COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 561
(By Senators Plymale and Jenkins)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 28, 2005.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section 7, chapter 26 of the Acts of
the Legislature, regular session, 1925 (municipal charters),
as last amended by chapter 175, Acts of the Legislature,
regular session, 1991, relating to Greater Huntington Park and
Recreation District; authorizing the District to impose fees
and issue revenue bonds; requiring an election on the
imposition of fees and issuance of revenue bonds; notice and
election requirements; and authorizing the new fees to secure
and pay the revenue bonds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section 7, chapter 26, Acts of the Legislature, regular
session, 1925 (municipal charters), as last amended by chapter 175,
Acts of the Legislature, regular session, 1991, be amended and
reenacted to read as follows:
GREATER HUNTINGTON PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT.
§7. Financing and financial powers.
The park district shall have the following powers to:
(1) Make charges to the public for services offered or goods
sold by the park district.
(a) Charges for services may be in the form of, but not
limited to: Admission and entrance fees; exclusive use and rental
fees; user fees; license and permit fees; equipment rental; program
maintenance fees; instructor fees; special accommodation fees;
amusement fees; restricted membership fees; and cemetery service
fees.
(b) Charges for goods sold may be in the forms of, but not
limited to: Beverages and foods; novelties and gifts; clothing;
athletic equipment and supplies; cemetery plots, crypts, monuments,
memorials, markers, vaults and any other forms of merchandise sold
in connection with the burial of the dead; and other items that may
pertain to the operation and maintenance of the park district.
(2) Impose upon the users of the park system reasonable
service fees in addition to the service fees authorized by section
7(1)(a) of this section. As used in this section, "users" means
any person to whom the park system is made available. The service
fees shall be in amounts and shall be collected in a manner as
specified in one or more resolutions adopted by the board of
directors of the park district. The resolutions may provide for reasonable penalties for failure to pay service fees. Any
resolution imposing a service fee shall not become effective until
it shall be ratified by a majority of the legal votes cast thereon
by the qualified voters of the district at a primary or general
election. The ballot question shall summarize the service fee, the
manner in which it will be imposed and the general use to which the
proceeds of the service fee shall be put. From time to time, the
board may submit additional resolutions imposing additional service
fees to the district's electors for approval pursuant to this
section. Notice of any election hereunder shall be given by
publication, within fourteen consecutive days next preceding the
date of the election, of the resolution imposing the service fee as
a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication
area for publication shall be the district. All of the provisions
of the general election laws of this State concerning primary or
general elections, when not in conflict with the provisions of this
section, shall apply to elections hereunder, insofar as
practicable.
(3) Issue revenue bonds or refunding revenue bonds for the
district. The bonds shall be secured solely by a pledge of service
fees approved by the district's voters as set forth in subdivision
(2) of this section. Except for refunding bonds which do not need
voter approval, the question of whether revenue bonds of the district may be issued must be approved by a majority of the legal
votes cast thereon by the qualified voters of the district at a
primary or general election. Notice of any revenue bond election
shall be given by publication, within fourteen consecutive days
next preceding the date of the election, of the resolution calling
the revenue bond election and the form of ballot question to be
used at the election as a Class II legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine
of this code and the publication area for publication shall be the
district. All of the provisions of the general election laws of
this state concerning primary or general elections, when not in
conflict with the provisions of this section, shall apply to
elections hereunder, insofar as practicable.
(2) (4) Annually levy on each one hundred dollars of the
assessed valuation of the property taxable in said park district,
within the corporate boundaries of the city of Huntington according
to the last assessment thereof for state and county purposes, as
follows:
On Class I property, one and one-half cents; on Class II
property, three cents; on Class IV property, six cents. The park
district may levy a lesser amount, in which case the above levies
shall be reduced proportionately. These levies shall be made at the
time and in the manner provided by article eight, chapter eleven of
the Code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; except that the levies shall be included in the maximum
rates for the city of Huntington as established by law.
After the park district has made the levy, it shall certify to
the finance director of the city of Huntington the amount of the
said levy, and the finance director shall thereupon extend the levy
upon the tax tickets, and all levies made by the park district
shall be collected by the finance director who shall occupy a
fiduciary relationship with the park district, and then such levy
funds shall be paid to the park district upon written order of the
park district signed by the president of the park district and
countersigned by the secretary of the park district.
Levies for support, maintenance and operation.
(3) (5) In order to ensure adequate support for the
maintenance and operation of the park district, the following
governing authorities shall, upon written request by the park
district, levy annually as follows within the respective taxing
districts of the governing authorities, on each one hundred dollars
of assessed valuation of the property taxable in the area served by
it according to the last assessment for state and county purposes,
amounts not exceeding the following amounts for fiscal year
beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-
three:
(a) The county commission of Cabell County, for the first year
of the act and annually thereafter: Class I, .433 cents; class II, .866 cents; class III and class IV, 1.73 cents.
(b) The county commission of Wayne County, for the first year
of the act and annually thereafter; Class I, .0066 cents; class II,
.0132 cents; class III and class IV, .0266 cents.
(c) The board of education of the county of Cabell shall
provide funds available to the board through special and excess
levies for the first year of the act and annually thereafter: Class
I, .433 cents; class II, .866 cents; class III and class IV, 1.73
cents.
(d) The city of Huntington, for the first year of the act and
annually thereafter: Class I, one and three-tenths cents; class II,
two and six-tenths cents; class III and IV, five and two-tenths
cents.
(e) The town of Milton, for the first year of the act and
annually thereafter: Class I, one and three-tenths cents; class II,
two and six-tenths cents; class III and class IV, five and two-
tenths cents.
In addition to the aforesaid amounts which, upon written
request by said board, the governing authorities shall levy, each
such governing authority may support the park district with any
other general or special revenues or excess levies. All income
realized by the operation of the park district from any sources
other than the above levies shall be used by the board of directors
for support of the park district.
All money collected or appropriated by the foregoing governing
authorities for park district purposes shall be deposited in a
special account of the park district and shall be disbursed by that
board for the purpose of operating such park district.
(4) (6) Assess the cost of improvements to or construction of
streets, sidewalks, sewers, curbs, alleys, public ways or
easements, or portions thereof, upon the abutting property owners
whose property lies within the park district. Such assessments
shall require approval of a majority of the commissioners present
and voting and shall be commenced and conducted in such manner as
is prescribed by article eighteen, chapter eight of the Code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended.
(5) (7) The municipalities of Huntington
and Milton and the
counties of Cabell and Wayne are hereby empowered, and authorized
to issue, in the manner prescribed by law, revenue bonds or general
obligation bonds for the purpose of raising funds to establish,
construct, improve, extend, develop, maintain or operate a system
of public parks and recreational facilities for the city or
counties, or to refund any bonds of the city or counties, the
proceeds of which were expended in the establishing, constructing,
improving, extending, developing, maintaining or operating of such
public park and recreation system or any part thereof. Any bonds
issued for any of the purposes stated in this section shall contain
in the title or subtitle thereto the words "public park and recreation bonds", in order to identify the same, and shall be of
such form, denomination and maturity and shall bear such rate of
interest as shall be fixed by ordinance of the governing body of
the city or counties. The governing body may provide for the
issuance of bonds for other lawful purposes of the city or counties
in the same ordinance in which provision shall be made for the
issuance of bonds under the provisions of this section. The park
district shall pay all of the costs and expenses of any election
which shall be held to authorize the issuance of public park and
recreation bonds only. The costs and expenses of holding an
election to authorize the issuance of public park and recreation
bonds and bonds for other city or county purposes shall be paid by
the park district and the city or counties respectively, in the
proportion that the public park and recreation bonds bear to the
total amount of bonds authorized.
Whenever the governing body of the city or counties and the
requisite majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon
shall authorize in the manner prescribed by law, the issuance of
bonds for the purpose of establishing, constructing, improving,
extending, developing, maintaining or operating, or any combination
of the foregoing, a system of public parks and recreational
facilities for the city or counties or for refunding any
outstanding bonds, the proceeds of which were applied to any of
said purposes, said bonds shall be issued and delivered to the park district to be by it sold in the manner prescribed by law and the
proceeds thereof shall be paid into the treasury of the park
district and the same shall be applied and utilized by the park
district for the purposes prescribed by the ordinance authorizing
the issuance of such bonds. In any ordinance for the issuance of
bonds for such purposes, it shall be a sufficient statement of the
purposes for creating the debt to specify that the same is for the
purpose of establishing, constructing, improving, extending,
developing, maintaining or operating, or any combination of the
foregoing, a public park and recreation system for the city or
counties, without specifying the particular establishment,
construction, improvement, extension, development, maintenance or
operation contemplated; but an ordinance for refunding bonds shall
designate the issue and the number of bonds which it is proposed to
refund.
(6) (8) Sue and be sued; make contracts and guarantees; incur
liabilities; borrow or lend money for any time period deemed
advisable by the commission, sell, mortgage, lease, exchange,
transfer or otherwise dispose of its property; or pledge its
property as collateral or security for any time period deemed
advisable by the commission.
(7) (9) Create trusts of such kind as will expedite the
efficient management of the property and other assets owned or
controlled by the park district. The trustee, whether individual or corporate, in any such trust shall have a fiduciary relationship
with the park district and may be removed by the park district for
good cause shown or for a breach of the fiduciary relationship with
the park district.