piers109uk/MN-Statutes huggingface dataset:
373.39 SPENDING FOR FIRE PROTECTION, COMMUNITY PROJECTS.
Any county located outside the metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2, may appropriate moneys from its general fund or expend funds received from the federal government under the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 (Title 1, Public Law 92-512) to make grants to cities and towns within the county to be used to provide fire protection, including the construction and equipping of local fire departments, or for other community projects. The grants may be terminated upon expiration of the federal act.
382.33 RECEIPT FOR PAYMENT.
When negotiable paper is accepted in accordance with section 382.32 and a receipt demanded the treasurer or other county officer shall issue a conditional receipt with the words "Paid By Check - Not A Valid Receipt Until Check Is Paid" stamped boldly on its face.
375.21 CONTRACTS OF COUNTY BOARDS.
When required by the dollar limitations of section 471.345, a contract for work or labor, or to purchase furniture, fixtures, or other property, or to construct or repair roads, bridges, or buildings shall be made by a county board only after advertising for bids or proposals in a qualified legal newspaper of the county. For the purchase of property or for work and labor, two weeks' published notice that proposals will be received, stating the time and place, shall be given. For the construction or repair of roads, bridges, or buildings, three weeks' published notice shall be given. The notice shall state the time and place of awarding the contract and contain a brief description of the work. Every contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder and duly executed in writing. The person to whom a contract is awarded for work or labor or for the construction or repair of roads, bridges, or buildings shall give a sufficient bond to the board for its faithful performance. If no satisfactory bid is received, the board may readvertise.
An advertised standard requirement price contract for supplies or services established by competitive bids may contain an escalation clause and may provide for a negotiated price increase or decrease. The escalation or negotiated change shall be based upon a demonstrable industrywide or regional increase or decrease in the vendor's costs.
Every contract made without compliance with this section is void.
In case of an emergency arising from the destruction or impassability of roads or bridges by floods, rain or snow, or other casualty, or from the breaking or damaging of any property in the county, if the public health, safety, or welfare would suffer by delay, contracts for purchase or repairs may be made without advertising for bids, but in that case the action of the board shall be recorded in its official proceedings.
This section does not apply to Hennepin County.
As an alternative to the procurement method described in subdivision 1, a county board may award a contract for construction, building, alteration, improvement, or repair work to the vendor or contractor offering the best value under a request for proposals as described in section 16C.28, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), and paragraph (c).
MS 1965 [Repealed, 1967 c 364 s 2]
MS 1965 [Repealed, 1967 c 364 s 2]
365.38 NOTIFY CLERK BEFORE SUIT; WAIT 30 DAYS ON ORDER.
If an action on a claim can demand only a money judgment the action cannot be brought against a town until a statement of the claim is filed with the town clerk. Filing is not required for actions on a town order, bond, coupon, or written promise to pay money.
An action cannot be brought on a town order until the 31st day after payment of the order is demanded.
375.20 BALLOT QUESTIONS.
If the county board may do an act, incur a debt, appropriate money for a purpose, or exercise any other power or authority, only if authorized by a vote of the people, the question may be submitted at a special or general election, by a resolution specifying the matter or question to be voted upon. If the question is to authorize the appropriation of money, creation of a debt, or levy of a tax, it shall state the amount. Notice of the election shall be given as in the case of special elections. If the question submitted is adopted, the board shall pass an appropriate resolution to carry it into effect. In the election the form of the ballot shall be: "Shall (here state the substance of the resolution to be submitted)?, Yes ...... No......,". The county board may call a special county election upon a question to be held within 74 days after a resolution to that effect is adopted by the county board. Upon the adoption of the resolution the county auditor shall post and publish notices of the election, as required by section 204D.22, subdivisions 2 and 3. The election shall be conducted and the returns canvassed in the manner prescribed by sections 204D.20 to 204D.27, so far as practicable.
382.34 PRESENTATION FOR PAYMENT; NONPAYMENT EFFECT; PURCHASER.
After accepting negotiable paper the treasurer shall present it promptly for payment. If any negotiable paper is not paid on due presentation for any reason, any record of payment made on any official record because of the acceptance of the negotiable paper shall be canceled and the tax, assessment, license, penalty or interest remains a lien as though no payment had been accepted, and such lien shall be enforceable against a bona fide purchaser or encumbrancer who erroneously relied upon any conditional record of payment.
If negotiable paper is accepted by the treasurer and within ten days of such acceptance the county treasurer is requested to issue a current tax certificate, the treasurer shall issue such certificate with the words "taxes paid - conditional receipt issued" stamped thereon.
The treasurer's powers to cancel tax receipts shall appear on every person's tax statement as provided for in section 276.04 stamped boldly on its face with the words "All Tax Receipts Subject to Cancellation By County Treasurer For Dishonor Of Negotiable Paper Offered In Payment."
366.20 MEETINGS.
The town board shall be a board of audit and meet each year, on a date fixed by the town board, to audit and settle all charges against the town. All unpaid accounts of town officers for services rendered since the last annual meeting of the board shall be presented at the meeting. It may also meet at other times to audit and settle charges against the town. No allowance of an account shall be made which does not specifically itemize the account. A quorum for the board of audit shall be the same as for the board of supervisors.
373.41 MISCELLANEOUS FEES.
The county may charge a fee to record, file, certify, or provide copies of any instrument, document, or paper that is required by law to be filed or which may be filed in any county office. The county may charge fees for service provided by any county office, official, department, court, or employee. The county board may, after a public hearing, establish the amounts of fees to be charged for the services, unless a statute has specified the amount. There must be a reasonable relation between the fee and the cost of providing the service. A county may also impose a fee or an interest charge on payments of money to the county that are more than 90 days overdue, provided that late property tax payments remain subject only to the penalty and interest provisions of chapters 277 and 279.
365.39 LAWSUIT WITH TOWN AS PARTY IS LIKE ANY LAWSUIT.
An action or proceeding with a town as a party must be handled as other actions and proceedings are handled. A judgment has the same effect as a judgment in a similar action or proceeding between individuals.
366.21 DUTIES.
(a) It shall be the duty of the board of audit:
(1) to examine and audit the accounts separately of each town officer authorized by law to receive or disburse money;
(2) to examine and audit every account presented against the town, and to endorse and state on it the amount allowed and disallowed. No allowance shall be made on any account which does not specifically give each item, with its date, amount, and nature. The statement shall be verified by the claimant, the claimant's agent or attorney, and filed with the town clerk. No claim shall be considered or acted upon unless the statement is made and filed;
(3) to examine the character and circumstances of every other demand presented against the town which it is not authorized to audit, and in its report give a summary of it, with its recommendations in regard to it;
(4) to report in detail the items of accounts audited and allowed or disallowed, the nature of each, and the person to whom allowed or disallowed.
(b) The report shall contain a statement of the fiscal affairs of the town, with an estimate of the sum necessary to be raised for the current expenses or other authorized purpose for the ensuing year, and other recommendations as it may deem advisable.
382.35 LIABILITY OF OFFICER; RETURN WITHOUT PAYMENT.
A county officer accepting negotiable instruments shall not be personally liable for the nonpayment of any negotiable paper accepted pursuant to section 382.32.
Any county officer accepting negotiable paper shall make any memoranda necessary to enable the officer to make proper cancellation of any record on the return of the negotiable paper without payment.
375.22 REPAIRS WITHOUT BIDS IN EMERGENCY.
In case of an emergency arising from breakage, damage, or decay in county property that cannot be allowed to wait for the time required to advertise for bids, repairs may be made without advertising for bids if the work is authorized by a majority of the board of county commissioners, and the action is ratified and recorded in the official proceedings of the board at its next meeting.
This section does not apply to Ramsey County.
382.36 PRESENTMENT FOR PAYMENT.
When negotiable paper is accepted by any county officer the county treasurer shall promptly present it for payment. If the negotiable paper is not paid on due presentation for any reason, the treasurer shall return it to the county officer who accepted it. If a statutory procedure is prescribed for the collection of the amount represented by the negotiable paper, such paper shall be returned to the person submitting it and the amount collected pursuant to such procedure. If no special statutory procedure is prescribed for the collection of the amount represented by the negotiable paper, the county attorney shall use all legal means available to compel payment of the amount represented by the negotiable paper.
365.40 TOWN NAME IN SUIT; EXCEPTION; SERVICE; DEFENSE.
In all actions or proceedings the town shall sue and be sued in its name, except that town officers may sue in their official names for the town's benefit.
In an action against a town, process and papers must be served on the chair of the town board or on the town clerk.
The chair shall see that the action is defended. The chair shall also give the town board a full statement of the facts about the action or proceeding so that the board can decide how to defend it. The statement must be given at the first board meeting after the town is served.
366.22 POSTING AND READING REPORT; FEE.
The clerk shall post a copy of the report at the place of the annual meeting at least half an hour before the time for the annual meeting to convene. The report shall also be publicly read by the clerk to the meeting. The whole report or any part of it may be referred by the meeting to a committee, which shall examine and report to the meeting on it. For making the report the clerk shall receive one-half of the fees allowed by law for making the original report.
382.37 TRAINING EXPENSES.
The county board may reimburse a newly elected county officer for expenses incurred prior to assuming office for attendance at a training or educational program which will familiarize the officer with official duties.
373.43 FINANCING AUTHORITY; ICE FACILITIES.
A county may issue and sell its general obligations under chapter 475 to finance acquisition and construction of an indoor ice arena intended to be used predominantly for youth athletic activities if all the following conditions are met.
(a) The obligations are secured by a pledge of revenues from the facility.
(b) The county has entered into a qualified agreement. A qualified agreement means:
(1) a joint powers agreement with the school district or the city in which the facility is located that governs ownership, operation, and maintenance of the facility; or
(2) an agreement with a nonprofit corporation, qualifying under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that provides that the corporation will operate, manage, and maintain the facility; or
(3) any combination of agreements under clauses (1) and (2).
(c) The agreements under paragraph (b) provide that all parties must pay the principal and interest on obligations, if the revenues for the facility are insufficient to pay the obligations in full.
(d) The county board finds, based on analysis provided by a professional experienced in finance, that the facility's revenues and other available money will be sufficient to pay the obligations, without reliance on a property tax levy or the general purpose state aid of the county or any party to a joint powers agreement.
365.41 JUDGMENT AGAINST TOWN; PAYMENT; EXECUTION.
A judgment against a town, or a town officer in an official capacity, must be paid by the town treasurer on demand if there is enough unappropriated money on hand. The demand is made by giving the town treasurer a certified copy of the docket of the judgment. An execution of the judgment must not be issued at this time.
If the judgment is reversed or stayed the town treasurer must not pay it.
If a town has enough money but its treasurer does not pay the judgment, the treasurer is liable for the amount of the judgment. The personal liability is removed if the collection of the judgment is later stayed on appeal.
If the town does not have enough money on hand to pay the judgment, the town shall levy to pay it. The town treasurer then must pay the judgment within 30 days after the county treasurer has to pay the levy money to the town treasurer. If the payment is not made by then, execution on the judgment may be made. Only town property is liable on the execution.
373.44 REVENUE FINANCING AUTHORITY; ICE FACILITIES.
For the purpose of acquiring, leasing, equipping, or maintaining land or buildings for use as an indoor ice arena as defined in section 373.43, a county has the same authority and powers granted to a city by section 471.191.
375.25 COUNTY BONDS MAY BE BOUGHT BY FUNDS IN TREASURY; RESALE.
When a fund in the treasury of a county having not more than 50,000 population is of a size that, in the opinion of the county board, it will not be necessary to be spent for the purpose for which it was paid in within the next two years the board may authorize the auditor and treasurer of the county to purchase out of the fund any outstanding bonds of the county at not more than their face value and accrued interest to the date of purchase. The bonds shall be kept by the treasurer as an asset of the fund. The bonds may again be sold by the board at not less than their face value when, in its judgment, it is necessary to replenish the fund out of which they were purchased.
471.415 DUPLICATE WARRANTS OR ORDERS.
When any order or warrant of any county, city, town, or school district in the state shall become lost or destroyed, a duplicate thereof may be issued by the officers authorized by law to issue such orders or warrants under the regulations and restrictions hereinafter prescribed. Such duplicate shall correspond in number, date, and amount with the original order or warrant and shall have endorsed on its face by the officers issuing the same the word "duplicate," together with the date of its issuance.
A duplicate for a lost or destroyed order or warrant shall not issue until there shall have been filed with the proper officer an affidavit of the owner thereof setting forth the ownership of the order or warrant, the description thereof, and the manner of its loss or destruction, and until there shall have been executed and filed with the same officer an indemnifying bond, with sureties to be approved by such officer, in a sum equal to the amount of such order or warrant, conditioned that the parties thereto shall pay all damages which the county, city, town, or school district may sustain if compelled to pay such lost or destroyed order or warrant. The governing body of any county, city, town, or school district may in its discretion dispense with the requirement of an indemnifying bond.
Any officer issuing duplicates under this section shall keep a record showing the number, dates, and amounts of such mutilated, lost, or destroyed orders or warrants, together with the date of issuance of the duplicates therefor, and the names of the persons to whom issued.
365.43 NO DEBT, SPENDING BEYOND TAX LIMIT WITHOUT VOTE.
A town must not spend more money in a year than its total revenue without a favorable vote of a majority of the town's electors. In this section, "total revenue" means property taxes payable in that year as well as amounts received from all other sources and amounts carried forward from the last year.
A town must not levy more taxes in a year than are authorized by law.
365.42 AMOUNT OF UNPAID JUDGMENT ADDED TO TAX LEVY.
A certified copy of the docket of an unsatisfied money judgment may be presented to the first annual town meeting after the judgment is rendered. If proceedings on the judgment are not stopped the town board shall then add the amount of the judgment to the tax levy for that year.
375.26 GIFTS, ACCEPTANCE.
A county may receive by grant, gift, devise, or bequest, and take charge of, own, hold, control, invest, and administer free from taxation, in accordance with the terms of the trust or the conditions of the gift, personal property, and real property in one county, for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the county or as a park or recreation grounds, and to encourage, aid, and maintain the county cooperative work and education in agriculture and home economics. The county may, from time to time, by resolution of the county board, appropriate from the county revenue fund the sums deemed necessary by the board to suitably maintain, improve, and care for the property.
365.431 AMOUNT VOTED AT MEETING IS TAX LIMIT.
Except as otherwise authorized by law, the tax for town purposes must not be more than the amount voted to be raised at the annual town meeting.
373.47 COUNTY DEBT AUTHORITY.
Subject to prior approval by the Statewide Radio Board under section 403.36, the governing body of a county may finance the cost of designing, constructing, and acquiring public safety communication system infrastructure and equipment for use on the statewide, shared public safety radio system by issuing:
(1) capital improvement bonds under section 373.40, as if the infrastructure and equipment qualified as a "capital improvement" within the meaning of section 373.40, subdivision 1, paragraph (b). Bonds issued under this section are exempt from and shall not be included in calculating the limitations in section 373.40, subdivision 4; and
(2) capital notes under the provisions of section 373.01, subdivision 3, as if the equipment qualified as "capital equipment" within the meaning of section 373.01, subdivision 3.
The county may report the tax attributable to any levy to pay principal and interest on bonds or notes issued under this section as a separate line item on the property tax statement. The levy to pay principal and interest on the notes or bonds is exempt from the limits on the amount or rate of tax imposed under any other provision of law.
The authority to issue debt under this section expires December 31, 2012.
375.27 LIABILITIES, LIMITATIONS, AND CONDITIONS OF GIFTS OF REALTY.
No county, by receiving a grant, gift, devise, or bequest of property pursuant to section 375.26 and holding and managing it, shall incur or be subject to any liability of any kind or nature growing out of its ownership or management, but limitations and conditions may be imposed by the deed of gift as to the use of the property and it shall be the duty of the county to comply with them.
365.44 PETITION FOR SEPARATION; BALLOT AT TOWN MEETING.
The question of whether a town is to be separated for all purposes from a statutory city within the town may be voted on at the town's annual meeting. This section must be followed for the separation to take place. At least 50 of the town's electors must sign a notice stating that the question will be voted on at the next annual meeting. The signers may reside within or outside the city. The notice must be filed with the town clerk. The clerk shall include the question in the notice of the meeting. The question must then be voted on by ballot. If a majority of the votes on the question are in favor of the separation, the town is separated from the statutory city for all purposes. Only voters residing outside the statutory city may vote on the question.
375.273 ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS FOR CARE OF CEMETERIES.
The board of county commissioners may accept money from private sources or from any person, firm, or corporation, including fiduciaries, donated for the perpetual care of cemeteries located either wholly or partly in the county, and use the funds for the purposes provided in subdivision 2.
The board may expend public funds under its control to maintain and improve, and otherwise permanently care for cemeteries located either wholly or partly in the county. The expenditures shall be included in, and shall not be in excess of, limitations on expenditures fixed by law.
The money donated or made available for use by the board to permanently care for cemeteries, shall be paid into the county treasury, and kept in a separate fund and disbursed only as authorized by the county board.
373.475 COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST FUND.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 282 and any other law relating to the apportionment of proceeds from the sale of tax-forfeited land, and except as otherwise provided in this section, a county board must deposit the money received from the sale of land under Laws 1998, chapter 389, article 16, section 31, subdivision 3, into an environmental trust fund established by the county under this section. The principal from the sale of the land may not be expended, and the county board may spend interest earned on the principal only for purposes related to the improvement of natural resources. To the extent money received from the sale is attributable to tax-forfeited land from another county, the money must be deposited in an environmental trust fund established under this section by that county board.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), St. Louis County may use up to 50 percent of the principal in an environmental trust fund established under this section in calendar years 2023, 2024, and 2025 and up to ten percent annually thereafter for renewable and climate change related economic development and environmental projects in the county that protect the environment or create clean-economy jobs and manufacturing. The county must leave a minimum of $10,000,000 as principal in the account. For purposes of this paragraph, economic development projects mean solar incentives and projects to protect Lake Superior and other waters in the Great Lakes watershed from PFAS contamination from landfills. Notwithstanding section 10.49, the environmental trust fund established under this section must be named the Mary C. Murphy Trust Fund.
375.28 REWARDS FOR CAPTURE.
A county board may offer and pay rewards in the amounts, not exceeding $500 in any one case, as it deems advisable for the apprehension, arrest, or conviction, or for information leading to the apprehension, arrest, or conviction, of persons accused of crime in any court in the county or for the apprehension, or for information leading to the apprehension, of any prisoner escaped from a jail in the county.
373.50 POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTION; INCLEMENT WEATHER.
This section applies to a primary, special, or general election held in a county that is not held in conjunction with a state or federal election.
(a) In the event of severe or inclement weather, the county auditor may postpone an election when the National Weather Service or a law enforcement agency has issued storm warnings or travel advisories indicating that the weather conditions would make travel to a polling place difficult or hazardous for voters and election judges. When one or more jurisdictions are holding elections in conjunction with one another, the jurisdiction that covers the largest geographic area has the authority, after consulting with the other auditors and clerks, to make the decision to postpone all of the elections. A decision to postpone an election must apply to every precinct in the jurisdiction.
(b) A decision to postpone an election must be made no later than 6:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The auditor must contact the election judges and notify local media outlets of the postponement. The auditor must also post a notice on the jurisdiction's website, if practicable.
(c) A postponed election must be rescheduled for the next following Tuesday after the election was originally scheduled. The date on which the postponed election will be held shall be considered the date of the election for purposes of absentee voting under chapter 203B. An election that is postponed due to weather may be postponed again if necessary under this section.
373.48 FINANCING ENERGY PURCHASE CONTRACTS; PARTICIPATION IN GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION PROJECTS.
For the purpose of this section, "project" means a facility that generates electricity from renewable energy sources listed in section 216B.1691, subdivision 1, paragraph (c).
A county may, for itself or in cooperation with other counties, enter into agreements for the purchase of electrical energy from one or more projects, and may enter into agreements with a utility for the purchase and sale of the electrical energy so purchased. Agreements may be for a term of one year to 20 years. A county may also acquire an ownership interest in a project and may enter into agreements for the purchase and sale of electrical energy produced. A county may not sell, transmit, or distribute the electrical energy at retail or provide for end use from an off-site facility by the county or counties of the electrical energy. A county's on-site generation authorized under this subdivision is limited to a total of ten megawatts. Nothing in this section modifies the exclusive service territories or exclusive right to serve as provided in sections 216B.37 to 216B.43. The energy to be purchased by a county under agreements entered into under this section and the energy produced that is commensurate with the county's interest in projects shall not in any year exceed the total amount of energy used by the county for its own facilities in the immediately preceding year, regardless of the source from which energy was obtained.
(a) A county may enter into agreements under section 471.59 with other counties for joint purchase of energy or joint acquisition of interests in projects. A county that enters into a multiyear agreement for purchase of energy or acquires an interest in a project may finance the estimated cost of the energy to be purchased during the term of the agreement or the cost to the county of the interest in the project by the issuance of revenue bonds of the county, including clean renewable energy revenue bonds, provided that the annual debt service on all bonds issued under this section, together with the amounts to be paid by the county in any year for the purchase of energy under agreements entered into under this section, must not exceed the estimated revenues of the project.
(b) An agreement entered into under section 471.59 as provided by this section may provide that:
(1) each county issues bonds to pay their respective shares of the cost of the projects;
(2) one of the counties issues bonds to pay the full costs of the project and that the other participating counties pay any available revenues of the project and pledge the revenues to the county that issues the bonds; or
(3) the joint powers board issues revenue bonds to pay the full costs of the project and that the participating counties pay any available revenues of the project under this subdivision and pledge the revenues to the joint powers entity for payment of the revenue bonds.
365.45 PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION; BY COUNTY BOARD.
When a petition signed by a majority of the registered voters of the town calling for the dissolution of the town organization is filed with the town clerk at least 60 days before a regular or special town election, the question of whether to dissolve the town shall be submitted to the voters at the regular or special town election in the same manner provided in section 368.47. The result of the election, duly certified by the town clerk, shall be presented to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the town is located. The board of county commissioners shall, or whenever the tax delinquency in any town exceeds 70 percent in any one year, the board of county commissioners of the county wherein the town is situated, on its own initiative, may, by resolution, dissolve the town and attach the territory formerly embraced therein to an adjoining town or towns, or provide for the government of the territory as unorganized territory of the county. If the dissolved territory is added to an adjoining town, the proposal shall first have the approval of a five-eighths majority of the voting electors of the town to which the dissolved territory is added. Upon the adoption of the resolution by the county board, the town shall be dissolved and no longer entitled to exercise any of the powers or functions of an organized town. The county auditor shall give ten days' notice, by one publication in the paper in which the proceedings of the county board are published, of the meeting of the county board at which the dissolution of the town will be considered.
365.46 NOTICE TO SECRETARY OF STATE, OTHERS; RECORDING.
The county auditor shall immediately send a certified copy of the county board's resolution dissolving a town to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall then record the dissolution.
The county auditor shall also send a copy of the notice of the dissolution to: (1) the state demographer, (2) the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office, (3) the chief administrative law judge of the state Office of Administrative Hearings, and (4) the commissioner of transportation.
375.30 COUNTY BOARD MAY APPROPRIATE MONEY FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.
A county board may appropriate, annually, a sum of money to eradicate and remove rust-producing bushes, including barberry and mahonia and excluding Japanese barberry. The money appropriated shall be spent as the county board may, by resolution, provide.
A county board, by resolution, may appropriate and spend money as necessary to spray and otherwise eradicate wild hemp on private property within the county. The county board may authorize the use of county equipment, personnel and supplies and materials to spray or otherwise eradicate wild hemp on private property, and may pro rate the expenses involved between the county and owner or occupant of the property. Industrial hemp grown by a person licensed under chapter 18K is not wild hemp.
366.27 FIREFIGHTERS' RELIEF; TAX LEVY.
The town board of any town in this state having therein a platted portion on which resides 1,200 or more people, and wherein a duly incorporated firefighters' relief association is located may each year levy a tax not to exceed 0.00806 percent of estimated market value for the benefit of the relief association.
373.51 ALTERNATIVE PROCESS FOR CONSOLIDATION.
Notwithstanding the provisions relating to petitions in sections 371.02 and 371.03, two or more counties may begin the process for consolidation by filing with the secretary of state a resolution unanimously adopted by the board of each affected county to seek voter approval for consolidation of the counties following the procedures in chapter 371.
365.48 COUNTY MAY BOND TO PAY DEBT OF DISSOLVED TOWN.
A county board may issue funding or refunding bonds to pay off the outstanding bonds, warrants, and judgments of a dissolved town if they amount to more than one year's maximum levy under this section. The bonds must be issued as provided by law for the issuing of county funding or refunding bonds.
The bonds may be issued without first submitting the question of the issue to the electors residing in the town's territory or in the county.
The bonds are not an obligation of the county but are an obligation of the territory that used to be in the town. The bonds are payable out of levies made against the property in that territory under section 365.47. The restrictions in this subdivision must be printed on the face of the bonds.
The bonds must be issued according to sections 475.51, 475.53, 475.54, 475.58, 475.62, 475.63, and 475.72 unless this section has a different procedure. The tax levy required by section 475.61 must be made against the property of the territory obligated on the bonds.
365.49 PROPERTY OF DISSOLVED TOWN BELONGS TO COUNTY.
A dissolved town's real or personal property that is needed for county purposes becomes the property of the county. The reasonable value of the property, as determined by the county board must be credited to the town and used to pay off outstanding bonds, warrants, or judgments.
Other property of the town becomes the property of the county without being credited to the town.
Surplus money of the town after all obligations are paid must be credited to the county's general fund.
375.32 INSURANCE POLICIES; PREMIUM, PAYMENT.
A county board may pay the premium on an insurance policy which insures a county officer or employee or a group of county officers or employees against liability for injuries to person or property within the limitations of section 375.31. The payment shall not impose any liability upon the county. The insurance may be written by any insurance company authorized to transact business in Minnesota.
A county board may take action as necessary to bring the county and its officers and employees within the provisions and limitations of chapter 65B.
375.31 MOTOR VEHICLES, DAMAGE FROM OPERATION.
A county board may indemnify any county officer or employee for loss or expense arising or resulting from any claim made against the officer or employee because of bodily injury, death or property damage sustained by reason of the officer's or employee's operation of a motor vehicle while performing official duties. The county board may defend any suit brought against an officer or employee to enforce such a claim. The county board may settle the claim or suit and pay the amount of the settlement or the amount of any final judgment rendered against an officer or employee on the claim without first requiring the officer or employee to pay it.
365.47 COUNTY'S DISPOSAL OF TOWN'S FUNDS; DEBT LEVY.
A dissolved town's money that remains in or comes into the county treasury must be disposed of under this section.
Money in the road and bridge fund must be spent by the county board for road and bridge improvements wholly within the town.
The county auditor shall use all other town money to pay all outstanding bonds, warrants, and judgments against the town.
If the county does not have enough town money to pay the holders for the outstanding bonds, warrants, and judgments, then the holders may petition the county auditor for a levy. The county auditor shall spread enough of a tax levy against the taxable property of the town to pay the holders off. The levy must not be more than the maximum amount that the town could levy to pay those debts if it were not dissolved. If one levy does not raise enough money to pay off the bonds, warrants, and judgments, the county auditor shall spread annual levies to pay them off. The levies must be for the maximum amount that the town could levy for the purpose if it were not dissolved. The levy must be made until the warrants, bonds, and judgments are paid in full, unless bonds are issued for them under section 365.48.
365.51 ANNUAL MEETING; NOTICE, BUSINESS, ELECTIONS.
(a) A town's annual town meeting must be held on the second Tuesday of March at the place named by the last annual town meeting. If no place was named then, the meeting must be held at the place named by the town board. The place may be outside the town if the place is within five miles of a town boundary. If, on the day of the meeting and election in March, the National Weather Service or a law enforcement agency has issued storm warnings or travel advisories such that the clerk determines travel to a polling place would be difficult or hazardous for voters and election judges, the clerk may postpone the election and meeting. If the meeting and election are postponed, the meeting and election shall be held on the third Tuesday in March. Prior to providing notice of the election and meeting, the town board shall by resolution set another date for the meeting and election within 30 days of the third Tuesday in March on which the meeting and election shall be held if bad weather forces postponement of the meeting and election on the third Tuesday in March. The decision to postpone the meeting and election must be made no later than three hours before the opening of the polling place or the convening of the meeting, whichever comes first. The clerk shall notify the election judges and local media offices of the decision to postpone the meeting and election. If the meeting and election are postponed, the notice requirements in subdivision 2 shall apply to the postponed meeting and election.
The balloting of the town election must be concluded on the same day the election is commenced.
(b) If any other political subdivision is conducting an election in conjunction with the township election, postponement of the election shall be subject to section 205.105, 205A.055, or 373.50. If an election is postponed under section 205.105, 205A.055, or 373.50, the town meeting shall also be postponed as if postponed under this section.
The clerk shall give ten days' published notice of the time and place of the meeting in a qualified newspaper having general circulation in the town. An alternative to published notice is posted notice, as directed by the town board unless the electors at an earlier annual town meeting direct otherwise. The notice must include the date on which the election will be held if postponement due to bad weather is necessary.
An annual town election shall be held on the same day as the annual town meeting to elect all town officers required by law to be elected and to consider ballot questions, except as provided in section 205.075, subdivision 2. Other town business shall be conducted at the town meeting as provided by law.
The town board may, with respect to an election by ballot at the annual town meeting for the purpose of determining any matter of town business, provide for the casting of ballots in precincts and at polling places. Precincts and polling places shall be designated by the town board in the manner prescribed by sections 204B.14 and 204B.16.
375.34 MEMORIAL DAY AND VETERANS DAY, APPROPRIATION FOR OBSERVANCE.
The county board of each county may appropriate funds from the revenue fund of the county to aid in the observance of Memorial Day in commemoration of the noble and valiant deeds of the nation's soldier dead and Veterans Day.
375.35 APPROPRIATIONS TO MILITARY SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS FOR MEMORIAL DAY AND VETERANS DAY.
A county board may also appropriate funds annually to each post of a recognized military service persons' organization or society, holding charter from Congress or incorporated in this state, organized and existing in the county, to defray the expenses of Memorial Day and Veterans Day exercises.
365.53 CLERK TO RECORD NEED TO MEET; GIVE NOTICE.
The clerk shall record the statement of need for a special town meeting after it is filed. The clerk shall also give ten days' published notice of the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
The notice must be published in a qualified newspaper having general circulation in the town. An alternative to published notice is posted notice as directed by the town board unless the electors at an annual town meeting direct otherwise.
If a vacancy in an office is to be filled, the notice must name the office and tell how the vacancy occurred, who was the last incumbent, and when the term of the office expires.
365.52 SPECIAL MEETING; FOR ANY LAWFUL PURPOSE.
A special town meeting may be held to conduct any lawful business. To call a special meeting, the supervisors and town clerk, or any two of them together with at least 12 other town landowners, shall file a statement in the town clerk's office. The statement must tell why the meeting is called, the particular business to be transacted, and that the interests of the town require the meeting. A special town meeting may also be called on petition of 20 percent of the electors of the town. The percentage is of the number of voters at the last general election.
The town board may choose to use precincts and polling places to elect town officers or to decide any matter of town business requiring a ballot election. Precincts and polling places, if used, must be set up by the town board under sections 204B.14 and 204B.16.
375.36 MAY BUY AND KEEP UP PART OF CEMETERY AS SOLDIERS' REST.
A county board may purchase a plot of ground in any duly organized cemetery lying, in whole or part, in the county, or in a contiguous county, to be designated and used exclusively as a soldiers' rest. The county may appropriate money for its cost, embellishment, and upkeep, and for the opening and the closing of graves in it.
The board may use the portion of the appropriation as it deems necessary for compensation and expenses of an agent, who shall be a veteran, to care for the burial ground and to issue permits for burial in it.
This section does not apply to Ramsey County.
365.50 FIRST TOWN MEETING; NOTICE, OFFICERS, POWERS.
The first town meeting in a new town must be held within 20 days after the town is organized. The county board shall name the time and place of the meeting. The county auditor shall see that ten days' posted notice of the meeting is given in the town.
The voters present at the meeting shall choose one of their number as moderator, two others as judges of election, and one as clerk. Each of these meeting officers shall take and sign the oath required of a judge of a general election. The oath may be administered to the judges by the moderator and to the moderator by one of the judges. The meeting officers shall then run the meeting.
During the meeting, the electors have the powers they have at other town meetings.
365.55 TOWN CLERK IS MEETING CLERK; MINUTES TO BE FILED.
The town clerk is clerk of the town meeting and shall keep full minutes of its proceedings. The minutes must contain the full text of every order, direction, and rule made by the meeting. If the town clerk is absent, the voters present shall elect a clerk of the meeting. The minutes of the meeting must be signed by the clerk and the moderator of the meeting. If the town clerk is elected as moderator, the minutes must also be signed by a supervisor in attendance at the meeting. The minutes must be filed in the office of the town clerk within two days after the meeting.
375.37 "SOLDIERS' REST" USED ONLY FOR VETERANS AND SPOUSES.
Any plot of ground secured and designated as a "soldiers' rest" shall be used exclusively for the interment of deceased veterans, as defined in section 197.447, and spouses of veterans without charge for space in it.
365.54 ANNUAL MEETING TIME; CONVENER; MODERATOR; PAY.
An annual town meeting must convene at 9:00 a.m. unless the electors at the last annual meeting set a later time.
The clerk shall call the meeting to order at a time set by the town board or by the electors at the last annual meeting. If the town board sets the time, it must do so on the day of the annual, or a special, town meeting. If no time is set, the clerk shall call the meeting to order between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
If the clerk is not there, the voters present may elect a chair by acclamation.
The voters shall then choose a moderator for the meeting in the same way. The town board shall decide how much to pay the moderator.
375.38 VIOLATION A MISDEMEANOR.
A person who inters or causes to be interred a body, or makes a charge for a burial lot in a soldiers' rest, except as provided by section 375.37, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
365.56 ORDER OF BUSINESS; PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE.
At the beginning of a town meeting, the moderator shall state the order of business.
At a special town meeting, business is limited to the business listed in the meeting notice.
A proposition to vote a tax must not be acted on out of the order of business stated by the moderator.
A motion to reconsider a vote must be made within one-half hour of the vote. To pass, a motion to reconsider must be favored by a majority of the electors entered on the election register when the motion is made.
All questions on motions except a motion to reconsider are decided by a majority of the electors voting on the question.
The moderator shall decide and declare the vote on each question.
365.57 WHO MAY VOTE; CHALLENGES; OATH.
A town resident who is qualified to vote at a general election may vote at the town's meetings. If a voter is challenged, the judges shall act as in the case of a challenge at a general election. The oath must be changed to fit the circumstances of the case.
375.39 CHANGE OF NAME OF COUNTY; ORDER OF COUNTY BOARD.
A county board may change the name of the county upon a petition signed by a number of the legal voters of the county equal to 55 percent of the votes cast at the last preceding general election, and shall adopt the new name suggested in the petition as the official name of the county. The petition shall be filed with the county auditor who shall then promptly give public notice of the filing of the petition by publishing it in the official newspaper of the county. The petition shall be considered at the next meeting of the board held not less than 30 days after the date of the notice.
The petition being granted, the board shall make a formal order to that effect, which shall be filed with the auditor. After filing, the official name of the county shall be the one adopted.
365.58 MAY ADJOURN MEETING.
A town meeting may be adjourned to any other day, or later the same day, to transact any business of the town.
375.40 COUNTY BOARD MAY LICENSE EXHIBITIONS AND SHOWS.
A county board may license and regulate itinerant shows, carnivals, circuses, endurance contests, and exhibitions of any nature whatsoever. Sections 375.40 to 375.42 do not apply to shows, carnivals, circuses, contests, and exhibitions held within the incorporated limits of a city.
The fee for a license shall be fixed by the county board in the amount it deems advisable.
The board may require, as a condition for granting the license, the posting of a penal bond in the amount it shall determine.
Application for a license shall be made on the form the county board determines. Upon approval of an application and the payment of the license fee and the posting of the required bond, the county auditor shall issue the license.
365.59 COUNTY TO APPOINT OFFICERS IF NONE ELECTED.
If a town fails to organize or fails to elect officers at the annual town meeting, 12 landowners of the town may call a town meeting for these purposes. The meeting is called by giving ten days' posted notice of it. The notice must include the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
If the notice under subdivision 1 is not posted within 30 days after the date for the annual town meeting, the county board shall appoint officers for the town. The officers shall hold their offices until their successors qualify. The county board shall act only after an affidavit of a landowner of the town is filed with the county auditor. The affidavit must state the facts that require the county board to act.
375.41 MISDEMEANOR TO TAKE PART IN UNLICENSED ITINERANT SHOW.
A person, partnership, association, or corporation who conducts, or takes part in, any itinerant show, carnival, circus, endurance contest, or exhibition not licensed, as provided in section 375.40, is guilty of a misdemeanor.