§ 3-613. Authority; powers.

Any authority established under sections 3-601 to 3-622 shall have power: (1) To sue and be sued; (2) To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure; (3) To acquire, hold, and dispose of personal property for its corporate purposes; (4) To acquire in the name of the county, by purchase or condemnation, real property or rights or easements therein necessary or convenient for its corporate purposes and, except as may otherwise be provided in such sections, to use the same so long as its corporate existence continues. Such power shall not be exercised by authorities created after September 2, 1973, without further approval until such time as three or more members of the authority have been elected. If the exercise of such power is necessary while three or more appointed members remain on the authority, the appointing body shall approve all proceedings under this subdivision; (5) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and, subject to agreements with bondholders, to make rules and regulations for the use of projects and the establishment and collection of rentals, fees, and all other charges for services or commodities sold, furnished, or supplied by such authority. Any person violating such rules shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor; (6) With the consent of the county, to use the services of agents, employees, and facilities of the county, for which the authority may reimburse the county a proper proportion of the compensation or cost thereof, and also to use the services of the county attorney as legal advisor to the authority; (7) To appoint officers, agents, and employees and fix their compensation; (8) To make contracts, leases, and all other instruments necessary or convenient to the corporate purposes of the authority; (9) To design, construct, maintain, operate, improve, and reconstruct, so long as its corporate existence continues, such projects as are necessary and convenient to the maintenance and development of aviation services to and for the county in which such authority is established, including landing fields, heliports, hangars, shops, passenger and freight terminals, control towers, and all facilities necessary or convenient in connection with any such project, to contract for the construction, operation, or maintenance of any parts thereof or for services to be performed thereon, and to rent parts thereof and grant concessions thereon, all on such terms and conditions as the authority may determine. This subdivision shall not be construed to affect the obligation of a lessee to pay taxes if taxes are due under sections 77-202, 77-202.11, and 77-202.12; (10) To include in such project, subject to zoning restrictions, space and facilities for any or all of the following: Public recreation; business, trade, or other exhibitions; sporting or athletic events; public meetings; conventions; and all other kinds of assemblages and, in order to obtain additional revenue, space and facilities for business and commercial purposes. Whenever the authority deems it to be in the public interest, the authority may lease any such project or any part or parts thereof or contract for the management and operation thereof or any part or parts thereof. Any such lease or contract may be for such period of years as the authority shall determine. This subdivision shall not be construed to affect the obligation of a lessee to pay taxes if taxes are due under sections 77-202, 77-202.11, and 77-202.12; (11) To charge fees, rentals, and other charges for the use of projects under the jurisdiction of such authority subject to and in accordance with such agreement with bondholders as may be made as hereinafter provided. Subject to contracts with bondholders, all fees, rentals, charges, and other revenue derived from any project shall be applied to the payment of operating, administration, and other necessary expenses of the authority properly chargeable to such project and to the payment of the interest on and principal of bonds or for making sinking-fund payments therefor. Subject to contracts with bondholders, the authority may treat one or more projects as a single enterprise with respect to revenue, expenses, the issuance of bonds, maintenance, operation, or other purposes; (12) To annually request of the county board the amount of tax to be levied for airport purposes subject to section 77-3443, not to exceed three and five-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable valuation of all the taxable property in such county. Property tax levies for bonds issued by the authority pursuant to section 3-617 are not included in the levy limits established by this subdivision. The governing body shall levy and collect the taxes so requested at the same time and in the same manner as other taxes are levied and collected, and the proceeds of such taxes when due and as collected shall be set aside and deposited in the special account or accounts in which other revenue of the authority is deposited; (13) To construct and maintain under, along, over, or across a project, telephone, telegraph, or electric wires and cables, fuel lines, gas mains, water mains, and other mechanical equipment not inconsistent with the appropriate use of such project, to contract for such construction and to lease the right to construct and use the same, or to use the same on such terms for such period of time and for such consideration as the authority shall determine; (14) To accept grants, loans, or contributions from the United States, the State of Nebraska, any agency or instrumentality of either of them, or the county in which such authority is established and to expend the proceeds thereof for any corporate purposes; (15) To incur debt and issue negotiable bonds and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof; (16) To enter on any lands, waters, and premises for the purposes of making surveys, soundings, and examinations; and (17) To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly conferred on such authorities by sections 3-601 to 3-622. History: Laws 1969, c. 141, § 13, p. 653; Laws 1973, LB 22, § 4; Laws 1977, LB 40, § 33; Laws 1979, LB 187, § 16; Laws 1992, LB 719A, § 14; Laws 1996, LB 1114, § 21; Laws 1997, LB 269, § 6; Laws 2001, LB 173, § 7; Laws 2016, LB774, § 1.