18-3-809. Treasurer to countersign and register all warrants.
When county orders or warrants are drawn by the county clerk and properly signed by the chairman of the board of county commissioners, before they are delivered to the person for whose benefit the same are drawn, they shall be presented by the clerk to the county treasurer who shall personally countersign the same and enter in a book kept by him for that purpose, the date, amount and number of each order or warrant, and the name of the person in whose favor the orders or warrants are drawn.
18-3-810. Restrictions upon countersigning warrants.
No county treasurer shall countersign any blank county order or warrant or other order or warrant, or make any electronic payment or fund transfer, until the treasurer is satisfied that the electronic payment, order or warrant was ordered drawn by the board of county commissioners.
Each county treasurer shall keep in his office a book called the register of county orders wherein shall be entered on the date of the presentation thereof and without interval or blank line between any entry and the one preceding it every county order, warrant, electronic payment or other certificate or evidence of county indebtedness presented for payment whether or not it is then paid, the date and number of each electronic payment, order or warrant, the amount payable, the name of the person to whom the electronic payment, order or warrant is payable, and the name of the person presenting the same. Every register of county orders shall be available for inspection and examination by any person during usual business hours.
Each county treasurer shall pay the state treasurer all state taxes and other state monies received by him and shall give the state treasurer a written statement that he has paid over the same funds in kind as received by him and has not exchanged or bartered any of the monies, coin, bank bills, treasury notes or other currency received by him for the state for any auditor's warrants, state scrip or other certificates or evidences of indebtedness of the state, nor permitted the same to be done, and that all state auditor's warrants or other certificates or evidences of indebtedness of the state delivered by him to the treasurer, were received in payment of state taxes or other monies due the state. Each statement shall be sworn to before any person authorized to administer oaths and shall be filed and preserved in his office. False swearing in the statement is subject to the penalty provided by W.S. 6-5-303.
Every county treasurer or deputy county treasurer who does not keep in his office a register of county orders as required by W.S. 18-3-811, or does not enter at the time of presentation every county order presented to him for payment, or makes any false entry therein, or does not pay any order presented to him for payment, there being money in the treasury appropriated for that purpose or from which by law the same ought to be paid is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and the court may adjudge that such treasurer be removed from office.
18-3-814. Officers to pay over monies and prepare statement for commissioners monthly; forfeiture.
Every elected or appointed county officer required or permitted to receive and pay to the county treasurer any taxes, fines, fees or other monies shall no later than the twenty-fifth day of each month following the month of collection pay the same to the county treasurer and take his official receipt therefor. If the money has not been deposited by the twenty-fifth day of the month following the month of collection, the elected or appointed county officer shall be reported by the county treasurer to the board of county commissioners at their next meeting. Each elected or appointed county officer shall prepare a monthly statement showing the source of all monies received by him and file it with the county clerk for presentation to the board of county commissioners.
18-3-902. Governor to direct district attorney or attorney
general to commence action; petition served with summons; pleading; trial; judgment; change of judge.
(a) Whenever it appears to the governor on the verified complaint of qualified electors or the board of county commissioners of the county that any county officer is guilty of misconduct or malfeasance in office he may direct the attorney general to commence and prosecute an action in the district court of the county in which the officer is an official asking for the removal of the officer. The action shall be commenced by the filing of a verified petition in the name of the state of Wyoming signed by the attorney general setting forth the facts constituting the misconduct or malfeasance in office.
(b) Upon filing of the petition a summons and a copy of the petition shall be served on the defendant as in civil cases. The answer day shall be the same as provided for civil suits. The petition and answer are the only pleadings allowed and the allegations of the answer so far as they conflict with the petition shall be considered denied without a reply.
(c) The action shall be tried in a summary manner by the district court with or without a jury not less than five (5) days nor more than thirty (30) days after answer day. At the trial all questions touching the sufficiency or certainty of the allegations of the petition or answer shall be heard and determined and amendments which are not inconsistent with the original pleadings shall be authorized to be made at once and shall not delay the trial. If the court finds the defendant is guilty of misconduct or malfeasance in office as charged in the petition, a judgment shall be entered removing the defendant from office and taxing against him the costs of the action.
(d) The judge of a district court in which an action for the removal of an officer is pending, if unable to try the action within the period provided by this section, shall call in another district judge.
(e) No change of judge is allowed unless proper application therefor is filed with the answer but if the judge of that district is unable to try the action and has designated another district judge to try the same, the application must be filed within three (3) days after the filing of the order designating the judge to whom the action is referred.
(f) As used in this section, "misconduct or malfeasance" includes, but is not limited to, instances when:
(i) The officer absents himself from his office for an aggregate of sixty (60) days in any three (3) month period unless such absence is caused by illness or other disability;
(ii) The officer is absent from his office for more than ninety (90) days because of illness or other disability and the illness or disability will probably not terminate during the unexpired portion of the officer's term of office.
(g) Whenever a vacancy occurs in any county office under the provisions of this section, it shall be filled as provided by law.
(h) This section is supplemental to all other statutes concerning removal of county officers.
18-3-903. Suspension of officers by the governor pending
outcome of proceedings; notice; order to be filed; filling of vacancies; restoration of office upon verdict of not guilty; reimbursement of compensation and expense of trial.
(a) Whenever a proceeding as specified by W.S. 18-3-902 has been commenced in the district court, the governor may cause notice to be served upon the accused officer setting forth the misconduct or malfeasance in office as charged in the petition and requiring the officer to appear before him at a designated time and place not less than five (5) days after service of the notice. The governor shall hear the charges against and the defense of the officer, which may be presented by affidavits or otherwise. If the governor determines that the officer is guilty of misconduct or malfeasance in office he may by an order signed by him and filed in the office of the secretary of state, suspend the officer from the further exercise of his duties until the termination of the trial of such officer as provided by W.S. 18-3-902. Duplicate copies of the order of suspension shall be filed in the offices of the county clerk and the clerk of the district court of the county in which the accused is an officer.
(b) Whenever any county officer is suspended as provided by this section the person or board having authority to fill vacancies in the office shall appoint some qualified elector to temporarily fill the office and perform the duties thereof so long as the suspension continues. If the officer suspended is a county commissioner the governor shall appoint some qualified elector to temporarily fill the office and perform the duties thereof so long as the suspension continues. Whenever any officer is removed by a final judgment entered in such proceeding the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law.
(c) Any county officer who has been suspended under the provisions of this section and who is found by the district court to be not guilty of the misconduct or malfeasance in office charged against him shall be restored to his office and shall receive the compensation provided for the office during the period of his suspension. He shall be reimbursed by the state of Wyoming for all actual and necessary expenditures made by him in connection with all trials and hearings provided for in this section.
Either party may commence a proceeding in error in the supreme court by filing a petition in error as in civil actions within thirty (30) days after the entry and judgment provided by W.S. 18-3-902. The supreme court may upon motion of the attorney general fix a time within which the necessary records of the proceedings and the briefs of the parties shall be filed and advance the cause for hearing. No proceeding in error shall suspend or supersede a judgment of the district court removing such officer, but such officer shall be suspended and barred from performing the duties of his office from the time of the entry of such judgment so long as the same remains unreversed.
18-3-905. Criminal statutes neither repealed nor barred.
Nothing in W.S. 18-3-902 through 18-3-904 shall be construed as repealing any law making it a crime or misdemeanor for county officers to violate statutes of this state and providing a punishment for the violation. Proceedings under W.S. 18-3-902 through 18-3-904 shall not bar proceedings under any criminal statute.
18-3-906. Prima facie malfeasance in office by sheriffs, district attorneys and county assessors.
Every sheriff and district attorney shall prima facie be guilty of malfeasance in office and subject to removal where open and continuous violations of any law occur in the county for which such officers are employed. Every county assessor is prima facie guilty of malfeasance in office and subject to removal where the county assessor has failed to carry out and follow the legal directives and legal orders of the state board of equalization relative to assessment of property.
18-4-102. Officers to be paid in warrants; direct deposit program authorized.
(a) All county officers are prohibited from paying themselves from money belonging to any county which may be in their possession, but shall receive pay for services rendered to a county by warrants drawn upon the county treasury by the board of county commissioners.
(b) All salary and wage payments to persons employed by a county including county officers may be made by direct deposit if the county clerk chooses to implement a direct deposit program, unless the employee elects not to participate in the program. The county clerk shall receive an order from the board of county commissioners authorizing the release of monies prior to each county payroll distribution as provided by subsection
(a) of this section.
18-4-104. Certificates of indebtedness; purposes for which
authorized; interest; precedence over other claims; order of payment; current year defined.
(a) When there are insufficient funds in the county treasury to meet the current obligations of the county each board of county commissioners may issue certificates of indebtedness for current expenses of the county and particularly for maintaining courts, boarding prisoners, prosecution of criminals and salaries of county officers.
(b) With the permission of the board of county commissioners, the county hospital, library, welfare or fair board may issue certificates of indebtedness in cases where there are insufficient funds in the county treasury to meet their current obligations for the necessary expenses for continuing the services and functions for which the boards are responsible and the expenses of the boards during July through November.
(c) The certificates of indebtedness shall bear interest at not more than six percent (6%) per annum payable from the funds of the board issuing the certificate. The total amount of certificates issued by each of the boards shall not exceed the following amounts in any one (1) year:
(i) For county hospitals, thirty percent (30%) of that portion of the budget approved by the board of county commissioners to be derived from tax levies during the current year;
(ii) For county fairs, eighty percent (80%) of the budget estimate of anticipated income for the year of issuance;
(iii) For county libraries, thirty percent (30%) of the budget estimate of anticipated income for the year of issuance;
(iv) For welfare boards, fifty percent (50%) of that portion of the budget for general welfare and health approved by the board of county commissioners to be derived from tax levies during the current year.
(d) The provisions of this section do not give authority to any of the boards to spend in excess of their total budgeted expenditures as approved according to law.
(e) Certificates are issuable by the board of county commissioners and by the county hospital, library, welfare or fair boards even though there may be a balance in the cash reserve fund of each of the boards.
(f) The certificates of indebtedness shall be payable out of the taxes levied and collected for the current year for use of the boards and shall be paid out of the first tax funds available to each board. They shall state they are payable out of the revenues of the county for the year of issuance and shall be clearly distinguishable from county orders or warrants.
(g) When county hospital, library, welfare or fair boards resolve to issue the certificates they shall forward to the county treasurer a copy of the resolution, certified by the presiding officer of the board, setting forth the number and amount of all such certificates to be issued.
(h) The certificates of indebtedness are a first and prior charge upon the taxes collected for the year of their issuance, and shall be first paid out of funds in the county treasury derived from taxes, fines or other sources of revenue collected or paid into the county treasury during the year of issuance, excluding sums received for delinquent taxes or fines for any previous year.
(j) The term "current year" as used in this section means the year commencing at twelve (12:00) noon on the preceding first Monday of January and ending at the same hour on the first Monday of the following January.
18-4-105. Order of paying warrants; exception as to Laramie and Albany counties.
All taxes and licenses are payable in money, and all properly attested orders and warrants are entitled to preference for payment according to date of presentation and acceptance at the treasurer's office, the oldest date to have preference. The treasurer shall not refuse to pay any order or warrant because there are unpresented prior orders or warrants if there is sufficient money in the treasury to pay all prior orders or warrants, with interest due thereon, as well as the order then presented. When the total of payable, interest drawing unpresented orders, amounts to five hundred dollars ($500.00), the treasurer shall cause two (2) weekly notices to be inserted in the official county newspaper briefly describing them by numbers, date, amount and in whose favor drawn, notifying the holders that they will cease to draw interest ten (10) days after the second notice. This section shall not apply to Laramie and Albany counties.
18-4-106. Cancellation of warrants and certificates; generally.
(a) The county treasurer shall on the first Monday of December in each year cancel all unpaid county warrants which have been issued for more than twelve (12) months. He shall at the same time cancel all county certificates of indebtedness issued by the board of county commissioners or by the county hospital, library, welfare or fair boards which have not been presented for payment within one (1) year after he has given legal notice that there was money in the county treasury to pay them. The county treasurer shall certify to the board of county commissioners or to the county hospital, library, welfare or fair board the number and amount of each county warrant and certificate of indebtedness cancelled. The board of county commissioners and the county hospital, library, welfare or fair boards shall enter the list upon its journal and have the list published in the minutes of the regular December meeting of the board of county commissioners or the county hospital, library, welfare or fair boards.
(b) Any person holding a cancelled county warrant or certificate of indebtedness may present the warrant or certificate to the board of county commissioners within five (5) years after the date of cancellation, and they shall issue the holder of the warrant or certificate a new warrant in the same amount due on the original warrant or certificate at the time cancelled.
18-4-107. County officer discounting warrant; penalty.
Any treasurer, clerk, sheriff, or member of the board of commissioners of a county, who shall purchase or receive any warrant or demand against such county for less than the face value of such demand, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).
18-4-108. Refusal of county treasurer to pay indebtedness or receive order in payment of taxes; penalty therefor.
Any county treasurer who, upon presentation of any auditor's warrant, county order, or like evidence of indebtedness for payment, shall refuse payment thereof, there being then in such treasury sufficient funds appropriated by law for the payment of such warrant, order or like indebtedness, or wherefrom by law, payment thereof ought to be made, and any county treasurer or collector of taxes who, upon presentation of any auditor's warrant, county order or other like certificate or evidence of indebtedness in payment of any taxes which may by law, be paid therein, shall refuse to receive such order, warrant or certificate in payment of such taxes, every such officer so offending shall be liable to indictment and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00). This section shall extend to the deputies of every such treasurer or collector of taxes.
18-4-201. Election for establishment; mill levy; custodian; restriction on use; investment.
(a) Each board of county commissioners may by resolution provide for an election to decide whether a building fund of a specified amount to be raised within a specified time not exceeding ten (10) years, should be accumulated to erect, add to or improve county buildings. After the resolution has been made the proposal shall be submitted on a separate ballot to the qualified electors of the county, at an election called, conducted, canvassed and returned in the manner provided for bond elections by the Political Subdivision Bond Election Law, W.S. 22-21-101 through 22-21-112. The ballot shall set forth in concise language the purpose for establishing the building fund and shall permit each voter to vote "For the establishment of a building fund" or "Against the establishment of a building fund". If a majority is in favor of the proposal to establish the building fund the proposal carries, and if a majority is against the proposal it fails.
(b) If the proposal carries the board of county commissioners may levy a tax to raise money directly for the building fund, providing this levy and other county levies do not exceed the constitutional limitation in addition:
(i) The funds so raised shall be kept by the county treasurer until sufficient to commence the building, addition or improvement;
(ii) The building fund shall be held by the county treasurer for the purpose specified and shall not be used for any other purpose;
(iii) The county commissioners may invest these funds to realize the greatest amount of interest as provided by W.S. 9-4-831.
18-4-301. Authority as to issuance; maximum indebtedness permitted.
Each board of county commissioners may create an indebtedness which with the existing indebtedness of the county does not exceed the constitutional debt limitation for counties, whenever the proposition to create the debt has been submitted and approved by a vote of the people in the county.
18-4-302. Election upon question of issuance generally; terms; purposes.
Each board of county commissioners may submit to the electors of the county the question of whether the board of county commissioners shall be authorized to issue registered coupon bonds of the county. The bonds shall be of a certain amount which with the existing indebtedness of the county shall not exceed the constitutional debt limitation for counties, shall bear interest and be issued payable and redeemable in the manner provided by this article. The purpose of the bonds is to provide for the construction, remodeling or enlargement of a courthouse or jail, construction, remodeling or enlargement of a county library or county library branches, planning, creation, construction and equipping of a fiber optic communications system, purchasing a site or the necessary furnishings and equipment for such facilities, or to construct or improve roads, highways, bridges, viaducts or subways of a permanent nature, under the supervision of the board of county commissioners or for joint facilities as provided by W.S. 18-2-105.
18-4-303. Proposition may be submitted at election.
The proposition to create the debt may be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the county at an election called, conducted, canvassed and returned in the manner provided for bond elections by the Political Subdivision Bond Election Law, W.S. 22-21-101 through 22-21-112.
(a) Bonds issued by the board of county commissioners:
(i) Shall bear lawful interest rates;
(ii) Shall be payable annually or semiannually;
(iii) May be evidenced by one (1) or two (2) sets of coupons if any but the first coupon may evidence interest for period not in excess of one (1) year;
(iv) May be in one (1) or more series;
(v) May be issued on different dates;
(vi) Shall mature no later than twenty-five (25) years from their date of issue;
(vii) May be in different denominations;
(viii) Shall be payable in a designated medium of payment at any designated place;
(ix) May carry registration privileges;
(x) May be subject to redemption before maturity in order or by lot or otherwise at designated times, with or without premium;
(xi) May bear privileges for reissuance and may be reissued in the same or other denominations without modification of maturities and interest rates;
(xii) May be in either coupon or registered form;
(xiii) With interest coupons attached thereto shall be fully negotiable as provided by the Uniform Commercial Code-Investment Securities.
(b) Each holder of the bond or coupon, by accepting same does conclusively agree that the bond or coupon except as otherwise provided is fully negotiable within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code-Investment Securities.
(c) The various annual maturities shall commence not later than the fifth year after the date of the bonds. All bonds shall mature serially in any manner the board may determine.
(a) Bonds shall be signed by the chairman of the board of county commissioners and countersigned by the county treasurer or his deputy. Any coupons shall be signed by the county treasurer or his deputy. The county clerk shall endorse a certificate upon every bond that it is issued pursuant to law and is within the lawful debt limit of the county. The board of county commissioners may authorize another member of the board to sign any bond or certificate in place of the chairman or county clerk. It is not necessary for any bond to bear the seal of the county. Bonds and coupons shall otherwise be in such form as the board may determine. The board may utilize a statutory form of bond which shall include the following details:
(i) The name of the county and the date of the bond;
(ii) The principal amount thereof and interest rate or rates payable;
(iii) The place or places and time or times of payment of principal and interest;
(iv) The prior redemption option, if any;
(v) A recital that the bond is one of a series approved at an election held for that purpose, that the total indebtedness of the county does not exceed the lawful debt limit of the county and that the bond has been issued under the authority of, in full compliance with and for a purpose authorized by the constitution and by law.
(b) A bond delivered to the purchaser in the optional statutory form shall:
(i) Be payable in lawful money of the United States of America without deduction for exchange or collection charges;
(ii) Be conclusively presumed to have been issued for value;
(iii) Be payable upon presentation and surrender of the bond and the attached coupons as they severally become due;
(iv) If not paid upon presentation at maturity, continue to draw interest until the principal thereof is paid in full;
(v) Be presumed to have been issued by the proper officers of the county under and by virtue of and in full conformity with the constitution and laws of Wyoming, any amendments thereto, and all other laws thereunto enabling; and
(vi) Be incontestable as hereafter provided.
(c) Any resolution of a board of county commissioners authorizing bonds may provide that each bond therein authorized shall recite that it is issued under the authority of W.S. 18-4-304 and 18-4-305. The recital shall conclusively impart full compliance with all the provisions hereof and all bonds issued containing the recital are incontestable for any cause whatsoever after their delivery for value.
The board shall give notice by posting on the county's official website in the manner provided in W.S. 18-3-516(f) and by publication in the county's designated official newspaper.
After ascertaining the best terms and the lowest interest at which the bonds can be negotiated the board shall secure the proper engraving and printing and consecutive numbering thereof and the bonds shall be properly prepared and executed. When executed they shall be registered by the county clerk in a public record book kept for that purpose showing the number, date, amount of bond, time and place of payment, rate of interest, number of coupons attached and any other description for future identification. The county clerk shall endorse and officially sign a certificate upon every bond stating that it is within the lawful debt limit of the county and is issued according to law.
18-4-308. Treasurer to register bonds in book; information to be shown.
The county treasurer shall keep a book in which shall be registered all bonds issued showing the number, date of issue, to whom issued, amount of bond, date of redemption and payment of interest and principal.
18-4-309. Tax levy for purpose of redemption; payment from general fund; reimbursement.
The board of county commissioners shall annually levy upon all taxable property in the county, in addition to other authorized taxes, a sufficient sum to pay the interest on all bonds and shall at least five (5) years before the bonds become optional, and in time to provide means for their payment, annually levy not less than one (1) mill to pay the bonds as they become optional. All such taxes shall be levied, assessed and collected as other county taxes until the bonds and interest are fully paid. Should the tax for payment of interest on bonds issued not be levied or collected in time for payment the interest shall be paid from monies in the general fund of the county and the money so used shall be repaid to the general fund out of the first monies collected from taxes.
18-4-310. Payment of bonds guaranteed; effect of county division.
The faith, credit and all taxable property within the county as constituted at the time of issue are and shall continue pledged to the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds. In the event of the division of any such county the segregated territory is relieved from any obligation occasioned by the issuance of the bonds when the county acquiring such territory pays its proportionate share as provided by W.S. 18-1-316 through 18-1-320.
Each board of county commissioners may establish, construct, purchase, extend, maintain and regulate highway viaducts or subways on any highway including city or town streets within the county.
18-4-402. Call for bond election; amount authorized; purpose.
Each board of county commissioners may submit to the electors of the county the question whether the board of county commissioners shall be authorized to issue bonds of the county in an amount which together with existing indebtedness shall not exceed the county's constitutional debt limitation, for the purposes specified in W.S. 18-4-401.
The proposition to issue the bonds shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the county at an election called, conducted, canvassed and returned in the manner provided for bond elections by the Political Subdivision Bond Election Law, W.S. 22-21-101 through 22-21-112. The proposition submitted shall specify the amount of bonds to be issued, the rate of interest and the purpose for which it is proposed. At any election the official ballot shall contain the words "For Viaduct or Subway Bonds" and "Against Viaduct or Subway Bonds."
18-4-404. Form, terms, conditions and execution of bonds; payment and interest; sale price.
(a) The viaduct or subway bonds:
(i) Shall be payable thirty (30) years from the date of issue;
(ii) Shall be redeemable at the option of the county after ten (10) years;
(iii) Shall bear interest payable on January 15 and July 15 each year;
(iv) Shall be issued in any combination of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), five hundred dollars ($500.00) or one hundred dollars ($100.00) denominations;
(v) Shall be consecutively numbered from the number one (1);
(vi) Shall be signed by the chairman of the board of county commissioners and attested by the county clerk who shall affix the county seal thereto;
(vii) May have attached when negotiated, semiannual interest coupons signed by the county treasurer.
(b) At the request of the purchaser or holder the county treasurer shall issue to him registered bonds or shall exchange registered bonds for coupon bonds. The principal and interest shall be payable at the office of the county treasurer of the county, at the office of the state treasurer or at some bank in the City of New York as designated by the board of county commissioners. The bonds shall not be sold for less than their full or par value and the accrued interest thereon at the time of delivery.
The board of county commissioners shall give notice by posting on the county's official website in the manner provided in W.S. 18-3-516(f) and by publication in the county's designated official newspaper.
The county treasurer shall maintain records in which is registered all bonds showing the number of the bond, the amount, date of issue, to whom issued, date of redemption, rate of and payment of interest and the time and place of payment. The county clerk shall endorse and officially sign a certificate upon every bond that it is within the lawful debt limit of the county and is issued according to law.
18-4-407. Tax levy for purpose of redemption; restriction upon use of monies collected.
The board of county commissioners shall annually levy upon all taxable property in the county in addition to other authorized taxes a tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds as they become due which shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other taxes in the county. The taxes collected shall be known as the viaduct or subway tax and shall only be used for the payment of interest and principal of the bonds.
18-4-408. Payment from general fund when tax not levied; reimbursement.
Should the tax for the payment of interest on any bonds not be levied or collected in time to meet the payment the interest shall be paid out of any monies in the general fund of the county and the money so used shall be repaid to the general fund from the first monies collected from viaduct or subway taxes.