Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1907-02-21

that where there is no court house
or the court house is not adequate
then the county commissioners
shall provide one. And the Her.
(ald says that county commissions
/ ers can be compelled to do so by
, Mandamus proceedings. That
may all be true, and yet it will
have to show us that there is at
present no court house or that
the present court house is not
adequate or cannot be made 80
before We shall admit that Man
damus proceedings can be
brought against the county COM
missioncrs to compel them to
build. 1t will have to show us
further that the need for a county
court house is such at this time us
to create an emergency which
would warrant the appropriation
Of the emergency fund for that
purpose. 1t will have to convince
us that the emergency fund is
available for that purpose at this
time. The editor himself, refer
ring to Sec. 2419 Revised Code
1905, says: 'rhis section con-
fines your authority '(rcferring to
the county commissioners to the
use of moneys in the emergency
and county building funds, and
yon would not be authorized to
make any greater expenditures
than the amounts available in
those funds AS to Sec. 24l2
Revised Code 1906 he says:
"This section authorizes the
creation ola county building fund,
and if the Billings county COM
mlssioners wish to avail Them
selves of its provisions they may
create fund which will be avail
able for building purposes. How
ever, we deem that there exists
All emergency at the present time
such as would authorize the use
of the available funds in the emer-
gency fund"
As to the above We have only
this t" say, that while the com
missioners have authority to create
a building fund. the statute con-
templates chat this fund shall be
collected during Il period of years.
1t does not contemplate that the
commissioners shall provide for
the creation Of such fund, and by
the same action appropriate it.
For section 2t2Dprovides: "Atter
a building fund has been accumu-
lated from the proceeds of the
sale of town lots or from any
other source. it shall be the duty
of the board, within one year
from time such funds becomes
available, to proceed to the cree
ton Of the necessary county build
lngs, including a Jail, ifsuch fund
shall in the judgement of the
board be sufficient for that pur-
pose.
The only constructions which can be given
to the above statute is that before the COM
missi can appropriate money from
such building fund.- the fund must be &C
undated. Under it. they have no author
ity to proceed to the erection of court
house, until such fund is available, and it
may we'll be that it will take ten years to
accumulate fund Of one hundred dollars
in compliance with the provisions of 2412
upon which the Herald SO much relies.
To appropriate money to build a court
house from funds whose accumulation de-
ponds upon contingency that may never
happen. namely: there remain ing unexpen-
ded balances in other funds-and hence
never become available-is little far
fetched. to say the least; and not It all in
harmony with the spirit and letter of the law
as set forth in the above statutes. But the
Herald. without quoting calls attention to
| Sec. 241o:
The board shall have authority under
the provisions of this article to provide for
the erection and repairing of court houses
jails and other necessary buildings within
and for the county. and to make contracts
on behalf of the county for building and
repairing of the same: but no expenditure
for the purpose herein named greater than
can be paid out of the annual revenue of
the county for the current year shall be
made unless the question of such expendi-
tuEe shall have first been submitted to
vote of the qualified electors of such county
and shall have been approved by major
ity OF the votes 80 cast: and the board
\ shall determine the amount and rate of
taxes to be submitted to vote for such
purpose.
In constituting the above statutes the SUI
preme court has held that expenditures
greater than the revenue for the current
year must be authorized by vote of the
people.-lEx Rel Debold Safe and Lock
company North Dakota z43] can it be
fairly said that an appropriation of three
or four thousand dollars for a purpose
never contemplated when the levy of taxes
was made snot an extraordinary expendi-
ture? We think not. Moreover if theJ
appropriate the emergency fund Who'll
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