12-618.   Taxing districts in cities under 80,000; systems; assessmentsor bonds; alteration of boundaries; reassessment of costs and expenses;time for suit or injunction.The governing body of such city shall have power to provide for one ormore systems of sewerage, or drainage, or both, for such city, or for anypart thereof, with one or more main sewers or drains and sewer or drainsoutlets, and to build, construct or purchase pumping stations, sewers,sewer service lines and drains by districts or otherwise, as the governingbody may determine. In the case of sewer service lines constructed onprivate property, nothing in this act shall require the city to clean,maintain or replace such lines after the initial purchase or constructionthereof.

      The costs and expenses of constructing or purchasing the said pumpingstations, sewers, sewer service lines and drains, except as provided inK.S.A. 12-619, shall be assessed against the lots and pieces of groundcontained within the district in which the same is situated, and shall belevied and collected as one tax, in addition to the other taxes andassessments, and shall be certified by the city clerk to the county clerkand be placed by him or her upon the tax roll for collection, subject tothe same penalties, entitled to the same rebates and collected in the samemanner as other taxes. Where any property has paid or shall pay its fullproportion for pumping stations, general sewers or drains in one districtit shall not be transferred to another district and thereby be made liablefor taxation for pumping stations, sewers and drains in such otherdistrict. The governing body may in their discretion provide for thepayment of the costs thereof by installments, instead of levying the entiretax or special assessment for such cost at one time; and for suchinstallments they may issue improvement bonds of the city in the mannerprovided by law. Where the governing body of any city has not or may notdivide such city into more than one district for sewer purposes, and suchentire city thus constitutes one sewer district, such cities are herebyexempted from the provisions of this act insofar as the same provides forthe levying of a tax or assessment against specific lots and pieces ofground in separate sewer districts, and such cities are hereby authorizedto build and construct sewers and sewer systems, and for the purpose ofpaying for the same the governing body may issue general obligation bondsas provided by law.

      The governing body of any such city which is located in a county havinga population of less than one hundred eighty-five thousand (185,000) ormore than two hundred thousand (200,000) may, by resolution: (1) Alter theboundaries of any district so as to include property which has been annexedsubsequent to the creation of such district if such property is within thesame watershed and will be served by the main sewer serving such district;and

      (2)   reapportion and reassess, on the same basis as the originalassessment, that portion of the costs and expenses incurred in theconstruction of sewer mains within such district which were assessed withinthe district prior to the passage of such resolution, and which remainunpaid, among all lots and pieces of ground within the district, includingthose added thereto by such resolution, and which receive benefits fromsuch sewers.

      No suit to set aside the special assessments herein provided for or toenjoin the making of the same shall be brought, nor any defense to thevalidity thereof be allowed, after the expiration of thirty (30) days fromthe time when the amount due on each lot or piece of ground liable for suchassessment is ascertained.

      History:   R.S. 1923, § 12-618; L. 1955, ch. 77, § 1;L. 1967, ch. 84, § 1; L. 1975, ch. 57, § 1; July 1.