2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 85. Water Use › Chapter 8. Drainage Districts › Part 3. Organization and Operation › 85-8-341. Preparation of report -- contents

85-8-341. Preparation of report -- contents.
(1) As soon as may be after the confirmation of the preliminary report or within such time as the court may direct, said commissioners shall proceed to have all necessary levels taken and surveys made and shall lay out said proposed work; make a map thereof and plans, profiles, and other specifications thereof; and report in writing to the court:
(a) whether the starting points, routes, and termini of the proposed work and the proposed location thereof as contained in the petition are in all respects proper and feasible and, if not, shall report such as are most proper and feasible;
(b) if it be found necessary to change the boundaries of said proposed district, as fixed by them previously, they shall report said proposed change and, if possible, shall report the names, residence, and post-office addresses of the owner or owners of all lands affected by said change in boundaries, but no such change in boundaries shall be made as to deprive the court of jurisdiction; provided, however, that if the owners of lands adjacent to the district petition to have their lands brought into the district such may be considered the same as original petitioners in making changes of boundaries;
(c) what lands within the district, as reported by them, will be injured by the proposed work, if any, and they shall therein award to each tract, lot, easement, or interest, by whomsoever held, the amount of damages which they shall determine will be caused to the same by the proposed work;
(d) what lands (including improvements when improvements receive benefits), easements, irrigation ditches, cities, towns, counties, individuals, and other corporations and persons should be assessed for the payment of any part of the cost of constructing the proposed drains, levees, or other facilities, repairs thereto, maintenance thereof, and the incidental expenses attached to the establishment of such drainage district;
(e) the total amount, as near as they can determine, that said proposed work will cost, which cost shall include all incidental expenses, the reasonable cost of organizing said district, the costs of proceeding and all probable damage to lands, both within and without the district, together with a reasonable attorney fee for the petitioners, which cost will hereinafter be referred to as cost of construction.
(2) If the cost of construction of any particular part of the work so proposed to be done should be assessed upon any particular tract or tracts, lot or lots of land, including improvements where the same are benefited or upon any corporation or corporations, the commissioners shall so specify, and in their report they shall fix and determine the sums which should be assessed against said tracts, lots, and corporations and assess such sum against said tracts, lots, and corporations.
(3) If any individual, association of individuals, or corporation would, in the judgment of said commissioners, derive special benefits from the whole or any part of such proposed work, the commissioners shall so report and assess those benefits and assess against the recipient thereof its proportionate share of the costs of said proposed work. The word "corporation", whenever contained in this chapter, shall be construed to include:
(a) railroad companies;
(b) other private and quasi-public corporations of all kinds;
(c) towns;
(d) cities;
(e) villages;
(f) other drainage districts; and
(g) counties.
(4) They shall apportion and assess the part of this cost of construction, not assessed as above, against the several benefited tracts, lots (including improvements when the same are benefited), and easements in said drainage district, in proportion to the benefits which they have assessed against the same, by setting down opposite each tract, lot, or easement the sum which they assess against the same for construction. The assessments which together make up the cost of construction, as above defined, are herein referred to as assessments for construction.
(5) The commissioners shall further report to the court the probable cost of keeping said proposed work in repair after it is completed.
(6) They shall include in their report said map, plans, and other specifications and file the same with their report.
History: (1)(a) thru (1)(c)En. Secs. 39, 40, 41, 42, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Secs. 7303, 7304, 7305, 7306, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Secs. 7303, 7304, 7305, 7306, R.C.M. 1935; Secs. 89-2326, 89-2327, 89-2328, 89-2329, R.C.M. 1947; (1)(d)En. Sec. 43, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7307, R.C.M. 1921; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 169, L. 1929; re-en. Sec. 7307, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 409, L. 1973; Sec. 89-2330, R.C.M. 1947; (1)(e)En. Sec. 44, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7308, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7308, R.C.M. 1935; Sec. 89-2331, R.C.M. 1947; (2)En. Sec. 45, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7309, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7309, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 409, L. 1973; Sec. 89-2332, R.C.M. 1947; (3)En. Sec. 46, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7310, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7310, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 409, L. 1973; Sec. 89-2333, R.C.M. 1947; (4)En. Sec. 47, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7311, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7311, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 409, L. 1973; Sec. 89-2334, R.C.M. 1947; (5)En. Sec. 48, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7312, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7312, R.C.M. 1935; Sec. 89-2335, R.C.M. 1947; (6)En. Sec. 49, Ch. 129, L. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7313, R.C.M. 1921; re-en. Sec. 7313, R.C.M. 1935; Sec. 89-2336, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 89-2326, 89-2327, 89-2328, 89-2329, 89-2330(part), 89-2331, 89-2332, 89-2333, 89-2334, 89-2335, 89-2336.