Title 21 — Governmental Finance

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Governing body" means a board of county commissioners, city council, board of city commissioners, school board of any school district, and the similarly constituted and acting board of any other municip…

This chapter is not applicable: 1. To issues of bonds, warrants, or other forms of public securities issued on account of public improvements and for the payment of which special assessments are or shall be levied upon and against property benefited thereby which do not constitut…

Defects and irregularities in any proceeding had in substantial compliance with this chapter, when the issue is for a lawful purpose and is unaffected by fraud and does not exceed any constitutional or statutory limitation of amount, do not invalidate the bonds issued nor the ind…

Omitted.

1. A municipality may borrow money and issue municipal obligations for the purpose specified and by the procedure provided in this chapter, and for no other purpose and in no other manner, except as otherwise provided in section 21-03-02. A municipality may not incur indebtedness…

The amount limited in section 21-03-04 includes such indebtedness only as may be incurred independently by a municipality for its own separate purposes and does not include any indebtedness, in whole or in part, that may be incurred independently by any other municipality for its…

Municipalities are empowered to borrow money, subject to the general limitations of amounts prescribed by sections 21-03-04 and 21-03-05, and subject, in certain cases, to the further limitations prescribed by the section, and to issue bonds thereof for the purposes enumerated in…

A municipality or governing board of a municipality may not issue bonds without being first authorized to do so, at a primary or general election if the municipality is a county, city, public school district, or park district, by a vote equal to sixty percent of all the qualified…

No bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter may bear interest at a rate or rates and be sold privately at a price resulting in an average net interest cost higher than twelve percent per annum. There is no interest rate ceiling on those issues sold at public sale or to t…

Proceedings for the issuance of bonds under the authority of this chapter must be instituted by the adoption of an initial resolution therefor. Such initial resolution must state: 1. The maximum amount of bonds proposed to be issued. 2. The purpose for which they are proposed to …

The initial resolution may be: 1. Adopted by a majority vote of the governing body at any regular meeting thereof or at any special meeting of which notice has been given as required by law, without any previous action thereon or request therefor by the qualified electors or prop…

1. The initial resolution or petition providing for the issuance of bonds, whether adopted by a majority vote of the school board of a school district or proposed by the qualified electors of the school district as provided for in section 21-03-10, may, within the discretion of t…

1. Upon or after the adoption of an initial resolution by the governing body, or at the first meeting of the governing body held after the filing of a petition and proposed initial resolution by the qualified electors as specified in subsection 2 of section 21-03-10, the governin…

The auditor, secretary, or similarly acting officer, by whatever name designated, of the municipality shall give notice of election by causing a notice thereof to be published once each week for at least two weeks prior to the date thereof in the official newspaper of such munici…

The ballot for a bond election must be separate from other ballots used on the same day for other elections, but the separate ballot may be on the same paper or electronic ballot. The ballot must be written or printed, and must state the question in substantially the following fo…

Proceedings for the issuance of bonds under this chapter, if no election is required, must be instituted by a resolution of the governing body containing the facts required for an initial resolution as prescribed by section 21-03-09. At or after the adoption of the resolution, th…

The governing body of every municipality issuing bonds under the authority of this chapter, before the delivery thereof, shall levy by recorded resolution or ordinance a direct, annual tax which, together with any other moneys provided by, or sources of revenue authorized by, the…

Every municipality which has first complied with all requirements prescribed for and made applicable to it by this chapter, but not otherwise, may borrow money and issue and sell its municipal bonds to the amount and for the purpose or purposes specified in the initial resolution…

Every municipality shall provide and keep a record book in which its auditor or secretary shall record a full and correct statement of every step or proceeding had or taken in the course of authorizing and issuing municipal bonds, including a statement of the affirmative and nega…

Every municipal bond must be a negotiable instrument payable to bearer, or to bearer or the registered owner, with or without interest coupons attached, interest to be payable annually or semiannually at the rate or rates specified in the accepted bid for the purchase of said bon…

Bonds issued under this chapter must be authorized by resolution, bear such date or dates, be in such denomination or denominations, be in such form, be subject to redemption with or without premium, and be subject to such other terms or conditions as in the judgment of the munic…

All bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter must contain a provision that interest thereon ceases at maturity unless the holder thereof presents the same for payment and payment is refused.

Municipal bonds must be executed in the name of and for the municipality issuing them, by its qualified officers, who for that purpose shall sign the same by manual or facsimile signatures in their official capacities, as follows: 1. For a county, the chairman of the board of cou…

Repealed by S.L. 1993, ch. 239, § 9.

Repealed by S.L. 1993, ch. 239, § 9.

The county auditor shall keep a bond record in which must be entered, as to each issue of bonds issued by a taxing district in the county, a record of the date of issuance, the aggregate amount issued, the date of maturity of each bond, the rate of interest, the amount of the lev…

All bonds authorized pursuant to this chapter which are not delivered to the purchaser and paid for within three years of their date must be canceled. The registering and certifying officer, in the presence of at least two electors of the municipality which authorized their issua…

A municipality may not sell or enter any contract for the sale of any issue of its bonds authorized by this chapter in an amount exceeding one million dollars, for whatever purpose issued, without first advertising for bids in the manner prescribed by section 21-03-26, except as …

A notice calling for bids for each proposed issue of municipal bonds must be published at least once in the official newspaper of the municipality, or, if the municipality does not have an official newspaper, then in the county's official newspaper, not less than ten days nor mor…

The notice must specify the time and place at which bids will be received. The place where bids shall be received must be fixed by the governing board and may be within or outside the state. At the time and place specified, the governing board of the taxing district must be repre…

The governing body of any municipality calling for bids for the purchase of municipal bonds, as provided in sections 21-03-26 and 21-03-27, may in its discretion determine, and may state in the notice calling for such bids, that only sealed bids shall be received and considered.

All bids must be accompanied by a certified check, cashier's check, surety bond, or bank draft, in the amount of not less than one percent of the bid. After all bids have been received, they must be delivered forthwith to the governing body of the municipality, which shall award …

No auditor, secretary, or other official of a municipality may accept, from a bidder or prospective bidder at a sale of bonds, a commission or any other compensation for the official's services rendered or to be rendered in connection with the issuance, sale, or delivery of such …

The procedure prescribed in this chapter relative to calling for bids upon the sale of municipal bonds is not required in the case of bonds issued under the authorization of subdivision b or c of subsection 7 of section 21-03-06, or in case bonds are sold to: 1. The state board o…

Repealed by S.L. 1993, ch. 239, § 9. 21-03-32. Departments prohibited from purchasing bonds at higher prices within five years. Repealed by S.L. 1993, ch. 239, § 9.

Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 106, § 673.

The holder of any bond payable to "bearer or registered owner", as authorized by section 21-03-18, issued by any municipality, may have the ownership thereof registered as to the principal thereof by the county auditor, or in the case of a municipality of over four thousand popul…

After registration of a municipal bond as provided in section 21-03-34, no transfer thereof is valid unless made on the records of the county auditor or the records of the municipality by the registered owner in person, or by the registered owner's duly authorized attorney, and s…

All money borrowed by municipalities and all money received in payment of any tax levied in accordance with this chapter is lawful money of the United States, and all municipal bonds must be payable in such money.

The governing body of any municipality indebted on account of outstanding municipal bonds is authorized in its discretion to appoint a fiscal agent located in some city within or without the state, or if deemed convenient, one such agent, in each of two cities. Every such fiscal …

All borrowed money must be paid into the treasury of the municipality borrowing it, must be kept there until used, in a fund separate and distinct from all other funds, to be used for the purpose for which it was borrowed and for no other purpose except that such funds may be tem…

The proceeds of any municipal bond sale, which have not been used for the purpose issued within three years after date of issue, may be disposed of by the governing body of the municipality as follows: 1. Sufficient funds must be transferred to the sinking fund of the issue in an…

After any municipality has provided, as required by section 21-03-16, for an issue of bonds for a lawful purpose which can be accomplished only through performance of an executory contract by some other contracting party, such contract may be entered into before the actual execut…

The city auditor, park district treasurer, or business manager of the school district or similarly acting officer of the respective municipality is custodian of each of its sinking funds, unless the governing body by resolution appoints the county treasurer.

When the county treasurer is custodian of any sinking fund, the county treasurer may not remit to the treasurer of the taxing district any taxes levied or any other moneys received for the purpose of paying the interest on or retiring the principal of bonds issued, but the county…

The sinking fund must be disbursed by the county treasurer or treasurer of the municipality, as the case may be, upon the directions therefor by resolution of the governing body of the municipality issuing such bonds. As such bonds mature, the county treasurer, upon warrant drawn…

Taking care that enough cash is retained always in the sinking fund to provide for annual payments of principal and interest, the surplus, if any, may be loaned or invested under the direction of the proper governing body as follows: 1. In the outstanding bonds for the payment of…

Money may not be withdrawn from a sinking fund and appropriated to any purpose other than the purpose for which the fund was instituted until that purpose has been accomplished, except as authorized by section 6-09.4-23 and sections 21-03-42 through 21-03-45.

Any surplus in a sinking fund after all of the bonds for the payment of which the fund was created have been paid and canceled and after all investments of the second and third class finally have been disposed of or realized upon, must, within two years, be placed in the general …

When in this chapter a county officer is required to take any action with reference to the bond issues or sinking funds of any municipality of such county, if such municipality is situated partly within one county and partly within another or others, the governing body of such mu…