Article 2 Bond Issues

No bonds, other than bonds for public improvements payable out of assessments upon the property benefited and sewer bonds if otherwise authorized, shall be issued unless authorized by Charter or statute or unless approved by vote of the people at a general or special election. After the effective date of this amendment, measures for such bond issues limited in time or total amount shall be submitted to the electors, in the form of separate acts, without provision of amendment of this Charter, as authorizations or directions to the City Council or a commission established under this Charter. Copies of such measures approved by the voting majority shall be kept in a separate Book of Bond Issue Authorizations, and shall be public records, having the same effect as though included in this Charter by amendment. All such bond authorizations not fully used or which have not fully expired by their terms, which were included in the City Charter at the time of passage of this amendment or are approved at the time of passage of this amendment shall be continued in full force and effect regardless of deletion from the Charter and shall be included in the Book of Bond Issue Authorizations. After the authority for a bond issue or serial issues has been fully used and all the bonds issued thereunder have been paid or matured, the copy of the measure or authorization shall be removed from the current book and placed in a file of Completed Bond Issue Authorizations. This Section shall not apply to authorizations to issue bonds or other evidences of indebtedness which, by the provisions thereof, grant continuing authority without a stated total which may be issued thereunder, notwithstanding stated debt limitations or maximum amounts which may be outstanding at any one time. Such authorizations shall continue as part of this Charter. [May 3, 1913, new sec. 92; rev. 1914, sec. 227; 1928 pub., sec. 227; 1942 recod., sec. 11-101; rev. Nov. 6, 1962; am. May 20, 1986.]

For the purpose of funding any bonded indebtedness, including water bonds, of the City of Portland, or any bonded indebtedness for which the City of Portland has become or will become liable by operation of law through annexation, merger or consolidation of any part or all of a municipal corporation or unit of government, already matured or to mature in the future, the City of Portland is authorized and empowered to issue and dispose of bonds of the City of Portland, Oregon, of the denominations of from one hundred dollars ($100) to one thousand dollars ($1,000) as the purchaser may desire, or as the Council may find appropriate, which bonds may be made general or limited obligations of the City. Such bonds shall be for a term fixed by the Council and the total amount of such refunding bonds shall not exceed the face or par value of the bonds to be refunded. Before such refunding bonds can be sold, the Council shall cause to be inserted for two (2) successive weeks in the City official newspaper and in at least one paper in New York City making a specialty of such matters, an advertisement inviting sealed bids for the purchase of said refunding bonds. Among equal bidders preference in the sale and allotment shall be given to the bidders residing in the State of Oregon and subscribing for the smallest denominations. [Ch. 1903, part of sec. 118; rev. 1914, sec. 229; am. May 17, 1918; 1928 pub., sec. 229; 1942 recod., sec. 11-103; rev. Nov. 6, 1962.]

Measures to authorize issuance of bonds shall state therein whether such bonds will be general obligations of the City or limited to particular sources of revenue. Such measures shall also state in general terms the objectives or purposes for which the proceeds are to be used, but need not state that a portion of the proceeds may be used for cost of advertising, bond issuance and sale, legal fees and costs, planning, engineering, inspection, administrative costs and other costs found necessary to permit utilization, furtherance or completion of the objectives and purposes set forth in such measure, and such use hereby is authorized. The Council may provide by ordinance details or amplification in connection with the expenditure of the proceeds of any bond issue.

After approval by a majority of the electors voting on a bond measure, the Council shall, before issuing any such bonds, determine the denominations, form and term for such bonds. The Council shall prescribe the dates for the redemption of each bond issue and may authorize the issuance of bonds from time to time within the limitation of the amount authorized. Such bonds shall bear the facsimile signature of the Mayor and the Auditor of the City of Portland in the manner prescribed by the City in authorizing the sale of bonds. By each of such bonds the City shall be held in substance and effect to undertake and promise to pay to the holder of each of said bonds at the expiration of the time specified therein, the sum named therein, in lawful money of the United States of America, and promise to pay interest thereon in like lawful money at such rate as the Council may determine, not exceeding the percentage fixed by the Council, payable at such periods as shall be provided by the Council. The Council may prescribe other features of such bonds.

None of such bonds shall be sold without prior advertisement in the manner prescribed by law, and all sales shall be to the bidder whom the Council finds to have made the bid most advantageous to the City. The Council may, in its discretion, provide that competitive bidding shall be partially or wholly upon rate or rates of interest, and in that case the award shall be fixed according to the bid which, in the opinion of the Council, would be most advantageous to the City. The Council shall have the right to reject any and all bids or alternative bids, and to proceed to readvertise when bids are not satisfactory, so as to obtain satisfactory bids, which may be called for on the same or different basis. The Council shall exercise such other and additional powers and authority, within the restrictions above mentioned, relating to the issuance of bonds as may be necessary or convenient for accomplishing the objectives hereof.

The Council shall by ordinance establish a special fund and fix the designation thereof, into which fund the proceeds from the sale of bonds issued under particular authority shall be placed, and the City Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all money deposited in such fund.

The Council may establish a separate sinking fund from which to pay and redeem bonds issued under a particular authorization.

Whenever a commission has been or shall be authorized to issue bonds, by an existing Charter provision or provision approved simultaneously with adoption of this Section or any future measure, acts required or authorized by this Section to be done by the Council shall be required or authorized to be done by such commission. [1942 recod., see Chapter XI; new sec. Nov. 6, 1962; rev. May 15, 1984.]

Bonds which are general obligations of the City shall not be issued if the total of such bonds outstanding minus reserves accumulated for repayment thereof exceeds four percent of the true cash value of all taxable real and personal property in the City, but in estimating such bonded indebtedness, bonds issued pursuant to applications to pay assessments for improvements in installments under statutory or Charter authority, bonds on which principal and interest are payable exclusively from revenues derived from the sources fixed in said bonds, and bonds excluded from statutory debt limitations for cities shall not be counted. This limitation does not affect the right of the City to issue refunding bonds. This Section shall not apply to bonds specifically authorized by a majority of the electors to be issued notwithstanding this limitation. [New sec. Nov. 6, 1962.]