All cities having more than one hundred thousand and less than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census shall be known as cities of the primary class. The population of a city of the primary class shall consist of the people residing within the territorial boundaries of such city and the residents of any territory duly and properly annexed to such city.

Whenever any city of the first class attains a population of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census, the mayor of such city shall certify such fact to the Secretary of State, who upon the filing of such certificate shall by proclamation declare such city to be a city of the primary class.

The government of a city of the first class which is declared to be a city of the primary class pursuant to section 15-102 shall continue in authority from the date of such declaration until reorganization as a city of the primary class.

The corporate limits of a city of the first class which is declared to be a city of the primary class pursuant to section 15-102 shall remain as before such declaration. The city council may by ordinance at any time include within the corporate limits of such city any contiguous or adjacent lands, lots, tracts, streets, or highways such distance and in such direction as may be deemed proper. The city council may include, annex, merge, or consolidate with such city, by such extension of its corporate limits, any village which is within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of such city and which it serves with water service or supply or with a sanitary sewerage system and service, or both such water and sanitary sewerage service. Such city shall have power by ordinance to compel owners of land so brought within the corporate limits to lay out streets and public ways to conform to and be continuous with the streets and ways of such city, or otherwise as appears best for the convenience of the inhabitants of such city and the public. Such city may vacate any public road established through such land when necessary to secure regularity in the general system of its public ways.

For purposes of sections 15-104 to 15-106.02, land shall be deemed contiguous although a stream, embankments, or a strip or parcel of land, not more than five hundred feet wide, lies between such land and the corporate limits.

(1) The owner of any land within the corporate limits of a city of the primary class or contiguous thereto may lay out such land into lots, blocks, public ways, and other grounds under the name of ................. addition to the city of .................. and shall cause an accurate plat thereof to be made, designating explicitly the land so laid out and particularly describing the lots, blocks, public ways, and grounds belonging to such addition. The lots shall be designated by number and by street. Public ways and other grounds shall be designated by name and by number. Such plat shall be acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds and shall have appended to it a certificate made by a registered land surveyor that he or she has accurately surveyed such addition and that the lots, blocks, public ways, and other grounds are staked and marked as required by such city.

(2) When such plat is made, acknowledged, and certified, complies with the requirements of section 15-901, and is approved by the city planning commission, such plat shall be filed and recorded in the office of the register of deeds and county assessor of the county in which the land is located. In lieu of approval by the city planning commission, the city council may designate specific types of plats which may be approved by the city planning director. No plat shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds or have any force or effect unless such plat is approved by the city planning commission or the city planning director. The plat shall, after being filed with the register of deeds, be equivalent to a deed in fee simple absolute to the city, from the owner, of all streets, all public ways, squares, parks, and commons, and such portion of the land as is therein set apart for public use or dedicated to charitable, religious, or educational purposes.

(3) All additions thus laid out shall remain a part of the city, and all additions, except those additions as set forth in sections 15-106.01 and 15-106.02, laid out adjoining or contiguous to the corporate limits of a city of the primary class shall be included therein and become a part of the city for all purposes. The inhabitants of such addition shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations of the city. The mayor and city council shall have power by ordinance to compel owners of any such addition to lay out streets and public ways to correspond in width and direction and to be continuous with the streets and public ways in the city or additions contiguous to or near the proposed addition.

(4) No addition shall have any validity, right, or privilege as an addition unless the terms and conditions of such ordinance and of this section are complied with, the plats thereof are submitted to and approved by the city planning commission or the city planning director, and the approval of the city planning commission or the city planning director is endorsed thereon. The city council may provide procedures in land subdivision regulations for appeal by any person aggrieved by any action of the city planning commission or city planning director on any plat.

Commencing on April 17, 1982, an addition which has been approved pursuant to section 15-106 and is adjoining or contiguous to the corporate boundaries of a city of the primary class but which includes land which lies wholly or partially (1) outside of the area designated and described as being for future urban uses in the comprehensive plan adopted by the city pursuant to sections 15-1102 and 15-1103 and (2) within a zoning district adopted pursuant to section 15-902 which allows a residential density of not more than one dwelling per acre shall be included within the corporate limits of the city only upon the enactment of a city ordinance specifically annexing such addition.

Commencing on April 17, 1982, an addition which has been approved pursuant to section 15-106 and is adjoining or contiguous to the corporate boundaries of a city of the primary class, but which (1) includes land which lies wholly or partially within the area designated as being for future urban uses in the comprehensive plan adopted by the city pursuant to sections 15-1102 and 15-1103 and (2) is set aside in such comprehensive plan as an agricultural-industrial reserve shall be included within the corporate limits of the city only upon the enactment of a city ordinance specifically annexing such addition.

The corporate name of each city of the primary class shall be The City of ............. . All process affecting any such city shall be served in the manner provided for service of a summons in a civil action.

When any city of the first class is declared a city of the primary class pursuant to section 15-102, all trusts, rights, and privileges of such city of the first class shall be transmitted to and be invested in such city of the primary class.

Precinct lines within the corporate limits of a city of the primary class shall correspond in number with the ward and be coextensive with such limits, except that when a ward is divided into election districts, the precinct corresponding with such ward shall be divided to correspond with the election district.

A city of the second class or village, which adjoins a city of the primary class, as well as other villages either adjoining such city of the second class or village, or supplied in whole or in part with gas, electric light, or street transportation service or supply from manufacturing or power plants and systems mainly located in and maintained and operated mainly from chief headquarters or offices within such city of the primary class, may be consolidated with such city of the primary class in the manner provided in sections 15-111 to 15-118. It shall be the duty of the officers of such cities of the second class and villages twenty days prior to any general city or village election, to submit to the electors of such cities or villages at such general city or village election whenever petitioned to do so by twenty percent of the qualified electors of such cities or villages, the question of the consolidation of such adjoining cities or villages with the city of the primary class. Such question shall be submitted in substantially the following form:

Shall the city of ........... be consolidated with the city of ........... ? Or, as the case may be, Shall the village of .......... be consolidated with the city of .......... ? The ballot shall provide in the usual manner for a Yes and No vote on the question.

If at an election held pursuant to section 15-111 a majority of the vote cast in a city of the second class or village shall be in favor of consolidation, the result shall be certified to the city council of the city of the primary class. If the city council of such city of the primary class approves of the consolidation, an ordinance shall be passed extending the limits of such city to include all the territory of the city of the second class or village voting for consolidation, and the city or cities, village or villages, so consolidated with the city of the primary class shall become a part thereof.

Whenever any city of the primary class shall extend its boundaries so as to annex any village, or whenever there is consolidation taking effect in the manner provided in sections 15-111 to 15-118, the charter, laws, ordinances, powers, and government of such city of the primary class, shall at once extend over the territory embraced within any such city or village so annexed or consolidated with it. Such city of the primary class shall succeed to all the property and property rights of every kind, contracts, obligations, and choses in action of every kind held by or belonging to such city or village so annexed or consolidated with it. Such city of the primary class shall be liable for and assume and carry out all valid contracts, obligations, franchises, and licenses of any such city or village so annexed or consolidated with it. Such city or village so annexed or consolidated with such city of the primary class shall be deemed fully compensated by virtue of such annexation or consolidation and such assumption of its obligations and contracts for all its property and property rights of every kind so acquired. Any public franchise granted to or held by any person or corporation from such city of the primary class, before such consolidation or annexation, shall not by virtue of such consolidation or annexation be extended into, upon, or over the streets or public places of such city or village so consolidated with or annexed by such city of the primary class. Any public franchise, license, or privilege granted to or held by any person or corporation from any of the cities or villages consolidated with or annexed by such city of the primary class before such consolidation or annexation shall not by virtue of such consolidation be extended into, upon, or over the streets, alleys, or public places of the city of the primary class involved in such consolidation or annexation.

All taxes, assessments, fines, licenses, fees, claims, and demands of every kind assessed or levied against persons or property within any city of the second class or village consolidated with or annexed by any city of the primary class as provided in sections 15-111 to 15-118, shall be paid to and collected by such city of the primary class.

All taxes and special assessments which a city of the second class or village consolidated with or annexed by a city of the primary class as provided in sections 15-111 to 15-118 was authorized to levy or assess and which are not levied or assessed at the time of such consolidation or annexation for any kind of public improvements made by it or in process of construction or contracted for, may be levied or assessed by such city of the primary class, and such city of the primary class shall have the power to reassess all special assessments or taxes levied or assessed by any such city of the second class or village thus consolidated or annexed with it, in all cases where such city of the second class or village is authorized to make reassessments or relevies of such taxes and assessments.

All actions at law or in equity pending in any court in favor of or against any city of the second class or village consolidated with or annexed by a city of the primary class as provided in sections 15-111 to 15-118 at the time such consolidation or annexation takes effect, shall be prosecuted by or defended by such city of the primary class, and all rights of action existing against any city of the second class or village consolidated with or annexed by such city of the primary class at the time of such consolidation or annexation or accruing thereafter on account of any transaction had with or under any law or ordinance of such city of the second class or village, may be prosecuted against such city of the primary class.

All officers of any city of the second class or village consolidated with or annexed by a city of the primary class as provided in sections 15-111 to 15-118 having books, papers, records, bonds, funds, effects, or property of any kind in their hands or under their control belonging to such city of the second class or village, shall upon taking effect of such consolidation or annexation deliver the same to the respective officers of such city of the primary class as may be by law or ordinance or limitation of such city entitled or authorized to receive the same. Upon such consolidation or annexation taking effect, the terms and tenure of all offices and officers of any such city of the second class or village so consolidated with or annexed by such city of the primary class shall terminate.

Cities of the primary class shall be bodies corporate and politic and shall have power:

(1) To sue and be sued;

(2) To purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire as authorized by their home rule charters or state statutes real estate or personal property within or without the limits of the city for its use for a public purpose;

(3) To purchase real or personal property upon sale for general or special taxes or assessments and to lease, sell, convey, or exchange such property so purchased;

(4) To sell, convey, exchange, or lease real or personal property owned by the city in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as shall be deemed in the best interests of the city as authorized by its home rule charter, except that real estate owned by the city may be conveyed without consideration to the State of Nebraska for state armory sites or, if acquired for state armory sites, shall be conveyed in the manner strictly as provided in sections 18-1001 to 18-1006;

(5) To make contracts and do all acts relative to the property and concerns of the city necessary or incident or appropriate to the exercise of its corporate powers, including powers granted by the Constitution of Nebraska or exercised by or pursuant to a home rule charter adopted pursuant thereto and including the power to execute such bonds and obligations on the part of the city as may be required in judicial proceedings;

(6) To purchase, construct, and otherwise acquire, own, maintain, and operate public service and public utility property and facilities within and without the limits of the city and to redeem such property from prior encumbrance in order to protect or preserve the interest of the city therein and to exercise such other and further powers as may be necessary or incident or appropriate to the powers of such city, including powers granted by the Constitution of Nebraska or exercised by or pursuant to a home rule charter adopted pursuant thereto. If the public service or public utility property or facility is located outside the limits of the city but within the zoning jurisdiction of another political subdivision, the city and the other political subdivision may by interlocal agreement provide or exchange services, including utility services, relating to the property or facilities;

(7) To receive grants, devises, donations, and bequests of money or property for public purposes in trust or otherwise; and

(8) To provide for the planting, maintenance, protection, and removal of shade, ornamental, and other useful trees upon the streets or boulevards; to assess the cost thereof, when appropriate, as a special assessment against the property specially benefited to the extent of benefits received; and to provide by general ordinance for the manner in which such benefits are to be measured and the assessments calculated and the means of notice to the owners of the record title of the property proposed to be improved, including a written statement of the proposed benefits and an estimate of the costs to be assessed according to the method of assessment. The city may create districts by ordinance which shall designate the property within the district to be benefited and the method of assessment. Notwithstanding the provisions of any city charter and except as provided below, no such improvement shall be finally ordered by the city council until a petition, signed by the owners of the record title of property within the proposed district which would be subject to more than fifty percent of the total of all special assessments to be levied for the purposes authorized by this subdivision, is presented and filed with the city clerk petitioning therefor. The sufficiency of the petitions and objections so presented and the sufficiency of notice as provided in this subdivision shall be determined by the city council and its determination thereof shall be conclusive in the absence of objections made and presented to the city council prior to the letting of the contract for the improvement. If an assessment district is proposed without a prior authorizing petition as described in this subdivision, the owners of the record title of property within the proposed district which would be subject to more than fifty percent of the total of all special assessments to be levied for the purposes authorized by this subdivision may, by petition, stop formation of such district. Such written protest shall be submitted to the city council or city clerk within thirty calendar days after publication of notice concerning the ordinance in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city.

The powers shall be exercised by the mayor and city council except in cases otherwise specified by law. The mayor and city council shall adopt a corporate seal for the use of any officer, board, or agent of the city whose duties require an official seal.

Any extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction or authority which a city of the primary class may exercise outside of its corporate limits by authority of state law may be exercised by such city outside of the county in which such city is located.

In addition to any other powers granted to it by law, a city of the primary class may enter into installment contracts for the purchase of real or personal property. Such contracts need not be restricted to a single year and may provide for the purchase of the property in installment payments to be paid over more than one fiscal year. This section shall be in addition to and notwithstanding the provisions of a home rule charter.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to levy taxes for general revenue purposes on all property within the corporate limits of the city taxable according to the laws of Nebraska and to levy an occupation tax on public service property or corporations in such amounts as may be proper and necessary, in the judgment of the mayor and city council, for purposes of revenue. All such taxes shall be uniform with respect to the class upon which they are imposed. The occupation tax may be based upon a certain percentage of the gross receipts of such public service corporation or upon such other basis as may be determined upon by the mayor and city council. After March 27, 2014, any occupation tax imposed pursuant to this section shall make a reasonable classification of businesses, users of space, or kinds of transactions for purposes of imposing such tax, except that no occupation tax shall be imposed on any transaction which is subject to tax under section 53-160, 66-489, 66-489.02, 66-4,140, 66-4,145, 66-4,146, 77-2602, or 77-4008 or which is exempt from tax under section 77-2704.24. The occupation tax shall be imposed in the manner provided in section 18-1208, except that section 18-1208 does not apply to an occupation tax subject to section 86-704.

A city of the primary class shall have power to raise revenue by levying and collecting a license or occupation tax on any person, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or business within the limits of the city and regulate the same by ordinance except as otherwise provided in this section and in section 15-212. After March 27, 2014, any occupation tax imposed pursuant to this section shall make a reasonable classification of businesses, users of space, or kinds of transactions for purposes of imposing such tax, except that no occupation tax shall be imposed on any transaction which is subject to tax under section 53-160, 66-489, 66-489.02, 66-4,140, 66-4,145, 66-4,146, 77-2602, or 77-4008 or which is exempt from tax under section 77-2704.24. The occupation tax shall be imposed in the manner provided in section 18-1208, except that section 18-1208 does not apply to an occupation tax subject to section 86-704. All such taxes shall be uniform in respect to the class upon which they are imposed. All scientific and literary lectures and entertainments shall be exempt from such taxation as well as concerts and all other musical entertainments given exclusively by the citizens of the city.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to levy any other tax or special assessment authorized by law and to appropriate money and provide for the payment of the debts and expenses of the city.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to (1) remove all obstructions from the sidewalk, curbstones, gutters, and crosswalks at the expense of the owners or occupants of the grounds fronting thereon or at the expense of the person placing such obstructions there and (2) regulate the building of bulkheads, cellars, basements, stairways, railways, windows, doorways, awnings, lampposts, awning posts, and all other structures upon or over adjoining excavations through or under the sidewalks of the city.

A city of the primary class shall have the power, by ordinance, to regulate the transportation of articles through the streets, to prevent injuries to the streets from overloaded vehicles, and to provide for a vehicle license or tax.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to (1) prevent and remove all encroachments on streets, avenues, alleys, and other city property, (2) prevent and punish horseracing, fast driving or riding in the streets, highways, alleys, bridges, or other places in the city, (3) regulate all games, practices, or amusements within the city likely to result in damage to any person or property, (4) regulate the riding, driving, or passing along any street of the city, (5) regulate and prevent the use of streets, sidewalks, and public grounds for signs, signposts, awnings, telephone or other poles, racks, bulletin boards, and the posting of handbills and advertisements, (6) regulate traffic and sales upon the streets, (7) prohibit and punish cruelty to animals, and (8) regulate and prevent the moving of buildings through or upon the streets.

A city of the primary class shall have the power, by ordinance, to regulate levees, depots, depot grounds, and places for storing freight and goods and to provide for and regulate the passing of railways through the streets and public grounds of the city, reserving the rights of all persons injured thereby.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to (1) acquire, hold, and improve public grounds, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, recreation centers, or any other park or recreational use or facility within or without the limits of the city, (2) provide for the protection and preservation and use of such grounds, parks, and other uses and facilities, (3) provide for the planting and protection of trees, (4) erect and construct or aid in the erection and construction of statues, memorials, works of art, and other structures upon any public grounds of the city or state or political subdivision thereof, and (5) receive grants, devises, donations, and bequests of money or property for the purposes described in this section, in trust or otherwise.

A city of the primary class may, by ordinance, require any and all lots or pieces of ground within the city or within its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction to be drained or filled so as to prevent stagnant water or any other nuisance accumulating thereon. Upon the failure of the owners of such lots or pieces of ground to fill or drain the lots or pieces when so required, the city council may cause such lots or pieces of ground to be drained or filled, and the cost and expenses thereof shall be levied upon the property so filled or drained and collected as a special assessment.

A city of the primary class shall have the power, by ordinance, to prescribe the kind and description of articles which may be sold and places to be occupied by vendors and may authorize the immediate seizure and arrest or removal from the markets of persons violating regulations fixed by ordinance, together with any articles of produce in their possession, and the immediate seizure and destruction of tainted or unsound meat or other provisions. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the city council by ordinance to assess or impose any tax, assessment, fine, or punishment on any farmer or producer for selling at any time within the city any article of provision or vegetables grown or produced by the farmer or producer.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to regulate, license, or suppress halls, opera houses, churches, places of amusement, entertainment, or instruction, or other buildings used for the assembly of citizens. A city of the primary class may cause such buildings to be provided with sufficient and ample means of exit and entrance and to be supplied with necessary and appropriate appliances for the extinguishment of fires and for escape from such places in case of fire. A city of the primary class may prevent overcrowding and regulate the placing of seats, chairs, benches, scenery, curtains, blinds, screens, or other appliances in such buildings. A city of the primary class may provide that for any violation of any such regulation a penalty of not to exceed two hundred dollars shall be imposed, and that upon the conviction of any violation of any ordinance regulating such places, the license of such place shall be revoked by the mayor and city council. Whenever the mayor or city council shall by resolution declare any such place to be unsafe, the license thereof shall be thereby revoked, and the city council may provide that in any case where they have so revoked the license, any owner, proprietor, manager, lessee, or person opening, using, or permitting such place to be opened or used, involving the assembling of more than twelve persons, shall upon conviction thereof be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and fined in any sum not exceeding two hundred dollars.

A city of the primary class shall have the power, by ordinance, to prescribe the thickness, strength, and manner of constructing stone, brick, and other buildings and the number and construction of means of exit and entrance and of fire escapes. A city of the primary class may require the keeper and proprietor of any hotel, boarding house, or dormitory to provide and maintain such kind and number of ladders, ropes, balconies, and stairways, and other appliances, as by ordinance may be prescribed to facilitate the escape of persons from any such building in case of fire.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to regulate, license, or prohibit the sale of domestic animals, goods, wares, and merchandise at public auction in the streets, alleys, highways, or any public grounds within the city and to regulate or license the auctioneering of goods, wares, and merchandise.

A city of the primary class shall have the power, by ordinance, to regulate or prohibit the running at large of cattle, hogs, horses, mules, sheep, goats, dogs, and other animals and to cause such animals running at large to be impounded and sold to discharge the cost and penalties provided for violation of such prohibitions, and the fees and expenses of impounding and keeping such animals and of such sale.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to provide for the erection of all needful pens, pounds, and buildings for the use of the city, within or without such city limits, to appoint and compensate keepers thereof, and to establish and enforce rules governing such pens, pounds, and buildings.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to regulate, license, or prohibit the running at large of dogs and other animals and guard against injuries or annoyances from such animals and to authorize the destruction of such animals when running at large contrary to the provisions of any ordinance. Any licensing provision shall comply with subsection (2) of section 54-603 for service animals.

A city of the primary class shall have the power, by ordinance, to prevent any person from bringing, having, depositing, or leaving upon or near his or her premises or elsewhere within the city any dead carcass, or other putrid beef, pork, fish, hides, or skins of any kind, or any other unwholesome substance, and to compel the removal of such substances.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to make contracts with and authorize any person, company, or association to erect gas works, electric works, or other light works in such city, and give such person, company, or association the privilege of furnishing light for the streets, lanes, and alleys of such city for any length of time not exceeding one year, or for any time not exceeding five years upon being authorized so to do by a majority vote of the electors of such city. The mayor and city council shall not have power to grant a franchise for any purpose for a period longer than twenty-five years. Franchises to be granted for a longer period than twenty-five years shall be submitted to a vote of the people and shall require a majority vote of the electors of the city voting thereon at a general or special election. All franchise ordinances shall require three readings on three separate days before passage by the city council.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to fix the rate to be paid for the use of water furnished by the city or any person or corporation by means of waterworks and provide by ordinance that any tax for the use of water furnished by such city shall be a lien upon the property where such water is furnished.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to establish, alter, and change the channel of watercourses, and to wall and cover such watercourses over, to establish, make, and regulate public wells, cisterns, aqueducts, and reservoirs of water, and to provide for the filling of such wells, cisterns, aqueducts, and reservoirs.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to provide for the organization of a fire department, to procure fire engines, hooks, ladders, buckets, and other apparatus, to organize fire engine, hook, ladder, and bucket companies, to prescribe rules of duty and the government of the fire department, with such penalties as the city council may deem proper, not exceeding a one-hundred-dollar fine, to make all necessary appropriations therefor, and to establish regulations for the prevention and extinguishment of fires.

The city council shall have the power to create water districts for the purpose of supplying water for domestic, industrial, or fire purposes, or for the purpose of enlarging any water mains, now existing or hereafter constructed. All such districts, to be known as water districts, shall be created by ordinance and shall designate the property to be benefited. Upon creation of any water district, the city council shall have the power to construct or cause to be constructed, either by contract with the lowest responsible bidder or directly by the city, such water main or mains, or extensions or enlargements, including all necessary appliances for fire protection, within such districts as the city council shall determine, and assess the costs thereof against the property in such district, not exceeding the special benefits accruing on account thereof. The city council shall have the power and authority to fix the period of time, not to exceed twenty years, in which the special assessments against any property for the payment of the cost of such improvements may be made. The city council shall have the power and authority to issue bonds in accordance with the provisions of a home rule charter of the city or of state law.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to acquire, either temporarily or permanently, lands, real or personal property, or any interests therein, or any easements deemed to be necessary or desirable for any present or future necessary or authorized public purpose within or without the city by gift, agreement, purchase, condemnation, or otherwise. In all such cases the city shall make the person or persons whose property shall be taken or injured thereby adequate compensation therefor. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724. A city of the primary class shall have authority to enter upon any property to make surveys, examinations, investigations, and tests, and to acquire other necessary and relevant data in contemplation of establishing a location of a necessary or authorized public purpose, acquiring property therefor, or performing other operations incident to construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of such public purpose, and entry upon any property pursuant to this authority shall not be considered to be a legal trespass and no damages shall be recovered on that account alone. In case of any actual or demonstrable damages to the premises, the city shall pay the owner of the premises the amount of the damages. Upon the failure of the landowner and the city to agree upon the amount of damages, the landowner, in addition to any other available remedy, may file a petition as provided for in section 76-705. The entry by the city or its representatives shall be made only after notice of the entry and its purpose.

In connection with the acquisition of lands, property, or interests therein for a public purpose, a city of the primary class may acquire by any lawful means, except through condemnation, an entire lot, block, or tract of land or property if, by so doing, the interests of the public will be best served, even though the entire lot, block, or tract is not immediately needed for public purposes. Without limiting such authority, this may be done where uneconomic remnants of land would be left the original owner or owners or where severance or consequential damages to a remainder make the acquisition of the entire parcel more economical to the city. In the event that any such property is left without access to a street and the cost of acquisition of such landlocked property or land through condemnation would be more economical to the city than the cost of providing a means of reasonable ingress to or egress from the property or land, the city may acquire such landlocked property or land by condemnation.

A city of the primary class may acquire additional real property by gift, agreement, purchase, exchange, or condemnation if such additional real property is needed for the purpose of moving and establishing thereon buildings, structures, or other appurtenances which are situated on real property acquired by the city for a public purpose. The city may make agreements for the exchange of property, to make allowances for differences in the value of the properties being exchanged, and to move or pay the cost of moving buildings, structures, or other appurtenances.

A city of the primary class may establish, maintain, and operate public library facilities, purchase books, papers, maps, and manuscripts therefor, receive donations and bequests of money or property for such facilities, books, papers, maps, and manuscripts in trust or otherwise, and pass necessary bylaws and regulations for the protection and government of such facilities, books, papers, maps, and manuscripts.

A city of the primary class may (1) purchase or otherwise acquire ground for and erect, establish, operate, regulate, and repair a city hospital or any hospital, the governing board of which is appointed by the mayor or city council, (2) receive donations and bequests of money or property for such hospital facilities in trust or otherwise, and (3) issue bonds of the city for acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, extending, equipping, or furnishing such hospital facilities.

For any hospital established under section 15-231, there shall be established rules for the government of such hospital and admission of persons to its privileges as may be deemed expedient. No religious or sectarian association, organization, or body shall be permitted to manage or control such hospital.

The city council of a city of the primary class may enter into an agreement with a corporation or association organized for charitable purposes in such city for the erection and management of a hospital for the sick and disabled and have a permanent interest therein to an extent and upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the city council and such corporation or association. The city council shall provide for the payment of the amount agreed upon, for any interests in such hospital, either in one payment or in installments, or so much from year to year as the parties may stipulate. Such agreement shall not be made if the city shall have established a hospital as authorized by section 15-231. No such agreement shall extend more than one year.

As used in the Hospital Sinking Fund Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Governmental subdivision shall mean any city of the primary class and also any county in which a city of the primary class is the county seat thereof; and

(2) Hospital shall mean any hospital organized pursuant to section 15-231, or any hospital or hospital facility established by a governmental subdivision in conjunction with or adjoining a hospital organized pursuant to section 15-231.

A governmental subdivision shall have the power to levy a tax, known as a hospital sinking-fund tax, upon all of the taxable property in its jurisdiction, which levy shall be in addition to all other authorized levies, for the use and benefit of the hospital, and the proceeds of such taxes when and as collected shall be set aside and deposited in the special account or accounts in which other revenue of the governmental subdivision is deposited. This levy shall be accumulated as a sinking fund by the governmental subdivision from fiscal year to fiscal year to provide funds for hospital improvements, maintenance, and operation.

All income, revenue, and profits of the hospital and money derived from the levy provided for in section 15-235.02, or from grants, loans, or contributions from the United States, the State of Nebraska, or any agency or instrumentality of such governments, shall be held by the treasurer of the governmental subdivision having jurisdiction over the hospital, and the treasurer shall not commingle such money with any other money under his or her control. Such money shall be deposited in a separate bank account or accounts and shall be withdrawn only by check or draft signed by such treasurer on requisition of the chairperson of the hospital board or such other person as the hospital board may authorize. The chief auditing officer of the governmental subdivision and his or her legally authorized representatives are authorized and empowered from time to time to examine the accounts and books of such hospital board, including its receipts, disbursements, contracts, leases, sinking funds, and investments, and any other matters relating to its financial standing.

A governmental subdivision shall have the power and authority to invest and reinvest all idle funds in the hospital sinking fund, including but not limited to current tax receipts for such period of time as such funds are not immediately needed, in evidences of indebtedness of the United States Government and agencies thereof.

Sections 15-235.01 to 15-235.05 may be cited as the Hospital Sinking Fund Act.

A city of the primary class may make all such ordinances, bylaws, rules, and regulations not inconsistent with the general laws of the state as may be necessary or expedient to promote the public health, safety, and welfare, including ordinances, bylaws, rules, and regulations as may be necessary or expedient to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious, infectious, or malignant diseases. This power and authority is granted to such city in the area which is within the corporate limits of the city and its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction. The city may create a department of health, make laws and regulations for that purpose, and enforce such ordinances, bylaws, rules, and regulations as provided in section 15-263.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to regulate in the area which is within the corporate limits of the city and its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction in order to (1) secure the general health, (2) provide rules for the prevention, abatement, and removal of nuisances, including the pollution of air and water, and (3) make and prescribe regulations for the construction, location, and regulation of all slaughterhouses, stockyards, warehouses, commercial feed lots, stables, or other places where offensive matter is kept or is likely to accumulate.

A city of the primary class shall have the power by ordinance to regulate and prohibit cesspools and privy vaults in such city and shall have the power to require the owner or owners of any lot, lots, or lands within such cities, upon which any building or buildings are located, to connect such building or buildings with a sewer, to provide such building or buildings with a suitable privy or watercloset, and to connect such privy or watercloset with a sewer, and to require such owner or owners to keep all privy vaults and cesspools clean. Upon the refusal to connect with a sewer or failure of such owner or owners to provide a suitable watercloset or privy, or to make any sewer connection, or to remove any privy vault or cesspool, or to clean the privy vault or cesspool, after five days' notice by publication, or in place thereof, personal notice to so do, then such city, through its proper officers, shall have power to make any sewer connection, construct any watercloset or privy, regulate or remove any privy vault or cesspool, or clean the same, or cause the same to be done, and shall have the power to provide by ordinance for assessing the cost thereof by special assessment against the lot, lots, or lands of such owner or owners.

A city of the primary class may purchase, hold, and pay for, in the manner provided in sections 15-239 to 15-243, lands outside the corporate limits of such city for the purpose of burial and cemetery grounds and avenues leading thereto.

A city of the primary class may survey, plot, map, grade, fence, ornament, and otherwise improve all burial and cemetery grounds and avenues leading thereto owned by such city. The city may construct walks, rear and protect ornamental trees therein, and provide for paying the expenses thereof.

A city of the primary class may convey cemetery lots owned by such city by certificates signed by the mayor and countersigned by the city clerk under seal of the city, specifying that the person to whom such certificate is issued is owner of the lot or lots described therein by number as laid down on such plat or map, for the purpose of interment. Such certificate shall vest in the proprietor, his or her heirs and assigns, a right in fee simple to such lot or lots for the sole purpose of interment under the regulations of the city council.

A city of the primary class may limit the number of cemetery lots which shall be owned by the same person at the same time, may prescribe rules for enclosing, adorning, and erecting monuments and tombstones on cemetery lots, and may prohibit any diversion of the use of such lots and any improper adornment thereof, but no religious test shall be made as to the ownership of such lots, the burial therein, or the ornamentation of graves or lots.

A city of the primary class may pass rules and ordinances imposing penalties and fines, not exceeding one hundred dollars, regulating, protecting, and governing the cemetery, the owners of lots therein, visitors thereof, and trespassers therein. The officers of such city shall have full jurisdiction and power in the enforcement of such rules and ordinances as though they related to the city itself.

A city of the primary class may borrow money on the credit of the city and pledge the credit, revenue, and public property of the city for the payment thereof when authorized in the manner provided by the home rule charter of the city or as otherwise provided by law. Such city shall have the power to issue general obligation bonds of the city, general obligation notes, and refunding bonds, as provided in its home rule charter or as otherwise provided by law. Such city shall have the power to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, extending, equipping, or furnishing any revenue-producing facility within or without the city which is for a public purpose, except that unless authorized by a majority of the voters of such city voting upon the question, no revenue bonds shall be issued for entering the public transportation, natural gas distribution, or telephone fields or functions. Such city shall also have the power to contract for the acquisition of the electric facilities and properties used or useful in connection therewith of a public power district within or without the city and to pay for all or any part of the acquisition out of the earnings of electric facilities and properties.

A city of the primary class may divide the city into election districts, establish the boundaries thereof, and number the election districts.

A city of the primary class may provide for removing officers of the city for misconduct, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 15, and may provide for filling vacancies in any elective office as provided in sections 32-568 and 32-569.

A city of the primary class may regulate and prescribe the powers, duties, and compensation of officers of the city not otherwise provided by law.

A city of the primary class may require all officers or employees elected or appointed to give bond or evidence of equivalent insurance for the faithful performance of their duties. No officer shall become surety upon the official bond of another or upon any contractor's bond, license, or appeal bond given to the city or under any ordinance thereof. It shall be optional with such officers to give a surety or guaranty company bond.

A city of the primary class may require of any officer of the city, at any time, a detailed report of the transactions of his or her office or any matters connected therewith.

A city of the primary class may provide for the revision of the ordinances of such city from time to time and for their publication in pamphlet, book, or electronic form, with or without the statutes relative to cities of the primary class.

A city of the primary class may (1) prohibit riots, routs, noise, or disorderly assemblies, (2) prevent the discharge of firearms, rockets, powder, fireworks, or other dangerous and combustible material, (3) regulate and prevent the transportation of gunpowder or combustible articles, tar, pitch, resin, coal oil, benzine, turpentine, hemp, cotton, nitroglycerine, dynamite, petroleum or its products, or other explosives or inflammables, (4) regulate use of lights in stables, shops, or other places and building of bonfires, and (5) regulate and prohibit the piling of building material or any excavation or obstruction of the streets.

A city of the primary class may punish disturbance of the peace or good order, clamor, intoxication, drunkenness, fighting, or other violations of the public peace by indecent or disorderly conduct, or blockading any street, sidewalk, way, or space, or interfering with the passing of people.

A city of the primary class may provide for the punishment of vagrants, tramps, or street beggars, prostitutes, disturbers of the peace, pickpockets, gamblers, burglars, thieves, or persons who practice any game, trick, or device with intent to swindle.

A city of the primary class may restrain, prohibit, and suppress unlicensed billiard tables, bowling alleys, houses of prostitution, opium and illicit drug dens, and other disorderly houses and practices, games, and gambling houses, may prohibit all public amusements, shows, or exhibitions, and may prohibit all lotteries, all fraudulent devices and practices for the purposes of obtaining money or property, all shooting galleries except as provided in the Nebraska Shooting Range Protection Act, and all kinds of public indecencies, except that nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to bingo, lotteries, lotteries by the sale of pickle cards, or raffles conducted in accordance with the Nebraska Bingo Act, the Nebraska Lottery and Raffle Act, the Nebraska Pickle Card Lottery Act, the Nebraska Small Lottery and Raffle Act, or the State Lottery Act.

A city of the primary class may erect, establish, and regulate houses of correction, jails, community residential centers, work release centers, halfway houses, and such other places of control or confinement as may be designated as a jail facility from time to time by the city, including station houses and other buildings necessary for keeping and confining prisoners, and may provide for the government and support of such facilities.

A city of the primary class may regulate railroad crossings, provide precautions, and prescribe rules for running railway engines or cars, and their speed, for prevention of accidents at crossings or on tracks or by fires from railway engines. A city of the primary class may regulate the running of buses and require heating and cleaning thereof. A city of the primary class may require reasonable lighting of railway crossings in such manner as the city council may prescribe. If the owner or operator fails to comply, the city may cause such requirement to be complied with and assess the expense of such requirements against such railway company to be collected as other taxes and to be a lien on the real estate belonging to such company, or may enforce compliance by action of mandamus. The city may enforce such regulations as are otherwise provided by law and may require railways to keep flagpersons at all railway street crossings where necessary to protect the public against injury to person or property, and require the installation, maintenance, and proper operation of gates, flashing signals, or other warning devices to ensure such safety. A city of the primary class may compel railways to conform tracks to grades at any time established, to keep tracks level with the street surface, and may compel railways to keep streets open, construct and keep in repair ditches, drains, sewers, and culverts along or under their right-of-way or tracks, and lay and maintain paving upon their whole right-of-way on paved streets.

A city of the primary class may provide for and cause to be taken a census of the city.

(1) A city of the primary class may make all such ordinances, bylaws, rules, and regulations not inconsistent with the general laws of the state as may be necessary or expedient, in addition to the special powers otherwise granted by law, (a) for maintaining the peace, good government, and welfare of the city, and its trade, commerce, and manufactories, (b) for preserving order and securing persons or property from violence, danger, and destruction, (c) for protecting public and private property, and (d) for promoting the public health, safety, convenience, comfort, morals, and general interests and welfare of the inhabitants of the city.

(2) A city of the primary class may enforce all such ordinances by providing for imprisonment of those convicted of violations and may impose forfeitures, fines, and penalties not exceeding five hundred dollars for any one offense, recoverable with costs, and, in the default of the payment thereof, provide for confinement in the city or county jail until the judgment and costs are paid.

Any city of the primary class shall have the right to contract with any other governmental subdivision or agency, whether local, state, or federal, for the keeping of prisoners, either in a facility of the city or in a facility of the other governmental subdivision or agency. Payment shall be made as provided in any such contract or agreement.

The mayor and city council of a city of the primary class shall have supervision and control of all public ways and public grounds within the city and shall require the same to be kept open, in repair, and free from nuisances.

The mayor and city council of a city of the primary class shall have power to regulate and provide for the lighting of streets, laying down gas, water, and other pipes, and the erection of lampposts, electric towers, or other apparatus. The mayor and city council may regulate the sale and use of gas and electric lights and fix and determine the price of gas, the charge of electric lights and power, and the rents of gas meters within the city, and regulate the inspection thereof. The mayor and city council may regulate telephone service and the use of telephones within the city, prohibit or regulate the erection of telephone or electric wire poles or other poles for whatsoever purpose desired or used in the public grounds, streets, or alleys, and the placing of wires thereon, require the removal from the public grounds, streets, or alleys of any or all such poles, and require the removal and placing under ground of any or all telephone or electric wires.

A city of the primary class may provide for the destruction and removal of weeds and worthless vegetation growing upon any lot, lots, or lands within the corporate limits of such city or within its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction or upon the streets and alleys abutting upon any lot, lots, or lands, and such city may require the owner or owners of such lot, lots, or lands to destroy and remove such weeds and worthless vegetation therefrom and from the streets and alleys abutting thereon. If, after five days' notice by publication, by certified United States mail, or by the conspicuous posting of the notice on the lot or land upon which the nuisance exists, the owner or owners fail, neglect, or refuse to destroy or remove the nuisance, the city, through its proper officers, shall destroy and remove the nuisance, or cause the nuisance to be destroyed or removed, from the lot, lots, or lands and streets and alleys abutting thereon and shall assess the cost thereof against such lot, lots, or lands as a special assessment.

(1) Any city of the primary class may provide for the collection and removal of garbage or refuse found upon any lot, lots, or land within the corporate limits of such city or within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of the city, or upon the streets, roads, or alleys abutting such lot, lots, or land, which constitutes a public nuisance. The city may require the owner, owners, duly authorized agent, or tenant of such lot, lots, or land to remove the garbage or refuse therefrom and from the streets, roads, or alleys abutting thereon.

(2) Notice that removal of garbage or refuse is necessary shall be given to (a)(i) the owner or owners, or (ii) the duly authorized agent, and (b) the tenant. Such notice shall be provided by personal service or by certified mail. After providing such notice, the city through its proper offices shall, in addition to other proper remedies, remove the garbage or refuse, or cause it to be removed, from such lot, lots, or land, and streets, roads, or alleys abutting thereon.

(3) If the mayor of such city shall declare that the accumulation of such garbage or refuse upon any lot, lots, or land constitutes an immediate nuisance and hazard to public health and safety, the city shall remove the garbage or refuse from such lot, lots, or land twenty-four hours after notice by personal service in accordance with subsection (2) of this section if such garbage or refuse has not been removed.

Whenever any city of the primary class removes any garbage or refuse from any lot, lots, or land pursuant to section 15-268.01, it shall, after a hearing before and conducted by the city council, assess the cost of the removal against such lot, lots, or land.

The Legislature finds and declares that the great increase in the number of motor vehicles, including buses and trucks, has created hazards to life and property in cities of the primary class in Nebraska. In order to remove or reduce the hazards to life and property and the inconvenience of congested traffic on the streets in such cities in this state, it is deemed necessary and of general benefit to the entire State of Nebraska to provide means for such cities in Nebraska to own offstreet parking facilities for the parking of motor vehicles.

Any city of the primary class in Nebraska may own, purchase, construct, equip, lease, or operate within such city offstreet motor vehicle parking facilities for the use of the general public. Any such city shall have the authority to acquire by grant, contract, purchase, or through the condemnation of property, as provided in sections 76-704 to 76-724, all real or personal property, including a site or sites on which to construct such facilities, necessary or convenient in the carrying out of this grant of power.

(1) In order to pay the cost required by any purchase, construction, lease, or condemnation of property and equipping of offstreet motor vehicle parking facilities, or the enlargement of presently owned offstreet motor vehicle parking facilities, a city of the primary class may issue revenue bonds to provide the funds for such improvements, except that any such city may not issue revenue bonds under sections 15-269 to 15-276 to acquire any privately owned parking garage or privately owned commercial parking lot having space for the parking of two hundred or more motor vehicles.

(2) Any ordinance authorizing such revenue bonds may contain such covenants and provisions to protect and safeguard the security of the holders of such bonds as shall be deemed necessary to assure the prompt payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon.

(3) Such revenue bonds shall not be sold at discounts exceeding five percent, and such bonds shall not bear interest in excess of the rate of interest specified in section 45-104.01, as such rate may from time to time be adjusted by the Legislature. Such bonds shall be issued for such terms as the ordinance authorizing them shall prescribe but shall not mature later than fifty years after the date of issuance thereof.

(4) Any such revenue bonds which may be issued shall not be included in computing the maximum amount of bonds which the issuing city of the primary class may be authorized to issue under its charter or any statute of this state. If any city has installed or installs onstreet parking meters, it may pledge all or any part of the revenue of such parking meters, not previously pledged, as security for the bonds authorized by this section.

A city of the primary class may make and enter into any and all contracts and agreements with any individual, public or private corporation, or agency of this state or of the United States, as may be necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under sections 15-269 to 15-276. In the exercise of this authority, such city may make such contracts and agreements as may be needed for the payment of the revenue bonds authorized by sections 15-269 to 15-276 and for the successful operation of the parking facilities. In the exercise of this authority, the city may lease or grant concessions for the use of the facilities or various portions thereof to one or more operators to provide for the efficient operation of the facilities, but no lease or concession shall run for a period in excess of thirty years. In granting any lease or concession, or in making any contract or agreement, the city shall retain such control of the facilities as may be necessary to insure that the facilities will be properly operated in the public interest and that the rates, charges, or prices are reasonable.

A city of the primary class is authorized to make all necessary rules and regulations governing the use, operation, and control of offstreet motor vehicle parking facilities constructed or acquired under sections 15-269 to 15-276. Such city shall establish and maintain equitable rates sufficient in amount to pay for the cost of the operation, repair, and upkeep of the facilities to be purchased, acquired, or leased, and the principal of and interest on any revenue bonds issued pursuant to sections 15-269 to 15-276. The city may also make any other agreements with the purchasers of the bonds for the security of the issuing city and the purchasers of such bonds not in contravention of sections 15-269 to 15-276.

The provisions of sections 15-269 to 15-276 and of any ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds under such sections shall constitute a contract with the holders of such bonds, and any holder of a bond or bonds or any of the coupons of any bond or bonds of such city of the primary class, issued under sections 15-269 to 15-276, may either in law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus, or other proceedings, enforce and compel the performance of all duties required by such sections or by the ordinance authorizing the bonds, including the making and collection of sufficient charges and fees for service and the use thereof, and the application of income and revenue thereof.

Any city of the primary class is authorized to use any or all of the revenue from onstreet parking meters for the purpose set forth in section 15-270 if such revenue has not been pledged for the payment of revenue bonds authorized by the provisions of sections 15-269 to 15-276.

Sections 15-269 to 15-276 are supplementary to existing statutes relating to cities of the primary class and confer upon such cities powers not heretofore granted.

A city of the primary class may establish and fund a commission on the status of women. Such commission shall advise the mayor and city council on the existence of social, economic, and legal barriers affecting women and ways to eliminate such barriers.

The purpose of a commission established under section 15-277 shall be to emphasize studying the changing and developing roles of women in American society including:

(1) Recognition of socioeconomic factors that influence the status of women;

(2) Development of individual potential;

(3) Encouragement of women to utilize their capabilities and assume leadership roles;

(4) Coordination of efforts of numerous women's organizations interested in the welfare of women;

(5) Identification and recognition of contributions made by Nebraska women to the community, state, and nation;

(6) Implementation of this section when improved working conditions, financial security, and legal status of both sexes are involved; and

(7) Promotion of legislation to improve any situation when implementation of subdivisions (1) to (6) of this section indicates a need for change.

The general city elections in cities of the primary class shall be held on the first Tuesday in May of every odd-numbered year. All city elections shall be conducted in accordance with the Election Act.

All elective officers of a city of the primary class, except city council members, shall give a good and sufficient bond or evidence of equivalent insurance in an amount to be fixed by ordinance, for the faithful performance of their duties. Each city council member before entering upon the duties of his or her office shall give a bond or evidence of equivalent insurance in favor of the city in the sum of two thousand dollars. If a bond is given, it shall be signed by a surety company or by two or more good and sufficient sureties who are residents of such city, who shall justify that he or she is worth at least two thousand dollars over and above his or her debts, liabilities, and exemptions, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of the city council members and conditioned further that if the city council members vote for an expenditure of money or the creation of any liability in excess of the amount allowed by law, or vote for the transfer of any sum of money from one fund to another where such transfer is not allowed by law, such city council members and surety or sureties signing the bonds shall be liable thereon.

All appointive officers of a city of the primary class before entering upon their respective duties shall give a good and sufficient bond or evidence of equivalent insurance in an amount to be fixed by ordinance in favor of the city, conditioned upon the faithful performance of their duties.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power by ordinance to fix the salaries of the officers and employees of the city and provide by ordinance for the forfeiting of the salary of any officer or employee.

No officer of a city of the primary class shall receive any pay or perquisite from the city other than his or her salary, and the city council shall not pay or appropriate any money or other valuable thing to any person, not an officer, for the performance of any act, service, or duty, the performance of which shall come within the proper scope of the duties of any officer of the city, unless such money or other valuable thing is specifically appropriated and ordered by unanimous vote of all members elected to the city council.

The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of a city of the primary class. The executive and administrative power of a city of the primary class shall be vested in and exercised by the mayor, who shall also be the ceremonial head of the city government. The mayor shall enforce the city ordinances and all applicable laws. The mayor may administer oaths, may perform all the duties devolving upon a magistrate, and shall sign commissions and appointments of all officers appointed by him or her with city council approval.

The mayor of a city of the primary class shall have such jurisdiction as may be vested in him or her by ordinance, over all places within the city of the primary class or within its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction, for the enforcement of the health ordinances and regulations thereof, and for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of all such ordinances, except that the ordinances respecting taxation shall not be enforced outside of the corporate limits of such city of the primary class.

The mayor and chief of police of a city of the primary class shall each have the power to call upon any citizen to aid in the enforcement of any ordinance or suppression of any riot, and any person who shall refuse or neglect to obey such call shall forfeit and pay a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars. Such power shall not be construed to include the appointment of special police or special deputies.

The mayor of a city of the primary class shall have the power to remit fines and forfeitures and to grant reprieves and pardons for all offenses arising under the ordinances of the city.

The city clerk of a city of the primary class shall have the custody of all laws and ordinances and shall keep a correct journal of the proceedings of the city council. After the period of time specified by the State Records Administrator pursuant to the Records Management Act, the city clerk may transfer such journal of the proceedings of the city council to the State Archives of the Nebraska State Historical Society, for permanent preservation. The city clerk shall keep a correct record of all outstanding bonds against the city showing the number and amount of each, for what and to whom issued, and when purchased, paid, or canceled, and shall make an annual report showing particularly the bonds issued and sold during the year, and the terms of sale, with each item of expense thereof. The city clerk shall perform such other or further duties as may be required of him or her by ordinances of the city. The city clerk shall also make a monthly report to the city council showing the amount appropriated to each fund, and the whole amount of funds drawn thereon, which report shall be recorded in the minutes. The city clerk may, if the city council deem assistance necessary, appoint a deputy who shall give a bond in favor of the city the same as is required of the city clerk.

(1) The city treasurer of a city of the primary class shall be required to give a bond or evidence of equivalent insurance of not less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars or he or she may be required to give a bond or evidence of equivalent insurance double the sum of money estimated by the city council to be at any time in his or her hands belonging to the city. The city treasurer shall be the custodian of all money belonging to the city and all securities belonging or to be held by the city. The city treasurer shall keep a separate account of each fund or appropriation and debits and credits belonging thereto. The city treasurer shall give every person paying money into the treasury a receipt therefor, specifying the date of payment and on what account paid, and he or she shall also file copies of receipts with his or her monthly report. The city treasurer shall monthly and as often as required render to the city council an account under oath showing the state of the treasury at that date, the amount of money remaining in each fund, the amount paid therefrom, and the balance of money in the treasury. The city treasurer shall also accompany such accounts with a statement of all receipts and disbursements, together with all warrants redeemed and paid by him or her, which warrants, together with any and all vouchers held by him or her, shall be filed in the city clerk's office, and if he or she neglects or fails for thirty days from the end of any month to enter such accounts, his or her office may by resolution of the mayor and city council be declared vacant, and the mayor with the concurrence of the city council shall fill the vacancy by appointment until the next election of the city officers. The city treasurer may employ and appoint a deputy and an assistant or assistants as determined by ordinance. The city treasurer shall be liable upon his or her official bond for the acts of such appointees.

(2) The city treasurer shall annually complete continuing education through a program approved by the Auditor of Public Accounts, and proof of completion of such program shall be submitted to the Auditor of Public Accounts.

The city attorney of a city of the primary class shall be the legal advisor of the mayor, the city council, and city officers of a city of the primary class. The city attorney shall commence, prosecute, and defend actions on behalf of the city, attend the meetings of the city council, and give opinions, orally or in writing, as required, upon any matter submitted to him or her by the mayor, the city council, or any officers of the city. The city attorney is authorized to prepare, file, and sign the proper complaint when there is sufficient evidence to warrant the belief that a person is guilty and can be convicted of a violation of a city ordinance. The city attorney shall draft or review for legal correctness ordinances, contracts, franchises, and other instruments as may be required, and the city attorney shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him or her by general law or by ordinance. The city attorney may appoint a deputy city attorney and one or more assistant city attorneys, whose duties may be prescribed by ordinance.

The chief of police of a city of the primary class shall have the immediate charge of the police, and he or she and his or her officers shall have the power and duty to arrest all offenders against the laws of the state or the ordinances of the city in the same manner as the county sheriff and to keep such offenders in the city jail or other place to prevent their escape until a trial or examination may be had before a proper officer. The jurisdiction of the chief of police and his or her officers in the service of process, in all criminal cases, and in cases for the violation of city ordinances shall be coextensive with the county.

The power to remove from office the mayor or any city council member or other officer of a city of the primary class for good and sufficient cause is hereby conferred upon the district court for the county in which such city is situated, when not otherwise provided by law, and whenever any three city council members shall make and file with the clerk of such court the proper charges and specifications against the mayor, alleging and showing that he or she is guilty of malfeasance or misfeasance as such officer, or that he or she is incompetent or neglects any of his or her duties as mayor, or that for any other good and sufficient cause stated, he or she should be removed from office as mayor; or whenever the mayor or any three city council members shall make and file with the clerk of such court the proper charges and specifications against any city council member or other officer, alleging and showing that he or she is guilty of malfeasance or misfeasance in office or that he or she is incompetent or neglects any of his or her duties, or that from any other good and sufficient cause stated, he or she should be removed from office, the judge of such court may issue the proper order, requiring such officer to appear before him or her on a day named therein, not more than ten days after the service of such order, together with a copy of such charges and specifications, upon such officer to show cause why he or she should not be removed from his or her office. The proceedings in such case shall take precedence over all civil cases and be conducted according to the rules of such court in such cases made and provided, and such officer may be suspended from the duties of his or her office during the pendency of such proceedings by order of such court. During the time any officer is suspended, the mayor and city council, or in case the mayor is suspended, then the city council, may appoint any competent person to perform the duties of the officer so suspended, provide for his or her compensation, and require such appointee to execute a good and sufficient bond for the faithful performance of the duties of the office.

Regular meetings of the city council of a city of the primary class shall be held at least once each week on such days and at such times as the city council may prescribe in its rules, and special meetings shall be held whenever called by the mayor or any four members of the city council. The city council may choose not to meet during any week in which a federal or state holiday occurs. Four members of the city council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, and four affirmative votes shall be required to pass any measure or to transact any business unless it is otherwise provided by any home rule charter of a city of the primary class.

Ordinances of a city of the primary class shall be passed pursuant to such rules and regulations as the city council may provide and may be proved by the certificate of the city clerk under seal of the city. The passage, approval, publication, or posting of ordinances shall be sufficiently proved by certificate of the city clerk under seal of the city showing when passed and approved, when and in what legal newspaper published, or when, by whom, and where the ordinance was posted. Ordinances printed or published in book, pamphlet, or electronic form, purporting to be published under authority of the city, shall be received in evidence in all courts without further proof. All such ordinances need not be otherwise published and shall be received in court as evidence of the passage, approval, and publication thereof, as required by law, and of the respective dates thereof.

The style of ordinances of a city of the primary class shall be: Be it ordained by the city council of the city of ........ . All ordinances shall be published within fifteen days after passage thereof, such publication to be sufficient if published in one issue of a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city, or posted on the official bulletin board of the city at the city hall, or in book, pamphlet, or electronic form, as may be provided by ordinance, to be distributed or sold in the city. Ordinances fixing a penalty or forfeiture for the violation thereof shall not take effect until fifteen days after passage, and in no case before one week after the publication thereof in the manner prescribed in this section, except that in case of riots, infectious or contagious diseases, or other impending danger or other emergency requiring immediate operation of the ordinance, such ordinance shall take effect immediately upon the publication thereof as prescribed in this section. All ordinances, except as otherwise provided in this section, shall take effect fifteen days after passage.

All ordinances, resolutions, or orders for the appropriation or payment of money in a city of the primary class shall require for passage or adoption the concurrence of a majority of the members elected to the city council. Ordinances of a general or permanent nature shall be read by title on three different days unless the city council votes to suspend this requirement by a two-thirds vote of the members, except that such requirement shall not be suspended (1) for any ordinance for the annexation of territory or the redrawing of boundaries for city council election districts or wards or (2) as otherwise provided by law. No ordinance shall contain a subject which is not clearly expressed in its title. No ordinance or section thereof shall be revised or amended unless the new ordinance contains the entire ordinance or section as revised or amended and the ordinance or section so amended shall be repealed.

The mayor of a city of the primary class shall from time to time communicate to the city council such recommendations or information as in his or her opinion tend to improve the finances, police, health, comfort, and general welfare of the city.

When a system of waterworks shall have been adopted in a city of the primary class and the people shall have voted to borrow money to aid their construction, the mayor and city council may (1) construct and maintain such system of waterworks, either within or without the corporate limits of the city, (2) make all needful rules and regulations concerning the use of such waterworks, and (3) do all acts necessary for the construction, completion, and management and control of such waterworks, including the exercise of the right of eminent domain. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724.

In case such aid shall not be voted by the people as provided in section 15-501 or in case the system of waterworks shall prove inadequate for the needs of the city of the primary class, both public and private, then the mayor and city council may contract with and procure individuals or corporations to construct and maintain a system of waterworks in such city of the primary class for any time not exceeding twenty years from the date of the contract, and with a reservation to the city of the right to purchase such waterworks at any time after the lapse of ten years from the date of the contract, upon payment to such individuals or corporation of an amount to be determined by the contract not exceeding the cost of construction of such waterworks. In other respects such contracts may be upon such terms as may be agreed upon by a two-thirds vote of the mayor and city council, recorded in the minutes, except that no such contract shall be made unless authorized by a majority vote of the legal voters at a special election called for such purpose.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power by ordinance to create, open, widen, or otherwise improve, vacate, control, name, and rename any street, alley, or public way or ways, including the sidewalk space within the corporate limits of the city, except that all damages sustained by the owners of the property thereon by opening or widening shall be ascertained as provided in sections 76-704 to 76-724. Whenever any street, alley, or public way shall be vacated, such street, alley, or public way shall revert to the owners of the adjacent real estate, one-half on each side thereof, unless the city reserves title to such street, alley, or public way in the ordinance vacating such street, alley, or public way. In the event title is retained by the city, such property may be sold, conveyed, exchanged, or leased upon such terms and conditions as shall be deemed in the best interests of the city, as authorized in its home rule charter. When the city vacates all or any portion of a street, alley, or public way or ways, the city shall, within thirty days after the effective date of the vacation, file a certified copy of the vacating ordinance with the register of deeds for the county in which the vacated property is located to be indexed against all affected lots.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power to grade partially or to an established grade, curb, recurb, gutter, construct sidewalks, or otherwise improve or repair any street or streets, alley or alleys, public grounds, public way or ways, or parts thereof, including sidewalk space, at public cost, or by levy of special assessments on the property specially benefited thereby, proportionate to the benefits. When the streets, public ways, or public grounds have been brought to an established grade, the city council shall have power to bring sidewalks and sidewalk space therein to a grade and to construct sidewalks and shall have power and authority to levy special assessments against the property specially benefited, not to exceed the cost of the improvement. Ordinary repairs, not including repaving or resurfacing or relaying existing pavement or making sidewalk repairs, shall be at public cost.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power to grade, to change grade, and to pave, repave, macadamize, curb, recurb, gravel, regravel, open, and widen streets, roadways, or public ways, gutter, resurface, or relay existing pavement, or otherwise improve any street, streets, alley, alleys, public grounds, or public way or ways, or parts thereof, including the sidewalk space, and including improvement by mall or promenade, and by ordinance to create grading, paving, repaving, curbing, recurbing, resurfacing, graveling, regraveling, sidewalk, or improvement districts thereof, to be consecutively numbered, and such districts may include two or more connecting or intersecting streets, alleys, or public ways and may include two or more improvements, in this section mentioned, in one proceeding. Cost of so improving the street, streets, alley, alleys, public grounds, or public way or ways, including sidewalks, may be in whole or in part assessed, proportionate to benefits, on the property specially benefited. The city council may fix the depth to which property may be charged and assessed for benefits, and to a greater depth than the lots fronting on the street, streets, alley, alleys, public grounds, or public way or ways so improved, and the determination thereof by the city council shall be conclusive. The city council shall have the power and authority to fix the period of time for the payment of the special assessments, and to issue bonds, as authorized by the home rule charter.

(1) A city of the primary class shall have the power to designate and establish controlled-access facilities, may design, construct, maintain, improve, alter, and vacate such facilities, and may regulate, restrict, or prohibit access to such facilities so as best to serve the traffic for which such facilities are intended. Such a city may provide for the elimination of intersections at grade with existing roads, streets, highways, or alleys, if the public interest shall be served thereby. An existing road, street, alley, or other traffic facility may be included within such facilities or such facilities may include new or additional roads, streets, highways, or alleys. In order to carry out the purposes of this section, the city, in addition to any other powers it may have, may acquire, in private or public property, such rights of access as are deemed necessary, including, but not necessarily limited to, air, light, view, egress, and ingress. Such acquisitions may be by gift, devise, purchase, agreement, adverse possession, prescription, condemnation, or otherwise as provided by law and may be in fee simple absolute or in any lesser estate or interest. The city may make provision to mitigate damages caused by such acquisitions, terms and conditions regarding the abandonment or reverter of such acquisitions, and any other provisions or conditions that are desirable for the needs of the city and the general welfare of the public.

(2) No automotive service stations or other commercial establishments for serving motor vehicle users shall be constructed or located on the publicly owned right-of-way of, or on any publicly owned or publicly leased land used for, or in connection with, a controlled-access facility.

A city of the primary class shall have the power to designate, establish, design, construct, maintain, vacate, alter, improve, and regulate frontage roads within the boundaries of any present or hereafter acquired right-of-way and to exercise the same jurisdiction over such frontage roads as is authorized over controlled-access facilities. Such frontage roads may be connected to or separated from the controlled-access facilities at such places as the city shall determine to be consistent with public safety. Upon the construction of any frontage road, any right of access between the controlled-access facility and property abutting or adjacent to such frontage road shall terminate and ingress to and egress from the frontage road shall be provided at such places as will afford reasonable and safe connections.

The right of reasonably convenient egress to and ingress from lands or lots, abutting on an existing highway, street, or road within a city of the primary class, may not be denied except with the consent of the owners of such lands or lots, or with the condemnation of such right of access to and from such abutting lands or lots. If the construction or reconstruction of any highway, street, or road, to be paid for in whole or in part with federal or state highway funds, results in the abutment of property on such highway, street, or road that did not theretofore have direct egress from and ingress to it, no rights of direct access shall accrue because of such abutment, but the city may prescribe and define the location of the privilege of access, if any, of properties that then, but not theretofore, abut on such highway, street, or road.

In all specifications for materials to be used in paving, curbing, and guttering of every kind, of access ways, a city of the primary class shall establish a standard or standards of strength and quality, to be demonstrated by physical, chemical, or other tests within the limits of reasonable variations. In every instance the materials shall be so described in the specifications, either by standard or quality, to permit genuine competition between contractors so that there may be two or more bids by individuals or companies in no manner connected with each other and no material shall be specified which shall not be subject to such competition.

If in any city of the primary class there shall be any real estate belonging to any county, school district, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, joint public agency, cemetery association, library board, or other public board or association, abutting upon the street, streets, alley, alleys, public way, or public grounds proposed to be improved, the proper officer or officers having control and jurisdiction over such real estate, or authorized to purchase, lease, hold, or convey real estate, shall have power to sign a petition for paving, repaving, curbing, recurbing, grading, changing grade, guttering, resurfacing, relaying existing pavement, or otherwise improving any street, streets, alley, alleys, public way, or public grounds or improvement districts. When such improvements have been ordered, it shall be the duty of the governing body controlling and having jurisdiction over such real estate benefited by such improvement, to pay such special taxes or assessments, or its proportionate share of the cost of such improvements, and in event of neglect or refusal so to do, the city may recover the amount of such special taxes or assessments, or proportionate share of the cost, in any proper action, and the judgment thus obtained may be enforced in the usual manner.

The city council of a city of the primary class may order the owner of lots abutting on a street that is to be paved to lay sewer, gas, and water service pipes to connect mains. If the owner fails to lay such pipes, after five days' notice by publication in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city, or in place thereof by personal service of such notice, as the city council in its discretion may direct, the city council may cause the sewer, gas, and water service pipes to be laid as part of the work of the improvement district and assess the cost thereof on the property of such owner as a special assessment. Such assessment to pay the cost of the pavement or improvements in the improvement district shall be collected and enforced as a special assessment.

To pay the cost of curbing and guttering public ways in a city of the primary class, the city council may issue bonds called curbing gutter bonds, district No. ......, payable in not more than twenty years or at the option of the city at any interest-paying date, and assess the cost, not exceeding the special benefits, on abutting property as special assessments. Such assessments shall become due, delinquent, draw interest, and be subject to like penalty and collected as special assessments and shall constitute a sinking fund for the payment of such bonds. No paving bonds and no curbing gutter bonds shall be sold or delivered until necessary to make payments for work done on such improvements.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power to lay off the city into suitable districts for the purpose of establishing a system of sewerage and drainage, to provide such system and regulate the construction, repairs, and use of sewers and drains, and to provide penalties for any obstruction of, or injury to, any sewers or drains and for any violation of the rules and regulations with respect thereto that may be prescribed by the city council. The city council shall have the power to create sewer districts by ordinance and designate the property to be benefited by the construction of sewers in such districts. The city council shall have the power to construct or cause to be constructed such sewer or sewers in such district or districts and assess the cost thereof against the property in such districts, to the extent of the special benefits.

Special assessments may be levied by the city council of a city of the primary class for the purpose of paying the cost of constructing sewers and drains as provided in section 15-717. Such assessments shall be levied upon the real estate within the sewerage districts in which such sewer or drain may be, to the extent of benefits to such property by reason of such improvements. The benefits to such property shall be determined by the city council as in other cases of special assessments. All assessments made for sewerage or drainage purposes shall be levied and collected as special assessments.

The mayor and city council of a city of the primary class may issue sewer district bonds to cover the cost of the work of constructing sewers in sewer districts, and the special assessment levied on account of such work shall constitute a sinking fund for the payment of such bonds.

The mayor and city council of a city of the primary class may by ordinance purchase and own grounds for and erect and establish market houses and market places, regulate and govern such market houses and market places, and prescribe the fees to be charged persons for stalls therein. Any revenue from such fees shall be applied (1) to the payment of the salaries of the officers appointed to take charge of such market house or market place, (2) to the payment of repairs of the market house or market place, and (3) to the payment of the cost of erecting such market house or market place. After all salaries, repairs, and costs of construction have been paid, the surplus, if any remaining, shall be disposed of as the city council shall direct. The mayor and city council may contract with any person or persons, or association of persons, companies, or corporations, for the erection and regulation of such market house or market place on such terms and conditions and in such manner as the city council may prescribe, and raise all necessary revenue therefor as provided in this section. The mayor and city council may locate market houses or market places on any street, alley, or public ground, or any land purchased for such purpose, and provide for the erection of all other useful and necessary buildings for the use of the city and for the protection and safety of all property owned by the city, except that any such improvement, costing in the aggregate a sum greater than five hundred dollars, shall not be authorized until the ordinance providing for such improvement shall be first submitted to and ratified by a majority of the legal voters of such city.

Special tax assessments to pay the cost of public improvements in a city of the primary class, except special assessments for sidewalk purposes or as otherwise provided by law, shall be made in the following manner: (1) Assessment shall be made on the improvement district by resolution of the city council at any meeting, stating the cost of the improvement and benefit accruing to the property in the district to be taxed shall be recorded in the minutes. The city council shall submit a proposed distribution of the tax on each separate property to be taxed to the board of equalization as provided in the resolution, and (2) notice of the board of equalization meeting shall be published, in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city, ten days before the meeting, and the notice shall include that the city council will sit as a board of equalization at the time fixed in such notice, not less than five days after such assessment, and the proper distribution of such special tax shall be open to examination of all persons interested. Property shall not be specially taxed for more than the total cost of the improvement nor more than the special benefit accruing thereto by the improvement. If the aggregate tax be less than the cost of improvement, the excess shall be paid from the general fund. Special taxes may be assessed as the improvement progresses and as soon as completed in front of or along property taxed, or when the whole is complete, as the city council shall determine. Special assessments for local benefits shall be a lien on all property so specially benefited superior and prior to all other liens save general taxes or other special assessments and equal therewith. If any special assessment be declared void, or doubt of its validity exist, the mayor and city council, to pay the cost of improvement, may make a reassessment thereof on the property within the district, and any sums paid on the original special assessment shall be credited to the property on which it was paid and any excess refunded to the owner paying it, with lawful interest. Taxes reassessed and not paid shall be enforced and collected as other special taxes. No special tax or assessment which the mayor and city council acquire jurisdiction to make shall be void for any irregularity, defect, error, or informality in procedure, in levy or equalization thereof.

When any special tax, except sidewalk tax, is levied in a city of the primary class, it shall be the duty of the city clerk to issue a certificate describing such lot or piece of ground by number and block, stating the amount of special tax levied thereon and the purpose for which such tax was levied, and stating when such tax shall become due and delinquent. The city clerk shall forthwith deliver a duplicate of such certificate to the city treasurer, who shall, without delay, give at least five days' notice through publication in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city, of the time when such tax will become delinquent. To every such certificate the city clerk shall append a warrant in the usual form, requiring such city treasurer to collect such special tax or taxes by distress and sale of goods and chattels of the person, persons, or bodies corporate owing any such special tax or taxes, if such special tax or taxes are not paid before the time fixed for such special tax or taxes to become delinquent. The city treasurer shall make his or her return of such warrants with a report of his or her doings thereunder on or before the fifteenth day of July next thereafter.

It shall be sufficient in any case involving a special tax assessment in a city of the primary class to describe the lot or piece of ground as such lot or piece of ground is platted or recorded, although such lot or piece of ground belongs to several persons, but in case any lot or piece of ground belongs to different persons, the owner of any part thereof may pay his or her portion of the tax on such lot or piece of ground, and his or her proper share may be determined by the city treasurer.

When any public improvement in a city of the primary class is completed according to contract, it shall be the duty of the city engineer to carefully inspect such improvement, and if the improvement is found to be properly done, such city engineer shall accept the improvement and forthwith report his or her acceptance thereof to the city council with recommendation that the improvement be approved or disapproved, and the city council may confirm or reject such acceptance. When the ordinance levying the tax makes such tax due as the improvement is completed in front of or along any block or piece of ground, the city engineer may accept the improvement in sections from time to time, if found to be done according to the contract, reporting his or her acceptance as in other cases.

A city of the primary class may authorize or permit the use of its roads, streets, highways, alleys, or other public rights-of-way for street railway systems.

The owner of property abutting on public streets in a city of the primary class is primarily charged with the duty of keeping and maintaining the sidewalks on such property in a safe and sound condition and free from snow, ice, and other obstructions. Upon a failure to so keep and maintain such sidewalks, and upon notice to such abutting property owner as provided in this section, such abutting property owner shall be liable for injuries or damages sustained by reason of such failure. Such city is given general charge, control, and supervision of the streets and sidewalks thereof and is required to cause to be maintained or maintain the same in a reasonably safe condition. The city is given full power to require owners of abutting property to keep and maintain the sidewalks of such property in a safe and sound condition and free from snow, ice, and other obstructions and to require such abutting property owners to construct and maintain the sidewalks of such material and of such dimensions and upon such grade as may be determined by the city council. In case such abutting property owner refuses or neglects, after five days' notice by publication in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in such city, or in place thereof, by personal service of such notice, to so construct or maintain such sidewalk, the city through the proper officers may construct or repair such sidewalk or cause such sidewalk to be constructed or repaired, and report the cost of such construction or repairs to the city council, whereupon the city council shall assess such costs against such abutting property. The city council may receive bids for constructing or repairing any or all such sidewalks and may let contracts to the lowest responsible bidders for constructing or repairing such sidewalks. The contractor or contractors shall be paid for such contracts from special assessments against the abutting property. The cost of constructing, replacing, repairing, or grading thereof shall be assessed at a regular city council meeting by resolution, fixing the cost along abutting property as a special assessment against such property; and the amount charged or the cost thereof shall be recorded in the minutes. Notice of the time of such meeting of the city council and its purpose shall be published once in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city at least five days before the meeting of the city council is to be held, or, in place thereof, personal notice may be given to such abutting property owners. Such special assessment shall be known as special sidewalk assessments, and together with the cost of notice, shall be levied and collected as special assessments in addition to the general revenue taxes, and shall be subject to the same penalties and shall draw interest at a rate not to exceed the rate of interest specified in section 45-104.01, as such rate may from time to time be adjusted by the Legislature, from the date of the levy thereof until satisfied.

Special sidewalk assessments assessed as provided in section 15-734 may be collected:

(1) In the manner usual for the collection or foreclosure of county taxes against real estate;

(2) By foreclosure as in case of county taxes against real estate. In the foreclosure of such special sidewalk assessments, any number of parties, owners of abutting property against which property a special sidewalk assessment has been made, may be made parties defendant, and any number of special sidewalk assessments may be foreclosed in one action, the decree, however, to be separate as to each particular piece of abutting property against which such special sidewalk assessments have been levied. A certified copy by the city clerk of the action of the city council in making such special sidewalk assessments shall be received in evidence as prima facie evidence of the regularity of all proceedings in the matter of making and levying such special sidewalk assessments, and such special sidewalk assessments shall constitute a lien prior and superior to all other liens except liens for taxes or other special assessments upon such abutting property. In the foreclosure of such special assessments, the action may be brought in the name of the city against any and all parties subject to the payment of such special sidewalk assessments in one or more actions, and the city may become a purchaser thereof for an amount not exceeding the amount of the special sidewalk assessment and interest and penalties thereon; or

(3) The city clerk, upon the request of the city council, shall, under seal of the city, make out a statement containing a description of the property against which special sidewalk assessments are delinquent, the amount of such special sidewalk assessments together with interest and penalties thereon, the name of the owner of such abutting property at the time of the levy, and the date of the levy, and shall transmit the same to the clerk of the district court. Upon request of the city the clerk of the district court shall issue an order of sale of such abutting property and deliver the same to the county sheriff, who shall thereupon cause such property to be advertised and sold as in case of sale of real estate under judgment and execution, except that it shall not be necessary for the county sheriff to cause such property to be appraised. Upon sale the county sheriff shall report the sale thereof to the district court for confirmation.

(1) Any county and any city of the primary class, which is the county seat of such county, shall have the power to join with each other and with other political or governmental subdivisions, agencies, or public corporations whether federal, state, or local, or with any number of combinations thereof, by contract or otherwise in the joint ownership, operation, or performance of any property, facility, power, or function, or in agreements containing the provisions that one or more thereof operate or perform for the other or others. Any such county and any such city shall also have the power to authorize and undertake research, formulate plans, draft and seek the enactment of legislation, take other actions concerning improvement of the relationships between themselves or between each of them and other political or governmental subdivisions, agencies, or public corporations, whether federal, state, or local, for the attainment of voluntary cooperation agreements, annexations, transfers of functions to or from such city, or to or from such county, or city-county consolidation or separation, or any other means of accomplishing changes in governmental organization in which such city or such county has an interest. Such city and such county may undertake such efforts alone or in concert with other political or governmental subdivisions, agencies, or public corporations, whether federal, state, or local, or with public or private research or professional organizations. Such city and such county may appropriate and spend money for such purposes.

(2) Any officer or employee, whether elected or appointed, of any county, may also simultaneously be and serve as an officer or employee of any such city of the primary class, referred to in subsection (1) of this section, which is the county seat of the county where such duties are not incompatible. Any officer or employee, whether elected or appointed, of a city of the primary class which is the county seat of a county may also simultaneously be and serve as an officer or employee of the county of which such city is the county seat where such duties are not incompatible, except that this provision shall not apply to or cover the county board of such county or the mayor or members of the city council of such city.

Any action authorized under section 15-751 shall be taken only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the county board of the county in which a city of the primary class is the county seat or a majority of the members of the city council and mayor of such city, and when such action is taken by such governing body, it shall be binding upon all officers and employees of such county or such city.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power to create ornamental lighting districts for the purpose of acquiring and installing ornamental lights, including poles, fixtures, wiring, underground conduits, and all necessary equipment and accessories, in or along any street, streets, public grounds, or public way or ways, within the city. All such districts shall be known as ornamental lighting districts and shall be created by ordinance which shall designate the property within the district to be benefited. The city shall have the power to advertise for bids for the installation, construction, and equipment for such ornamental lights and to contract with the lowest responsible bidder therefor as authorized in its home rule charter. The cost of such ornamental lights may be, in whole or in part, assessed proportionately to the benefits on the property specially benefited, and the city council shall have the power and authority to fix the period of time for the payment of the special assessments and to issue bonds, as authorized by its home rule charter.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power by ordinance to create public improvement districts for opening, widening, or enlarging of any street, alley, boulevard, or public way or the establishing or enlarging of any park or parkway within the city. Such special improvement district having been created, the city may acquire, by agreement, purchase, condemnation, or otherwise, the necessary lands, lots, or grounds to carry out the purposes of the district. The cost thereof may be, in whole or in part, assessed proportionate to benefits, on the property specially benefited. The city council shall have power and authority to fix the period of time for the payment of the special assessments and to issue bonds, as authorized by its home rule charter.

A city of the primary class may adopt biennial budgets for biennial periods if such budgets are provided for by a city charter provision. For purposes of this section:

(1) Biennial budget means a budget that provides for a biennial period to determine and carry on the city's financial and taxing affairs; and

(2) Biennial period means the two fiscal years comprising a biennium commencing in odd-numbered or even-numbered years.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall constitute the board of equalization for the city and shall have power as such board to equalize all taxes and assessments, to correct any errors in the listing or valuation of property, and to supply any omissions in the same. A majority of all the members elected to the city council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business properly before the board, but a less number may adjourn from time to time and compel the attendance of absent members. When sitting as a board of equalization on general or special taxes, the city council may adopt rules and regulations as to the manner of presenting complaints and applying for relief. The city council shall not invalidate or prejudice the proceedings of the board that a majority of the members thereof after organization as a board do not in fact continue present during the advertised hours for the sitting of such board, as long as the city clerk and some member of the board shall be present to receive complaints or applications for relief. No final action shall be taken with respect to any taxes or assessments by the board until a majority of the members of the city council sitting as a board of equalization shall be present and in open session.

Notwithstanding any existing provisions to the contrary, whenever any city of the primary class has the county within which it is situated collect the taxes for the city, the officials of the county as designated by state law shall constitute a board of equalization for the city except as to special assessments of the city, and the dates when taxes of such city except special taxes shall be a lien or shall be due and payable or shall be delinquent shall be as provided by state law for taxes otherwise collected by the county.

The city council of a city of the primary class sitting as a board of equalization shall hold a session of not less than three or more than thirty days annually commencing on the first Tuesday after the third Monday in June and shall have power:

(1) To assess any taxable property, real and personal, not assessed;

(2) To review assessments made and correct such assessments as appears to be just. The board shall not increase the assessment of any person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation until such person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation has been notified by the board to appear and show cause, if any, why the assessment should not be increased. If personal service of such notice cannot be made in the city, notice may be given by publication and it shall be sufficient if such notice is published in one issue of a legal newspaper in or of general circulation within the city; and

(3) To equalize the assessments of all taxable property in the city and to correct any errors in the listing or value thereof. The city council sitting as a board of equalization shall be authorized and empowered to meet at any time for the purpose of equalizing assessment of any omitted or undervalued property and to add to the assessment rolls any taxable property not included.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall act as a board to equalize all special assessments, except for sidewalks affecting single properties, before special taxes for local improvements be finally levied, distributed, and apportioned, and to correct any errors therein, upon notice as provided in this section. The board shall be in session not less than two hours on two successive days, and until it hears all complaints owners may make to the proposed distribution and levy of the tax, and shall equalize the tax and correct errors therein. If by reduction of the amount charged on any property it is necessary to increase the proposed amount upon other property, the owner shall be notified in person or at his or her residence, or by five days' publication in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city if not a resident, or if changes are many, another distribution may be submitted by any member or any owner interested, and notice by five days' publication in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city be given of a second session for equalization, at which time the equalization shall be completed.

The city council of a city of the primary class or any committee of the members thereof or the city council, when sitting as a board of equalization, shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses for the investigation of matters that may come before such city council or committee, and the presiding officer of the city council or chairperson of such committee, for the time being, may administer the requisite oaths. Such city council or committee of the members thereof or the city council, when sitting as a board of equalization, shall have the same authority to compel the giving of testimony as is conferred on courts of justice.

If for any reason any taxable property in a city of the primary class escapes taxation in any year, it shall be the duty of the city council when sitting as a board of equalization in any subsequent year to assess such property at a fair valuation for the year or years for which such property should have been assessed and to levy thereon under such assessment a tax at the same rate and upon the same basis that other taxable property was assessed for the year in which such property escaped taxation, which tax and levy shall be in addition to all current or other taxes on the same property.

As soon as the assessment roll has been equalized and the annual levy made on such assessment roll in a city of the primary class, the city clerk shall immediately make out a tax list, which shall be as nearly as practicable in the form prescribed by law for the tax list to be furnished county treasurers, and the city clerk shall deliver such tax list to the city treasurer on or before the first day of October next after the date of the levy in each year. Errors in the name of persons assessed may be corrected by the city treasurer and the tax collected from the person intended, and in case the city treasurer finds that any land has been omitted in the assessment, the city treasurer shall report that fact to the city council, who may assess the same and direct the correction of the tax list as provided in this section and in section 15-811.

To each tax list delivered as provided in section 15-812, a warrant under the hand of the city clerk of the city of the primary class shall be annexed, to be substantially in the following form:

In the name and by the authority of the State of Nebraska: To ............... city treasurer of the city of ............... in Nebraska;

You are hereby commanded to collect from each of the persons and corporations named in the annexed tax list and owners of real estate described therein the taxes set down in such list opposite their respective names, and the several parcels of land described therein; and in case any person or corporation upon whom any such tax or sum is imposed, or who by law is required to pay the same, shall refuse or neglect to pay the full amount thereof before the first day of March (or September), 20.... (insert year after levy), you are to levy and collect the same by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person or corporation so taxed as are by law required to pay such tax.

Given under my hand and official seal this ............... day of ............... A.D. 20.... .

.......................................

City Clerk of the City of ........... .

Any warrant issued pursuant to section 15-813 shall fully authorize and empower the city treasurer of the city of the primary class to levy on any personal property belonging to such delinquent, and such warrant shall be a full and complete justification of the city treasurer in any action brought to recover damages or costs for any act or proceeding by the city treasurer done or taken in conformity with the commands thereof.

All municipal personal taxes in a city of the primary class shall be collected from the personal property of the person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation owning such personal property. All delinquent municipal taxes levied on any real estate within such city shall be collected by sale of such real estate in the same manner as in case of sale for delinquent county taxes.

The mayor and city council of a city of the primary class shall have full power and authority to pass ordinances not inconsistent with the laws of this state which they may deem necessary to secure a speedy and thorough collection of all municipal taxes and special assessments.

All municipal taxes and special assessments in a city of the primary class shall be paid in money, or in warrants of the city drawn on the fund for which the same is offered, except that coupons on any bonds of the city shall be received in payment of taxes or special assessments.

Taxes assessed upon personal property in a city of the primary class shall be a lien upon the personal property of the person, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation assessed from and after the time the tax books are received by the city treasurer. Such lien shall be prior and superior to all other liens thereon except liens for taxes.

Special assessments on real estate in a city of the primary class shall be a lien from the date of the levy, and interest on all unpaid installments shall be payable annually. Such lien shall be perpetual and superior to all other liens upon the property except liens for taxes. In case of sale of any property for such tax or special assessment, the sale shall be governed by the general revenue law, except as otherwise provided by law, and the rights and limitations shall be the same as in other tax sales. Each installment shall draw interest at a rate not to exceed the rate of interest specified in section 45-104.01, as such rate may from time to time be adjusted by the Legislature, payable annually, from levy until due; and installments delinquent shall draw interest at the rate specified in section 45-104.01, as such rate may from time to time be adjusted by the Legislature, until paid.

The city council of a city of the primary class shall have the power, in all cases where special assessments for any purpose have or may be declared void or invalid for want of jurisdiction in making or levying such special assessments, or on account of any defect or irregularity in the manner of levying such special assessments, or for any cause whatever, to reassess and relevy a new assessment equal to the special benefits or not to exceed the cost of the improvement for which the assessment was made upon the property originally assessed, and such assessment so made shall constitute a lien upon the property prior and superior to all other liens except liens for taxes or other special assessments. In all cases under the provisions of this section, the city council before making any such reassessment or relevy of special taxes or assessments shall give five days' notice in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city of the time when the city council will meet to determine the matter of reassessing or relevying all such special assessments.

All taxes levied for the purpose of raising money to pay interest or to create a sinking fund for the payment of the principal of any funded or bonded debt of a city of the primary class shall be payable in money only, and except as otherwise expressly provided, no money so obtained shall be used for any other purpose than the payment of the interest or debt for the payment of which they shall have been raised. Such sinking fund may, under the direction of the mayor and city council, be invested in any of the underdue bonds issued by the city, if the bonds can be secured by the city treasurer at such rate or premiums as shall be prescribed by ordinance. Any due or overdue coupon or bond shall be a sufficient warrant or order for the payment of the coupon or bond out of any fund specially created for that purpose, without any further order or allowance by the mayor or city council.

Irregularities in making assessments and returns thereof, in the equalization of assessments, and in the mode and manner of advertising the sale of any property shall not invalidate or affect the sale thereof when advertised and sold for delinquent city taxes and special assessments in a city of the primary class as provided by law, nor shall the sale of any real estate or any such tax or assessment be invalid on account of such real estate having been listed in the name of any other person than that of the rightful owner.

No bonds issued by a city of the primary class which are general obligation bonds shall be sold for less than par or face value. All such bonds may contain such provisions with respect to their redemption as the city shall provide. There shall be no tax levy to pay more than the interest upon such bonds until the year before they become due, and then only so much as is needed to meet the bonds maturing the year after.

All money received from any special assessments in a city of the primary class shall be held by the city treasurer as a special fund to be applied to the payment of the improvement for which the assessment was made, and such money shall be used for no other purpose. Any surplus remaining in any such fund after all obligations against the same shall have been satisfied, may be transferred to any other fund by order of the city council.

All liquidated and unliquidated claims and accounts payable against a city of the primary class shall: (1) Be presented in writing; (2) state the name of the claimant and the amount of the claim; and (3) fully and accurately identify the items or services for which payment is claimed or the time, place, nature, and circumstances giving rise to the claim. The city finance director shall be responsible for the preauditing and approval of all claims and accounts payable, and no warrant in payment of any claim or account payable shall be drawn or paid without such approval. In order to maintain an action for a claim, other than a tort claim as defined in section 13-903, it shall be necessary, as a condition precedent, that the claimant file such claim within one year of the accrual of such claim, in the office of the city clerk, or other official whose duty it is to maintain the official records of a city of the primary class.

Any taxpayer of a city of the primary class, after the allowance in whole or in part of any liquidated or unliquidated claim, or the claimant, after the disallowance in whole or in part of any such claim, may appeal therefrom to the district court of the county in which the city is situated in accordance with the procedures set forth in sections 15-1201 to 15-1205. In an appeal by a taxpayer in case the claimant finally recovers judgment for as great a sum exclusive of interest as was allowed by the city council, such appellant shall pay all costs of such appeal. In an appeal by a claimant in case claimant fails to recover as great a sum exclusive of interest as was allowed by the city council, such claimant shall pay all costs. No warrant shall issue for the payment of any such claim until the appeal is finally determined. No appeal bond shall be required of the city by any court in case of appeal by the city, and judgment shall be stayed pending such appeal.

No bond for costs, appeal, supersedeas, injunction, or attachment shall be required of any city of the primary class or of any officer, board, commission, head of any department, agent, or employee of any such city in any proceeding or court action in which such city or officer, board, commission, head of department, agent, or employee is a party litigant in its, his, or her official capacity.

Land, buildings, money, debts due the city, real and personal property, and assets of every kind and description belonging to any city of the primary class shall be exempt from execution liens and sales and shall be exempt from taxation to the extent used for a public purpose. Judgments against a city of the primary class shall be paid out of the judgment fund or out of a special fund created for that purpose.

The city treasurer of a city of the primary class shall deposit and at all times keep on deposit for safekeeping in banks, capital stock financial institutions, qualifying mutual financial institutions, or any of such banks or institutions doing business in such city of approved and responsible standing all money collected, received, or held by him or her as city treasurer. Any such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution located in the city may apply for the privilege of keeping such money or any part thereof upon the following conditions: (1) All such deposits shall be subject to payment when demanded by the city treasurer; and (2) such deposits shall be subject to all regulations imposed by law or adopted by the city for the receiving and holding thereof. The fact that a stockholder, director, or other officer of such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution shall also be serving as mayor, as a member of the city council, or as any other officer of such city shall not disqualify such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution from acting as a depository for such municipal funds. Section 77-2366 shall apply to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Section 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.

For the security of the funds deposited as provided in section 15-845 the city treasurer shall require each depository to give bond for the safekeeping and payment of such deposits and the accretions to the deposit, which bond shall run to the city and be approved by the city attorney for form and legality. Such bond shall be conditioned that such a depository shall, at the end of every quarter, render to the treasurer a statement in duplicate showing the several daily balances, the amount of money of the city held by it during the quarter, the amount of the accretion to the deposit, and how credited. The bond shall also be conditioned that the depository shall pay such deposit and the accretion when demanded by the city treasurer at any time, perform as required by sections 15-845 to 15-847, and faithfully discharge the trust reposed in such depository. Such bond shall be as nearly as practicable in the form provided in section 77-2304. No person in any way connected with any depository as officer or stockholder shall be accepted as a surety on any bond given by the depository of which he or she is an officer or stockholder. Such bond shall be deposited with the city clerk. Section 77-2366 shall apply to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Section 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.

In lieu of the bond required by section 15-846, any bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution making application to become a depository may give security as provided in the Public Funds Deposit Security Act to the city treasurer. The penal sum of such bond or the sum of such security may be reduced in the amount of such deposit insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Section 77-2366 shall apply to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Section 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.

The city treasurer of a city of the primary class shall not have on deposit in any bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution at any time more than the maximum amount of the bond given by such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution if the bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution gives a surety bond, nor in any bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution giving a personal bond, more than one-half of the amount of the bond of such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution. The amount on deposit plus accretions at any time with any such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution shall not in either case exceed the paid-up capital stock and surplus of such bank, capital stock financial institution, or qualifying mutual financial institution. The city treasurer shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the failure of any such bonded depository whose bond shall have been duly approved by the city attorney as provided by section 15-846 or which has, in lieu of a surety bond, given security as provided by section 15-847. Section 77-2366 shall apply to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Section 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.

The city treasurer may purchase certificates of deposit from and make time deposits in banks, capital stock financial institutions, or qualifying mutual financial institutions selected as depositories of city funds pursuant to sections 15-846 to 15-848. The certificates of deposit purchased and time deposits made shall bear interest and shall be secured as prescribed in such sections. The penal sum of such bond or the sum of such security shall be reduced in the amount of the time deposit or certificate of deposit insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Section 77-2366 shall apply to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Section 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.

Notwithstanding any charter or statutory provisions or restrictions, any municipal bidding procedure may be waived by the city council of a city of the primary class when required to comply with any federal grant, loan, or program.

(1) Except as provided in section 13-327, the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of a city of the primary class shall consist of the unincorporated area three miles beyond and adjacent to its corporate boundaries.

(2) No owner of real estate located within the corporate limits of any city of the primary class or within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of any city of the primary class, when such real estate is located in the same county as the city and outside of any incorporated city or village, shall be permitted to subdivide, plat, or lay out the real estate in building lots and streets, or other portions of the real estate intended to be dedicated for public use or for the use of the purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent thereto, without first having obtained approval by the city planning commission and, when applicable, having complied with sections 39-1311 to 39-1311.05. No plat or subdivision of such real estate shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds or have any force or effect unless such plat or subdivision is approved by the city planning commission. A city of the primary class shall have the authority within its corporate limits and extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction to regulate the subdivision of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transferring ownership or building development, except that the city shall have no power to regulate subdivision in those instances where the smallest parcel created is more than ten acres in area. A city of the primary class shall have the authority within its corporate limits and extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction to prescribe standards for laying out subdivisions in harmony with the comprehensive plan; to require the installation of improvements by the owner, by the creation of public improvement districts, or by requiring a good and sufficient bond guaranteeing installation of such improvements; and to require the dedication of land for public purposes.

(3) For purposes of this section, subdivision shall mean the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, sites, or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of ownership or building development, except that the division of land shall not be considered to be subdivision when the smallest parcel created is more than ten acres in area.

(4) Subdivision plats in a city of the primary class shall be approved by the city planning commission on recommendation by the city planning director and public works and utilities department. The city planning commission may withhold approval of a plat until the public works and utilities department has certified that the improvements required by the regulations have been satisfactorily installed, until a sufficient bond guaranteeing installation of the improvements has been posted, or until public improvement districts are created. The city council may provide procedures in land subdivision regulations for appeal by any person aggrieved by any action of the city planning commission or city planning director on any plat.

(1) Every city of the primary class shall have power within the corporate limits of the city or within the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of the city to regulate and restrict: (a) The location, height, bulk, and size of buildings and other structures; (b) the percentage of a lot that may be occupied; (c) the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces; (d) the density of population; and (e) the locations and uses of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, business, residences, and other purposes. Such city shall have power to divide the area zoned into districts of such number, shape, and area as may be best suited to carry out the purposes of this section and to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, or use of buildings, structures, or land within the total area zoned or within districts. All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings throughout each district, but regulations applicable to one district may differ from those applicable to other districts. Such zoning regulations shall be designed to secure safety from fire, flood, and other dangers and to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare and shall comply with the Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing Act and be made with consideration having been given to the character of the various parts of the area zoned and their peculiar suitability for particular uses and types of development and with a view to conserving property values and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the area zoned, in accordance with a comprehensive plan. Such zoning regulations may include reasonable provisions regarding nonconforming uses and their gradual elimination.

(2)(a) A city of the primary class shall not adopt or enforce any zoning ordinance or regulation which prohibits the use of land for a proposed residential structure for the sole reason that the proposed structure is a manufactured home if such manufactured home bears an appropriate seal which indicates that it was constructed in accordance with the standards of the Uniform Standard Code for Manufactured Homes and Recreational Vehicles, the Nebraska Uniform Standards for Modular Housing Units Act, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city may require that a manufactured home be located and installed according to the same standards for foundation system, permanent utility connections, setback, and minimum square footage which would apply to a site-built, single-family dwelling on the same lot. The city may also require that manufactured homes meet the following standards:

(i) The home shall have no less than nine hundred square feet of floor area;

(ii) The home shall have no less than an eighteen-foot exterior width;

(iii) The roof shall be pitched with a minimum vertical rise of two and one-half inches for each twelve inches of horizontal run;

(iv) The exterior material shall be of a color, material, and scale comparable with those existing in residential site-built, single-family construction;

(v) The home shall have a nonreflective roof material which is or simulates asphalt or wood shingles, tile, or rock; and

(vi) The home shall have wheels, axles, transporting lights, and removable towing apparatus removed.

(b) The city may not require additional standards unless such standards are uniformly applied to all single-family dwellings in the zoning district.

(c) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to supersede any valid restrictive covenants of record.

(3) For purposes of this section, manufactured home shall mean (a) a factory-built structure which is to be used as a place for human habitation, which is not constructed or equipped with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than to a permanent site, which does not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles, and which bears a label certifying that it was built in compliance with national Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, 24 C.F.R. 3280 et seq., promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or (b) a modular housing unit as defined in section 71-1557 bearing a seal in accordance with the Nebraska Uniform Standards for Modular Housing Units Act.

Every city of the primary class may regulate in the area which is within the corporate limits of the city or within its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction, except as to construction on farms for farm purposes, (1) the minimum standards of construction of buildings, dwellings, and other structures in order to provide safe and sound condition thereof for the preservation of health, safety, security, and general welfare, which standards may include regulations as to electric wiring, heating, plumbing, pipefitting, sewer connections, ventilation, size of habitable rooms, and the method of constructing buildings, dwellings, and other structures, and to provide for inspection thereof and building permits and fees for such permits, (2) the removal and tearing down of buildings, dwellings, and other structures in such areas which constitute nuisances because of the dilapidated, unsafe, or rundown condition or conditions, and (3) except as to the United States of America, the State of Nebraska, a county, or a village, in the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of the city of the primary class, the nature, kind, and manner of constructing streets, alleys, sidewalks, curbing or abridging curbs, driveway approaches constructed on or to public right-of-way, and sewage disposal facilities. Any building or construction code implemented under this section shall be adopted and enforced as provided in section 71-6406.

Notwithstanding any other language in Laws 1947, c. 23, sections 1 to 22, it is specifically provided that the provisions of article 2, Chapter 35, in effect for firemen of cities of the primary class on September 7, 1947, at variance with the provisions of Laws 1947, c. 23, sections 1 to 22, shall be controlling and supersede the provisions of Laws 1947, c. 23, sections 1 to 22, as to all persons who were members of such fire department on such date and the widows and children of all such members.

(1) A city of the primary class which has a city pension and retirement plan or fund, or a city fire and police pension plan or fund, or both, may provide by ordinance as authorized by its home rule charter, and not prohibited by the Constitution of Nebraska, for the investment of any plan or fund, and such city may provide that (a) the city shall place in trust any part of such plan or fund, (b) the city shall place in trust any part of any such plan or fund with a corporate trustee in Nebraska, or (c) the city shall purchase any part of any such plan from a life insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Nebraska. The powers conferred by this section shall be independent of and in addition and supplemental to any other provisions of the laws of the State of Nebraska with reference to the matters covered hereby, and this section shall be considered as a complete and independent act and not as amendatory of or limited by any other provision of the laws of the State of Nebraska.

(2)(a) Beginning December 31, 2018, and each December 31 thereafter, for a defined benefit plan, the city clerk of a city of the primary class or his or her designee shall prepare and electronically file an annual report with the Auditor of Public Accounts and the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee of the Legislature. If such retirement plan is a defined benefit plan which was open to new members on January 1, 2004, the report shall be in addition to the reports required by section 13-2402. The report shall be on a form prescribed by the Auditor of Public Accounts and shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(i) The levels of benefits of participants in the plan, the number of members who are eligible for a benefit, the total present value of such members' benefits, and the funding sources which will pay for such benefits; and

(ii) A copy of a full actuarial analysis of each such defined benefit plan. The analysis shall be prepared by an independent private organization or public entity employing actuaries who are members in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries, and which organization or entity has demonstrated expertise to perform this type of analysis and is unrelated to any organization which offers investment advice or provides investment management services to the retirement plan.

(b) The Auditor of Public Accounts may prepare a review of such report pursuant to section 84-304.02 but is not required to do so. If the city council does not submit a copy of the report to the Auditor of Public Accounts within six months after the end of the plan year, the Auditor of Public Accounts may audit, or cause to be audited, the city. All costs of the audit shall be paid by the city.

Any city of the primary class may establish a fire and police pension fund. Such city may anticipate its liability for future pension payments on an actuarial basis and, in order to equalize the tax burden over a period of years, may levy and collect taxes in each fiscal year sufficient to meet current needs and equalize the future payments. The tax so levied and collected, together with contributions made by firefighters and police officers, shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended balance remaining in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall be reappropriated for the ensuing year. Pension payments required by law shall be a general obligation of the city and may be made out of, but not limited to, the fund.

Nothing in sections 15-1001.01, 15-1007.02, 15-1007.05, 15-1013.02, and 15-1022 to 15-1026, the repeal of any sections in Chapter 15, article 10, or the unilateral action of any city of the primary class shall in any manner diminish the right of any person receiving or entitled to receive, now or in the future, pension or other benefits provided for in Chapter 15, article 10, as the sections of such article existed immediately prior to the repeal of any such sections, to receive such pension or other benefits in all respects the same as if such repealed sections remained in full force and effect.

In any city of the primary class there shall be created a planning department, which shall consist of a city planning commission, a planning director, and such subordinate employees as are required to administer the planning program as provided in sections 15-1101 to 15-1106. The planning director shall serve as the secretary of the city planning commission and as the administrative head of the planning department.

(1) The general plan for the improvement and development of a city of the primary class shall be known as the comprehensive plan. This plan for governmental policies and action shall include the pattern and intensity of land use, the provision of public facilities including transportation and other governmental services, the effective development and utilization of human and natural resources, the identification and evaluation of area needs including housing, employment, education, and health and the formulation of programs to meet such needs, surveys of structures and sites determined to be of historic, cultural, archaeological, or architectural significance or value, long-range physical and fiscal plans for governmental policies and action, and coordination of all related plans and activities of the state and local governments and agencies concerned. The comprehensive plan, with the accompanying maps, plats, charts, and descriptive and explanatory materials, shall show the recommendations concerning the physical development pattern of such city and of any land outside its boundaries related thereto, taking into account the availability of and need for conserving land and other irreplaceable natural resources, the preservation of sites of historic, cultural, archaeological, and architectural significance or value, the projected changes in size, movement, and composition of population, the necessity for expanding housing and employment opportunities, and the need for methods of achieving modernization, simplification, and improvements in governmental structures, systems, and procedures related to growth objectives. The comprehensive plan shall, among other things, show:

(a) The general location, character, and extent of existing and proposed streets and highways and railroad, air, and other transportation routes and terminals;

(b) Existing and proposed public ways, parks, grounds, and open spaces;

(c) The general location, character, and extent of schools, school grounds, and other educational facilities and properties;

(d) The general location and extent of existing and proposed public utility installations;

(e) The general location and extent of community development and housing activities;

(f) The general location of existing and proposed public buildings, structures, and facilities; and

(g) An energy element which: Assesses energy infrastructure and energy use by sector, including residential, commercial, and industrial sectors; evaluates utilization of renewable energy sources; and promotes energy conservation measures that benefit the community.

(2) The comprehensive plan shall include a land-use plan showing the proposed general distribution and general location of business and industry, residential areas, utilities, and recreational, educational, and other categories of public and private land uses. The land-use plan shall also show the recommended standards of population density based upon population estimates and providing for activities for which space should be supplied within the area covered by the plan. The comprehensive plan shall include and show proposals for acquisition, extension, widening, narrowing, removal, vacation, abandonment, sale, and other actions affecting public improvements.

The planning director of a city of the primary class shall be responsible for preparing the comprehensive plan and amendments and extensions thereto and for submitting such plans and modifications to the city planning commission for its consideration and action. The planning commission shall review such plans and modifications and those which the city council may suggest and, after holding at least one public hearing on each proposed action, shall provide its recommendations to the city council within a reasonable period of time. The city council shall review the recommendations of the planning commission and, after at least one public hearing on each proposed action, shall adopt or reject such plans as submitted, except that the city council may, by an affirmative vote of at least five members of the city council, adopt a plan or amendments to the proposed plan different from that recommended by the planning commission.

When such city is considering the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or the approval of the platting or replatting of any development of real estate, the planning director shall notify any military installation which is located within the corporate boundary limits or the extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction of the city if the city has received a written request for such notification from the military installation. The planning director shall deliver the notification to the military installation at least ten days prior to the meeting of the planning commission at which the proposal is to be considered.

No ordinance or resolution which deals with the acquisition, extension, widening, narrowing, removal, vacation, abandonment, sale, or other change relating to any public way, transportation route, ground, open space, building or structure, or other public improvement of a character included in the comprehensive plan of a city of the primary class, the subject matter of which has not been reported on by the planning department under section 15-1103, shall be adopted by the city council until such ordinance or resolution shall first have been referred to the planning department and that department has reported regarding conformity of the proposed action with the comprehensive plan. The planning department's report shall specify the character and degree of conformity or nonconformity of each proposed action to the comprehensive plan, and a report in writing thereon shall be rendered to the city council within thirty days after the date of receipt of the referral unless a longer period is granted by the city council. If the planning department fails to render any such report within the allotted time, the approval of the department may be presumed by the city council.

The planning director of a city of the primary class shall be responsible for preparing any proposed zoning ordinance and for submitting such ordinance to the city planning commission for its consideration and action. The planning commission shall review the proposed zoning ordinance and, after holding at least one public hearing on each proposed action, shall approve or reject it in whole or in part and with or without modifications. When approved by the planning commission, the proposed zoning ordinance shall be submitted to the city council for its consideration, and such zoning ordinance shall become effective when adopted by the city council. The city council may amend, supplement, or otherwise modify the zoning ordinance. Any such proposed amendment, supplement, or modification shall first be submitted to the planning commission for its recommendations and report. The planning commission shall hold at least one public hearing on such proposed amendment, supplement, or modification, before submitting its recommendations and report. After the recommendations and report of the planning commission have been filed, the city council shall, before enacting any proposed amendment, supplement, or modification, hold a public hearing on such proposed amendment, supplement, or modification. Notice of the time and place of such hearings shall be given by publication thereof in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the city at least one time at least five days before the date of hearing. Notice with reference to proposed amendments, supplements, or modifications of the zoning ordinance shall also be posted in a conspicuous place on or near the property upon which the action is pending. Such notice shall be easily visible from the street and shall be posted at least five days before the hearing.

There may be created a board of zoning appeals of a city of the primary class comprised of five members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council, which board shall have power to hear and decide appeals from any decision or order of the building inspector or other officers charged with the enforcement of zoning ordinances in those cases when it is alleged that such decision or order is in error. The board shall also have power to decide upon petitions for variances and, subject to such standards and procedures as the city council may provide in zoning ordinances, to vary the strict application of sign regulations or height, area, parking, or density requirements to the extent necessary to permit the owner a reasonable use of his or her land in those specific instances when there are peculiar, exceptional, and unusual circumstances in connection with a specific parcel of land, which circumstances are not generally found within the locality or neighborhood concerned. The board may also have such related duties as the mayor or city council may assign. The city council may provide for appeals from a decision of the board.

Any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by any final administrative or judicial order or decision of the board of zoning appeals, the board of equalization, the city council, or any officer, department, or board of a city of the primary class, shall, except as provided for claims in sections 15-840 to 15-842.01, appeal from such order or decision to the district court in the manner provided in sections 15-1201 to 15-1205.

(1) The party appealing any final order or decision as provided in section 15-1201 shall within thirty days after the date of the order or decision complained of (a) file a notice of appeal with the city clerk of the city of the primary class specifying the parties taking the appeal and the order or decision appealed from and serve a copy of the notice upon the city attorney and (b) deposit the fees and bond or undertaking required pursuant to subsection (2) of this section or file an affidavit pursuant to subsection (3) of this section. The notice of appeal shall serve as a praecipe for a transcript.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the appellant shall:

(a) Deposit with the city clerk a docket fee of the district court for cases originally commenced in district court;

(b) Deposit with the city clerk a cash bond or undertaking with at least one good and sufficient surety approved by the city clerk, in the amount of two hundred dollars, on condition that the appellant will satisfy any judgment and costs that may be adjudged against him or her; and

(c) Deposit with the city clerk the fees for the preparation of a certified and complete transcript of the proceedings of the city relating to the order or decision appealed.

(3)(a) An appellant may file with the city clerk an affidavit alleging that the appellant is indigent. The filing of such an affidavit shall relieve the appellant of the duty to deposit any fee, bond, or undertaking required by subsection (2) of this section as a condition for the preparation of the transcript or the perfecting of the appeal by the appellant subject to the determination of the court as provided in section 15-1204. In conjunction with the filing of the petition for appeal as provided for in section 15-1204, the appellant shall file a copy of the affidavit alleging his or her indigency and the district court shall rule upon the issue of indigency prior to the consideration of any other matter relating to the appeal as provided in section 15-1204.

(b) An appellant determined to be indigent under this subsection shall not be required to deposit any fee, bond, or undertaking required by subsection (2) of this section. For purposes of this section, indigent means the inability to financially pursue the appeal without prejudicing the appellant's ability to provide economic necessities for the appellant or the appellant's family.

(c) An appellant determined not to be indigent shall, within thirty days after the determination, deposit with the city clerk the fees and bond or undertaking required by subsection (2) of this section. The appeal shall not proceed further until the city clerk notifies the court that the appropriate deposit has been made.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the city clerk, on payment to him or her of the costs of the transcript, shall transmit within fifteen days to the clerk of the district court the docket fee and a certified and complete transcript of the proceedings of the city relating to the order or decision appealed as provided in section 15-1201. After receipt of such fee and transcript, the clerk of the district court shall file the appeal.

(2) If the appellant files an affidavit alleging that he or she is indigent pursuant to section 15-1202, the city clerk shall transmit within fifteen days to the clerk of the district court a certified and complete transcript of the proceedings of the city relating to the order or decision appealed. After receipt of the transcript, the clerk of the district court shall file the appeal.

(1) The party appealing an order or decision as provided in section 15-1201 shall file a petition within thirty days after the date the transcript is filed in the district court.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, satisfaction of the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) of section 15-1202 and subsection (1) of this section shall perfect the appeal and give the district court jurisdiction of the matter appealed.

(3) Indigency shall be determined by the district court having jurisdiction of the appeal upon motion of the appellant before the court considers any other matter relating to the appeal. The court shall make a reasonable inquiry to determine the appellant's financial condition and shall consider such factors as the appellant's income, the availability to the appellant of other resources, including real and personal property, bank accounts, social security benefits, and unemployment or other benefits, the appellant's normal living expenses, the appellant's outstanding debts, the number and age of the appellant's dependents, and other relevant circumstances. If the appellant is deemed to be indigent, the satisfaction of the requirements of subsections (1) and (3) of section 15-1202 and subsection (1) of this section shall perfect the appeal and give the district court jurisdiction of the matter appealed.

The district court shall hear the appeal under sections 15-1201 to 15-1205 as in equity and without a jury and determine anew all questions raised before the city. The court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order or decision brought up for review. Either party may appeal from the decision of the district court to the Court of Appeals.

As used in sections 15-1301 to 15-1307, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) City shall mean any city of the primary class;

(2) Federal government shall mean the United States of America, or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America; and

(3) Community development activity shall mean any activity authorized in the Community Development Law, construction of community facilities, conservation and rehabilitation of property, neighborhood development, code enforcement, and all of the jurisdiction and authority granted a housing authority under Chapter 71, article 15.

A city which has a community development agency as authorized by law is hereby granted power and authority to:

(1) Do all community development activities;

(2) Do all things necessary to cooperate with the federal government in all matters relating to community development activities as a grantee, or as agent or otherwise; and

(3) Exercise the jurisdiction and authority granted under Chapter 71, article 15, acting independently, concurrently or by assisting or cooperating with any existing housing authority within the territorial jurisdiction of the city.

Whenever a city proposes to exercise the power conferred in sections 15-1301 to 15-1307, the city shall certify that it has afforded adequate opportunity for citizen participation in the development of the annual application and has provided for the meaningful involvement of the residents of areas in which community development activities are to be concentrated in the planning and execution of these activities, including the provision of adequate information and resources.

Whenever the city exercises the power conferred in sections 15-1301 to 15-1307, it shall have the power to levy taxes for the exercise of such jurisdiction and authority, and it shall also have the power to issue general obligation bonds, general obligation notes, revenue bonds and revenue notes including general obligation and revenue refunding bonds and notes for a community development activity under the power granted to any authority described or as otherwise authorized by home rule charter or state law.

Whenever a city of the primary class exercises the jurisdiction and authority granted in sections 15-1301 to 15-1307 with respect to Chapter 71, article 15, the city shall have the jurisdiction and authority concurrent with and independent of any existing housing authority for such purposes within the city and its area of jurisdiction. In order to coordinate the actions of the local housing authority and the community development agency, the local housing authority shall submit to the city council of such city, prior to the date it submits its annual budget request to the federal government, a complete report of its activities during the past calendar year and a complete description of its proposed actions for the coming calendar year. Such report shall include the number of units added to or removed from the authority's programs, the number of families housed by the authority, the number applying who were not housed and the reasons for their not being housed, the sources and amounts of all funds spent or to be spent and the amounts available for use in its housing programs that have not been used, and the policies of the authority on eligibility, admissions, occupancy, termination of tenancies, and grievance procedures. Such report shall be made available to the public upon the delivery of the report to the city council and shall be subject to public hearing prior to its formal acceptance by the city council.

Whenever any city shall exercise the jurisdiction and authority granted in sections 15-1301 to 15-1307 it shall comply with Chapter 76, article 12, regarding the acquisition of property for publicly financed projects.

The provisions of sections 15-1301 to 15-1307 are supplementary to existing laws relating to cities of the primary class and confer upon such cities powers not heretofore granted.