Section 3-33-17 - Improvement district; municipalities under 25,000; levy and collection of assessments prior to commencing improvement; special fund; misuse; penaltyA. Whenever the governing body of a municipality having a population of less than twenty-five thousand persons: (1) elects to order the construction of a street as authorized in Sections3-33-1 through 3-33-43 NMSA 1978; (2) uses municipally owned or leased equipment to construct the street; and (3) determines what portion of the estimated cost of the construction shall be paid by tract or parcel of land benefited or to be benefited by the construction, the assessment may be levied and the installments collected prior to the commencement of work and as work progresses according to the terms of payment fixed by the governing body. B. The construction shall commence within sixty days after the payment of the first installment of the assessment and be diligently prosecuted so that the construction is completed within one year from the date of commencement. At the end of the one year period, any tract or parcel of land that has not received the benefits provided by this section shall be released of any lien assessed against the tract or parcel of land by reason of this section and all assessment money collected from each owner of a tract or parcel of land so assessed and not benefited shall be returned. C. All assessment money collected under this section shall be held by the municipal treasurer in a special account as a separate fund and used only for constructing the improvement, including the purchasing or leasing of necessary equipment. The use of the special fund for any purpose other than that required under this section by any public official, treasurer or member of the governing body is prohibited and is a felony punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not more than two years or by both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. 1953 Comp., § 14-32-10, enacted by Laws 1965, ch. 300; 1971, ch. 56, § 1.