Sec. 1515.02. There is hereby established in the
department | 11 |
of natural resources the Ohio soil and water
conservation | 12 |
commission. The commission shall consist of seven
members of | 13 |
equal status and authority, four of whom shall be
appointed by the | 14 |
governor with the advice and consent of the
senate, and one of | 15 |
whom shall be designated by resolution of the
board of directors | 16 |
of the Ohio federation of soil and water
conservation districts. | 17 |
The other two members shall be the
director of agriculture and the | 18 |
vice-president for agricultural
administration of the Ohio state | 19 |
university. The director of
natural resources may participate in | 20 |
the deliberations of the
commission, but without the power to | 21 |
vote. A vacancy in the
office of an appointed member shall be | 22 |
filled by the governor,
with the advice and consent of the senate. | 23 |
Any member appointed
to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the | 24 |
expiration of the term
for which
histhe member's predecessor was | 25 |
appointed shall hold
office for the remainder of
suchthat term. | 26 |
Of the appointed members, two shall be
farmers and all shall be | 27 |
persons who have a knowledge of or
interest in the natural | 28 |
resources of the state. Not more than
two of the appointed | 29 |
members shall be members of the same
political party. | 30 |
The commission shall organize by selecting from its members
a | 41 |
chairmanchairperson and a
vice-chairmanvice-chairperson. The | 42 |
commission shall hold at
least one regular meeting in each quarter | 43 |
of each calendar year
and shall keep a record of its proceedings, | 44 |
which shall be open to
the public for inspection. Special | 45 |
meetings may be called by the
chairmanchairperson and shall be | 46 |
called by
himthe chairperson upon receipt of a written request | 47 |
signed
by two or more
members of the commission. Written notice | 48 |
of the
time and place of each
meeting shall be sent to each member | 49 |
of the
commission. A majority of the
commission
shall constitute | 50 |
a
quorum. | 51 |
The governor may remove any appointed member of the | 55 |
commission at any time for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or | 56 |
malfeasance in office, after giving to the member a copy of the | 57 |
charges against
himthe member and an opportunity to be heard | 58 |
publicly in person or by counsel in
histhe member's defense.
Any | 59 |
such act of removal by the governor is final. A statement of the | 60 |
findings
of the
governor, the reason for
histhe governor's | 61 |
action, and the
answer, if any, of the member shall be filed by | 62 |
the governor with the
secretary of
state and shall be open to | 63 |
public inspection. | 64 |
(A)
To determineDetermine distribution of funds under | 76 |
section
1515.14 of the Revised Code,
to recommend to the director | 77 |
of
natural resources and other agencies the levels of | 78 |
appropriations
to special funds established to assist soil and | 79 |
water
conservation districts, and
to recommend the amount of | 80 |
federal
funds to be requested and policies for the use of such | 81 |
funds in
support of soil and water conservation district programs; | 82 |
(D)
To adoptAdopt appropriate rules governing the conduct of | 91 |
referendums or elections provided for in
Chapter 1515. of the | 92 |
Revised Codethis chapter, subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised | 93 |
Code,
provided that only owners and occupiers of lands situated | 94 |
within
the boundaries of the districts or proposed districts to | 95 |
which
the
referendums or elections apply shall be eligible to vote | 96 |
in
such referendums orthe elections; | 97 |
Sec. 1515.15. A board of county commissioners may apply to | 110 |
the Ohio soil and water conservation commission for an advance of | 111 |
moneys from the soil and water conservation fund, which is hereby | 112 |
created in the state treasury, to enable
sucha soil and water | 113 |
conservation district to pay all
or part of the cost of surveys | 114 |
and plans, appraisals, estimates
of cost, land options, and other | 115 |
incidental expenses of
constructing works of improvement for
a | 116 |
soil and water
conservationthe district. The commission shall | 117 |
consider
suchthe application and shall recommend an amount of | 118 |
moneys reasonably
needed for
suchthat purpose. | 119 |
All such amounts received by any such district shall be | 125 |
repaid by the board of county commissioners to the state | 126 |
immediately upon the receipt by the board of funds from the sale | 127 |
of bonds or from other sources
whichthat may be used for that | 128 |
purpose, or in such number of equal annual installments, not | 129 |
exceeding five, and commencing at such time, as shall be
specified | 130 |
in the order of the commission. | 131 |
Upon receipt of sufficient and satisfactory evidence that
the | 132 |
board and district have proceeded in good faith andIf an | 133 |
unfavorable
referendum or court decision has denied the work of | 134 |
improvement, the controlling board, upon
receipt of sufficient and | 135 |
satisfactory evidence that the board and district have proceeded | 136 |
in good faith and the recommendation of the
commission, shall | 137 |
relieve the board or district of its repayment
obligation. | 138 |
Sec. 1515.24. (A) Upon receipt of a certification made by | 139 |
the
supervisors of a soil and water conservation district pursuant | 140 |
to
section 1515.20 of the Revised Code, the board of county | 141 |
commissioners may levy upon the property within the project area | 142 |
an assessment at a uniform or varied rate based upon the benefit | 143 |
to the area certified by the supervisors, as necessary to pay the | 144 |
cost of construction of the improvement not otherwise funded and | 145 |
to repay advances made for purposes of the improvement from the | 146 |
fund created by section 1515.15 of the Revised Code. The board
of | 147 |
county commissioners shall direct the person or authority | 148 |
preparing assessments to give primary consideration, in | 149 |
determining a parcel's estimated assessments relating to the | 150 |
disposal of water, to the potential increase in productivity that | 151 |
the parcel may experience as a result of the improvement and also | 152 |
to give consideration to the amount of water disposed of, the | 153 |
location of the property relative to the project, the value of
the | 154 |
project to the watershed, and benefits as defined in section | 155 |
6131.01 of the
Revised Code. The part
of the assessment that is | 156 |
found to benefit state, county, or
township
roads or highways or | 157 |
municipal streets shall be assessed against
the state, county, | 158 |
township, or municipal corporation,
respectively, payable from | 159 |
motor vehicle revenues. The
part of the assessment that is found | 160 |
to benefit property
owned by any
public corporation, any political | 161 |
subdivision of the state, or
the state shall be assessed against | 162 |
the public corporation, the
political subdivision, or the state | 163 |
and shall be paid out of the
general funds or motor vehicle | 164 |
revenues of the public
corporation, the political subdivision of | 165 |
the state, or the
state, except as otherwise provided by law. | 166 |
(C)Any land owned
and managed by the department of natural | 171 |
resources for wildlife,
recreation, nature preserve, or forestry | 172 |
purposes is exempt from
assessments if the director of natural | 173 |
resources determines that
the land derives no benefit from the | 174 |
improvement. In making such
a determination, the director shall | 175 |
consider the purposes for
which the land is owned and managed and | 176 |
any relevant articles of
dedication or existing management plans | 177 |
for the land. If the
director determines that the land derives no | 178 |
benefit from the
improvement, the director shall notify the board | 179 |
of county
commissioners,
within thirty days after receiving the | 180 |
assessment notification
required by this section, indicating that | 181 |
the director has
determined that
the land is to be exempt and | 182 |
explaining the specific reason
for
making this determination. The | 183 |
board of county commissioners, within thirty
days after receiving | 184 |
the director's exemption
notification, may appeal the | 185 |
determination to the
court of common
pleas. If the court of | 186 |
common pleas finds in favor of the board
of county commissioners, | 187 |
the department of natural resources
shall pay all court costs and | 188 |
legal fees. | 189 |
If the assessment is to be made at a varied rate, the(D)(1) | 190 |
The board shall give notice by first class mail to every public | 191 |
and
private property owner whose property is subject to | 192 |
assessment, at the
tax mailing or other known address of the | 193 |
owner. The notice shall contain a
statement of the amount to be | 194 |
assessed against the property of the addressee, a description of | 195 |
the method used to determine the necessity for and the amount of | 196 |
the proposed assessment,
and a statement
that the addressee may | 197 |
file an
objection in writing at the office
of the board of county | 198 |
commissioners within thirty days after the
mailing of notice. If | 199 |
the residence of any owner cannot be
ascertained, or if any
mailed | 200 |
notice is returned undelivered, the
board shall publish
the notice | 201 |
to all such owners in a newspaper
of general
circulation within | 202 |
the project area, at least once each
week for
three weeks, which | 203 |
notice shall include the information
contained
in the mailed | 204 |
notice, but shall state that the owner may
file
an objection in | 205 |
writing at the office of the board of county
commissioners within | 206 |
thirty days after the last publication of
the
notice. | 207 |
(2) Upon receipt of objections as provided in this section, | 208 |
the
board shall proceed within thirty days to hold a final hearing | 209 |
on the objections by fixing a date and giving notice by
first | 210 |
class mail to the objectors at the address
provided in filing
the | 211 |
objection. If any mailed notice is returned
undelivered, the | 212 |
board shall give due notice to the objectors in a newspaper
of | 213 |
general circulation in the project area, stating the time, place, | 214 |
and purpose of the hearing. Upon hearing the objectors, the board | 215 |
may amend and shall approve the final schedule of assessments by | 216 |
journal entry. | 217 |
(E) Any moneys collected in excess of the amount needed for | 231 |
construction of the improvement and the subsequent first year's | 232 |
maintenance may be maintained in a fund to be used for
maintenance | 233 |
of the improvement. In any year subsequent to a year
in which an | 234 |
assessment for construction of an improvement levied
under this | 235 |
section has been collected, and upon determination by
the board of | 236 |
county commissioners that funds are not otherwise
available for | 237 |
maintenance or repair of the improvement, the board
shall levy on | 238 |
the property within the project area an
assessment for maintenance | 239 |
at a uniform percentage of all
construction costs based upon the | 240 |
assessment schedule used in
determining the construction | 241 |
assessment. The assessment is not
subject to the provisions | 242 |
concerning notice and petition
contained in
this section
1515.25 | 243 |
of the Revised
Code. An assessment for
maintenance shall not be | 244 |
levied in any year in which
the
unencumbered balance of funds | 245 |
available for maintenance of the
improvement exceeds twenty per | 246 |
cent of the cost of
construction
of
the improvement, except that | 247 |
the board may adjust the level of
assessment within the twenty per | 248 |
cent limitation, or suspend
temporarily the levying of an | 249 |
assessment, for maintenance
purposes
as maintenance funds are | 250 |
needed. | 251 |