247.220. Dissolution of district--procedure--election--disposition of property and debts.
Dissolution of district--procedure--election--disposition of propertyand debts.
247.220. 1. Proceedings for the dissolution of a public water supplydistrict shall be substantially the same as proceedings for the formationof such a district, as follows: A petition describing the boundaries ofthe district sought to be dissolved shall be filed with the clerk of thecircuit court of the county wherein the subject district is situate, orwith the clerk of the circuit court of the county having the largestacreage within the boundaries of the subject district, in the event thatthe subject district embraces lands in more than one county. Suchpetition, in addition to such boundary description, shall allege thatfurther operation of the subject district is inimicable to the bestinterests of the inhabitants of the district, that the district should, inthe interest of the public welfare and safety, be dissolved, that analternative water supplier is available and better able to supply water tothe inhabitants of the district, and such other information as may beuseful to the court in determining whether the petition should be grantedand a decree of dissolution entered. Such petition shall also include adetailed plan for payment of all debt and obligations of the district atthe time of dissolution. Such petition shall be accompanied by a cashdeposit of fifty dollars as an advancement of the costs of the proceedingand the petition shall be signed by not less than one-fifth of theregistered voters from each subdistrict, or fifty registered voters fromeach subdistrict, whichever is less, within the subject district. Thepetition shall be verified by at least one of the signers thereof and shallbe served upon the board of directors of the district as provided by law.The district shall be a party, and if the board of directors in itsdiscretion determines that such dissolution is not in the public interest,the district shall oppose such petition and pay all cost and expensethereof.
2. Upon the filing of the petition, the same shall be presented tothe circuit court, and such court shall fix a date for a hearing on suchpetition, as provided in this section. Thereupon, the clerk of the courtshall give notice of the filing of the petition in some newspaper ofgeneral circulation in the county in which the proceedings are pending, andif the district extends into any other county or counties, such noticeshall also be published in some newspaper of general circulation in suchother county or counties. The notice shall contain a description of thesubject boundary lines of the district and the general purposes of thepetition, and shall set forth the date fixed for the hearing on thepetition, which shall not be less than seven nor more than twenty-one daysafter the date of the last publication of the notice and shall be on someregular judicial day of the court wherein the petition is pending. Suchnotice shall be signed by the clerk of the circuit court and shall bepublished in three successive issues of a weekly newspaper or in twentysuccessive issues of a daily newspaper.
3. The court, for good cause shown, may continue the case or thehearing thereon from time to time until final disposition thereof.
4. Exceptions to the dissolution of a district may be made by anyvoter or landowner of the district, and by the district as herein provided;such exceptions shall be filed not less than five days prior to the dateset for the hearing on the petition. Such exceptions shall specify thegrounds upon which the exceptions are filed and the court shall take theminto consideration in passing upon the petition and shall also consider theevidence in support of the petition and in support of the exceptions made.Unless petitioners prove that all debts and financial obligations of thedistrict can be paid in full upon dissolution, the petition shall bedismissed at the cost of the petitioners.
5. Should the court find that it would not be to the public interestto dissolve a district, the petition shall be dismissed at the costs of thepetitioners. If, however, the court should find in favor of thepetitioners, the court shall enter its interlocutory decree of dissolutionwhich decree shall provide for the submission of the question to the votersof the district in substantially the following form:
Shall .... Public Water Supply District be dissolved?
6. The decree of dissolution shall not become final and conclusiveuntil it shall have been submitted to the voters residing within theboundaries described in such decree and until it shall have been assentedto by a majority of two-thirds of the voters of the district voting on theproposition. The decree shall provide for the submission of the questionand shall fix the date thereof. The returns shall be certified by theelection authority to the circuit court having jurisdiction in the case andthe court shall thereupon enter its order canvassing the returns anddeclaring the result of such election.
7. If, upon canvass and declaration, it is found and determined thatthe question shall have been assented to by a majority of two-thirds of thevoters of the district voting on such proposition then the court shall, insuch order declaring the result of the election, enter a further orderdeclaring the decree of dissolution to be final and conclusive. In theevent, however, that the court should find that the question had not beenassented to by the majority required, the court shall enter a further orderdeclaring such decree of dissolution to be void and of no effect. Noappeal shall lie from any of the aforesaid orders. In the event that thecourt declares the decree of dissolution to be final, as provided in thissection, the clerk of the circuit court shall file certified copies of suchdecree of dissolution and of such final order with the secretary of stateof the state of Missouri, and with the recorder of deeds of the county orcounties in which the district is situate and with the clerk of the countycommission of the county or counties in which the district is situate.
8. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, nodistrict shall be dissolved until after all of its debts shall have beenpaid, and the court, in its decree of dissolution, shall provide for thedisposition of the property of the district.
(RSMo 1939 § 12638, A.L. 1978 H.B. 971, A.L. 1993 H.B. 655, A.L. 1997 S.B. 175, A.L. 2002 S.B. 984 & 985)