(1) The secretary of the board shall be the assessor of the district, and on or before August 1 of each year shall prepare an assessment book containing a full and accurate list of all lands within the district that are subject to assessment under this chapter.
(2)  At a regular meeting of the board between August 1 and November 1 of each year, the board of directors shall determine the amount necessary to be raised for payment of the annual payment on any and all indebtedness of the district for the following year. Money received in payment of such assessments shall be deposited in a separate fund to be known as the debt retirement fund.
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Terms Used In Idaho Code 42-5232

  • Board: means the board of directors of a ground water district organized pursuant to this chapter. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Director: means the director of the department of water resources. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • District: means a ground water district established, or to be established, pursuant to this chapter. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Ground water: when used in this chapter means water under the surface of the ground whatever may be the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving, as provided in section 42-230(a), Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Ground water user: means the legal or beneficial owner of a ground water right, or the user of a ground water right pursuant to lease or contract of a ground water right to divert ground water of the state for a beneficial use or purpose, except for those diverting under rights used solely for domestic or stock use as defined by sections 42-111 and 42-1401A, Idaho Code, and provided, that for purposes of this chapter, the term ground water user shall not include any ground water right held by or on behalf of an Indian tribe or by tribal members for diversion and use within an Indian reservation, ground water rights held by the United States or ground water rights held by the state of Idaho. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • lands: when used in the context of the property of a ground water user subject to district assessment under this chapter, means the real property where ground water is diverted or placed to beneficial use, including the facilities in or through which a ground water user makes beneficial use of ground waters. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Member: means a ground water user whose lands, facilities and/or water rights are included in and subject to a ground water district and its policies. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Mitigation plan: means a plan to prevent or compensate for material injury to holders of senior water rights caused by the diversion and use of water by the holders of junior priority ground water rights who are participants in the mitigation plan. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Nonirrigator: means a ground water user holding a ground water right for commercial, municipal, or industrial purposes within a ground water district. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, trust, estate, association, corporation, municipal corporation, the state of Idaho and any of its agencies, the United States, an Indian tribe, a public corporation, or any other public or private entity. See Idaho Code 42-5201
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Idaho Code 73-114
  • Water right: means the legal right to divert and beneficially use the public waters of the state of Idaho where such right is evidenced by a decree, a permit or a license issued by the department, a beneficial or constitutional use right evidenced by an adjudication claim or claim based on section 42-243, Idaho Code, or a right based on federal law. See Idaho Code 42-5201
(3)  The board shall, in addition, determine the assessments necessary to pay, without limitation, the expenses of developing, operating or maintaining any mitigation plan established by the district and the cost of contracts with any person for mitigation plans, or evaluation of proposed contracts. Money received in payment of such assessments shall be deposited in a separate fund to be known as the mitigation expense fund.
(4)  The board shall, in addition, determine the assessments necessary to pay maintenance and operation of the district not related to mitigation plans or purposes. These operation and maintenance duties include making the assessment book, giving notice of assessments and making collections thereof, and other duties, programs or projects of the district to the extent such duties, programs or projects are not attributable to mitigation plans or purposes. Money received in payment of such assessments shall be deposited in a separate fund of the district to be known as the operating expense fund.
(5)  If, after levying the regular assessments described in this section, the board determines that the money held in such fund is inadequate or prior to the next regular assessment is likely to become inadequate to pay the expenses for which such fund exists, the board may levy an emergency assessment to pay such additional expenses; provided, that the board shall, at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting at which the board determines the amount necessary to pay such expenses, mail written notice of the board’s intent to levy an emergency assessment to each member of the district at the address on file with the district.
(6)  If a mitigation plan has been approved and a district member fails to operate in accordance with the plan, the board may take action to mitigate such member’s noncompliance and levy a special assessment against such member equal to one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of all costs incurred by the district to mitigate such member’s noncompliance. If the noncompliance constitutes excess water use, the board may alternatively levy a special assessment equal to one hundred dollars ($100) per acre-foot of excess water use.
(7)  Any ground water user who becomes a member of a district for mitigation purposes shall be subject to no assessment beyond his proportional share of the costs, including administrative costs and other reasonable expenses, of any mitigation plan or actions or activities in furtherance of the district’s mitigation plans or purposes.
(8)  No assessment made pursuant to this chapter shall be a lien against any municipal property.
(9)  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, each member shall pay a proportionate share of the total of all amounts to be assessed for the purposes aforementioned, which share shall be based on (a) the ratio which the quantity of water the member is authorized to divert under the member’s ground water right(s) bears to the total quantity of water authorized for diversion under the ground water rights of all members of the district, or (b) the ratio which the number of acres the member is authorized to irrigate under the member’s ground water right bears to the total number of acres authorized for irrigation under the ground water rights of all members of the district; provided, that the board shall be entitled to levy assessments that adjust a member’s proportionate share to take into consideration priority dates, consumptive use under the members’ respective ground water rights, other attributes of the ground water rights appurtenant to the assessed lands, and/or the benefits the member derives from a mitigation plan or other activity of the district. Any nonirrigator who is a member of a ground water district, or whose ground water rights are appurtenant to property located within a ground water district, and who has adopted and implemented a mitigation plan that has been approved by the director and that is not inconsistent with such a plan approved by the director and adopted and implemented by the ground water district, shall be entitled to an assessment credit for the contribution made by that nonirrigator’s mitigation plan toward the district’s mitigation obligation as determined by the director.