Kansas Attorney General Opinion 1992-024

ROBERT T. STEPHAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL February 17, 1992
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 92- 24
Dennis G. Hall
Attorney for District
Tri-County Drainage District No. 1
Rossville, Kansas 66533
Re: Drainage and Levees -- General Provisions --
No-Fund Warrants for Emergencies; Procedure and
Timing Requirements for Payment of Warrants
Synopsis: K.S.A. 24-133 does not mandate that the no-fund
warrants issued in an emergency situation be
retired by a single levy. However, the extended
period of time used to redeem these warrants should
not exceed a reasonable time frame. Cited herein:
K.S.A. 10-1116a; 24-133; 24-618; 19-2777; and
79-2940.
Dear Mr. Hall:
As the attorney for tri-county drainage district no. 1 you
request our opinion as to whether K.S.A. 24-133 requires
no-fund warrants issued in an emergency situation be retired
by a single levy.
In your request letter you state that the drainage district
has serious emergency conditions which require the
construction and repair of several levees. At this time the
drainage district is unable to pay for the construction and
repair and therefore wishes to issue no-fund warrants pursuant
to K.S.A. 24 - 133. However, it is your opinion that $200,000

in warrants would be necessary, an amount too great for the
residents to incur in a one year period. You ask, therefore,
if K.S.A. 24-133 allows the drainage district to stretch out
the payment of these warrants over a period of time.
K.S.A. 24-133 states in pertinent part:
"The governing body shall levy a tax at
the first tax levying period after the
issuance to pay the emergency no-fund
warrants and interest thereon. The levy
shall be in addition to all other levies
authorized or limited by law. Emergency
no-fund warrants shall be issued,
registered, redeemed and bear interest in
the manner and in the form prescribed by
K.S.A. 79-2940, except they shall be
issued without the approval of the state
board of tax appeals and shall not bear
the notation required by K.S.A. 79-2940."
Generally, no-fund warrants may only be issued with the state
board of tax appeals' approval, which states the time frame in
which the warrants must be redeemed. However, the above
statute specifically exempts drainage districts from this
requirement of going through the state board of tax appeals.
Since the statute only speaks to when the tax shall be levied
and does not state by when the bonds must be redeemed we must
look at what "purpose the statute is to accomplish and the
effect the statute may have under various constructions
presented." Joe Self Chevrolet, Inc. v. Board of County
Commissioners of Sedgwick County, 247 Kan. 625 (1990).
There are a number of statutes which allow warrants such as
K.S.A. 10-1116a, 19-2777 to be redeemed within an extended
period of time. Even K.S.A. 24-618 allows the board of
supervisors of a drainage district to determine if a tax
"shall be collected and paid in a single assessment or be
divided into not exceeding twenty annual installments."
Because the statute does not specifically address when the
no-fund warrants must be redeemed, we feel it necessary to
take into account the enormous burden a single levy would have
on the district's residents. Since other levying statutes
allow for an extended redemption period and due to the fact
that this is an emergency situation which does not allow for
calculated planning and budgeting for such expenses, it is our
opinion that the reasonable interpretation of K.S.A. 24-133

does not mandate a single levy. However, the extended period
of time used to redeem these warrants should not exceed a
reasonable time frame.
Very truly yours,
ROBERT T. STEPHAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF KANSAS
Mary Jane Stattelman
Assistant Attorney General
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