(1) Whenever the board of a consolidating special district determines, by resolution, that the interest of the special district, the resulting consolidated district, and the public interest require that the obligation to pay and discharge any financial obligation, including accrued unfunded pension liability, remain the obligation of the taxpayers of said consolidating special district, the board shall request that the court order the submission of the proposition of treating the financial obligation as general obligation indebtedness to the electors of said consolidating district at the consolidation election. Such request shall be made to the court at the hearing held in accordance with section 32-1-602 (2)(e) and shall recite, as to each financial obligation to be submitted at the election:
The object and purpose for which the financial obligation was incurred or the pensionplan to which the accrued unfunded liability attaches;
The estimated total cost of discharging the financial obligation;
The estimated term over which the financial obligation will be discharged and theestimated annual cost;
The initial mill levy necessary to pay the annual cost; and
Whether the consolidation is contingent upon approval of the financial obligation asdebt.
If the court finds that the board's request complies with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, the court shall grant the board's request and include in its order entered pursuant to section 32-1-602 (2)(e), that the electors of the consolidating special district vote separately on each financial obligation proposed to be treated as debt.
If approved as debt by the electors at the consolidation election, the financial obligation of the consolidating special district, which becomes part of a consolidated district, shall be paid and discharged by the taxpayers having taxable property within the boundaries of the consolidating special district which incurred the obligation or maintained the pension plan to which the accrued unfunded liability attaches. The board of the consolidated district shall levy a general property tax annually for so long as may be necessary to retire the elector-approved debt.
Nothing in this section shall prevent a consolidated district from being bound bypreconsolidation agreements which have been entered into between or among consolidating districts and which have become part of the terms and conditions of consolidation as set forth in the court order under section 32-1-603 (4) including the assumption of any or all of the financial obligations of the consolidating special districts by the consolidated special district.
Source: L. 93: Entire section added, p. 563, § 2, effective April 30.