Article 10. Interim Project Assessments of California Water Code >> Division 14. >> Part 9. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 10.

At any time after a district project is adopted, as provided in Part 5 (commencing with Section 42200) of this division, and before the original assessment to finance the project has become a lien, as provided in Section 46280, the board may levy one or more interim project assessments pursuant to this part for the purpose of paying costs of the project.

Each interim project assessment shall be levied in an equal amount upon each acre of land in the district. The total amount of all interim project assessments for any district project shall not exceed five dollars ($5) per acre.

The board may by resolution levy an interim project assessment, if in its judgment the levy is in the best interests of the district.

Every interim project assessment is a lien upon the land affected until the full amount of the assessment is paid. The lien is prior to all other liens, except state, county and municipal taxes and assessments, or taxes levied or assessed by or under statutory authority. The interim project assessments shall bear interest at the rate of 7 percent per year and shall be collected in the same manner, together with the same penalties for delinquencies, as other assessments provided for in this division. Interest commences to run 30 days after filing of the assessment roll with the county treasurer of an affected county.

The amount of any interim project assessment assessed against any tract of land in the district shall be credited against the original assessment to finance the project thereafter levied against said tract, and the amount of said original assessment to be collected shall be reduced accordingly.

If the amount of the interim project assessment or assessments credited with respect to any tract of land pursuant to Section 46379 exceeds the amount of the original assessment to finance the project with respect to said tract, said excess shall be credited against said interim project assessment or assessments, which, to that extent, shall cease to be a lien with respect to said tract. If the amount theretofore collected by the district on the interim project assessment or assessments with respect to any tract of land exceeds the amount of the original assessment with respect to said tract, such excess shall be a claim against and debt of the district, and the district shall issue a warrant in the amount of said excess to the then holder of title to said tract.

A district may issue direct assessment warrants payable from the proceeds of an interim project assessment pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 45900) of Part 8 of this division, but such warrants shall be made payable not more than five years from the date of issuance and may be made subject to call or redemption prior to their stated maturity date or dates at such premium, if any, as the board may determine, and the aggregate face amount thereof shall not exceed seventy-five percent (75%) of the amount of the interim project assessment from which such warrants are payable, exclusive of interest and amounts paid prior to the issuance of such warrants on said interim project assessment.

If there are no obligations outstanding which are secured by an interim project assessment, the board may, at any time and without notice or hearing, order that the uncalled balance of such interim project assessment be canceled and that the amount of the credit against the original assessment represented by such uncalled balance of said interim project assessment be annulled for each tract of land in the district. In such event, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 46379, the amount of said original assessment to be collected from each tract of land in the district shall be increased by the amount of the credit that was so annulled; provided, however, said amount shall be decreased by the amount of any payment made on the uncalled balance of said interim project assessment. Interest due on the recomputed collectible amount of said original assessment shall be computed as provided in Section 46671 or 47303 as the case may be.