242.140. Drainage district may be dissolved, when. - Missouri Statutes

Drainage district may be dissolved, when.

242.140. 1. The incorporation of every drainage district,heretofore or hereafter incorporated under and by virtue of theprovisions of sections 242.010 to 242.690, shall be dissolved if,at any time before bonds are issued and negotiated to constructthe works and improvements as provided by the plan of reclamationadopted by its board of supervisors, the owners of a majority ofthe acres of land within said drainage district petition thecircuit court, wherein said drainage district was incorporated,for a dissolution thereof; provided, that upon the filing of anysuch petition, said circuit court shall, before dissolving saidcorporation ascertain and determine the amount of money in thetreasury of, or owing to, said corporation, and the amount of allwarrants issued and unpaid by it and the amount of the debts andother obligations owing by it; and, if said amount of money inthe treasury and owing to said corporation, is in excess of theamount of said warrants, debts and other obligations, saidcircuit court shall order said warrants, debts and otherobligations to be forthwith paid and discharged, and said excessdivided among all the owners of land in said drainage districtwho paid the same thereto, in the proportions in which they paidthe same; but, if said amount of money, in the treasury and owingto said corporation, is not sufficient to pay and discharge saidwarrants, debts and other obligations then said circuit courtshall order said board of supervisors to levy and collect auniform tax upon each and every acre of land within said drainagedistrict, sufficient in amount to pay said deficiency, and tothereupon pay the same.

2. At any time during the corporate life of such drainagedistrict, when all outstanding bonds shall have been paid andwhen all other indebtedness of said district shall have been paidor when there is sufficient money on hand to pay any and alloutstanding indebtedness, and when there is sufficient money onhand to pay the costs and expenses of the dissolution of saidcorporation as herein provided, the board of supervisors may,and, on a petition of one-tenth of the landowners, owningone-tenth of the lands in said district, shall, call a meeting ofthe landowners in said district for the purpose of determiningwhether or not said district shall be dissolved and its corporatelife terminated, first giving three weeks' notice of the object,purpose and place of such meeting by notices printed for threeweeks successively in some newspaper or newspapers printed andpublished in the county or counties in which said drainagedistrict lies; provided, however, that not more than one suchmeeting for purposes of dissolution shall be held each year.

3. If a majority of the landowners voting at said meetingand owning a majority of the acres of land in said districtvoting at said meeting vote in favor of the dissolution of theincorporation of said drainage district, the board of supervisorsshall cause to be filed in the circuit court wherein saiddrainage district was incorporated, a petition setting out thefacts: that there are no outstanding bonds of said district;that there is no other outstanding indebtedness of said district,or that there is sufficient money on hand to pay any outstandingindebtedness, as the case may be, and that there is sufficientmoney on hand to pay the cost and expenses of such dissolution;that due notice has been given or the clerk thereof in vacationshall cause notice to be given by publication in some newspaperprinted and published in said county for four successive weeks,the last publication being not less than fifteen days before theday to which said petition is made returnable, directed to thecreditors, landowners and all persons interested, of the filingof said petition, its object and purpose, and ordering them toshow cause, if any there be, on said first day, why saidcorporation should not be dissolved.

4. If, upon a hearing of said petition, the court find thefacts aforesaid and find that there are no outstanding debts andthat there is sufficient money to pay the expenses ofdissolution, it shall enter its order dissolving saidcorporation. If it find there is sufficient money on hand to payall outstanding debts it shall order said debts paid andthereafter, on proper showing of their payment, enter its orderof dissolution. Any excess of money on hand shall be distributedas herein provided; provided, the foregoing provision ofdissolution shall not be effective until the bridges across thedrainage ditches in such district are sufficient and in areasonable state of repair.

(RSMo 1939 § 12361, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634)

Prior revision: 1929 § 10780

Effective 1-2-79

(1980) Statute governing the cost of organization of a drainage district does not limit right and duty of the court to order assessment of additional levies to pay district's debts or part of proceedings of final dissolution. Matter of Little Chariton Drainage Dist. (A.), 602 S.W.2d 916.