246.160. Issuance of refunding bonds, general provisions.
Issuance of refunding bonds, general provisions.
246.160. 1. The board of supervisors of any drainage or levee districtheretofore organized or that may be hereafter organized in any circuit courtor the county commission of any drainage or levee district heretoforeorganized or that may be hereafter organized in any county commission of thisstate, whether said original district has been reorganized in whole or inpart, or whether said district in whole or in part has elected to bereorganized under sections 242.010 to 242.690, RSMo, or the board of directorsof any district organized or reorganized under sections 245.285 to 245.545,RSMo, whenever in the judgment of such board or court or county commission, asthe case may be, it is advisable and for the best interest of the landownersof any such district, may, unless a majority of the owners owning a majorityof the acres of land within said district shall, at the hearing hereinprovided for, object to said proceedings, from time to time as may benecessary, to refund all or any part of its bond indebtedness by taking up andexchanging such of its outstanding bonds as the holders thereof may be willingto surrender, and issue in lieu thereof new bonds of such district payable atsuch longer time, not exceeding forty years from their date, as such districtmay determine and the holders of the outstanding bonds are willing to accept.
2. Such refunding bonds shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount ofbonds refunded thereby and they shall bear interest at a rate not exceedingthe same rate as the bonds refunded, which interest shall be payablesemiannually and said refunding bonds when issued may be exchanged for theoutstanding bonds, if the holders thereof so agree, or said refunding bondsmay be sold for not less than ninety-five cents on the dollar and accruedinterest, and the proceeds of the sale of said bonds shall be used solely inthe payment of the outstanding bonds and the cost, expense and discountincident to the issuing of such refunding bonds.
3. In the event refunding bonds are issued, any landowner shall have theright at any time within two weeks after the order providing for their issueis made in which to pay the full amount of uncollected principal tax orassessment chargeable to his land for the payment of bonds proposed to berefunded and his lands shall thereby be released from the tax or assessmentfor the payment of the refunding bonds, but shall remain subject to additionaltaxes, if any, that may be levied by such district pursuant to law. Unlessand until refunding bonds shall have been authorized and issued, the rate oftax or assessment or amount of assessment applicable to the bonds to berefunded shall not be reduced.
4. Notice shall be given by such board or court or county commission tothe landowners, persons and corporations owning any interest in any lands orother property assessed in said district of its intention to refund said bondsby inserting a notice in a weekly newspaper published in each county in whichthe lands in said district may lie; there shall be two insertions of saidnotice in said weekly paper or papers, the last insertion to be not less thanfive days prior to the hearing; such hearing to be held before such board orcourt or county commission, as the case may be, at such convenient place asmay be designated by such board or court or county commission.
5. The notice to all parties interested will be sufficient ifsubstantially in the following form:
All persons or corporations interested in lands or other property lyingin ......... district, take notice.
That ......... district desires to refund all or part of its outstandingbonded indebtedness and that at ......... in the city of ......... on the......... day of ........., 20...., any landowner or other person orcorporation having an interest in any land or property in said district mayappear before the board of trustees (or supervisors or directors, as the casemay be) of said district (or before the county commission of .........County, as the case may be), and show any cause why said refunding should notbe done, and you are further notified that if a majority of the owners owninga majority of the acres of land in said district object to such refunding, thesaid refunding shall be abandoned. You will further take notice that unlesssuch refunding shall be abandoned, any landowner will have the right at anytime within two weeks after the making of the order providing for the issuingof refunding bonds by said board or court or commission, if any such order bemade within which to pay the full amount of uncollected principal tax orassessment chargeable to his land or any tract thereof for the payment ofbonds proposed to be refunded, and any tract on which such tax or assessmentshall be paid will be released from any tax or assessment for the payment ofsuch refunding bonds, but shall remain subject to additional taxes, if any,that may be levied by such district pursuant to law. Of which you will takedue notice and govern yourselves accordingly.
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............... 6. When the bondsof any such district are refunded pursuant to the authority hereby conferred,the collection of the corresponding installment of taxes or assessments forthe payment of the original bonds shall be deferred for a like period. Itshall be the duty of the district issuing such refunding bonds to make properprovisions for their payment in like manner as is required in the case of theissuance of original bonds by the act under which such district is or shall beincorporated, and the holder of such refunding bonds shall have the samerights as are given the holders of bonds under the act or acts under whichsuch districts are respectively incorporated. Any landowner failing to availhimself of the privilege conferred by this section of paying in full theunpaid principal tax or assessment against his land shall not be heard tocomplain by reason of additional interest to be collected from his lands byreason of the extension of the bonds. Taxes or assessments levied for thepayment of refunding bonds shall be secured by the same lien as other taxes ofsuch district.
7. No proceedings shall be required for the issuance of refunding bondsother than those provided by this section and all powers necessary to beexercised by such district in order to carry out the provisions of thissection are hereby conferred upon such districts. The powers conferred bythis section may be exercised by any drainage or levee district heretofore orhereafter organized under any law in this state and shall apply to bonds ofsuch districts whether heretofore or hereafter issued; provided further, thatin the event any district shall avail itself of the provisions of this sectionand desires to issue refunding bonds extending beyond the charter life of saiddistrict, the issuing of said bonds shall automatically extend the charterlife of such district for a period of twenty years beyond the date of the lastmaturing refunding bond so issued.
(RSMo 1939 § 12611, A.L. 1945 p. 849)Prior revision: 1929 § 11022