1.The board of trustees of a sanitary district may provide for payment of all or
any portion of the costs of acquiring, locating, laying out, constructing, reconstructing,
repairing, changing, enlarging, or extending conduits, ditches, channels, outlets, drains,
sewers, laterals, treatment plants, pumping plants, and other necessary adjuncts thereto,
by assessing all, or any portion of the costs, on adjacent property according to the benefits
derived. For the purposes of this chapter, the board of trustees may define “adjacent
property” as all that included within a designated benefited district or districts to be fixed
by the board, which may be all of the property located within the sanitary district or any
lesser portion of that property. It is not a valid objection to a special assess
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
1. The board of trustees of a sanitary district may provide for payment of all or
any portion of the costs of acquiring, locating, laying out, constructing, reconstructing,
repairing, changing, enlarging, or extending conduits, ditches, channels, outlets, drains,
sewers, laterals, treatment plants, pumping plants, and other necessary adjuncts thereto,
by assessing all, or any portion of the costs, on adjacent property according to the benefits
derived. For the purposes of this chapter, the board of trustees may define “adjacent
property” as all that included within a designated benefited district or districts to be fixed
by the board, which may be all of the property located within the sanitary district or any
lesser portion of that property. It is not a valid objection to a special assessment that the
improvement for which the assessment is levied is outside the limits of the sanitary district,
but a special assessment shall not be made upon property situated outside of the sanitary
district. Special assessments pursuant to this section shall be in proportion to the special
benefits conferred upon the property, and not in excess of the benefits, and an assessment
shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the value of the property at the time of levy. The
value of a property is the present fair market value of the property with the proposed public
improvements completed. Payment of installments of a special assessment against property
used and assessed as agricultural property shall be deferred upon the filing of a request by
the owner in the same manner and under the same procedures as provided in chapter 384
for special assessments by cities.
2. The assessments may be made to extend over a period not to exceed fifteen years,
payable in as nearly equal annual installments as practicable. A majority vote of the board of
trustees is requisite and sufficient for any action required by the board of trustees under this
section.
3. Subject to the limitations otherwise stated in this section, a sanitary district organized
under this chapter has all of the powers to specially assess the costs of improvements
described in this section, including the power to issue special assessment bonds, warrants,
project notes, or other forms of interim financing obligations, which cities have under the
laws of this state.
4. Subject to the limitations otherwise stated in this section, the board of trustees may
establish one or more benefited districts and schedules of fees for the connection of property
to the sanitary sewer facilities of a sanitary district. Each person whose property will be
connected to the sanitary sewer facilities of a sanitary district shall pay a connection fee to
thesanitarydistrict, whichmayincludetheequitablecostofextendingsanitarysewerservice
to the benefited district and reasonable interest from the date of construction to the date
of payment. In establishing the benefited districts and establishing and implementing the
schedules of fees, the board of trustees shall act in accordance with the powers granted to a
city in section 384.38, subsection 3, and the procedures in that subsection. However, all fees
collected under this subsection shall be paid to the sanitary district and the moneys collected
as fees shall be used only by the sanitary district to finance improvements or extensions to its
sanitary sewer facilities, to reimburse the sanitary district for funds disbursed by its board of
trustees to finance improvements or extensions to its sanitary sewer facilities, or to pay debt
service on obligations issued to finance improvements or extensions to its sanitary sewer
facilities. This subsection does not apply when a sanitary district annexation plan or petition
includes annexation of an area adjoining the district or a petition has not been presented for a
sewer connection. Until the annexation becomes effective or the annexation plan or petition
is abandoned, the state mandate contained in section 455B.172, subsections 3, 4, and 5, shall
not apply unless the property owner requests to be connected to the sanitary district’s sewer
facilities and voluntarily pays the connection fee.