January 9, 1976
Mrs. Mildred Hendrix
County Auditor
Sanborn County
Woonsocket, South Dakota 57385
OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 76-2
Whether or not the Sanborn County Commissioners can buy a used ambulance from another county without advertising for bids
Dear Mrs. Hendrix:
You have requested an opinion from this office as to whether or not the Sanborn County Commissioners can buy a used ambulance from another county government without advertising for bids. You state that this ambulance is a 1969 model and is valued at approximately $4,500.00. You have also asked whether or not a county can buy from another county at-public auction.
In response to your first question concerning whether or not Sanborn County can buy a used ambulance from another county without advertising for bids, it is my opinion that they cannot under present law. SDCL 6-5-1, which might appear to authorize such a transfer, does not by its language apply to a transfer between counties. SDCL 6-5-1 provides:
Any county of this state, and any municipal corporation, within or partly within the boundaries of such county, are hereby authorized and empowered to exchange with each other and to transfer and convey from one to the other any land or property belonging to them and under their respective jurisdictions and to perform and exchange work between themselves. All transfers of property and work as authorized hereby shall be upon such terms and conditions as may be determined and agreed upon by the respective governing bodies thereof.
It will be noted that the above statute refers to transfers between counties and municipal corporations, not between counties and other counties. This being so, the exception carved out by this statute does not apply to the fact situation you present.
SDCL 5-18-3 provides that contracts for the purchase of equipment involving an expenditure of $1,500.00 or more must be advertised for bids. If the expenditure involves less than $1,500.00, however, and if the Sanborn County Commissioners give prior approval, I see no reason why Sanborn County could not bid on surplus property of another county which is sold at public auction. In view of the facts presented that the ambulance involved has a value of $4,500.00, this procedure would not seem to be an alternative for you since SDCL 7-29-4 and 7-32-2 require that no sale shall be made for less than the amount of the appraised value of the property offered for sale.
The above conclusion may seem harsh and unreasonable, but under our present statutes it is what the law requires. It is a matter, quite frankly, which should be reconsidered by the Legislature. If a county and a municipality can negotiate this sort of transaction why not allow two counties to do so?
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM J. JANKLOW
ATTORNEY GENERAL
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