Section 73-16-4 - Construction fund. - New Mexico Statutes

73-16-4. Construction fund.

A.     After the list of property, with the appraised benefits as approved by the court, or that part thereof from which no appeal is pending, has been filed with the secretary, then from time to time, as the affairs of the district may demand, the board shall levy on all property upon which benefits have been appraised, and assessment of such portion of said benefits as may be found necessary by said board to pay the cost of the appraisal (except as paid out of the preliminary fund), the preparation and execution of the official plan, including superintendence of construction and administration during the period of construction, plus ten (10%) percent of said total, to be added for contingencies, but not to exceed, in the total of principal, the appraised benefits so adjudicated. In case of acreage tracts of twenty acres or less, on which benefits are appraised, in order to reduce the expense of administration, and to promote convenience in making payments, the installments of interest during the five-year period prior to the payment of the first annual installment of principal, shall be capitalized and added to the principal of the assessment; provided that any owner of an acreage tract of twenty (20) acres or less may elect within the period, and in the manner provided in Section 505 [73-16-6 NMSA 1978] hereof, to pay installments of interest as in the case of other lands.   

B.     The said assessment shall be levied by resolution of the board, shall be known as the construction fund assessment, shall be apportioned to and levied on each tract of land or other property in said district in proportion to the benefits appraised, and not in excess thereof, and in case bonds are issued as hereinafter provided, then the amount of interest which will accrue on such bonds, as estimated by said board, shall be included in and added to the said assessment but the interest to accrue on account of the issuing of said bonds shall not be construed as a part of the cost of construction in determining whether or not the expenses and costs of making said improvement are or are not equal to or in excess of the benefits appraised.   

C.     As soon as said assessment is levied, the secretary shall prepare in duplicate a construction fund assessment record of the district. The said record shall be in the form of a well-bound book endorsed and named "construction fund assessment record of . . . . . . . . . . conservancy district," which endorsement shall also be printed at the top of each page thereof.   

D.     The construction fund assessment record shall include a table or schedule (Schedule Form VIII) [73-17-24 NMSA 1978] showing in properly ruled columns:   

(1)     the names of the owners of the property to which benefits are appraised, which may be as they appear in the order of the court confirming the appraisals, and, in case of appraisals against a town, city, county or other public corporation, the name of the individual owners need not be given, but only the name of such corporation;   

(2)     the descriptions of the items of property appraised and assessed, arranged by counties;   

(3)     the total amount of benefits appraised against each item of property;   

(4)     the total assessment levied against each item of property to which benefits have been appraised; in this column of the record provision shall be made for the entry of successive levies of assessments;   

(5)     suitable columns shall be provided for entering the options and elections for paying the assessments provided for in this act;   

(6)     in successive columns, the construction fund installments (or if bonds are issued, these columns may be designated bond fund installments) both principal and interest, one column for each installment, with provision for the entry of installments of successive levies, if any, and suitable blank columns in which the county treasurer shall record the several installment amounts, principal and interest, as collected by him, and the names of the person or persons paying the same.   

E.     Where successive levies of assessments are made for the construction fund, the construction fund assessment record shall contain suitable notations to show the number of levies and the amount of each, to the end that it may disclose the aggregate of all levies for the construction fund.   

F.     Upon the completion of the construction fund assessment record it shall be signed by the president, and the seal of the district shall be thereunto affixed and attested by the signature of the secretary, and the same shall thereafter become a permanent record in the office of said district.   

G.     If it shall be found at any time that the total amount of assessments levied is insufficient to pay the cost of the works set out in the official plan or of additional work done, the board may levy such additional assessments and may make such amendments or supplements to the construction fund assessment record, from time to time as may be necessary to provide funds to complete the work, provided the total of all such assessments exclusive of interest, does not exceed the total of benefits appraised.