SECTIONS 50610-50615

50610.  The legislative body shall have complete charge, supervisionand control of all open areas maintained pursuant to the provisionsof this chapter. The legislative body may appoint an advisory boardcomposed of five property owners within a district, which advisoryboard may make recommendations to the legislative body with respectto the maintenance and operation of the open areas. Members of theboard shall serve without compensation and shall hold office for aterm of three years from the date of their appointment.50611.  The legislative body may enter into such annual contracts asmay be required for performance of the maintenance or may cause anypart or parts thereof to be performed or furnished by the localagency and may employ the necessary labor and provide, by purchaseorder when necessary, the required materials and equipment and shallcause the maintenance to be performed or furnished. The costs and expenses of all maintenance to be done or furnishedby the local agency shall be paid for from the funds of the districtor out of any fund which may be provided or advanced by thelegislative body for expenditure for such purposes. The payments soadvanced may be reimbursed from the district funds when moneys areavailable therein.50612.  The legislative body may levy an annual ad valorem specialassessment not to exceed fifty cents ($0.50) per one hundred dollars($100) assessed valuation of taxable land and improvements within themaintenance district to pay the costs of maintenance and operationof the open areas or such portion of said costs as the legislativebody determines shall be borne by the maintenance district. Thelegislative body may determine that all or a portion of the costs maybe borne by the local agency. The annual assessments shall be leviedand collected at the same time and in the same manner and with thesame interest and penalties as general taxes for the local agency arecollected.50613.  The proceeds of the annual special assessments shall be paidto the treasurer of the local agency, who shall place the proceedsin a special fund to the credit of the district and payment shall bemade out of the special fund only for the purposes provided for inthis chapter for the district. To expedite any maintenance work, thelegislative body may at any time transfer into the special fund, outof any money in the general fund, such sums as it may deem necessary,and the sums so transferred shall be deemed as a loan to the specialfund, and shall be repaid out of the proceeds of the assessmentsprovided for in this chapter. If a district is organized in any year too late for the levy of aspecial assessment in that year or in the next ensuing year, thelegislative body is hereby authorized to transfer funds out of thegeneral fund of the local agency to the special fund of the districtto be used for the payment of the expenses of the district until suchtime as special assessment receipts are available therefor. Thelegislative body shall include in the levy of the special assessmentfor the district for the first fiscal year in which the assessmentmay be levied or in ensuing years, a sum sufficient to repay thelocal agency the amount so transferred to the district for theportion or portions of the preceding fiscal year or years for whichno levy of assessment was made for that purpose. The amount sotransferred shall be repaid into the general fund of the local agencyfrom the district fund out of the first available receipts from theassessment levied or as determined by the legislative body.50614.  If for any reason there shall be a deficiency in the fundsderived from the annual assessments levied for the district, thelegislative body may meet the deficiency by an appropriation out ofthe general fund or may advance such sums, to be repaid out of theproceeds of the annual assessment for the next or ensuing years, asdeemed appropriate by the legislative body.50615.  Any unexpended balance remaining in the special fund for thedistrict after the payment of the costs and expenses of themaintenance for which the assessment was levied shall be credited tothe fund to be raised for the next ensuing period of maintenance forthe district. Whenever the legislative body does not order or reordermaintenance as authorized in this chapter, any such unexpendedbalance may be retained in the fund to be used, until exhausted, todefray the costs and expenses of maintaining and caring for the openspaces benefiting the district for which the annual assessment hadbeen levied.