162A-87.1. Extension of water and sewer districts.

(a) Standards. - The board of commissioners may, by resolution, annex territory to any water and sewer district upon a finding that:

(1) The area to be annexed is contiguous to the district, with at least one eighth of the area's aggregate external boundary coincident with the existing boundary of the district;

(2) The residents of the territory to be annexed will benefit from the annexation; and

(3) It is economically feasible to provide the proposed service or services in the annexed district without unreasonable or burdensome annual tax levies.

(b) Annexation by Petition. - The board of commissioners may, by resolution, extend by annexation the boundaries of any water or sewer district when one hundred percent (100%) of the real property owners of the area to be annexed have petitioned the board for annexation to the water and sewer district.

(c) Annexation of Property within a City or Sanitary District. - Territory lying within the corporate limits of a city or sanitary district may not be annexed to a water and sewer district unless the governing body of the city or sanitary district agrees, by resolution, to the annexation.

(d) Report. - Before the public hearing required by subsection (e) of this section, the board of commissioners shall have prepared a report containing:

(1) A map of the water and sewer district and the adjacent territory, showing the present and proposed boundaries of the district; and

(2) A statement showing that the area to be annexed meets the standards and requirements established in subsections (a), (b), or (c) of this section.

(e) Hearing and Notice. - The board of commissioners shall hold a public hearing before adopting any resolution extending the boundaries of a water and sewer district. Notice of the hearing shall state the date, hour, and place of the hearing and its subject, and shall include a statement that the report required by subsection (d) of this section is available for inspection in the office of the clerk of the board of commissioners. The notice shall be published at least once not less than one week before the date of the hearing. In addition, unless the hearing is because of a petition for annexation submitted under subsection (b) of this section, the notice shall be mailed, at least four weeks before the date of the hearing, to the owners, as shown by the county tax records as of the preceding January 1, of all property located within the area to be annexed. The notice may be mailed by any class of U.S. mail which is fully prepaid. The person designated by the board of commissioners to mail the notice shall certify to the board of commissioners that the mailing has been completed, and his certificate shall be conclusive in the absence of fraud.

(f) Effective Date. - The resolution extending the boundaries of the district shall take effect at the beginning of a fiscal year commencing after its passage, as determined by the board of commissioners.