§ 26b — Formation of sub-districts - General tax

Sub-districts of a Soil and Water Conservation District may be formed in a watershed area as provided in this Act. When duly formed such sub-districts shall have the power to develop and execute plans and programs and projects relating to any phase of flood prevention, flood control, erosion control and control of erosion, floodwater and sediment damages, and to cooperate and enter into agreements with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States and to carry out, maintain and operate works of improvement pursuant to the "Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act" of August 4, 1954, as amended and in addition, such sub-districts shall have the power to levy and collect tax not in excess of .125% of the value of all taxable property within the sub-district, as equalized or assessed by the Department of Revenue, to be used for general corporate purposes of the sub-district. The Directors of the sub-district shall annually within the first quarter of the fiscal year adopt an appropriation ordinance appropriating such sums of money as are necessary for the cost of operating the sub-district in accordance with the provisions of this Act. After the adoption of the appropriation ordinance and on or before the second Tuesday in September of each year, the Directors of the sub-district shall ascertain the total amount of the appropriations legally made which are to be provided for from the tax levy for that year. Then, by an ordinance specifying in detail the purposes for which such appropriations have been made and the amounts appropriated for such purposes, the directors of the sub-district shall levy not to exceed the total amount so ascertained upon all the property subject to taxation in the sub-district as the same is assessed and equalized for State and County purposes for the current year. A certified copy of such ordinance shall be filed on or before the first Tuesday in October with the Clerk of each County wherein the sub-district or any part thereof is located. The Board of Directors of any sub-district shall have power to build, construct, maintain and operate works of improvement, to borrow money and issue bonds and pay for such by special assessment or from the proceeds of the tax hereinbefore authorized, or both, as they by ordinance shall prescribe. The proceedings for borrowing money, issuing bonds, making, levying, collecting and enforcing of any special assessment levied hereunder, the letting of contracts, performance of work and all other matters pertaining to the construction and making of the improvement, shall be the same as nearly as may be as is prescribed in Division 2 of Article 9 of the "Illinois Municipal Code", approved May 29, 1961, as now or hereafter amended; but no special assessments shall be levied upon property situated outside of such sub-district and in no case shall any property be assessed more than it will be benefited by the improvement for which the assessment is levied. Whenever in that article the words "City Council" or the words "Board of Local Improvements" are used, the same shall apply to the board of directors of the respective sub-districts as constituted by this Act; the word "Mayor" or "President" of the "board of local improvements" shall apply to the Chairman of the board of directors of such sub-districts constituted by this Act, and the words applying to the City or its officers in that article shall be held to apply to the respective sub-district created under this act and its officers. Such sub-districts in the area included within their boundaries shall have and may exercise all of the powers enumerated in Sections 22.01 through 22.09 of this Act, in addition to the powers herein otherwise provided.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 81-1509.)