Library fund - Financial report - Levy - Kept separate - Exemption for city levying tax - Increasing levy
N.D. Cent. Code § 40-38-02
in effect40-38-02. Library fund - Financial report - Levy - Kept separate - Exemption for city
levying tax - Increasing levy.
1. For the purpose of establishing and maintaining public library service, the governing
body of a municipality or county authorizing the same shall establish a library fund.
The library fund shall consist of annually levying and causing to be collected as other
taxes are collected a municipal or county tax not exceeding the limitations in
subsection 6 of section 57-15-06.7 and subsection 4 of section 57-15-10 and any other
moneys received for library purposes from federal, state, county, municipal, or private
sources. In the year for which the levy is sought, a library board seeking approval of a
property tax levy under this chapter must file with the auditor of each participating
municipality or county, at a time and in a format prescribed by the auditors, a financial
report for the preceding calendar year showing the ending balances of each fund held
for the library board during that year.
2. The city auditor or county treasurer shall establish and maintain the fund to account for
library revenues and shall make payments from the fund for invoices that have been
submitted and approved by the governing body of the library. In the case of a contract
with another library for service delivery, the city auditor or county treasurer shall
promptly transmit all funds received to the established library fund of the agency
delivering service. On request of the city auditor or county treasurer and during an
audit, the governing board of the library shall supply its records. The records must be
provided on a timely basis. The fund may not revert to the governing body of the city or
county at the end of any fiscal year. The fund must be used exclusively for the
establishment and maintenance of public library service.
3. The governing board of the library may request annually from the governing body of a
city or county a tax not exceeding the limitation in subsection 5 of section 57-15-10.
Such tax may be levied by the governing body of a city or county.
4. If a county levies for county library service and a city levies a tax for public library
service under this section the county tax levy within that city must be reduced so the
total levy in that city does not exceed four mills. If the city has been totally exempted
from a county library service levy under this section, the phrase "not less than fifty-one
percent of the qualified electors of the city or county as determined by the total number
of votes cast at the last general election" as stated in section 40-38-01 shall mean
fifty-one percent of the total number of votes cast at the last general election in the
county less the total number of votes cast at the last general election in the city. If an
election on the question is held, the qualified electors of any city so exempted from the
county library tax shall not be entitled to vote on the establishment or discontinuance
of the county library service.
5. Upon motion of the governing body or upon petition of not less than twenty-five
percent of the qualified electors in the last general election of any city, school district,
township, or county, filed not less than sixty days before the next election, the
governing body shall submit to the qualified electors at the next election the question
of whether the governing body shall increase the mill levy a specified amount for public
library service above the mill levy limitation set out in this section. The governing body
may call a special election at any time for the purpose of voting on the question, and
the election shall be called, conducted, and certified as are other elections in that
political subdivision. Upon approval by sixty percent of the qualified electors voting in
the election, the governing body shall increase the levy for public library service in the
amount approved by the qualified electors.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t40c38.pdf#nameddest=40-38-02Fetched: 10/16/2026