Chapter 4. Election of California Water Code >> Division 16. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 4.

Unless the board of supervisors proceeds pursuant to Section 55161, the board of supervisors shall, by ordinance or resolution adopted at a regular or special meeting after having acquired jurisdiction to proceed in the formation of a district, provide for and order the holding of a special election in the proposed district to submit to the qualified voters thereof the proposition of forming the district and incurring a debt by the issuance of bonds of the district for the purposes set forth in the petition for the formation of the district, if a bonded indebtedness is to be incurred.

The ordinance or resolution calling the special election shall also recite the objects and purposes for which any proposed indebtedness is to be incurred, the estimated cost of the proposed improvement, the amount of the principal of the indebtedness to be incurred therefor, and the rate of interest to be paid on the indebtedness, and shall fix the date on which the special election shall be held, the manner of holding it, and the manner of voting for or against the proposition.

If a statement is made in the formation petition that taxes shall be levied upon the land within the district and upon no other property, the board of supervisors shall recite the statement in any resolution, ordinance, or order adopted or entered pursuant to this chapter.

For the purposes of the election, the board of supervisors shall, in the ordinance or resolution, establish one or more precincts within the boundaries of the proposed district, designate a polling place, and appoint one inspector, one judge and one clerk for each precinct.

The ordinance or resolution ordering the holding of the election shall, prior to the date set for the election, be published pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the county and designated by the board of supervisors for that purpose, and shall be posted in three of the most public places in the proposed district at least 10 days prior to the date set for the election. No other notice of the election need be given.

Within five days after the district formation election has been called, the legislative body which has called the election shall transmit, by registered mail, a written notification of the election call to the executive officer of the local agency formation commission of the county or principal county in which the territory or major portion of the territory of the proposed district is located. Such written notice shall include the name and a description of the proposed district, and may be in the form of a certified copy of the resolution adopted by the legislative body calling the district formation election. The executive officer, within five days after being notified that a district formation election has been called, shall submit to the commission, for its approval or modification, an impartial analysis of the proposed district formation. The impartial analysis shall not exceed 500 words in length and shall include a specific description of the boundaries of the district proposed to be formed. The local agency formation commission, within five days after the receipt of the executive officer's analysis, shall approve or modify the analysis and submit it to the officials in charge of conducting the district formation election.

The board of supervisors or any member or members of the board authorized by the board, or any individual voter or bona fide association of citizens entitled to vote on the district formation proposition, or any combination of such voters and associations of citizens, may file a written argument for or a written argument against the proposed district formation. Arguments shall not exceed 300 words in length and shall be filed with the officials in charge of conducting the election not less than 54 days prior to the date of the district formation election.

If more than one argument for or more than one argument against the proposed district formation is filed with the election officials within the time prescribed, such election officials shall select one of the arguments for printing and distribution to the voters. In selecting the arguments, the election officials shall give preference and priority in the order named to the arguments of the following:
  (a) The board of supervisors or any member or members of the board authorized by the board.
  (b) Individual voters or bona fide associations of citizens or a combination of such voters and associations.

The officials in charge of conducting the election shall cause a ballot pamphlet concerning the district formation proposition to be voted on to be printed and mailed to each voter entitled to vote on the district formation question. The ballot pamphlet shall contain the following in the order prescribed:
  (a) The complete text of the proposition.
  (b) The impartial analysis of the proposition prepared by the local agency formation commission.
  (c) The argument for the proposed district formation.
  (d) The argument against the proposed district formation. The election officials shall mail a ballot pamphlet to each voter entitled to vote in the district formation election at least 10 days prior to the date of the election. The ballot pamphlet is "official matter" within the meaning of Section 13303 of the Elections Code.

In all particulars not recited in the ordinance or resolution, the election shall be held as provided by law for holding general elections in the county.

If at the election a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the formation of the district and the incurring of the bonded indebtedness, if any is proposed, the board of supervisors shall enter an order to that effect upon its minutes, declaring the district formed, and the board may thereupon issue bonds of said district for the amount specified in the proceedings, payable out of funds of the district, provided as prescribed in this division.

The county clerk of the county shall immediately file with the Secretary of State a certificate listing:
  (a) The name of the district.
  (b) The date of formation.
  (c) The county in which the district is located, and a description of the boundaries of the district, or reference to a map showing such boundaries, which map shall be attached to the certificate, or reference to the county recorder's office where a description of such boundaries has been recorded. If the order declaring the district formed contains all of the information required to be in the certificate, the county clerk may file a copy of the order in lieu of the certificate.

All acts and proceedings heretofore or hereafter taken by or on behalf of a county waterworks district for the formation of a district or for the annexation to an existing district and for the authorization, issuance, sale, or exchange of bonds of the district or for the annexed territory may be confirmed, validated, and declared legally effective in the manner provided in this section. The board may instruct the clerk of the board to mail a notice to all owners of property within the county waterworks district, as their names and addresses appear on the last equalized county assessment roll, or as known to the clerk. Such notice shall include the name of the district, the date the district was ordered formed or the date of the annexation to an existing district, the amount of bonds authorized, and a statement that, commencing with the date of mailing of said notice there shall be a 60-calendar-day period during which period any property owner may file an action contesting the validity of the district's formation, the annexation to an existing district or the bond authorization. The clerk shall make and file, with the board a certificate of mailing of the notices. The board may order the clerk to include such other additional information that it deems pertinent. If no action is filed during the 60-day period, the district's formation or the annexation to an existing district and the bond authorization are valid and uncontestable.