Water & Wastewater Improvements

Minnesota Statutes 1996, Chapter 444. WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

444.075 Waterworks systems, main sewers, sewage disposal plants. Subdivision 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the term "municipality" means a home rule charter or statutory city, except a city of the first class, or a town that is not in an orderly annexation process on October 3, 1989. The term "governing body" means the town board with respect to towns. Subd. 1a. Authorization. Any municipality may build, construct, reconstruct, repair, enlarge, improve, or in any other manner obtain (i) waterworks systems, including mains, valves, hydrants, service connections, wells, pumps, reservoirs, tanks, treatment plants, and other appurtenances of a waterworks system, (ii) sewer systems, sewage treatment works, disposal systems, and other facilities for disposing of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes, and (iii) storm sewer systems, including mains, holding areas and ponds, and other appurtenances and related facilities for the collection and disposal of storm water, all hereinafter called facilities, and maintain and operate the facilities inside or outside its corporate limits, and acquire by gift, purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise any and all land and easements required for that purpose. The authority hereby granted is in addition to all other powers with reference to the facilities otherwise granted by the laws of this state or by the charter of any municipality. The authority granted in clause (iii) to municipalities which have territory within a watershed which has adopted a watershed plan pursuant to section 103B.231 shall be exercised, with respect to facilities acquired following the adoption of the watershed plan, only for facilities which are not inconsistent with the watershed plan. The authority granted in clause (iii) to municipalities which have adopted local water management plans pursuant to section 103B.235 shall be exercised, with respect to facilities acquired following the adoption of a local plan, only for facilities which are not inconsistent with the local plan. Counties, except counties in the seven-county metropolitan area, shall have the same authority granted to municipalities by this subdivision except for areas of the county organized into cities and areas of the county incorporated within a sanitary district established by special act of the legislature. Subd. 2. Financing. For the purpose of paying the cost of building, constructing, reconstructing, repairing, enlarging, improving, or in other manner obtaining the facilities or any portion of them, a municipality or county may issue and sell its general obligations, which may be made payable primarily from taxes or from special assessments to be levied to pay the cost of the facilities or from net revenues derived from water or sewer service charges or from other nontax revenues pledged for their payment under charter or other statutory authority, or from two or more of the sources; or it may issue special obligations, payable solely from taxes or special assessments or from revenues, or from two or more of the sources. Real estate tax revenues should be used only, and then on a temporary basis, to pay general or special obligations when the other revenues are insufficient to meet the obligations. All obligations shall be issued and sold in accordance with chapter 475. When special assessments are pledged for the payment of the obligations, they shall be authorized and issued in accordance with the provisions of chapter 429, or of the city's charter if it authorizes these obligations and the governing body determines to proceed under the charter. When net revenues are pledged to the payment of the obligations, together with or apart from taxes and special assessments, the pledge shall be made in accordance with the provisions of subdivision 3. Subd. 2a. Collection of charges by watershed districts. (a) With respect to watershed districts, charges established under section 103D.729 for the purpose of projects under section 103D.730 may be billed and collected in a manner the district shall determine, including certification to the counties with territory within the district for collection by the counties. A county may bill and collect the charges in a manner the county board shall determine or as described in paragraph (b). (b) On or before October 15 in each year, the district or county board may certify to the county auditor all unpaid outstanding charges, and a description of the lands against which the charges arose. The county auditor shall extend the charges with interest not to exceed the interest rate provided for in section 279.03, subdivision 1, upon the tax rolls of the county for the taxes of the year in which the charge is filed. For each year ending October 15 the charge with interest shall be carried into the tax becoming due and payable in January of the following year, and shall be enforced and collected in the manner provided for the enforcement and collection of real property taxes. The charges, if not paid, shall become delinquent and subject to the same penalties and the same rate of interest as real property taxes. (c) Any individual may appeal the charges under section 103D.535. Subd. 3. Charges; net revenues. To pay for the construction, reconstruction, repair, enlargement, improvement, or other obtainment and the maintenance, operation and use of the facilities, the governing body of a municipality or county may impose just and equitable charges for the use and for the availability of the facilities and for connections with them and make contracts for the charges as provided in this section. The charges may be imposed with respect to facilities made available by agreement with other municipalities, counties or private corporations or individuals, as well as those owned and operated by the municipality or county itself. Charges made for service directly rendered shall be as nearly as possible proportionate to the cost of furnishing the service, and sewer charges may be fixed on the basis of water consumed, or by reference to a reasonable classification of the types of premises to which service is furnished, or by reference to the quantity, pollution qualities and difficulty of disposal of sewage and storm water produced, or on any other equitable basis including, but without limitation, any combination of those referred to above. Minimum charges for the availability of water or sewer service may be imposed for all premises abutting on streets or other places where municipal or county water mains or sewers are located, whether or not connected to them. Charges for connections to the facilities may in the discretion of the governing body be fixed by reference to the portion of the cost of connection which has been paid by assessment of the premises to be connected, in comparison with other premises, as well as the cost of making or supervising the connection. The governing body may make the charges a charge against the owner, lessee, occupant or all of them and may provide and covenant for certifying unpaid charges to the county auditor with taxes against the property served for collection as other taxes are collected. The governing body may fix and levy taxes for the payment of reasonable charges to the municipality or county itself for the use and availability of the facilities for fire protection, for maintaining sanitary conditions, and for proper storm water drainage in and for public buildings, parks, streets, and other public places. In determining the reasonableness of the charges to be imposed, the governing body may give consideration to all costs of the establishment, operation, maintenance, depreciation and necessary replacements of the system, and of improvements, enlargements and extensions necessary to serve adequately the territory of the municipality or county including the principal and interest to become due on obligations issued or to be issued. When net revenues have been appropriated to the payment of the cost of the establishment, or of any specified replacement, improvement, enlargement or extension, or to pay the principal and interest due on obligations to be issued for such purpose, no charges imposed to produce net revenues adequate for the purpose shall be deemed unreasonable by virtue of the fact that the project to be financed has not been commenced or completed, if proceedings for it are taken with reasonable dispatch and the project, when completed, may be expected to make service available to the premises charged which will have a value reasonably commensurate with the charges. All charges, when collected, and all moneys received from the sale of any facilities or equipment or any by-products, shall be placed in a separate fund, and used first to pay the normal, reasonable and current costs of operating and maintaining the facilities. The net revenues received in excess of the costs may be pledged by resolutions of the governing body, or may be used though not so pledged, for the payment of principal and interest on obligations issued as provided in subdivision 2, or to pay the portion of the principal and interest as may be directed in the resolutions, and net revenues derived from any facilities of the types listed in subdivision 1a, whether or not financed by the issuance of the obligations, may be pledged or used to pay obligations issued for other facilities of the same types. In resolutions authorizing the issuance of either general or special obligations and pledging net revenues to them, the governing body may make covenants for the protection of holders of the obligations and taxpayers of the municipality or county as it deems necessary, including, but without limitation, a covenant that the municipality or county will impose and collect charges of the nature authorized by this section at the times and in the amounts required to produce, together with any taxes or special assessments designated as a primary source of payment of the obligations, net revenues adequate to pay all principal and interest when due on the obligations and to create and maintain reserves securing the payments as may be provided in the resolutions. When a covenant is made it shall be enforceable by appropriate action on the part of any holder of the obligations or any taxpayer of the municipality or county in a court of competent jurisdiction, and the obligations shall be deemed to be payable wholly from the income of the system whose revenues are so pledged, within the meaning of sections 475.51 and 475.58. Subd. 4. Levy assessments. The governing body of a municipality or county may also levy assessments against property within the municipal or county limits benefited by the facilities under the procedure authorized by law or charter with reference to other assessments for benefits of local improvements, may transfer and use for the purposes hereof surplus funds of the municipality or county not specifically dedicated to another purpose, and may levy taxes on property within the municipal or county limits for the purposes. A municipality or county may contract with any person, company or corporation for the purposes and under the restrictions set forth in subdivision 5. The contract shall be binding upon the parties to it for the full term agreed upon but in no event more than 30 years, and shall not be changed by either party without the consent of the other party. Subd. 5. Connection with facilities; charges. A municipality or county may permit a person, company or corporation located and doing business inside or outside the municipal or county limits to connect with the facilities and make use of them upon terms and upon the payment of fees and charges as may be prescribed or contracted for by the municipality or county, and to contract with a person, company or corporation for the payment by the person, company or corporation of a part of the cost of construction, maintenance or use of the facilities and to receive from the person, company or corporation doing business inside or outside the municipal or county limits payment in cash or installments of the portion of the cost of the construction, maintenance or use as may be agreed upon or contracted for with the municipality or county and devote the money received to the purpose of the construction, maintenance or use. The proportionate cost of construction, maintenance or use of the facilities to be paid by the person, company, or corporation may be made payable in installments due at not greater than annual intervals for a period not to exceed 30 years. A person, company or corporation which may pay part of the cost of construction, maintenance or use of the facilities in the manner described, shall have the right to use the facilities for the disposal or treatment of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes, by the municipality or county upon the payment of reasonable charges for the use of the facilities or the charges contracted for in case there is a contract as provided in this subdivision. A municipality or county may contract with another municipality or county for the joint or cooperative obtainment or use of such facilities without limitation of time. Subd. 6. Repealed, 1963 c 696 s 4 HIST: 1949 c 394 s 1-4; 1951 c 366 s 1; 1953 c 195 s 1; 1955 c 296 s 1; 1957 c 608 s 1; 1959 c 294 s 1; 1963 c 696 s 1-3; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1973 c 702 s 23; 1983 c 183 s 1,2; 1985 c 169 s 15; 1Sp1985 c 16 art 2 s 12,13; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 5 s 31; art 17 s 8; 1990 c 391 art 8 s 45; 1996 c 471 art 8 s 18 444.076 Fees and charges for tax forfeited lands returned to private ownership. When tax forfeited land is returned to private ownership and the land is benefited by a public improvement for which special assessments were canceled because of the forfeiture, the municipality or other public authority that made the improvement may impose fees or charges for the use or availability of the improvement or for connections therewith in an amount not to exceed the amount remaining unpaid on the canceled assessment. The municipality may make the fees or charges a charge against the owner, lessee, occupant, or all of them and may certify unpaid fees or charges to the county auditor with taxes against the property for collection as other taxes are collected. HIST: 1976 c 259 s 3 444.16 Storm sewer improvement districts. Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purposes of sections 444.16 to 444.21 the terms in this section have the meanings given them. Subd. 2. Municipality. "Municipality" means a home rule charter or statutory city or a town that is not in an orderly annexation process on October 3, 1989. Subd. 3. Governing body. "Governing body" means the city council for a city and the town board for a town. HIST: 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1974 c 206 s 1; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 17 s 9

444.17 Establishment of district. The governing body of a municipality may by ordinance adopted by a two-thirds vote of all of its members, establish within its territorial limits a storm sewer improvement tax district. The ordinance shall describe with particularity the territory or area within the municipality to be included within the district. No such ordinance shall be adopted until after a public hearing has been held on the question. A notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be published for two successive weeks in the official newspaper of the municipality or in a qualified newspaper of general circulation in the municipality and the last notice shall be at least seven days prior to the day of the hearing. The ordinance when adopted shall be filed with the county auditor and county recorder. HIST: 1974 c 206 s 2; 1976 c 181 s 2; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 17 s 10 444.18 Authority; tax for cost; procedures. Subdivision 1. Authority, tax. Following the adoption of an ordinance under sections 444.16 to 444.21, the governing body may acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, maintain, and otherwise improve storm sewer systems and related facilities within the district. Storm water holding areas and ponds within and without the municipality may also be acquired, constructed, maintained, and improved for the benefit of any such district. The cost of the systems and facilities described in this subdivision may be recovered by the tax authorized in section 444.20. Subd. 2. Repealed, 1991 c 76 s 2 Subd. 3. Precontract procedures. Before the municipality awards a contract for an improvement, the governing body shall hold a public hearing on the proposed improvement following two publications in the official newspaper of a notice stating: (1) the time, date and place of the hearing; (2) the general nature of the improvement; (3) the estimated cost; (4) the area over which any levy will be imposed; and (5) the term over which the costs will be recovered. The two publications shall be a week apart and the hearing shall be at least three days after the last publication. Not less than ten days before the hearing, notice of it shall be mailed to the owner of each parcel within the area proposed to be taxed, including the estimated tax to be levied against each parcel in the first year. Failure to give mailed notice or any defects in any notice shall not invalidate the proceedings. For the purpose of giving mailed notice, owners shall be those shown to be owners on the records of the county treasurer. Before the hearing, the council shall secure from the city engineer or some other competent person a report advising it in a preliminary way as to: (a) whether the proposed improvement is feasible; (b) whether it should be made as proposed or in connection with some other improvement; and (c) the estimated cost of the improvement. No error or omission in the report shall invalidate the proceeding unless it materially prejudices the interest of an owner. The council may also take other steps before the hearing including among other things the preparation of plans and specifications and the advertisement for bids on them that will in its judgment provide helpful information in determining the desirability and feasibility of the improvement. The hearing may be adjourned from time to time. A resolution ordering the improvement may be adopted at any time within six months after the date of the hearing. HIST: 1974 c 206 s 3; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 17 s 11; 1991 c 76 s 1 444.19 Bonds. At any time after a contract for the construction of all or part of an improvement has been entered into or the work has been ordered done by day labor, the governing body may issue obligations in an amount it deems necessary to defray in whole or in part the expense incurred and estimated to be incurred in making the improvement, including every item of cost from inception to completion and all fees and expenses incurred in connection with the improvement or the financing thereof. The obligations shall be payable primarily out of the proceeds of the tax levied pursuant to section 444.20. The governing body may by resolution adopted prior to the sale of obligations pledge the full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality to assure payment of the principal and interest in the event the proceeds of the tax levy in the district are insufficient to pay the principal and interest. Obligations shall be issued in accordance with chapter 475, except that an election is not required, and the amount of the obligations is not included in determining the net indebtedness of the municipality under the provisions of any law or charter limiting such indebtedness. HIST: 1974 c 206 s 4; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 17 s 12 444.20 Taxes. The governing body of a municipality may levy a tax on all taxable property within the district in an amount necessary to finance the cost of the improvement, including maintenance and to pay the principal and interest on obligations issued pursuant to section 444.19. The tax shall be collected and paid over as other taxes, but shall be spread only upon the property described in the ordinance. The tax shall be disbursed by the governing body only for the benefit of district as established by the ordinance. HIST: 1974 c 206 s 5; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 17 s 13 444.21 Dissolution of district. Upon the retirement of all obligations issued to finance improvements within the district, the district may be dissolved by following the procedures for establishment of the district set forth in section 444.17. HIST: 1974 c 206 s 6 444.25 Water availability; standby charges. Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purpose of this section the following terms have the meanings given them. (a) "Water availability or standby charge" means an additional charge or fee imposed by a water utility on the owners of structures because the structures are equipped with fire protection systems such as stand pipes, hydrants, or automatic fire protection sprinkler systems. (b) "Water utility" means the owner or operator of a public or private waterworks, whether authorized under chapter 110A for a rural water user district, section 368.01 for a town, section 412.321 for a statutory city, this chapter for a city generally, chapter 456 for a city of the first class, chapter 471A when the waterworks has been transferred to private ownership or operation, or other law relating to authorization of waterworks. Subd. 2. Charges limited. No water utility may impose a water availability or standby fee or charge on an owner of a structure containing a fire protection system that is in addition to the fee or charge for water actually used and beyond the actual cost to the utility of providing installation, inspection, and maintenance for the system. Nothing in this section prohibits a water utility from recovering the cost of supplying water to an area when the cost is spread proportionately among all the structures in the benefited area. Subd. 3. Appeal. An owner of a structure containing a fire protection system may appeal to the water utility any amount charged that is in violation of this section. HIST: 1988 c 499 s 1 ==444.misc1996 Minn. Stats. repealed, etc. secs in chap 444 444.01-444.07 Repealed, 1949 c 119 s 110 444.08 Repealed, 1957 c 608 s 2 444.09 Repealed, 1973 c 702 s 26 444.10 Repealed, 1973 c 702 s 26 444.11 Repealed, 1973 c 702 s 26 444.12 Repealed, 1973 c 702 s 26 444.13 Repealed, 1973 c 702 s 26 444.14 Repealed, 1973 c 702 s 26 444.15 Repealed, 1976 c 44 s 70

[ Return to the Municipal Bond Information Guide Table of Contents ]