The governing body of any county may designate and establish a public levee district within the county, if the governing body has received a petition signed by a majority of landowners within the proposed public levee district requesting the establishment of such a district. Any such public levee district shall have no powers of taxation. Once a public levee district is established and duly created by a majority vote of the governing body of the county, the governing body, on behalf of the public levee district, may receive and expend moneys for the purposes of repair and maintenance of the public levee district’s levee and related appurtenances and such governing body shall have the powers of a levee district board of directors specified in sections 245.285 to 245.545, other than the power of taxation specified in section 245.445. The governing body of the county having established a public levee district pursuant to this section shall be considered the district’s governmental sponsor.