22-29-117 and 22-29-305.

22-29-117 and 22-29-305.

(c) Merger or consolidation may also be initiated by resolution adopted by the directors of two (2) or more districts. The resolution shall contain all the matters required to be stated in a petition to merge or consolidate. Upon the adoption of these resolutions, the directors of the district shall order an election which shall be conducted as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

22-29-305. Specific provisions relating to enlargement, merger and consolidation elections.

(a) The elections effecting enlargement, merger or consolidation shall be governed by the following specific rules:

(i) For enlargement elections, the voters of both the existing district and the area to be added shall be entitled to vote;

(ii) For merger and consolidation elections, the voters of all the affected districts shall be entitled to vote;

(iii) If a majority of those voting in each district on the proposition favor the proposition, then it shall pass;

(iv) For enlargement elections, if the voters of the existing district have approved by election a mill levy to finance the operation of the district, then the voters of the area to be added shall also be required at the enlargement election to approve the same mill levy. If a majority of the voters in the area to be added voting on the proposition fails to approve the mill levy, then the enlargement, whether or not approved under paragraph (iii) of this subsection, shall fail. This paragraph shall not apply to an enlargement in which no election is required under W.S. 22-29-301(a);

(v) For merger and consolidation elections, if the voters of an existing district have approved by election a mill levy to finance the operations of the district and the other district has no mill levy or a lower mill levy, the voters of that other district shall also be required at the merger or consolidation election to approve a mill levy at the same level as the existing district or increase an existing mill levy to the same level as the existing district. If a majority of the voters in the other district voting on the proposition fails to approve or increase the mill levy as required, then the merger or consolidation, whether or not approved under paragraph (iii) of this subsection, shall fail.

22-29-306. Rights of creditors after change of organization; enforcement.

(a) No change of organization, or any term or condition thereof, shall impair the rights of any bondholder or other creditor of a district. Every bondholder or other creditor may enforce all the rights of the bondholder or other creditor in the same manner and to the same extent as if the change of organization, term or condition had not been made. Any of these rights may also be enforced against agencies, and their respective officers, as follows:

(i) Upon enlargement of the territory, against the district to or from which the territory is enlarged;

(ii) Upon dissolution of a district, against the successor city, county or district or against a city, county or district receiving distribution of all or any part of the remaining assets of the dissolved district;

(iii) Upon merger of two (2) or more districts, against the surviving district;

(iv) Upon consolidation of two (2) or more districts, against the successor district.

22-29-307. Change in boundaries of districts; exclusion of property from district. Any owner of property that is subject to assessment and payment of tax by a special district, but who is precluded by applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation from using the services provided by the district, may file with the board of county commissioners a petition praying that such lands be excluded from assessment by said district. Petitions shall describe the property which the petitioners desire to have excluded. Such petition must be accompanied by a deposit of money sufficient to pay all costs of the exclusion proceedings. The county commissioners shall cause a notice of filing of such petition to be published, which notice shall state the filing of such petition, the name of petitioners, description of the property mentioned in said petition, and the prayer of said petitioners; and it shall notify all persons interested to appear at the office of said board at the time named in said notice, showing cause in writing, if any they have, why said petition should not be granted. The board at the time and place mentioned in the notice, or at the times to which the hearing of said petition may be adjourned, shall proceed to hear the petition and all objections thereto, presented in writing by any person showing cause why the prayer of the petition should not be granted. The filing by such petition shall be deemed and taken as an assent by each and all such petitioners to the exclusion from the district of the property mentioned in the petition or any part thereof. The exclusion shall be allowed if an owner of assessed property is precluded by applicable state or federal law, rule, or regulation from using the services provided by the district. This section shall be applicable only to petitions filed in accordance with the provisions of this section on or before March 31, 1999.

ARTICLE 4 - DISSOLUTION

22-29-401. Dissolution procedure.

(a) Dissolution of a district may be initiated:

(i) By a petition signed by not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the voters owning not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed valuation of property within the district, requesting dissolution of the district, filed with the county commissioners. The petition process shall be governed by W.S. 22-29-105 through 22-29-108;

(ii) By resolution of the district directors filed with the county commissioners when the district directors determine that it is in the best interest of the inhabitants of the district that the district be dissolved and liquidated;

(iii) By resolution of the county commissioners if:

(A) Either:

(I) The district at the time of the regular district election has not elected district directors as required by the principal act; or

(II) The territory within the district is uninhabited; and

(B) The county commissioners determine that it is in the best interest of the people of the county that the district be dissolved and liquidated.

(iv) Within five (5) business days after a petition is filed or a resolution of a county commission is adopted under this section, a copy shall be filed with the district secretary, if any, or with any other district officer who can with reasonable diligence be located;

(v) If there are no qualified district director members, the county commissioners shall act as or appoint a board of trustees to act in behalf of the district.

(b) Subject to subsection (c) of this section, dissolution of a district shall be initiated by resolution of the board of county commissioners if the director of the department of audit has notified the board of county commissioners of the district's failure to comply with the reporting requirements of W.S. 9-1- 507, and the district has failed to comply with W.S. 9-1- 507(a)(vii) by December 30 of that same calendar year. The board of county commissioners shall declare the board of directors vacant under W.S. 22-29-201, and shall fill the board by appointment under W.S. 22-29-202 for the purpose of dissolving the district.

(c) A board of county commissioners may, by resolution, reinstate a district or cease dissolution procedures required under subsection (b) of this section in accordance with the following:

(i) The district shall become compliant with the requirements of W.S. 9-1-507 by not later than April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which the district fails to comply with the annual reporting requirement under W.S. 9-1-507;

(ii) Before a district is reinstated or before dissolution procedures are ceased under this subsection, the district shall provide a corrective action plan to the board of county commissioners, which shall approve the plan submitted by the district before proceeding under this subsection;

(iii) No reinstatement of a district or cessation of dissolution procedures shall occur unless the department of audit certifies to the board of county commissioners in writing that the district has become compliant with the reporting requirements of W.S. 9-1-507;

(iv) A district reinstated under this subsection shall be deemed to have never been dissolved;

(v) The board of county commissioners may:

(A) Allow the district to proceed with the board of directors appointed under subsection (b) of this section; or

(B) Upon reinstatement, declare the board of directors vacant under W.S. 22-29-201. Upon a declaration of vacancy under this subparagraph, the board of county commissioners shall fill the board by appointment under W.S. 22- 29-202.

22-29-402. Findings of fact by district directors.

(a) When dissolution proceedings have been initiated, the district directors shall make findings of fact which shall include:

(i) The amount of each outstanding bond, coupon and other indebtedness, with a general description of the indebtedness and the name of the holder and owner of each, if known;

(ii) A description of each parcel of real property and interest in real property and, if the property was acquired for delinquent taxes or assessments, the amount of those taxes and assessments on each parcel of property;  (iii) Uncollected taxes, assessments and charges levied by the district and the amount upon each lot or tract of land;

(iv) A description of the personal property and of all other assets of the district;

(v) The estimated cost of dissolution.

(b) The district directors shall propose a plan of dissolution and liquidation.

(c) Within thirty (30) days after initiation of the dissolution proceeding, the findings of fact and the proposed plan of dissolution and liquidation shall be filed in the office of the county clerk and shall be available for inspection by any interested person.

22-29-403. Plan for dissolution and liquidation.

The plan of dissolution and liquidation may include provisions for transfer and conveyance of all assets of the district to any other district or to the county or counties where the district is located which have the authority and agree to assume the outstanding indebtedness of the dissolving district, if any, and to continue to furnish similar services to the inhabitants of the district.

22-29-404. Election on dissolution; consent of creditors; content of notice.

(a) Within ten (10) business days after the district directors file the plan of dissolution and liquidation required by W.S. 22-29-402, the district directors shall call an election to be held not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the filing of the plan of dissolution or liquidation for the purpose of submitting to the voters of the district the question of whether the district shall be dissolved, its indebtedness liquidated and its assets disposed of in accordance with the plan proposed. No election shall be called until the consent of all known holders of valid indebtedness against the district is obtained or provision is made in the plan for payment of the nonconsenting holders. The notice of the election shall contain a brief summary of the plan of dissolution and liquidation and state that the plan of dissolution is available for examination at the office of the county clerk.  (b) This election shall be conducted in accordance with W.S. 22-29-113 through 22-29-117.

22-29-405. Trustees for dissolved district; records to county clerk; limitation on further elections.

(a) Upon canvassing the vote after the election, if it appears that a majority or more of the votes on the proposition approve dissolution, the district directors shall declare the district dissolved. The directors shall thereupon constitute a board of trustees under the supervision of county commissioners, who shall pay the debts or procure releases thereof and dispose of the property of the district. If the dissolved district was located wholly within the limits of one (1) county, the board of the dissolving district may designate the county commissioners as the board of trustees for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the district. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition is against dissolution, the district directors shall declare the proposal defeated and cause the result of the vote to be made a part of the records of the district. In either case, the results of the election shall be certified to the county commissioners immediately after the canvass of the vote.

(b) If dissolution is approved after the affairs of the district have been fully settled all books and records of the district shall be deposited by the board of trustees in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the greatest area of the district was located. At the same time, the board of trustees shall execute under oath and file with the county commissioners a statement that the district has been dissolved and its affairs liquidated. From the date of the statement, the corporate existence of the district is terminated for all purposes.

(c) If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are against dissolution, no further election for dissolution shall be called by the directors, upon petition or upon a resolution of the commissioners, prior to the expiration of one (1) year from the date of the election on dissolution.

22-29-406. Power of trustees to convey assets.

(a) The board of trustees may convey to another district all assets of the dissolving district:  (i) If the other district assumes all debts and obligations of the dissolving district and undertakes to continue to furnish the service provided by the dissolving district pursuant to the plan of dissolution and liquidation; and

(ii) If the written consent of all the known holders of valid indebtedness against the district has been obtained, or provision has been made in the plan for payment of the nonconsenting holders.

22-29-407. Disposition of assets.

(a) Any surplus funds remaining to the credit of the district, after payment of the indebtedness of the district, shall be transferred to the county treasurer. If the assets of the district are insufficient to pay the indebtedness, the board of trustees shall levy taxes, within the limits of the authority of the district, for the liquidation of the indebtedness.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, if the property of a district is located within the corporate limits of a city, the property shall, upon dissolution of the district, vest in the city in which located and the property of the district lying outside the corporate limits of any city shall vest in the county until the formation of a city embracing the territory, at which time it shall vest in the city.

(c) In each year that the county receives surplus funds to the credit of the district under subsection (a) of this section, any funds in the account of the district on June 30, in excess of six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) retained by the county for administration, shall be certified to the county assessor and shall be disposed of as provided under one (1) of the following procedures, as selected by the county assessor:

(i) The funds may be offset against that portion of the levies of taxing units levied against the property values of property within the dissolved district. If the funds are offset as provided under this paragraph, the funds shall be distributed to each taxing unit in the amount of that taxing unit's offset;

(ii) The amount may be credited to each property appearing on the tax roll for the year for which the credit applies within the dissolved district on the basis of current assessed value. If the surplus funds are distributed under this paragraph, the surplus funds shall be deposited in the unsegregated tax collections account established and distributed in the same manner as other funds in that account.

22-29-408. Dissolution without election.

(a) The election required by W.S. 22-29-404 shall be dispensed with and the county commissioners shall declare the district dissolved if the county commissioners find that:

(i) Dissolution is in the interest of the people of the county; and

(ii) At least one (1) of the following:

(A) The territory within the affected district is uninhabited;

(B) The district has failed regularly to elect district board members in accordance with the principal act of the district; or

(C) That the district is not active and that there is no need for the district.

(b) The election required by W.S. 22-29-404 shall be dispensed with and the board of county commissioners shall declare the district dissolved if the director of the department of audit has notified the board of county commissioners of the district's failure to comply with the reporting requirements of W.S. 9-1-507, and the district has failed to comply with W.S.