A regular meeting of the registered voters who are residing within the boundaries of a district shall be held at the time of the budget hearing as provided by the Nebraska Budget Act, and special meetings may be called by the board of directors at any time. Notice of a meeting shall be given by the secretary-treasurer by one publication in the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper Notice of the place and time of a meeting shall be published at least five days prior to the date set for meeting.

      The board shall reorganize itself annually. Election of directors of existing districts shall be held by the registered voters present at the regular annual meeting provided for in section 35-507 which is held in the calendar year during which the terms of directors are scheduled to expire. As the terms of these members expire, their successors shall be elected for four years and hold office until their successors have been elected. If the district contains more than one township, each township may be represented on the board of directors unless there are more than five townships within the district, and in such event there shall be only five directors on the board and no township shall have more than one member elected to such board of directors. In case of a vacancy on account of resignation, death, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of a member, the remaining members of the board shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be from the same area as the person whose office is vacated, if possible, otherwise from the district at large.

     The members of the board of directors of a rural or suburban fire protection district may receive up to twenty-five dollars for each meeting of the board, but not to exceed twelve meetings in any calendar year, and reimbursement for any actual expenses necessarily incurred as a direct result of their responsibilities and duties as members of the board engaged upon the business of the district.

     The board of directors shall have the power and duty to determine a general fire protection and rescue policy for the district and shall annually fix the amount of money for the proposed budget statement as may be deemed sufficient and necessary in carrying out such contemplated program for the ensuing fiscal year, including the amount of principal and interest upon the indebtedness of the district for the ensuing year. After the adoption of the budget statement, the president and secretary of the district shall request the amount of tax to be levied which the district requires for the adopted budget statement for the ensuing year to the proper county board on or before August 1 of each year. Such board shall levy a tax not to exceed ten and one-half cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in such district when the district is a rural or suburban fire protection district, for the maintenance of the fire protection district for the fiscal year as provided by law, plus such levy as is authorized to be made under subdivision (13) of section 35-508, all such levies being subject to section 77-3443. The tax shall be collected as other taxes are collected in the county, deposited with the county treasurer, and placed to the credit of the rural or suburban fire protection district so authorizing the same to be paid to the secretary-treasurer of such district as is provided for by subsection (3) of this section or to be remitted to the county treasurer of the county in which the greatest portion of the valuation of the district is located as is provided for by subsection (2) of this section. For purposes of section 77-3443, the county board of the county in which the greatest portion of the valuation of the district is located shall approve the levy.

     All such taxes collected or received for the district by the treasurer of any other county than the one in which the greatest portion of the valuation of the district is located shall be remitted to the treasurer of the county in which the greatest portion of the valuation of the district is located at least quarterly. All such taxes collected or received shall be placed to the credit of such district in the treasury of the county in which the greatest portion of the valuation of the district is located.

     It shall be the duty of the secretary-treasurer of the district to apply for and receive from the county treasurer of the county in which collected or from the county treasurer of the county in which the greatest portion of the valuation of the district is located, if such district is located in more than one county, all money to the credit of the rural or suburban fire protection district or collected for the same by such county treasurer, upon an order of the treasurer countersigned by the president of such district. The money shall be paid out upon warrants drawn upon the secretary-treasurer by authority of the board of directors of the district bearing the signature of the secretary-treasurer and the countersignature of the president of the rural or suburban fire protection district.

     In no case shall the amount of tax levy exceed the amount of funds to be received from taxation according to the adopted budget statement of the district.