Title 21, Governmental Finance

1. The term "taxing district" when used in this chapter, unless the context thereof clearly requires otherwise, means any county, city, school district, township, park district, water conservation and flood control district, Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, county park di…

Any warrant upon the treasurer of any taxing district must be paid in the order of its presentation for payment, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. Such warrant must be so drawn that when signed by the treasurer in an appropriate place it becomes a check on the taxing …

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no warrant purporting to be drawn upon the funds in the hands of the treasurer of any taxing district may be issued in excess of the amount of cash in the hands of the treasurer exclusive of sinking funds and funds for the payment of …

In case any taxing district is unable to sell its certificates of indebtedness, it may issue warrants in payment of current expenses in excess of cash on hand, but not in excess of eighty-five percent of taxes levied for the fiscal year of issue but uncollected and not otherwise …

The governing board of any political subdivision, in the event that there have not been funds in the treasury of such subdivision sufficient to pay the salaries and wages of the officials and employees, including publication fees for official printing by the official newspaper of…

Whenever the law authorizes the officers of any taxing district to issue warrants in excess of the amount of cash available in any fund upon which warrants are drawn for payment, the treasurer of that taxing district, when any warrant is presented to the treasurer for payment, if…

The treasurer of every taxing district shall keep a warrant register, which must show in columns appropriately arranged: 1. The number and registered number, date, and amount of each warrant presented. 2. The particular fund upon which the same is drawn. 3. The date of presentati…

Whenever the treasurer of a taxing district has received money belonging to any particular fund sufficient to pay the warrant drawn against such fund which by the treasurer's warrant register appears to be next payable, such treasurer immediately shall notify by mail the person i…

The treasurer of every taxing district, daily, as moneys are received, shall foot the several columns of the treasurer's cashbook and register and carry the amounts forward. At the close of each year, in case the amount of money received by such treasurer is insufficient to pay t…

The cashbook and register of the treasurer of any taxing district must be open at all times to the inspection of any person in whose name any warrant is registered and unpaid.

The treasurer of any taxing district who fails to register any warrant in the order of its presentation, or to pay the same in the order of its registration, is liable on the treasurer's official bond to each and every person the payment of whose warrant is postponed thereby, in …

In this chapter unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Political subdivision" means a local governmental unit created by statute or by the Constitution of North Dakota for local governmental or other public purposes. 2. "Revenues" means any of the following:…

Political subdivisions may borrow against revenues through the issuance of certificates of indebtedness. A certificate of indebtedness consists of an agreement on the part of a political subdivision to pay a stated sum on or before a specified date, together with interest thereon…

A tax is deemed to have been levied when it has been voted by the tax levying board and certified to the county auditor. Each certificate of indebtedness issued wholly or in part against revenues that consist of levied and uncollected taxes must bear the certificate of the county…

The county auditor shall keep a record in which must be entered, as to each certificate of indebtedness issued by a political subdivision and certified to by the county auditor as provided in section 21-02-03, the same information as required for the recording of bonds in section…

The county auditor, upon request of the officers of a political subdivision, shall certify to them the amount of uncollected taxes remaining upon the tax lists to the credit of the political subdivision on the last day of the preceding month, and annually shall certify such infor…

When a political subdivision issues a certificate of indebtedness under this chapter, the political subdivision, by resolution authorizing the issuance of the certificate of indebtedness, shall establish a sinking fund for the retirement of the certificate of indebtedness, includ…

If sufficient funds are not collected to retire outstanding certificates of indebtedness issued wholly or in part against revenues that consist of uncollected taxes within two months after their due date, there must be set aside monthly from current tax collections, exclusive of …

If the governing board of a political subdivision determines to borrow upon certificates of indebtedness, the governing board shall follow the procedure and is subject to the penalties prescribed in the provisions relating to the sale of bonds in chapter 21-03.

After issuance by a political subdivision, a certificate of indebtedness that recites that it is issued under this chapter is conclusively presumed to be fully authorized and issued under the laws of the state, and any person or governmental unit is estopped from questioning its …

Payments of the principal of and interest on a certificate of indebtedness issued under this chapter are exempt from all taxes, except inheritance, estate, and transfer taxes, imposed by this state, any county or city, or any other political subdivision. However, a political subd…

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…

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…

1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school board may not enter an agreement pursuant to internal revenue service revenue ruling 63-20 under which payments of any kind would be required by the school district to any building authority or other entity that incurs indeb…

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…

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.