing of improvements as well as performing services for the benefit of the residents of the district, including any or all expenses incidental thereto or connected therewith.

 

18-12-121. Contents of resolution; notice of election.

 

 

(a) The resolution shall:

 

(i) State the purpose for which the bonds are proposed to be issued;

 

(ii) State the estimated amount of money to be raised by the bond issue;

 

(iii) State the principal amount of the bonds;

 

(iv) State the maximum rate of interest on the bonds;

 

(v) Fix the date of the election;

 

(vi) Fix the manner of holding the election.

 

(b) The notice of bond election shall include the following information:

 

(i) The amount of the proposed bond issue;

 

(ii) The maximum maturity of the bonds;

 

(iii) Statement by the board of the need for the issuance of the bonds and the purposes for which the proceeds of the bonds shall be devoted;

 

(iv) A description of the exterior boundaries of the district;

 

(v) A general description of the proposed improvement, utility or local service to be provided by the district;

 

(vi) Repealed by Laws 1981, ch. 157, 4.

 

18-12-122. Election procedures.

 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the bond elections of districts shall be called by the board of county commissioners at the request of the district and held in accordance with election dates and procedures set forth in W.S. 22-21-101 through 22-21-112. A proposal submitted in the bond election shall be approved by a majority of the voters in the district casting ballots in the election.

 

(b) The bond election ballot shall specify the name of the district, the total amount of the proposed bond issue, the maximum interest rate payable thereon, the term of years over which the bonds shall be repaid, and a brief description of the improvements, facilities or utilities to be acquired or constructed and the services to be rendered with the proceeds thereof. The question to be submitted on the ballot after such description shall be as follows:

 

For Issuance of Bonds

 

Against Issuance of Bonds

 

The voter shall place a mark in the square space immediately following the proposition shown on the ballot.

 

(c) If requested in the petition and if approved by the commissioners, the commissioners may order that a bond election, as described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, be held concurrently with the organizational election, and if the bond election is ordered, the notice of election shall include the information required by W.S. 18-12-121(b). The judges of the election shall certify the returns of the election to the commissioners, and if a majority of the votes are in favor of the organization, the commissioners, by resolution shall declare the district organized.

 

(d) Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

(e) Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

(f) Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

(g) A written authorization for voting purposes shall be filed with the election official conducting the special district election not later than thirty (30) days prior to the election.

 

(h) In examining any written authorization required or permitted to be signed by landowners, the county clerk or district secretary shall accept the first written authorization filed unless prior to certification the secretary or county clerk is furnished with written evidence, satisfactory to the county clerk or district secretary, that a new representative has been appointed by the owners, signed by a majority of the persons named as owners on the previously filed written authorization or as shown on a copy of a recorded deed attached to the written authorization.

 

18-12-123. Resolution for issuance of bonds.

 

The board, by resolution, shall determine whether coupon bonds or registered bonds of the district shall be issued and sold to raise money for any of the purposes for which the district was formed, if the bonds are authorized, and shall similarly fix and determine the denomination of each bond, which shall be not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), and the rate of interest which shall be paid thereon, payable annually or semiannually as the board shall by resolution determine, and the resolution shall also fix the number of years that the whole or a part of the bonds shall run and the maturity thereof, neither of which shall exceed twenty-five (25) years from the date of the bond or the date of any series of the bonds.

 

18-12-124. Bonds secured by pledge of district.

 

The payment of the principal and interest on the bonds constitutes a liability of the district. The full faith and credit, and all taxable property lying within the district is pledged for the payment of the bonds in accordance with the terms thereof.

 

18-12-125. Exemption from taxation in this state.

 

The interest payable upon the bonds is exempt from any taxes levied or assessed by the state of Wyoming or any agency thereof.

 

18-12-126. Offer of bonds by the board; bond brochures.

 

 

(a) If the majority of the votes cast by the voters at the election on the proposition of issuing bonds of the district favors issuing the bonds, and if the issuance of the bonds is authorized by the board, the bonds may be sold at either public or private sale.

 

(b) After the voters of the district have approved issuance of the bonds, the board may prepare bond brochures to assist in the sale of the bonds. The board shall pay the expenses of preparing the bond brochures from the funds of the district or from the proceeds of the bond issue.

 

18-12-127. Deposit of proceeds of bonds.

 

Bonds issued by the board shall be sold at the time and in the amounts prescribed by the board but for not less than par. The proceeds of the sale of the bonds, exclusive of any premiums received, shall be deposited to the credit of the district in the county treasury. The proceeds deposited shall be drawn out as other district monies are drawn. The bond proceeds withdrawn shall not be applied to any purposes other than those for which the bonds were issued. Any premiums or accrued interest received from the sale of the bonds shall be deposited in the interest and sinking fund of the district. The expenses incurred for the preparation, sale and delivery of the bonds, including legal fees of independent bond counsel retained by the district are legal charges against the fund of the district and may be paid from the proceeds of the sale of the bonds.

 

18-12-128. Printing of bonds.

 

After ascertaining the best terms upon, and the lowest interest at which the bonds can be sold, the board shall cause the bonds to be printed, with coupons if any attached, and shall have the bonds consecutively numbered and properly executed.

 

18-12-129. Signature on bonds.

 

Bonds shall be signed by the chairman and the treasurer of the board and countersigned by the secretary of the board. Coupons, if any, shall be signed by the treasurer of the board. At least one (1) of the signatures or counter signatures on the bond shall be manually affixed. Other signatures or counter signatures may be printed or mechanically reproduced. It is not necessary for any bond to bear the seal of the district.

 

18-12-130. How bonds mature.

 

All bonds shall mature serially in substantially equal annual installments of principal, or upon an amortization plan for the bonds of the series, or upon an amortization plan for the proposed bonds and all outstanding bonds of the district, or in any other manner as the board may determine.

 

18-12-131. Bonds subject to call and redemption.

 

All or any part of the bonds issued by the board may be issued subject to call and redemption before maturity at the option of the board. Such bonds and the resolution authorizing issuance thereof shall contain a provision to that effect and the resolution shall contain the price at which the bond shall be redeemed.

 

18-12-132. Register of bonds.

 

The county treasurer of each county shall keep a bond registration book which shows at all times by proper designation bonds that are authorized and the name in which the owner of each bond is registered.

 

18-12-133. Requirement of indemnity bond.

 

The board shall require the county treasurer in whose custody the proceeds of the sale of bonds are placed to be bonded under a suitable bond indemnifying the district against loss.

 

18-12-134. Duty to levy tax for interest and redemption of outstanding bonds.

 

The commissioners shall annually levy a tax for that year upon the property of the district for the interest and principal falling due on all outstanding bonds of the district. The levy shall be made at the same time as the levy of taxes for county purposes. The tax shall be sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds as it becomes due and to provide a sinking fund for the payment of the principal on or before maturity and may include an allowance for an annual reserve established to adjust for fluctuating tax levies.

 

18-12-135. Disposition of proceeds of taxes collected.

 

All taxes levied and collected pursuant to the foregoing provision shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of the interest and sinking fund of the district and shall be used for the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds and for no other purpose.

 

18-12-136. Manner of payment of interest and principal of bonds.

 

The principal and interest on the bonds shall be paid in due course by the county treasurer of the county at the time and place required by the bonds.

 

18-12-137. Bonds eligible as investments.

 

The bonds issued under this act are eligible as legal investments for both public and private funds.

 

18-12-138. Repealed by Laws 1998, ch. 115, 5.

 

 

18-12-139. Rules and regulations; enforcement.

 

The board may adopt reasonable rules and regulations not inconsistent with law for the government and control of the district organization and to facilitate the collection of assessments or charges. All rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be promulgated in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and filed with the county clerk for each county in which the district is located.

 

18-12-140. Power to create local improvement districts vested in board.

 

In addition to all other powers provided in this chapter, the power to create local improvement districts in any district organized pursuant to this chapter, to assess the cost of the construction of public improvements of a local and municipal character or any part thereof against benefited property therein and to issue special assessment bonds, is vested in the board, and in exercising the powers granted in this section, the board need not follow the procedures listed elsewhere in this chapter but the local improvement districts shall be created, local improvements acquired, special assessments levied and collected, and special assessment bonds issued as provided in W.S. 15-6-101 through 15-6-448, except the board may act by resolution whenever W.S. 15-6-101 through 15-6-448 specify action by ordinance.