Sec. 701.

(1) Subject to subsection (3), if a municipality has municipal securities outstanding, or with the approval of its electors has authorized the issuance of municipal securities to be paid from collections of its next tax levy, an officer or official body charged with a duty in connection with the determination of the amount of the next taxes to be raised or with the levying of the next taxes, shall include all of the following in the amount of taxes levied each year:

(a) An amount such that the estimated collections will be sufficient to promptly pay, when due, the interest on all municipal securities and the portion of the principal falling due whether by maturity or by mandatory redemption before the time of the following year's tax collection.

(b) An amount, if there are outstanding mandatory redemption refunding securities, sufficient to provide the sum required to be deposited, by the ordinance or resolution authorizing the issue, into the sinking fund for that purpose before the time of the following year's tax collection.

(c) An amount, if there are outstanding mandatory redemption municipal securities other than refunding securities not required to be redeemed in annual amounts before the maturity of the outstanding mandatory redemption municipal securities, that if deposited annually into a sinking fund will, with the existing sinking fund pertaining to the municipal securities and the increment of the municipal securities, be sufficient to pay the municipal securities at maturity.

(d) An amount necessary to pay debt service charges or obligations on municipal securities or agreements described in section 317(5) falling due in the immediately preceding fiscal year, to the extent that the tax levy in the preceding fiscal year was inadequate to pay, when due, the debt service charges or obligations on municipal securities or agreements described in section 317(5). The municipality shall do 1 or more of the following with the proceeds of the tax levy:

(i) Deposit in the debt retirement fund established for the municipal securities and used to pay debt service charges or obligations on municipal securities or agreements described in section 317(5).

(ii) Use to pay debt service on short-term municipal securities issued under section 403(5).

(iii) Use to reimburse the municipality for any advances of funds used for the purposes described in subparagraph (i) or (ii).

(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the amount required to be levied in a year for the purposes prescribed in that subsection, by the terms of an ordinance or resolution authorizing the issuance of the municipal securities.

(3) If the municipal securities were authorized or issued before December 23, 1978, or were approved by the electors of a municipality, the municipality shall levy the full amount of taxes required by this section for the payment of the municipal securities without limitation as to rate or amount and in addition to other taxes that the municipality may be authorized to levy. If the municipal securities were authorized or issued by a municipality after December 22, 1978, and were not approved by the electors of the municipality, the municipality shall set aside each year from the levy and collection of ad valorem taxes as required by this section as a first budget obligation for the payment of the municipal securities. However, the ad valorem taxes shall be subject to applicable charter, statutory, or constitutional rate limitations.

(4) If there is surplus money on hand for the payment of principal or interest at the time of making an annual tax levy, and provision has not been made in the authorizing resolution for the disposition of that money, the annual levy for principal or interest shall be adjusted to reflect available funds.

(5) Money remaining in a debt retirement fund from the levy of a tax or an account within a debt retirement fund from the levy of a tax after the retirement of all municipal securities payable from that fund shall be used in the following order of priority:

(a) To pay other outstanding unlimited tax full faith and credit municipal securities.

(b) To pay other outstanding limited tax full faith and credit municipal securities.

(c) To be deposited in the general fund of the municipality.

(6) As taxes are collected, there shall be set aside that portion of the collections that is allocable to the payment of the principal and interest on the municipal securities. The portion set aside shall be divided pro rata among the various sinking funds and debt retirement funds in accordance with the amount levied for that purpose. Tax collections paid into a debt retirement fund, if the fund is for the payment of more than 1 issue of municipal securities, shall be allocated on the books and records of the municipality between the various issues in accordance with the amounts levied for that purpose.

(7) An officer who willfully fails to perform duties required by this section is personally liable to the municipality or to a holder of a municipal security for loss or damage arising from his or her failure.

(8) As used in this section, “tax levy” includes special assessments.

History: 2001, Act 34, Eff. Mar. 1, 2002 ;-- Am. 2002, Act 500, Imd. Eff. July 3, 2002