262.789 Discontinuance of district -- Procedures -- Consequences.
698 words·~3 min read·
/ky/chapter-262/262-789A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
(1)If the board of a watershed conservancy district fails to meet over the course of one
(1)year or longer or if it fails to prepare and fund a budget as required by KRS
262.760(1), any soil and water conservation district or fiscal court in which any part
of the watershed conservancy district lies may initiate proceedings to discontinue
the watershed conservancy district board under subsection
(2)of this section.
Periods of inaction by boards of watershed conservancy districts that began prior to
April 4, 2024, shall be included in the determination of whether a watershed
conservancy district board may be discontinued under this section.
(2)To initiate the discontinuance of a watershed conservancy district board, the soil
and water conservation district board or fiscal court shall send a notice of intent to
discontinue the watershed conservancy district board to all directors who are still
serving terms on the board and shall publish the same notice in a newspaper of
general circulation in the area served by the watershed conservancy district
pursuant to the requirements of KRS Chapter 424. The notice shall include
information on how a landowner who pays any tax imposed by the watershed
conservancy district may request a public hearing on its discontinuance within
thirty
(30)days of the first publication of the notice.
(3)If a public hearing on the proposed discontinuance is requested, the soil and water
conservation district board or fiscal court proposing the discontinuance shall hold
the public hearing within thirty
(30)days of the request. At the public hearing,
public comments may be made on the reasons for and consequences of the
proposed discontinuance. The public hearing may be part of a regularly scheduled
meeting of the soil and water conservation district board or the fiscal court
proposing the discontinuance.
(a)Within thirty
(30)days after a public hearing is held pursuant to subsection
(3)of this section, the soil and water conservation district board or the
members of the fiscal court proposing the discontinuance shall vote on
whether the watershed conservancy district board should be discontinued. If
no public hearing was requested, the proposing entity shall hold the
discontinuance vote within thirty
(30)days after the expiration of the time
period to request a public hearing under subsection
(2)of this section.
(b)If the result of the vote held under paragraph
(a)of this subsection is in favor
of discontinuance, then within thirty
(30)days of the vote, all other soil and
water conservation district boards and fiscal courts where any portion of the
watershed conservancy district lies shall hold votes on discontinuing the
watershed conservancy district board. The watershed conservancy district
board shall be discontinued if all voting entities concur to discontinue it. Any
voting entity that fails to hold a vote within the thirty
(30)days following the
initial vote shall be deemed to have voted in favor of discontinuance. If any of
the voting entities vote to not discontinue the watershed conservancy district
board, it shall not be discontinued for at least one
(1)year.
(5)If a watershed conservancy district board is discontinued under this section, the
boundaries of the watershed conservancy district previously governed by that board
shall remain intact, and the landowners within the boundaries of the watershed
conservancy district shall continue to contribute revenue to the soil and water
conservation district or districts in which the watershed conservancy district lies
pursuant to KRS 262.793.
(6)Upon the effective date of the discontinuance of a board of a watershed
conservancy district, the board of the soil and water conservation district in which
the watershed conservancy district lies shall assume all of the former watershed
conservancy board's rights and responsibilities established in KRS 262.700 to
262.795. If the watershed conservancy district lies in more than one
(1)soil and
water conservation district, then the boards of all of those soil and water
conservation districts shall assume all rights and responsibilities of the former
watershed conservancy board jointly.
(7)Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a discontinued watershed
conservancy district board from being reestablished and reassuming its rights and
responsibilities pursuant to the requirements of KRS 262.700 to 262.795.