A. Any incorporated city, town or village having a population of at least five thousand shall have power to purchase, improve or erect public auditoriums or buildings of a similar nature for general civic purposes, or to authorize the improvement or erection of public auditoriums or buildings of a similar nature by agreement with the officers of the county in which the municipality is located, and shall have power to issue and sell bonds for the purposes herein mentioned. Provided, that the total indebtedness of any such city, town or village shall not exceed the percentage now provided by law of the value of the taxable property therein as shown by the last preceding assessment for state or county taxes. If a majority of all the legal votes cast at a legal election shall be in favor of the issuance of the bonds, it shall be the duty of the authorities of the city, town or village to have the bonds issued as soon as practicable.

B. Any bonds, lawfully issued, may be issued in serial form or in form of term bonds, and consistent with convenient denominations, the principal of the serial bonds shall be payable serially either in substantial equal annual installments, or in such annual installments as to require a substantially equal levy for principal and interest each year until all the bonds of the issue have been paid in full. Provided, that the first installment shall be payable in not more than five years and the final installment shall be payable in not more than thirty years after the date of the bonds. The bonds shall bear interest at the rate of not to exceed six percent a year, payable either annually or semiannually. The interest payments may be evidenced by coupons in the usual form, payable upon presentation in such place as may be provided in the bonds.

C. After the bonds are duly issued and sold, a special tax shall be levied upon all property within the city, town or village each year until the bonds and interest shall be paid in full. The special tax shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected, sufficient to pay interest thereon and that portion of principal or sinking fund which may be necessary for the payment due upon the bonds during the succeeding year as provided in this section.

D. No election shall be called to vote upon any bond issue until the city, town or village engineer or some other competent engineer shall have filed, under oath, with the clerk or other proper officer of the city, town or village, a carefully prepared estimate of the approximate cost of the proposed improvement to be made, and no bonds shall be issued in excess of the estimate. It shall be the duty of the proper authorities of the city, town or village to provide by ordinance for the levy, collection and payment of a sufficient amount of money each year to meet the interest, sinking fund and principal requirements of the bonds and the ordinance shall not be repealed until the bonds and interest are paid in full.

History: Laws 1927, ch. 29, § 1; C.S. 1929, § 90-2101; 1941 Comp., § 6-309; 1953 Comp., § 6-3-9; Laws 1959, ch. 196, § 1.

Constitutionality. — This section, which prior to the 1959 amendment authorized cities to issue bonds for construction of public auditorium on two-thirds vote of legal voters, did not run counter to provision of N.M. Const., art. IX, § 12, that no city, town or village shall contract any debt unless approved by majority vote of qualified electors, and precluded issuance of such bonds under 14-21-4, 1953 Comp. (now repealed) authorizing issuance of bonds for construction of public or needful buildings on majority vote. Varney v. City of Albuquerque, 1936-NMSC-010, 40 N.M. 90, 55 P.2d 40.

Purpose of section. — This section was enacted for the primary purpose of dealing with a particular subject, civic auditoriums for cities, and superseded a general statute referring to public buildings, or needful buildings. Varney v. City of Albuquerque, 1936-NMSC-010, 40 N.M. 90, 55 P.2d 40).

Effect on municipalities under 5000 population. — Considering the fifth subsection of 14-21-3, 1953 Comp. (repealed), in the light of this section, and in view of the decision in Varney v. City of Albuquerque, 40 N.M. 90, 55 P.2d 40, 106 A.L.R. 222 (1936), no municipality of less than 5,000 could issue bonds and construct a municipal auditorium. 1939 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 39-3037.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 64A C.J.S. Municipal Corporations § 1621 et seq.