(a)A district authority is established in
each regional sewage district established under this article. A district
authority:
(1)must consist of an odd number of members;
(2)must consist of at least three (3) members; and
(3)may not include as a member any person who serves on the
board of trustees of the district.
(b)The district authority of a regional sewage district consists of the
following members:
(1)In the case of a regional sewage district located in one (1)
county, the following members:
(A)If no members of the county executive are trustees of the
regional sewage district, the county executive of the county.
(B)If:
(i)one (1) or more members of the county executive are
trustees of the regional sewage district; and
(ii)no members of the county fiscal body are trustees of
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(a) A district authority is established in
each regional sewage district established under this article. A district
authority:
(1) must consist of an odd number of members;
(2) must consist of at least three (3) members; and
(3) may not include as a member any person who serves on the
board of trustees of the district.
(b) The district authority of a regional sewage district consists of the
following members:
(1) In the case of a regional sewage district located in one (1)
county, the following members:
(A) If no members of the county executive are trustees of the
regional sewage district, the county executive of the county.
(B) If:
(i) one (1) or more members of the county executive are
trustees of the regional sewage district; and
(ii) no members of the county fiscal body are trustees of the
regional sewage district;
the members of the county fiscal body.
(C) If the regional sewage district's board of trustees consists of
one (1) or more members of the county executive and one (1)
or more members of the county fiscal body, three (3) members
appointed as follows:
(i) Two (2) members appointed by the county executive. If
not all of the members of the county executive are trustees of
the district, the county executive may appoint either or both
of the two (2) members required by this item from among the
county executive's own membership, subject to subsection
(a)(3).
(ii) One (1) member appointed by the county fiscal body. If
not all of the members of the county fiscal body are trustees
of the district, the county fiscal body may appoint the
member required by this item from among the county fiscal
body's own membership, subject to subsection (a)(3).
(2) In the case of a regional sewage district located in more than
one (1) county, the following members:
(A) If:
(i) an odd number of counties are part of the regional sewage
district; and
(ii) each county in the district has at least one (1) county
executive member who is not a trustee of the regional sewage
district;
one (1) county executive member, appointed by that member's
county executive, from each county in which the district is
located, subject to subsection (a)(3).
(B) If an even number of counties are part of the regional
sewage district, the following members:
(i) Two (2) county executive members, appointed by those
members' county executive, from the county that has the
largest number of customers served by the district's sewer
system. However, if the county that has the largest number of
customers served by the district's sewer system does not have
at least two (2) members of its executive who are not also
trustees of the district, the county executive of that county
may appoint one (1) or more of the members required by this
item from outside the county executive's own membership in
order to comply with subsection (a)(3).
(ii) One (1) county executive member, appointed by that
member's county executive, from each county, other than the
county described in item (i), in which the district is located.
However, if a county described in this item does not have at
least one (1) member of its executive who is not also a trustee
of the district, the county executive of that county may
appoint the member required by this item from outside the
county executive's own membership in order to comply with
subsection (a)(3).
(C) If an odd number of counties are part of the regional sewage
district and an odd number of those counties in the district do
not have at least one (1) county executive member who is not
also a trustee of the district, the following members:
(i) One (1) county executive member, appointed by that
member's county executive, from each county that has at least
one (1) county executive member who is not also a trustee of
the district, subject to subsection (a)(3).
(ii) One (1) member appointed by the county executive of
each county that does not have at least one (1) county
executive member who is not also a trustee of the district. A
member appointed under this item must be appointed from
outside the appointing county executive's own membership,
subject to subsection (a)(3).
(c) If a district adopts an ordinance increasing sewer rates and
charges at a rate that is greater than five percent (5%) per year, as
calculated from the rates and charges in effect from the date of the
district's last rate increase, the district shall mail or electronically share,
either separately or along with a periodic billing statement, a notice of
the new rates and charges to each user of the sewer system who is
affected by the increase. The notice:
(1) shall be mailed or electronically shared not later than seven
(7) days after the district adopts the ordinance increasing the rates
and charges; and
(2) must include a statement of a ratepayer's rights under this
section.
(d) If subsection (c) applies, fifty (50) ratepayers of the district or
ten percent (10%) of the district's ratepayers, whichever is fewer, may
file a written petition objecting to the rates and charges of the district.
A petition filed under this subsection must:
(1) contain the name and address of each petitioner;
(2) be filed with a member of the district authority, in the county
where at least one (1) petitioner resides, not later than thirty (30)
days after the district adopts the ordinance establishing the rates
and charges; and
(3) set forth the grounds for the ratepayers' objection.
If a petition meeting the requirements of this subsection is filed, the
district authority shall investigate and conduct a public hearing on the
petition. If more than one (1) petition concerning a particular increase
in rates and charges is filed, the district authority shall consider the
objections set forth in all the petitions at the same public hearing.
(e) The district authority shall set the matter for public hearing not
less than ten (10) business days but not later than twenty (20) business
days after the petition has been filed. The district authority shall:
(1) send notice of the hearing:
(A) by certified mail; or
(B) electronically;
to the district and the first listed petitioner; and
(2) publish the notice of the hearing:
(A) in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in the
district; or
(B) in an electronic manner that maximizes notice of the
hearing to the impacted individuals.
(f) Upon the date fixed in the notice, the district authority shall hear
the evidence produced and determine the following:
(1) Whether the board of trustees of the district, in adopting the
ordinance increasing sewer rates and charges, followed the
procedure required by this chapter.
(2) Whether the increased sewer rates and charges established by
the board by ordinance are just and equitable rates and charges,
according to the standards set forth in section 9 of this chapter.
(g) After the district authority hears the evidence produced and
makes the determinations set forth in subsection (f), the district
authority, by a majority vote, shall:
(1) sustain the ordinance establishing the rates and charges;
(2) sustain the petition; or
(3) make any other ruling appropriate in the matter, subject to the
standards set forth in section 9 of this chapter.
(h) The order of the district authority may be appealed by the district
or a petitioner to the circuit court, superior court, or probate court of
the county in which the district is located. The court shall try the appeal
without a jury and shall determine one (1) or both of the following:
(1) Whether the board of trustees of the district, in adopting the
ordinance increasing sewer rates and charges, followed the
procedure required by this chapter.
(2) Whether the increased sewer rates and charges established by
the board by ordinance are just and equitable rates and charges,
according to the standards set forth in section 9 of this chapter.
Either party may appeal the circuit court's, superior court's, or probate
court's decision in the same manner that other civil cases may be
appealed.