Relating to the management of drainage or levee districts, including by providing for objections by landowners and for procedures to make a repair or construct an improvement within a district

Second, it provides that the board may allow the question to be placed on a ballot mailed to the landowners and filed with the auditor who counts the votes of landowners who answer the question on the ballots returned to the auditor. REPORT REGARDING A REPAIR OR IMPROVEMENT —— INCREASE IN THRESHOLD AMOUNT.126(4)). The board may determine whether a project meets the requirements for either a repair or improvement. The board must distinguish between major and minor repairs or improvements. PETITIONS REGARDING A REPAIR OR IMPROVEMENT. The bill provides that a board may consider a petition for a repair or improvement submitted by one or more landowners in the district. If a petition seeks a major repair or improvement, the petition must include the signatures of at least percent of the district’s landowners. If a remonstrance against a proposed improvement succeeds, the petitioners are liable for costs incurred by the board in taking action on the petition. HEARING REGARDING A REPAIR OR IMPROVEMENT. The board must conduct a hearing regarding the repair or improvement if the scope of the repair exceeds the scope of a preliminary estimate prepared by the engineer or conservationist by more than percent. The costs of the hearing are to be paid by the engineer or conservationist, unless the enlarged scope was ordered by the board. The board must still conduct a hearing if the estimated cost of the repair or improvement exceeds $50,000 but that amount is based on the expected cost as provided in the board’s initial or adjusted determination or as provided in the preliminary or reported estimate. BACKGROUND. Generally, there are two types of projects authorized under Code chapter 468, a repair which refers to restoring a facility to its original design or efficiency and an improvement which enhances or enlarges the district’s facility. Before a board managing a drainage district may order an engineer’s report or a report from a conservationist regarding a proposed repair or improvement, the estimated cost of the repair or improvement must exceed $50,000, the board must conduct a hearing of landowners, and the report must be presented at the hearing. There are several types of boards that may have jurisdiction to decide whether or not to order a repair or improvement, including a board of supervisors, a joint board of supervisors, or an elected board of trustees.258).