48-1014. Powers and duties of an elected or appointed board of directors

A. The board of directors of a domestic water improvement district or domestic wastewater improvement district elected or appointed pursuant to this article shall have all the powers and duties of the board of supervisors sitting as the board of directors of a county improvement district formed for the purposes prescribed in section 48-909, subsection A, paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, including the related powers and duties prescribed in section 48-909, subsection B and section 48-910, and that are not in conflict with this article. A single district may be formed for or converted to a combination of water and wastewater purposes.

B. Additions to and alterations of the district shall be made as follows:

1. A petition addressed to the district governing board requesting the addition or alteration may be filed with the clerk of the governing body, if signed by a majority of the persons owning property and by the owners of fifty-one per cent or more of the assessed valuation of the property within the limits of the proposed addition or alteration.

2. A petition with the required number of signatures shall not be declared void on account of any alleged defect, but the governing body shall allow the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the requirements of this article. One or more similar petitions, or copies of the same petition with additional signatures, for the addition to or alteration of the improvement district may be filed before the time of the hearing on the first petition, and shall be considered as though filed with the first petition. The petition shall be presumed to contain the signatures of the persons whose signatures appear on the petition, unless the contrary is proved.

3. The petition shall set forth:

(a) The name of the improvement district to which the addition or alteration is proposed.

(b) The necessity for the proposed addition or alteration.

(c) That the public convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted by the addition or alteration of the district and that the property to be included in the district will be benefited.

(d) The boundaries of the proposed addition or alteration.

4. Each copy of the petition shall be verified by one of the petitioners and shall be accompanied by a plat or sketch indicating the approximate area and boundaries of the district.

5. On receipt of a petition for an addition or alteration of a district, the governing body shall set a date for a hearing on the petition not later than forty days after presentation of the petition. At the hearing all interested property owners may appear and be heard on any matter relating to the addition to or alteration of the district. Any person wishing to object to the addition or alteration may file, before the date set for the hearing, the person's objections with the clerk of the governing body.

6. Notice announcing the hearing and stating the boundaries of the proposed addition or alteration shall be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county within which the district is located. The publications shall be one week apart, and the first publication shall be not less than ten days before the date of the hearing. The notice shall also be mailed by first class mail at least twenty days before the hearing to the property owners within the area of the proposed addition or alteration according to the names and addresses that appear on the most recent property tax assessment roll.

7. At the hearing, if it appears after consideration of all objections that the petition is signed by the requisite number of property owners, and that the public convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted by the addition to or alteration of the district, the governing body by formal order shall declare its findings and order the addition to or alteration of the district.

8. If the governing board finds that the public convenience, necessity or welfare will not be promoted by the addition to or alteration of the district, the governing body by formal order shall declare its findings.

C. Notwithstanding subsection B of this section, any property owner whose land is within a county that contains an improvement district and whose land is adjacent to the boundaries of the improvement district may request in writing that the governing body of the district amend the district boundaries to include that property owner's land. If the governing body determines that the inclusion of that property will benefit the district and the property owner, the boundary change may be made by order of the governing body and is final on the recording of the governing body's order that includes a legal description of the property that is added to the district. A petition is not required for an amendment to an improvement district's boundaries made pursuant to this subsection.

D. On approval of any boundary change of the district, the district board may order the successful petitioners or requesters to pay all of the costs of the boundary change.