A charter ordinance exempting the City of Concordia, Kansas, from the provisions of G.S. 1961 Supp. 12-860, 12-862, 12-863 and 12-866, the same being sections 5, 7, 8, and 11 of chapter 72 of the session laws of 1953, relating to the city’s combined water and sewage system, and providing substitute and additional provisions on the same subject, and authorizing the city to issue and sell either general obligation bonds or revenue bonds for the improvement of such combined system.
Be It Ordained by the governing body of the City of Concordia:
Section 1. That the City of Concordia, Kansas, under the authority of article 12, section 5, of the Constitution of the State of Kansas, hereby elects to exempt itself from and to make inapplicable to it G.S. 1961 Supp. 12-860, 12-862, 12-863 and 12-866, the same being sections 5, 7, 8 and 11 of chapter 72 of the session laws of 1953, which apply to said city but the provisions of which do not apply uniformly to all cities, and to provide substitute and additional provisions on the same subject.
Section 2. That the governing body shall establish such rates and charges for water and for the use of the sewage disposal system as shall be reasonable and sufficient to pay the cost of operation, repairs, maintenance, extension and enlargement of the water and sewage system and improvements thereof and new construction and the payment of bonds and the interest thereon as may be issued for such water and sewage system; provided, no revenue shall be used for the payment of bonds payable by assessments against property in sewer districts; provided further, that such revenue may be used to pay revenue bonds or general obligation bonds or portions thereof payable by the city at large issued for either the waterworks system or the sewage disposal system before the systems were combined, or for the water and sewage system after they were combined. The city is authorized to discontinue water service for any failure to pay the rates or charges fixed for either water service or the use of the sewage disposal system or both when due, and if there is sewage disposal system use without water service the charge may be certified as a lien against the property served and assessed as a tax by the county clerk.
Section 3. That the governing body may contract for or make repairs, alterations, extensions, reconstructions, enlargements or improvements of its water and sewage system except as provided by G.S. 1961 Supp. 12-861, otherwise cited as section 6 of chapter 72 of the session laws of 1953, and may issue and sell its general obligation bonds for the improvement of its waterworks, sewage disposal or storm sewer system when and as authorized by law in cities of the second class which have not combined their waterworks and sewage disposal systems, and may issue or cause to be issued revenue bonds in payment of the cost thereof without submitting to a vote of the electors of such city the proposal to contract for or to make such repairs, alterations, extensions, reconstructions, enlargements or improvements, and to issue such revenue bonds in payment of the cost thereof; provided, that the governing body or other proper officers of any such city shall, before contracting for or making any such repairs, extensions, reconstructions, enlargements or improvements with a view to issuing revenue bonds, cause to be published in the official newspaper of the city a notice of its intention so to do which notice shall describe the nature of the proposed repair, alteration, reconstruction, enlargement or improvement, state the maximum amount of the cost thereof and the amount of the revenue bonds to be issued for the payment thereof; provided, however, if within 15 days after the publication as aforesaid of such notice, there shall be filed with the clerk of the city a written protest against such proposed repairs, alterations, extensions, reconstructions, enlargements or improvements and such revenue bond issue, signed by not less than 20 percent of the qualified electors of the city, the governing body of the city shall thereupon submit such proposed project and the proposed revenue bond issue to the electors of the city at a special election to be called for that purpose upon at least ten days’ notice, to be held not later than 60 days after the filing of such protest or at a regular city election or general election which will occur not sooner than 30 days nor later than 60 days after the filing of such protest. In the event that a majority of such voters voting on such proposition at such election shall vote in favor thereof, such repairs, alterations, extensions, reconstructions, enlargements or improvements shall be made and such revenue bonds may be issued in payment of the cost thereof; provided, further, if any general project of extension, enlargement or improvement or any single improvement, such as, but not by way of limitation, a building or sewage treatment plant is estimated to cost in excess of $200,000.00 an election shall be called and held to vote on the proposition of issuing revenue bonds for the purpose intended, and if a majority of the votes cast on such proposition shall be in favor thereof the governing body shall cause the improvement to be made and revenue bonds issued.
Section 4. That revenue bonds issued under the provisions of chapter 72 of the Kansas legislative session laws of 1953, being sections 56 through 68 of article 8 of chapter 12 of the 1961 supplement to the Kansas General Statutes of 1949, subject to the provisions of this charter ordinance, and as said act and this ordinance may hereafter be amended, are hereby made a lien upon the revenues produced from the water and sewage system, but shall not be general obligations of the city and shall not contain the recital set forth in section 10-112 of the Kansas General Statutes of 1949 and amendments thereto, but shall contain recitals stating that they are issued in conformity with the provisions, restrictions and limitations of said act and this charter ordinance, that such bonds and the interest thereon are to be paid by the city from the revenues derived from the rates and charges herein mentioned and not from any other fund or source, that the same have been registered in the office of the city clerk of the city and the auditor of the State of Kansas, respectively, and that said bonds are negotiable. All such revenue bonds, when registered and issued shall import absolute verity and shall be conclusive in favor of all persons purchasing such bonds that all proceedings and conditions precedent have been had and performed to authorize the issuance thereof and such bonds shall be negotiable and may be issued in addition to the statutory limit of bonded indebtedness of the city.
Section 5. That such revenue bonds shall mature serially, beginning not later than five years in after the date of issuance; the date of maturity on said bonds shall not be fixed for a longer period of time than 30 years after the date of issuance; said bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed five percent per annum, payable semiannually and the amount of interest due each six months shall be evidenced by coupons attached to each bond issued. In no case where revenue bonds are issued under and by virtue of this act shall the total amount thereof be in excess of the actual cost of the project. The city shall have no right or authority to levy taxes to pay any of the principal of or interest on any such bonds or any judgment against the city on account thereof and the provisions of section 10-113 of the Kansas General Statutes of 1949 [K.S.A. 10-113], shall not apply to revenue bonds issued hereunder.
Section 6. That provision shall be made by appropriate enactment by the governing body or other proper officers having the control and management of the utilities of the city for the payment of said revenue bonds by fixing rates, fees or charges for the use of or services rendered by such utility, which rates, fees or charges shall be sufficient to pay the cost of operation, improvement and maintenance of the utility and pay the principal of and the interest upon said revenue bonds when due. The city shall cause annually an audit to be made by a competent firm of independent auditors of the operation of the utility for which revenue bonds have been issued by the city and, if said audit shall disclose that proper provision has not been made for all of the requirements of this section, then the governing body or other officers having the control and management of the water and sewage system of the city shall promptly proceed to cause to be charged for the utility service rendered rates which will adequately provide for the requirements set out herein. Within 30 days after the completion of said audit, a copy of same shall be filed with the clerk of the city and shall be open to public inspection.
Section 7. That this charter ordinance shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official city newspaper.
Section 8. That this charter ordinance shall take effect 61 days after its final publication unless a sufficient petition for a referendum is filed as provided by article 12, section 5, subdivision (c)(3) of the Constitution of the State of Kansas, in which case the ordinance shall become effective upon approval by a majority of the electors voting at an election held on the ordinance.
Passed by the city commission, the city’s governing body, by a two-thirds vote of the members-elect thereof, the 18th day of February, 1963, and (the mayor being absent from the meeting) signed by a commissioner designated by the commission to do so.