2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 32 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS (§§ 32-1-101 — 32-22-117) › WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICTS (§§ 32-4-101 — 32-4-547) › Article 4 - WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICTS (§§ 32-4-101 — 32-4-547) › Part 4 - METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICTS (§§ 32-4-401 — 32-4-416) › Section 32-4-406 - Powers of districts

(1)
Any district has the following powers:
(a)
To have perpetual existence;
(b)
To have and use a corporate seal;
(c)
To sue and be sued and be a party to suits, actions, and proceedings;
(d)
To enter into contracts and agreements affecting the affairs of the district, including but not limited to contracts with the United States and the state of Colorado and any of their agencies or instrumentalities;
(e)
To borrow money and incur indebtedness and to issue bonds and other evidence of the indebtedness; but no indebtedness shall be created in excess of the revenue which may reasonably be expected to be available to the district for the repayment thereof in the fiscal year in which the indebtedness is to be created without first submitting, at an election held for that purpose, the proposition of creating the indebtedness. Any election may be held separately or may be held jointly or concurrently with any primary or general election held under the laws of the state of Colorado. The resolution calling the election shall recite the objects and purposes for which the indebtedness is proposed to be incurred, the amount of principal of the indebtedness, the maximum net effective interest rate to be paid on such indebtedness, and the terms of repayment. The resolution shall also designate the date upon which such election shall be held and the form of the ballot. The election shall be held and conducted as provided in articles
1
to
13
of title
1
, C.R.S.
(f)
To purchase, trade, exchange, acquire, buy, sell, and otherwise dispose of and encumber real and personal property, water, water rights, water works and plants, and any interest therein, including leases and easements;
(g)
To refund any bonded indebtedness of the district without an election. The terms and conditions of refunding bonds shall be substantially the same as those of an original issue of bonds.
(h)
In addition to all other means of providing revenue, as provided in this part 4, to levy and collect ad valorem taxes on and against all taxable property within the district. The board of directors, in each year, shall determine the amount of money necessary to be raised by taxation, taking into consideration other sources of revenue of the district, and shall fix a rate of levy which shall not exceed six mills which, when levied upon every dollar of the valuation for assessment of taxable property within the district and with other revenue, will raise the amount required by the district annually to supply funds for the constructing, operating, and maintaining of the works and equipment of the district and promptly to pay in full, when due, all interest on and principal of bonds and other obligations of the district, and in event of accruing defaults or deficiencies an additional levy may be made. The board of directors, in accordance with the schedule prescribed by section
39-5-128
, C.R.S., shall certify to the board of county commissioners of each county wherein the district has any territory the rate so fixed, with directions that, at the time and in the manner required by law for levying taxes for other purposes, such board of county commissioners shall levy such tax upon the valuation for assessment of all taxable property within the district, in addition to such other taxes as may be levied by such board of county commissioners.
(i)
To hire and retain agents, employees, engineers, and attorneys;
(j)
To have and exercise the power of eminent domain and, in the manner provided by law for the condemnation of private property for public use, to take any property necessary to exercise the powers granted in this part 4, either within or without the district. In exercising the power of eminent domain, the procedure established and prescribed in articles
1
to
7
of title
38
, C.R.S., shall be followed.
(k)
To construct and maintain works and establish and maintain facilities within or without the district, across or along any public street or highway, or in, upon, under, or over any vacant public lands, which public lands are the property of the state of Colorado, or across any stream of water or watercourse; except that the district shall promptly restore any such street or highway to its former state of usefulness as nearly as may be, and shall not use the same in such manner as to completely or unnecessarily impair the usefulness thereof;
(l)
To fix and, from time to time, increase or decrease water rates and to pledge such revenue for the payment of any indebtedness of the district;
(m)
To sell developed water subject to conditions determined by the board for domestic, municipal, irrigation, and industrial uses at a rate to be determined as fair and reasonable in accordance with recognized and established principles of rate determination;
(n)
To appropriate revenues for the purpose of carrying on investigations and searches for the determination of potential sources of water, surface and subsurface;
(o)
To invest any surplus money in the district treasury, including such money in any sinking fund established for the purpose of retiring bonds, not required for the immediate necessities of the district in securities meeting the investment requirements established in part 6 of article
75
of title
24
, C.R.S., and such investment may be made by direct purchase of any such securities at the original sale of the same or by the subsequent purchase of such securities. Any securities thus purchased and held may, from time to time, be sold and the proceeds reinvested in securities, as provided in this section. Sales of any securities thus purchased and held shall, from time to time, be made in season so that the proceeds may be applied to the purposes for which the money with which the securities were originally purchased was placed in the treasury of the district.
(p)
To manufacture and sell electrical power to public and private corporations, as incidental to the foregoing purposes;
(q)
To deposit moneys of the district not then needed in the conduct of district affairs in any depository authorized in section
24-75-603
, C.R.S. For the purpose of making such deposits, the board of directors may appoint, by written resolution, one or more persons to act as custodians of the moneys of the district. Such persons shall give surety bonds in such amounts and form and for such purposes as the board requires.
L. 55: p. 584, § 6. CRS 53: § 89-13-6. C.R.S. 1963: § 89-13-6. L. 77: (1)(e) and (1)(h) amended, p. 1503, § 51, effective July 15. L. 79: (1)(q) added, p. 1624, § 34, effective June 8. L. 89: (1)(o) amended, p. 1118, § 36, effective July 1. L. 92: (1)(e) amended, p. 891, § 132, effective 1/1/1993.