Municipal Service Benefit Unit

• Petition by property owners - A request in writing submitted by the property owners of lands involved in a proposed MSBU area, requesting that the Board of provide improvements or services in their area.
  
• Form of petition - The petition shall contain the following information:
  Signatures as they appear on the ownership documents of the owners of the lands involved in the proposed benefit area. Legal descriptions or property addresses as they appear on the tax roll or legal ownership documents of the lots or land shall be opposite the names of the signed petitioners, along with a phone number.
• General description of improvement(s) requested by the property owners. A designated individual, including his/her address and telephone number who will be or act as the official representatives of the petitioners.
  
• Submitting the petition - The petition shall be submitted to the Road & Bridge Department/M.S.B.U. Program for administrative evaluation and review and for recommendations to the Board. The administrative evaluation shall include a determination of the adequacy or availability of funds and the estimated total cost of the proposed improvements. The Road & Bridge Department/M.S.B.U. Program shall verify all signatures on the petition as affected property owners.
  
• Preliminary cost estimate - The preliminary cost of the project shall include all costs related to the administration, engineering/design, construction, labor and materials, interest costs prior to and during construction, consultant services and all other costs attributable to the project. The Road & Bridge Department/M.S.B.U. Program shall request preparation of the preliminary cost of the proposed project to be used in the property owner survey.
  
• Property owner survey - At the time the administrative evaluation is completed, a survey letter will be prepared and mailed to each affected property owner of record as listed on the tax rolls. The results will be tabulated on the survey closing date. Each property owner within the proposed MSBU boundaries will receive one vote. In addition, any property under joint or multiple ownership or any person owning more than one lot will receive one vote. If, within the survey period, positive responses have been received from at least (66 2/3%) of the affected property owners, then significant interest in the creation of the MSBU will be deemed present. All affected property owners shall be notified in writing that the proposed project will be initiated.
  If significant interest in the creation of the MSBU is not demonstrated within the specified time frame, the property owners within the proposed benefit unit will be precluded from initiating another MSBU creation process for one year from the closing date. All affected property owners shall be notified in writing that the proposed project will not be initiated.