Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                        CHAPTER 147-H.F.No. 1444 
           An act relating to towns; providing procedures for 
          their organization and dissolution; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1986, sections 365.45; 368.47; and 379.01.  
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 365.45, is 
amended to read: 
    365.45 [DISSOLUTION OF TOWNS.] 
    When the electors of any town, at the annual meeting, or at 
a special meeting called for that purpose, shall have voted, by 
ballot, to dissolve the town organization hereunder, the town 
board thereof shall adopt a resolution setting forth such facts 
and asking for the dissolution of the town; and a copy of the 
resolution, a petition signed by a majority of the registered 
voters of the town calling for the dissolution of the town 
organization is filed with the town clerk at least 60 days 
before a regular or special town election, the question of 
whether to dissolve the town shall be submitted to the voters at 
the regular or special town election in the same manner provided 
in section 368.47.  The result of the election, duly certified 
by the town clerk, shall be presented to the board of county 
commissioners of the county in which such the town is located, 
such.  The board of county commissioners may shall, or whenever 
the tax delinquency in any town exceeds 70 percent in any one 
year, the board of county commissioners of the county 
wherein such the town is situated, on its own initiative, may, 
by resolution, dissolve such the town and attach the territory 
formerly embraced therein to an adjoining town or towns, or 
provide for the government of such the territory as unorganized 
territory of the county.  If such the dissolved territory is 
added to an adjoining town the proposal therefor shall first 
have the approval of a five-eighths majority of the voting 
electors of such the town to which the dissolved territory is 
added.  Upon the adoption of the resolution by the county 
board such the town shall be dissolved and no longer entitled to 
exercise any of the powers or functions of an organized town.  
The county auditor shall give ten days notice, by one 
publication in the paper in which the proceedings of the county 
board are published, of the meeting of the county board at which 
such petition the dissolution of the town will be considered.  
     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 368.47, is 
amended to read: 
    368.47 [TOWNS MAY BE DISSOLVED.] 
    When the voters residing within a town in this state have 
failed to elect any town officials for more than ten years 
continuously immediately prior to April 24, 1937, or the town 
has failed and omitted for a period of ten years to exercise any 
of the powers and functions of a town, as provided by law, or 
when the assessed valuation of any town drops to less than 
$40,000, or when the tax delinquency of any such town, exclusive 
of taxes that are delinquent or unpaid by reason of taxes being 
contested in proceedings for the enforcement of taxes, amounts 
to 50 percent of its assessed valuation, or where the state or 
federal government has acquired title to 50 percent of the real 
estate of such town, which facts, or any of them, may be found 
and determined by the resolution of the county board of the 
county in which the town is located, according to the official 
records in the office of the county auditor, the county board by 
resolution may declare any such town, naming it, duly dissolved 
and no longer entitled to exercise any of the powers or 
functions of a town.  In counties having a population according 
to the 1930 federal census of not more than 16,000 nor less than 
15,000 and having not more than 77 nor less than 75 full or 
fractional congressional townships, and in counties having a 
population according to the 1930 federal census of not more than 
28,000 nor less than 27,000 and having not more than 91 nor less 
than 90 full or fractional congressional townships, and in 
counties having a population according to the 1930 federal 
census of not more than 210,000 nor less than 200,000 and having 
not more than 202 nor less than 200 full or fractional 
congressional townships, before any such dissolution shall 
become effective the freeholders voters of the town may shall 
express their approval or disapproval of such dissolution.  The 
clerk of the town shall, upon the petition of ten legal voters 
of such a petition signed by a majority of the registered voters 
of the town, filed with the clerk at least 15 60 days before any 
regular or special town election thereof, give notice at the 
same time and in the same manner of such election that the 
question of dissolution of such town will be submitted for 
determination at such election.  At such election when so 
petitioned for the question shall be voted upon by a separate 
ballot, the terms of which shall be either "for dissolution" or 
"against dissolution," which ballot shall be deposited in a 
separate ballot box to be provided and the result of such voting 
shall be duly canvassed, certified, and returned in the same 
manner and at the same time as other facts and returns of the 
election.  If a majority of the votes cast at the election shall 
be for dissolution, such town shall be dissolved; and, if a 
majority of the votes cast at the election shall be against 
dissolution, the town shall not be dissolved.  
    When a town is dissolved under the provisions of sections 
368.47 to 368.49 the county shall acquire title to any telephone 
company or any other business being conducted by such town and 
such business shall be operated by the board of county 
commissioners until such time as a sale thereof can be made; 
provided that the subscribers or patrons of such businesses 
shall have the first opportunity of purchase.  If such dissolved 
town has any outstanding indebtedness chargeable to such 
business, the auditor of the county wherein such dissolved town 
is located shall levy a tax against the property situated in the 
dissolved town for the purpose of paying the indebtedness as it 
becomes due.  
     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 379.01, is 
amended to read: 
    379.01 [ORGANIZATION.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [MANNER; PETITION; NAME.] When a majority 
of the legal registered voters of any congressional township 
containing not less than 25 legal voters petition the county 
board to be organized as a town such board shall forthwith call 
an election on the question.  If a majority of the vote in the 
township is in favor of organization, the county board shall 
proceed to fix and determine the boundaries of such new town and 
name the same and make and file with the auditor a full report 
of its proceedings in relation to the establishment thereof.  
Towns thus formed shall be named in accordance with the 
expressed wish of a majority of its voters.  If they fail to 
request a name, the board shall select one.  
    Subd. 2.  [PETITION BY FREEHOLDERS.] When a majority of the 
resident freeholders of any one, two, three, four, or five 
congressional townships containing in the aggregate not less 
than 25 freeholders who are legal voters petition the county 
board to be organized as a town such board shall forthwith call 
an election on the question.  If a majority of the vote in the 
townships is in favor of organization, the county board shall 
proceed to fix and determine the boundaries of such new town and 
name the same and make and file with the county auditor a full 
report of its proceedings in relation to the establishment 
thereof.  For the purposes of this section the word 
"freeholders" shall be construed to include any person who is a 
legal voter in any such town occupying real estate therein under 
the homestead or preemption laws of the United States or under 
contract of purchase from any person or corporation or from the 
state of Minnesota.  
    Subd. 3.  [ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING.] If the result of an 
election held under this section is in the affirmative the 
county shall arrange for the holding of the first organizational 
meeting not more than 30 days after the election in the township 
to be organized. 
    Subd. 4.  [CONDUCT OF ELECTION; COSTS.] The county auditor 
shall have the ballots printed for an election under this 
section, and shall otherwise make preparation for the election 
including having a notice published in the official newspaper of 
the county once a week for two successive weeks stating the date 
of the election and the question to be voted on.  The last 
publication shall be no later than ten days before the 
election.  The cost of the election shall be borne by the county.
    Approved May 14, 1987