(1) When a judgment is entered against or a settlement is made by a public body for a claim within the scope of ORS 30.260 to 30.300, including claims against officers, employees or agents required to be indemnified under ORS 30.285, payment shall be made and the same remedies shall apply in case of nonpayment as in the case of other judgments or settlements against the public body except as otherwise provided in this section.
(2) If the public body is authorized to levy taxes that could be used to satisfy a judgment or settlement within the scope of ORS 30.260 to 30.300, and it has, by resolution, declared that the following conditions exist, interest shall accrue on the judgment or settlement, but the same shall not be due and payable until after the canvass and certification of an election upon a special tax levy for purposes of satisfying the judgment or settlement:
(a) The amount of the judgment or settlement would exceed amounts budgeted for contingencies, tort claims and projected surplus in the current budget;
(b) The amount of the judgment or settlement would exceed 10 percent of the total of the next fiscal year’s projected revenues that are not restricted as to use, including the maximum amount of general property tax that could be levied without election but excluding any levy for debt service;
(c) Payment of the judgment or settlement within less than a certain number of years would seriously impair the ability of the public body to carry out its responsibilities as a unit of government; and
(d) The public body has passed an appropriate ordinance or resolution calling a special election to submit to its electors a special levy in an amount sufficient to satisfy the judgment or settlement.
(3) A certified copy of the resolution provided for in subsection (2) of this section shall be filed with the clerk of the court in which an order permitting installment payments could be entered.
(4) If the public body is not authorized to levy taxes as provided in subsection (2) of this section, and it has, by resolution, declared that the applicable conditions specified in subsection (2)(a) to (c) of this section exist, it may petition for an order permitting installment payments as provided in subsection (6) of this section.
(5)(a) The provisions of subsections (2) and (4) of this section do not apply to the State of Oregon.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, if the conditions specified in subsection (4) of this section exist, the Secretary of State may, under Seal of the State of Oregon, attest thereto in lieu of a resolution, and the State of Oregon may thereafter petition for an order permitting installment payments as provided in subsection (6) of this section.
(6) If the procedure specified in subsections (2) to (5) of this section has been followed, and, with respect to public bodies subject to subsection (2) of this section, the tax levy failed, the public body may petition for an order permitting installment payments. The petition shall be filed in the court in which judgment was entered or, if no judgment has been entered, it shall be filed in the circuit court of the judicial district in which the public body has its legal situs. Petitions by the State of Oregon when no judgment has been entered shall be filed in Marion County Circuit Court.
(7) The court in which a petition is filed shall order that the judgment or settlement be paid in quarterly, semiannual or annual installments over a period of time not to exceed 10 years. The court shall determine the term of years based upon the ability of the public body to effectively carry out its governmental responsibilities, and shall not allow a longer term than appears reasonably necessary to meet that need. The order permitting installment payments shall provide for annual interest at the judgment rate. [1967 c.627 §9; 1977 c.823 §4; 2005 c.22 §20]
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