Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

475.58 Obligations; elections to determine issue.

Subdivision 1. Approval by electors; exceptions. Obligations authorized by law or charter may be issued by any municipality upon obtaining the approval of a majority of the electors voting on the question of issuing the obligations, but an election shall not be required to authorize obligations issued:

(1) to pay any unpaid judgment against the municipality;

(2) for refunding obligations;

(3) for an improvement or improvement program, which obligation is payable wholly or partly from the proceeds of special assessments levied upon property specially benefited by the improvement or by an improvement within the improvement program, or of taxes levied upon the increased value of property within a district for the development of which the improvement is undertaken, including obligations which are the general obligations of the municipality, if the municipality is entitled to reimbursement in whole or in part from the proceeds of such special assessments or taxes and not less than 20 percent of the cost of the improvement or the improvement program is to be assessed against benefited property or is to be paid from the proceeds of federal grant funds or a combination thereof, or is estimated to be received from such taxes within the district;

(4) payable wholly from the income of revenue producing conveniences;

(5) under the provisions of a home rule charter which permits the issuance of obligations of the municipality without election;

(6) under the provisions of a law which permits the issuance of obligations of a municipality without an election;

(7) to fund pension or retirement fund liabilities pursuant to section 475.52, subdivision 6;

(8) under a capital improvement plan under section 373.40;

(9) to fund facilities as provided in subdivision 3; and

(10) under sections 469.1813 to 469.1815 (property tax abatement authority bonds).

Subd. 1a. Resubmission limitation. If the electors do not approve the issuing of obligations at an election required by subdivision 1, the question of authorizing the obligations for the same purpose and in the same amount may not be submitted to the electors within a period of 180 days from the date the election was held. If the question of authorizing the obligations for the same purpose and in the same amount is not approved a second time it may not be submitted to the electors within a period of one year after the second election.

Subd. 2. Funding, refunding. Any county, city, town, or school district whose outstanding gross debt, including all items referred to in section 475.51, subdivision 4, exceed in amount 1.62 percent of its market value may issue bonds under this subdivision for the purpose of funding or refunding such indebtedness or any part thereof. A list of the items of indebtedness to be funded or refunded shall be made by the recording officer and treasurer and filed in the office of the recording officer. The initial resolution of the governing body shall refer to this subdivision as authority for the issue, state the amount of bonds to be issued and refer to the list of indebtedness to be funded or refunded. This resolution shall be published once each week for two successive weeks in a legal newspaper published in the municipality or if there be no such newspaper, in a legal newspaper published in the county seat. Such bonds may be issued without the submission of the question of their issue to the electors unless within ten days after the second publication of the resolution a petition requesting such election signed by ten or more voters who are taxpayers of the municipality, shall be filed with the recording officer. In event such petition is filed, no bonds shall be issued hereunder unless authorized by a majority of the electors voting on the question.

Subd. 3. Expired.

Subd. 3a. Youth ice facilities. A municipality may, without regard to the election requirement under subdivision 1 or under any other provision of law or home rule charter, issue and sell obligations to refund existing debt of an indoor ice arena that is used predominantly for youth athletic activity if all the following conditions are met:

(1) the obligations are secured by a pledge of revenues from the facility; and

(2) the governing body of the municipality finds, based on analysis provided by a professional experienced in finance, that the facility's revenues and other available money will be sufficient to pay the obligations, without reliance on a property tax levy or the municipality's general purpose state aid.

Subd. 4. Proper use of bond proceeds. The proceeds of obligations issued after approval of the electors under this section may only be spent: (1) for the purposes stated in the ballot language; or (2) to pay, redeem, or defease obligations and interest, penalties, premiums, and costs of issuance of the obligations. The proceeds may not be spent for a different purpose or for an expansion of the original purpose without the approval by a majority of the electors voting on the question of changing or expanding the purpose of the obligations.

HIST: (1938-6) 1927 c 131 s 4; 1949 c 682 s 8; 1951 c 422 s 4; 1955 c 298 s 1; 1969 c 446 s 1; 1971 c 886 s 1; 1971 c 903 s 3; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1974 c 380 s 8,9; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 8 s 53; 1988 c 519 s 4; 1988 c 719 art 5 s 84; 1989 c 329 art 13 s 20; 1990 c 480 art 9 s 22; 1991 c 342 s 16; 1995 c 256 s 26,27; 1996 c 463 s 48; 1998 c 389 art 3 s 25; art 8 s 24; 1999 c 248 s 14

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes