(a) When the boundaries of a sanitary district that (i) is located entirely within one county, (ii) has no outstanding indebtedness, (iii) at the time of its creation was not located entirely within or coterminous with the corporate limits of a city or town, (iv) has not provided any water or sewer service for at least five years, (v) did not levy any ad valorem tax in the current year, (vi) has been for at least five years entirely located within or coterminous with the corporate limits of a city or town, and (vii) at the time of the annexation of the area of the district by that city or town, the city or town assumed all assets and liabilities of the district, the board of that district by unanimous vote may petition the board of commissioners of the county in which the district is located to dissolve the district. Upon receipt of the petition, the board of commissioners shall notify the Department and the governing body of the city or town within which the district lies of the receipt of the petition. If the Commission, the county board of commissioners, and the governing body of the city or town shall deem it advisable to comply with the request of the petition, the Commission shall adopt a resolution dissolving the district. All taxes levied by the sanitary district that were levied prior to, but that are collected after, the dissolution shall vest in the city or town. All property held, owned, controlled, or used by the sanitary district upon the dissolution or that may later be vested in the sanitary district, and all judgments, liens, rights, and causes of actions in favor of the sanitary district shall vest in the city or town. At the dissolution, taxes owed to the sanitary district shall be collected by the city or town.

(b) The procedure for the dissolution of a sanitary district set out in this section is an alternative to the procedure set out in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 130A-73 and any sanitary district to which both that section and this section apply may be dissolved under either section. (1998-123, s. 1.)