No contract shall be made by the board of county commissioners of any county, and no liability against the county shall be created by any officer of the county, whether the object of the expenditure has been ordered by the board of county commissioners or not, unless an appropriation shall have been previously made concerning such expense. Each member of the board of county commissioners and other officers of the county who undertake to create any liability against the county, except such as they are by statute required to do, shall be personally liable and, together with the sureties upon their official bonds, shall be held for such indebtedness.
Source: L. 1891: p. 112, § 3. R.S. 08: § 1217. C.L. § 8694. CSA: C. 45, § 41. CRS 53: § 36-2-3. C.R.S. 1963: § 36-2-3.
ANNOTATION
Rental payments. Where there was no appropriation providing for the rental of a building for county use for 25 years (the full term of the lease), and it was contended that for the reason the lease is void, this contention cannot be upheld, because the rent is to be paid monthly, and it is a current expense and is to be provided for, the same as the other current expenses, by annual levy and appropriation. Leadville Illuminating Gas Co. v. City of Leadville, 9 Colo. App. 400, 49 P. 268 (1897); City of Denver v. Hubbard, 17 Colo. App. 346, 68 P. 993 (1902); Heberer v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 88 Colo. 159, 293 P. 349 (1930).
Representations sheriff made to his deputies and clerks regarding cash compensation for overtime were made without approval of the board and, thus, are not binding on the county or the board. Johnson v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 676 P.2d 1263 (Colo. App. 1984).