{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-96.265","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 96.265","heading":"Extension of service to persons not currently served -- Costs -- Assessments -","body":"- Apportionment warrants -- Liens.\nThe board of waterworks may extend the waterwork corporation's facilities to provide\nwater service to persons within and outside the city of the first class, including extensions\ninto counties adjoining its county of origin. In extending service to persons not presently\nserved within the city and county of the waterwork corporation's origin it may, but is not\nrequired to, make water line exte nsions recovering the cost thereof, KRS 96.539\nnotwithstanding, by assessment as provided in this section.\n(1) The board of waterworks, acting on its own motion, may hold a public hearing to\nconsider the extension of the waterwork corporation's facilities to provide water\nservice to persons not currently served. Alternatively, in response to a petition\nsigned by the majority of owners in an area not currently served by the waterwork\ncorporation's service, which petition shall describe the area proposed to b e served,\nthe board of waterworks shall hold a public hearing to consider the benefits of\nextending its service to that area. Notice of the hearing shall be published in\naccordance with KRS Chapter 424. The board of waterworks shall designate a\nmember of the board or an officer of the waterworks corporation to preside over the\nhearing. Following the public hearing, the board of waterworks shall determine\nwhether it is feasible and beneficial to extend its service. If the board of waterworks\ndetermines that it is feasible and beneficial to extend its service, it shall refer the\nmatter to the legislative body governing the area to which service shall be extended.\nIf the legislative body determines that service should be extended, it shall pass an\nordinance providing for the extension of service.\n(2) The costs of such extension shall be apportioned by the ordinance against the\nproperty to which the waterwork corporation's service will be made available by\nreason of such extension according to an equitable basis,  considering the size,\nconfiguration, and suitability as building sites of the lots or tracts to be served. Any\nof the following methods, or a combination thereof, may be used:\n(a) The costs of such extension may be apportioned according to the number of\nsquare feet in any lot or tract abutting the publicly -dedicated right-of-way in\nwhich the water line extension is located. The rate of apportionment shall be\nthe same for each square foot in any lot or tract abutting a publicly -dedicated\nright-of-way in which a water line extension is located, except the portions of\nany such lot or tract which lie a distance greater than a number of feet, as\nstated in the ordinance, from the water line extension, or which lie within a\nnumber of feet, as stated in the ordinan ce, from an existing water line located\nin a publicly -dedicated right-of-way which also abuts such lot or tract, shall\nnot be subject to assessment nor included in the calculations of the square\nfootage of such lot or tract. The rate of apportionment shall  be determined by\ndividing the costs of the extension by the assessable area of all lots or tracts\nabutting the publicly-dedicated right-of-way in which a water line extension is\nlocated.\n(b) The costs of such extension may be assessed against the lots or tracts\naccording to the number of feet in the lot or tract fronting on the publicly -\ndedicated right-of-way in which a water line extension is located. The rate of\napportionment shall be the same for each such foot of frontage, and shall be\ndetermined by dividing the assessable costs of the water line extension by the\ntotal front footage of all lots or tracts fronting on the part of the publicly -\ndedicated right-of-way in which a water line extension is located.\n(c) The costs of such extension may be assessed  against the lots or tracts abutting\npublicly-dedicated rights -of-way in which water line extensions are located\naccording to the value of any such lot or tract, without regard to any\nimprovements on such lots or tracts, as determined as of the date of the  most\nrecent assessment by the property valuation administrator of the county in\nwhich such lots or tracts are located. The rate of apportionment shall be the\nsame for each dollar of assessed value of lots or tracts abutting the parts of the\npublicly-dedicated right-of-way in which the water line extension is located,\nexcept portions of such lots or tracts that are a distance greater than a number\nof feet, as stated in the ordinance, from the water line extension or that are\nwithin a number of feet, as stated in the ordinance, from an existing water line\nof the corporation located in a publicly -dedicated right -of-way which also\nabuts such lot or tract shall not be assessed. The value of any lot or tract,\nportions of which are excluded from assessment, shall be determined by\nmultiplying the value of the entire property by a ratio, the numerator of which\nis the number of square feet of the lot or tract to be assessed and the\ndenominator of which is the number of square feet in the entire lot or tract.\nThe rate of apportionment shall be determined by dividing the assessable costs\nof the water line extension by the total assessed value of all assessable lots or\ntracts abutting the parts of the publicly-dedicated rights-of-way in which water\nline extensions are located.\n(d) The costs of such extension may be assessed against the lots or tracts that may\nbe served by the extension at a rate that is the same for each such lot or tract,\nwhere each such lot or tract is suitable for or limited to a single building site.\n(e) If any lots or tracts abut on more than one (1) dedicated right -of-way in which\na water line extension is made, such lots or tracts shall be assessed as if they\nabutted on only one (1) such right-of-way.\n(f) In the event of a subdivision of a lot or tract assessed under this section, which\nsubdivision requires a new water line extension, nothing herein shall prohibit\nthe assessment of the newly subdivided lots or tracts, except those that abut a\ndedicated right-of-way with an existing water line.\n(3) The waterwork corporation shall determine the percentage share of the total costs of\nthe extension to be assessed against each lot or tract and shall notify each owner of\nsuch share to be assessed against his lot or tract. Any owner may, within thirty (30)\ndays after receiving notice of the method of apportionment or the percentage share\nof the total costs to be assessed against his property, appeal the percentage share to\nbe assessed against his property by filing a written appeal with the waterwork\ncorporation setting forth the bases for the challenge. The president of the waterwork\ncorporation shall appoint one (1) or more officers of the corporation to review such\nappeal, which review may include holding a hearing on the appeal. Any\ndetermination by the off icer or officers that affects only the assessment of the\naggrieved property owner shall not require further legislative action. If, however, as\na result of the appeal, the hearing officer or officers recommend that the method of\napportionment be changed, t he matter shall be referred back to the legislative body\nthat passed the ordinance provided for in subsection (1) of this section for\nconsideration of an amendment thereto.\n(4) The cost of property service connections from the water line extension to the\nproperty line as required shall be assessed against the individual lots or tracts to\nwhich such property service connections are furnished. The costs to be assessed for\nthe property service connection shall be fixed by regulation of the board of\nwaterworks based on its experience of costs for such work. No lot or tract owner\nshall be required to connect to the water line extension by reason of this section, but\nsuch failure to connect to the water line extension shall not exempt such lot or tract\nowner from its proportionate share of the costs as provided in subsection (2) of this\nsection.\n(5) All lots or tracts abutting the publicly -dedicated right -of-way in which the water\nline extension is located shall be assessed as provided in the ordinance, except\nproperty dedicated to use for public roadways and property owned by cities of the\nfirst class and any joint agencies of cities of the first class and the counties in which\nsuch cities are located, if the extension is located in the city of the first class.\n(6) (a) The actual construction work to provide the water line extension and property\nservice connections shall be done by, or under the control of, the board of\nwaterworks.\n(b) The total cost of the water line extension, which is assessed against property\nserved under subsection (2) of this section, shall include not only the actual\nconstruction costs and the costs of any easements required for the water line\nextension, but also costs of surveys, designs, plans, specifications, notices,\ninspection, project legal and administrative services, and administration.\nHowever, costs included in the assessment which are other than actual\nconstruction costs and costs of easements shall not exceed fifteen percent\n(15%) of the actual construction costs and the costs of any easements of the\nproject.\n(7) A lien superior to all liens except the liens for state, county, city, school, and road\ntaxes and liens prior in time for other public improvem ents shall exist against the\nrespective lots or tracts of land for the cost of the water line extension for\napportionment as hereinafter provided and the interest due thereon, commencing\nwith the date of issuance of the apportionment warrant.\n(8) Upon completion of the water line extension, the board of waterworks shall issue all\napportionment warrants against the properties assessed and shall immediately list\nthe record owners thereof in alphabetical order upon a register kept for that purpose.\nEach apportionment warrant shall be payable to the waterworks corporation, or its\nassignee, in equal monthly installments, not exceeding two hundred forty (240)\nmonths, of principal and interest and shall be the obligation of the owners of and a\nlien upon the applicable lots or tracts until paid in full. The apportionment warrants\nmay bear interest at an annual fixed rate as then determined by the board of\nwaterworks pursuant to KRS 58.430. When the warrant has been paid in full, the\nholder thereof shall notify the bo ard of waterworks, and it shall mark upon the\nregister the fact of payment and release the lien. If any installment of principal or of\ninterest on the warrant is not paid when due, the holder thereof may foreclose the\nlien securing the payment of the warra nt in the same manner as mortgage liens are\nforeclosed.\n(9) The lien shall exist from the date of the apportionment warrant. The board of\nwaterworks shall cause such warrant or a notice thereof to be recorded in the office\nof the clerk of the county in which the affected property is located.\n(10) After any water line extensions have been constructed in conformity with this\nsection, the board of waterworks shall notify each affected property owner of the\ncost apportioned to his property at his address as shown at the time the notice is sent\non the records of the property valuation administrator for the county in which the\naffected property is located. Failure of any property owner to receive this notice\nshall not affect the validity of the lien.\n(11) If, by p rivate agreement with the owners of lots or tracts, the waterworks\ncorporation extends its water lines to those lots or tracts, and the private agreement\nprovides for a lien on the lots or tracts to secure payment to the waterworks\ncorporation of the cost of the extension, and a notice of such lien is recorded, that\nlien shall be superior to all liens except the liens for state, county, city, school, and\nroad taxes and liens prior in time for other public improvements.","path":["KRS Chapter 96"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=26212","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:57Z","sha256":"245519d4bd0869ae4a7a1102ac82c26b2c4c8ae23b87b62c0592bae41ea08843","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-96.260","next":"us-ky/krs-96.270"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}