(a) Upon the filing of the order as specified in section 116A.08, the board or court shall order the engineer to proceed to make a detailed survey and furnish all necessary plans and specifications for the proposed improvement, together with an estimate of the total cost of construction of the system, and report the same to the board or court with all reasonable dispatch.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(b) The cost estimate shall include:

(1) the amounts payable to contractors at and prior to completion of construction in accordance with the plans and specifications;

(2) all court costs;

(3) estimated damages payable as reported by the viewers in accordance with section 116A.11;

(4) the cost of acquisition of all lands and easements required;

(5) the cost of necessary engineering, financial, legal, and other professional service;

(6) the cost of printing, publication, and mailing of all required notices of court proceedings, hearings, and bond sales;

(7) interest estimated to accrue on money to be borrowed for the system from the date or dates of borrowing to the initial date or dates of collection of special assessments or revenues of the system sufficient to carry current interest cost; and

(8) all other items of expense incurred and estimated to be incurred in the establishment of the system from its inception to its completion.

(c) The board or court may direct the engineer to include in the report an assessment roll based upon calculation, by the county auditor or auditors with the assistance of the engineer or another qualified person selected by the board or court, of the proper amount to be specially assessed for the system against every assessable lot, piece, or parcel of land, without regard to cash valuation. The assessment roll shall be based upon the engineer’s estimate of the total cost, but the board or court may direct the engineer also to calculate the expenses of operation of the system when completed, the times and numbers of connections thereto from buildings on individual lots, pieces, and parcels of land, the rates and amounts of connection charges and periodic use charges which may be made for the use and availability of the service of the system, the net revenues, over and above the current cost of operation and maintenance, which are estimated to be available, after completion, for the payment of principal and interest on money borrowed for the system, and the amounts by which the special assessments to be collected annually may be reduced or their payment deferred if such net revenues are realized.