48-851
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48-851. Noncontiguous county island fire district; formation; definition A. A noncontiguous county island fire district shall be formed by the following procedures: 1. One or more persons who wish to petition for a noncontiguous county island fire district shall request and the county assessor shall provide a map of all of the county island areas that are contained within the municipal planning area of a city. 2. Within thirty days after receiving a map from the county assessor, the person shall submit a revised map that indicates those county island areas that are proposed to be included in the noncontiguous county island fire district and shall submit the names and addresses of three persons who are proposed to serve as the organizing board of the district. 3. On receipt of the revised map and the proposed organizing board's membership, the board of supervisors shall set a day for a hearing on the proposed district formation. 4. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall mail, by first class mail, written notice of the statement, its purpose and notice of the day, hour and place of the hearing on the proposed district to each owner of taxable property and to each household in which a qualified elector resides within the boundaries of the proposed district. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall post the notice in at least three conspicuous public places in the area of the proposed district and shall publish twice in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the area of the proposed district, at least ten days before the hearing, or, if no daily newspaper of general circulation exists in the area of the proposed district, at least twice at any time before the date of the hearing, a notice setting forth the purpose of the proposed district formation, the description of the area of the proposed district and the day, hour and place of the hearing. 5. At the hearing called pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection, the board of supervisors shall hear those who appear for and against the proposed district and shall determine whether the creation of the district will promote public health, comfort, convenience, necessity or welfare. If the board of supervisors determines that the public health, comfort, convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted, it shall authorize the persons proposing the district to circulate petitions as provided in this subsection. The order of the board of supervisors shall be final, but if the request to circulate petitions is denied, a subsequent request for a similar district may be refiled with the board of supervisors after six months from the date of the denial. 6. Within fifteen days after receiving the approval of the board of supervisors as prescribed by paragraph 5 of this subsection, the clerk of the board shall determine the minimum number of signatures required for compliance with paragraph 8, subdivision (b) of this subsection. After making that determination, that number of signatures shall remain fixed, notwithstanding any subsequent changes in voter registration records. 7. After receiving the approval of the board of supervisors as provided in paragraph 5 of this subsection, any adult person may circulate and present petitions to the board of supervisors of the county in which the district is located. All petitions circulated shall be returned to the board of supervisors within one year from the date of the approval of the board of supervisors pursuant to paragraph 5 of this subsection. Any petition that is returned more than one year from that date is void. 8. The petitions presented pursuant to paragraph 7 of this subsection shall comply with the provisions regarding verification in section 48-266 and shall: (a) At all times, contain a legal description of the boundaries of the proposed district and a detailed, accurate map of the proposed district and the names, addresses and occupations of the proposed members of the district's organizing board of directors. No alteration of the proposed district shall be made after receiving the approval of the board of supervisors as provided in paragraph 5 of this subsection. (b) Be signed by more than one-half of the aggregate number of property owners in the county island areas contained in the proposed district. 9. On receipt of the petitions, the board of supervisors shall set a day, not more than thirty days from that date, for a hearing on the petition. 10. Before the hearing called pursuant to paragraph 9 of this subsection, the board of supervisors shall determine the validity of the petition signatures presented. At the hearing called pursuant to paragraph 9 of this subsection, the board of supervisors, if the petitions are valid, shall order the formation of the district. The board of supervisors shall enter its order setting forth its determination in the minutes of the meeting, not later than ten days from the day of the hearing, and a copy of the order shall be filed in the county recorder's office. The order of the board of supervisors shall be final, and the proposed district is formed thirty days after the board of supervisors votes to form the district. A decision of the board of supervisors under this subsection is subject to judicial review under title 12, chapter 7, article 6. B. For the purpose of determining the validity of the petitions presented pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 7 of this section property held in multiple ownership shall be treated as if it had only one property owner, so that the signature of only one of the owners of property held in multiple ownership is required on the formation petition. C. If a district is formed pursuant to this section, the cost of publication of the notice of hearing and the mailing of notices to electors and property owners and all other costs incurred by the county as a result of this section shall be a charge against the district. D. A district organized pursuant to this section shall have an organizing board of directors to administer the affairs of the district until a duly constituted board of directors is elected as provided in this title. The organizing board shall have all the powers, duties and responsibilities of an elected board. The organizing board shall consist of the three individuals named in the petitions presented pursuant to subsection A of this section. If a vacancy occurs on the organizing board, the remaining board members shall fill the vacancy by appointing an interim member. Members of the organizing board shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in performing their duties. The organizing board shall elect from its members a chairperson and a clerk. For any challenge to the formation of the district, the district board is a proper party to the challenge and any petition circulators are not proper parties. E. For the purposes of this article, "noncontiguous county island fire district" means a district that is formed pursuant to this section in a county that has a population of at least one million five hundred thousand persons and for which all of the following apply: 1. The district consists of only noncontiguous county islands in a geographic boundary area that is contained in a municipal planning area and within the boundaries of an automatic aid consortium where there is no private provider of fire protection service at the time of the district's formation. 2. Fire protection services are not funded pursuant to section 48-807 at the time of the district's formation. 3. There is only one fire district within the geographic area of the municipal planning area for any one city or town. |