FLOOD CONTROL BY COUNTIES JOINTLY

Notes:

[1913 c 54 § 2; RRS § 9652. Formerly RCW 86.12.050 and 86.12.060, part.]

     *** CHANGE IN 2013 *** (SEE 5077-S.SL) ***

When such a contract shall have been entered into it shall be the duty of each of the boards of county commissioners to make for their respective counties, each year, a tax levy at a rate sufficient to meet the requirements of the contract to be performed by the county, or sufficient to provide such lesser amount as the boards of county commissioners shall agree upon for such year, to be evidenced by separate resolution of each board, and when such levy shall be made the same shall be extended upon the tax rolls of the county levying the same as other taxes shall be extended, and shall be collected in the same manner and shall be a lien upon the property as in the case of other taxes. The fund realized in each county by such tax levy shall go into a separate fund in the treasury of the county collecting the same, to be designated intercounty river improvement fund, and the entire fund so collected in the two counties shall be devoted to and be disbursed for the purposes specified in such contract and as in this chapter provided, and for no other purpose, but without regard to the particular county in which the work is performed, material required or expenditure made, it being the intent that the entire fund realized in the two counties shall be devoted to the one common purpose as if the two counties were one county and the two funds one fund. The fund in each county shall be disbursed by the county treasurer of such county upon warrants signed by the county auditor of that county. Such warrants shall be issued by order of the board of county commissioners of such county, or a majority thereof. Each county auditor shall, whenever requested by the county auditor of the other county, furnish the county auditor of the other county a statement of payments into and warrants drawn upon the fund of his county from time to time, and in addition thereto, each county auditor shall on the first Monday of January, April, July and October each year during the life of the contract furnish the other a complete statement thereof. Obligations incurred in the prosecution of such improvement and warrants issued shall be payable only out of said special funds, and no general obligation against or debt of either county shall be created thereby or by any contract entered into by virtue of this chapter, but it is not the intent of this chapter to deny to either county the right to have in the courts any proper proceeding to compel compliance with such contract on the part of the other county.

[1913 c 54 § 3; RRS § 9653. Formerly RCW 86.12.100.]

When such a contract shall have been entered into the power of eminent domain is hereby vested in each of such counties, to acquire any lands necessary to straighten, widen, deepen, dike or otherwise improve any such river, its tributaries or outlet or to strengthen the banks thereof, or to acquire any land adjacent to such river, or its tributaries, or the right to cut and remove timber upon the same for the purpose of preventing or lessening the falling of timber or brush into the waters of such river or tributaries, or to acquire any rock quarry, gravel deposit or timber for material for the prosecution of such improvement, together with the necessary rights-of-way for the same, or to acquire any dam site or other property necessary for flood control purposes. Any such land, property or rights may be acquired by purchase instead of by condemnation proceedings. Said right of eminent domain shall extend to lands or other property owned by the state or any municipality thereof. The title to any such lands, property or rights so acquired shall vest in the county in which situate for the benefit of such enterprise and said fund, but when said contract shall have terminated by lapse of time or for any other reason, then such title shall be held by such county independent of any claims whatsoever of the other county, but any material, equipment or other chattel property on hand shall be converted into money and the money divided between the two counties in the ratio of their respective contributions to the fund. The exercise of such rights of eminent domain or purchase shall rest in the joint control of the two boards of county commissioners. Such eminent domain proceedings shall be in the name of and had in the county where the property to be acquired is situate: PROVIDED, If either county shall fail or refuse to institute and prosecute any condemnation proceedings when directed so to do by any legal meeting provided for in RCW 86.13.050, such proceeding may be instituted and prosecuted by and in the name of the other county. The proceedings may conform to the provisions of *sections 921 to 926, inclusive, of Remington & Ballinger's Annotated Codes and Statutes of Washington, or to any general law now or hereafter enacted governing eminent domain proceedings by counties. The awards in and costs of such proceedings shall be payable out of such funds. The purposes in this act specified are hereby declared to be county purposes of each and both of such counties.

[1937 c 117 § 1; 1913 c 54 § 4; RRS § 9654. Formerly RCW 86.12.060, part, and 86.12.070.]

     *** CHANGE IN 2013 *** (SEE 5077-S.SL) ***

When such a contract shall have been entered into and occasion shall arise for the joint action of the two boards of county commissioners whether such joint action is provided for in this chapter or otherwise desired upon any matter having relation to such contract or the prosecution of such improvement, such joint action may be secured by a notice calling a joint meeting signed by two county commissioners, designating the time and place in either county of such meeting, served by one of the two county auditors upon the remaining county commissioners at least seven days (exclusive of the date of service or mailing) prior to the time so designated. If the notice is signed by two county commissioners of the same county the place of meeting shall be at some place in the other county designated in the notice. Such service may be personal or by mail addressed to the member in care of the county auditor of his county. The six county commissioners may constitute a legal meeting without notice by being present together for that purpose. The auditor's certificate of such personal service or mailing, attached to a copy of the notice, shall be made a part of the records of the meeting and be competent proof of the fact. Except in the case hereinafter provided for, the presence of four of the county commissioners shall be necessary to constitute a legal meeting. Each meeting shall be presided over by one of those present selected by vote. The county auditor of the county wherein the meeting is held shall be secretary of the meeting, and shall make duplicate record of its proceedings, one of which, with his certificate thereon, shall be forwarded to the county auditor of the other county, and such record shall be a part of the record of the board of county commissioners of each county. A majority vote of those present at any legal meeting shall be determinative upon any question properly considered at the meeting, and shall be binding upon each county as if enacted or adopted by its own board of county commissioners separately, but no joint meeting whatsoever shall in any manner continue, extend, change, alter, modify or abrogate the contract when made or any of the terms and conditions contained therein. Each county commissioner shall be paid out of said fund in his own county all disbursements made by him for traveling and other expenses incurred in attending any joint meeting or in any way connected with the prosecution of the improvement. Any legal meeting shall have power to adjourn to another time and place. An adjourned meeting shall have all the powers of the meeting of which it is an adjournment, but shall have no power after the end of the thirtieth day following the date of the original meeting of which it is an adjournment. If the three county commissioners of either county shall fail to attend any two meetings consecutively called, the notice for the next succeeding meeting may be also served upon the special commissioner hereinafter provided for, and if he and three county commissioners attend pursuant to such notice the four shall constitute a legal meeting, but if he does not so attend and three county commissioners do attend, the same shall constitute a legal meeting: PROVIDED, All notices calling a joint meeting shall specify distinctly and separately each question to be considered at said meeting; and it shall be unlawful to consider any question at such meeting or at any adjourned meeting thereof except those which have been distinctly and separately specified, except in cases where all six county commissioners are present or five county commissioners present are unanimous on the question, and in any action which may be taken on any question other than those specified in the notice shall be void and shall not be binding on either county, except in cases where all six county commissioners are present or the action was by unanimous vote of five county commissioners present at such meeting.

[1913 c 54 § 5; RRS § 9655. Formerly RCW 86.12.060, part, and 86.12.120 through 86.12.140.]

     *** CHANGE IN 2013 *** (SEE 5077-S.SL) ***

When such a contract shall have been entered into there shall be designated at the first legal joint meeting, or adjournment thereof, held in each calendar year a special commissioner to serve as such until the first joint meeting held in the ensuing year. If such designation shall not be made at any such first annual meeting, the United States engineer in charge of the district in which such improvement is located shall be such special commissioner until the next succeeding first annual meeting. If a special commissioner shall for any reason fail to serve as such officer, or be removed by unanimous vote of any legal meeting, a successor to him may be chosen at any subsequent legal joint meeting during his term. Such special commissioner shall have power to attend and vote at any joint meeting in the following cases and none other, to wit: (1) In cases specially so provided in RCW 86.13.050 hereof; (2) in any case where the vote of any such joint meeting shall stand equally divided upon any question arising under this chapter or such contract or in the prosecution of the work of improvement. The special commissioner shall have no voice or vote except upon questions on which the vote of the county commissioners is equally divided. The procedure in cases covered by the foregoing subdivision (2) of this section shall be substantially as follows: It shall be the duty of the secretary of the meeting at which the division shall occur, if the attendance of the special commissioner at that meeting is not secured, to forthwith transmit to the special commissioner written notice of the fact of disagreement and the question involved, and of the time and place to which the meeting shall have been adjourned or at which the question will recur. If there shall be no such adjournment of the meeting, or if the secretary shall not give such notice, any two commissioners may in the manner provided in RCW 86.13.050 call a joint meeting for the consideration of the question in dispute, and in such event either county auditor may give such notice to the special commissioner. No informality in the mode of securing the attendance of the special commissioner shall invalidate the proceedings of or any vote taken at any meeting which he shall attend and which he is empowered to attend by the provisions of this chapter. The special commissioner shall receive, to be paid equally out of the two funds, his traveling and other expenses incurred in attending meetings or otherwise in connection with the work of improvement, and such compensation for his services as shall be fixed by the joint meeting which shall have selected him, or failing to be so fixed, his compensation shall be ten dollars per day of actual service.

[1913 c 54 § 6; RRS § 9656. Formerly RCW 86.12.150 and 86.12.160.]

[1913 c 54 § 7; RRS § 9657. Formerly RCW 86.12.190.]

[1913 c 54 § 8; RRS § 9658. Formerly RCW 86.12.170.]

     *** CHANGE IN 2013 *** (SEE 5077-S.SL) ***

When such a contract shall have been entered into, it shall be lawful to issue warrants upon said fund though there be at the time of such issuance no money in the fund, but in such cases the aggregate of such warrants so issued in any year shall not exceed one-half the amount of the next annual tax levy required by such contract. Such warrants shall be stamped by the county treasurer when presented to him for payment, to bear interest at a certain rate thereafter until paid, such rate to be the then current rate as determined by the county auditor.

[1913 c 54 § 9; RRS § 9659. Formerly RCW 86.12.110.]

     *** CHANGE IN 2013 *** (SEE 5077-S.SL) ***

Whenever two counties of this state, acting under a contract made pursuant to RCW 86.13.010 through 86.13.090, shall make an improvement in connection with the course, channel or flow of a river, shall acquire property by statute, purchase, gift or otherwise, said counties, acting through their boards of county commissioners jointly shall have the power, and are hereby authorized to sell, transfer, trade, lease, or otherwise dispose of said property by public or private, negotiation or sale. The deeds to the property so granted, transferred, leased or sold shall be executed by the chairman of the meeting of the joint boards of county commissioners, and attested by the secretary of said joint meeting where the sale is authorized. The proceeds of the sale of said property shall be used by said counties for the carrying on, completion or maintenance of said improvement, as directed by the boards of county commissioners of said counties acting jointly.

[1915 c 103 § 1; RRS § 9660. Formerly RCW 86.12.080.]

Whenever two counties of this state, acting under a contract made pursuant to RCW 86.13.010 through 86.13.090, shall make an improvement in connection with the course, channel or flow of a river, thereby causing it to abandon its existing channel, bed, bank or banks for the entire distance covered by said improvement, or for any part or portion thereof, or by said improvement shall prevent a river from resuming at a future time an ancient or abandoned channel or bed, or shall construct improvements intended so to do, all the right, title and interest of the state of Washington in and to said abandoned channel or channels, bed or beds, bank or banks, up to and including the line of ordinary high water, shall be and the same is hereby given, granted and conveyed jointly to the counties making such improvement.

[1915 c 140 § 1; RRS § 9662. Formerly RCW 86.12.090.]

See RCW 86.12.037.