Section 194. Establishment or extension of districts  


Latest version.
  • 1. After a hearing
      held upon notice as hereinbefore provided and upon  the  evidence  given
      thereat,  the  town board shall determine by resolution: (a) whether the
      petition is signed, and acknowledged or  proved,  or  authenticated,  as
      required by law and is otherwise sufficient;
        (b)  whether  all the property and property owners within the proposed
      district or extension are benefited thereby;
        (c) whether  all  the  property  and  property  owners  benefited  are
      included within the limits of the proposed district or extension;
        (d)  whether it is in the public interest to grant in whole or in part
      the relief sought.
        2. (a) If the town board shall determine  that  the  petition  is  not
      signed, and acknowledged or proved, or authenticated, as required by law
      or  that it is otherwise insufficient, or if it is determined that it be
      not in the public interest to grant in  whole  or  in  part  the  relief
      sought, the town board shall deny the petition.
        (b) If the town board shall determine that the petition is signed, and
      acknowledged  or  proved,  or  authenticated,  as required by law and is
      otherwise sufficient and that it is in the public interest to grant  the
      relief  sought, either in whole or in part, but shall find that any part
      or portion of the  property  or  property  owners  within  the  proposed
      district or extension are not benefited thereby or that certain property
      or property owners benefited thereby have not been included therein, the
      town  board shall specify the necessary changes of the boundaries of the
      proposed district or extension to be made  in  order  that  all  of  the
      property  and property owners and only such property and property owners
      as are benefited shall be included  within  such  proposed  district  or
      extension,  and  the  board  shall  call a further hearing at a definite
      place and time not less than fifteen  nor  more  than  twenty-five  days
      after such determination. Notice of such further hearing shall be posted
      and published in the manner provided in section one hundred ninety-three
      hereof except that such notice shall also specify the manner in which it
      is  proposed  to  alter  the  boundaries  of  the  proposed  district or
      extension. Such further hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as
      an original hearing upon a petition. If and when the  town  board  shall
      determine  in  the  affirmative  all  of  the  questions  set  forth  in
      subdivision one of this  section,  the  board  may  adopt  a  resolution
      approving  the  establishment  or  extension  of  the  district  as  the
      boundaries shall be finally  determined  and  the  construction  of  the
      improvement  or providing of the service therein, but no such resolution
      so approving shall be adopted unless the petition shall comply with  the
      requirements  of  section  one  hundred  ninety-one as to sufficiency of
      signers as the boundaries of the proposed district or extension shall be
      finally determined.
        3. (a) Within ten days after the adoption of a resolution  by  a  town
      board  approving  the  establishment  or extension of a district and the
      construction of an improvement or the providing of  a  service  therein,
      the  town  clerk  of  the  town  shall  file  a  certified  copy of such
      resolution, in duplicate, in the office of the state department of audit
      and control at Albany,  New  York,  together  with  an  application,  in
      duplicate,  for permission to create or extend such district as the case
      may  be.  Such  application  shall  be  executed  and  verified  by  the
      supervisor,  or  such  other officer of the town as the town board shall
      determine, and shall include the following:
        (1)  A  certified  copy  of  the  petition  (omitting,  however,   the
      signatures,  and  acknowledgments  or proofs, or authentications) and in
      the instance of a sewer, drainage or water district, of the map and plan
      accompanying the same;
    
        (2) An itemized statement of the then outstanding indebtedness of  the
      town  for  all purposes, as evidenced by bonds, bond anticipation notes,
      capital notes  and  budget  notes;  the  amount  of  joint  indebtedness
      contracted  or  incurred for a joint service or a joint water, sewage or
      drainage  project  and  the  amount  of  such indebtedness allocated and
      apportioned to the town, as defined in title one-a of the local  finance
      law;  the  amount  of the indebtedness proposed to be contracted for the
      improvement; the amount of budgetary appropriations for the  payment  of
      any  such  indebtedness,  whether  or  not such appropriations have been
      realized as cash, and  the  amounts,  purposes  and  probable  dates  of
      issuance of any bonds, bond anticipation notes, capital notes and budget
      notes  which the town has authorized to be issued but which in fact have
      not been issued on the date of such application;
        (3) A statement of  the  aggregate  assessed  valuation  of  the  real
      property situated in the proposed district or extension thereof, as such
      assessed  valuations  are shown on the last completed assessment roll of
      the town prior to the date of such application;
        (4) A statement of the average full  valuation  of  the  taxable  real
      property of the town. Such average full valuation shall be determined in
      accordance  with  the  provisions  of the first paragraph of subdivision
      seven-a of section 2.00 of the local finance law;
        (5) A statement as to the manner in which it is  proposed  to  finance
      the cost of the improvement.
        (b)  Whenever  such an application shall be filed in the office of the
      department of audit and control, the state comptroller shall within five
      days thereafter give notice thereof to the board of supervisors  of  the
      county in which such proposed district or extension is located by filing
      with   the  clerk  of  such  board  of  supervisors  one  copy  of  such
      application. At any time within  fifteen  days  of  the  filing  of  the
      application, the board of supervisors may file an objection, in writing,
      in  the  office of the department of audit and control. In addition, the
      state comptroller shall determine whether the public  interest  will  be
      served by the creation or extension of the district and also whether the
      cost  thereof  will be an undue burden upon the property of the proposed
      district  or  extension.   The   state   comptroller   may   make   such
      determinations  upon  the original or any amended application, or in his
      discretion may require the submission of additional information or  data
      in  such  form  and  detail as he shall deem sufficient, or may cause an
      investigation to be made, to aid him in making the determinations  above
      mentioned.
        4.  Upon the expiration of fifteen days from the date of the filing of
      such application with the clerk of the board  of  supervisors  and  upon
      reaching  a  determination,  the  comptroller  shall  make  an order, in
      duplicate, granting or denying permission for the creation or  extension
      of  the  district and shall file one copy of such order in the office of
      the state department of audit and control at Albany, New York,  and  the
      other  in the office of the town clerk of the town in which the proposed
      district or extension is located. The  town  clerk  shall  present  such
      order to the town board of the town at the next meeting thereof.
        5.  If the state comptroller shall deny permission for the creation or
      extension of the district, the town board shall forthwith adopt an order
      denying the petition. If the state comptroller  shall  grant  permission
      therefor, the town board may adopt an order establishing the district or
      extension as the boundaries shall be finally determined.
        6.  Except  as otherwise provided by section two hundred two-b of this
      article, the permission of the state comptroller shall not  be  required
      for the establishment or extension of a district and the construction of
      an  improvement  or  the  providing  of  a service therein, including an
    
      increase  in  the  maximum  amount  proposed  to  be  expended  for  the
      improvement  in  a  district, unless it is proposed or required that the
      town in which such district or extension is located  shall  finance  the
      cost  thereof by the issuance of the bonds, notes, certificates or other
      evidences of indebtedness of the town therefor or it  is  proposed  that
      debt  service  on  obligations issued to finance the costs of facilities
      acquired be assumed, pursuant  to  subdivision  twelve  of  section  one
      hundred  ninety-eight  of  this  article,  and, if the state comptroller
      shall have  computed  average  estimated  costs  for  similar  types  of
      districts, the cost of the district or extension to the typical property
      or,  if different, the costs of the district or extension to the typical
      one or two family home, as stated in the notice of hearing, is above the
      average  estimated  cost  to  typical  properties  or  homes   for   the
      establishment  or  extension  of  similar  types  of districts as may be
      annually computed  by  the  state  comptroller.  The  state  comptroller
      annually shall provide to towns notice of the average cost thresholds as
      may be computed in accordance with this section.