Chapter 476 Oregon Laws 2001
AN ACT
HB 2789
Relating to irrigation
districts; creating new provisions; amending ORS 545.482, 545.484, 545.494,
545.496, 545.498, 545.502, 545.504, 545.506, 545.507 and 545.508; and repealing
ORS 545.500.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
ORS 545.482 is amended to read:
545.482. The board of directors, by resolution, may provide
for the [levy and collection of
assessments and for the] billing and collection of incurred charges of the district in the manner provided in ORS
545.482 to 545.508, in lieu of the method provided for in ORS 545.381 to
545.397, 545.413 to 545.422 and 545.683. [The
resolution may apply to charges for operation and maintenance, to assessments
for construction or to other charges payable to the United States or the State
of Oregon under the terms of the contracts of the district with the United
States or the State of Oregon.] A resolution under this section may be
adopted either before or after the district has commenced to deliver water
through all or any part of its canal or distribution system. If the consent of
all the holders of outstanding bonds of the district has been obtained, the
resolution may provide for the collection of [all assessments] incurred
charges for the purpose of retiring bonds and payment of interest on the
bonds, or any part of the bonds.
SECTION 2.
ORS 545.484 is amended to read:
545.484. (1) At
least once in each year the board of directors of an irrigation district that
has provided for the collection of its own [charges
and assessments] incurred charges as
provided by ORS 545.482 to 545.508, by resolution, shall make a computation of
the [amounts] total amount of money necessary to be raised by the district for the ensuing year for the purpose of
carrying out the Irrigation District Law, including an allowance for
delinquencies in collections. When making the computation, the board shall
consider the amounts of money necessary for:
(a) The [purpose of] care, operation and maintenance[, repairs,] of district
facilities;
(b) Reasonable reserve
funds for major maintenance, improvement and replacement of capital
improvements and facilities;
(c) The acquisition of
land or water rights;
(d) Bond or interest payments,
or payments due or to become due to the United States or the State of Oregon
under any contract of the district with the United States or the State of
Oregon[,];or
(e) Other
expenses of the district.
(2) The resolution
shall fix the time when the incurred charge becomes due and payable. The
resolution shall also fix a time, within one year after the date the incurred
charge becomes due and payable, after which the incurred charge becomes
delinquent.
(3) The amount
determined by the board shall be apportioned by the board to the lands owned or
held by each person so that each acre of land in the district that is entitled
to irrigation is required to pay the same amount, except as otherwise provided
in ORS 545.385, 545.387, 545.389, 545.391 and 545.487. Land owned by a person
constituting a fractional portion of an acre may be rounded to the next higher
whole acre.
(4) A district that
provides drainage or other services to lands that are not entitled to
irrigation services from the district may, at the discretion of the district’s
board of directors, charge a different fee for the provision of those services.
(5) The annual incurred
charges established by the resolution shall continue in effect from year to
year until changed by a resolution of the board of directors.
(6) A person is deemed
to have requested water and other services and improvements provided by the
district if the person signed a petition requesting the formation of an
irrigation district under ORS 545.025, requested that the land of the person be
included in the district pursuant to ORS 545.057 or paid an incurred charge on
or before the delinquency date fixed by the resolution and the person has not:
(a) Excluded the land
from the district pursuant to ORS 545.099;
(b) Transferred all
water rights from the land pursuant to ORS 540.505 to 540.580 for the period of
time that the incurred charge was incurred; or
(c) Otherwise requested
that water and other services and improvements no longer be provided to the
land.
(7) Notwithstanding
subsection (3) of this section, if a person was denied approval to transfer all
water rights from the land pursuant to ORS 540.523 or 540.530 or another
provision for the period of time that the incurred charge was incurred, the
district may assess an incurred charge against the person only if the incurred
charge is based on the actual quantity of water used by the person.
SECTION 3.
ORS 545.496 is amended to read:
545.496. (1) [Charges
and assessments] Incurred charges
under ORS 545.482, 545.484 and 545.494 shall be collected by the secretary of
the district[, and shall become due and
payable at such time and place as the board of directors may determine. The
board]. The district may
withhold delivery of water from any tract of land until the [charges and assessments] incurred charges for the current year and
any prior years, including interest and lien and collection costs and fees,
are paid in full. [The board may withhold delivery of water
under this section for charges and assessments for operation and maintenance,
repairs, construction, or other purposes. The board may withhold delivery of
water to any water user who is delinquent in the payment of any charge or
assessment for any purpose becoming due in and for the year in which the water
is desired, or in prior years.]
(2) If [a charge or
assessment] an incurred charge,
or any installment of [a charge or
assessment] an incurred charge,
under ORS 545.482, 545.484 and 545.494 is not paid when due, interest shall be
charged and collected on the [charge or
assessment] incurred charge or
installment at the rate of one and one-third percent per month, or fraction of
a month, until paid.
(3) If a notice of claim of lien has been filed under ORS
545.494, the costs of the filing and any costs of removing the lien, including
but not limited to recording and filing fees, title search fees and a
reasonable administrative fee, shall be charged and collected [at the time of payment under subsection (1)
of this section].
SECTION 4.
ORS 545.502 is amended to read:
545.502. (1) At any time after the delinquency date fixed
by [the board of directors] the resolution and upon the filing of
the notice of claim of lien under ORS 545.494, the board by resolution may
direct that all delinquent [charges and
assessments] incurred charges
then unpaid[, whether for operation and
maintenance, construction, bond or interest, or other purpose,] shall be
foreclosed by the district. The foreclosure shall follow the general procedure
of a suit in equity[,] and [shall] be filed in the circuit court for
the county in which the land to be foreclosed is situated. If land in two or
more counties is to be foreclosed, separate proceedings shall be commenced in
each county as to the lands in that county. In addition to such [charges and assessments] incurred charges being foreclosed, the
district may recover in the suit the costs and disbursements and expenses of
foreclosure, including but not limited to recording and filing fees, title
search fees, foreclosure reports and a reasonable administrative fee. Any number
of tracts of land may be foreclosed in the same suit, without regard to whether
they are delinquent for the same or different [charges or assessments]
incurred charges, or for the same or several years. The decree shall order
the sale of the property, fix the time for holding the sale, which shall not be
more than four weeks from the date of the decree, and order the sheriff of the
county to hold the sale in the same manner as other foreclosure sales. The
sheriff shall give notice of the sale for two consecutive weeks prior to the
day of sale by publication of notice once each week in a newspaper published in
the county in which the land to be sold is situated. The sheriff shall also
post notices in three public and conspicuous places within the county at least
two weeks prior to the day of sale. The irrigation district may be a bidder and
purchaser of the property at the sale. Upon sale of the property the sheriff
shall issue deed to the property immediately. No right of redemption thereafter
shall exist.
(2) The court may award reasonable attorney fees to the
prevailing party in a foreclosure action under this section.
SECTION 5.
ORS 545.494 is amended to read:
545.494. (1) If any [charge
or assessment] incurred charge remains
unpaid beyond the due date of the [charge
or assessment] incurred charge,
the secretary of the district may file a notice of claim of lien with the
recording officer of the county of each county in which land is situated which
received or was entitled to receive the benefit of the water delivery for which
the [charge or assessment] incurred charge has been made. The
notice of claim of lien shall be in writing and must contain:
(a) The name of the water user to whom the water was
delivered or was deliverable;
(b) A statement of the amount claimed past due; and
(c) A description of the land which received or was
entitled to receive the benefit of the water delivery sufficient for
identification.
(2) Upon filing of the notice, the [charge or assessment] incurred
charge and costs of filing and removing the notice shall become a lien upon
all lands described in the notice in the amounts set forth opposite each tract
of land. The lien shall be prior to all encumbrances of whatever kind or
nature, whether executed before or after the lien of the irrigation district is
created, or whether recorded or registered or not. The lien of the irrigation
district upon each tract of land shall be subject to all lawful taxes levied
and assessed for state and county purposes by the county in which the land is located.
The lien of the irrigation district shall not be subject or inferior to any
claim, lien or assessment of any other taxing district, whenever levied, or
whether extended on the county tax rolls for collection or not.
SECTION 6.
ORS 545.498 is amended to read:
545.498. Before handling or receiving any funds or
collecting any [charges or assessments]
incurred charges as provided in ORS
545.482 to 545.508, the secretary of the district shall give a good and
sufficient surety bond by an authorized surety company, in an amount that the
board of directors may determine. The cost of the bond shall be paid by the
district. The bond shall be approved by the board and filed in the office of
the district. The amount of the bond may be varied from time to time by order
of the board.
SECTION 7.
ORS 545.504 is amended to read:
545.504. At any time prior to sale, or at the time of sale,
as provided by ORS 545.502, the former owner, [charge or assessment] incurred
charge payer, or holder of legal or equitable title or lien upon or to any
tract of land included in the foreclosure and decree may withdraw the tract of
land from the foreclosure and sale by paying the amount of the lien foreclosed,
together with the amount of state and county taxes that the irrigation district
may have paid, and a proportionate amount of the costs incurred in the
foreclosure proceeding. If the payment is to be made prior to the decree, the
payment shall be tendered to the clerk of the court, together with written
appearance in the suit. If the payment is to be made after the decree is
entered, the payment shall be tendered to the sheriff ordered to hold the sale.
If payment is made before decree, the tract shall be dismissed from the
foreclosure proceeding. If payment is made after decree, the district shall
issue satisfaction of lien to the former owner, [charge or assessment] incurred
charge payer, or holder of legal or equitable title or lien upon the tract,
and file the satisfaction of lien for record.
SECTION 8.
ORS 545.506 is amended to read:
545.506. At any time after any [charge or assessment] incurred
charge on a tract of land under ORS 545.482 to 545.508 becomes delinquent,
the irrigation district may pay any state and county taxes that are due or
delinquent on the tract of land and add the amount paid to the lien of the
district against the tract.
SECTION 9.
ORS 545.507 is amended to read:
545.507. When authorized by a resolution of its board of
directors, an irrigation district whose board of directors has provided for the
collection of [charges and assessments]
incurred charges of the district in
the manner provided in ORS 545.482 to 545.508 may:
(1) Borrow moneys for payment of its operation and
maintenance costs and expenses in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the
operation and maintenance charge per acre for each acre within the district or
the amount of its uncollected charges for operation and maintenance, whichever
is greater; and
(2) Issue and deliver as evidence of the indebtedness the
promissory notes of the district bearing interest. The promissory notes shall
be payable at such time as its board of directors shall determine and may
contain provisions for payment of the attorney fees of the holder of the notes
if suit or action is commenced for the collection of the notes. The district
may agree that all or any part of the uncollected [charges and assessments] incurred
charges shall be applied in payment of the promissory notes when collected.
SECTION 10.
ORS 545.508 is amended to read:
545.508. Any irrigation district collecting [charges and assessments] incurred charges as provided in ORS
545.482 to 545.508 shall deposit all moneys collected in such banks as the
board of directors may determine. The amounts collected for operation and
maintenance, construction, bond principal, interest, or other purposes shall be
kept in separate funds and accounted for separately. Moneys in the funds shall
be paid out only upon order of the board by checks or drafts signed by the
president and secretary of the board.
SECTION 11.
ORS 545.500 is repealed.
SECTION 12.
The amendments to ORS 545.482, 545.484,
545.494, 545.496, 545.498, 545.502, 545.504, 545.506, 545.507 and 545.508 by
sections 1 to 10 of this 2001 Act and the repeal of ORS 545.500 by section 11
of this 2001 Act apply to fiscal years beginning on or after the effective date
of this 2001 Act.
Approved by the Governor
June 19, 2001
Filed in the office of
Secretary of State June 19, 2001
Effective date January 1,
2002
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