373.01 Powers.
Subdivision 1. Public corporation; listed powers. Each county is a body politic and corporate and may:
(1) Sue and be sued.
(2) Acquire and hold real and personal property for the use of the county, and lands sold for taxes as provided by law.
(3) Purchase and hold for the benefit of the county real estate sold by virtue of judicial proceedings, to which the county is a party.
(4) Sell, lease, and convey real or personal estate owned by the county, and give contracts or options to sell, lease, or convey it, and make orders respecting it as deemed conducive to the interests of the county's inhabitants.
No sale, lease, or conveyance of real estate owned by the county, except the lease of a residence acquired for the furtherance of an approved capital improvement project, nor any contract or option for it, shall be valid, without first advertising for bids or proposals in the official newspaper of the county for three consecutive weeks and once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the property is located. The notice shall state the time and place of considering the proposals, contain a legal description of any real estate, and a brief description of any personal property. Leases that do not exceed $15,000 for any one year may be negotiated and are not subject to the competitive bid procedures of this section. All proposals estimated to exceed $15,000 in any one year shall be considered at the time set for the bid opening, and the one most favorable to the county accepted, but the county board may, in the interest of the county, reject any or all proposals. Sales of personal property the value of which is estimated to be $15,000 or more shall be made only after advertising for bids or proposals as provided for real estate. Sales of personal property the value of which is estimated to be less than $15,000 may be made either on competitive bids or in the open market, in the discretion of the county board. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the county may, when acquiring real property for county highway right-of-way, exchange parcels of real property of substantially similar or equal value without advertising for bids. The estimated values for these parcels shall be determined by the county assessor.
If real estate or personal property remains unsold after advertising for and consideration of bids or proposals the county may employ a broker to sell the property. The broker may sell the property for not less than 90 percent of its appraised market value as determined by the county. The broker's fee shall be set by agreement with the county but may not exceed ten percent of the sale price and must be paid from the proceeds of the sale.
A county or its agent may rent a county-owned residence acquired for the furtherance of an approved capital improvement project subject to the conditions set by the county board and not subject to the conditions for lease otherwise provided by this clause.
In no case shall lands be disposed of without there being reserved to the county all iron ore and other valuable minerals in and upon the lands, with right to explore for, mine and remove the iron ore and other valuable minerals, nor shall the minerals and mineral rights be disposed of, either before or after disposition of the surface rights, otherwise than by mining lease, in similar general form to that provided by section 93.20 for mining leases affecting state lands. The lease shall be for a term not exceeding 50 years, and be issued on a royalty basis, the royalty to be not less than 25 cents per ton of 2,240 pounds, and fix a minimum amount of royalty payable during each year, whether mineral is removed or not. Prospecting options for mining leases may be granted for periods not exceeding one year. The options shall require, among other things, periodical showings to the county board of the results of exploration work done.
(5) Make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to the property and concerns of the county necessary to the exercise of its corporate powers.
Subd. 2. Road equipment agreements, terms. Notwithstanding any other contrary law, a county may enter into a rental purchase agreement or conditional sales agreement to acquire road equipment but the seller shall be limited to the remedy of recovery of the property in case of nonpayment of all or part of the purchase price. The purchase price shall be payable over not more than five years.
Subd. 3. Capital notes. A county board may, by resolution and without referendum, issue capital notes subject to the county debt limit to purchase capital equipment useful for county purposes that has an expected useful life at least equal to the term of the notes. The notes shall be payable in not more than five years and shall be issued on terms and in a manner the board determines. A tax levy shall be made for payment of the principal and interest on the notes, in accordance with section 475.61, as in the case of bonds. For purposes of this subdivision, "capital equipment" means public safety, ambulance, road construction or maintenance, and medical equipment, and computer hardware and original operating system software. The authority to issue capital notes for original operating systems software expires on July 1, 2005.
Subd. 4. Tax anticipation certificates. The county board of any county may, by resolution, issue and sell as many certificates of indebtedness as may be needed in anticipation of the collection of taxes levied for any fund named in the tax levy for the purpose of raising money for such fund, but the certificates outstanding for any such separate funds shall not on the date on which the certificates are issued exceed 75 percent of the amount of taxes previously levied for such fund remaining uncollected. No certificate shall be issued to become due and payable later than 15 months after the deadline for the certification of the property tax levy under section 275.07, subdivision 1, and the certificates shall not be sold for less than par and accrued interest. The certificates of indebtedness may be issued at any time after the levy has been finally made and certified to the county auditor. They shall be numbered consecutively, be in denominations of $100 or a multiple thereof, may have interest coupons attached, shall be otherwise of such form and terms, and may be made payable at such place, as will best aid in their negotiation, and the proceeds of the tax assessed and collected on account of the fund and the full faith and credit of the county shall be irrevocably pledged for the redemption and payment of the certificates so issued. Such certificates shall be payable primarily from the moneys derived from the levy for the years against which such certificates were issued, but shall constitute unlimited general obligations of the county. Money derived from the sale of such certificates shall be credited to the fund or funds the taxes for which are so anticipated.
HIST: (638) RL s 409; 1907 c 310 s 1; 1961 c 539 s 1; 1965 c 56 s 1; 1973 c 163 s 1; 1984 c 437 s 1; 1984 c 629 s 1; 1985 c 108 s 4; 1989 c 26 s 1; 1989 c 176 s 2; 1996 c 471 art 3 s 54; 2003 c 127 art 12 s 8; 1Sp2003 c 21 art 10 s 11
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes