STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
June 10, 1975
Mr. Frank E. Lochridge
Deputy State's Attorney
Lawrence County
Deadwood, South Dakota 57732
OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 75-104
Public snowmobiling needs
Dear Mr. Lochridge:
A group known as the West River Snowmobile Council requested that the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners appoint and recognize it as the official advisory committee for the development of public snowmobiling facilities in a nine-county area. The council further requested that it be authorized to expend funds collected from the sale of snowmobile license fees, pursuant to SDCL 32-5-9.2, to develop public snowmobile facilities in the nine-county area. The group would submit a budget to the county commissioners for approval and upon approval by the commissioners would expend funds from the account by submitting vouchers to the county.
Based on the foregoing, you have asked two specific questions:
1. May the board of commissioners authorize a private group to expend funds from a public account by submission of vouchers to the county?
2. What mechanics must the board of commissioners follow in authorizing expenditures from the special fund set up by SDCL 32-5-9.2?
SDCL 32-5-9.2 provides for the disposition of snowmobile fees:
Except as herein provided, the department of public safety shall retain two dollars of each fee collected under § 32-5-9.1 and shall transfer the remainder of each fee collected to the state treasurer who shall deposit such funds in a special revenue fund to be established and known as the snowmobile trails fund. In each instance where an application is made in Butte, Custer, Fall River, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Pennington or Shannon counties, the county shall retain and deposit in a special county snowmobile trails fund eight dollars and remit the remaining two dollars to the department of public safety.
SDCL 41-19-5 provides for the expenditure of county snowmobile funds:
The board of county commissioners may expend any moneys accumulated in the county snowmobile recreation fund established pursuant to § 32-5-9.2 in any manner as may reasonably be expected to effectuate the purpose of making snowmobile trails and areas available to licensed snowmobilers.
SDCL 41-19-5 authorizes county commissioners to expend moneys from the special county snowmobile recreation fund in any reasonable manner which will effectuate the designated statutory purpose of the fund. However, the duties and powers of county commissioners relating to the expenditure of county funds are regulated by statute. Statutory prerequisites must first be observed in order to legally disburse funds.
Chapter 7 of the SDCL relating to county budgets and appropriations directs the county commissioners to adopt an annual budget affecting all county revenues (SDCL 7-21-2) and further specifies the prerequisites for disbursing county funds.
SDCL 7-22-3 requires warrants for the disbursement of county funds and specifies the contents of such warrants:
No public money shall be disbursed by the county commissioners or any of them, but the same shall be disbursed by the county treasurer upon the warrant of the chairman of the board of county commissioners, attested by the county auditor specifying the name of the party entitled to the same, on what account, and upon whose allowance, if not fixed by law.
64 C.J.S. § 1892, Municipal Corporations, discusses warrants in general and states that, "neither the vote of a municipal corporation authorizing the payment of money to a person, nor the minutes of a meeting of municipal officers showing an audit of a claim against the municipality constitutes a warrant."
County funds must be disbursed through public officers and not through private agencies. Authorizing a private group to expend funds from a public account by submission of vouchers to the county does not meet the statutory requirements relating to disbursement of county funds. In answer to your first question, NO, the board of county commissioners may not authorize a private group to expend funds from a public account by the submission of vouchers to the county.
In order to authorize expenditures from the special fund set up by SDCL 32-5-9.2, the board of county commissioners should follow the guidelines set forth in chapter 7 of the SDCL relating to county budgets and appropriations.
Respectfully submitted,
William Janklow
Attorney General
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