Drain petition signers may receive funding and process information

A person seeking a freeholder’s signature may explain how the proposed drain would be funded and may provide a document with project and contact information. This applies to petitions for drains in both drainage districts and intercounty drainage districts. The document may include a project flow chart, the required written warning about possible assessments, contact information, meeting-notice information, and instructions for removing a signature. The text makes the verbal notice and document optional, not mandatory. The verbal notice or document may be provided before the person obtains the freeholder’s signature.

A municipality may sign a petition to locate, establish, and construct a drain instead of obtaining the required freeholder signatures. For a drainage district, a city, village, or township must be authorized by its governing body and must accept at least the stated share of the drain’s assessments; for an intercounty district, each petitioning municipality must accept assessments for any part of the cost for public health. A municipality-only petition is not subject to the freeholder-signature, unpaid-tax, and signature-information rules listed in the related subsection. The petition still concerns a drain described in the order establishing the drainage district. The supplied text does not state the exact percentage required for a drainage-district petition. The petition may be filed after the drainage district or intercounty drainage district has been established and the establishing order has been filed.