2023 Idaho Code › Title 50 - MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS › Chapter 31 - COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE DISTRICT ACT › Section 50-3109 - SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS — BONDS.

50-3109. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS — BONDS. (1) After district formation, upon the submission of a petition signed by no fewer than two-thirds (0.6667) of the owners of all the lands located in a proposed assessment area, the district board shall adopt a resolution ordering that a hearing be held to determine whether a special assessment should be imposed and special assessment bonds be issued to provide money for community infrastructure consistent with the general plan and the exercise by the district board of any of its powers under section 50-3105, Idaho Code.
(2) Notice of the hearing shall be posted in three (3) public places within the boundaries of the district not less than thirty (30) days before the hearing. Notice of the hearing shall also be published twice, the first time not less than twelve (12) days prior to the hearing and the second time not less than five (5) days prior to the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in each county or city in which the district is located. A copy of such notice shall also be mailed to each district resident and each owner of real property in the district if known or such owner’s agent if known, addressed to such person at his or her post office address if known or, if unknown, to a post office in the county or city where the district is located. Ownership of real property shall be determined as of the date of the adoption of the resolution ordering the hearing. The notice shall include the following:
(a) A description of the real property to be included within the assessment area;
(b) A description of the method by which the amount of the proposed special assessment will be determined for each class of real property to which the special assessment is proposed to apply, in sufficient detail to enable the owner of the affected parcel to determine the amount of the special assessment;
(c) A description of the community infrastructure to be financed with special assessment bonds or revenues; and
(d) A statement that any person affected by the proposed special assessment may object in writing or in person at the hearing.
(3) If, after the hearing, the district board finds that it will be for the best interest of the district and the real property within the assessment area that the aggregate fair market value of the real property within the assessment area, including the value of the community infrastructure to be financed or paid for with the special assessments, and the infrastructure for which performance bonds or other financial assurances have been received, is at least three (3) times the aggregate principal amount of the special assessment bonds as determined by an MAI appraisal in form and substance acceptable to the district board, the district board shall adopt a resolution approving the imposition of the special assessment and, also by resolution, shall prepare a form of assessment roll numbering each assessment, giving the name, if known, of the owner of each lot or parcel of real property assessed, showing the amount chargeable to each such lot or parcel, and finding that each such lot or parcel is benefited to the amount of assessment imposed thereon. Such resolution shall be the final determination of the regularity, validity and correctness of the assessment roll, of each assessment contained therein, and of the amount thereof imposed on each such lot or parcel. Special assessments may be prepaid and permanently satisfied in whole or in part at any point in time. Prepayment of special assessments shall be paid in cash to the district in the following manner: (i) the interest on such portion to the next date special assessment bonds may be redeemed, plus (ii) the unpaid principal amount of such portion rounded up to the next highest multiple of one thousand dollars ($1,000), plus (iii) any premium due on such redemption date with respect to such portion, plus (iv) any administrative or other fees charged by the district with respect thereto, less (v) the amount by which any reserve fund associated with the special assessment may be reduced on the redemption date as a result of such prepayment.
(4) Special assessment bonds approved at the hearing shall be issued in the manner provided by the laws of the state of Idaho, and the district board by further resolution shall be entitled to issue and sell the bonds in series or divisions up to the authorized amount without further hearing, and to issue and sell such bonds at such times and in such amounts as the district board deems appropriate to carry out a community infrastructure project or projects in phases. Bond proceeds shall be expended on the community infrastructure within three (3) years after issuance. Prior to issuance of the bonds, the district board shall determine that such bond proceeds can reasonably be expended within such time.
(5) After the bonds are issued, the district board shall enter in its minutes a record of the bonds sold and their numbers and dates and shall periodically collect the pledged revenues to pay the debt service on the bonds when due.
(6) Each year, prior to the time for the certification required under section 50-3114, Idaho Code, the district board shall impose a special assessment upon the real property within the assessment area of the district that will be subject to the special assessment sufficient, together with any moneys from the sources described in section 50-3107(3), Idaho Code, to pay debt service on the bonds when due, in addition to reasonable costs associated with the collection of the special assessment payments. The special assessment shall be made by resolution entered upon the minutes of the district board, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the district, immediately after entry of the resolution in the minutes, to transmit to the board of county commissioners in each county in which the district is located, the certification required under section 50-3114, Idaho Code. Such special assessment shall then be collected and accounted for at the time and in the form and manner as property taxes are collected and accounted for under the laws of this state. Moneys derived from the imposition of the special assessment to pay the debt service on the bonds shall be kept separately from other moneys of the district.
(7) Special assessments against privately owned residential property shall be subject to the following provisions:
(a) The maximum amount of any special assessment that may be imposed shall not be increased over time by any amount exceeding two percent (2%) per year, up to a maximum of ten percent (10%);
(b) The special assessment shall be imposed for a specified time period, after which no further special assessment shall be imposed and collected; and
(c) Subject to the applicable laws of this state, nothing in this subsection shall preclude the establishment of different categories of residential property or changing the amount of the special assessment imposed upon a parcel whose size or use is changed. A change in the amount of a special assessment imposed upon a parcel due to a change in its size or use shall not require notice and hearing, if the method for changing the amount of special assessment was approved at the hearing approving the special assessment and was described in sufficient detail to enable the owner of the affected parcel to determine how the change in size or use of the parcel would affect the amount of the special assessment.
(8) A district’s imposition of a special assessment shall constitute a lien on the real property within the assessment area subject to the special assessment, including real property acquired by the state or its political subdivisions after the imposition of the special assessment, which shall be effective during the period in which the special assessment is imposed and shall have a priority coequal to the lien of real property taxes. A special assessment shall be subject to foreclosure by the district in the same manner as real property tax liens under the laws of this state, provided that a special assessment shall be subject to foreclosure at any time after thirty (30) days following written notice of delinquency to the owner of the real property to which the delinquency applies. The portion of proceeds of any foreclosure sale necessary to discharge the lien for the special assessment shall be deposited in the special bond fund for payment of any obligations secured thereby.
(9) No holder of special assessment bonds issued pursuant to this chapter may compel any exercise of the taxing power of the district, county or city to pay the bonds or the interest on the bonds. Special assessment bonds issued pursuant to this chapter are not a debt of the state of Idaho or any political subdivision thereof including the district, county or city, nor is the payment of special assessment bonds enforceable out of any moneys other than the revenue pledged to the payment of the bonds.
(10) Subject to the provisions of this section, a district may issue special assessment bonds at such times and in such amounts as the district deems appropriate to carry out a project or projects in phases, and payment may be made pursuant to a draw schedule.
(11) The district may issue and sell refunding bonds to refund any special assessment bonds of the district authorized in this chapter. The principal amount of the refunding bonds may be more or less than the principal amount of the bonds being refunded, provided the proceeds of the refunding bonds are used only for refunding purposes and payment of the costs thereof, and the total obligation of the district is not increased, that is, if the amount of the refunding bonds is more than the principal amount of the bonds being refunded, issuance of the refunding bonds will result in a net present value savings to the district. No election shall be required in connection with the issuance and sale of such refunding bonds. Refunding bonds issued pursuant to this section shall have a final maturity date no later than the final maturity date of the bonds being refunded.
History:
[50-3109, added 2008, ch. 410, sec. 1, p. 1150; am. 2012, ch. 324, sec. 5, p. 891.]