Sec. 2. P&SL 1953, c. 17, §11, 2nd and 5th ¶¶, as enacted by P&SL 1995, c. 75, §2, are amended to read:

In order to establish a higher debt limit for the district, the trustees shall propose a new debt limit for the district, which the trustees shall submit for approval in at a districtwide referendum meeting of the district. The referendum district meeting must be called, advertised and conducted according to the law relating to municipal elections, except section 7 of this Act.__If the proposed increase in the district's debt limit is approved at the district meeting, the district shall, within 10 days of the approval, mail notice of the approval to each of the district's ratepayers and publish a notice once in a newspaper of general circulation within the district.__If within 30 days of the mailing or publication, whichever is later, not less than 10% of the ratepayers of the district file a petition with the district requesting the question to be submitted to the voters of the district for approval in a referendum election, then the trustees shall submit the question for approval in a districtwide referendum.__The referendum must be called, advertised and conducted by the Town of Madawaska according to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 2528, except that the district is responsible for calling and holding the public hearing prior to the election and that the registrar of voters is not required to prepare or the town clerk to post a new list of voters. For the purpose of registering voters, the registrar of voters must be in session on the regular workday preceding the election. The town clerk of the Town of Madawaska shall prepare the required ballots with the following question:

A debt limit proposal becomes effective immediately upon expiration of the 30-day time period described in this section, unless a petition is timely filed, in which case the debt limit proposal becomes effective immediately upon its acceptance by a majority of the legal voters within the district voting at the election. Failure of approval by the necessary majority of voters at the referendum does not prevent subsequent referenda from being held for the same purpose. The district may increase its debt limit to any amount or as often as approved by the legal voters within the district pursuant to this section.