17-501 Cities of the second class and villages; powers; board of public trust; members; duties.
17-501. Cities of the second class and villages; powers; board of public trust; members; duties.Cities of the second class and villages shall be bodies corporate and politic, and shall have power (1) to sue and be sued; (2) to contract or be contracted with; (3) to acquire and hold real and personal property within or without the limits of the city or village, for the use of the city or village, convey property, real or personal, and lease, lease with option to buy, or acquire by gift or devise real or personal property; and (4) to receive and safeguard donations in trust and may, by ordinance, supervise and regulate such property and the principal and income constituting the foundation or community trust property in conformity with the instrument or instruments creating such trust. The city council of any city of the second class, or the board of trustees of any village, may elect a board of five members, to be known as a board of public trust, who shall be residents of such city or village and whose duties shall be defined by ordinance and who shall have control and management of such donations in trust, in conformity with such ordinance; except that at the time of the establishment of the board of public trust, one member shall be elected for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, one for a term of four years, and one for a term of five years, and thereafter one member shall be elected each year for a term of five years. Vacancies in the membership of the board shall be filled in like manner as regular members of the board are elected. SourceLaws 1879, § 56, p. 206; R.S.1913, § 5080; Laws 1917, c. 100, § 1, p. 264; C.S.1922, § 4252; C.S.1929, § 17-401; Laws 1933, c. 29, § 1, p. 206; Laws 1935, Spec. Sess., c. 10, § 6, p. 75; Laws 1937, c. 30, § 1, p. 153; Laws 1941, c. 25, § 1, p. 120; Laws 1941, c. 130, § 14, p. 498; C.S.Supp.,1941, § 17-401; Laws 1943, c. 34, § 1, p. 152; R.S.1943, § 17-501; Laws 1971, LB 32, § 3; Laws 2005, LB 626, § 3.AnnotationsRight of city to employ special counsel may be implied from power to sue and be sued. Meeske v. Baumann, 122 Neb. 786, 241 N.W. 550 (1932), 83 A.L.R. 131 (1932).Village may bring suit in equity to declare a stockyard a public nuisance and to enjoin the same. Village of Kenesaw v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. R. Co., 91 Neb. 619, 136 N.W. 990 (1912).Power of city of second class to contract is not made dependent upon its having previously provided funds with which to pay for that which it contracts. Slocum v. City of North Platte, 192 F. 252 (8th Cir. 1911).