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Sub. H. B. No. 35 As Reported by the House Local Government and Public Administration CommitteeAs Reported by the House Local Government and Public Administration Committee
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Williams, B., Hagan, Boyd, Harris, Luckie, Amstutz
A BILL
To amend sections 6115.04, 6115.05, 6115.06, 6115.08,
6115.16, 6115.21, 6115.22, 6115.33, 6115.40,
6115.43, 6115.45, 6115.46, 6115.47, and 6115.69
and to enact sections 6115.051, 6115.081,
6115.082, 6115.091, 6115.092, 6115.093, 6115.094,
6115.095, 6115.096, and 6115.321 of the Revised
Code to revise the law governing sanitary
districts that are organized wholly for the
reduction of populations of biting arthropods.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 6115.04, 6115.05, 6115.06, 6115.08,
6115.16, 6115.21, 6115.22, 6115.33, 6115.40, 6115.43, 6115.45,
6115.46, 6115.47, and 6115.69 be amended and sections 6115.051,
6115.081, 6115.082, 6115.091, 6115.092, 6115.093, 6115.094,
6115.095, 6115.096, and 6115.321 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:
Sec. 6115.04. The court of common pleas of any county in
this state, when the conditions stated in section 6115.05 or
6115.051 of the Revised Code, as applicable, are found to exist,
may establish sanitary districts within the county in which the
court is located. Districts partly within and partly without such
county may also be established by a court comprised of one judge
of the court of common pleas from each county having area within
the district, as provided in section 6115.08 or 6115.081 of the
Revised Code, as applicable.
If there are but two judges who sit as a court under this
section, and the judges are unable to agree as to the
establishment of such district or upon any other question left for
their decision, then a third judge from a disinterested county
shall be appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court,
which judge shall sit with the other two judges, and the decisions
of a majority of the judges shall be final. Compensation for such
judge shall be fixed by the chief justice.
Sanitary districts may be established for any of the
following purposes:
(A) To prevent and correct the pollution of streams;
(B) To clean and improve stream channels for sanitary
purposes;
(C) To regulate the flow of streams for sanitary purposes;
(D) To provide for the collection and disposal of sewage and
other liquid wastes produced within the district;
(E) To provide a water supply for domestic, municipal, and
public use within the district, and incident to those purposes and
to enable their accomplishment to construct reservoirs, trunk
sewers, intercepting sewers, siphons, pumping stations, wells,
intakes, pipe lines, purification works, and treatment and
disposal works, to maintain, operate, and repair the same, to
acquire additional water supplies by purchase, and to do all other
things necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes of sections
6115.01 to 6115.79 of the Revised Code;
(F) To reduce populations of biting arthropods and abate
their breeding places, and incident to those purposes to purchase
supplies, materials, and equipment, to employ technicians and
laborers, to build, construct, maintain, and repair such
structures, devices, and improvements, to conduct studies and
surveys of the populations of biting arthropods and of the
incidence or spread within or among human or animal populations of
diseases transmitted by biting arthropods, and to do such other
things as are necessary or desirable to accomplish those purposes;
(G) To collect and dispose of garbage;
(H) To collect and dispose of any other refuse that may
become a menace to health.
Sec. 6115.05. Before any court establishes a sanitary
district as outlined in section 6115.04 of the Revised Code, a
petition shall be filed in the office of the clerk of said the
court, signed by five hundred freeholders, or by a majority of the
freeholders, or by the owners of more than half of the property,
in either acreage or value, within the limits of the territory
proposed to be organized into a district. Such a petition may be
signed by the governing body of any public corporation lying
wholly or partly within the proposed district, in such manner as
it prescribes, and when so signed by such governing body such a
petition on the part of said the governing body shall fill all the
requirements of representation upon such petition of the
freeholders of such public corporation, as they appear upon the
tax duplicate; and thereafter it is not necessary for individuals
within said the public corporation to sign such a petition. Such a
petition may also be signed by railroads and other corporations
owning lands.
Such petition may be filed by any city interested in some
degree in the improvement, upon proper action by its governing
body. Property in each political subdivision wholly or partly
included in the proposed district shall be represented by the
signers of the petition provided for by this section.
The petition for the establishment of a district to provide a
water supply for domestic, municipal, and public use shall be
signed by the governing body of each municipal corporation, or
part thereof included in the proposed district, or by a majority
of the freeholders of political subdivisions or parts thereof
included in the proposed district and lying outside municipal
corporations, and shall also be signed by the public service
corporation which that may be supplying water to the inhabitants
of such political subdivisions under franchise granted by the
governing bodies thereof.
The petition shall set forth the proposed name of said the
district, the necessity for the proposed work and that it will be
conducive to the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, or
welfare, and a general description of the purpose of the
contemplated improvement, and of the territory to be included in
the proposed district. Said The description need not be given by
metes and bounds or by legal subdivisions, but it is sufficient if
a generally accurate description is given of the territory to be
organized as a district. Said The territory shall include two or
more political subdivisions or portions thereof, and, except as a
subdistrict provided for by section 6115.69 of the Revised Code,
shall not be included wholly within the limits of a single
municipal corporation. Said The territory need not be contiguous,
provided that it is so situated that the public health, safety,
comfort, convenience, or welfare will be promoted by the
organization as a single district of the territory described.
Said The petition shall pray for the organization of the district
by the name proposed.
No petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared
void because of alleged defects, but the court may at any time
permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform
to the facts by correcting any errors in the description of the
territory, or in any other particular. Several similar petitions
or duplicate copies of the same petition for the organization of
the same district may be filed and shall together be regarded as
one petition. All such petitions filed prior to the hearing on
said the petition shall be considered by the court as though they
had been filed with the first petition placed on file.
In determining when a majority of landowners has signed the
petition, the court shall be governed by the names as they appear
upon the tax duplicate, which shall be prima-facie evidence of
such ownership.
This section does not apply to a sanitary district that is
proposed to be organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods. Instead, section 6115.051 of the Revised
Code applies to such a sanitary district.
Sec. 6115.051. (A) Before a court establishes a sanitary
district that is to be organized wholly for the reduction of
populations of biting arthropods as outlined in section 6115.04 of
the Revised Code, a petition shall be filed in the office of the
clerk of the court, signed by the lesser of five hundred
registered voters or ten per cent of the electors who voted for
the office of governor within the political subdivision in the
most recent gubernatorial election in each political subdivision
in which any portion of the sanitary district is proposed to be
located.
(B)(1) The petition shall set forth the proposed name of the
sanitary district, the purpose for the creation of the sanitary
district, and a general description of the territory to be
included in the proposed sanitary district. The description need
not be given by metes and bounds or by legal subdivisions, but it
is sufficient if a generally accurate description is given of the
territory to be organized as a sanitary district. The territory
shall include two or more political subdivisions or portions
thereof and shall not be included wholly within the limits of a
single municipal corporation. The territory need not be
contiguous, provided that it is so situated that the public
health, safety, comfort, convenience, or welfare will be promoted
by the organization as a single sanitary district of the territory
described.
(2) The petition shall request the organization of the
sanitary district by the name proposed.
(C) No petition with the requisite signatures shall be
declared void because of alleged defects, but the court at any
time may permit the petition to be amended in form and substance
to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the
description of the territory or in any other particular. Several
similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the
organization of the same sanitary district may be filed and shall
together be regarded as one petition. All such petitions that are
filed prior to the election on the petition shall be considered by
the court as though they had been filed with the first petition
placed on file.
(D) After receiving the petition with the requisite number of
signatures, the court shall submit the names and signatures of the
petitioners to the appropriate boards of elections of the counties
in which the petitioners reside for verification of the petition
signatures. The boards of elections shall notify the court of the
sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. If the petition
contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the court shall
follow the procedures established in section 6115.081 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 6115.06. At the time of filing the petition provided
for in section 6115.05 of the Revised Code, or at any time
subsequent thereto and prior to the time of the hearing on said
the petition, a bond shall be filed, with security approved by the
court, sufficient to pay all the expenses connected with the
proceedings in case the court refuses to organize the sanitary
district. If at any time during the proceeding the court is
satisfied that the bond first executed is insufficient in amount,
it may require the execution of an additional bond within a time
to be fixed, which shall be not less than ten days distant, and
upon failure of the petitioners to execute such additional bond
the petition shall be dismissed.
This section does not apply to a sanitary district that is
proposed to be organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods. Instead, section 6115.082 of the Revised
Code applies to such a sanitary district.
Sec. 6115.08. Any owner of real property in a proposed
sanitary district who individually has not signed a petition under
section 6115.05 of the Revised Code, and who wishes to object to
the organization and incorporation of said the district shall, on
or before the date set for the cause to be heard, file his the
owner's objections to the organization and incorporation of such
district. Such objections shall be limited to a denial of the
statements in the petition, and shall be heard by the court as an
advanced case without unnecessary delay.
Upon the hearing, if it appears that the purposes of sections
6115.01 to 6115.79, inclusive, of the Revised Code, would be
subserved served by the creation of a district, the court, after
disposing of all objections as justice and equity require, shall
by its findings, duly entered of record, adjudicate all questions
of jurisdiction, declare the district organized, and give it a
corporate name by which in all proceedings it shall thereafter be
known. A district so organized shall be a political subdivision of
the state and a body corporate with all the powers of a
corporation, and shall have perpetual existence, with power to sue
and be sued, to incur debts, liabilities, and obligations, to
exercise the right of eminent domain and of taxation and
assessment as provided in such sections, to issue bonds, and to do
all acts necessary and proper for the carrying out of the purposes
for which the district was created and for executing the powers
with which it is invested.
In such decree, the court shall designate the place where the
office or principal place of business of the district shall be
located, which shall be within the corporate limits of the
district if practicable, and which may be changed by order of
court. The regular meetings of the board of directors of the
district shall be held at such office or place of business, but
for cause may be adjourned to any other convenient place. The
official records and files of the district shall be kept at the
office so established.
If the court finds that the property set out in said the
petition should not be incorporated into a district, it shall
dismiss
said the proceedings, and adjudge the costs against the
signers of the petition in the proportion of the interest
represented by them.
After an order is entered establishing the district, such
order is final and binding upon the real property within the
district and finally and conclusively establishes the regular
organization of such district against all persons except the state
upon suit commenced by the attorney general. Any such suit must
shall be commenced within three months after said the decree
declaring such district organized. The organization of said the
district shall not be directly or collaterally questioned in any
suit, action, or proceeding except as expressly authorized in
sections 6115.01 to 6115.79, inclusive, of the Revised Code.
In the case of a district lying in more than one county, one
judge of the court of common pleas of each of the counties having
land in the district shall sit as a court in the courthouse where
the original petition was filed to make the findings required by
this section and by section 6115.16 of the Revised Code. A
majority of said the judges shall be necessary to render a
decision.
This section does not apply to a sanitary district that is
proposed to be organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods unless the board of health of a health
district having jurisdiction within the territory in which the
sanitary district is proposed to be located issues an order under
section 3709.20 or 3709.21 of the Revised Code, as applicable,
declaring a health emergency that requires the reduction of
populations of biting arthropods. Even if such an order is issued,
such a sanitary district does not have the power to exercise the
right of eminent domain and of taxation under this section.
Sec. 6115.081. (A) If it appears that the purposes of this
chapter would be served by the creation of a sanitary district
that is to be organized wholly for the reduction of populations of
biting arthropods, the court shall submit the question of whether
such a sanitary district shall be created to the electors residing
within the territory in which the sanitary district is proposed to
be located.
(B) The court shall certify a copy of the court order
proposing to create the sanitary district to the board of
elections of each county in which any territory of the proposed
sanitary district is located. The board of elections of each such
county shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of
the question to the electors of the proposed sanitary district on
the day specified in the order and occurring not less than
seventy-five days after the order is certified to the board of
elections. The election shall be held, canvassed, and certified in
the same manner as regular elections for the election of county
officers.
(C) Notice of the election shall be published in one or more
newspapers that, in the aggregate, are of general circulation in
the territory of the proposed sanitary district. The notice of the
election shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks
prior to the election. If an applicable board of elections
operates and maintains a web site, notice of the election also
shall be posted on that web site for thirty days prior to the
election. The notice shall state the purpose for the creation of
the sanitary district and the time and place of the election.
(D) The form of the ballot cast at the election shall be as
follows:
"Shall a sanitary district organized wholly for the reduction
of populations of biting arthropods be created encompassing
property located within the ........ (name of political
subdivisions)?
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For the creation |
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Against the creation |
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(E)(1) If a majority of the electors voting on the question
of creating the sanitary district vote in favor of the creation,
the court shall declare the sanitary district organized and give
it a corporate name by which it shall thereafter be known in all
proceedings. A sanitary district so organized is a political
subdivision of the state and a body corporate with all the powers
of a corporation and shall have perpetual existence, with power to
sue and be sued, to incur debts, liabilities, and obligations, to
exercise the right of assessment as provided in this chapter, to
issue bonds, and to perform all acts that are necessary and proper
for carrying out the purposes for which the sanitary district was
created and for executing the powers with which it is invested. A
sanitary district that is organized wholly for the reduction of
populations of biting arthropods does not have the power to levy a
property tax or to exercise the right of eminent domain under this
chapter.
(2) In its decree, the court shall designate the place where
the office or principal place of business of the sanitary district
shall be located, which shall be within the corporate limits of
the sanitary district if practicable and which may be changed by
order of the court. The regular meetings of the board of directors
of the sanitary district shall be held at that office or place of
business, but for cause may be adjourned to any other convenient
place. The official records and files of the sanitary district
shall be kept at the office so established.
(3) After an order is entered establishing the sanitary
district, the order is final and binding on the real property
within the sanitary district. The organization of the sanitary
district shall not be directly or collaterally questioned in any
suit, action, or proceeding except as expressly authorized in this
chapter.
(4) In the case of a sanitary district lying in more than one
county, one judge of the court of common pleas of each of the
counties having land in the sanitary district shall sit as a court
in the courthouse where the original petition was filed for the
purposes of this section and to make the findings required by
section 6115.16 of the Revised Code. A majority of the judges
shall be necessary to render a decision.
Sec. 6115.082. At the time of filing the petition provided
for in section 6115.051 of the Revised Code, or at any time
subsequent to the filing and prior to the election on the
petition, a bond shall be filed, with security approved by the
court, sufficient to pay all of the expenses connected with the
proceedings in case the electors voting on the question of
creating a sanitary district in accordance with section 6115.081
of the Revised Code vote against the creation of the sanitary
district. If at any time during the proceeding the court is
satisfied that the bond first executed is insufficient in amount,
it may require the execution of an additional bond within a time
to be fixed, which shall be not less than ten days distant, and
upon failure of the petitioners to execute the additional bond,
the petition shall be dismissed.
Sec. 6115.091. (A) If the board of directors of a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods wishes to expand the sanitary district beyond
its existing territory, the board shall file a petition in the
office of the clerk of the court, signed by the lesser of five
hundred registered voters or ten per cent of the electors who
voted for the office of governor within the political subdivision
in the most recent gubernatorial election in each political
subdivision in which any portion of the sanitary district is
located and in each political subdivision in which any territory
is located that is proposed to be included in the sanitary
district by expansion.
(B)(1) The petition shall set forth the reason for the
expansion of the sanitary district and a general description of
the territory that is proposed to be included in the sanitary
district. The description need not be given by metes and bounds or
by legal subdivisions, but it is sufficient if a generally
accurate description is given of the territory that is proposed to
be included in the sanitary district. The territory in the
proposed expansion need not be contiguous to the territory that is
located in the sanitary district, provided that the expanded
territory is so situated that the public health, safety, comfort,
convenience, or welfare will be promoted by the inclusion of the
territory described.
(2) The petition shall request that the sanitary district be
expanded to include the territory described in the petition.
(C) No petition with the requisite signatures shall be
declared void because of alleged defects, but the court at any
time may permit the petition to be amended in form and substance
to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the
description of the territory or in any other particular. Several
similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the
expansion of the sanitary district may be filed and shall together
be regarded as one petition. All such petitions that are filed
prior to the election on the petition shall be considered by the
court as though they had been filed with the first petition placed
on file.
(D) After receiving the petition with the requisite number of
signatures, the court shall submit the names and signatures of the
petitioners to the appropriate boards of elections of the counties
in which the petitioners reside for verification of the petition
signatures. The boards of elections shall notify the court of the
sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. If the petition
contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the court shall
follow the procedures established in section 6115.092 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 6115.092. (A) If it appears that the purposes of this
chapter would be served by the expansion of a sanitary district
that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations of
biting arthropods, the court shall submit the question of whether
such a sanitary district shall be expanded to the electors
residing in the sanitary district and in the territory that is
proposed to be included in the sanitary district by expansion.
(B) The court shall certify a copy of the court order
proposing to expand the sanitary district to the board of
elections of each county in which any territory that is included
in the sanitary district or that is proposed to be included in the
sanitary district is located. The board of elections of each such
county shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of
the question to the electors of the sanitary district or of the
proposed expansion of the sanitary district, as applicable, on the
day specified in the order and occurring not less than
seventy-five days after the order is certified to the board of
elections. The election shall be held, canvassed, and certified in
the same manner as regular elections for the election of county
officers.
(C) Notice of the election shall be published in one or more
newspapers that, in the aggregate, are of general circulation in
the sanitary district and in the territory that is proposed to be
included in the sanitary district. The notice of the election
shall be published once a week for two consecutive weeks prior to
the election. If an applicable board of elections operates and
maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted
on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice
shall state the purpose for the expansion of the sanitary district
and the time and place of the election.
(D) The form of the ballot cast at the election shall be as
follows:
"Shall the .......... (name of sanitary district) be expanded
to include property located within the .......... (name of
political subdivisions)?
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For the expansion |
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Against the expansion |
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(E) If a majority of the electors voting on the question of
expanding the sanitary district vote in favor of the expansion,
the court shall declare that the territory that is proposed to be
included in the expansion is part of the sanitary district. The
court may give the sanitary district a new corporate name that
includes the expanded territory by which it shall thereafter be
known in all proceedings.
Sec. 6115.093. (A) If the board of directors of a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods receives a petition for the withdrawal of a
political subdivision from the sanitary district, signed by the
lesser of five hundred registered voters or ten per cent of the
electors who voted for the office of governor within the political
subdivision in the most recent gubernatorial election in the
political subdivision, the board shall file the petition in the
office of the clerk of the court.
(B) The petition shall set forth the reason for the
withdrawal of the political subdivision from the sanitary district
and shall request the withdrawal of the political subdivision from
the sanitary district.
(C) No petition with the requisite signatures shall be
declared void because of alleged defects, but the court at any
time may permit the petition to be amended in form and substance
to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the
description of the territory or in any other particular. Several
similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the
withdrawal of a political subdivision from the sanitary district
may be filed and shall together be regarded as one petition. All
such petitions that are filed prior to the election on the
petition shall be considered by the court as though they had been
filed with the first petition placed on file.
(D) After receiving the petition with the requisite number of
signatures, the court shall submit the names and signatures of the
petitioners to the appropriate boards of elections of the counties
in which the petitioners reside for verification of the petition
signatures. The boards of elections shall notify the court of the
sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. If the petition
contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the court shall
follow the procedures established in section 6115.094 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 6115.094. (A) If the applicable boards of elections
notify the court that a petition to withdraw a political
subdivision from a sanitary district that is organized wholly for
the reduction of populations of biting arthropods contains a
sufficient number of valid signatures as provided in section
6115.093 of the Revised Code, the court shall submit the question
of whether the political subdivision shall withdraw from the
sanitary district to the electors residing in the political
subdivision.
(B) The court shall certify a copy of the court order
proposing the withdrawal of the political subdivision from the
sanitary district to the board of elections of each county in
which any territory of the political subdivision is located. The
board of elections of each such county shall make the necessary
arrangements for the submission of the question to the electors of
the proposed withdrawal of the political subdivision from the
sanitary district on the day specified in the order and occurring
not less than seventy-five days after the order is certified to
the board of elections. The election shall be held, canvassed, and
certified in the same manner as regular elections for the election
of county officers.
(C) Notice of the election shall be published in one or more
newspapers that, in the aggregate, are of general circulation in
the political subdivision that is proposed to be withdrawn from
the sanitary district. The notice of the election shall be
published once a week for two consecutive weeks prior to the
election. If an applicable board of elections operates and
maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted
on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice
shall state the reason for the withdrawal of the political
subdivision from the sanitary district and the time and place of
the election.
(D) The form of the ballot cast at the election shall be as
follows:
"Shall the .......... (name of the political subdivision) be
withdrawn from the .......... (name of sanitary district)?
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For the withdrawal |
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Against the withdrawal |
" |
(E) If a majority of the electors voting on the question of
withdrawing the political subdivision from the sanitary district
vote in favor of the withdrawal, the court shall declare the
political subdivision withdrawn from the sanitary district. The
withdrawal shall take effect one year after the electors vote in
favor of the withdrawal. The court shall conclude the affairs of
the political subdivision with regard to the sanitary district.
For that purpose, all the claims, demands, or interests of
creditors or claimants shall be determined as of the day on which
the court declares the political subdivision withdrawn from the
sanitary district.
(F) If a political subdivision withdraws from a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods under this section and the sanitary district
then consists of only one political subdivision, the requirement
in section 6115.051 of the Revised Code that the territory in such
a sanitary district include two or more political subdivisions or
portions thereof does not apply to that sanitary district.
Sec. 6115.095. (A) If the board of directors of a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods receives a petition for the dissolution of
the sanitary district, signed by the lesser of five hundred
registered voters or ten per cent of the electors who voted for
the office of governor within the political subdivision in the
most recent gubernatorial election in each political subdivision
that has territory that is included in the sanitary district, the
board shall file the petition in the office of the clerk of the
court.
(B) The petition shall set forth the reason for the
dissolution of the sanitary district and shall request the
dissolution of the sanitary district.
(C) No petition with the requisite signatures shall be
declared void because of alleged defects, but the court at any
time may permit the petition to be amended in form and substance
to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the
description of the territory or in any other particular. Several
similar petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the
dissolution of the sanitary district may be filed and shall
together be regarded as one petition. All such petitions that are
filed prior to the election on the petition shall be considered by
the court as though they had been filed with the first petition
placed on file.
(D) After receiving the petition with the requisite number of
signatures, the court shall submit the names and signatures of the
petitioners to the appropriate boards of elections of the counties
in which the petitioners reside for verification of the petition
signatures. The boards of elections shall notify the court of the
sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. If the petition
contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the court shall
follow the procedures established in section 6115.096 of the
Revised Code.
Sec. 6115.096. (A) If the applicable boards of elections
notify the court that a petition to dissolve a sanitary district
that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations of
biting arthropods contains a sufficient number of valid signatures
as provided in section 6115.095 of the Revised Code, the court
shall submit the question of whether such a sanitary district
shall be dissolved to the electors residing in the sanitary
district.
(B) The court shall certify a copy of the court order
proposing to dissolve the sanitary district to the board of
elections of each county in which any territory of the sanitary
district is located. The board of elections of each such county
shall make the necessary arrangements for the submission of the
question to the electors of the proposed dissolution of the
sanitary district on the day specified in the order and occurring
not less than seventy-five days after the order is certified to
the board of elections. The election shall be held, canvassed, and
certified in the same manner as regular elections for the election
of county officers.
(C) Notice of the election shall be published in one or more
newspapers that, in the aggregate, are of general circulation in
the sanitary district. The notice of the election shall be
published once a week for two consecutive weeks prior to the
election. If an applicable board of elections operates and
maintains a web site, notice of the election also shall be posted
on that web site for thirty days prior to the election. The notice
shall state the reason for the dissolution of the sanitary
district and the time and place of the election.
(D) The form of the ballot cast at the election shall be as
follows:
"Shall the .......... (name of sanitary district) be
dissolved?
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For the dissolution |
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Against the dissolution |
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(E) If a majority of the electors voting on the question of
dissolving the sanitary district vote in favor of the dissolution,
the court shall declare the sanitary district dissolved. The
dissolution shall take effect one year after the electors vote in
favor of the dissolution. The court shall conclude the affairs of
the sanitary district. For that purpose, all the claims, demands,
or interests of creditors or claimants shall be determined as of
the day on which the court declares the sanitary district
dissolved.
Sec. 6115.16. Upon its qualification, the board of directors
of a sanitary district shall prepare a plan for the improvement
for which the district was created. The plan shall include such
maps, profiles, plans, and other data and descriptions as are
necessary to set forth properly the location and character of the
work, and of the property benefited or taken or damaged, with
estimates of cost. In the case of a district organized wholly or
partly for the reduction of populations of biting arthropods, the
plan is sufficient if it includes a description, in general terms,
of the methods of reducing such populations to be utilized, and it
shall not be necessary to indicate in the plan the particular
parcels of land in the district where the physical structures,
devices, or improvements incident to the reduction of such
populations are to be constructed or where the labor incident to
the reduction of biting arthropod populations will be employed.
In the preparation of the plan, the board may recognize the
necessity of future extensions and enlargements that may result
from enlargements of the area of the district, in order that the
district improvements may be designed to meet properly the
increased demands. The plan for a water supply for domestic,
municipal, and public use shall be prepared with recognition of an
equitable apportionment of the available supply to each political
subdivision within the district. If the purposes for which the
district was established include both improved sanitation and
improved water supply, a plan shall be prepared for each purpose.
If the board finds that any former survey made by any other
district or in any other manner is useful for the purposes of the
district, the board may take over the data secured by such survey,
or such other proceedings as is are useful to it, and may pay
therefor an amount equal to the value of such data to the
district.
Upon the completion of the plan, the board shall submit it to
the environmental protection agency for approval. In deciding
whether to approve or reject the plan, the agency shall consider,
among other factors, the protection of the public health, and
compliance with air and water quality standards and regulations
and solid waste disposal requirements. If the agency rejects the
plan, the board shall proceed as in the first instance under this
section to prepare another plan. If the agency refers the plan to
the board for amendment, the board shall prepare and submit an
amended plan to the agency. If the agency approves the plan, a
copy of the action of the agency shall be filed with the secretary
of the district and by him the secretary incorporated into the
records of the district.
Upon the approval of the plan by the agency, the board shall
cause notice by publication to be given in each county of the
district of the completion of the plan, and shall permit the
inspection of the plan at its office by all persons interested.
The notice shall fix the time and place for the hearing of all
objections to the plan, which shall be not less than twenty nor
more than thirty days after the last publication of the notice.
All objections to the plan shall be in writing and filed with the
secretary at his the secretary's office not more than ten days
after the last publication of the notice. After the hearing before
the board, the board shall adopt the plan as the official plan of
the district. If any persons object to the official plan, so
adopted, then those persons may, within ten days from the adoption
of the official plan, file their objections in writing, specifying
the features of the plan to which they object, in the original
case establishing the district in the office of the clerk of the
court, who shall fix a day for the hearing of the objections
before the court, which shall be not less than twenty nor more
than thirty days after the time fixed for filing objections, at
which time the judges, sitting as a court as provided in section
6115.08 or 6115.081 of the Revised Code, as applicable, for the
organization of the district, shall meet at the courthouse of the
county where the original case is pending and hear the objections
and adopt, reject, or refer back the plan to the board. A majority
of the judges shall control. If the court rejects the plan, the
board shall proceed as in the first instance under this section to
prepare another plan. If the court refers the plan to the board
for amendment, then the court shall continue the hearing to a day
certain without publication of notice. If the court approves the
plan as the official plan of the district, a certified copy of the
journal of the court shall be filed with the secretary, and by him
the secretary incorporated into the records of the district.
The official plan may be altered in detail until the
assessment roll is filed, and of all the alterations the board of
appraisers of the sanitary district shall take notice. After the
assessment roll has been filed in court, no alterations of the
official plan shall be made except as provided in section 6115.40
of the Revised Code.
The board of directors of a sanitary district shall have full
power and authority to devise, prepare for, execute, maintain, and
operate all works or improvements necessary or desirable to
complete, maintain, operate, and protect the official plan. It may
secure and use men personnel and equipment under the supervision
of the chief engineer or other agents, or it may let contracts for
such works, either as a whole or in parts.
Sec. 6115.21. The board of directors of a sanitary district,
when it is necessary for the purposes of sections 6115.01 to
6115.79, inclusive, of the Revised Code this chapter, shall have a
dominant right of eminent domain over the right of eminent domain
of railroad, telegraph, telephone, gas, water power, and other
companies and corporations, and over townships, counties, and
municipal corporations.
In the exercise of this right due care shall be taken to do
no unnecessary damage to other public utilities, and, in case of
failure to agree upon the mode and terms of interference, not to
interfere with their operation or usefulness beyond the actual
necessities of the case, due regard being paid to the other public
interests involved.
This section does not apply to a sanitary district that is
organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods.
Sec. 6115.22. The board of directors of a sanitary district
may condemn for the use of the district, any land or property
within or without said district not acquired or condemned by the
court on the report of the board of appraisers of the sanitary
district, according to the procedure provided by sections 163.01
to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code, instead of having
appraisals and assessments made by the board of appraisers.
This section does not apply to a sanitary district that is
organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods.
Sec. 6115.321. Sections 6115.31 and 6115.32 of the Revised
Code do not apply to the proposed inclusion of land in a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods. Instead, such an inclusion is governed by
sections 6115.091 and 6115.092 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 6115.33. The board of appraisers of a sanitary district
shall prepare a report of its findings, which shall be arranged in
tabular form and bound in book form, and which shall be known as
the "sanitary district appraisal record." In case the purposes of
the district include both improved sanitation and improved water
supply, the board shall prepare a separate report for each
purpose. Such record shall contain the name of the owner of
property appraised as it appears on the tax duplicate or the deed
records, a description of the property appraised, the amount of
benefits appraised, the amount of damages appraised, and the
appraised value of land or other property
which that may be taken,
except by a sanitary district that is organized wholly for the
reduction of populations of biting arthropods, for the purposes of
the district. The board shall also report any other benefits or
damages or any other matter which in its opinion should be brought
to the attention of the court. No error in the names of the owners
of real property or in the descriptions thereof shall invalidate
said appraisal or the levy of assessments or taxes based thereon,
if sufficient description is given to identify such real property.
When such report is completed, it shall be signed by at least
a majority of the board and deposited with the clerk of the court
who shall file it in the original case. At the same time copies of
that part of the report giving the appraisal of benefits and
appraisals of land to be taken and of damages in any county shall
be made, certified to, and filed with the clerk of the court of
common pleas of such county.
Sec. 6115.40. The board of directors of a sanitary district
may at any time, when necessary to fulfill the objects for which
the district was created, alter or add to the official plan. When
such alterations or additions are formally approved by the board,
by the environmental protection agency, and by the court, and are
filed with the secretary of the sanitary district, they shall
become part of the official plan for all purposes of this chapter.
Where such alterations or additions in the judgment of the court
neither materially modify the general character of the work, nor
materially increase resulting damages for which the board is not
able to make amicable settlement, no action other than a
resolution of the board and approval by the environmental
protection agency is necessary for the approval of such
alterations or additions. In case the proposed alterations or
additions materially modify the general character of the work or
materially modify the resulting damages or materially reduce the
benefits, for which the board is not able to make amicable
settlement, or materially increase the benefits in such a manner
as to require a new appraisal, the court shall direct the board of
appraisers of the sanitary district, which may be the original
board, or a new board appointed by the court on petition of the
board of directors or otherwise, to appraise the property to be
taken, benefited, or damaged by the proposed alterations or
additions, or to be taken by a sanitary district that is not
organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods.
Upon the completion of the report by the board of appraisers,
notice shall be given and a hearing had on its report in the same
manner as in the case of the original report of the board of
appraisers, and the same right of appeal to a jury exists. Where
few landowners are affected, the clerk of the court may, on order
of the court, if found to be more economical and convenient, give
personal notice of the pendency of the report of the board of
appraisers, instead of notice by publication. When the only
question at issue is additional damages or reduction of benefits
to property due to modification or additions to the plans, the
board of directors may, if it finds it practicable, make
settlements with the owners of the property damaged, instead of
having appraisals made by the board of appraisers. In case such
settlements are made, notice and hearing need not be had. After
bonds have been sold, in order that their security may not be
impaired, no reduction shall be made in the amount of benefits
appraised against property in the district. This section applies
to all changes in appraisals under this chapter.
Sec. 6115.43. In case any real property within or without
any sanitary district is benefited, which, for any reason, was not
appraised in the original proceedings, or was not appraised to the
extent of benefits received, or in case any person, public
corporation, or other district makes use of or profits by the
works of any district to a degree not compensated for in the
original appraisal, or in case the board of directors of the
sanitary district finds it necessary, subsequent to the time when
the first appraisals are made, to take or damage any additional
property, the board of directors, at any time that condition
becomes evident, shall direct the board of appraisers of the
sanitary district to appraise the benefits or enhanced benefits
received by that property, or the damages or value of property
taken. Only the board of appraisers of a sanitary district that is
not organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods shall be directed to appraise the value of property
taken. Proceedings outlined in sections 6115.01 to 6115.79 of the
Revised Code for appraising lands not at first included within the
boundaries of the district shall in all matters be conformed with,
including notice to the parties, or the board of directors may
make any suitable settlement with the person, public corporation,
or other district for the use, benefit, damage, or property taken.
In the case of a district organized wholly for the reduction
of populations of biting arthropods, if the board of appraisers
determines that each parcel of real property in the district
receives a portion of the benefits received by the entire district
in the same proportion that its taxable value bears to the taxable
value of all the real property in the district, and the court
confirms the determination of the board, the assessments for the
reduction of such populations shall be uniformly apportioned
throughout the district on that basis.
Sec. 6115.45. The moneys of every sanitary district shall
consist of three separate funds:
(A) The "preliminary fund" consisting of the proceeds of the
ad valorem tax authorized by section 6115.46 of the Revised Code,
and such advancements as are made from the general county funds as
provided in section 6115.46 of the Revised Code, except that a
sanitary district that is organized wholly for the reduction of
populations of biting arthropods is not required to have a
preliminary fund unless it contains advancements from the county
general fund;
(B) The "bond fund" consisting of the proceeds of levies made
against the special assessments of benefits equalized and
confirmed under this chapter, and, as to sanitary districts
organized for the purpose of providing a water supply, the
proceeds of the sale of water pursuant to section 6115.19 of the
Revised Code and the proceeds of bonds issued under this chapter;
(C) The "maintenance fund" consisting of a special assessment
to be levied annually for the purpose of upkeep, administration,
and current expenses as provided in section 6115.53 of the Revised
Code, except that the maintenance fund for improved water supply
for domestic, municipal, and public use shall be derived from the
sale of water as provided in such section.
The cost of preparing the official plan, the appraisal,
except as paid out of the preliminary fund, the entire cost of
construction and superintendence, including all charges incidental
thereto, the financing costs as defined in section 133.01 of the
Revised Code, and the cost of administration during the period of
construction shall be paid out of the bond fund. No vouchers shall
be drawn against the preliminary fund, except for advances from
the general county funds, or against the maintenance fund provided
for purposes other than improved water supply for domestic,
municipal, and public use, until a tax-levying resolution has been
properly passed by the board of directors of the sanitary
district, and duly entered upon its records. In case the purposes
of the district include both improved sanitation and improved
water supply, the funds for these purposes shall be kept separate.
Sec. 6115.46. After the filing of a petition for the
organization of a sanitary district, and before the district is
organized, the costs of publication and other official costs of
the proceedings shall be paid out of the general funds of the
county in which the petition is pending. Such payment shall be
made on the warrant of the county auditor on the order of the
court. If the district is organized, such cost shall be repaid to
the county out of the first funds received by the district through
the levying of taxes, except by a sanitary district that is
organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods, or through the levying of assessments or, the selling
of bonds, or the borrowing of money. If the district is not
organized, the cost shall be collected from the petitioners or
their bondsmen
bondspersons. Upon the organization of the
district, the court shall make an order indicating a preliminary
division of the preliminary expenses between the counties included
in the district in approximately the proportions of interest of
the various counties as estimated by the court. The court shall
issue an order to the auditor of each county to issue
his a
warrant upon the county treasurer of his the auditor's county to
reimburse the county having paid the total cost.
Expenses incurred after the organization of the district and
prior to the receipt of money by the district from taxes or
assessments, bond sales, or otherwise, shall be paid from the
general funds of the counties upon the order of the court and upon
certification of the clerk of the court of such order specifying
the amount and purpose of the levy to the auditor of each county,
who shall thereupon at once issue his a warrant to the treasurer
of his the auditor's county, said the payments to be made in
proportion to the order outlined by the court. Upon receipt of
funds by the district from the sale of bonds or by taxation or
assessment, the funds so advanced by the counties shall be repaid.
As soon as any district has been organized, and a board of
directors of the sanitary district has been appointed and
qualified, such board, except the board of directors of a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods, may levy upon the property of the district
not to exceed three-tenths of a mill on the assessed valuation
thereof as a level rate to be used for the purpose of paying
expenses of organization, for surveys and plans, and for other
incidental expenses which that may be necessary up to the time
money is received from the sale of bonds or otherwise. This tax
shall be certified to the auditors of the various counties and by
them to the respective treasurers of their counties. If such items
of expense have already been paid in whole or in part from other
sources, they may be repaid although the work proposed may have
been found impracticable or for other reasons is abandoned. The
collection of such tax levy and the procedure relating to the
nonpayment of taxes shall conform in all matters to the
collection
of taxes and assessments for the district. The board of directors
of a sanitary district organized wholly for the reduction of
populations of biting arthropods is not entitled to levy a
property tax under this chapter.
The board may borrow money in any manner provided for in
sections 6115.47 and 6115.50 of the Revised Code, and may pledge
the receipts from such taxes or, in the case of a sanitary
district organized for the purpose of providing a water supply,
the proceeds of the sale of water pursuant to section 6115.62 of
the Revised Code for its repayment, the information collected by
the necessary surveys, the appraisal of benefits and damages, and
other information and data being of real value and constituting
benefits for which the tax may be levied. In case a district is
disbanded for any cause before the work is constructed, the data,
plans, and estimates
which that have been secured shall be filed
with the clerk of the court before which the district was
organized and shall be matters of public record available to any
person interested.
The procedures and requirements established in this section
also apply to the expansion of a sanitary district that is
organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods.
Sec. 6115.47. In order to facilitate the preliminary work,
the board of directors of a sanitary district may borrow money at
a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent per annum; may issue
and sell or pay to contractors or others negotiable warrants
signed by the members of the board; and, except for a sanitary
district that is organized wholly for the reduction of populations
of biting arthropods, may pledge, after it has been levied, the
preliminary tax of not exceeding three-tenths of a mill for the
repayment thereof. If any warrant issued by the board is presented
for payment and is not paid for want of funds in the treasury,
that fact with the date of refusal shall be indorsed on the back
of such warrant, and said warrant shall thereafter draw interest
at the rate of six per cent until such time as there is money on
hand sufficient to pay the amount of said warrant with interest.
Sec. 6115.69. Whenever it is desired to construct
improvements wholly within or partly within and partly without any
sanitary district, which improvements will affect only a part of
said the district, for the purpose of accomplishing such work,
subdistricts may be organized upon petition of the owners of real
property within or partly within and partly without the district.
Such petition shall fulfill the same requirements concerning the
subdistricts as the petition outlined in section 6115.05 of the
Revised Code is required to fulfill concerning the organization of
the main district, shall be filed with the clerk of the same court
of common pleas, and shall be accompanied by a bond as provided
for in section 6115.06 of the Revised Code. All proceedings
relating to the organization of such subdistricts shall conform in
all things to sections 6115.01 to 6115.79, inclusive, of the
Revised Code, relating to the organization of districts. Whenever
the court by its order entered of record decrees such subdistricts
to be organized, the clerk of said the court shall thereupon give
notice of such order to the board of directors of the sanitary
district, which shall thereupon act also as the board of directors
of the subdistrict. Thereafter, the proceedings in reference to
the subdistrict shall in all matters conform to such sections;,
except that in appraisal of benefits and damages for the purposes
of such subdistricts, in the issuance of bonds, in the levying of
assessments or taxes, and in all other matters affecting only the
subdistrict, such sections shall apply to this subdistrict as
though it were an independent district, and it shall not, in these
things, be amalgamated with the main district.
The board of directors, board of appraisers, chief engineer,
attorney, secretary of the sanitary district, and other officers,
agents, and employees of the district shall, so far as it is
necessary, serve in the same capacity for such subdistricts, and
contracts and agreements between the main district and the
subdistrict may be made in the same manner as contracts and
agreements between two districts. The distribution of
administrative expense between the main district and subdistrict
shall be in proportion to the interests involved and the amount of
service rendered. Such division shall be made by the board of
directors with an appeal to the court establishing the district.
This section does not prevent the organization of independent
districts for local improvements under other laws within the
limits of a district organized under sections 6115.01 to 6115.79,
inclusive, of the Revised Code, as provided in sections 6115.66
and 6115.67 of the Revised Code.
This section does not apply to a sanitary district that is
organized wholly for the reduction of populations of biting
arthropods.
Section 2. That existing sections 6115.04, 6115.05, 6115.06,
6115.08, 6115.16, 6115.21, 6115.22, 6115.33, 6115.40, 6115.43,
6115.45, 6115.46, 6115.47, and 6115.69 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
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