STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

January 9, 1970

T. F. Martin
State's Attorney, Brookings County
Brookings, South Dakota 57006

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 70-1

Authority of county commissioners to contract with a city library board of trustees to provide library service to all residents of the county

Dear Mr. Martin:

You have requested an official opinion based on the following facts:

The City of Brookings has maintained a free public library for several years, supported solely by tax revenue from the city. The city has adopted the practice of charging non-residents, even though residents of the county, $1.00 per year for the privilege of holding a library card. The Board of Trustees of the municipal library has now proposed that the Brookings County Board of Commissioners enter into an agreement with the municipal Library Board whereby the county would pay $1,000 each year for which the municipal library would then make its facilities available free to all residents of Brookings County.

Based on this, you have asked the following question:

May the County Commissioners and the Board of Trustees of the City Library legally enter into such an agreement without the filing of a petition requesting the Commissioners to establish a free county library, or without creating a County Library Board of Trustees, or without taking over the library as provided in 1967 SDCL l4-3?

It would appear that the question here arises because of the wording of Sec, 14-3-3, which provides in part that:

The board of county commissioners may contract with the library board of such county for free service to all residents of the county upon such terms as may be agreed upon between such commissioners and the library board . . . (Emphasis added.)

It is important in interpreting this language to distinguish between a library board of or in such county, and the "county library board" provided for in Secs. 14-3-5 and 14-3-6.

Sec. 14-3-3 further provides that:

Where there is more than one free public library in the county, the board of county commissioners may contract with each of such library boards for such free service if in its judgment advisable.

Since there could be no more than one county library board in each county, the language of Sec. 14-3-3 must be considered as referring to other library boards, such as a municipal library board. Therefore, the county commissioners are expressly empowered to enter into a contract with the existing public library board to provide free library service to all residents of the county without a petition or the appointment of a county board.

However, should the county's payments under such a contract ever reach twenty per cent or more of the total cost of maintaining the library, then the commissioners would appoint two members of the existing board as provided in Sec. 14-3-4.

Based on the foregoing, the answer to your question is in the AFFIRMATIVE.

Respectfully submitted,

Gordon Mydland
Attorney General