See 6101.13, 6101.28 and 6101.53 highlights that are specific to proposed assessment. HB 47 clarifies current law particularly as it relates to these sections.

Ohio Revised Code - Watershed Conservancy Laws -Key Provisions

Any area or areas situated in one or more counties may be organized as a conservancy district in the manner and subject to the conditions provided by this chapter for any of the following purposes: 

(A)  Preventing floods; 

(B)   Regulating stream channels by changing, widening, and deepening the stream channels; 

(C)  Reclaiming or filling wet and overflowed lands

(D)  Providing for irrigation where it may be needed; 

(E)   Regulating the flow of streams and conserving their waters;

(F)   Diverting or in whole or in part eliminating watercourses; 

(G)  Providing a water supply for domestic, industrial, and public use; 

(H) Providing for the collection and disposal of sewage and other liquid wastes produced within the district; 

(I)    Arresting erosion along the Ohio shore line of Lake Erie. 

The purposes of a district may be altered by the same procedure as provided for the establishment of the district

§ 6101.07. Organization of court; powers and jurisdiction.

Upon the determination of a judge of the court of common pleas that a sufficient petition has been filed in the court in accordance with section 6101.05 of the Revised

Code, the judge shall give notice of the petition to the court of common pleas of each county included in whole or in part within the proposed conservancy district. The judge of the court of common pleas of each county, or in the case of any county having more than one judge, one judge assigned by order of the judges of the court of common pleas of the county, shall sit as the court of common pleas of the county in which the petition was filed to exercise the jurisdiction conferred by this chapter. In case of the inability to serve of the judge of any county having only one judge, the chief justice of the supreme court, upon application of any interested person and proper showing of need, may assign a judge from another county to serve as a judge for the county during the disability of its local judge. The court of any county, presided over by the judges provided for in this section, may establish conservancy districts when the conditions stated in section 6101.05 of the Revised Code are found to exist. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court has, for all purposes of this chapter, original and exclusive jurisdiction coextensive with the boundaries and limits of the district or proposed district and of the lands and other property included in, or proposed to be included in, the district or affected by the district, without regard to the usual limits of its jurisdiction. The judges of the court shall meet in the first instance upon the call of the judge determining the sufficiency of the petition and shall elect one of their number as presiding judge. Each judge when sitting as a member of the court shall receive compensation and allowance for expenses as provided by law for a judge of the court of common pleas serving by assignment outside the county in which the judge resides, which shall be paid as other expenses of the organization or operation of the district are paid.  The court shall adopt rules of practice and procedure not inconsistent with this chapter and the general laws of this state. If the court consists of more than three judges, it may designate three of its members from three different counties to preside over the court, hear matters coming before the court, and make determinations and decisions or findings and recommendations, as the rules of the court provide, with respect to any matters authorized by the rules, the disposition of which is vested in the court, except that it shall not make final decisions and orders as to the following: 

(A)  The establishment, dissolution, or merger of the district or of subdistricts of it; 

(B)   The adoption, rejection, or amendment of the official plan; 

(C)  The appointment and removal of directors and appraisers;

(D)  The confirmation of the appraisers' report of benefits, damages, and appraisals of property; 

(E)   The authorization of maintenance assessments in excess of one per cent of benefits; 

(F)   The authorization of a readjustment of the appraisal of benefits in accordance with section 6101.54 of the Revised Code; 

(G)  The approval of the method of financing improvements and activities under section 6101.25 of the Revised Code; 

(H) The determination of rates of compensation for water under sections 6101.24 and 6101.63 of the Revised Code; 

(I)    The examination of the annual report of the board of directors of the conservancy district as provided under section 6101.66 of the Revised Code. 

The concurrence of two of the three judges designated shall be necessary for any action or determination by the judges, and it has, if so provided by the rules of the court, the same effect as though taken or made by the full court. All actions and determinations by the full court require the affirmative vote of a majority of the judges constituting the court. In all cases in which the judges are evenly divided, that side with which the presiding judge votes shall prevail. If the court consists of two judges and they find themselves unable to agree on any question left to their decision, a judge of the court of common pleas of some other county shall be designated by the chief justice of the supreme court to sit and vote as a third member of the court until the question is decided. When the court by its order entered of record decrees that a subdistrict be organized, the judge of the court of common pleas of each county included in whole or in part in the subdistrict, or in the case of any county having more than one judge, one judge assigned by order of the judges of the court of common pleas of the county, shall sit as the court of common pleas, with jurisdiction in all matters relating to the subdistrict, the disposition of which is vested in the court, except those listed in divisions (A), (C), and (I) of this section, which shall remain the responsibility of the full court. 

§ 6101.13. Official plan for district; hearing; approval by environmental protection agency.

Upon its qualification, or as soon thereafter as practicable, the board of directors of a conservancy district shall prepare a plan for the part or parts of the improvements for which the district was created as the board of directors considers advisable. The plan shall be filed, in accordance with this section, within two years from the date of the order establishing the district. The court may grant extensions of time allowed for the filing of the plan if the board of directors so requests, for good cause shown. No plan or portion of a plan shall be prepared providing a water supply for domestic, industrial, or public use, or providing for the collection and disposal of sewage and other liquid wastes, for any municipal corporation, unless the governing body of the municipal corporation has petitioned the board to provide a water supply or a system for the collection and disposal of sewage and other liquid wastes, or has signed the petition initiating the proceeding by which the district acquired authority to undertake such improvements. The plan shall include the maps, profiles, plans, and other data and descriptions necessary to set forth properly the location and character of the work and of the property benefited or taken or damaged, with estimates of cost for doing the work, including the proportion of the total cost to be assessed within the district, a breakdown of the sources of funds to be used in making the improvements, and the extent of participation, if any, by other political agencies in constructing the work.  (Note: the official plan mandates for detailed plans, costs, benefits etc., the amended plan is general in nature and broadly defined/outlined. The board of appraisers was not provided with information that is required when adopting the original plan, that probably is why their proposed assessment plan is general in nature and overly broad.)

If the board finds that any former survey made by any other district or in any other matter is useful for the purposes of the district, the board may take over the data secured by that survey, or such other proceedings as is useful to it, and may pay an amount equal to the value of that data to the other district. No construction shall be made under this chapter that will cause the flooding of any municipal corporation or that will cause water to back up into any municipal corporation, unless the board has acquired and paid for the right to use the land affected for such purpose, and has paid all damages incident to the flooding or back-up. No railroad shall be required to be constructed with a grade in excess of the maximum ruling grade then existing upon that division of the railroad where the change is required. 

Upon the completion of the plan, the board shall file a copy of it with the environmental protection agency, which may approve or reject any provisions of the plan relating to the supplying of water for domestic, industrial, and public use or to the collection and disposal of sewage and other liquid wastes. In deciding whether to approve or reject the provisions, the agency shall consider, among other factors, the protection of the public health, and compliance with air and water quality standards and regulations and solid waste disposal requirements. If the agency rejects the provisions or refers them back for amendment, the board shall prepare other or amended provisions relating thereto. If the agency approves the provisions, it shall certify a copy of its action to the board, which shall file it as a record of the district. 

Upon the completion of the plan and the approval by the agency, the board shall give notice of the completion of the plan by publication and shall file a copy of the plan in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of each county in which works of improvement are proposed, or in which property would be benefited, damaged, or taken by the execution of the plan. Copies shall be available for inspection by all persons, public corporations, and agencies of the state government interested. The board shall make copies of the plan available to any interested party, and may charge for the copies only the cost of their production. 

The notice shall fix the times and places for the hearing of all objections to the plan, which shall be not less than twenty or more than thirty days after the publication of the notice. The board, or its duly appointed representative under this section, may, upon motion and for good cause shown, or upon the board's or representative's own motion, grant continuances to a day certain of the hearing on the plan. Any continuances shall not necessitate additional notice. All objections to the plan shall be in writing and filed with the secretary of the conservancy district at the secretary's office not more than twenty days after the publication of the notice. A hearing on the objections filed shall be provided for by the board in the county seat of each county in which a copy of the plan has been filed as required by this section,

but the hearing may be canceled in any county from which no objections have emanated either from a resident or owner of property located within the county. The board may, if it considers it necessary, appoint one or more representatives, each of whom shall be assigned by the board to conduct one or more of the hearings on the objections as required by this section and make a record of each of the hearings and report the record back to the board. After the hearings, the board shall adopt the plan with or without modifications as the official plan of the district. Within ten days after the adoption of the official plan by the board, the secretary of the conservancy district shall certify a copy of it and deposit it with the clerk of the court, who shall file it in the original case. If any person, public corporation, or agency of the state government objects to the official plan, as adopted, the person, public corporation, or agency of the state government may, within thirty days from the adoption of the official plan, file their objections in writing, specifying the features of the plan to which they object, in the original case in the office of the clerk of the court. The clerk of the court shall fix a day for a hearing on the official plan before the court, which shall not be less than twenty or more than thirty days after the time fixed for filing objections, at which time the court shall hear any objections filed and approve, reject, or refer back the plan to the board. 

The court may, upon motion and for good cause shown, or upon its own motion, grant continuances to a date certain of the hearing on the plan when it is made to appear to the court that further time is needed for study of the plan by objectors. Any continuances shall not necessitate additional notice. If the court rejects the plan, the board shall proceed as in the first instance under this section to prepare another plan. If the court refers the plan to the board for amendment, the court shall continue the hearing to a day certain without publication of notice. If the court approves the plan as the official plan of the district, a certified copy of the journal entry of the court shall be filed with the secretary, and the secretary shall incorporate it into the records of the district. The board, with the approval of the court, may alter or add to the official plan until the appraisal record is filed, and the board of appraisers of the conservancy district shall take notice of all of the alterations and additions. If, in the judgment of the court, any alteration or addition is material in character, the procedure on it shall be the same as on the adoption of the plan. After the appraisal record has been filed in court, no alterations of the official plan or additions to it shall be made except as provided in section 6101.39 of the Revised Code. 

The board of directors of a conservancy district shall have full power and authority to devise, prepare for, execute, maintain, and operate all works or improvements necessary or desirable to complete, maintain, operate, and protect the official plan. It may secure and use workers and equipment under the supervision of the chief engineer or other agents, or it may enter into contracts for the works, either as a whole or in parts. 

The board of directors of a conservancy district may, at any time after the conservancy appraisal record is filed, when necessary to fulfill the objects for which the district was created, alter or add to the official plan by amendment. Such alterations or additions may be alterations in or additions to improvements previously provided for in the official plan or may consist of new works or improvements for the accomplishment of the purposes for which the district was created that were not previously provided for in the official plan. When such alterations or additions are formally approved by the board and by the court and are filed with the secretary of the conservancy district, they shall become part of the official plan for all purposes of this chapter. If such alterations or additions in the judgment of the court neither materially modify the general character of the work, nor materially increase resulting damage for which the board is not able to make amicable settlement, no action other than a resolution of the board is necessary for the approval of such alterations or additions. Any alteration or addition to the official plan relating to the provision of water supply or the collection and disposal of sewage and liquid wastes requires the approval of the environmental protection agency. If the proposed alterations or additions materially modify the general character of the work, or materially modify the resulting damages or materially reduce the benefits for which the board is not able to make amicable settlement, or materially increase the benefits in such a manner as to require a new appraisal, the court shall direct the board of appraisers of the conservancy district, which may be the original board, or a new board appointed by the court on petition of the board of directors or otherwise, to appraise the property to be taken, benefited, or damaged by the proposed alterations or additions. 
 

Upon the completion of the report by the board of appraisers, notice shall be given and a hearing had on its report in the same manner as in the case of the original report of the board of appraisers, and the same right of appeal to a jury exists. When the only question at issue is additional damages or reduction of benefits to property due to modifications or additions to the plans, the board of directors may, if it finds it practicable, make settlements with the owners of the property damaged instead of having appraisals made by the board of appraisers. In case such settlements are made, notice and hearing need not be had. After bonds have been sold, in order that their security may not be impaired, no reduction shall be made in the amount of benefits appraised against property in the district, but in lieu of such reductions in benefits, if any are made, the amount shall be paid to the party in cash. This section applies to all changes in appraisals under this chapter. 

§ 6101.28. Appraisal of benefits and damages.

During the preparation of the official plan, the board of appraisers of a conservancy district shall examine and become acquainted with the nature of plans for the improvement and of the lands and other property affected thereby, in order that it may be better prepared to make appraisals. (Note: amended plan does not contain any specific projects or impacted properties, cost benefit appraisal is flawed)

When the certified copy of the entry of the court approving the official plan is filed with the secretary of the conservancy district, he shall at once notify the board of appraisers, and it shall thereupon appraise the benefits of every kind to all real property within or without the district, which will result from the organization of said district and the execution of the official plan. The board of appraisers shall appraise the damages sustained and the value of the land and other property necessary to be taken by the district for which settlement has not been made by the board of directors of the conservancy district. In the progress of its work, the board of appraisers shall have the assistance of the attorney, engineers, secretary, and other agents and employees of the board of directors. 
 

The board of appraisers shall also appraise the benefits and damages accruing to municipal corporations, counties, townships, and other public corporations, as political entities, and to this state. 

Before appraisals of compensation and damages are made, the board of directors may report to the board of appraisers the parcels of land or other property it wishes to purchase, and for which it wishes appraisals to be made, both for easement and for purchase in fee simple. The board of directors may, if it deems best, specify in case of any property the particular purpose for which and the extent to which an easement in the same is desired, describing definitely such purpose and extent. The board of appraisers shall appraise all damages which may, because of the execution of the official plan, accrue to real or other property either within or without the district, which damages shall also represent easements acquired by the district for all of the purposes of the district, unless otherwise specifically stated. Wherever instructed to do so by the board of directors, the board of appraisers shall appraise lands or other property which it is necessary or desirable for the district to own, and when instructed by the board of directors to do so, the board of appraisers shall appraise both the total value of the land, and also the damages due to an easement for the purposes of the district. When such appraisals are confirmed by the court, the board of directors has the option of paying the entire appraised value of the property and acquiring full title to it in fee simple, or of paying only the cost of such easement for the purposes of the district. The board of appraisers in appraising benefits and damages shall consider only the effect of the execution of the official plan. In making appraisals, the board of appraisers shall give due consideration and credit to any other works or improvements already constructed, or under construction, which form a useful part of the work of the district according to the official plan. Where the board of appraisers returns no appraisal of damages to any property, it shall be deemed a finding by such board of appraisers that no damages will be sustained. 

§ 6101.29. Land affected outside district.

 If the board of appraisers of a conservancy district finds that lands or other property not embraced within the boundaries of the district will be affected by the proposed improvement, or should be included in the district, it shall appraise the benefits and damages to such land, and shall file notice in the court of the appraisal which it has made upon the lands beyond the boundaries of the district, and to the land which in its opinion should be included in the district. The board shall also report to the court any lands which in its opinion should be eliminated from the district. (Note: based on MWCD's appraisal of benefits methodology then all properties in the watershed currently not in their jurisdiction should be assessed.)

 The moneys of every conservancy district shall be administered through the following funds: 

(A)  The preliminary fund, consisting of the proceeds of the preliminary assessment levied under authority of section 6101.45 of the Revised Code, any advances of assessments obtained or notes issued in accordance with section 6101.46 of the Revised Code, and any contribution or appropriation by the state under authority of section 6101.45 of the Revised Code, which shall be used for the payment of expenses incurred for the purposes for which such preliminary assessments and contributions are authorized; 

(B)   The improvement fund, consisting of the proceeds of all special assessments the collection of which has not been anticipated in the issuance of bonds or notes and the proceeds of all bonds and notes, other than bonds to retire notes, issued under section 6101.50 of the Revised Code, which shall be used for defraying expenditures incurred in the execution of the official plan and the acquisition or construction of properties, works, and improvements of the district, including the cost of preparing the official plan and the appraisal, the entire cost of construction and superintendence, with all charges incidental thereto, and the cost of administration during the period of construction and may also be used for defraying preliminary expenses in accordance with section 6101.46 of the Revised Code and repayment to the preliminary fund, in the manner and to the extent provided by this section, of expenditures from it; 

(C)  The bond retirement fund, consisting of the proceeds of all special assessments the collection of which has been anticipated in the issuance of bonds or notes together with all other receipts pledged for the retirement of bonds or notes or the payment of interest on the bonds or notes, which shall be used only for those purposes; 

(D)  The maintenance fund, consisting of the proceeds of maintenance assessments levied annually in accordance with section 6101.53 of the Revised Code, earnings from the operation of the works of the district, and all receipts not otherwise assigned by law or by order of the board of directors of the conservancy district, which shall be used for the payment of operation, maintenance, and other current expense of the district. 

Before levying any assessment to pay the cost of an improvement, the board of directors shall determine the amount expended and to be expended from the preliminary fund for surveys and plans, appraisals, hearings, administration, court costs, and other incidentals that equitably should be repaid to the preliminary fund. The amount may be all or any portion of the preliminary expenses for the improvement. When specified by resolution of the board of directors, the amount shall be included in the costs to be paid from the assessments upon benefited property, and shall be transferred from the improvement fund to the preliminary fund. The board may establish separate or special funds of each class for each or any designated purpose for which the district is incorporated. Any surplus moneys in any fund of the district may be transferred to any other such fund by the board with the approval of the court, but no transfer shall be made from the bond retirement fund prior to the final maturity of the bonds and notes payable from it, and no transfer shall thereafter be made which would reduce the balance in the fund below the amount required for the payment of all obligations outstanding against the fund. No money shall be drawn from the treasury of the district, and no obligation for the expenditure of money shall be incurred, except in pursuance of an appropriation by the board. This prohibition does not apply to funds placed at the place of payment by the treasurer of the conservancy district for the payment of maturing bonds and notes and interest on them in accordance with section 6101.51 of the Revised Code. At or before the opening of each fiscal year, which shall correspond to the calendar year unless a different year is authorized by the auditor of state, the board shall adopt a resolution making appropriations for the ensuing year. The appropriation resolution may be amended or supplemented by the board. The total amount appropriated from any fund for any year shall not exceed the sum of the unencumbered balance in the fund at the beginning of the year and the amounts to be received during the year from bonds authorized, and special assessments imposed prior to their appropriation, together with all other moneys estimated to be received by the fund during the year. At the close of each fiscal year, all unencumbered balances of appropriations shall revert to the funds from which they were made and shall be subject to re-appropriation. No contract shall be entered into, and no order shall be issued, involving the expenditure of money unless the accounting officer of the district first certifies that the amount required to meet the expenditure or, in the case of a continuing contract to be performed in whole or in part in a subsequent fiscal year, the amount required to meet the contract in the year in which the contract is made has been lawfully appropriated for the purpose and is in the treasury or in process of collection to the credit of an appropriate fund free from previous encumbrances. Accounts shall be kept in such form as to show at all times the true condition of each appropriation. 

§ 6101.53. Conservancy maintenance assessment; rates for sale of water.

To maintain, operate, and preserve the reservoirs, ditches, drains, dams, levies, canals, sewers, pumping stations, treatment and disposal works, or other properties or improvements acquired or made pursuant to this chapter, to strengthen, repair, and restore the same, when needed, and to defray the current expenses of the conservancy district, the board of directors of the district may, upon the substantial completion of the improvements and on or before the first day of September in each year thereafter, levy an assessment upon each tract or parcel of land and upon each public corporation within the district, subject to assessments under this chapter, to be known as a conservancy maintenance assessment. No assessment shall be made with respect to works and improvements acquired or constructed for the purpose of providing a water supply for domestic, industrial, and public use within the district, when the water supply can be metered or measured when furnished to persons or public corporations. If the district, for the benefit of one or more persons or political subdivisions, provides a water supply that recharges underground aquifers and thereby replenishes wells or provides a source of water for new wells, or increases the natural low flow of a stream used for water supply, or creates an impoundment, in such a way that the augmented use of water cannot be metered or measured for individual or public consumption, the board may make a maintenance assessment against benefited property and public corporations in the same manner provided in this section for maintenance of other properties or improvements The maintenance assessment shall be apportioned upon the basis of the total appraisal of benefits accruing for original and subsequent construction, (Note: Methodology based on appraisal of benefits to assess all properties comes into question based on the requirement to apportion parcels based on benefits) shall not exceed one per cent of the total appraisal of benefits in any one year unless the court by its order authorizes an assessment of a larger percentage, shall not be less than two dollars, and shall be certified to the county auditor of each county in which lands of the district are located in the conservancy assessment record but in a separate column in like manner and at the same time as the annual installment of the assessment levied under section 6101.48 of the Revised Code is certified, under the heading maintenance assessment. The auditor shall certify the same to the county treasurer of the county at the same time that the auditor certifies the annual installment of the assessments levied under that section, and the sum of the levies for any tract or public corporation may be certified as a single item. The treasurer shall demand and collect the maintenance assessment and make return of it, and shall be liable for the same penalties for failure to do so as are provided for the annual installment of the assessment levied under section 6101.48 of the Revised Code.  The amount of the maintenance assessment paid by any parcel of land or public corporation shall not be credited against the benefits assessed against the parcel of land or public corporation, but the maintenance assessment shall be in addition to any assessment that has been or can be levied under section 6101.48 of the Revised Code.  To maintain, operate, and preserve the works and improvements of the district acquired or constructed for the purpose of providing a water supply, to strengthen, repair, and restore the same, and to defray the current expenses of the district for this purpose, the board may impose rates for the sale of water to public corporations and persons within the district. The rates to be charged for the water shall be fixed and adjusted by the board at intervals of not less than one year, so that the income thus produced will be adequate to provide a maintenance fund for the purpose of water supply. Contracts for supplying water to public corporations and persons shall be entered into before the service is rendered by the district. Contracts shall specify the maximum quantity of water to be furnished to the public corporation or person, and the quantity shall be fixed so as equitably to distribute the supply. Preference shall be given to water supply furnished to public corporations for domestic and public uses. Bills for water supplied to public corporations shall be rendered at regular intervals and shall be payable from the waterworks fund of the public corporation or, if it is not sufficient, from the general fund. 
 

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Paid for by Citizens for Gibbs, Lucille L. Hastings, Treasurer

12785 County Road 330, Big Prairie, OH  44611-9604    

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