An Act concerning certain municipalities; relating to townships; relating to the governing bodies thereof; relating to compensation thereof; relating to the powers and duties thereof; amending K.S.A. 68-525, 68-531, 68-542, 80-207, 80-302, 80-304, 80-410, 80- 1204, 80-1407, 80-1501, 80-1503, 80-1544 and 80-2002 and K.S.A. 1995 Supp. 68-530 and repealing the existing sections; also repealing K.S.A. 19-3611, 80-1421 and 80-1422.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:

Section 1. K.S.A. 68-525 is hereby amended to read as follows: 68- 525. The clerk of the township board shall keep an accurate record of all official acts, and a detailed record of the proceedings of the board, in a well-bound book, to be provided by the township for that purpose. The record shall be signed by the chairperson and the clerk and kept open for inspection at any reasonable time. The record and system of township accounting shall be uniform throughout the state. Each of the township highway commissioners shall receive $15 per day compensation for the time actually and necessarily spent while performing duties as township highway commissioners. No commissioner shall receive more than $480 per year. In any township having a population of not less than 5,000, nor more than 8,000, and having a valuation of not less than $7,000,000, each commissioner shall receive not to exceed the following sums per year: The township trustee $200, the township clerk $200, and the township treasurer $100. In any township lying adjacent to a city of the first class each commissioner shall receive compensation in the sum of $600 per year in lieu of the per diem rate as provided in this section. In townships which are located in counties having a population of less than 16,000, The amount of such compensation shall be determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto. The board of township highway commissioners may employ one or more of the mem- bers of the board of township highway commissioners to perform work and labor on the township roads of such township and bridges thereon whose compensation shall be fixed by the township board at a reasonable rate for the time actually employed in the performance of the work and labor, but no member of the township board of highway commissioners shall receive compensation for work and labor on the roads of the town- ship, and the bridges on the roads, in excess of $3,000 during any budget year. The amount of compensation for such work shall be determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 1995 Supp. 68-530 is hereby amended to read as fol- lows: 68-530. The township board, with the approval of the county en- gineer, shall appoint, on merits only, a competent experienced road builder for road overseer for the entire township. The township road overseer shall have charge of the construction and maintenance of all township roads, bridges and culverts, under the supervision of the town- ship board and the county engineer. When in the opinion of the county engineer the conditions demand it, the overseer may appoint one or more competent assistants, subject to the approval of the township board. In any township having a population of 500 or less, The township board by unanimous vote may designate the township trustee a member of the township board to act as road overseer. The officers of any such township are hereby authorized to perform repair, maintenance and improvement work on township roads. Compensation and the cost of benefits provided to each such officer for such work and labor shall not exceed $3,000 per annum. Reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses shall not be included within such limitation be determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

Sec. 3. K.S.A. 68-531 is hereby amended to read as follows: 68-531. The compensation of the road overseer and assistants shall be fixed by the township board at such rate as may be reasonable for the time actually employed in the performance of their duties: Provided,. In counties which have designated the township trustee townships where a township board member has been designated as road overseer or patrolman under K.S.A. 68-530 or acts amendatory thereof, and amendments thereto, and when such trustee board member is paid by the day and not by contract, he shall receive such reasonable wages as is unanimously agreed upon by the township board such board member shall be compensated in an amount determined by the board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto. Before entering upon his such duties, the overseer shall give bond unto the township, with surety to be approved by the township board, in the sum of $1,000, conditioned upon the faithful discharge of his such duties and the protection, care and return of all property of the township which may come into his the overseer's custody. The township overseer and his any assistants, if any, shall hold office at the pleasure of the town- ship board.

Sec. 4. K.S.A. 68-542 is hereby amended to read as follows: 68-542. The county engineer shall call a one-day meeting of all of the county and township road officials in each county at least once each year, for the purpose of discussing any and all matters pertaining to the improvement of the highways, bridges and culverts of the county and of the several townships, and to devise means of systematizing and standardizing the work. The said County officials in attending such meetings shall each receive for his time, from the county or township as the case may be, the same compensation as specified by law for county or township work. Township officials shall be compensated in an amount determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

Sec. 5. K.S.A. 80-207 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80-207. (a) The township officers of any township shall be reimbursed for any expenses incurred while actually and necessarily attending to township business.

(b) Members of the township board shall receive compensation for their services while actually and necessarily conducting township busi- ness.

(c) The township board, by adoption of a resolution, may fix the amount of compensation to be received by the members of the board. Such resolution shall be published at least once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the township. A res- olution providing for an increase in compensation shall not be effective until 30 days following the date of the last publication of the resolution.

Sec. 6. K.S.A. 80-302 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80-302. The township trustee, clerk and treasurer of each municipal township shall constitute an auditing board. The auditing board shall meet on the last Monday of in March, June, September and December of each year and examine and audit all claims against the township, and shall file their annual report with the county clerk for the approval of the board of county commissioners on or before January 31 of the succeeding year. No claim against any township shall be paid until allowed by the auditing board. All claims allowed by the auditing board shall be recorded by the clerk in a book to be kept for that purpose.

The township trustee, clerk and treasurer shall each receive for the officer's services in attending to the township business, an amount not to exceed the sum of $50 per full day or not to exceed $30 for any day in which less than four hours is spent attending to such business determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

Sec. 7. K.S.A. 80-304 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80-304. The township trustee, at the regular meeting of the board of county com- missioners next succeeding the annual settlement of the township treas- urer and road overseers, shall make a complete report of the affairs of the township for the preceding year, stating in detail the items of account audited and allowed, the nature of each account, and the name of each person to whom such an account was allowed. Such report shall specify the amount of compensation and amount of reimbursement of expenses paid to members of the township board pursuant to K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto. Such report shall be verified by affidavit and shall be examined by the board of county commissioners. If found correct and in conformity to law, the board shall approve the report and accounts and the same shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of such county. Copies of the report shall be made available upon request. If such report and accounts are found not correct, or not in conformity to law, the board shall cite such township auditing board to appear before it and correct any errors appearing therein. Such township auditing board and their bondsmen shall be liable to their township for the amount of any and all accounts or demands by them allowed or paid in excess of that authorized by law for any purpose. It shall be the duty of the county attorney of such county to prosecute any and all suits in the name of such township for the recovery of the same, in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Sec. 8. K.S.A. 80-410 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80-410. (a) The treasurer of each township shall file with the county clerk a duly verified full and detailed statement of the receipts, expenditures and li- abilities of the township for the preceding calendar year, on or before January 31 of the succeeding year. The treasurer of each township shall publish, or cause to be published, in a newspaper of general circulation in the township immediately following the annual settlement in Decem- ber of each year, a summary which shows totals for categories of the receipts, expenditures and liabilities of such township for the year ending at the time of such annual settlement. Such publication shall include a notice that a detailed statement of such receipts, expenditures and liabil- ities is available for public inspection at the county clerk's office. Copies of the statement shall be made available upon request.

(b) The treasurer of the township shall file with the county clerk a full and detailed statement of the amount of money paid to each member of the township board pursuant to K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto, during the preceding calendar year, on or before January 31 of the succeeding year.

Sec. 9. K.S.A. 80-1204 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80- 1204. The trustees of the several townships each township and their as- sistants shall receive as compensation for their services as provided for in this act a reasonable sum for the time actually and necessarily employed. They Such compensation shall be paid only out of the fund of the county created by this act for that purpose and shall be in an amount determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

Sec. 10. K.S.A. 80-1407 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80- 1407. In any township having a township water system with more than five hundred (500) customers, which is located in a county having a pop- ulation of more than eighty thousand (80,000), and less than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000), the township trustee, clerk and treasurer may each be paid the sum of twenty-five dollars ($25) per month in full pay- ment each member of the township board shall receive compensation for their services as such officers in the supervision of the operation of such water system: Provided, That in any township having a township water system with more than fifteen hundred (1,500) customers, which is lo- cated in a county having a population of not less than one hundred twenty- five thousand (125,000), the township trustee, clerk and treasurer may each be paid the sum of one hundred dollars ($100) per month in full payment for their services as such officers in the supervision of the op- eration of such water system.

Such compensation shall be in addition to all other compensation pro- vided by law for such officers, and The amount of such compensation shall be determined by the township board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto, shall be payable out of the operating receipts of such water system: Provided, That where. If extensions have been made to such water system, whose revenues are maintained in a separate fund, such compensation shall be prorated between the original system and such extension in proportion to the gross annual receipts of such original system and extension for the preceding year. The compensation provided for in this section may be paid during the remainder of the calendar year 1965 even though the same was not included in the budget of expendi- tures for such period.

Sec. 11. K.S.A. 80-1501 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80- 1501. (a) As used in this act, the word county means a county having a population of not more than six thousand (6,000) and a county having a population of more than twenty-four thousand (24,000) and less than twenty-eight thousand (28,000) and having an assessed tangible valuation of more than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) and less than sixty million dollars ($60,000,000).

(b) That Any township or county may join with a municipality in the maintenance of a fire department for the prevention and fighting of fires within their boundaries. The cost of equipment and maintenance, the payment of compensation to firemen firefighters, the rent or purchase of buildings shall be paid in such proportion as may be agreed upon by the parties:Provided,. The supervision and control of the department shall always be with the governing body of the municipality if the municipality joins with a township or county. The fire department members may be full paid or may be volunteers and shall be subject to such rules and regulations as the municipalities enact, and adopt. Such departments, when organized, may incorporate as firemen's firefighters' relief associ- ations, and such associations shall come within the purview and be subject to the provisions of and entitled to the rights under article 17, chapter 40, of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and amendments thereto.

When a municipality and a township join, the agreements shall be en- tered into by the municipality by ordinance and by the township or county by resolution, and the agreement as set out in the ordinance and reso- lution shall be signed by the mayor of the city and attested by the city clerk and, in the case of a township shall be signed by the township trustee and attested by the township clerk and, in the case of a county shall be signed by the chairman chairperson of the board of county commissioners and attested by the county clerk. The agreement shall state the amount each party shall contribute, the rules and regulations governing the de- partment, and such other matter as may be necessary to fully set out the duties and responsibilities of the parties, and the agreement may be amended or changed or added to by mutual agreement of the parties in the same manner as that in which the original contract was entered into, and. Such agreement shall endure until may be terminated if one party passes or adopts an ordinance or resolution declaring its intention to carry out the agreement no longer. When an agreement is dissolved terminated, one party may pay the other for its share of the equipment or apparatus or the apparatus may be sold. Any money in the treasury shall be divided pro rata as it was paid in. No election shall be required to authorize the township board, board of county commissioners or governing body of any municipality to enter into such agreement, but the township board, board of county commissioners or governing body of a municipality shall have the power to decide whether to enter into such contract.

Sec./007006/K.S.A. 80-1503 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80- 1503. (a) Townships are hereby authorized and empowered to levy a special tax not to exceed one mill on all tangible property in the township not including a corporate city in a sufficient amount to join with a mu- nicipality or township for the purposes as provided in K.S.A. 80-1501, and amendments thereto, or to pay the compensation agreed upon by contract under authority of K.S.A. 80-1502, and amendments thereto. Any such levy by a township to the extent of one mill shall be in addition to all other tax levies authorized or limited by law and shall not be subject to the aggregate tax levy limit prescribed by K.S.A. 79-1962, and amend- ments thereto.

(b) The township board may levy, by adopting the appropriate reso- lution, an additional one mill may levy a tax of more than one mill for the purposes authorized by subsection (a). Such resolution Any resolution increasing the amount of the tax currently levied by the township board and any subsequent increase thereof shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a paper of general circulation within the township. The township board may make such levy unless, within 30 days following final publication of the resolution, a protest petition signed by 10% of the qualified voters of the township is filed with the township clerk. If a sufficient petition is filed, such additional tax shall not be levied until approved by a majority of the voters voting at an election thereon. Such election shall be called and held in the manner provided by the general bond law. Such levy shall be in addition to all other tax levies authorized or limited by law and shall not be subject to the aggregate tax levy limit prescribed by K.S.A. 79-1962, and amendments thereto.

If a levy is imposed pursuant to this subsection, no other levies for the purposes authorized by subsection (a) shall be made on such property.

(c) Such Counties are hereby authorized and empowered to levy an annual tax of not to exceed 1/2 mill on the dollar on all the taxable tangible property in such county for the purposes as provided in K.S.A. 80-1501, and amendments thereto, or to pay the compensation agreed upon by contract under authority of K.S.A. 80-1502, and amendments thereto, and to pay a portion of the principal and interest on bonds issued under the authority of K.S.A. 12-1774, and amendments thereto, by cities located in the county.

Such tax levy shall be in addition to all other tax levies authorized or limited by law and shall not be subject to the aggregate tax levy limit prescribed by K.S.A. 79-1947, and amendments thereto.

Sec./007006/K.S.A. 80-1544 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80- 1544. (a) The governing body of such fire district shall have full direction and control over the operation of such fire department and may select regular employees, provide for their compensation and furnish quarters for such employees if deemed desirable. The governing body also may provide for the organization of volunteer members of such department, to be compensated at a specified rate when attending fires. In addition, the governing body may provide special clothing and equipment for such employees and volunteers, may insure such employees and volunteers against accidental death and injury in the performance of their duties, and may do all other things necessary or desirable to maintain and operate such department so as to furnish fire protection for the inhabitants of such district. Each of the members of the governing body may receive as compensation for services rendered the sum of $50 for each full day or a sum not to exceed $30, to be in an amount determined by the governing body, for any day in which fewer than four hours are devoted to such service. In no event shall the compensation provided herein exceed the sum of $100 for any calendar month as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

(b) The auditing board for the fire district shall meet once each month on the date designated by the board to examine and audit all claims against the fire district and shall file their annual report with the county clerk for the approval of the board of county commissioners before Jan- uary 31 of the succeeding year. No claim against any township fire district shall be paid until approved by the auditing board. All claims approved by the auditing board shall be recorded by the clerk of the fire district in a book to be kept for that purpose. Any township officer serving on a fire district auditing board shall receive for such services in attending to town- ship fire district business an amount to be fixed by the governing body of the fire district at not to exceed $25 for each full day or not to exceed $15 for any day in which fewer than four hours are spent attending to such business. In no event shall the compensation provided exceed the sum of $50 for any calendar month as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

Sec./007006/K.S.A. 80-2002 is hereby amended to read as follows: 80- 2002. Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 19-270, and amend- ments thereto, the township board of any township having a public water supply, shall have the power, in the manner and as hereinafter provided, to establish one or more sewage districts within such township, or any part thereof, which shall be designated as ``____________ township sewage district No. ___, ____________ county, Kansas.'' A sewage district so es- tablished shall be a body corporate, with authority to levy taxes and special assessments, to enter into contracts, to sue and be sued in actions arising on contracts, and to establish, construct and maintain a sewage system for such sewage district and to issue bonds to pay therefor. The duly elected members of the township board shall be ex officio the governing body of such sewage district or districts, and each shall receive as com- pensation for services rendered the sum of $3.50 per day for the time actually and necessarily spent in performing the duties required by this act. The amount of such compensation shall be determined by the town- ship board as provided by K.S.A. 80-207, and amendments thereto.

All taxes and special assessments herein provided for shall be levied against property within such sewage district, and all bonds herein pro- vided for shall be issued by such sewage district and shall not be an obligation of or lien against property in any part of the township which lies outside of such sewage district or against property in any other sewage districts in such township. The cost of the construction of all main, inter- cepting and outfall sewers and of all sewage disposal plants, and of the maintenance of the entire sewage system of such sewage district, shall be borne by the real property within such sewage district as a whole. The cost of the construction of lateral sewers within such sewage district shall be borne by the property benefited by such lateral sewers, by the organ- ization of lateral sewer districts or otherwise as herein provided.

Sec./007006/K.S.A. 19-3611, 68-525, 68-531, 68-542, 80-207, 80-302, 80- 304, 80-410, 80-1204, 80-1407, 80-1421, 80-1422, 80-1501, 80-1503, 80- 1544 and 80-2002 and K.S.A. 1995 Supp. 68-530 are hereby repealed.

Sec./007006/This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the Kansas register.

Approved April 20, 1996.

Published in the Kansas Register: May 2, 1996.