Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 7 > Chapter 12 - Improvement Districts

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appointing authority: means the mayor in the case of a municipality, the board of county commissioners in the case of a county, or the chief executive of a consolidated city-county government. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• blocks: means blocks, whether regular or irregular, that are bounded by main streets or partially by a boundary line of the city. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• Board: means the board of trustees created in 7-12-1121. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• board of county commissioners: includes any body or board that under the law is the legislative department of the government of the county. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• Business: means all types of business, including professions. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• county clerk: as used in this part , include any person or officer who is clerk of the board of county commissioners. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• county treasurer: as used in this part , means and includes any person who, under whatever name or title, is the custodian of the funds of the county. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• District: means a business improvement district created under this part. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• engineer: as used in this part , means the person, firm, or corporation designated by the board of county commissioners as the engineer for the improvement. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the legislative body of a local government. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• improvements: as used in this part , include all work or the securing of property, by purchase or otherwise, mentioned in this part and also the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of any portion of the work. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• incidental expenses: as used in this part , includes:

  (a)the compensation of the engineer for work done;

  (b)the cost of printing and advertising, as provided in this part;

  (c)interest on warrants of the county issued to pay costs of improvements, as provided in this part;

  (d)costs of issuance of the bonds or warrants of the special improvement district, including costs of printing the bonds, bond registration fees, attorney fees and financial consultants' fees, a premium for bond insurance, any price paid by the original purchaser of the bonds that is less than the face amount of the bonds, and interest to accrue on bonds or warrants of the special improvement district before assessments levied by the district are collected in amounts and at times sufficient to pay the interest; and

  (e)a reasonable administrative fee payable to the county for the creation and administration of the district by the county, its officers, and its employees. See Montana Code 7-12-2101

• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
• Judicial officers: means justices of the supreme court, judges of the district courts, justices of the peace, municipal judges, and city judges. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Local government: means a municipality, a county, or a consolidated city-county government. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• main street: means an actually opened street or streets as bound a block. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• Maintenance: as used in this part includes but is not limited to sprinkling, graveling, oiling, chip sealing, seal coating, overlaying, treating, general cleaning, sweeping, flushing, snow removal, leaf and debris removal, the operation, maintenance, and repair of traffic signal systems, the repair of traffic signs, the placement and maintenance of pavement markings, curb and gutter repair, and minor sidewalk repair that includes cracking, chipping, sinking, and replacement of not more than 6 feet of sidewalk in any 100-foot portion of sidewalk. See Montana Code 7-12-4401
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• 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.
• Owner: means a person in whom appears the legal title to real property by deed recorded in the county records or a person in possession of real property under claim of ownership for the person or as the personal representative, agent, or guardian of the owner. See Montana Code 7-12-1103
• Personal property: means money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Printing: means the act of reproducing a design on a surface by any process. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• street: as used in this part , includes avenues, highways, lanes, alleys, crossings or intersections, courts, and places that have been dedicated and accepted according to the law or in common and undisputed use by the public for a period of not less than 5 years. See Montana Code 7-12-2101
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203