A very basic definition of a Road District is an association of land-owners who agree to pay an assessment or levy that will be used to repair or maintain the road they live on or have land on. By law, Road Districts are formed for the purpose of construction or maintenance.
It’s important to understand that although the state does not require a person to have any education, training or experience before forming a Road District, it is a serious business. There are many laws you must abide by, but as there is no immediate oversight outside the district, it is up to its members to provide that oversight. Road Districts can be abused by one or a small number of people who gain control of the district and misuse its funds for work or improvement that directly benefits these people.
Many Road Districts run into trouble because they do not understand the lawful purpose of a Road District and begin ‘improvement projects’ that by definition have no clear end. It is not uncommon for people to purchase property with the goal of reselling at a profit. That profit can often at least partially depend on the condition of the road where that property is. Adding guardrails or widening a road or even paving a gravel road are defined by the South Dakota State Attorney General as Improvements and are not legal uses of the funds.
The laws pertaining to the forming and running of a Road District, when followed, can help alleviate a great deal of turmoil and illegal actions, but the members must provide the watchful eye to make them work.
If you live on a road that requires maintenance- say grading and maybe filling potholes with gravel and you and a couple neighbors are paying out of pocket for those things, a Road District might be a good idea.
When you create a Road District and pose a tax or levy for your and your members, the county collects that money from each member, and then returns it to the Road District to use for the purposes you stated when you created it. At the same time, the tax you were paying to the county for the daily use of the county maintained roads ends.
The state provides a simple set of codified laws, but in reality, there is almost never a one-size-fits-all solution. In order to avoid the most common pitfalls of Road Districts, it’s important to understand the needs and wants of all involved.
Some things to think about: people who own land in your district but don’t live at that land should get an absentee owner discount. If the Road District was formed to construct a road, then the absentee owner would be paying a bit for that, IF that road was something his property would be using. Absentee owners should not be charged for snow removal or wear and tear on the road caused by the people who live there going back and forth on a daily basis.
For it to be fair, the tax should be calculated on a sliding scale. The farther back you live, thus the more road you use and the more you pay for that road. This is not something being done on a state or even county level, but can be configured for your particular district. Additionally, this is something we can ask our legislatures look into.
The best Road Districts with least turmoil have a few things in common. One is transparency. There is a whole chapter of codified laws referred to as the Open Meeting Laws. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail, a $500 fine or both; or (b) a reprimand by the Open Meeting Commission (“OMC”).