65.182 Procedures for creating taxing district. Except as otherwise provided by state law, the sole methods of creating a taxing district shall be in accordance with the following: (1) (a) Persons desiring to form a taxing district shall present a petition to the fiscal court clerk and to each member of the fiscal court, meeting the criteria of KRS 65.184, and signed by a number of registered voters equal to or greater than twenty-five percent (25%) of an average of the voters living in the proposed taxing district and voting in the last four (4) general elections. At time of its submission to fiscal court, each petition shall be accompanied by a plan of service, showing such of the following as may be germane to the purposes for which the taxing district is being formed: 1. The statutory authority under which the district is created and under which the taxing district will operate; 2. Demographic characteristics of the area including but not limited to population, density, projected growth, and assessed valuation; 3. A description of the service area including but not limited to the population to be served, a metes and bounds description of the area of the proposed taxing district, the anticipated date of beginning service, the nature and extent of the proposed service, the projected effect of providing service on the social and economic growth of the area, and projected growth in service demand or need; 4. A three (3) year projection of cost versus revenue; 5. Justification for formation of the taxing district including but not limited to the location of nearby governmental and nongovernmental providers of like services; and 6. Any additional information, such as land use plans, existing land uses, drainage patterns, health problems, and other similar analyses which bear on the necessity and means of providing the proposed service. (b) A majority of the members of a fiscal court may vote to form a taxing district set forth in a plan of service that shall contain those items set forth in paragraph (a)1. to 6. of this subsection as may be germane to the purposes for which the taxing district is being formed. (2) The fiscal court clerk shall notify all planning commissions, cities, and area development districts within whose jurisdiction the proposed service area is located and any state agencies required by law to be notified of the proposal for the creation of the taxing district. (3) The fiscal court clerk shall schedule a hearing on the proposal for no earlier than thirty (30) nor later than ninety (90) days following receipt of the petition, charter, and plan of service, and shall, in accordance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 424, publish notice of the time and place of the public hearing and an accurate map of the area or a description in layman's terms reasonably identifying the area. (4) At the public hearing, the fiscal court shall take testimony of interested parties and solicit the recommendations of any planning commission, city, area development district, or state agency meeting the criteria of subsection (2) of this section. (5) The fiscal court may extend the hearing, from time-to-time, for ninety (90) days from the date of the initial hearing and shall render a decision within thirty (30) days of the final adjournment of the hearing. (6) Following the hearing, the fiscal court shall set forth its written findings of fact and shall approve or disapprove the formation of the taxing district to provide service as described in the plan of service and to exercise the powers granted by the specific statutes that apply to the taxing district being formed. (7) The creation of a taxing district shall be of legal effect only upon the adoption of an ordinance, in accordance with the provisions of KRS 67.075 and 67.077, creating the taxing district, and compliance with the requirements of KRS 65.005. (8) A certified copy of the ordinance creating the taxing district shall be filed with the county clerk who shall add the levy to the tax bills of the county. For taxing purposes, the effective date of the tax levy shall be January 1 of the year following the certification of the creation of the taxing district. (9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to enlarge upon or to restrict the powers granted a taxing district under the taxing district's specific authorizing statutes. (10) In a county which does not contain a city of the first class, the fiscal court may adopt the procedures of KRS 65.192 to create a fire protection district or a volunteer fire department district, but only those qualified voters who live within the boundaries of the proposed district shall vote on the question of whether it shall be established. Effective: July 15, 2002 History: Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 361, sec. 12, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 155, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1994. -- Created 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 100, sec. 2, effective July 13, 1984.