17-954 Public buildings; purchase or construction; bonds; approval of electors required; exception.
17-954. Public buildings; purchase or construction; bonds; approval of electors required; exception.The mayor and council of such city or the chairman and board of trustees of such village, as the case may be, adopting the proposition to make such purchase or erect such building or buildings for the purposes set forth in section 17-953 shall have the power to borrow money and pledge the property and credit of the city or village upon its negotiable bonds; Provided, no such bonds shall be issued until after the same have been authorized by a majority vote of the electors voting on the proposition of their issuance, at a general municipal election or at a special election called for the submission of such proposition; and provided further, the question of such purchase or erection of such a building or buildings, as set forth in section 17-953, and the question of the issuance of the negotiable bonds referred to in this section may be submitted as one question at a general municipal or special election if so ordered by resolution or ordinance. Notice of the time and place of said election shall be given by publication in some legal newspaper printed in or of general circulation in such city or village three successive weeks immediately prior thereto. No such election for the issuance of such bonds shall be called until a petition therefor signed by at least ten percent of the legal voters of said city or village has been presented to the council or to the board of trustees. The number of voters voting at the last regular municipal election prior to the presenting of such petition shall be deemed the number of votes in said city or village for the purpose of determining the sufficiency of such petition. The question of bond issues for such purpose in such cities or villages when defeated shall not be resubmitted for six months from and after the date of such election; Provided, that when the building to be constructed is to be used by the State of Nebraska or its agency or agencies under a lease authorized by Chapter 72, article 14, or the building is to be leased by any other political or governmental subdivision of the State of Nebraska, when the combined area of the building to be leased by the state or its agency or agencies and the political or governmental subdivision of the State of Nebraska is more than fifty percent of the area of the building, and when such sum does not exceed two million dollars then no such vote of the electors will be required. SourceLaws 1935, c. 37, § 2, p. 151; C.S.Supp.,1941, § 17-168; R.S.1943, § 17-954; Laws 1947, c. 40, § 2, p. 154; Laws 1969, c. 97, § 2, p. 466.