Section 3-31-12 - Refunding revenue bonds; foreclosure of mortgage.
3-31-12. Refunding revenue bonds; foreclosure of mortgage.
A. If any municipality which has granted a mortgage of the municipal utility to a trustee or the holder of the refunding bonds as further assurance of paying the refunding revenue bonds, defaults in payment of the interest or serial maturity of the refunding revenue bonds, the holder of the refunding revenue bonds or trustee to whom the municipal utility has been conveyed by mortgage may foreclose the mortgage against the municipality in the same manner a real estate mortgage is foreclosed. The district court may appoint a receiver to operate the municipal utility during the default period.
B. In the event the mortgage is foreclosed, the governing body shall grant a franchise to the receiver or to the subsequent purchaser upon sale by foreclosure. The franchise shall:
(1) be upon reasonable terms and conditions under which the public utility shall be privately operated;
(2) be for a period of twenty-five years or a less number of years if satisfactory to the trustee or holder of the revenue bonds; and
(3) be subject to the approval of the district court or any other state agency which has jurisdiction.