Montana Code 7-12-2151. Assessment of costs
7-12-2151. Assessment of costs. (1) To defray the cost of making or acquiring any of the improvements provided for in this part, including incidental expenses, the board of county commissioners shall assess the entire cost of the improvements against benefited lots, tracts, or parcels of land in the district, based upon the benefits received, and shall adopt one or any combination of the following methods of assessment for each improvement made or acquired for the benefit of the district:
Terms Used In Montana Code 7-12-2151
- board of county commissioners: includes any body or board that under the law is the legislative department of the government of the county. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- improvements: as used in this part , include all work or the securing of property, by purchase or otherwise, mentioned in this part and also the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of any portion of the work. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
- incidental expenses: as used in this part , includes:
(a)the compensation of the engineer for work done;
(b)the cost of printing and advertising, as provided in this part;
(c)interest on warrants of the county issued to pay costs of improvements, as provided in this part;
(d)costs of issuance of the bonds or warrants of the special improvement district, including costs of printing the bonds, bond registration fees, attorney fees and financial consultants' fees, a premium for bond insurance, any price paid by the original purchaser of the bonds that is less than the face amount of the bonds, and interest to accrue on bonds or warrants of the special improvement district before assessments levied by the district are collected in amounts and at times sufficient to pay the interest; and
(e)a reasonable administrative fee payable to the county for the creation and administration of the district by the county, its officers, and its employees. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- street: as used in this part , includes avenues, highways, lanes, alleys, crossings or intersections, courts, and places that have been dedicated and accepted according to the law or in common and undisputed use by the public for a period of not less than 5 years. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
(a)Each lot, tract, or parcel of land assessed in the district may be assessed with that part of the whole cost which its assessable area bears to the assessable area of all the benefited lots, tracts, or parcels in the district, exclusive of streets, avenues, alleys, and public places. For the purposes of this subsection (1)(a), “assessable area” means an area of a lot, tract, or parcel of land representing the benefit conferred upon the lot, tract, or parcel by the improvement. Assessable area may be less than but may not exceed the actual area of the lot, tract, or parcel.
(b)Each lot, tract, or parcel of land assessed in the district may be assessed with that part of the whole cost of the improvement based upon the assessed value of the benefited lots or pieces of land within the district, if the board determines the assessment to be equitable in proportion to and not exceeding the benefits received from the improvement by the lot, tract, or parcel.
(c)Each lot, tract, or parcel of land in the district abutting upon the street where the improvement has been made may be assessed in proportion to its lineal feet abutting the street.
(d)Each lot, tract, or parcel of land in the district may be assessed an equal amount based upon the total cost of the improvement.
(e)Each lot, tract, or parcel of land in the district served by a utility connection may be assessed an equitable lump sum for the connection based on the bid price in the applicable contract.
(2)The board may use one or any combination of methods of assessment in a single special improvement district and, if more than one improvement is undertaken, need not assess each lot, tract, or parcel in the district for the cost of all the improvements. If the method of assessment described in subsection (1)(d) is used, the resolution of intention under 7-12-2103 and notice under 7-12-2105 must provide that if an increase occurs in the number of benefited lots, tracts, or parcels within the boundaries of the district during the term of the bonded indebtedness, the assessment per lot, tract, or parcel then in the district will be recalculated as provided in subsection (4).
(3)The board in its discretion may pay the whole or any part of the cost of any street, avenue, or alley intersection out of any funds that are available to it for that purpose or to include the whole or any part of the costs within the amount of the assessment to be paid by the benefited property in the district.
(4)(a) If the method specified for assessment is that provided in subsection (1)(d) and an increase occurs in the number of benefited lots, tracts, or parcels within the boundaries of a district created as provided in this part during the term of bonded indebtedness that is payable from the assessments, the board shall recalculate the amount assessable to each lot, tract, or parcel. The board shall comply with the provisions of 7-12-2158 through 7-12-2160 in adopting the recalculated amount.
(b)The board shall base the recalculation on the amount of the district’s outstanding bonded indebtedness for the current fiscal year and shall spread the assessments across the district based on the number of benefited lots, tracts, or parcels within the boundaries of the district as of July 1 following the action that resulted in the increase in the number of benefited lots, tracts, or parcels.