Incase of failure to serve any notice of any proceeding or hearing in thischapter provided for upon any person or corporation, such persons or corporationmay appear in open court and waive such defect of service, or may waive it byfiling in court or delivering to the commissioners of the irrigation districtto be filed in court a written waiver of such defect, in which waiver saiddefect shall be described, which waiver shall be signed by such party andwitnessed and acknowledged before a proper officer having power to takeacknowledgments of deeds.
41-7-102. Construction; generally.
Theprovisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote the publicwelfare by reclaiming and irrigating lands, constructing and completingreservoirs, canals, ditches, or other works specified in the petition and thepreservation or operation of any irrigation system heretofore or hereafterconstructed according to law.
Nothingin this act shall be construed as to affect the validity of any districtheretofore organized under the laws of this state, or its rights in or to property,or any of its rights or privileges of whatsoever kind or nature; but saiddistricts are hereby made subject to the provisions of this act so far aspracticable; nor shall it affect, impair, or discharge any contract,obligations, lien, or charge for, or upon which it was or might become liableor chargeable had not this act been passed; nor shall it affect the validity ofany bonds which have been issued; nor shall it affect any action which now maybe pending.
41-7-104. Construction; existing water rights.
Nothingin this act shall be so construed as to in any manner impair existing waterrights, appropriations or priorities within said district.
ARTICLE 2 - ORGANIZATION GENERALLY
41-7-201. Filing of landowners' petition; contents; amendments; multiplepetitions.
(a) Whenever a majority of the freeholders owning lands and theentrymen upon public lands in any district who shall represent one-third thearea of lands within said district, or whenever the freeholders owning landsand the entrymen upon public lands who shall represent more than one-half thearea of lands within said district, desire to provide for the irrigation of thesame; or to improve the existing water supply for said lands; or to purchase,extend, operate or maintain constructed irrigation works; or to cooperate withthe United States under the federal reclamation laws heretofore or hereafterenacted, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor of indebtedness to theUnited States on account of district lands, they may file in the district courtof the county which embraces the largest acreage of the district, a petition,hereinafter referred to as the "petition", which shall include:
(i) The name of the proposed irrigation district;
(ii) The necessity of the proposed work describing thenecessity;
(iii) The object and purpose of the system proposed to beconstructed, together with a general description thereof;
(iv) A general description of the lands proposed to be includedin said district. Accompanying said petition shall be a preliminary engineeringreport on the feasibility of the project, including a report on the sufficiencyof its water supply; the approximate area of irrigable land within thedistrict, including an estimate of the cost of construction; all of which shallbe approved by the state engineer;
(v) The names of all freeholders owning lands and the entrymenon public lands in said district, when known;
(vi) Whether or not the petitioners desire and propose tocooperate with the United States;
(vii) A general prayer for the organization of the district.
(b) No petition having as many signers as are required by thissection shall be declared void, but the court may at any time permit the petitionto be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts, if the factsjustify the organization of an irrigation district. Several similar petitionsfor the organization of the same district may be circulated, and when filed,shall together be regarded as one petition having as many signers as there areseparate signers on the several petitions filed. All petitions for theorganization of said district filed prior to the hearing on said petition shallbe considered by the court, the same as if filed with the first petition placedon file, and the signatures thereon contained shall be counted in determiningwhether sufficient persons have signed said petition.
41-7-202. Petitioner's affidavit.
Theaffidavit of any three (3) or more of the signers of said petition stating thatthey have examined it and are acquainted with the locality of said district andthat said petition is signed by a sufficient number of corporations and adultpersons owning lands in said district, to satisfy W.S. 41-7-201, may be takenby the court or judge as sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated.
41-7-203. Land that may be included in proposed district.
Thelands proposed to be included in any irrigation district, need not becontiguous provided that the benefit of the proposed work in each part willexceed the damages from costs of said proposed work in each part; and providedfurther that the court shall be satisfied that said proposed work can be morecheaply done if in a single district than otherwise; and provided further thatlands within a town or city may be included within the limits of any irrigationdistrict, if the creation of such irrigation district will benefit such town orcity in any amount equal to or in excess of the amount of assessment forconstruction against the lands therein.
41-7-204. Hearings; service of notice generally; contents.
(a) On such petition being filed the court or judge thereofshall make an order fixing the time and place of the hearing thereon andordering notice; thereupon the clerk of said circuit court, for the county inwhich the proceedings are instituted, shall cause twenty (20) days notice ofthe filing of such petition to be given:
(i) By serving or causing to be served a copy of such notice oneach person owning, or entitled to possession by virtue of public land filing,of land within said proposed district, residing in any county in which anylands in said proposed district are situated, either personally or by leaving acopy thereof at his last usual place of abode, with a person of suitable ageand discretion, and by registered mail to any mortgagee, mortgagees or judgmentlienholder whose address is of record in the record of said lien in the countyor counties in which said district is situated; and
(ii) By publishing a copy thereof at least once a week for three(3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in each county within whichany of the lands of the district are situated. If there be no newspaper in anysuch county, such notice may be published in a newspaper published in anadjoining county.
(b) Such notice shall:
(i) State in what court said petition is filed;
(ii) Give a general description of the proposed work;
(iii) Give the proposed boundaries of said district (or a generaldescription of all the lands in said proposed district);
(iv) Give the name proposed for said irrigation district;
(v) State the time and place by the court fixed, when and wherethe petitioners will ask a hearing on said petition; and
(vi) Direct all persons owning or having an interest in anylands within the boundary of the proposed district, to appear at the time andplace stated, then and there to show cause why their land should not be includedin said district.
41-7-205. Hearings; notification of nonresidents; personal service inlieu of posting for all persons.
Ifany of the persons owning or entitled to possession of land in said districtare nonresidents of the county or counties in which the proposed district lies,the petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit giving the names and postoffice address of each such nonresident, if such are known, and if unknownshall state that, upon diligent inquiry their names or post office addresses(whichever may be the fact) cannot be ascertained. The clerk of the court shallmail a copy of the notice aforesaid to each of said nonresident owners whosepost-office address is known, within six (6) days after the first publicationof the same. The certificate of the clerk of the court, or other publicofficer, or the affidavit of any other person who knows the facts, affixed to acopy of said notice, shall be sufficient evidence of the posting, serving,mailing or publication thereof. Personal service of said notice on (or serviceby leaving at the last usual place of abode of) all persons owning or entitledto possession of lands or interest in lands within said district, shall givethe court complete jurisdiction, without posting, publication or mailing ofsaid notice.
41-7-206. Hearings; adjournment to serve persons not served.
Ifit shall be found before the hearing on the petition for the organization of anirrigation district, that one (1) or more of the persons owning or entitled to possessionof land in said district have not been duly served with notice of hearing onsaid petition, the court or presiding judge shall not thereby losejurisdiction. The court or presiding judge in such case shall adjourn thehearing, make an order directing the serving of said notice upon said person orpersons, and fixing the time and manner of service of such notice, which noticeshall notify him to appear at said adjourned time and place and be heard onsaid petition. Said notice shall be served personally or by leaving at the lastusual place of abode of said unserved persons, as in W.S. 41-7-204 provided,not less than eight (8) days before said adjourned hearing, or published notless than fourteen (14) days before said adjourned hearing, in some newspaperpublished in the county in which said persons' lands lie, or if no newspapermay be published in said county, then in some newspaper published in anadjoining county. Upon the adjourned day the same proceedings, adjournments,trial, findings and orders may be had as in case of complete service of noticein the first instance. In case of failure to mail said notice as hereinrequired, the court or judge may order the same mailed later and shall adjournsaid hearing so that said notice shall be mailed at least fourteen (14) daysbefore said adjourned hearing. In case of failure to publish or post notice, asin this act required, the court or judge may adjourn said hearing forsufficient time to permit the due posting and publication of said notice, andorder said notice posted or published as in section 4 hereof directed. In caseof adjournment to permit notice to be given, the notice shall state the fact ofsuch adjournment and the time and place of hearing pursuant to saidadjournment.
41-7-207. Hearings; contests; grounds; notice of objections to be inwriting; filing of objections.
(a) On the day fixed for hearing on such petition, all personsowning or entitled to the possession of lands, or any interest or easement inland, within said proposed district, or who may be affected thereby, may appearand contest or object to:
(i) The sufficiency of the petition;
(ii) The sufficiency of the signers of the petition;
(iii) The sufficiency of the notice;
(iv) The constitutionality of the law;
(v) The inclusion or exclusion of any lands in the district, orany other material issue raised by the petition;
(vi) The jurisdiction of the court, specifying their objectionsto such jurisdiction; and the petitioners and contestants may, on the trial,offer any competent evidence in regard thereto.
(b) All notices of contests or objection shall be in writingand shall clearly specify the grounds of contest or objection and shall befiled in the office of the clerk of court wherein such petition is filed atleast five (5) days prior to the day set for the hearing. The court shall onthe day fixed for said hearing, hear and determine all issues provided in thissection and may adjourn said hearing from time to time, for good and sufficientreason shown.
41-7-208. Hearings; dismissal of petition improperly signed; inclusionor exclusion of land from district.
Ifthe court or presiding judge thereof, after hearing any and all competentevidence that may be offered for and against the said petition, shall find thatthe same has not been signed as herein required, the said petition shall bedismissed at the cost of the petitioners, and judgment shall be entered againstsaid petitioners for the amount of said costs. The court shall upon propershowing include or exclude any land from the district.
41-7-209. Fraudulent deeds for establishment or defeat of petition.
Alldeeds made for the purpose of establishing or defeating the prayer of saidpetition, and not made in good faith and for a valuable consideration, shall betaken and held to be a fraud, and the holders thereof shall not be consideredas the owners of the lands described therein; and the filing of said petitionshall constitute a lis pendens against all lands described therein from andafter the filing thereof.
41-7-210. Court's order.
(a) If the issues at this hearing are decided in favor of thepetitioners, the court shall make an order:
(i) Approving and confirming the petition;
(ii) Defining the boundaries of the district;
(iii) Dividing the district into three (3) or five (5)subdivisions as the court may consider appropriate, which subdivisions shall beas nearly equal in size as may be practicable and which shall be designated ascommissioner districts, and each district shall be numbered consecutively.Should the district be first divided into three (3) subdivisions the same shallbe thereafter increased to five (5) subdivisions, and the number ofcommissioners increased to five (5), provided a majority of the qualifiedelectors voting, vote in favor of such increase at an election called for thepurpose. Said election for the increased number of districts and commissionersshall be called upon the order of the district commissioners upon receipt bythem of a petition requesting such an election signed by at least thirtypercent (30%) of the qualified electors of the district. If a majority of thequalified electors voting should vote in favor of such an increase the districtcommissioners shall forthwith proceed to redivide the district into five (5)subdivisions as nearly equal in size as may be practicable, and commissionersshall be elected to represent all districts, as redivided, at the next generalelection of the district, and the terms of such commissioners and the order oftheir retirement shall be as provided for in the case of first election ofcommissioners after the formation of the district;
(iv) Establishing said district as a corporation by the nameproposed with powers:
(A) To sue and be sued;
(B) To adopt and use a corporate seal;
(C) To have perpetual succession;
(D) To file on and acquire the right to use of water fordomestic and irrigation purposes; to acquire sites for reservoirs, and rightsof way for ditches, canals and laterals;
(E) To exercise the power of eminent domain under chapter 316(C.S. 1920), and all acts or parts of acts amendatory thereto;
(F) To contract with the state of Wyoming for the reclamationand segregation of public lands pursuant to the laws of the United States andthe state of Wyoming and to contract for the sale of water rights by itacquired pursuant to said laws, and to purchase and acquire state lands;
(G) To acquire by purchase or otherwise irrigation works, waterrights, land and other property and to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of thesame, to buy, develop, sell and distribute electrical energy as an incident tothe ownership, control and operation of irrigation works of the district or thecooperative works of the district and the United States as the district maydeem expedient or suitable for the development of the district.
(v) Shall appoint one (1) commissioner from each commissionerdistrict, who shall be a freeholder or entryman upon public lands, in saiddistrict, provided, however, if the majority of the irrigable area of thedistrict is unentered public land, a majority of the commissioners shall beappointed by the secretary of the interior, who shall be residents of thestate. The commissioners appointed by the court shall at all times be under thedirection of the court and may be removed from office by the court upon goodcause shown; provided, however, no commissioner shall be removed until writtencharges specifying the ground upon which such removal is sought are filed, andan opportunity given such commissioner to be heard at a hearing provided. Incase a commissioner has been removed under this provision the court shallimmediately appoint a successor. All findings and order of the court made atthe hearing herein provided for shall be final and conclusive unless appealedfrom to the supreme court within thirty (30) days after filing thereof.
ARTICLE 3 - DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS GENERALLY
41-7-301. To be public officers; presumption in favor of validity ofofficial acts.
Commissionersof irrigation districts are hereby declared to be public officers. Thepresumption shall be in favor of the regularity and validity of all theirofficial acts. Whenever any report of the commissioners of any irrigationdistrict or any part of any such report is contested, remonstrated against orcalled in question, the burden of proof shall rest upon the contestant, remonstrantor questioner.
41-7-302. Oath and bond; quorum; term; removal; vacancies.
Beforeentering upon their duties, commissioners shall take and subscribe an oath tosupport the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the stateof Wyoming, to faithfully and impartially discharge their duties ascommissioners and to render a true account of their doing to the court by whichthey are appointed whenever required by law or the order of the court.Commissioners shall execute a bond running to the clerk of court and hissuccessors in office as obligees, to be filed with the clerk for the benefit ofthe parties interested, in an amount to be fixed by the court or presidingjudge, and with sureties to be approved by the court or presiding judge,conditioned for the faithful discharge of their duties as commissioners and thefaithful accounting of all monies which shall come into their hands ascommissioners. A majority shall constitute a quorum and a concurrence of amajority in any matter within their duties shall be sufficient to itsdetermination. The commissioners appointed shall hold their office until thefirst regular meeting of the commissioners following the date of the orderorganizing the district and until their respective successors are qualifiedunder the provisions of W.S. 41-7-316. The commissioners appointed by thesecretary of the interior shall be subject to removal from office and anycommissioner appointed by the secretary of the interior to fill a vacancy shallhold office until less than a majority of the lands within the district areunentered public lands, after which the commissioners shall be elected asotherwise provided in this chapter. If the office of any commissioner soappointed shall become vacant by reason of death, or other cause, the court orjudge thereof shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
41-7-303. Organization as board; officers; powers and dutiesgenerally; contracts and cooperation with United States generally.
Thecommissioners appointed as aforesaid, and their successors in office, shall,from the entry of such order of confirmation, constitute the corporateauthority of said irrigation district, and shall exercise the functionsconferred on them by law. They shall organize as a board, elect a presidentfrom their number and appoint a secretary-treasurer who may or may not be amember of the board. The board shall have power, and it shall be their duty, toadopt bylaws, manage and conduct the affairs and business of the district, makeand execute all necessary contracts, employ such agents, attorneys, officersand employees as may be required, and prescribe their duties, establishequitable rules and regulations for the distribution and use of water to andupon the lands of the district; provided, always, that such rules shall not bein conflict with or contrary to any statute of this state relative to suchmatters; and generally to perform all such acts as shall be necessary to fullycarry out the purposes of this article [chapter]. Said board shall have thepower in addition to the means to supply water to said district proposed by thepetition submitted for the formation of said district, to construct, acquire orpurchase any and all canals, ditches, reservoirs, reservoir sites, waterrights, rights of way, or other property necessary for the use of the district.In case of the purchase of any property by such district the bonds of thedistrict hereinafter provided for may be used at their par value in paymentwithout previous offer of such bonds for sale. For the purpose of acquiringcontrol over government land within the district and complying with theprovisions of the act of congress of August 11, 1916, the board shall haveauthority to make such investigation, and based thereon, such representationand assurances to the secretary of the interior as may be requisite; and theboard may contract with the United States for the construction, operation andmaintenance of the necessary works for the delivery and distribution of watertherefrom under the provisions of the federal reclamation act, and all actsamendatory thereof and supplementary thereto and the rules and regulationsestablished thereunder, or for the assumption, as principal or guarantor of theindebtedness to the United States on account of district lands. The board maycontract with the United States for a water supply under any act of congressproviding for or permitting such contract and in case any contract has been ormay thereafter be made with the United States as herein provided, bonds of thedistrict may be deposited with the United States at ninety percent (90%) oftheir par value, to the amount to be paid by the district to the United Statesunder any such contract, the interest on said bonds, if bearing interest, to beprovided for by assessment and levy as in case of other bonds of the districtand regularly paid to the United States to be applied as provided in suchcontract; and if bonds of the district are not so deposited it shall be the dutyof the board to include as part of any levy or assessment provided for herein,an amount sufficient to meet each year all payments accruing under the terms ofany such contract; and the board may accept on behalf of the district,appointment of the district as a fiscal agent of the United States, orauthorization of the district by the United States to make collection of moneysfor or on behalf of the United States, in connection with any federalreclamation project, whereupon the district shall be authorized to so act andto assume the duties and liabilities incident to such action, and the saidboard shall have full power to do any and all things required by the federalstatutes now or hereafter enacted in connection therewith, and all thingsrequired by the rules and regulations now or that may hereafter be establishedby any department of the federal government in regard thereto. The board shallhave the power to buy, develop, sell and distribute electrical energy as anincident to the ownership, control and operation of the irrigation works of thedistrict or the cooperative works of the district and the United States and touse, sell and distribute the same. The said rules and regulations shall beprinted in convenient form as soon as the same are adopted, for thedistribution in the district; provided, however, that the commissioners of thedistrict shall not contract with the United States for the construction,operation or maintenance of the necessary works for the delivery anddistribution of water to district lands, or for the drainage of district lands,under the provisions of the federal reclamation act and any act or actsamendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, or the rules and regulationsestablished thereunder, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor, ofindebtedness to the United States on account of district lands, or for a watersupply or drainage incident to irrigation under any act of congress providingfor or permitting such contract, or for acceptance by the district of appointmentor authorization as fiscal agent of the United States to make collections ofmoneys for or on behalf of the United States in connection with any federalreclamation project, until there has been an election duly held at which amajority of the qualified electors present and voting have voted in favor ofmaking any such contract.
41-7-304. Financial records and reports; compensation and expenses;suit on bonds.
The commissioners shall keep an accuraterecord of all monies collected on account of the work under their charge and ofall payments made by them, and shall take vouchers for payments and shall keepfull, accurate and true minutes of all their proceedings. On or before thetenth day of July each year the commissioners shall file in the office of theclerk of the court having jurisdiction in the matter, an itemized statement ofall their receipts and disbursements, for the preceding fiscal year, and leavethe report in the office for examination by parties interested at all times,and include a copy thereof in the regular call for the annual meetinghereinafter provided. They shall receive for their services compensation as thecourt or presiding judge thereof may determine. They shall also be reimbursedfor their actual reasonable expenses. Suit may also be brought upon theirbonds, and the amount recovered shall be applied to the construction of thework or to the party injured, as justice may require.
41-7-305. Maps and plans of proposed work; reports to court generally.
(a) As soon as may be after the organization of said district,or within such time as the court may direct, said commissioners shall proceedto have all necessary levels taken and surveys made, and shall lay out saidproposed work, make a map thereof and plans, profiles and other specificationsthereof, and report in writing to the court:
(i) The extent and character of the proposed work and thesufficiency of the water supply;
(ii) What lands within the district, as by them reported will beinjured by the proposed work, if any, and they shall therein award to eachtract, lot, easement or interest by whomsoever held, the amount of damageswhich they shall determine will be caused to the same by the proposed work;
(iii) All lands within the district as by them reported will bebenefited by the proposed work and they shall assess against such lands bywhomsoever held the amount of benefits which they determine will be caused tothe same by the proposed work, and in case of lands having appurtenant theretoa partial water right or partial rights in a system of irrigation theassessment shall be according to benefits making due allowance for existingrights. The benefits so assessed are herein referred to as "the assessmentroll".
(b) If it be found necessary to change the boundaries of saidproposed district, previously fixed, they shall report said proposed change,and, if possible, shall report the names, the residence and post-officeaddresses of the owners or persons entitled to possession of all lands affectedby said change in boundaries, but no such change in boundaries shall be made asto deprive the court of jurisdiction; provided, however, that the owners andthose entitled to possession, by virtue of public land filing, of landsadjacent to the district, petition to have their lands brought into thedistrict such petitioners may be considered the same as the originalpetitioners in making changes of boundaries.
(c) They shall also determine and report to the court the totalitemized amount as near as they can determine, that said proposed work willcost, including organization expenses and the unit cost upon which theassessments are based, which shall be designated as "cost ofconstruction".
(d) If the cost of construction of any particular part of thework so proposed to be done shall be assessed upon any particular tract ortracts, lot or lots of land, the commissioners shall so specify, and in theirreport they shall fix and determine the sums which should be assessed againstsaid tracts and lots, and assess such sum against said tracts and lots.
(e) They shall apportion and assess the part of this "costof construction" not assessed as above, against the several benefitedtracts and lots in said irrigation district, in proportion to the benefitswhich they have assessed against the same, by setting down opposite each tractor lot the sum which they assess against the same for construction. Theassessments which together make up the cost of construction, as above defined,as herein referred to as "assessments for construction".
(f) They shall set forth in their report the amount of water bythem apportioned to each separate tract or lot of land in said district, to beassessed.
(g) The commissioners shall further report to the court theprobable cost of keeping said proposed work in repair after it is completed.
(h) They shall include in their said report, said map, plansand other specifications, and file the same with their report.
41-7-306. Power to alter location of irrigation works; power of courtto alter plans proposed by commissioners.
Thecommissioners shall not be confined to the points of location, commencement,routes or termini of the reservoirs, canals, ditches or other work, or thenumber, extent or size of the same, as proposed by the petitioners, but shalllocate, design, lay out and plan same in such manner as to them shall seem bestto promote the public welfare, and to reclaim or benefit the lands of the partiesinterested with the least damage and greatest benefit to all lands affectedthereby. And any plan proposed by the commission, may, on the application ofany person interested, on the hearing hereinafter provided for, or on theapplication of the commissioners, be altered by the court, by written order, insuch manner as shall appear to the court to be just.
41-7-307. Exclusion or inclusion of lands in district; review ofreport by court generally.
Ifthe commissioners find that the proposed district, as described in the petitionfiled, will not embrace all of the lands that will be benefited by the proposedwork, or that it will include lands that will not be benefited and are notnecessary to be included in said district for any purpose, they shall extend orcontract the boundaries of the proposed district so as to include or excludeall such lands, as the case may be; and the boundaries adopted and reported bythem, may upon the hearing of their report, as hereinafter provided, upon theirapplication, be altered by the court in such manner as shall appear to be just;provided, that the alteration of boundaries as aforesaid shall not have theeffect of so far enlarging or contracting the proposed district as to rendersuch petition void or dismissible. Said report shall be filed with the clerk ofthe court.
41-7-308. Hearings on commissioners' report; filing of objections;notice generally.
Uponthe filing of the said report, the court or judge thereof, shall make and enteran order fixing the time and place when and where all persons interested mayappear and object to the confirmation thereof. All objections shall be inwriting and shall clearly specify the grounds of objection and shall be filedin the office of the clerk of court wherein said report is filed at least five(5) days prior to the date set for the hearing. The clerk of said court shallcause notice of the time and place of such hearing to be given to all partiesinterested, which notice shall contain a brief description of the lands benefitedand damaged, together with the net damage awarded the several tracts, parcels,easements and corporations to which damages are awarded, and the sum in eachcase assessed for benefits and cost of construction against the severalbenefited parcels, tracts, easements and corporations, and the amount of waterapportioned to each acre of land in the district. Said notice shall bepublished for at least three (3) consecutive weeks, prior to the day set forthe hearing, in one (1) newspaper published in each county in which said lands,or any part thereof within said district are situate (and if no newspaper ispublished in said county, in some newspaper in an adjoining county), and byserving a copy of such notice on each of the persons or corporations by saidreport recommended to be assessed, or whose lands are by said reportrecommended to be included in said district, and who resides in any of thecounties in which any lands of the proposed district are situated, at leasttwelve (12) days before the day of hearing in the same manner that a summons isrequired to be served; provided, absence from the county of such person, orcorporation shall excuse personal service, whereupon due publication of suchnotice shall be sufficient service.
41-7-309. Hearings on commissioners' report; notice when land situatedin more than 1 county.
Incase the lands are situated in more than one (1) county the notice published inthe county wherein the court having jurisdiction is situated shall contain adescription of all the lands in said proposed district, the damages awarded tothe several parcels thereof and the amounts assessed for benefits against theseveral parcels thereof, but the notice published in any other county orcounties may contain a description of only the lands situate in said county forwhich said publication is made, together with the damages awarded to andassessments for benefits against the several tracts, parcels, easements andinterests situate in said county for which publication is made. In case ofservice of said notice personally or the acceptance and waiver thereof of allthe owners of the lands within the district, said service shall be sufficientand give the court jurisdiction without said publication.
41-7-310. Hearings on commissioners' report; procedure when reportrequires modification.
Ifthe court finds that the report requires modification, the same may by order ofthe court be referred back to the commissioners, who may be required to modifyit in any respect.
41-7-311. Hearings on commissioners' report; confirmation of report.
Ifthere be no remonstrance, or if the finding be in favor of the validity of theproceedings, or after the report shall have been modified to conform to thefindings, the court shall confirm the report and the order of the confirmationshall be final and conclusive, the proposed work shall be established andauthorized, and the proposed assessments approved and confirmed unless withinthirty (30) days an appeal be taken to the supreme court, and the said order ofconfirmation shall also fix the commissioners' bond.
41-7-312. Hearings on commissioners' report; revision of confirmation.
Saidorder of confirmation may, at the same or at any subsequent term of said courtbe revised, modified or changed, in whole or in part, on petition of thecommissioners, after such notice as the court may require to partiesinterested. At any time prior to making the order confirming said report orthereafter, the court may permit the commissioners to present and file asupplemental report, or amend their report, as to any matter which, pursuant tothe provisions hereof, was or might have been included in the original reportpresented by them, and after reasonable notice given to all parties interested,in such manner as the court shall direct, the court may, upon the hearing insaid matter, make such order as the case may require.
41-7-313. Hearings on commissioners' report; payment of costs whenobjections dismissed.
Incase the petition or proceedings are dismissed as provided herein, a judgmentshall be entered against the petitioners and in favor of the commissioners forthe costs, expenses, and liabilities incurred in said proceedings, for thebenefit of those who have rendered services or advanced money in theprosecution of said proceedings, or have recovered costs on successful conteststherein. Before any such judgment is entered, said commissioners shall filewith the clerk of the district court, in which said proceedings wereinstituted, an itemized statement of such costs and expenses, duly verified,upon which an order shall issue, requiring said petitioners to show causebefore said court, at a time and place named, why judgment should not beentered against said petitioners for the amount of said costs and expenses.Notice of the hearing on said order, to show cause, shall be given to saidpetitioners, by mailing to each a copy thereof, to their last known post officeaddress, at least twenty (20) days prior to the time set for hearing, and by publicationof the same in one (1) or more newspapers, published in the county, where theproceedings are pending, at least three (3) successive weeks prior to the dayset for such hearing. Said motion need not contain an itemized statement ofsaid account. All petitioners shall, among themselves, contribute in thepayment of said judgment, in proportion to the number of acres of land theyhave within the boundaries of the proposed district at the time of filing saidpetition.
41-7-314. Power to enter land to repair irrigation works; constructionof ditches across railway rights-of-way.
(a) The commissioners, their agents, servants, and employeesshall have the right to go upon all lands along any reservoirs, ditch, canal,or embankment in their district, to inspect, deepen, widen and repair the samewhenever necessary, doing no unnecessary damage, and shall not be liable fortrespass therefor.
(b) Said commissioners shall have the right to lay out andconstruct all necessary canals, ditches, drains and embankments across anyrailway right-of-way or yard within their district, and any railway companywhose right-of-way or yard is crossed by the line of any proposed canal, ditch,drain or embankment shall open its right-of-way or yard and permit such canal,ditch, drain or embankment to cross the same as soon as such canal, ditch,drain or embankment is constructed to such right-of-way. Upon receiving fifteen(15) days notice in writing any railway company across whose right-of-way oryard any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment is laid out, shall open itsright-of-way or yard and permit said commissioners and their contractors,agents and employees to construct such canal, ditch, drain or embankment acrosssaid right-of-way or yard. For every day that such railway company fails, afterthe end of said fifteen (15) days to open its right-of-way or yard ashereinbefore required, it shall forfeit twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to saidirrigation district to be collected in an action as other forfeitures are collected,or to be set off against any damages that have been awarded to such railwaycompany. If such railway company fails to open its right-of-way or yard alongthe line of any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment, the commissioners mayat any time after the expiration of said fifteen (15) days open suchright-of-way or yard along the line of such canal, ditch, drain or embankmentand construct the same. Every irrigation district shall be liable to therailway company whose right-of-way or yard is crossed by any canal, ditch,drain or embankment of the district, for the reasonable cost of any culverts orbridges for railway purposes made necessary by the crossing of suchright-of-way or yard by any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment, but thecost so entailed shall not be greater than the average cost of other culvertsand bridges of similar size installed on the same division of the railway, andcrossing streams, canals, ditches or drains of approximately the same width anddepth within a distance of one hundred (100) miles of the canals, ditches ordrains of said district.
41-7-315. Sale of water rights.
Wheneverany of the lands embraced within said district have been or are to be reclaimedby the work done or proposed to be done by said district and the segregation ofsaid lands has been secured by said district, it shall be competent for thecommissioners of said district, in the name of said district, to contract withany person competent to make entry upon said lands for the sale of water rightsthereto, and any and all payments by such contracts provided to be paid to thedistrict shall be and are a lien upon said lands and water rights until paid,and such lien may be foreclosed in the manner provided by law for theforeclosure of such liens.
41-7-316. Election; when held; term of office; exception.
(a) At any annual meeting of the irrigation district, thedistrict may elect to adopt either a calendar year basis for their districtelections or a fiscal year basis for their district elections. If the districtelects a calendar year basis, on or after the first day of February and beforethe last day in March next preceding the expiration of the terms of office ofany irrigation district commissioner appointed in any irrigation district,organized under the provisions of this chapter, and on or after the first dayof February and before the last day in March of each year thereafter, an electionshall be held to elect a commissioner or commissioners for the district, in themanner prescribed by this section.
(b) If the district elects a fiscal year basis for theirdistrict elections similar to that of the county in which they are located,then on or after the first day of August and before the last day of Septembernext preceding the expiration of the terms of office of any irrigation districtcommissioner appointed or elected in any irrigation district organized underthe provisions of this chapter, and on or after the first day of August andbefore the last day in September of each year thereafter, an election shall beheld to elect a commissioner or commissioners for the district, in the mannerprescribed in this section.
(c) At the first election held in any district, one (1)commissioner shall be elected from each commissioner district who shall be alandowner thereof. Where the irrigation district is divided into three (3)subdivisions, the commissioner from district number 1 shall serve as acommissioner for a term of one (1) year, the commissioner from district number2 shall serve as a commissioner for a term of two (2) years, and thecommissioner from district number 3 shall serve as a commissioner for a term ofthree (3) years. Where the district is divided into five (5) subdivisions, thecommissioners from districts numbers 1 and 2 shall serve as commissioners for aterm of one (1) year, commissioners from districts numbers 3 and 4 shall serveas commissioners for a term of two (2) years, and the commissioner fromdistrict number 5 shall serve as a commissioner for a term of three (3) years.Thereafter, all commissioners elected shall serve for a term of three (3)years, and until their successors are elected and qualified, exceptcommissioners elected to fill an unexpired term.
(d) The term of an elected commissioner shall commence upon thedate of the next regular meeting of the commissioners held after his election.If a majority of the commissioners are appointed by the secretary of theinterior as provided for in this chapter, then the remaining commissionersshall be elected at large within the entire irrigation district for terms ofthree (3) years each. The terms however, shall be limited to and expire on thedate of the next regular meeting of the commissioners held following the datewhen the unentered public lands within the district constitute less than themajority of the total acreage within the district. After the expiration ofthese terms, the commissioners shall be elected in the same manner and for thesame terms as provided for herein in the case of first election ofcommissioners.
41-7-317. Election; where held; notice to voters; qualifications ofvoters; recording vote; proxies.
Thecommissioners of the district shall fix the hour and place, within theboundaries of or at a place convenient to the landowners within the irrigationdistrict, of each election and preside at the same. It shall be the duty of thecommissioners, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of an election, tomail to each person or corporation entitled to vote thereat, at his or its lastknown place of residence or business, a notice stating the time, place andpurpose of such elections. Every person or corporation owning or entitled byvirtue of public land filing to the possession of land situated within andbeing a part of any commissioner district in which an election for commissioneris being held, and upon which land no assessment for operation, maintenance orrepairs is delinquent for more than four (4) years, shall be entitled to cast,for the commissioner to be elected, for the commissioner district wherein suchland is situated, one (1) vote for each irrigable acre of such land assessedupon the last annual assessment of said district upon or against which land noassessment for operation, maintenance or repairs is delinquent for more thanfour (4) years. At the hour and place of such election the commissioners shallcall the roll of those entitled to vote, and the number of votes each isentitled to cast. They shall make a record of the qualified voters present,receive all proxies and prescribe the manner of canvassing votes. All proxiesshall be in writing and signed by the person or corporation entitled to vote.
41-7-318. Election; validity; qualifications of candidates; vacanciesin office; duties of elected commissioners.
Noperson shall be declared elected as a commissioner who shall not be a landownerin said commissioner district and who shall not have received a majority of allvotes cast by the qualified voters of said commissioner district. No electionshall be invalid by reason of the fact that a majority of the acreage withinthe district was not represented at such election. Whenever the office of anyelected commissioner shall become vacant by reason of death, resignation orother cause, the vacancy shall be filled by the surviving commissioners for theunexpired term. In case such vacancy is not so filled within thirty (30) days,the court shall fill such vacancy. All elected commissioners shall have thesame qualifications and duties as herein prescribed for appointed or electedcommissioners.
ARTICLE 4 - ASSESSMENTS
41-7-401. Payment in installments; construction contracts with UnitedStates generally; default in payments as lien; exception; power ofcommissioners to enforce payment.
Atthe time of the confirmation of any assessment provided for in this article, itshall be competent for the court to order the same to be paid in installmentsof such amount and at such time as will be convenient for the accomplishment ofthe purposes for which such assessment was made, and the payment of theprincipal and interest of such notes or bonds of said district as the courtshall grant authority to issue, such installments to become delinquent on thesame date or dates as may be fixed by law for state and county taxes to becomedelinquent, and such installments shall draw interest from the date of anynotes or bonds issued by the district and for the payment of which saidassessments are pledged at such rates not to exceed seven percent (7%) perannum, as may be fixed by the court; provided, however, that it shall becompetent for the court, in case a contract is made between the United Statesof America and an irrigation district for the construction or sale ofirrigation works and water rights, to order the charges to be paid inaccordance with the provisions of an act of congress approved December 5, 1924,entitled: "An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in certainappropriations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1924, and prior fiscal years;to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30,1925; and for other purposes," and all acts that may be hereafter enactedas amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, and in such installments asfixed by contract between the district and the United States. The annual levyfor payment of construction charges on the basis herein authorized shallcontinue to be made each year against each tract of land in the districtagainst which benefits under such contract with the United States have beenapportioned, until the full amount apportioned against the same has been paid;such installments to become delinquent on the same date or dates as may befixed by law for state and county taxes to become delinquent and suchinstallments, after they become due, shall draw interest at six percent (6%)per annum. All assessments provided for in this article, together with all interestthereon and all penalties for default in payment of same, and all costs ofcollecting the same shall, from the date of the order of court confirming suchassessments until paid, constitute a perpetual lien in an amount not in excessof the benefits severally assessed, upon all the land and other propertyagainst which such assessments shall be levied, superior to all liens of everykind and nature whatsoever except the paramount lien of the state for thegeneral state, county, city, town or school taxes, and no sale of such propertyto enforce any general state, county, municipal, or school tax, or other lienshall extinguish the perpetual lien of such assessments; and such assessmentsshall also be a lien upon all equities or interests in existing waterappropriations for the irrigation of said lands when the title to said lands isvested in the United States, and when said water appropriations have attachedto said lands. The commissioner shall have the power to enforce payment of suchassessments, and all assessments by them duly levied and confirmed, by shuttingoff the supply of water to any and all lands upon which assessments are due andunpaid, and may refuse to deliver water to such lands until such assessmentsare paid. Any person having an interest in land assessed for construction mayat any time within thirty (30) days after the confirmation of said report, payto the court the amount of the assessment against his land or any tractthereof. Said payment shall relieve said land and water rights from the lien ofsaid assessments for the cost of construction; provided, however, that anydistrict organized within a federal irrigation project for co-operation betweensuch districts and the United States, may contract and agree in connection withthe acquisition of irrigation works and water rights and the taking over of thecare, operation and control of the same from the United States, that each tractor parcel of land shall pay the charges conformed in the assessments againstsuch tract or parcel of land, and that liability for charges thus assessed mayby contract be conformed and limited to the particular tract or parcel of landin question and if so contracted, shall not be imposed as a charge orincumbrance upon other parcels or tracts of land within the district.
41-7-402. Due dates; annual budget of district; hearings on budget;petition for additional funds; hearings on petition.
(a) Assessments to meet expenses of any current year of anydistrict shall become due, payable and delinquent at such time or times eachyear as may be fixed by law for state and county taxes to become due, payableand delinquent. Commissioners having charge of any irrigation district shall onor before the first Tuesday of June of each year file with the clerk of thecourt having jurisdiction of such district, a report showing an itemizedestimate of the money to be raised by assessment within the district for thepurpose of constructing new work, maintenance and to meet the yearly currentexpenses of the district. In addition to the amount above provided, thecommissioners may add a sum which in their judgment shall be sufficient toprovide for possible delinquencies. Within thirty (30) days after filing suchannual report, at a time and place to be fixed by the court or a judge thereof,the judge shall examine such report, hear all objections thereto, fix anddetermine the amount to be raised by assessments for the current year and causesuch adjudication to be entered of record in said court and a certified copythereof to be delivered to the commissioners of such district. Thecommissioners shall add thereto such amount as may be necessary to meet theprincipal and interest on lawful indebtedness of the district maturing duringthe current year, together with a sum which in their judgment shall besufficient to provide for possible delinquencies. When thus completed it shallbe known as "the budget of .... district for the year (year)" andalso be verified under oath by any one (1) of the commissioners.
(b) The commissioners of any irrigation district within thestate of Wyoming are hereby forbidden to incur any indebtedness for currentexpenses of the district in excess of the amount provided in the budget.Provided, however, in case a greater sum than that provided in the budget isrequired, the commissioners may file a petition setting forth the causestherefor, with the clerk of the court having jurisdiction of said district.Immediately upon the filing of said petition the court shall make an order fixingthe time and place of hearing and directing the form and manner of noticethereof to be given if the court deem such hearing advisable. If the courtshall authorize the expenditure of a greater sum of money the commissionersshall be authorized to incur indebtedness equal to the amount of the additionalsum authorized by the court, and in case the expenditure occurs at a time whenit is too late to place the amount upon the assessment roll for the currentyear such amounts may be added to the budget of ensuing years. All debtscontracted in contravention of this section shall be void.
41-7-403. Preparation of assessment roll; contents; how apportioned;certification by county commissioners; delivery to county assessors.
Itshall be the duty of the commissioners of each irrigation district, on orbefore the third Monday in July in each year to prepare an assessment roll ofsaid district, which shall contain the name of the owner, together with adescription of each lot, tract and easement of land within said district andthe aggregate assessments of benefits confirmed by the court against the same;the name of all corporations assessed together with the aggregate assessmentlevied against such corporations respectively. The assessment roll shall alsoshow the amount assessed against each lot, tract and easement of land, andagainst each corporation in the district, for current expense and to meet theprincipal and interest on the indebtedness of the district for the currentyear. All such assessments to meet the principal and interest on theindebtedness of the district for the current year, shall be apportioned on theaggregate assessment of benefits last confirmed by the court. All suchassessments for current expenses shall be based upon irrigable acreage andshall be uniform as to irrigable lands receiving the maximum apportionment ofwater from said district, and as to irrigable lands receiving less than suchmaximum apportionment such assessment shall bear the same proportion as theamount of water apportioned to such lands bears to the maximum apportionment ofwater to other lands in such district. Provided however, that the commissionersof any irrigation district may, in their discretion, provide for a minimumannual assessment for current expense. When such assessment roll is completedit shall be signed by the commissioners of said district, and verified by anyone (1) of them. On or before the third Monday in July of each year thecommissioners of the irrigation district shall deliver to the county commissionersof the county having jurisdiction of such irrigation district the assessmentroll of such district. The county commissioners of said county, immediatelyupon the receipt of the assessment roll of such district and at the time ofmaking the requisite tax levy for county purposes, shall levy and assessagainst each lot, tract and easement of land and against each corporation, therespective amounts levied and assessed against the same on said assessmentroll. Thereupon the county commissioners shall certify to and deliver saidassessment roll to the county assessor of such county, and in case theterritory embraced in such district is located in two (2) or more counties acopy of the assessment roll as certified to by the county commissioners of thecounty having jurisdiction of such district shall be delivered to the assessorof each county in which any of the land of the district is located. Uponreceipt of such assessment roll the assessors of the counties embracing any ofthe lands of such district, shall extend upon the tax roll of such county therespective amounts levied and assessed against each lot, tract and easement ofland, and against each corporation as shown by said assessment roll of saiddistricts.
41-7-404. Collection; disposition; enforcement.
(a) All irrigation district assessments, except as provided byW.S. 41-7-413, shall be collected by the same officer and in the same mannerand at the same time as state and county taxes are collected and when collectedshall be paid to the treasurer of the district, except such assessments,together with interest, penalty and costs thereon, as are collected uponassessments levied for the payment of principal and interest of bondedindebtedness of said district; which funds shall be retained by the countytreasurer of the county in which such district is organized, and the principaland interest of all bonded indebtedness of such district shall be paid by suchcounty treasurer from such fund at the place of payment designated in said bondsand interest coupons; provided, that when all bonded indebtedness of anyirrigation district is fully paid and retired such funds remaining in the handsof the county treasurer shall be paid to the treasurer of such district, forthe benefit of the district; provided, however, the count
Incase of failure to serve any notice of any proceeding or hearing in thischapter provided for upon any person or corporation, such persons or corporationmay appear in open court and waive such defect of service, or may waive it byfiling in court or delivering to the commissioners of the irrigation districtto be filed in court a written waiver of such defect, in which waiver saiddefect shall be described, which waiver shall be signed by such party andwitnessed and acknowledged before a proper officer having power to takeacknowledgments of deeds.
41-7-102. Construction; generally.
Theprovisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote the publicwelfare by reclaiming and irrigating lands, constructing and completingreservoirs, canals, ditches, or other works specified in the petition and thepreservation or operation of any irrigation system heretofore or hereafterconstructed according to law.
Nothingin this act shall be construed as to affect the validity of any districtheretofore organized under the laws of this state, or its rights in or to property,or any of its rights or privileges of whatsoever kind or nature; but saiddistricts are hereby made subject to the provisions of this act so far aspracticable; nor shall it affect, impair, or discharge any contract,obligations, lien, or charge for, or upon which it was or might become liableor chargeable had not this act been passed; nor shall it affect the validity ofany bonds which have been issued; nor shall it affect any action which now maybe pending.
41-7-104. Construction; existing water rights.
Nothingin this act shall be so construed as to in any manner impair existing waterrights, appropriations or priorities within said district.
ARTICLE 2 - ORGANIZATION GENERALLY
41-7-201. Filing of landowners' petition; contents; amendments; multiplepetitions.
(a) Whenever a majority of the freeholders owning lands and theentrymen upon public lands in any district who shall represent one-third thearea of lands within said district, or whenever the freeholders owning landsand the entrymen upon public lands who shall represent more than one-half thearea of lands within said district, desire to provide for the irrigation of thesame; or to improve the existing water supply for said lands; or to purchase,extend, operate or maintain constructed irrigation works; or to cooperate withthe United States under the federal reclamation laws heretofore or hereafterenacted, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor of indebtedness to theUnited States on account of district lands, they may file in the district courtof the county which embraces the largest acreage of the district, a petition,hereinafter referred to as the "petition", which shall include:
(i) The name of the proposed irrigation district;
(ii) The necessity of the proposed work describing thenecessity;
(iii) The object and purpose of the system proposed to beconstructed, together with a general description thereof;
(iv) A general description of the lands proposed to be includedin said district. Accompanying said petition shall be a preliminary engineeringreport on the feasibility of the project, including a report on the sufficiencyof its water supply; the approximate area of irrigable land within thedistrict, including an estimate of the cost of construction; all of which shallbe approved by the state engineer;
(v) The names of all freeholders owning lands and the entrymenon public lands in said district, when known;
(vi) Whether or not the petitioners desire and propose tocooperate with the United States;
(vii) A general prayer for the organization of the district.
(b) No petition having as many signers as are required by thissection shall be declared void, but the court may at any time permit the petitionto be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts, if the factsjustify the organization of an irrigation district. Several similar petitionsfor the organization of the same district may be circulated, and when filed,shall together be regarded as one petition having as many signers as there areseparate signers on the several petitions filed. All petitions for theorganization of said district filed prior to the hearing on said petition shallbe considered by the court, the same as if filed with the first petition placedon file, and the signatures thereon contained shall be counted in determiningwhether sufficient persons have signed said petition.
41-7-202. Petitioner's affidavit.
Theaffidavit of any three (3) or more of the signers of said petition stating thatthey have examined it and are acquainted with the locality of said district andthat said petition is signed by a sufficient number of corporations and adultpersons owning lands in said district, to satisfy W.S. 41-7-201, may be takenby the court or judge as sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated.
41-7-203. Land that may be included in proposed district.
Thelands proposed to be included in any irrigation district, need not becontiguous provided that the benefit of the proposed work in each part willexceed the damages from costs of said proposed work in each part; and providedfurther that the court shall be satisfied that said proposed work can be morecheaply done if in a single district than otherwise; and provided further thatlands within a town or city may be included within the limits of any irrigationdistrict, if the creation of such irrigation district will benefit such town orcity in any amount equal to or in excess of the amount of assessment forconstruction against the lands therein.
41-7-204. Hearings; service of notice generally; contents.
(a) On such petition being filed the court or judge thereofshall make an order fixing the time and place of the hearing thereon andordering notice; thereupon the clerk of said circuit court, for the county inwhich the proceedings are instituted, shall cause twenty (20) days notice ofthe filing of such petition to be given:
(i) By serving or causing to be served a copy of such notice oneach person owning, or entitled to possession by virtue of public land filing,of land within said proposed district, residing in any county in which anylands in said proposed district are situated, either personally or by leaving acopy thereof at his last usual place of abode, with a person of suitable ageand discretion, and by registered mail to any mortgagee, mortgagees or judgmentlienholder whose address is of record in the record of said lien in the countyor counties in which said district is situated; and
(ii) By publishing a copy thereof at least once a week for three(3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in each county within whichany of the lands of the district are situated. If there be no newspaper in anysuch county, such notice may be published in a newspaper published in anadjoining county.
(b) Such notice shall:
(i) State in what court said petition is filed;
(ii) Give a general description of the proposed work;
(iii) Give the proposed boundaries of said district (or a generaldescription of all the lands in said proposed district);
(iv) Give the name proposed for said irrigation district;
(v) State the time and place by the court fixed, when and wherethe petitioners will ask a hearing on said petition; and
(vi) Direct all persons owning or having an interest in anylands within the boundary of the proposed district, to appear at the time andplace stated, then and there to show cause why their land should not be includedin said district.
41-7-205. Hearings; notification of nonresidents; personal service inlieu of posting for all persons.
Ifany of the persons owning or entitled to possession of land in said districtare nonresidents of the county or counties in which the proposed district lies,the petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit giving the names and postoffice address of each such nonresident, if such are known, and if unknownshall state that, upon diligent inquiry their names or post office addresses(whichever may be the fact) cannot be ascertained. The clerk of the court shallmail a copy of the notice aforesaid to each of said nonresident owners whosepost-office address is known, within six (6) days after the first publicationof the same. The certificate of the clerk of the court, or other publicofficer, or the affidavit of any other person who knows the facts, affixed to acopy of said notice, shall be sufficient evidence of the posting, serving,mailing or publication thereof. Personal service of said notice on (or serviceby leaving at the last usual place of abode of) all persons owning or entitledto possession of lands or interest in lands within said district, shall givethe court complete jurisdiction, without posting, publication or mailing ofsaid notice.
41-7-206. Hearings; adjournment to serve persons not served.
Ifit shall be found before the hearing on the petition for the organization of anirrigation district, that one (1) or more of the persons owning or entitled to possessionof land in said district have not been duly served with notice of hearing onsaid petition, the court or presiding judge shall not thereby losejurisdiction. The court or presiding judge in such case shall adjourn thehearing, make an order directing the serving of said notice upon said person orpersons, and fixing the time and manner of service of such notice, which noticeshall notify him to appear at said adjourned time and place and be heard onsaid petition. Said notice shall be served personally or by leaving at the lastusual place of abode of said unserved persons, as in W.S. 41-7-204 provided,not less than eight (8) days before said adjourned hearing, or published notless than fourteen (14) days before said adjourned hearing, in some newspaperpublished in the county in which said persons' lands lie, or if no newspapermay be published in said county, then in some newspaper published in anadjoining county. Upon the adjourned day the same proceedings, adjournments,trial, findings and orders may be had as in case of complete service of noticein the first instance. In case of failure to mail said notice as hereinrequired, the court or judge may order the same mailed later and shall adjournsaid hearing so that said notice shall be mailed at least fourteen (14) daysbefore said adjourned hearing. In case of failure to publish or post notice, asin this act required, the court or judge may adjourn said hearing forsufficient time to permit the due posting and publication of said notice, andorder said notice posted or published as in section 4 hereof directed. In caseof adjournment to permit notice to be given, the notice shall state the fact ofsuch adjournment and the time and place of hearing pursuant to saidadjournment.
41-7-207. Hearings; contests; grounds; notice of objections to be inwriting; filing of objections.
(a) On the day fixed for hearing on such petition, all personsowning or entitled to the possession of lands, or any interest or easement inland, within said proposed district, or who may be affected thereby, may appearand contest or object to:
(i) The sufficiency of the petition;
(ii) The sufficiency of the signers of the petition;
(iii) The sufficiency of the notice;
(iv) The constitutionality of the law;
(v) The inclusion or exclusion of any lands in the district, orany other material issue raised by the petition;
(vi) The jurisdiction of the court, specifying their objectionsto such jurisdiction; and the petitioners and contestants may, on the trial,offer any competent evidence in regard thereto.
(b) All notices of contests or objection shall be in writingand shall clearly specify the grounds of contest or objection and shall befiled in the office of the clerk of court wherein such petition is filed atleast five (5) days prior to the day set for the hearing. The court shall onthe day fixed for said hearing, hear and determine all issues provided in thissection and may adjourn said hearing from time to time, for good and sufficientreason shown.
41-7-208. Hearings; dismissal of petition improperly signed; inclusionor exclusion of land from district.
Ifthe court or presiding judge thereof, after hearing any and all competentevidence that may be offered for and against the said petition, shall find thatthe same has not been signed as herein required, the said petition shall bedismissed at the cost of the petitioners, and judgment shall be entered againstsaid petitioners for the amount of said costs. The court shall upon propershowing include or exclude any land from the district.
41-7-209. Fraudulent deeds for establishment or defeat of petition.
Alldeeds made for the purpose of establishing or defeating the prayer of saidpetition, and not made in good faith and for a valuable consideration, shall betaken and held to be a fraud, and the holders thereof shall not be consideredas the owners of the lands described therein; and the filing of said petitionshall constitute a lis pendens against all lands described therein from andafter the filing thereof.
41-7-210. Court's order.
(a) If the issues at this hearing are decided in favor of thepetitioners, the court shall make an order:
(i) Approving and confirming the petition;
(ii) Defining the boundaries of the district;
(iii) Dividing the district into three (3) or five (5)subdivisions as the court may consider appropriate, which subdivisions shall beas nearly equal in size as may be practicable and which shall be designated ascommissioner districts, and each district shall be numbered consecutively.Should the district be first divided into three (3) subdivisions the same shallbe thereafter increased to five (5) subdivisions, and the number ofcommissioners increased to five (5), provided a majority of the qualifiedelectors voting, vote in favor of such increase at an election called for thepurpose. Said election for the increased number of districts and commissionersshall be called upon the order of the district commissioners upon receipt bythem of a petition requesting such an election signed by at least thirtypercent (30%) of the qualified electors of the district. If a majority of thequalified electors voting should vote in favor of such an increase the districtcommissioners shall forthwith proceed to redivide the district into five (5)subdivisions as nearly equal in size as may be practicable, and commissionersshall be elected to represent all districts, as redivided, at the next generalelection of the district, and the terms of such commissioners and the order oftheir retirement shall be as provided for in the case of first election ofcommissioners after the formation of the district;
(iv) Establishing said district as a corporation by the nameproposed with powers:
(A) To sue and be sued;
(B) To adopt and use a corporate seal;
(C) To have perpetual succession;
(D) To file on and acquire the right to use of water fordomestic and irrigation purposes; to acquire sites for reservoirs, and rightsof way for ditches, canals and laterals;
(E) To exercise the power of eminent domain under chapter 316(C.S. 1920), and all acts or parts of acts amendatory thereto;
(F) To contract with the state of Wyoming for the reclamationand segregation of public lands pursuant to the laws of the United States andthe state of Wyoming and to contract for the sale of water rights by itacquired pursuant to said laws, and to purchase and acquire state lands;
(G) To acquire by purchase or otherwise irrigation works, waterrights, land and other property and to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of thesame, to buy, develop, sell and distribute electrical energy as an incident tothe ownership, control and operation of irrigation works of the district or thecooperative works of the district and the United States as the district maydeem expedient or suitable for the development of the district.
(v) Shall appoint one (1) commissioner from each commissionerdistrict, who shall be a freeholder or entryman upon public lands, in saiddistrict, provided, however, if the majority of the irrigable area of thedistrict is unentered public land, a majority of the commissioners shall beappointed by the secretary of the interior, who shall be residents of thestate. The commissioners appointed by the court shall at all times be under thedirection of the court and may be removed from office by the court upon goodcause shown; provided, however, no commissioner shall be removed until writtencharges specifying the ground upon which such removal is sought are filed, andan opportunity given such commissioner to be heard at a hearing provided. Incase a commissioner has been removed under this provision the court shallimmediately appoint a successor. All findings and order of the court made atthe hearing herein provided for shall be final and conclusive unless appealedfrom to the supreme court within thirty (30) days after filing thereof.
ARTICLE 3 - DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS GENERALLY
41-7-301. To be public officers; presumption in favor of validity ofofficial acts.
Commissionersof irrigation districts are hereby declared to be public officers. Thepresumption shall be in favor of the regularity and validity of all theirofficial acts. Whenever any report of the commissioners of any irrigationdistrict or any part of any such report is contested, remonstrated against orcalled in question, the burden of proof shall rest upon the contestant, remonstrantor questioner.
41-7-302. Oath and bond; quorum; term; removal; vacancies.
Beforeentering upon their duties, commissioners shall take and subscribe an oath tosupport the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the stateof Wyoming, to faithfully and impartially discharge their duties ascommissioners and to render a true account of their doing to the court by whichthey are appointed whenever required by law or the order of the court.Commissioners shall execute a bond running to the clerk of court and hissuccessors in office as obligees, to be filed with the clerk for the benefit ofthe parties interested, in an amount to be fixed by the court or presidingjudge, and with sureties to be approved by the court or presiding judge,conditioned for the faithful discharge of their duties as commissioners and thefaithful accounting of all monies which shall come into their hands ascommissioners. A majority shall constitute a quorum and a concurrence of amajority in any matter within their duties shall be sufficient to itsdetermination. The commissioners appointed shall hold their office until thefirst regular meeting of the commissioners following the date of the orderorganizing the district and until their respective successors are qualifiedunder the provisions of W.S. 41-7-316. The commissioners appointed by thesecretary of the interior shall be subject to removal from office and anycommissioner appointed by the secretary of the interior to fill a vacancy shallhold office until less than a majority of the lands within the district areunentered public lands, after which the commissioners shall be elected asotherwise provided in this chapter. If the office of any commissioner soappointed shall become vacant by reason of death, or other cause, the court orjudge thereof shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
41-7-303. Organization as board; officers; powers and dutiesgenerally; contracts and cooperation with United States generally.
Thecommissioners appointed as aforesaid, and their successors in office, shall,from the entry of such order of confirmation, constitute the corporateauthority of said irrigation district, and shall exercise the functionsconferred on them by law. They shall organize as a board, elect a presidentfrom their number and appoint a secretary-treasurer who may or may not be amember of the board. The board shall have power, and it shall be their duty, toadopt bylaws, manage and conduct the affairs and business of the district, makeand execute all necessary contracts, employ such agents, attorneys, officersand employees as may be required, and prescribe their duties, establishequitable rules and regulations for the distribution and use of water to andupon the lands of the district; provided, always, that such rules shall not bein conflict with or contrary to any statute of this state relative to suchmatters; and generally to perform all such acts as shall be necessary to fullycarry out the purposes of this article [chapter]. Said board shall have thepower in addition to the means to supply water to said district proposed by thepetition submitted for the formation of said district, to construct, acquire orpurchase any and all canals, ditches, reservoirs, reservoir sites, waterrights, rights of way, or other property necessary for the use of the district.In case of the purchase of any property by such district the bonds of thedistrict hereinafter provided for may be used at their par value in paymentwithout previous offer of such bonds for sale. For the purpose of acquiringcontrol over government land within the district and complying with theprovisions of the act of congress of August 11, 1916, the board shall haveauthority to make such investigation, and based thereon, such representationand assurances to the secretary of the interior as may be requisite; and theboard may contract with the United States for the construction, operation andmaintenance of the necessary works for the delivery and distribution of watertherefrom under the provisions of the federal reclamation act, and all actsamendatory thereof and supplementary thereto and the rules and regulationsestablished thereunder, or for the assumption, as principal or guarantor of theindebtedness to the United States on account of district lands. The board maycontract with the United States for a water supply under any act of congressproviding for or permitting such contract and in case any contract has been ormay thereafter be made with the United States as herein provided, bonds of thedistrict may be deposited with the United States at ninety percent (90%) oftheir par value, to the amount to be paid by the district to the United Statesunder any such contract, the interest on said bonds, if bearing interest, to beprovided for by assessment and levy as in case of other bonds of the districtand regularly paid to the United States to be applied as provided in suchcontract; and if bonds of the district are not so deposited it shall be the dutyof the board to include as part of any levy or assessment provided for herein,an amount sufficient to meet each year all payments accruing under the terms ofany such contract; and the board may accept on behalf of the district,appointment of the district as a fiscal agent of the United States, orauthorization of the district by the United States to make collection of moneysfor or on behalf of the United States, in connection with any federalreclamation project, whereupon the district shall be authorized to so act andto assume the duties and liabilities incident to such action, and the saidboard shall have full power to do any and all things required by the federalstatutes now or hereafter enacted in connection therewith, and all thingsrequired by the rules and regulations now or that may hereafter be establishedby any department of the federal government in regard thereto. The board shallhave the power to buy, develop, sell and distribute electrical energy as anincident to the ownership, control and operation of the irrigation works of thedistrict or the cooperative works of the district and the United States and touse, sell and distribute the same. The said rules and regulations shall beprinted in convenient form as soon as the same are adopted, for thedistribution in the district; provided, however, that the commissioners of thedistrict shall not contract with the United States for the construction,operation or maintenance of the necessary works for the delivery anddistribution of water to district lands, or for the drainage of district lands,under the provisions of the federal reclamation act and any act or actsamendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, or the rules and regulationsestablished thereunder, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor, ofindebtedness to the United States on account of district lands, or for a watersupply or drainage incident to irrigation under any act of congress providingfor or permitting such contract, or for acceptance by the district of appointmentor authorization as fiscal agent of the United States to make collections ofmoneys for or on behalf of the United States in connection with any federalreclamation project, until there has been an election duly held at which amajority of the qualified electors present and voting have voted in favor ofmaking any such contract.
41-7-304. Financial records and reports; compensation and expenses;suit on bonds.
The commissioners shall keep an accuraterecord of all monies collected on account of the work under their charge and ofall payments made by them, and shall take vouchers for payments and shall keepfull, accurate and true minutes of all their proceedings. On or before thetenth day of July each year the commissioners shall file in the office of theclerk of the court having jurisdiction in the matter, an itemized statement ofall their receipts and disbursements, for the preceding fiscal year, and leavethe report in the office for examination by parties interested at all times,and include a copy thereof in the regular call for the annual meetinghereinafter provided. They shall receive for their services compensation as thecourt or presiding judge thereof may determine. They shall also be reimbursedfor their actual reasonable expenses. Suit may also be brought upon theirbonds, and the amount recovered shall be applied to the construction of thework or to the party injured, as justice may require.
41-7-305. Maps and plans of proposed work; reports to court generally.
(a) As soon as may be after the organization of said district,or within such time as the court may direct, said commissioners shall proceedto have all necessary levels taken and surveys made, and shall lay out saidproposed work, make a map thereof and plans, profiles and other specificationsthereof, and report in writing to the court:
(i) The extent and character of the proposed work and thesufficiency of the water supply;
(ii) What lands within the district, as by them reported will beinjured by the proposed work, if any, and they shall therein award to eachtract, lot, easement or interest by whomsoever held, the amount of damageswhich they shall determine will be caused to the same by the proposed work;
(iii) All lands within the district as by them reported will bebenefited by the proposed work and they shall assess against such lands bywhomsoever held the amount of benefits which they determine will be caused tothe same by the proposed work, and in case of lands having appurtenant theretoa partial water right or partial rights in a system of irrigation theassessment shall be according to benefits making due allowance for existingrights. The benefits so assessed are herein referred to as "the assessmentroll".
(b) If it be found necessary to change the boundaries of saidproposed district, previously fixed, they shall report said proposed change,and, if possible, shall report the names, the residence and post-officeaddresses of the owners or persons entitled to possession of all lands affectedby said change in boundaries, but no such change in boundaries shall be made asto deprive the court of jurisdiction; provided, however, that the owners andthose entitled to possession, by virtue of public land filing, of landsadjacent to the district, petition to have their lands brought into thedistrict such petitioners may be considered the same as the originalpetitioners in making changes of boundaries.
(c) They shall also determine and report to the court the totalitemized amount as near as they can determine, that said proposed work willcost, including organization expenses and the unit cost upon which theassessments are based, which shall be designated as "cost ofconstruction".
(d) If the cost of construction of any particular part of thework so proposed to be done shall be assessed upon any particular tract ortracts, lot or lots of land, the commissioners shall so specify, and in theirreport they shall fix and determine the sums which should be assessed againstsaid tracts and lots, and assess such sum against said tracts and lots.
(e) They shall apportion and assess the part of this "costof construction" not assessed as above, against the several benefitedtracts and lots in said irrigation district, in proportion to the benefitswhich they have assessed against the same, by setting down opposite each tractor lot the sum which they assess against the same for construction. Theassessments which together make up the cost of construction, as above defined,as herein referred to as "assessments for construction".
(f) They shall set forth in their report the amount of water bythem apportioned to each separate tract or lot of land in said district, to beassessed.
(g) The commissioners shall further report to the court theprobable cost of keeping said proposed work in repair after it is completed.
(h) They shall include in their said report, said map, plansand other specifications, and file the same with their report.
41-7-306. Power to alter location of irrigation works; power of courtto alter plans proposed by commissioners.
Thecommissioners shall not be confined to the points of location, commencement,routes or termini of the reservoirs, canals, ditches or other work, or thenumber, extent or size of the same, as proposed by the petitioners, but shalllocate, design, lay out and plan same in such manner as to them shall seem bestto promote the public welfare, and to reclaim or benefit the lands of the partiesinterested with the least damage and greatest benefit to all lands affectedthereby. And any plan proposed by the commission, may, on the application ofany person interested, on the hearing hereinafter provided for, or on theapplication of the commissioners, be altered by the court, by written order, insuch manner as shall appear to the court to be just.
41-7-307. Exclusion or inclusion of lands in district; review ofreport by court generally.
Ifthe commissioners find that the proposed district, as described in the petitionfiled, will not embrace all of the lands that will be benefited by the proposedwork, or that it will include lands that will not be benefited and are notnecessary to be included in said district for any purpose, they shall extend orcontract the boundaries of the proposed district so as to include or excludeall such lands, as the case may be; and the boundaries adopted and reported bythem, may upon the hearing of their report, as hereinafter provided, upon theirapplication, be altered by the court in such manner as shall appear to be just;provided, that the alteration of boundaries as aforesaid shall not have theeffect of so far enlarging or contracting the proposed district as to rendersuch petition void or dismissible. Said report shall be filed with the clerk ofthe court.
41-7-308. Hearings on commissioners' report; filing of objections;notice generally.
Uponthe filing of the said report, the court or judge thereof, shall make and enteran order fixing the time and place when and where all persons interested mayappear and object to the confirmation thereof. All objections shall be inwriting and shall clearly specify the grounds of objection and shall be filedin the office of the clerk of court wherein said report is filed at least five(5) days prior to the date set for the hearing. The clerk of said court shallcause notice of the time and place of such hearing to be given to all partiesinterested, which notice shall contain a brief description of the lands benefitedand damaged, together with the net damage awarded the several tracts, parcels,easements and corporations to which damages are awarded, and the sum in eachcase assessed for benefits and cost of construction against the severalbenefited parcels, tracts, easements and corporations, and the amount of waterapportioned to each acre of land in the district. Said notice shall bepublished for at least three (3) consecutive weeks, prior to the day set forthe hearing, in one (1) newspaper published in each county in which said lands,or any part thereof within said district are situate (and if no newspaper ispublished in said county, in some newspaper in an adjoining county), and byserving a copy of such notice on each of the persons or corporations by saidreport recommended to be assessed, or whose lands are by said reportrecommended to be included in said district, and who resides in any of thecounties in which any lands of the proposed district are situated, at leasttwelve (12) days before the day of hearing in the same manner that a summons isrequired to be served; provided, absence from the county of such person, orcorporation shall excuse personal service, whereupon due publication of suchnotice shall be sufficient service.
41-7-309. Hearings on commissioners' report; notice when land situatedin more than 1 county.
Incase the lands are situated in more than one (1) county the notice published inthe county wherein the court having jurisdiction is situated shall contain adescription of all the lands in said proposed district, the damages awarded tothe several parcels thereof and the amounts assessed for benefits against theseveral parcels thereof, but the notice published in any other county orcounties may contain a description of only the lands situate in said county forwhich said publication is made, together with the damages awarded to andassessments for benefits against the several tracts, parcels, easements andinterests situate in said county for which publication is made. In case ofservice of said notice personally or the acceptance and waiver thereof of allthe owners of the lands within the district, said service shall be sufficientand give the court jurisdiction without said publication.
41-7-310. Hearings on commissioners' report; procedure when reportrequires modification.
Ifthe court finds that the report requires modification, the same may by order ofthe court be referred back to the commissioners, who may be required to modifyit in any respect.
41-7-311. Hearings on commissioners' report; confirmation of report.
Ifthere be no remonstrance, or if the finding be in favor of the validity of theproceedings, or after the report shall have been modified to conform to thefindings, the court shall confirm the report and the order of the confirmationshall be final and conclusive, the proposed work shall be established andauthorized, and the proposed assessments approved and confirmed unless withinthirty (30) days an appeal be taken to the supreme court, and the said order ofconfirmation shall also fix the commissioners' bond.
41-7-312. Hearings on commissioners' report; revision of confirmation.
Saidorder of confirmation may, at the same or at any subsequent term of said courtbe revised, modified or changed, in whole or in part, on petition of thecommissioners, after such notice as the court may require to partiesinterested. At any time prior to making the order confirming said report orthereafter, the court may permit the commissioners to present and file asupplemental report, or amend their report, as to any matter which, pursuant tothe provisions hereof, was or might have been included in the original reportpresented by them, and after reasonable notice given to all parties interested,in such manner as the court shall direct, the court may, upon the hearing insaid matter, make such order as the case may require.
41-7-313. Hearings on commissioners' report; payment of costs whenobjections dismissed.
Incase the petition or proceedings are dismissed as provided herein, a judgmentshall be entered against the petitioners and in favor of the commissioners forthe costs, expenses, and liabilities incurred in said proceedings, for thebenefit of those who have rendered services or advanced money in theprosecution of said proceedings, or have recovered costs on successful conteststherein. Before any such judgment is entered, said commissioners shall filewith the clerk of the district court, in which said proceedings wereinstituted, an itemized statement of such costs and expenses, duly verified,upon which an order shall issue, requiring said petitioners to show causebefore said court, at a time and place named, why judgment should not beentered against said petitioners for the amount of said costs and expenses.Notice of the hearing on said order, to show cause, shall be given to saidpetitioners, by mailing to each a copy thereof, to their last known post officeaddress, at least twenty (20) days prior to the time set for hearing, and by publicationof the same in one (1) or more newspapers, published in the county, where theproceedings are pending, at least three (3) successive weeks prior to the dayset for such hearing. Said motion need not contain an itemized statement ofsaid account. All petitioners shall, among themselves, contribute in thepayment of said judgment, in proportion to the number of acres of land theyhave within the boundaries of the proposed district at the time of filing saidpetition.
41-7-314. Power to enter land to repair irrigation works; constructionof ditches across railway rights-of-way.
(a) The commissioners, their agents, servants, and employeesshall have the right to go upon all lands along any reservoirs, ditch, canal,or embankment in their district, to inspect, deepen, widen and repair the samewhenever necessary, doing no unnecessary damage, and shall not be liable fortrespass therefor.
(b) Said commissioners shall have the right to lay out andconstruct all necessary canals, ditches, drains and embankments across anyrailway right-of-way or yard within their district, and any railway companywhose right-of-way or yard is crossed by the line of any proposed canal, ditch,drain or embankment shall open its right-of-way or yard and permit such canal,ditch, drain or embankment to cross the same as soon as such canal, ditch,drain or embankment is constructed to such right-of-way. Upon receiving fifteen(15) days notice in writing any railway company across whose right-of-way oryard any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment is laid out, shall open itsright-of-way or yard and permit said commissioners and their contractors,agents and employees to construct such canal, ditch, drain or embankment acrosssaid right-of-way or yard. For every day that such railway company fails, afterthe end of said fifteen (15) days to open its right-of-way or yard ashereinbefore required, it shall forfeit twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to saidirrigation district to be collected in an action as other forfeitures are collected,or to be set off against any damages that have been awarded to such railwaycompany. If such railway company fails to open its right-of-way or yard alongthe line of any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment, the commissioners mayat any time after the expiration of said fifteen (15) days open suchright-of-way or yard along the line of such canal, ditch, drain or embankmentand construct the same. Every irrigation district shall be liable to therailway company whose right-of-way or yard is crossed by any canal, ditch,drain or embankment of the district, for the reasonable cost of any culverts orbridges for railway purposes made necessary by the crossing of suchright-of-way or yard by any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment, but thecost so entailed shall not be greater than the average cost of other culvertsand bridges of similar size installed on the same division of the railway, andcrossing streams, canals, ditches or drains of approximately the same width anddepth within a distance of one hundred (100) miles of the canals, ditches ordrains of said district.
41-7-315. Sale of water rights.
Wheneverany of the lands embraced within said district have been or are to be reclaimedby the work done or proposed to be done by said district and the segregation ofsaid lands has been secured by said district, it shall be competent for thecommissioners of said district, in the name of said district, to contract withany person competent to make entry upon said lands for the sale of water rightsthereto, and any and all payments by such contracts provided to be paid to thedistrict shall be and are a lien upon said lands and water rights until paid,and such lien may be foreclosed in the manner provided by law for theforeclosure of such liens.
41-7-316. Election; when held; term of office; exception.
(a) At any annual meeting of the irrigation district, thedistrict may elect to adopt either a calendar year basis for their districtelections or a fiscal year basis for their district elections. If the districtelects a calendar year basis, on or after the first day of February and beforethe last day in March next preceding the expiration of the terms of office ofany irrigation district commissioner appointed in any irrigation district,organized under the provisions of this chapter, and on or after the first dayof February and before the last day in March of each year thereafter, an electionshall be held to elect a commissioner or commissioners for the district, in themanner prescribed by this section.
(b) If the district elects a fiscal year basis for theirdistrict elections similar to that of the county in which they are located,then on or after the first day of August and before the last day of Septembernext preceding the expiration of the terms of office of any irrigation districtcommissioner appointed or elected in any irrigation district organized underthe provisions of this chapter, and on or after the first day of August andbefore the last day in September of each year thereafter, an election shall beheld to elect a commissioner or commissioners for the district, in the mannerprescribed in this section.
(c) At the first election held in any district, one (1)commissioner shall be elected from each commissioner district who shall be alandowner thereof. Where the irrigation district is divided into three (3)subdivisions, the commissioner from district number 1 shall serve as acommissioner for a term of one (1) year, the commissioner from district number2 shall serve as a commissioner for a term of two (2) years, and thecommissioner from district number 3 shall serve as a commissioner for a term ofthree (3) years. Where the district is divided into five (5) subdivisions, thecommissioners from districts numbers 1 and 2 shall serve as commissioners for aterm of one (1) year, commissioners from districts numbers 3 and 4 shall serveas commissioners for a term of two (2) years, and the commissioner fromdistrict number 5 shall serve as a commissioner for a term of three (3) years.Thereafter, all commissioners elected shall serve for a term of three (3)years, and until their successors are elected and qualified, exceptcommissioners elected to fill an unexpired term.
(d) The term of an elected commissioner shall commence upon thedate of the next regular meeting of the commissioners held after his election.If a majority of the commissioners are appointed by the secretary of theinterior as provided for in this chapter, then the remaining commissionersshall be elected at large within the entire irrigation district for terms ofthree (3) years each. The terms however, shall be limited to and expire on thedate of the next regular meeting of the commissioners held following the datewhen the unentered public lands within the district constitute less than themajority of the total acreage within the district. After the expiration ofthese terms, the commissioners shall be elected in the same manner and for thesame terms as provided for herein in the case of first election ofcommissioners.
41-7-317. Election; where held; notice to voters; qualifications ofvoters; recording vote; proxies.
Thecommissioners of the district shall fix the hour and place, within theboundaries of or at a place convenient to the landowners within the irrigationdistrict, of each election and preside at the same. It shall be the duty of thecommissioners, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of an election, tomail to each person or corporation entitled to vote thereat, at his or its lastknown place of residence or business, a notice stating the time, place andpurpose of such elections. Every person or corporation owning or entitled byvirtue of public land filing to the possession of land situated within andbeing a part of any commissioner district in which an election for commissioneris being held, and upon which land no assessment for operation, maintenance orrepairs is delinquent for more than four (4) years, shall be entitled to cast,for the commissioner to be elected, for the commissioner district wherein suchland is situated, one (1) vote for each irrigable acre of such land assessedupon the last annual assessment of said district upon or against which land noassessment for operation, maintenance or repairs is delinquent for more thanfour (4) years. At the hour and place of such election the commissioners shallcall the roll of those entitled to vote, and the number of votes each isentitled to cast. They shall make a record of the qualified voters present,receive all proxies and prescribe the manner of canvassing votes. All proxiesshall be in writing and signed by the person or corporation entitled to vote.
41-7-318. Election; validity; qualifications of candidates; vacanciesin office; duties of elected commissioners.
Noperson shall be declared elected as a commissioner who shall not be a landownerin said commissioner district and who shall not have received a majority of allvotes cast by the qualified voters of said commissioner district. No electionshall be invalid by reason of the fact that a majority of the acreage withinthe district was not represented at such election. Whenever the office of anyelected commissioner shall become vacant by reason of death, resignation orother cause, the vacancy shall be filled by the surviving commissioners for theunexpired term. In case such vacancy is not so filled within thirty (30) days,the court shall fill such vacancy. All elected commissioners shall have thesame qualifications and duties as herein prescribed for appointed or electedcommissioners.
ARTICLE 4 - ASSESSMENTS
41-7-401. Payment in installments; construction contracts with UnitedStates generally; default in payments as lien; exception; power ofcommissioners to enforce payment.
Atthe time of the confirmation of any assessment provided for in this article, itshall be competent for the court to order the same to be paid in installmentsof such amount and at such time as will be convenient for the accomplishment ofthe purposes for which such assessment was made, and the payment of theprincipal and interest of such notes or bonds of said district as the courtshall grant authority to issue, such installments to become delinquent on thesame date or dates as may be fixed by law for state and county taxes to becomedelinquent, and such installments shall draw interest from the date of anynotes or bonds issued by the district and for the payment of which saidassessments are pledged at such rates not to exceed seven percent (7%) perannum, as may be fixed by the court; provided, however, that it shall becompetent for the court, in case a contract is made between the United Statesof America and an irrigation district for the construction or sale ofirrigation works and water rights, to order the charges to be paid inaccordance with the provisions of an act of congress approved December 5, 1924,entitled: "An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in certainappropriations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1924, and prior fiscal years;to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30,1925; and for other purposes," and all acts that may be hereafter enactedas amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, and in such installments asfixed by contract between the district and the United States. The annual levyfor payment of construction charges on the basis herein authorized shallcontinue to be made each year against each tract of land in the districtagainst which benefits under such contract with the United States have beenapportioned, until the full amount apportioned against the same has been paid;such installments to become delinquent on the same date or dates as may befixed by law for state and county taxes to become delinquent and suchinstallments, after they become due, shall draw interest at six percent (6%)per annum. All assessments provided for in this article, together with all interestthereon and all penalties for default in payment of same, and all costs ofcollecting the same shall, from the date of the order of court confirming suchassessments until paid, constitute a perpetual lien in an amount not in excessof the benefits severally assessed, upon all the land and other propertyagainst which such assessments shall be levied, superior to all liens of everykind and nature whatsoever except the paramount lien of the state for thegeneral state, county, city, town or school taxes, and no sale of such propertyto enforce any general state, county, municipal, or school tax, or other lienshall extinguish the perpetual lien of such assessments; and such assessmentsshall also be a lien upon all equities or interests in existing waterappropriations for the irrigation of said lands when the title to said lands isvested in the United States, and when said water appropriations have attachedto said lands. The commissioner shall have the power to enforce payment of suchassessments, and all assessments by them duly levied and confirmed, by shuttingoff the supply of water to any and all lands upon which assessments are due andunpaid, and may refuse to deliver water to such lands until such assessmentsare paid. Any person having an interest in land assessed for construction mayat any time within thirty (30) days after the confirmation of said report, payto the court the amount of the assessment against his land or any tractthereof. Said payment shall relieve said land and water rights from the lien ofsaid assessments for the cost of construction; provided, however, that anydistrict organized within a federal irrigation project for co-operation betweensuch districts and the United States, may contract and agree in connection withthe acquisition of irrigation works and water rights and the taking over of thecare, operation and control of the same from the United States, that each tractor parcel of land shall pay the charges conformed in the assessments againstsuch tract or parcel of land, and that liability for charges thus assessed mayby contract be conformed and limited to the particular tract or parcel of landin question and if so contracted, shall not be imposed as a charge orincumbrance upon other parcels or tracts of land within the district.
41-7-402. Due dates; annual budget of district; hearings on budget;petition for additional funds; hearings on petition.
(a) Assessments to meet expenses of any current year of anydistrict shall become due, payable and delinquent at such time or times eachyear as may be fixed by law for state and county taxes to become due, payableand delinquent. Commissioners having charge of any irrigation district shall onor before the first Tuesday of June of each year file with the clerk of thecourt having jurisdiction of such district, a report showing an itemizedestimate of the money to be raised by assessment within the district for thepurpose of constructing new work, maintenance and to meet the yearly currentexpenses of the district. In addition to the amount above provided, thecommissioners may add a sum which in their judgment shall be sufficient toprovide for possible delinquencies. Within thirty (30) days after filing suchannual report, at a time and place to be fixed by the court or a judge thereof,the judge shall examine such report, hear all objections thereto, fix anddetermine the amount to be raised by assessments for the current year and causesuch adjudication to be entered of record in said court and a certified copythereof to be delivered to the commissioners of such district. Thecommissioners shall add thereto such amount as may be necessary to meet theprincipal and interest on lawful indebtedness of the district maturing duringthe current year, together with a sum which in their judgment shall besufficient to provide for possible delinquencies. When thus completed it shallbe known as "the budget of .... district for the year (year)" andalso be verified under oath by any one (1) of the commissioners.
(b) The commissioners of any irrigation district within thestate of Wyoming are hereby forbidden to incur any indebtedness for currentexpenses of the district in excess of the amount provided in the budget.Provided, however, in case a greater sum than that provided in the budget isrequired, the commissioners may file a petition setting forth the causestherefor, with the clerk of the court having jurisdiction of said district.Immediately upon the filing of said petition the court shall make an order fixingthe time and place of hearing and directing the form and manner of noticethereof to be given if the court deem such hearing advisable. If the courtshall authorize the expenditure of a greater sum of money the commissionersshall be authorized to incur indebtedness equal to the amount of the additionalsum authorized by the court, and in case the expenditure occurs at a time whenit is too late to place the amount upon the assessment roll for the currentyear such amounts may be added to the budget of ensuing years. All debtscontracted in contravention of this section shall be void.
41-7-403. Preparation of assessment roll; contents; how apportioned;certification by county commissioners; delivery to county assessors.
Itshall be the duty of the commissioners of each irrigation district, on orbefore the third Monday in July in each year to prepare an assessment roll ofsaid district, which shall contain the name of the owner, together with adescription of each lot, tract and easement of land within said district andthe aggregate assessments of benefits confirmed by the court against the same;the name of all corporations assessed together with the aggregate assessmentlevied against such corporations respectively. The assessment roll shall alsoshow the amount assessed against each lot, tract and easement of land, andagainst each corporation in the district, for current expense and to meet theprincipal and interest on the indebtedness of the district for the currentyear. All such assessments to meet the principal and interest on theindebtedness of the district for the current year, shall be apportioned on theaggregate assessment of benefits last confirmed by the court. All suchassessments for current expenses shall be based upon irrigable acreage andshall be uniform as to irrigable lands receiving the maximum apportionment ofwater from said district, and as to irrigable lands receiving less than suchmaximum apportionment such assessment shall bear the same proportion as theamount of water apportioned to such lands bears to the maximum apportionment ofwater to other lands in such district. Provided however, that the commissionersof any irrigation district may, in their discretion, provide for a minimumannual assessment for current expense. When such assessment roll is completedit shall be signed by the commissioners of said district, and verified by anyone (1) of them. On or before the third Monday in July of each year thecommissioners of the irrigation district shall deliver to the county commissionersof the county having jurisdiction of such irrigation district the assessmentroll of such district. The county commissioners of said county, immediatelyupon the receipt of the assessment roll of such district and at the time ofmaking the requisite tax levy for county purposes, shall levy and assessagainst each lot, tract and easement of land and against each corporation, therespective amounts levied and assessed against the same on said assessmentroll. Thereupon the county commissioners shall certify to and deliver saidassessment roll to the county assessor of such county, and in case theterritory embraced in such district is located in two (2) or more counties acopy of the assessment roll as certified to by the county commissioners of thecounty having jurisdiction of such district shall be delivered to the assessorof each county in which any of the land of the district is located. Uponreceipt of such assessment roll the assessors of the counties embracing any ofthe lands of such district, shall extend upon the tax roll of such county therespective amounts levied and assessed against each lot, tract and easement ofland, and against each corporation as shown by said assessment roll of saiddistricts.
41-7-404. Collection; disposition; enforcement.
(a) All irrigation district assessments, except as provided byW.S. 41-7-413, shall be collected by the same officer and in the same mannerand at the same time as state and county taxes are collected and when collectedshall be paid to the treasurer of the district, except such assessments,together with interest, penalty and costs thereon, as are collected uponassessments levied for the payment of principal and interest of bondedindebtedness of said district; which funds shall be retained by the countytreasurer of the county in which such district is organized, and the principaland interest of all bonded indebtedness of such district shall be paid by suchcounty treasurer from such fund at the place of payment designated in said bondsand interest coupons; provided, that when all bonded indebtedness of anyirrigation district is fully paid and retired such funds remaining in the handsof the county treasurer shall be paid to the treasurer of such district, forthe benefit of the district; provided, however, the count
Incase of failure to serve any notice of any proceeding or hearing in thischapter provided for upon any person or corporation, such persons or corporationmay appear in open court and waive such defect of service, or may waive it byfiling in court or delivering to the commissioners of the irrigation districtto be filed in court a written waiver of such defect, in which waiver saiddefect shall be described, which waiver shall be signed by such party andwitnessed and acknowledged before a proper officer having power to takeacknowledgments of deeds.
41-7-102. Construction; generally.
Theprovisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote the publicwelfare by reclaiming and irrigating lands, constructing and completingreservoirs, canals, ditches, or other works specified in the petition and thepreservation or operation of any irrigation system heretofore or hereafterconstructed according to law.
Nothingin this act shall be construed as to affect the validity of any districtheretofore organized under the laws of this state, or its rights in or to property,or any of its rights or privileges of whatsoever kind or nature; but saiddistricts are hereby made subject to the provisions of this act so far aspracticable; nor shall it affect, impair, or discharge any contract,obligations, lien, or charge for, or upon which it was or might become liableor chargeable had not this act been passed; nor shall it affect the validity ofany bonds which have been issued; nor shall it affect any action which now maybe pending.
41-7-104. Construction; existing water rights.
Nothingin this act shall be so construed as to in any manner impair existing waterrights, appropriations or priorities within said district.
ARTICLE 2 - ORGANIZATION GENERALLY
41-7-201. Filing of landowners' petition; contents; amendments; multiplepetitions.
(a) Whenever a majority of the freeholders owning lands and theentrymen upon public lands in any district who shall represent one-third thearea of lands within said district, or whenever the freeholders owning landsand the entrymen upon public lands who shall represent more than one-half thearea of lands within said district, desire to provide for the irrigation of thesame; or to improve the existing water supply for said lands; or to purchase,extend, operate or maintain constructed irrigation works; or to cooperate withthe United States under the federal reclamation laws heretofore or hereafterenacted, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor of indebtedness to theUnited States on account of district lands, they may file in the district courtof the county which embraces the largest acreage of the district, a petition,hereinafter referred to as the "petition", which shall include:
(i) The name of the proposed irrigation district;
(ii) The necessity of the proposed work describing thenecessity;
(iii) The object and purpose of the system proposed to beconstructed, together with a general description thereof;
(iv) A general description of the lands proposed to be includedin said district. Accompanying said petition shall be a preliminary engineeringreport on the feasibility of the project, including a report on the sufficiencyof its water supply; the approximate area of irrigable land within thedistrict, including an estimate of the cost of construction; all of which shallbe approved by the state engineer;
(v) The names of all freeholders owning lands and the entrymenon public lands in said district, when known;
(vi) Whether or not the petitioners desire and propose tocooperate with the United States;
(vii) A general prayer for the organization of the district.
(b) No petition having as many signers as are required by thissection shall be declared void, but the court may at any time permit the petitionto be amended in form and substance to conform to the facts, if the factsjustify the organization of an irrigation district. Several similar petitionsfor the organization of the same district may be circulated, and when filed,shall together be regarded as one petition having as many signers as there areseparate signers on the several petitions filed. All petitions for theorganization of said district filed prior to the hearing on said petition shallbe considered by the court, the same as if filed with the first petition placedon file, and the signatures thereon contained shall be counted in determiningwhether sufficient persons have signed said petition.
41-7-202. Petitioner's affidavit.
Theaffidavit of any three (3) or more of the signers of said petition stating thatthey have examined it and are acquainted with the locality of said district andthat said petition is signed by a sufficient number of corporations and adultpersons owning lands in said district, to satisfy W.S. 41-7-201, may be takenby the court or judge as sufficient evidence of the facts therein stated.
41-7-203. Land that may be included in proposed district.
Thelands proposed to be included in any irrigation district, need not becontiguous provided that the benefit of the proposed work in each part willexceed the damages from costs of said proposed work in each part; and providedfurther that the court shall be satisfied that said proposed work can be morecheaply done if in a single district than otherwise; and provided further thatlands within a town or city may be included within the limits of any irrigationdistrict, if the creation of such irrigation district will benefit such town orcity in any amount equal to or in excess of the amount of assessment forconstruction against the lands therein.
41-7-204. Hearings; service of notice generally; contents.
(a) On such petition being filed the court or judge thereofshall make an order fixing the time and place of the hearing thereon andordering notice; thereupon the clerk of said circuit court, for the county inwhich the proceedings are instituted, shall cause twenty (20) days notice ofthe filing of such petition to be given:
(i) By serving or causing to be served a copy of such notice oneach person owning, or entitled to possession by virtue of public land filing,of land within said proposed district, residing in any county in which anylands in said proposed district are situated, either personally or by leaving acopy thereof at his last usual place of abode, with a person of suitable ageand discretion, and by registered mail to any mortgagee, mortgagees or judgmentlienholder whose address is of record in the record of said lien in the countyor counties in which said district is situated; and
(ii) By publishing a copy thereof at least once a week for three(3) consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in each county within whichany of the lands of the district are situated. If there be no newspaper in anysuch county, such notice may be published in a newspaper published in anadjoining county.
(b) Such notice shall:
(i) State in what court said petition is filed;
(ii) Give a general description of the proposed work;
(iii) Give the proposed boundaries of said district (or a generaldescription of all the lands in said proposed district);
(iv) Give the name proposed for said irrigation district;
(v) State the time and place by the court fixed, when and wherethe petitioners will ask a hearing on said petition; and
(vi) Direct all persons owning or having an interest in anylands within the boundary of the proposed district, to appear at the time andplace stated, then and there to show cause why their land should not be includedin said district.
41-7-205. Hearings; notification of nonresidents; personal service inlieu of posting for all persons.
Ifany of the persons owning or entitled to possession of land in said districtare nonresidents of the county or counties in which the proposed district lies,the petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit giving the names and postoffice address of each such nonresident, if such are known, and if unknownshall state that, upon diligent inquiry their names or post office addresses(whichever may be the fact) cannot be ascertained. The clerk of the court shallmail a copy of the notice aforesaid to each of said nonresident owners whosepost-office address is known, within six (6) days after the first publicationof the same. The certificate of the clerk of the court, or other publicofficer, or the affidavit of any other person who knows the facts, affixed to acopy of said notice, shall be sufficient evidence of the posting, serving,mailing or publication thereof. Personal service of said notice on (or serviceby leaving at the last usual place of abode of) all persons owning or entitledto possession of lands or interest in lands within said district, shall givethe court complete jurisdiction, without posting, publication or mailing ofsaid notice.
41-7-206. Hearings; adjournment to serve persons not served.
Ifit shall be found before the hearing on the petition for the organization of anirrigation district, that one (1) or more of the persons owning or entitled to possessionof land in said district have not been duly served with notice of hearing onsaid petition, the court or presiding judge shall not thereby losejurisdiction. The court or presiding judge in such case shall adjourn thehearing, make an order directing the serving of said notice upon said person orpersons, and fixing the time and manner of service of such notice, which noticeshall notify him to appear at said adjourned time and place and be heard onsaid petition. Said notice shall be served personally or by leaving at the lastusual place of abode of said unserved persons, as in W.S. 41-7-204 provided,not less than eight (8) days before said adjourned hearing, or published notless than fourteen (14) days before said adjourned hearing, in some newspaperpublished in the county in which said persons' lands lie, or if no newspapermay be published in said county, then in some newspaper published in anadjoining county. Upon the adjourned day the same proceedings, adjournments,trial, findings and orders may be had as in case of complete service of noticein the first instance. In case of failure to mail said notice as hereinrequired, the court or judge may order the same mailed later and shall adjournsaid hearing so that said notice shall be mailed at least fourteen (14) daysbefore said adjourned hearing. In case of failure to publish or post notice, asin this act required, the court or judge may adjourn said hearing forsufficient time to permit the due posting and publication of said notice, andorder said notice posted or published as in section 4 hereof directed. In caseof adjournment to permit notice to be given, the notice shall state the fact ofsuch adjournment and the time and place of hearing pursuant to saidadjournment.
41-7-207. Hearings; contests; grounds; notice of objections to be inwriting; filing of objections.
(a) On the day fixed for hearing on such petition, all personsowning or entitled to the possession of lands, or any interest or easement inland, within said proposed district, or who may be affected thereby, may appearand contest or object to:
(i) The sufficiency of the petition;
(ii) The sufficiency of the signers of the petition;
(iii) The sufficiency of the notice;
(iv) The constitutionality of the law;
(v) The inclusion or exclusion of any lands in the district, orany other material issue raised by the petition;
(vi) The jurisdiction of the court, specifying their objectionsto such jurisdiction; and the petitioners and contestants may, on the trial,offer any competent evidence in regard thereto.
(b) All notices of contests or objection shall be in writingand shall clearly specify the grounds of contest or objection and shall befiled in the office of the clerk of court wherein such petition is filed atleast five (5) days prior to the day set for the hearing. The court shall onthe day fixed for said hearing, hear and determine all issues provided in thissection and may adjourn said hearing from time to time, for good and sufficientreason shown.
41-7-208. Hearings; dismissal of petition improperly signed; inclusionor exclusion of land from district.
Ifthe court or presiding judge thereof, after hearing any and all competentevidence that may be offered for and against the said petition, shall find thatthe same has not been signed as herein required, the said petition shall bedismissed at the cost of the petitioners, and judgment shall be entered againstsaid petitioners for the amount of said costs. The court shall upon propershowing include or exclude any land from the district.
41-7-209. Fraudulent deeds for establishment or defeat of petition.
Alldeeds made for the purpose of establishing or defeating the prayer of saidpetition, and not made in good faith and for a valuable consideration, shall betaken and held to be a fraud, and the holders thereof shall not be consideredas the owners of the lands described therein; and the filing of said petitionshall constitute a lis pendens against all lands described therein from andafter the filing thereof.
41-7-210. Court's order.
(a) If the issues at this hearing are decided in favor of thepetitioners, the court shall make an order:
(i) Approving and confirming the petition;
(ii) Defining the boundaries of the district;
(iii) Dividing the district into three (3) or five (5)subdivisions as the court may consider appropriate, which subdivisions shall beas nearly equal in size as may be practicable and which shall be designated ascommissioner districts, and each district shall be numbered consecutively.Should the district be first divided into three (3) subdivisions the same shallbe thereafter increased to five (5) subdivisions, and the number ofcommissioners increased to five (5), provided a majority of the qualifiedelectors voting, vote in favor of such increase at an election called for thepurpose. Said election for the increased number of districts and commissionersshall be called upon the order of the district commissioners upon receipt bythem of a petition requesting such an election signed by at least thirtypercent (30%) of the qualified electors of the district. If a majority of thequalified electors voting should vote in favor of such an increase the districtcommissioners shall forthwith proceed to redivide the district into five (5)subdivisions as nearly equal in size as may be practicable, and commissionersshall be elected to represent all districts, as redivided, at the next generalelection of the district, and the terms of such commissioners and the order oftheir retirement shall be as provided for in the case of first election ofcommissioners after the formation of the district;
(iv) Establishing said district as a corporation by the nameproposed with powers:
(A) To sue and be sued;
(B) To adopt and use a corporate seal;
(C) To have perpetual succession;
(D) To file on and acquire the right to use of water fordomestic and irrigation purposes; to acquire sites for reservoirs, and rightsof way for ditches, canals and laterals;
(E) To exercise the power of eminent domain under chapter 316(C.S. 1920), and all acts or parts of acts amendatory thereto;
(F) To contract with the state of Wyoming for the reclamationand segregation of public lands pursuant to the laws of the United States andthe state of Wyoming and to contract for the sale of water rights by itacquired pursuant to said laws, and to purchase and acquire state lands;
(G) To acquire by purchase or otherwise irrigation works, waterrights, land and other property and to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of thesame, to buy, develop, sell and distribute electrical energy as an incident tothe ownership, control and operation of irrigation works of the district or thecooperative works of the district and the United States as the district maydeem expedient or suitable for the development of the district.
(v) Shall appoint one (1) commissioner from each commissionerdistrict, who shall be a freeholder or entryman upon public lands, in saiddistrict, provided, however, if the majority of the irrigable area of thedistrict is unentered public land, a majority of the commissioners shall beappointed by the secretary of the interior, who shall be residents of thestate. The commissioners appointed by the court shall at all times be under thedirection of the court and may be removed from office by the court upon goodcause shown; provided, however, no commissioner shall be removed until writtencharges specifying the ground upon which such removal is sought are filed, andan opportunity given such commissioner to be heard at a hearing provided. Incase a commissioner has been removed under this provision the court shallimmediately appoint a successor. All findings and order of the court made atthe hearing herein provided for shall be final and conclusive unless appealedfrom to the supreme court within thirty (30) days after filing thereof.
ARTICLE 3 - DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS GENERALLY
41-7-301. To be public officers; presumption in favor of validity ofofficial acts.
Commissionersof irrigation districts are hereby declared to be public officers. Thepresumption shall be in favor of the regularity and validity of all theirofficial acts. Whenever any report of the commissioners of any irrigationdistrict or any part of any such report is contested, remonstrated against orcalled in question, the burden of proof shall rest upon the contestant, remonstrantor questioner.
41-7-302. Oath and bond; quorum; term; removal; vacancies.
Beforeentering upon their duties, commissioners shall take and subscribe an oath tosupport the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the stateof Wyoming, to faithfully and impartially discharge their duties ascommissioners and to render a true account of their doing to the court by whichthey are appointed whenever required by law or the order of the court.Commissioners shall execute a bond running to the clerk of court and hissuccessors in office as obligees, to be filed with the clerk for the benefit ofthe parties interested, in an amount to be fixed by the court or presidingjudge, and with sureties to be approved by the court or presiding judge,conditioned for the faithful discharge of their duties as commissioners and thefaithful accounting of all monies which shall come into their hands ascommissioners. A majority shall constitute a quorum and a concurrence of amajority in any matter within their duties shall be sufficient to itsdetermination. The commissioners appointed shall hold their office until thefirst regular meeting of the commissioners following the date of the orderorganizing the district and until their respective successors are qualifiedunder the provisions of W.S. 41-7-316. The commissioners appointed by thesecretary of the interior shall be subject to removal from office and anycommissioner appointed by the secretary of the interior to fill a vacancy shallhold office until less than a majority of the lands within the district areunentered public lands, after which the commissioners shall be elected asotherwise provided in this chapter. If the office of any commissioner soappointed shall become vacant by reason of death, or other cause, the court orjudge thereof shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
41-7-303. Organization as board; officers; powers and dutiesgenerally; contracts and cooperation with United States generally.
Thecommissioners appointed as aforesaid, and their successors in office, shall,from the entry of such order of confirmation, constitute the corporateauthority of said irrigation district, and shall exercise the functionsconferred on them by law. They shall organize as a board, elect a presidentfrom their number and appoint a secretary-treasurer who may or may not be amember of the board. The board shall have power, and it shall be their duty, toadopt bylaws, manage and conduct the affairs and business of the district, makeand execute all necessary contracts, employ such agents, attorneys, officersand employees as may be required, and prescribe their duties, establishequitable rules and regulations for the distribution and use of water to andupon the lands of the district; provided, always, that such rules shall not bein conflict with or contrary to any statute of this state relative to suchmatters; and generally to perform all such acts as shall be necessary to fullycarry out the purposes of this article [chapter]. Said board shall have thepower in addition to the means to supply water to said district proposed by thepetition submitted for the formation of said district, to construct, acquire orpurchase any and all canals, ditches, reservoirs, reservoir sites, waterrights, rights of way, or other property necessary for the use of the district.In case of the purchase of any property by such district the bonds of thedistrict hereinafter provided for may be used at their par value in paymentwithout previous offer of such bonds for sale. For the purpose of acquiringcontrol over government land within the district and complying with theprovisions of the act of congress of August 11, 1916, the board shall haveauthority to make such investigation, and based thereon, such representationand assurances to the secretary of the interior as may be requisite; and theboard may contract with the United States for the construction, operation andmaintenance of the necessary works for the delivery and distribution of watertherefrom under the provisions of the federal reclamation act, and all actsamendatory thereof and supplementary thereto and the rules and regulationsestablished thereunder, or for the assumption, as principal or guarantor of theindebtedness to the United States on account of district lands. The board maycontract with the United States for a water supply under any act of congressproviding for or permitting such contract and in case any contract has been ormay thereafter be made with the United States as herein provided, bonds of thedistrict may be deposited with the United States at ninety percent (90%) oftheir par value, to the amount to be paid by the district to the United Statesunder any such contract, the interest on said bonds, if bearing interest, to beprovided for by assessment and levy as in case of other bonds of the districtand regularly paid to the United States to be applied as provided in suchcontract; and if bonds of the district are not so deposited it shall be the dutyof the board to include as part of any levy or assessment provided for herein,an amount sufficient to meet each year all payments accruing under the terms ofany such contract; and the board may accept on behalf of the district,appointment of the district as a fiscal agent of the United States, orauthorization of the district by the United States to make collection of moneysfor or on behalf of the United States, in connection with any federalreclamation project, whereupon the district shall be authorized to so act andto assume the duties and liabilities incident to such action, and the saidboard shall have full power to do any and all things required by the federalstatutes now or hereafter enacted in connection therewith, and all thingsrequired by the rules and regulations now or that may hereafter be establishedby any department of the federal government in regard thereto. The board shallhave the power to buy, develop, sell and distribute electrical energy as anincident to the ownership, control and operation of the irrigation works of thedistrict or the cooperative works of the district and the United States and touse, sell and distribute the same. The said rules and regulations shall beprinted in convenient form as soon as the same are adopted, for thedistribution in the district; provided, however, that the commissioners of thedistrict shall not contract with the United States for the construction,operation or maintenance of the necessary works for the delivery anddistribution of water to district lands, or for the drainage of district lands,under the provisions of the federal reclamation act and any act or actsamendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, or the rules and regulationsestablished thereunder, or for the assumption as principal or guarantor, ofindebtedness to the United States on account of district lands, or for a watersupply or drainage incident to irrigation under any act of congress providingfor or permitting such contract, or for acceptance by the district of appointmentor authorization as fiscal agent of the United States to make collections ofmoneys for or on behalf of the United States in connection with any federalreclamation project, until there has been an election duly held at which amajority of the qualified electors present and voting have voted in favor ofmaking any such contract.
41-7-304. Financial records and reports; compensation and expenses;suit on bonds.
The commissioners shall keep an accuraterecord of all monies collected on account of the work under their charge and ofall payments made by them, and shall take vouchers for payments and shall keepfull, accurate and true minutes of all their proceedings. On or before thetenth day of July each year the commissioners shall file in the office of theclerk of the court having jurisdiction in the matter, an itemized statement ofall their receipts and disbursements, for the preceding fiscal year, and leavethe report in the office for examination by parties interested at all times,and include a copy thereof in the regular call for the annual meetinghereinafter provided. They shall receive for their services compensation as thecourt or presiding judge thereof may determine. They shall also be reimbursedfor their actual reasonable expenses. Suit may also be brought upon theirbonds, and the amount recovered shall be applied to the construction of thework or to the party injured, as justice may require.
41-7-305. Maps and plans of proposed work; reports to court generally.
(a) As soon as may be after the organization of said district,or within such time as the court may direct, said commissioners shall proceedto have all necessary levels taken and surveys made, and shall lay out saidproposed work, make a map thereof and plans, profiles and other specificationsthereof, and report in writing to the court:
(i) The extent and character of the proposed work and thesufficiency of the water supply;
(ii) What lands within the district, as by them reported will beinjured by the proposed work, if any, and they shall therein award to eachtract, lot, easement or interest by whomsoever held, the amount of damageswhich they shall determine will be caused to the same by the proposed work;
(iii) All lands within the district as by them reported will bebenefited by the proposed work and they shall assess against such lands bywhomsoever held the amount of benefits which they determine will be caused tothe same by the proposed work, and in case of lands having appurtenant theretoa partial water right or partial rights in a system of irrigation theassessment shall be according to benefits making due allowance for existingrights. The benefits so assessed are herein referred to as "the assessmentroll".
(b) If it be found necessary to change the boundaries of saidproposed district, previously fixed, they shall report said proposed change,and, if possible, shall report the names, the residence and post-officeaddresses of the owners or persons entitled to possession of all lands affectedby said change in boundaries, but no such change in boundaries shall be made asto deprive the court of jurisdiction; provided, however, that the owners andthose entitled to possession, by virtue of public land filing, of landsadjacent to the district, petition to have their lands brought into thedistrict such petitioners may be considered the same as the originalpetitioners in making changes of boundaries.
(c) They shall also determine and report to the court the totalitemized amount as near as they can determine, that said proposed work willcost, including organization expenses and the unit cost upon which theassessments are based, which shall be designated as "cost ofconstruction".
(d) If the cost of construction of any particular part of thework so proposed to be done shall be assessed upon any particular tract ortracts, lot or lots of land, the commissioners shall so specify, and in theirreport they shall fix and determine the sums which should be assessed againstsaid tracts and lots, and assess such sum against said tracts and lots.
(e) They shall apportion and assess the part of this "costof construction" not assessed as above, against the several benefitedtracts and lots in said irrigation district, in proportion to the benefitswhich they have assessed against the same, by setting down opposite each tractor lot the sum which they assess against the same for construction. Theassessments which together make up the cost of construction, as above defined,as herein referred to as "assessments for construction".
(f) They shall set forth in their report the amount of water bythem apportioned to each separate tract or lot of land in said district, to beassessed.
(g) The commissioners shall further report to the court theprobable cost of keeping said proposed work in repair after it is completed.
(h) They shall include in their said report, said map, plansand other specifications, and file the same with their report.
41-7-306. Power to alter location of irrigation works; power of courtto alter plans proposed by commissioners.
Thecommissioners shall not be confined to the points of location, commencement,routes or termini of the reservoirs, canals, ditches or other work, or thenumber, extent or size of the same, as proposed by the petitioners, but shalllocate, design, lay out and plan same in such manner as to them shall seem bestto promote the public welfare, and to reclaim or benefit the lands of the partiesinterested with the least damage and greatest benefit to all lands affectedthereby. And any plan proposed by the commission, may, on the application ofany person interested, on the hearing hereinafter provided for, or on theapplication of the commissioners, be altered by the court, by written order, insuch manner as shall appear to the court to be just.
41-7-307. Exclusion or inclusion of lands in district; review ofreport by court generally.
Ifthe commissioners find that the proposed district, as described in the petitionfiled, will not embrace all of the lands that will be benefited by the proposedwork, or that it will include lands that will not be benefited and are notnecessary to be included in said district for any purpose, they shall extend orcontract the boundaries of the proposed district so as to include or excludeall such lands, as the case may be; and the boundaries adopted and reported bythem, may upon the hearing of their report, as hereinafter provided, upon theirapplication, be altered by the court in such manner as shall appear to be just;provided, that the alteration of boundaries as aforesaid shall not have theeffect of so far enlarging or contracting the proposed district as to rendersuch petition void or dismissible. Said report shall be filed with the clerk ofthe court.
41-7-308. Hearings on commissioners' report; filing of objections;notice generally.
Uponthe filing of the said report, the court or judge thereof, shall make and enteran order fixing the time and place when and where all persons interested mayappear and object to the confirmation thereof. All objections shall be inwriting and shall clearly specify the grounds of objection and shall be filedin the office of the clerk of court wherein said report is filed at least five(5) days prior to the date set for the hearing. The clerk of said court shallcause notice of the time and place of such hearing to be given to all partiesinterested, which notice shall contain a brief description of the lands benefitedand damaged, together with the net damage awarded the several tracts, parcels,easements and corporations to which damages are awarded, and the sum in eachcase assessed for benefits and cost of construction against the severalbenefited parcels, tracts, easements and corporations, and the amount of waterapportioned to each acre of land in the district. Said notice shall bepublished for at least three (3) consecutive weeks, prior to the day set forthe hearing, in one (1) newspaper published in each county in which said lands,or any part thereof within said district are situate (and if no newspaper ispublished in said county, in some newspaper in an adjoining county), and byserving a copy of such notice on each of the persons or corporations by saidreport recommended to be assessed, or whose lands are by said reportrecommended to be included in said district, and who resides in any of thecounties in which any lands of the proposed district are situated, at leasttwelve (12) days before the day of hearing in the same manner that a summons isrequired to be served; provided, absence from the county of such person, orcorporation shall excuse personal service, whereupon due publication of suchnotice shall be sufficient service.
41-7-309. Hearings on commissioners' report; notice when land situatedin more than 1 county.
Incase the lands are situated in more than one (1) county the notice published inthe county wherein the court having jurisdiction is situated shall contain adescription of all the lands in said proposed district, the damages awarded tothe several parcels thereof and the amounts assessed for benefits against theseveral parcels thereof, but the notice published in any other county orcounties may contain a description of only the lands situate in said county forwhich said publication is made, together with the damages awarded to andassessments for benefits against the several tracts, parcels, easements andinterests situate in said county for which publication is made. In case ofservice of said notice personally or the acceptance and waiver thereof of allthe owners of the lands within the district, said service shall be sufficientand give the court jurisdiction without said publication.
41-7-310. Hearings on commissioners' report; procedure when reportrequires modification.
Ifthe court finds that the report requires modification, the same may by order ofthe court be referred back to the commissioners, who may be required to modifyit in any respect.
41-7-311. Hearings on commissioners' report; confirmation of report.
Ifthere be no remonstrance, or if the finding be in favor of the validity of theproceedings, or after the report shall have been modified to conform to thefindings, the court shall confirm the report and the order of the confirmationshall be final and conclusive, the proposed work shall be established andauthorized, and the proposed assessments approved and confirmed unless withinthirty (30) days an appeal be taken to the supreme court, and the said order ofconfirmation shall also fix the commissioners' bond.
41-7-312. Hearings on commissioners' report; revision of confirmation.
Saidorder of confirmation may, at the same or at any subsequent term of said courtbe revised, modified or changed, in whole or in part, on petition of thecommissioners, after such notice as the court may require to partiesinterested. At any time prior to making the order confirming said report orthereafter, the court may permit the commissioners to present and file asupplemental report, or amend their report, as to any matter which, pursuant tothe provisions hereof, was or might have been included in the original reportpresented by them, and after reasonable notice given to all parties interested,in such manner as the court shall direct, the court may, upon the hearing insaid matter, make such order as the case may require.
41-7-313. Hearings on commissioners' report; payment of costs whenobjections dismissed.
Incase the petition or proceedings are dismissed as provided herein, a judgmentshall be entered against the petitioners and in favor of the commissioners forthe costs, expenses, and liabilities incurred in said proceedings, for thebenefit of those who have rendered services or advanced money in theprosecution of said proceedings, or have recovered costs on successful conteststherein. Before any such judgment is entered, said commissioners shall filewith the clerk of the district court, in which said proceedings wereinstituted, an itemized statement of such costs and expenses, duly verified,upon which an order shall issue, requiring said petitioners to show causebefore said court, at a time and place named, why judgment should not beentered against said petitioners for the amount of said costs and expenses.Notice of the hearing on said order, to show cause, shall be given to saidpetitioners, by mailing to each a copy thereof, to their last known post officeaddress, at least twenty (20) days prior to the time set for hearing, and by publicationof the same in one (1) or more newspapers, published in the county, where theproceedings are pending, at least three (3) successive weeks prior to the dayset for such hearing. Said motion need not contain an itemized statement ofsaid account. All petitioners shall, among themselves, contribute in thepayment of said judgment, in proportion to the number of acres of land theyhave within the boundaries of the proposed district at the time of filing saidpetition.
41-7-314. Power to enter land to repair irrigation works; constructionof ditches across railway rights-of-way.
(a) The commissioners, their agents, servants, and employeesshall have the right to go upon all lands along any reservoirs, ditch, canal,or embankment in their district, to inspect, deepen, widen and repair the samewhenever necessary, doing no unnecessary damage, and shall not be liable fortrespass therefor.
(b) Said commissioners shall have the right to lay out andconstruct all necessary canals, ditches, drains and embankments across anyrailway right-of-way or yard within their district, and any railway companywhose right-of-way or yard is crossed by the line of any proposed canal, ditch,drain or embankment shall open its right-of-way or yard and permit such canal,ditch, drain or embankment to cross the same as soon as such canal, ditch,drain or embankment is constructed to such right-of-way. Upon receiving fifteen(15) days notice in writing any railway company across whose right-of-way oryard any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment is laid out, shall open itsright-of-way or yard and permit said commissioners and their contractors,agents and employees to construct such canal, ditch, drain or embankment acrosssaid right-of-way or yard. For every day that such railway company fails, afterthe end of said fifteen (15) days to open its right-of-way or yard ashereinbefore required, it shall forfeit twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to saidirrigation district to be collected in an action as other forfeitures are collected,or to be set off against any damages that have been awarded to such railwaycompany. If such railway company fails to open its right-of-way or yard alongthe line of any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment, the commissioners mayat any time after the expiration of said fifteen (15) days open suchright-of-way or yard along the line of such canal, ditch, drain or embankmentand construct the same. Every irrigation district shall be liable to therailway company whose right-of-way or yard is crossed by any canal, ditch,drain or embankment of the district, for the reasonable cost of any culverts orbridges for railway purposes made necessary by the crossing of suchright-of-way or yard by any such canal, ditch, drain or embankment, but thecost so entailed shall not be greater than the average cost of other culvertsand bridges of similar size installed on the same division of the railway, andcrossing streams, canals, ditches or drains of approximately the same width anddepth within a distance of one hundred (100) miles of the canals, ditches ordrains of said district.
41-7-315. Sale of water rights.
Wheneverany of the lands embraced within said district have been or are to be reclaimedby the work done or proposed to be done by said district and the segregation ofsaid lands has been secured by said district, it shall be competent for thecommissioners of said district, in the name of said district, to contract withany person competent to make entry upon said lands for the sale of water rightsthereto, and any and all payments by such contracts provided to be paid to thedistrict shall be and are a lien upon said lands and water rights until paid,and such lien may be foreclosed in the manner provided by law for theforeclosure of such liens.
41-7-316. Election; when held; term of office; exception.
(a) At any annual meeting of the irrigation district, thedistrict may elect to adopt either a calendar year basis for their districtelections or a fiscal year basis for their district elections. If the districtelects a calendar year basis, on or after the first day of February and beforethe last day in March next preceding the expiration of the terms of office ofany irrigation district commissioner appointed in any irrigation district,organized under the provisions of this chapter, and on or after the first dayof February and before the last day in March of each year thereafter, an electionshall be held to elect a commissioner or commissioners for the district, in themanner prescribed by this section.
(b) If the district elects a fiscal year basis for theirdistrict elections similar to that of the county in which they are located,then on or after the first day of August and before the last day of Septembernext preceding the expiration of the terms of office of any irrigation districtcommissioner appointed or elected in any irrigation district organized underthe provisions of this chapter, and on or after the first day of August andbefore the last day in September of each year thereafter, an election shall beheld to elect a commissioner or commissioners for the district, in the mannerprescribed in this section.
(c) At the first election held in any district, one (1)commissioner shall be elected from each commissioner district who shall be alandowner thereof. Where the irrigation district is divided into three (3)subdivisions, the commissioner from district number 1 shall serve as acommissioner for a term of one (1) year, the commissioner from district number2 shall serve as a commissioner for a term of two (2) years, and thecommissioner from district number 3 shall serve as a commissioner for a term ofthree (3) years. Where the district is divided into five (5) subdivisions, thecommissioners from districts numbers 1 and 2 shall serve as commissioners for aterm of one (1) year, commissioners from districts numbers 3 and 4 shall serveas commissioners for a term of two (2) years, and the commissioner fromdistrict number 5 shall serve as a commissioner for a term of three (3) years.Thereafter, all commissioners elected shall serve for a term of three (3)years, and until their successors are elected and qualified, exceptcommissioners elected to fill an unexpired term.
(d) The term of an elected commissioner shall commence upon thedate of the next regular meeting of the commissioners held after his election.If a majority of the commissioners are appointed by the secretary of theinterior as provided for in this chapter, then the remaining commissionersshall be elected at large within the entire irrigation district for terms ofthree (3) years each. The terms however, shall be limited to and expire on thedate of the next regular meeting of the commissioners held following the datewhen the unentered public lands within the district constitute less than themajority of the total acreage within the district. After the expiration ofthese terms, the commissioners shall be elected in the same manner and for thesame terms as provided for herein in the case of first election ofcommissioners.
41-7-317. Election; where held; notice to voters; qualifications ofvoters; recording vote; proxies.
Thecommissioners of the district shall fix the hour and place, within theboundaries of or at a place convenient to the landowners within the irrigationdistrict, of each election and preside at the same. It shall be the duty of thecommissioners, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of an election, tomail to each person or corporation entitled to vote thereat, at his or its lastknown place of residence or business, a notice stating the time, place andpurpose of such elections. Every person or corporation owning or entitled byvirtue of public land filing to the possession of land situated within andbeing a part of any commissioner district in which an election for commissioneris being held, and upon which land no assessment for operation, maintenance orrepairs is delinquent for more than four (4) years, shall be entitled to cast,for the commissioner to be elected, for the commissioner district wherein suchland is situated, one (1) vote for each irrigable acre of such land assessedupon the last annual assessment of said district upon or against which land noassessment for operation, maintenance or repairs is delinquent for more thanfour (4) years. At the hour and place of such election the commissioners shallcall the roll of those entitled to vote, and the number of votes each isentitled to cast. They shall make a record of the qualified voters present,receive all proxies and prescribe the manner of canvassing votes. All proxiesshall be in writing and signed by the person or corporation entitled to vote.
41-7-318. Election; validity; qualifications of candidates; vacanciesin office; duties of elected commissioners.
Noperson shall be declared elected as a commissioner who shall not be a landownerin said commissioner district and who shall not have received a majority of allvotes cast by the qualified voters of said commissioner district. No electionshall be invalid by reason of the fact that a majority of the acreage withinthe district was not represented at such election. Whenever the office of anyelected commissioner shall become vacant by reason of death, resignation orother cause, the vacancy shall be filled by the surviving commissioners for theunexpired term. In case such vacancy is not so filled within thirty (30) days,the court shall fill such vacancy. All elected commissioners shall have thesame qualifications and duties as herein prescribed for appointed or electedcommissioners.
ARTICLE 4 - ASSESSMENTS
41-7-401. Payment in installments; construction contracts with UnitedStates generally; default in payments as lien; exception; power ofcommissioners to enforce payment.
Atthe time of the confirmation of any assessment provided for in this article, itshall be competent for the court to order the same to be paid in installmentsof such amount and at such time as will be convenient for the accomplishment ofthe purposes for which such assessment was made, and the payment of theprincipal and interest of such notes or bonds of said district as the courtshall grant authority to issue, such installments to become delinquent on thesame date or dates as may be fixed by law for state and county taxes to becomedelinquent, and such installments shall draw interest from the date of anynotes or bonds issued by the district and for the payment of which saidassessments are pledged at such rates not to exceed seven percent (7%) perannum, as may be fixed by the court; provided, however, that it shall becompetent for the court, in case a contract is made between the United Statesof America and an irrigation district for the construction or sale ofirrigation works and water rights, to order the charges to be paid inaccordance with the provisions of an act of congress approved December 5, 1924,entitled: "An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in certainappropriations for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1924, and prior fiscal years;to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30,1925; and for other purposes," and all acts that may be hereafter enactedas amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, and in such installments asfixed by contract between the district and the United States. The annual levyfor payment of construction charges on the basis herein authorized shallcontinue to be made each year against each tract of land in the districtagainst which benefits under such contract with the United States have beenapportioned, until the full amount apportioned against the same has been paid;such installments to become delinquent on the same date or dates as may befixed by law for state and county taxes to become delinquent and suchinstallments, after they become due, shall draw interest at six percent (6%)per annum. All assessments provided for in this article, together with all interestthereon and all penalties for default in payment of same, and all costs ofcollecting the same shall, from the date of the order of court confirming suchassessments until paid, constitute a perpetual lien in an amount not in excessof the benefits severally assessed, upon all the land and other propertyagainst which such assessments shall be levied, superior to all liens of everykind and nature whatsoever except the paramount lien of the state for thegeneral state, county, city, town or school taxes, and no sale of such propertyto enforce any general state, county, municipal, or school tax, or other lienshall extinguish the perpetual lien of such assessments; and such assessmentsshall also be a lien upon all equities or interests in existing waterappropriations for the irrigation of said lands when the title to said lands isvested in the United States, and when said water appropriations have attachedto said lands. The commissioner shall have the power to enforce payment of suchassessments, and all assessments by them duly levied and confirmed, by shuttingoff the supply of water to any and all lands upon which assessments are due andunpaid, and may refuse to deliver water to such lands until such assessmentsare paid. Any person having an interest in land assessed for construction mayat any time within thirty (30) days after the confirmation of said report, payto the court the amount of the assessment against his land or any tractthereof. Said payment shall relieve said land and water rights from the lien ofsaid assessments for the cost of construction; provided, however, that anydistrict organized within a federal irrigation project for co-operation betweensuch districts and the United States, may contract and agree in connection withthe acquisition of irrigation works and water rights and the taking over of thecare, operation and control of the same from the United States, that each tractor parcel of land shall pay the charges conformed in the assessments againstsuch tract or parcel of land, and that liability for charges thus assessed mayby contract be conformed and limited to the particular tract or parcel of landin question and if so contracted, shall not be imposed as a charge orincumbrance upon other parcels or tracts of land within the district.
41-7-402. Due dates; annual budget of district; hearings on budget;petition for additional funds; hearings on petition.
(a) Assessments to meet expenses of any current year of anydistrict shall become due, payable and delinquent at such time or times eachyear as may be fixed by law for state and county taxes to become due, payableand delinquent. Commissioners having charge of any irrigation district shall onor before the first Tuesday of June of each year file with the clerk of thecourt having jurisdiction of such district, a report showing an itemizedestimate of the money to be raised by assessment within the district for thepurpose of constructing new work, maintenance and to meet the yearly currentexpenses of the district. In addition to the amount above provided, thecommissioners may add a sum which in their judgment shall be sufficient toprovide for possible delinquencies. Within thirty (30) days after filing suchannual report, at a time and place to be fixed by the court or a judge thereof,the judge shall examine such report, hear all objections thereto, fix anddetermine the amount to be raised by assessments for the current year and causesuch adjudication to be entered of record in said court and a certified copythereof to be delivered to the commissioners of such district. Thecommissioners shall add thereto such amount as may be necessary to meet theprincipal and interest on lawful indebtedness of the district maturing duringthe current year, together with a sum which in their judgment shall besufficient to provide for possible delinquencies. When thus completed it shallbe known as "the budget of .... district for the year (year)" andalso be verified under oath by any one (1) of the commissioners.
(b) The commissioners of any irrigation district within thestate of Wyoming are hereby forbidden to incur any indebtedness for currentexpenses of the district in excess of the amount provided in the budget.Provided, however, in case a greater sum than that provided in the budget isrequired, the commissioners may file a petition setting forth the causestherefor, with the clerk of the court having jurisdiction of said district.Immediately upon the filing of said petition the court shall make an order fixingthe time and place of hearing and directing the form and manner of noticethereof to be given if the court deem such hearing advisable. If the courtshall authorize the expenditure of a greater sum of money the commissionersshall be authorized to incur indebtedness equal to the amount of the additionalsum authorized by the court, and in case the expenditure occurs at a time whenit is too late to place the amount upon the assessment roll for the currentyear such amounts may be added to the budget of ensuing years. All debtscontracted in contravention of this section shall be void.
41-7-403. Preparation of assessment roll; contents; how apportioned;certification by county commissioners; delivery to county assessors.
Itshall be the duty of the commissioners of each irrigation district, on orbefore the third Monday in July in each year to prepare an assessment roll ofsaid district, which shall contain the name of the owner, together with adescription of each lot, tract and easement of land within said district andthe aggregate assessments of benefits confirmed by the court against the same;the name of all corporations assessed together with the aggregate assessmentlevied against such corporations respectively. The assessment roll shall alsoshow the amount assessed against each lot, tract and easement of land, andagainst each corporation in the district, for current expense and to meet theprincipal and interest on the indebtedness of the district for the currentyear. All such assessments to meet the principal and interest on theindebtedness of the district for the current year, shall be apportioned on theaggregate assessment of benefits last confirmed by the court. All suchassessments for current expenses shall be based upon irrigable acreage andshall be uniform as to irrigable lands receiving the maximum apportionment ofwater from said district, and as to irrigable lands receiving less than suchmaximum apportionment such assessment shall bear the same proportion as theamount of water apportioned to such lands bears to the maximum apportionment ofwater to other lands in such district. Provided however, that the commissionersof any irrigation district may, in their discretion, provide for a minimumannual assessment for current expense. When such assessment roll is completedit shall be signed by the commissioners of said district, and verified by anyone (1) of them. On or before the third Monday in July of each year thecommissioners of the irrigation district shall deliver to the county commissionersof the county having jurisdiction of such irrigation district the assessmentroll of such district. The county commissioners of said county, immediatelyupon the receipt of the assessment roll of such district and at the time ofmaking the requisite tax levy for county purposes, shall levy and assessagainst each lot, tract and easement of land and against each corporation, therespective amounts levied and assessed against the same on said assessmentroll. Thereupon the county commissioners shall certify to and deliver saidassessment roll to the county assessor of such county, and in case theterritory embraced in such district is located in two (2) or more counties acopy of the assessment roll as certified to by the county commissioners of thecounty having jurisdiction of such district shall be delivered to the assessorof each county in which any of the land of the district is located. Uponreceipt of such assessment roll the assessors of the counties embracing any ofthe lands of such district, shall extend upon the tax roll of such county therespective amounts levied and assessed against each lot, tract and easement ofland, and against each corporation as shown by said assessment roll of saiddistricts.
41-7-404. Collection; disposition; enforcement.
(a) All irrigation district assessments, except as provided byW.S. 41-7-413, shall be collected by the same officer and in the same mannerand at the same time as state and county taxes are collected and when collectedshall be paid to the treasurer of the district, except such assessments,together with interest, penalty and costs thereon, as are collected uponassessments levied for the payment of principal and interest of bondedindebtedness of said district; which funds shall be retained by the countytreasurer of the county in which such district is organized, and the principaland interest of all bonded indebtedness of such district shall be paid by suchcounty treasurer from such fund at the place of payment designated in said bondsand interest coupons; provided, that when all bonded indebtedness of anyirrigation district is fully paid and retired such funds remaining in the handsof the county treasurer shall be paid to the treasurer of such district, forthe benefit of the district; provided, however, the count
