48-2071. Sale procedure; disposition of property by sanitary district

A. On the day fixed for sale, the agent designated by the board shall, at 10:00 a.m., or at any time thereafter to which the sale may be adjourned, begin the sale of the property advertised, beginning at the head of the list and continuing in the numerical order of lots until all are sold. The agent may postpone or continue the sale from day to day until all the property is sold. Each lot separately assessed shall be offered for sale separately. The sale shall be for the entire assessment including the delinquent installments. The person who will take the least quantity of land and immediately pay the amount of the assessment and penalty and costs due, including fifty cents to the district for a certificate of sale, is the purchaser.

B. The district may provide, by resolution, that if there is no purchaser who will pay the entire amount of the assessment and penalty and costs, including fifty cents to the district for a certificate of sale, the agent shall sell the lot or portion of the lot to the person who will take the least quantity of land and immediately pay the amount of the delinquent assessment, including interest, penalty and costs due and fifty cents to the district for a certificate of sale. The agent shall issue a deed to the purchaser, subject to redemption, as provided in this article. The district may also provide by resolution that the lien on the entire lot, piece or parcel of land assessed continues in effect for the amount of the assessment or portion of the assessment, including interest, penalties and costs, thereafter due, and the land may again be sold if the assessment becomes delinquent. If so provided by resolution that fact shall be stated in the notice of sale and the agent shall comply with the provisions.

C. If there is no purchaser for any lot offered for sale and if the district at the time of the issuance and sale of bonds had a permanent population of at least two thousand persons and had been in existence for ten or more years, and if provided for in the resolution calling for the issuance and sale of bonds, it may be struck off to the district as the purchaser, and the governing body may appropriate from the general fund of the treasury the amount bid for such purpose, and may order the treasurer to place the amount in a special fund for such improvement. The governing body, however, may direct the treasurer to pay into the special fund only the sum required to pay the installment then due or to become due on the bonds issued for the assessment, and thereupon the district shall become obligated to pay from the general fund the succeeding installments and interest on the bonds, as are payable by the assessments on the lot. Thereafter the lien of the assessment shall not be extinguished for nonpayment of general taxes or prior special assessments, and the annual installments of principal and interest of the assessment constitute a first lien on the respective lot, piece or parcel of land, coequal with the lien for general taxes. If the lien has not been extinguished before the property being stricken off to this state, the lien shall extinguish on sale of the property pursuant to title 42, chapter 18, article 7 and the district shall share pro rata in the proceeds of the sale to the extent of the delinquent assessments.

D. The district may sell any lot so purchased after the expiration of the time for redemption at public or private sale. All amounts received by the district from redemption of property purchased by it and from sale by it of property so purchased, less the amount theretofore paid into the special fund from the general fund, shall be paid into the special fund for the payment of the bonds until the special fund is sufficient to pay all outstanding bonds. If the district has provided that the installment of principal and interest may be paid in partial payments before the time each of the installments becomes due, and the owner of the property against which the installment of principal and interest has become delinquent has paid into the district partial payments on the installments, the owner of the property advertised for sale has the right to pay the balance due on the annual installments of principal and interest plus penalties and costs, and no sale may be held on the parcel of land.

E. The district shall note on its records the date of the payment and mark the installment of principal or interest paid. If the owner does not pay the balance due on the installment of principal or interest, and the property is sold for the full amount of the assessment, the district shall refund to the owner all money received by it from the owner by way of partial payments.