242.696. Acceptance or rejection of petition--notice--objections, hearing, decree--transfer of records and property. - Missouri Statutes

Acceptance or rejection of petition--notice--objections, hearing,decree--transfer of records and property.

242.696. 1. The board of supervisors of the major districtshall, within ninety days after the service of a certified copyof petition upon the secretary of the major district at itsoffice, by order of its board either agree to accept thepetitioning district or to reject same under the provisions ofsections 242.692 to 242.699. In either event, a certified copyof its action shall be filed by its secretary in the office ofthe clerk of the circuit court in which the petition is pendingwithin twenty days after the board action.

2. In the event the action of the major district shall be toagree and accept the petition to annex minor district to majordistrict, the clerk of the circuit court shall give notice of thefiling of the petition and the acceptance thereof by causingpublication to be made once a week for four consecutive weeks insome newspaper published in each county in which any lands orproperty within the boundaries of the minor district shall besituate. Such notice need not contain the names of the owners ofthe lands and property, or descriptions of the tracts of landowned and property affected in the minor district, but it will besufficient to describe the owners and lands as being all theowners of the lands and property embraced in the boundaries ofthe minor district petitioning; the notice shall also state thepurpose of the petition by the minor district to the majordistrict is to annex to the major district the minor district andthat the petitioning minor district lands and property and ownerswill become a part of the major district which assumes allliabilities, and that the major district accepts the benefitassessments of the minor district as a basis of assessment oftaxes thereafter, and in cases of overlaps of the districts, thecombined benefits shall be added on each tract of land orproperty and the combined assessments of the minor and the majordistricts shall be the true benefit assessment for tax purposeshereafter; and if the petition is granted, the minor districtshall become a part of the major district and the minor districtshall cease to be as an organization. That any owner of land orother property against which benefits are assessed lying withinthe boundaries of the minor district petitioning to be annexedshall have the right to file objections in the office of the saidcircuit clerk within fifteen days but not after the lastpublication of notice which said date of filing objection shallbe stated in said notice.

3. Objections so filed shall set out why petition should notbe granted. Such objections shall be limited to a denial of thestatements in the petition and should be heard and determined bythe court as early and speedily as possible, at either a regular,adjourned or special term, and the court shall set such motionsdown for hearing at the earliest possible time, not later thanfifteen days after the time for filing same expires, and hearsame speedily. If the court finds the statements in the petitionand in the agreement and acceptance to be true, after duehearing, the said court shall by its judgment and decree annexthe minor district to the major district reciting the facts inits judgment consistent with sections 242.692 to 242.699.

4. Upon rendition of the decree the clerk of the court shallcause a certified copy of the judgment and decree of the court tobe served upon the secretary or any other officer of the minordistrict. The board of supervisors and its officers of the minordistrict shall thereupon proceed to deliver to the secretary ofthe board of the major district all of its books, records andsupplies it has on hand, and the treasurer of said minor districtshall forthwith deliver to the treasurer of the major districtall of the moneys and property in his hands and charged up tohim, taking the receipt of the secretary of the major districttherefor, which shall terminate the existence of the minordistrict.

(L. 1961 p. 444 §§ 3 to 6)