2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 70 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS › 70 ILCS 3710/ - Water Service District Act.

(70 ILCS 3710/0.01) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 212.90)
Sec. 0.01. 
		Short title. 
		This Act may be cited as the
Water Service District Act.
(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)
(70 ILCS 3710/1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 213)
Sec. 1. 
		
		Any area not included within the corporate boundaries of a
city, village or incorporated town may be incorporated as a water
service district in the manner following:
Fifty or more of the legal voters resident within the limits of such
proposed district or a majority thereof if less than 100, may petition
the circuit court for the county which contains all or the largest
portion of the proposed district to cause the question to be submitted
to the legal voters of such proposed district, whether such proposed
territory shall be organized as a water service district under this Act;
such petition shall be addressed to the court and shall contain a
definite description of the boundaries of the territory to be embraced
in the proposed district, and the name of such proposed district;
Provided, that the territory incorporated in any district formed
hereunder shall be contiguous and may contain any territory not
previously included in any water service district.
Upon filing any such petition in the office of the circuit clerk of
the county in which such petition is made, it shall be the duty of the
court to consider the boundaries of any such proposed water service
district whether the same shall be those stated in the petition or
otherwise.
Notice shall be given by the court to whom the petition is addressed
of the time and place of a hearing upon the subject of the petition
which shall be inserted in one or more daily or weekly papers published
within the proposed water service district, or if no daily or weekly
newspaper is published within such proposed water service district, then
by posting at least 10 copies in such district at least 20 days before
such meeting in conspicuous places as far separated from each other as
consistently possible.
At such hearing all persons in such proposed water service district
shall have an opportunity to be heard touching the location and boundary
of such proposed district and make suggestions regarding the same, and
the court, after hearing statements, evidence and suggestions, shall fix
and determine the limits and boundaries of such proposed district, and
for that purpose and to that extent, may alter and amend such petition.
After such determination by the court the same shall be incorporated in
an order which shall be filed in the records of the court.
Upon the entering of such order the court shall certify the proposition
to the proper election officials, who shall submit to the legal voters of
the proposed district such question of organization and establishment of
the proposed water service district as
determined by the judge, at an election to be held in the proposed district
in accordance with the general election law. Notice whereof shall be given
by the court in the manner provided by the general election law. Such notice shall
specify the description of such proposed
district.
Each legal voter resident within such proposed district shall have
the right to cast a ballot at such election. The proposition under this
section shall be in substantially the following form:
--------------------------------------------------------------
For Water Service District
--------------------------------------------------------------
Against Water Service District
--------------------------------------------------------------
The court shall cause a written statement of
the results of such election to be filed of record in the court.
If a majority of the votes cast upon the question shall
be in favor of the incorporation of the proposed water service district,
such district shall thenceforth be an organized water service district
under this Act, and the court shall enter an order accordingly and cause
the same to be filed of record in the
court and shall also cause
to be sent to the County Clerk of any and all other counties in which
any portion of the district lies a certified copy of the order
organizing such district and a plot of the same indicating what lands of
the district lie in such other county or counties.
(Source: P.A. 83-343.)
(70 ILCS 3710/2) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 214)
Sec. 2. 
		
		All courts in this State shall take judicial notice of the
existence of all water service districts organized under this Act and
every such district shall constitute a body corporate and as such may sue
or be sued.
(Source: Laws 1951, p. 1507.)
(70 ILCS 3710/3) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 215)
Sec. 3. 
		
		A board of trustees consisting of 3 members for the
government and control of the affairs and business of a water service
district incorporated under this Act shall be created in the following
manner:
(1) If the district is wholly contained within a single county the
trustees for the district shall be appointed by the presiding officer of
the county board with the advice and consent of the county board;
(2) If the district is located in more than one county, the number
of trustees who are residents of a county shall be in proportion, as
nearly as practicable, to the number of residents of the district who
reside in that county in relation to the total population of the
district.
Upon the expiration of the term of a trustee who is in office on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1975, the successor shall be a
resident of whichever county is entitled to such representation in order
to bring about the proportional representation required herein, and he
shall be appointed by the county board of that county, or in the case of
a home rule county as defined by Article VII, Section 6 of the
Constitution of 1970, the chief executive officer of that county, with
the advice and consent of the county board.
Thereafter, each trustee shall be succeeded by a resident of the same
county who shall be appointed by the same appointing authority; however,
the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to the appointment
of the successor to each trustee who is in office at the time of the
publication of each decennial Federal census of population.
Within 60 days after the creation of a water service district as
provided in Section 1 the appropriate appointing authority shall appoint
3 trustees.
The trustees shall hold their offices for one, 2 and 3 years from the
first Monday of May next after their appointment and until their
successors have been appointed and qualified and thereafter on or before
the second Monday in April of each year the appointing authority shall appoint
one trustee whose term shall be for 3 years commencing on the first
Monday in May next after they are respectively appointed.  The length of
term of the first trustees shall be determined by lot at their first
meeting.
The appointing authority shall require each of the trustees to enter
into bond with security to be approved by the appointing authority in
such sum as the appointing authority may determine.
A majority of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum.  No
trustee or employee of such district shall be directly or indirectly
interested financially in any contract, work or business or the sale of
any article, the expense, price or consideration of which is paid by the
district.  The trustees shall provide and adopt a corporate seal for the
district.
(Source: P.A. 81-1550.)
(70 ILCS 3710/4) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 216)
Sec. 4. 
		
		
		Whenever a vacancy in the board of trustees shall occur, either by
death, resignation, refusal to qualify or for any other reason, the
appointing authority, as defined in Section 3 of this Act, shall fill such
vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term, and such person so appointed
shall qualify for office in the manner hereinbefore stated and shall
thereupon assume the duties of the office.
(Source: P.A. 77-698.)
(70 ILCS 3710/5) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 217)
Sec. 5. 
		
		The trustee shall exercise all of the powers and control all the
affairs and property of such district. The board of trustees, immediately
after their appointment and at their first meeting in May of each year
thereafter, shall elect one of their number as president and one of their
number as secretary. The board shall prescribe the duties and fix the
compensation of all of the officers and employees of the water service
district: Provided that a member of the board of trustees shall in no case
receive a sum to exceed $50.00 per annum. The board of trustees shall have
full power to sell water to individuals or to municipalities or public
utilities operating water distribution systems either within or without the
water service district, and to pass all necessary ordinances, rules and
regulations for the proper management and conduct of the business of the
water service district for carrying into effect the objects for which the
district was formed.
(Source: Laws 1957, p. 1597.)
(70 ILCS 3710/5.1) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 217.1)
Sec. 5.1. 
		
		Purchases made pursuant to this Act shall be made in
compliance with the "Local Government Prompt Payment Act", approved by the
Eighty-fourth General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 84-731.)
(70 ILCS 3710/5.2)
Sec. 5.2. Boil order; notification of certified local health department required. If a water service district issues a boil order, then the district must notify any certified local public health department that serves an area subject to the boil order as soon as is practical, but no later than 2 hours after issuing the order. In addition to the initial notice, the district must provide, to any affected certified local public health department, a written notification within 24 hours after issuing the boil order. The written notification must include the estimated duration of the order or warning and the geographic area covered by the order or warning.
(Source: P.A. 93-1020, eff. 8-24-04.)
(70 ILCS 3710/5.3)
Sec. 5.3. Billing for services.
(a) On or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, a water service district:
(1) shall bill for any utility service, including     previously unbilled service: (A) within 12 months after the provision of that service to the customer if the service is supplied to a residential customer; or (B) within 24 months after the provision of that service to that customer if the service is supplied to a non-residential customer; however, the water service district may bill for unpaid amounts that were billed to a customer or if the customer was notified that there is an unpaid amount before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly for service that was supplied to the customer before January 1, 2016;
(2) shall not intentionally delay billing beyond the     normal billing cycle;
(3) shall label any amount attributed to previously     unbilled service as such on the customer's bill and include the beginning and ending dates for the period during which the previously unbilled amount accrued;
(4) shall issue the makeup billing amount calculated     on a prorated basis to reflect the varying rates for previously unbilled service accrued over a period of time when the rates for service have varied; and
(5) shall provide the customer with the option of a     payment arrangement to retire the makeup bill for previously unbilled service by periodic payments, without interest or late fees, over a time equal to the amount of time the billing was delayed.
(b) The time limit of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall not apply to previously unbilled service attributed to tampering, theft of service, fraud, or  the customer preventing the utility's recorded efforts to obtain an accurate reading of the meter.
(Source: P.A. 100-178, eff. 8-18-17.)
(70 ILCS 3710/6) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 218)
Sec. 6. 
		
		All ordinances imposing any penalty or making any appropriations
shall be published at least once in a newspaper published in said district,
or if no newspaper of general circulation is published therein, by posting
copies of the same in ten public places in the district; and no such
ordinance shall take effect until ten days after it is so published, and
all other ordinances and resolutions shall take effect from and after their
passage unless otherwise provided therein.
(Source: Laws 1951, p. 1507.)
(70 ILCS 3710/7) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 219)
Sec. 7. 
		
		All ordinances, orders, and resolutions and the date of publication
thereof, may be proven by the certificate of the secretary under the seal
of the corporation and when printed in book or pamphlet form and purporting
to be published by the board of trustees, such book or pamphlet shall be
received as evidence of the passage and legal publication of such
ordinances, orders and resolutions as of the dates mentioned in such book
or pamphlet, in all courts without further proof.
(Source: Laws 1951, p. 1507.)
(70 ILCS 3710/8) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 220)
Sec. 8. 
		
		The board of trustees of any water service district organized
hereunder may contract with any city, village or incorporated town lying
adjacent to such district or with a public utility for water service to
be furnished by such municipality or utility for water service in the
district. The board of trustees may also contract for the installation,
rental or use of water service mains within the water service district
and for the furnishing of water service to be used within such district.
Any water service district incorporated under this Act may borrow
money for the purpose of furnishing and installing water service mains
for the district and may issue bonds therefor, but shall not become
indebted in any manner, or for any purpose to an amount in the aggregate
to exceed 5% on the valuation of taxable property therein to be
ascertained by the last assessment for State and County taxes previous
to the incurring of such indebtedness. Whenever the board of trustees of
such district desire to issue bonds hereunder they shall order the question
to be submitted at an
election to be held in such district. The board
shall certify the question to the proper election officials, who shall submit
the question at an election in accordance with the general election law.
The notice of
election shall be given in the manner provided by the general election law and shall
state the amount of bonds to be issued.  The board of trustees
shall cause the result of the election to be entered
upon the records of the district. If a majority of the voters
shall have voted in favor of the issue of the bonds, the board
of trustees shall order and direct the execution of the bonds for and on
behalf of the district. All bonds issued hereunder shall mature within
20 years. The proposition under this section
shall be in substantially the following form:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shall bonds be issued               YES
for water service in the         -----------------------------
amount of.... dollars?                 NO
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)
(70 ILCS 3710/9) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 221)
Sec. 9. 
		
		At the time of or before incurring any indebtedness the board
of trustees shall provide for the collection of a direct annual tax
sufficient to pay the interest on the debt as it falls due, and also to
pay and discharge the principal thereof as the same shall fall due and
at least within 20 years from the time of contracting same. The tax rate
shall not exceed  .075 per cent of value, as equalized or assessed by the
Department of Revenue.
(Source: P.A. 81-1509.)
(70 ILCS 3710/10) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 222)
Sec. 10. 
		
		The board of trustees may levy and collect other taxes for
corporate purposes upon property within the territorial limits of such
water service district, the aggregate amount of which including the tax
levied for payment of any bonds issued for each year, shall not exceed
.125 per cent of value, as equalized or assessed by the Department of
Revenue. The foregoing limitation upon tax rates may be
increased or decreased under the referendum provisions of the General
Revenue Law of Illinois.
(Source: P.A. 81-1509.)
(70 ILCS 3710/11) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 222.1)
Sec. 11. 
		
		Any adjoining territory may be annexed to such water district in
the following manner: A written petition requesting such annexation and
signed by a majority in numbers and in area owned of the owners of record
of land in such adjoining territory shall be filed with the court in which
such district was created. A public hearing shall be had upon such petition
after giving such notice by publication or posting, as the court may
direct. At such hearing, any interested person shall be given an
opportunity to be heard. If the court finds that the said petition has been
signed by the required number of landowners and there is no valid objection
to such annexation, it shall enter an order annexing such territory.
Any territory within any such water district which is upon the border
thereof and which contains not less than twenty acres and which, if
disconnected, will not result in the isolation of any part of such district
from the remainder thereof may be disconnected in the following manner: A
written petition requesting such disconnection and signed by all the owners
of record of land in such territory shall be filed with the court in which
such district was created. The water district from which disconnection is
sought shall be made a defendant and it or any taxpayer residing therein
may appear and defend against said petition. If the court finds that the
allegations of the petition are true and that the area of land is entitled
to disconnection, it shall order the same disconnected. The disconnection
of any such land shall not exempt it from taxation for the purpose of
paying any indebtedness contracted by the district prior to the filing of
the petition.
(Source: Laws 1967, p. 3984.)
(70 ILCS 3710/12)
Sec. 12. 
		Dissolution of district.
(a) A water service district organized under this Act may be dissolved as
provided in this Section.
(b) A petition for dissolution of the district signed by two-thirds of the
members of the district's board of trustees may be filed in the circuit court
of the county in which the district, or the majority of the territory of the
district, is located.  In the alternative, if the district does not have
outstanding and unpaid any bonds issued under this Act, the petition may be
signed and filed by 50 electors of the district. The petition for dissolution
shall set forth the reasons why the district should be dissolved and why the
dissolution will not adversely affect the interest of the public and any
bondholders of the district.
(c) The circuit court shall set a date for the hearing on the petition
for dissolution.  The clerk of the circuit court shall give notice of the time
and place of the hearing by publication, in one or more daily or weekly
newspapers having a general circulation within the district, at least 20 days
before the date set for the hearing.
At the hearing, all persons desiring to be heard must be given an
opportunity to testify for or against the petition for dissolution. During
the hearing, the petitioners or the petitioners' authorized representative
shall also testify and introduce evidence concerning ways in which dissolution
of the district can be accomplished without adversely affecting the interest of
the public and any bondholders of the district.
(d) If at the close of the hearing the circuit court determines
that the district can be dissolved without adversely affecting the
public interest or the interest of any district bondholder, the court
shall certify the question of the dissolution of the district
to the proper election officials, who shall submit the question to a
referendum of the electors of the district in the manner
provided by the Election Code. The clerk of the circuit court
shall give notice of the election, and the election shall be conducted
in the manner provided by the Election Code.
The question shall be in substantially the following form:
Shall (name of water service district) be dissolved?
The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
(e) If a majority of the votes cast on the question are in favor of
dissolution, the board of trustees shall immediately take the necessary
steps to close up the district's affairs. If the term of office of any member
of the board of trustees expires after the referendum, no new trustee shall
be appointed. In closing up the affairs of the district, the trustees shall
sell all assets and equipment of the district and pay all debts and
obligations of the district. If bondholders are involved, the trustees
shall pay off the principal of and all accrued interest on all outstanding
bonds. Any surplus money left over after all debts and obligations of the
district have been paid in full shall be applied toward the cost of connecting
the tracts of land receiving water service at the time of the dissolution of
the district to the waterworks, sewerage, or combined waterworks and sewerage
system or properties of a public water district or municipality.  Any surplus
money left over after payment of all costs of those connections shall be paid
in equal portions to all of the title holders of the tracts of land receiving
water service at the time of the dissolution of the district.
(f) After the board of trustees of a dissolving water service district
have (i) paid all debts and obligations of the district, (ii) closed up all
of the business of the district, and (iii) paid out or refunded all surplus
money as provided in subsection (e), the trustees shall file a statement under
oath with the circuit court showing all closing transactions. If the circuit
court approves the statement, it shall issue an order dissolving the district.
Upon issuance of the order, the duty of the board of trustees to close up the
district business is terminated, and all trustees and officers of the district,
whether or not the terms for which they were elected or appointed have expired,
shall cease to have any power or authority.
(g) If a majority of the votes cast on the question under subsection (d) are
against dissolution, the same question may not be presented to the electors of
the district for a period of 2 years from the date of the referendum.
(Source: P.A. 88-572, eff. 8-11-94.)
(70 ILCS 3710/13)
Sec. 13. Cessation of district organization. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a majority vote of the board of trustees is in favor of the proposition to annex the district to another district whose boundaries are contiguous, or consolidate the district into a municipality with which the district is coterminous or substantially coterminous, or consolidate the district into the county in which the district sits if the district contains territory within only one county, and if the governing authorities of the governmental unit assuming the functions of the former district agree by resolution to accept the functions (and jurisdiction over the territory, if applicable) of the consolidated or annexed district, then the district shall cease. On the effective date of the annexation or consolidation, all the rights, powers, duties, assets, property, liabilities, indebtedness, obligations, bonding authority, taxing authority, and responsibilities of the district shall vest in and be assumed by the governmental unit assuming the functions of the former district.
The employees of the former district shall be transferred to the governmental unit assuming the functions of the former district. The governmental unit assuming the functions of the former district shall exercise the rights and responsibilities of the former district with respect to those employees. The status and rights of the employees of the former district under any applicable contracts or collective bargaining agreements, historical representation rights under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, or under any pension, retirement, or annuity plan shall not be affected by this amendatory Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-1002, eff. 8-18-14.)