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Improvement District Restructure
The boundary of every improvement district is described in the document that the province
approved when the improvement district was incorporated. The Letters
Patent describe the boundary, establish the name of the
improvement district, the size of its board and the
services for which it is responsible for
providing.
Boundary Extension
An example of an improvement district restructure is where the owner of an adjoining private water utility wants to transfer ownership to an improvement district. This would have implications for such things as the improvement district’s billing system, budget, maintenance program, bylaws, work loads and insurance.Prior to taking over responsibility for a private water utility, the trustees would need
to negotiate the terms and conditions for the transfer. In addition, approval would need to
be obtained from the office of the Comptroller of Water Rights and the property owners
receiving water from the water utility. There is no requirement for a boundary extension
proposal to be approved by the property owners in the improvement district that are not
located in the area to be included within the boundary.
Conversion
When the conversion of an improvement district occurs, the Letters Patent are revoked by Cabinet order and provision is made in the order for all of the assets, liabilities and bylaws of the improvement district to be transferred to a municipality or regional district. Provision is also made to ensure that the funds of the former improvement district are used for the same purpose for which they were originally intended. The mayor and council of a municipality, or the regional board of a regional district, then become responsible for making decisions about the services that the former improvement district operated and administered. However, they can delegate
(115 KB) some of these
responsibilities to a management committee or commission.There are a wide variety of reasons for a conversion to occur.
Municipalities and
regional
districts have a number of advantages over improvement districts in areas such as insurance
rates, resources, expertise, cost recovery methods, borrowing rates and access to grants
from senior governments. Conversion often occurs where these advantages are evident.
Conversion must occur when a community with an improvement district
incorporates as a municipality. In
addition, conversion may occur when a municipality extends its
boundary to include an
improvement district.
A vote of the residents within the improvement district is not required for an improvement
district conversion except in the case of incorporation as a municipality. The province
generally supports improvement district conversions where there is evidence of local
support for it from the board of trustees, the municipality or regional district, and the
residents.
The Local Government Department reviews all applications for boundary changes
and conversions before they are submitted to Cabinet for consideration. In order
to assist improvement district, local governments and others with these issues,
the Improvement District Conversion Guide
(245 KB) was developed to provide comprehensive information about the process and its
implications. Further information about Letters Patent and boundary changes can be found in the
Improvement District
Manual (235 KB).
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