Section 256.445

Title XVI CONSERVATION, RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 256

Effective - 28 Aug 1992   

  256.445.  Political subdivision, with sponsor's plan approved, submit to voters ballot to incur debt, issue bonds, levy and collect taxes — bonds, procedure to issue — rate of tax — how calculated — collection. — 1.  Any political subdivision which contains a sponsor which has submitted a plan which has been approved by the director pursuant to sections 256.435 to 256.445 may submit to the qualified voters of the political subdivision the following question:

Shall the political subdivision of ______ (name of political subdivision) incur indebtedness and issue general obligation bonds to pay for all or part of the costs of establishing and maintaining a water resource project with the political subdivision, the cost of all indebtedness so incurred to be assessed by the governing body of ______ (name of political subdivision) on property within the political subdivision?

☐ YES

☐ NO

  2.  If it appears that the required percentage of the voters of such political subdivision voting on the proposition of incurring indebtedness submitted at the election were in favor of incurring such indebtedness, the election authority shall make an order reciting the holding of such election and the results thereof, both for and against the proposition, and if the result of the election as certified shall be in favor of incurring the indebtedness and issuing the bonds, then the governing body of the political subdivision shall direct the issuance thereof to the amount of the debt authorized to be incurred, or any portion thereof, and shall either before or at the time of doing so provide for the collection of an annual ad valorem tax upon all of the taxable property within the political subdivision, which tax shall be sufficient to pay the interest on such indebtedness as it falls due and also to create a sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof within twenty years from the date of contracting the same, such tax to be levied and collected as provided for in chapter 137.

  3.  The governing body of the political subdivision shall have no power to levy or collect any taxes for the payment of any indebtedness incurred by the political subdivision pursuant to this section unless and until the voters of the political subdivision shall have authorized the incurring of indebtedness at an election, but all such expenses and indebtedness incurred by the political subdivision may be paid out of funds which may be received by the political subdivision from the sale of bonds authorized by the voters at any such election.

  4.  Such bonds shall be issued in denominations of one hundred dollars or some multiple thereof; shall be payable to bearer, not later than twenty years from their date; shall bear interest from their date at a rate not exceeding six percent per annum, payable annually or semiannually; such interest payments to be evidenced by annexed coupons, and such bonds shall not be sold for less than ninety-five percent of the face value thereof and together with existing indebtedness of the political subdivision, if any, shall not exceed in the aggregate five percent of the value of all of the taxable property in the political subdivision to be ascertained by the assessment next before the last assessment for state and county purposes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness.

  5.  Such bonds shall be signed by the presiding officer of the governing body of the political subdivision attested by the signature of the secretary of the governing body with the seal of the political subdivision affixed thereto.  The bonds may be sold under the same conditions as are provided for the sale of county road bonds.

  6.  All bonds issued under this section shall be registered in the office of the state auditor as provided by law for the registration of bonds of cities and in the office of the governing body of the political subdivision in a book kept for that purpose for registry, shall show the number, date, amount, date of sale, name of the purchaser and the amount for which the bond was sold.

  7.  The governing body of the political subdivision wherein such project is situate shall certify the amount of money that will be required during the next succeeding year to pay interest falling due on bonds issued and the principal of bonds maturing in such year, and the amount necessary to cover the estimated expenses of maintaining such project in good condition.  The governing body shall, at the time it makes the levy for other taxes, by order made, levy such a rate of taxes upon all the taxable property in the political subdivision as will produce a sum of money sufficient for the purposes of the water resource project; provided, that the governing body shall have no authority to levy such tax until the voters of the political subdivision shall have voted to incur an indebtedness under the provisions of this section.

  8.  On such order being made it shall be the duty of the governing body to cause such rate of taxation to be extended upon the tax books against all the taxable property in the political subdivision and the same shall be collected and remitted to the governing board of the water project by the collector of the revenue of the political subdivision at the time, in the manner, and by the same means as state, county, school and other taxes are collected and remitted.  All of the laws, rights and remedies provided by the laws of this state for the collection of state, county, school and other taxes shall be applicable to the collection of taxes herein authorized to be collected.

  9.  All taxes levied pursuant to this section shall be based upon the assessed valuation of lands and other property in the political subdivision in accordance with the current record of the assessed valuations of all taxable property within the political subdivision as may be determined by the records in the assessor's office of the political subdivision and such tax shall be prorated and an equal amount levied upon each one hundred dollars assessed valuation.

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(L. 1992 S.B. 661 & 620 § 20)