11-30 Disorganization of Counties - North Dakota Statutes

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CHAPTER 11-30DISORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES11-30-01.Counties may disorganize - Petition.Whenever the board of countycommissioners of any county having a population of less than four thousand inhabitants is
petitioned so to do by twenty percent of the qualified electors of such county, as determined by
the vote cast for the office of governor at the last preceding general election, such board shall
submit to the qualified electors of the county the question of disorganization of the county. The
question shall be submitted at the next statewide election occurring more than ninety days after
the filing of such petition.11-30-02. Filing petition - Notice to state auditor. The petition shall be filed with thecounty auditor who shall note thereon the date of filing. Not later than ten days thereafter, the
county auditor shall send a written notice thereof by registered or certified mail to the state
auditor.11-30-03. State auditor to make audit of financial conditions - Contents of audit.Within thirty days of the receipt of the registered or certified notice of the filing of a petition for the
disorganization of a county, the state auditor shall make and complete an audit of the finances of
the petitioning county and shall file an original and duplicate copy of the audit with the county
auditor of such county. The audit shall contain:1.A statement of the taxable value of all taxable property in the county as of the last
annual assessment as equalized by the state board of equalization.2.A statement of all the assets and the liabilities of the county and any assets available
for the retirement of any of said liabilities as of the date of the filing of the petition.3.A statement for the last preceding completed fiscal year of the budget adopted, the
amount of tax levied, the amount and source of revenue receipts derived, the
expenditures made, and obligations incurred for each fund and purpose.4.A statement containing such additional information as in the state auditor's judgment
is necessary to an understanding of the true financial condition of the county.11-30-04. Notice of election - How given. The county auditor shall publish notice of theelection in the official newspaper of the county once each week for at least four successive
weeks prior to the election. The notice shall contain the date of the election, a statement that the
proposition to be voted on will be: "Shall the county of ______________ (name of county) be
disorganized and become an unorganized county?" and a statement that the state auditor's audit
is on file in the office of the county auditor.11-30-05. Ballot - Form. The ballot to be used in an election held under this chaptershall be in substantially the following form:Shall the county of __________ (name of county) be disorganized and become an
unorganized county?Yes
No11-30-06.Canvass of votes and return.The votes polled upon the question ofdisorganizing the county shall be canvassed and returned in the manner provided for canvassing
other votes polled at the same election.11-30-07. Vote required - Manner and time of disorganization. Within ten days afterthe filing of the findings and certificates of the canvassing board on the question of
disorganization, the county auditor shall send a correct and duly certified abstract of the votes
polled to the secretary of state. If fifty-five percent or more of all the legal votes cast in the countyPage No. 1on the question shall be in favor of disorganization, the secretary of state shall notify the governor
immediately, and the governor shall issue a proclamation without delay announcing and
declaring the result of the election.On and after January first following the date of suchproclamation, the county shall be an unorganized county.11-30-08. Governor to designate county to which unorganized county attached -Purposes of attachment.After the result of the election is proclaimed, but not beforeDecember fifteenth nor later than December thirty-first following, the governor, by proclamation,
shall designate an adjoining organized county to which the unorganized county shall be attached
for judicial, record, and taxation purposes, and all purposes of county government, and such
proclamation shall become effective on January first following.If, before such Decemberfifteenth, the board of county commissioners of the unorganized county designates, by resolution,
the organized county to which the unorganized county desires to be attached, and if the
organized county, before such date, agrees to such attachment, by resolution, the governor, by
proclamation, shall declare that the unorganized county is attached to such organized county,
effective on January first following the proclamation.11-30-09. All offices abolished in disorganized county - Compensation of officersof disorganized county. All appointive officers in the service of the county and all elected
county officers shall be deemed to be county officers for the purposes of this section. All county
offices of an organized county shall be abolished when such county becomes an unorganized
county. Payments equivalent to the salaries and other compensations customarily paid to the
holders of such offices shall be paid to them until such time as their successors, except for the
abolition of the offices, would have qualified and succeeded to their duties. Anyone reelected to
an office shall be deemed a successor to such office. If an officeholder possesses an indefinite
term of office, payments shall not continue for more than one month after the county becomes an
unorganized county. In the event that a person is elected to a county office which is abolished
before the commencement of the term of office for which the person was elected, the person
shall receive a payment equivalent in amount to one month's salary of the office to which the
person was elected.11-30-10. Officers of organized county act in unorganized county. All the officersand employees of the adjoining organized county to which a disorganized county is attached
shall possess the same powers and jurisdiction with respect to, and within, the unorganized
county as they possess with respect to and within their own county except as such powers are
limited by this chapter.11-30-11. Officers of organized county bonded for benefit of unorganized county.The officers and employees of the organized county to which the disorganized county is attached
shall be bonded automatically in the state bonding fund as provided by law for the benefit of the
disorganized county in the amounts for which the corresponding officers of the disorganized
county would be required by law to be bonded if the county were not disorganized. The premium
for such bonds shall be charged against the disorganized county. The condition of each bond
shall be that the officer or employee named therein as principal faithfully and impartially shall
discharge and perform the duties of the said office or employment relating to the disorganized
county, including such duties as are or may be imposed upon the officer or employee by law, and
shall render a true account of all moneys and property of every kind that shall come into the
officer's or employee's hands as such officer or employee and shall pay over and deliver the
same according to law.11-30-12. Compensation of officers of organized county. Each elected officer of theorganized county to which a disorganized county is attached shall receive as compensation from
the unorganized county for services rendered to it the sum of thirty dollars per annum for each
one thousand inhabitants, or major fraction thereof, of the unorganized county.11-30-13.Records, property, and money of disorganized county transferred toorganized county.Within fifteen days following the governor's proclamation, all the countyofficers of the county to be disorganized shall remove all files, records, books, papers,
equipment, fixtures, furniture, and other personal property to the courthouse of the organizedPage No. 2county to which the unorganized county is to be attached. If the absence of any of such items
from the courthouse of the adjoining organized county would not inconvenience the public, the
item shall be disposed of by the officers of the county to be disorganized as directed by the board
of county commissioners of the adjoining organized county.During the fifteen-day periodfollowing the governor's proclamation, all moneys and property of whatsoever nature shall be
delivered to the custody of the proper officers of the adjoining organized county.11-30-14. Title to property vests in organized county as trustee - Use of property -Separate accounts kept. Title to all files, records, books, papers, equipment, fixtures, furniture,
moneys, and other property possessed by the unorganized county, or in its name, upon the date
of its disorganization, or thereafter acquired by it, shall be vested in the adjoining organized
county to which it is attached as trustee for the unorganized county, with the right to use the
same for the benefit of the unorganized county in the same manner as organized counties may
use their property.Separate accounts and books shall be maintained for the moneys andproperties held in trust and for the moneys and properties of the adjoining organized county.11-30-15. Unorganized county in same judicial district as organized county. Anunorganized county shall be in the same judicial district as the organized county to which it is
attached.11-30-16. Actions transferred to courts of adjoining county. All actions or suits ofevery nature that have been filed or are pending in any of the courts of the unorganized county
on January first following the governor's proclamation, or that thereafter may arise or be
instituted, must be transferred, brought, and tried in the courts of the adjoining organized county
to which the unorganized county is attached.11-30-17. Notices - How posted and published in unorganized county. All officialand judicial notices relating to matters within the unorganized county shall be posted within such
unorganized county in the manner provided for posting notices in organized counties. Published
notices shall be published in a newspaper within the unorganized county, if there is one,
otherwise they shall be published in the official newspaper of the organized county to which the
unorganized county is attached.11-30-18. Unorganized county remains in same legislative district. The unorganizedcounty shall remain in the legislative district of which it was a part at the time of disorganization
and shall have the same representation in the legislative assembly as it had prior to
disorganization.11-30-19. Levy of taxes in an unorganized county - Funds of unorganized county tobe kept in separate fund. Sufficient taxes to pay the debts of the unorganized county and to
furnish the necessary public services therein shall be levied within the unorganized county by the
adjoining county to which the unorganized county is attached in the manner provided for the levy
of taxes in organized counties and subject to the limitations therein imposed.Financialobligations or burdens shall not be imposed upon an organized county by reason of the
attachment of an unorganized county to it, but all expenses incidental thereto shall be charged to
the unorganized county.All funds which shall accrue from any source whatever to theunorganized county shall be kept separate and apart from any funds of the organized county to
which it is attached.11-30-20. Trial of criminal cases after disorganization. All criminal cases transferredfrom a disorganized county to an adjoining organized county shall be tried by a jury drawn in the
manner provided by the laws of this state from the qualified jurors residing within the limits of the
territory which had constituted the disorganized county unless the defendant in any such criminal
case shall consent to be tried by a jury of the adjoining organized county to which the
disorganized county is attached for judicial purposes.11-30-21.Liability of disorganized county on existing obligations - Municipalorganizations - Issuance of bonds - Compromises. The disorganization of a county shall not
affect its liability upon contracts or otherwise and shall not affect the organization of schoolPage No. 3districts, townships, and municipalities within the territory contained in the disorganized county.
The board of county commissioners of the adjoining county to which the disorganized county is
attached for judicial, record, and taxation purposes may compromise debts and obligations of the
disorganized county existing at the time of the disorganization and may issue bonds or
certificates of indebtedness in settlement or compromise of, or to refund, such debts and
obligations. Bonds or certificates issued under the provisions of this section shall bear upon their
face a statement that the principal and interest to become due thereon shall be paid only from
taxes levied upon the property within the disorganized county.Page No. 4Document Outlinechapter 11-30 disorganization of counties