§ 70-17. Taxes; levy and collection.

Sec. 17. The board shall have power, in any year:

To levy taxes upon all land in each or any of said zones, or in the case of zones created for flood control, on all land and the improvements thereon, according to benefits derived or to be derived therein to pay the cost and expenses of carrying out any of the objects or purposes of this act of benefit to such zones, including the administering, constructing, maintaining, operating, extending, repairing, or otherwise improving any or all works of improvement established or to be established within or on behalf of said respective zones and, additionally, within the administrative assessment zone, for the administrative costs of all such zones. Said taxes shall be based upon the assessment rolls used by the county for general tax purposes.

In the event of project cooperation with any of the governmental bodies as authorized in subdivision 7 of Section 6 of this act, and the making of a contract with any such governmental body for the purposes set forth in said subdivision 7, by the terms of which work is agreed to be performed by any such governmental body, or with reimbursable funds of such governmental body, in any specified zone or participating zones, for the particular benefit thereof, and by said contract it is agreed that the district is to pay to such governmental body, a sum of money in consideration or subvention for the performance of said work by such governmental body, the board may levy and collect a special tax upon the property in such zone or participating zones, whereby to raise funds to enable the district to make such payment.

Said taxes shall be levied and collected together with, and not separately from taxes for county purposes, and the revenues derived from said taxes shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of said district, and the respective zones thereof, and the board shall have the power to control and order the expenditure thereof for said purposes; provided, however, that no revenues, or portions thereof, derived in any of the several zones from the taxes levied under the provisions of this section shall be expended for constructing, maintaining, operating, extending, repairing or otherwise improving any works or improvements located in any other zone, except in the case of joint projects, or for projects authorized or established outside such zone, or zones, but for the benefit thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing provision or any other provision of law, any revenues paid into the county treasury to the credit of any zone of the district which the board determines to be not presently needed for any of the objects or purposes for which such revenues may be expended pursuant to this section, may be expended by the board to meet any costs or expenses for the benefit of another zone or the initial expenses associated with the establishment of such other zone, including, but not limited to, any engineering studies; provided, however, that any revenue so expended by the board for the benefit of such borrowing zone shall be repaid into the county treasury to the credit of the lending zone from funds available for expenditure for the benefit of the borrowing zone and within such period of time and at such rate of interest as shall be specified by the board at the time of such expenditure; any funds available for expenditure for the benefit of any zone are hereby authorized to be available for such reimbursement of funds expended for the benefit of the zone. In cases of projects joint to two or more zones, such zones will become, and shall be referred to as, participating zones.

(Stats.1953, c. 1598, p. 3291, § 17. Amended by Stats.1955, c. 999, p. 1902, § 4; Stats.1963, c. 434, p. 1267, § 14; Stats.1969, c. 89, p. 212, § 1.)