A. To pay all or any part of the cost of the improvement, including those items set out in Subsection C of Section 4-55A-7 NMSA 1978, the board may proceed pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-55A-12.1 NMSA 1978 or may issue in the name of the county bonds in such form as the board may determine or assignable certificates in an amount not exceeding the total cost of the improvement and maturing not more than twenty years from the date of issuance. If the bonds or assignable certificates recite that:

(1) the proceedings relating to making the improvement and levying the assessments as provided in Section 4-55A-18 NMSA 1978 or placing the preliminary lien as provided in Section 4-55A-7 NMSA 1978 to pay for the improvement have been done in compliance with law; and

(2) all prerequisites to the fixing of the assessment lien or placing the preliminary lien against the tract or parcel of land benefited by the improvement have been performed, such recital shall be conclusive evidence of the facts recited.

B. The assignable certificates shall:

(1) declare the liability of the owner of the tract or parcel of land so assessed or the liability of the tract or parcel of land so assessed for payment of the assessment, interest and penalties;

(2) fix the terms and conditions of the certificates; and

(3) accurately describe the tract or parcel of land covered by the certificate.

C. The bonds shall:

(1) recite the terms and conditions for their issuance;

(2) be payable from money collected from the preliminary assessment lien authorized in Section 4-55A-7 NMSA 1978 and, if so payable, also payable from the proceeds of bonds payable from the final assessment lien authorized in Section 4-55A-18 NMSA 1978; or

(3) be payable from the money collected from the assessments authorized in Section 4-55A-18 NMSA 1978; provided that if assessments are made payable over more than one period of time as permitted by Section 4-55A-19 NMSA 1978, specified portions of the bonds may be payable from money collected from those assessments payable over that period of time that generally corresponds to the period of time over which such specified portions of the bonds are payable; and

(4) bear a rate or rates of interest that shall not exceed the rate of interest on the deferred installments of the assessments or, if more than one rate of interest is specified for assessments as permitted by Section 4-55A-19 NMSA 1978, on that portion of the deferred installments of assessments from which that specified portion of the bonds may be payable. Payment of the bonds issued for the construction of a project described in Subsection A of Section 4-55A-4 NMSA 1978 may be supplemented from gasoline tax and special fuel excise tax distributed to the county pursuant to Section 7-1-6.39 NMSA 1978 on or before a date not more than twelve months after the last deferred installment of an assessment is due from the owner of a tract or parcel of land so assessed.

D. The bonds may be issued to the contractor in payment for the construction of the improvement or may be issued and sold:

(1) in payment of the county's proportion of the cost of the improvement;

(2) in payment of the proportionate cost, if the improvement is done in cooperation with another governmental agency;

(3) in payment of the construction of the improvement done under contract; or

(4) in reimbursement to the county, if the county constructed the improvement with county-owned or -leased equipment and county employees.

E. Bonds or assignable certificates may be sold at a public or private sale at a discount.

History: Laws 1980, ch. 91, § 20; 1983, ch. 265, § 20; 1991, ch. 199, § 43; 1998, ch. 47, § 8.

The 1998 amendment, effective July 1, 1998, in Subsection A, inserted "proceed pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-55A-12.1 NMSA 1978 or may" and in Subsection C(4), substituted "excise" for "use" and substituted "pursuant to Section 7-1-6.39 NMSA 1978" for "under Section 7-13-9 NMSA 1978".

The 1991 amendment, effective April 4, 1991, in Subsection A, inserted "including those items set out in Subsection C of Section 4-55A-7 NMSA 1978" near the beginning "and maturing not more than twenty years from the date of issuance" at the end of the first sentence, inserted "as provided in Section 4-55A-18 NMSA 1978 or placing the preliminary lien as provided in Section 4-55A-7 NMSA 1978" in Paragraph (1) and inserted "or placing the preliminary lien" in Paragraph (2); and, in Subsection C, added present Paragraph (2), redesignated former Paragraphs (2) and (3) as Paragraphs (3) and (4), substituted "project described in Subsection A of Section 4-55A-4 NMSA 1978" for "street, alley, curb, gutter or sidewalk project" in Paragraph (4), and made minor stylistic changes.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 64 Am. Jur. 2d Public Securities and Obligations §§ 1 to 8.

20 C.J.S. Counties §§ 208 to 226.