§ 15.20 Limitations on amount of local indebtedness; exclusions of
certain indebtedness. a. The provisions of section 104.00 of this
chapter shall be applicable in relation to the powers of counties,
cities, towns, villages and school districts in cities to contract
indebtedness, and the powers of other school districts to issue bonds
and bond anticipation notes, in connection with a joint service or joint
water, sewage or drainage project; provided, however, that the amount of
the joint indebtedness of any such municipal corporation or municipality
therefor shall not exceed the amount allocated and apportioned as
provided in or pursuant to the provisions of section 15.10 of this
chapter.

b. In ascertaining the power of a county, city, town or village to
contract indebtedness, there shall be excluded any joint indebtedness
and any several indebtedness contracted to provide for the supply of
water. Any such indebtedness for such purpose shall not be excluded in
ascertaining the power of any school district to contract indebtedness.
The provisions of paragraph c of this section shall not apply to
indebtedness contracted to provide for the supply of water.

c. In ascertaining the power of a county, city, town or village to
contract indebtedness there shall be excluded any joint indebtedness or
several indebtedness contracted or proposed to be contracted for a joint
service, other than a joint sewage or drainage project, to the extent
permitted by paragraph C of section five of article eight of the
constitution, as implemented by section 123.00 of this chapter. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not be deemed to affect or impair any
other existing exclusions of indebtedness granted by any other provision
of this chapter or the constitution. Any such municipal corporation, or
all of such municipal corporations, participating in a joint service,
other than a joint sewage or drainage project, may apply to the state
comptroller for a conclusive determination of the amount or amounts of
any such indebtedness contracted or proposed to be contracted for such
joint service to be excluded pursuant to the provisions of section
123.00 of this chapter. The provisions of such section, other than
subdivision two of paragraph b thereof, shall be applicable in relation
to any such application, and the procedural provisions thereof shall be
liberally construed to effectuate the provisions of paragraph C of
section five of article eight of the constitution. Where there is a
joint application and the fiscal years of the municipal corporations are
not the same, the term "preceding fiscal year," as used in section
123.00, shall, for the purposes of this section, mean "preceding year."
If an application is not made jointly by all of the chief fiscal
officers of the participating municipal corporations, written notice of
such application shall be given, prior to the filing of the application
with the state comptroller, to the chief fiscal officer of each
participating municipal corporation not joining in such application. In
the case of a joint application the notice required to be published
under the provisions of paragraph h of section 123.00 shall be published
in the official newspaper or newspapers of each of the participating
municipal corporations, or if there be no such newspaper or newspapers,
then in one or more newspapers having general circulation in such
municipal corporations as the finance boards shall designate, except
that where any newspaper is the official newspaper of all of the
participating municipal corporations, or is the only newspaper
designated by the finance boards as a newspaper having general
circulation in all of the participating municipal corporations, only one
notice need be published in any such newspaper. Where there is a joint
application in relation to a joint service which has been in operation
for one year, and the fiscal years of the municipal corporations are not
the same, the certificate of the state comptroller shall be effective
only until the first day of the fourth month following the close of the
year of operation described in the application.

d. In ascertaining the power of a municipality to contract
indebtedness there shall be excluded all or any part of the joint
indebtedness or several indebtedness contracted or proposed to be
contracted for a joint sewage or drainage project the amount or amounts
of which shall be determined conclusively by the state comptroller in
the same manner as provided in paragraph c of this section, except that,
in any proceeding under this paragraph, any requirement that the
improvement, or part thereof, or service shall have yielded net revenue
during the preceding fiscal year or preceding year in a sum equal to
twenty-five per centum or more of the amount required in such year for
the payment of the interest on an amortization of, or payment of,
indebtedness, as set forth in subdivisions one and three of paragraph b
and in subdivision two of paragraph c of section 123.00, shall not be
applicable.