Title 31 — COUNTIES AND COUNTY LAW

31-1416. Fire protection districts are governmental subdivisions of idaho and bodies politic and corporate. Every fire protection district upon being organized as provided by this chapter shall be a governmental subdivision of the state of Idaho and a body politic and corporate, …

31-1417. Corporate powers and duties of board of fire protection commissioners. A board of fire protection commissioners shall have discretionary powers to manage and conduct the business and affairs of the district. The discretionary powers shall include, but not be limited to, …

31-1419. Fire protection district has legal title to property. The legal title to all property acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall immediately and by operation of law, vest in such fire protection district, and shall be held by such district in trust for and is he…

31-1420. Procedure for sale, conveyance and disposition of property. Real or personal property of a fire protection district may be sold, conveyed and disposed of by its board of commissioners whenever the board finds and by resolution declares that the district no longer has use…

31-1421. Compensation and benefits — Expenses — Liability. (1) Fire protection district commissioners may receive reasonable compensation for their services as commissioners. The fire protection board shall fix commissioner benefits and compensation for the fiscal year. Compensat…

31-1422. Budget and hearing — Notice of hearing — Public inspection. (1) The fire protection district board shall adopt a budget and shall cause a public hearing to be held upon such budget, prior to certifying a tax levy to the board of county commissioners of each county within…

31-1423. Levy — recommended levy — election. (1) Each year, immediately prior to the annual county levy of taxes, the board of commissioners of each fire protection district, organized and existing under this chapter, may levy a tax upon all the taxable property within the bounda…

31-1424. Duties of county commissioners. The board of county commissioners, at the time of making the annual county levies, shall make a levy upon all the taxable property not exempt from taxation within each district within the county in the same amount as the levy made by the b…

31-1425. Exemptions. (1) All public utilities, as defined in section 61-129, Idaho Code, shall be exempt from taxation under the provisions of this chapter and shall not be entitled to the privileges or protection hereby provided without their consent in writing filed with the cl…

31-1426. Handling of district funds. (1) The tax receipts collected by the county as provided for in section 31-1424, Idaho Code, and other funds shall immediately be paid over by the county treasurer to the treasurer of the fire protection district, who shall deposit the same in…

31-1427. Indebtedness prohibited — Exceptions. The board of commissioners of a fire protection district organized pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall have no power to incur any debt or liability, except to the extent for the purposes and in the manner hereinafter pro…

31-1428. Carry over — Fund balance. The board of commissioners of a fire protection district may accumulate fund balances at the end of a fiscal year and carry over those fund balances into the ensuing fiscal year budget for equipping and maintaining the district. A "fund balance…

31-1429. Inclusion, annexation or withdrawal of area in cities. Except as otherwise provided in section 50-224, Idaho Code, any area embraced within the limits of any city may, with the consent of the governing boards of such city and the respective fire protection district, expr…

31-1430. Cooperation and reciprocating use of firefighting forces and apparatus of districts and cities. (1) Fire protection districts shall have all of the powers given to political subdivisions of the state of Idaho as set forth in section 67-2339, Idaho Code, and sections 67-2…

31-1431. Contracts between fire protection districts and individual property owners outside of district. Fire protection districts subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth may, pursuant to the discretion of the fire protection board, contract with individual property owner…

31-1432. Construction of chapter. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes thereof.

31-1433. Continuation of existing districts — Validating acts of officers. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as impairing the legality or organization of any fire protection district heretofore organized pursuant to law, nor the legality of any act of such district done …

31-1434. Any dissolution. Dissolution of any fire protection district organized under this chapter may be initiated by a petition signed by at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the holders of title, or evidence of title, to the real property within the fire protection district, …

31-1435. Separability. The several parts and provisions of this chapter are hereby declared independent and severable and the invalidity of any part or feature thereof shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of said section, or any part thereof.

31-1436. Nonliability of agency for delay in report of fire — Exception. No person, corporation, partnership or association which is authorized by any city fire department, fire protection district or by any volunteer fire company to receive any report of fire or which agrees to …

31-1437. Liability for indebtedness of fire protection districts after boundary changes. Territory withdrawn from any fire protection district shall continue to be subject to taxation for the payment of the principal of and interest on any indebtedness, whether evidenced by bonds…

31-1501. Claims presented to be accompanied by receipts. The board of commissioners must not hear or consider any claim against the county unless accompanied by a receipt or documentation giving all items of the claim, duly certified by the authorized county official that the amo…

31-1502. Check list of bills allowed. The board must require their clerk to furnish them with a list of all bills and accounts of every nature, giving the name of each person in whose favor an account or bill has been allowed, with the amount allowed him and out of what fund the …

31-1503. Prohibitions on allowance of claims. The board must not for any purpose contract debts or liabilities, except in pursuance of law. They must not allow any account of any county officer while he neglects or refuses to perform any duty required of him by law or is liable u…

31-1504. Burial of county poor — Coroners released from liability. Claims of county coroners for the burial of the county poor heretofore paid by the counties are hereby declared to be legal claims and the county coroners are hereby released from any liability to reimburse the co…

31-1505. Partial allowance and reconsideration. When the board finds that any claim presented is not payable by the county, or is not a proper county charge, it must be rejected. If they find it to be a proper county charge, but greater in amount than is justly due, the board may…

31-1506. Judicial review of board decisions. (1) Unless otherwise provided by law, judicial review of any final act, order or proceeding of the board as provided in chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code, shall be initiated by any person aggrieved thereby within the same time and in th…

31-1507. Procedures for redeeming registered warrants. If the board of county commissioners declares an emergency pursuant to section 31-1608, Idaho Code, the process of funding registered warrants shall conform with current banking and accounting requirements. When necessary, th…

31-1508. Transfer of moneys — Order of payment. The board must not transfer any money from one fund to another nor in any manner divert the money in any fund to other uses, except in cases expressly provided and permitted by law: provided, that when any money shall have been asse…

31-1509. Accounting system. The system for accounting of receipts, expenditures, and reporting in each county shall meet the criteria of generally accepted accounting principles or the governmental accounting standards board and as the same may be hereafter amended and revised an…

31-1510. Definitions. (1) A "warrant" is an order drawn by the board of county commissioners directing the county treasurer to pay a specified amount to a person named or to the bearer. It may be payable on demand or it may be issued as a short-term obligation payable. Determinat…

31-1511. Signatures required on warrants and method of payment. Warrants payable on demand and drawn by order of the board of county commissioners on the county treasury shall be jointly issued and signed by the county auditor and the county treasurer. If the board of commissione…

31-1601. Commencement of county fiscal year. The fiscal year of each county of this state shall commence on the first day of October of each year.

31-1602. Duties of budget officer — Estimate of expenses. (1) The county auditor of each county in this state shall be the budget officer of his county and, as such budget officer, it shall be his duty to compile and prepare a preliminary budget for consideration by the county co…

31-1603. Suggested budget — Contents. Upon the receipt by the county budget officer of the estimates and information from all offices, departments, services, agencies and institutions of the county, or the preparation thereof by said budget officer, as hereinabove provided, said …

31-1604. Approval of tentative appropriations — Notice — Final appropriations. (1) The suggested budget prepared by the county budget officer as provided in this chapter, together with the estimates and information furnished by the various offices, departments, services, agencies…

31-1605. Hearing upon budget appropriations — Adoption of final budget — Fixing of levies — General reserve appropriation. On or before the Tuesday following the first Monday in September of each year the board of county commissioners shall meet at the time and place designated i…

31-1605A. Authorization for counties to operate on a cash basis. Counties may accumulate fund balances at the end of a fiscal year and carry over such fund balances into the ensuing fiscal year sufficient to achieve or maintain county operations on a cash basis. A fund balance is…

31-1606. Expenditure limited by appropriations — Road and bridge appropriations — Increase of salaries. (1) The estimates of expenditures as classified in each of the three (3) general classes, "salaries," "benefits" and "detail of other expenses," required in section 31-1602, Id…

31-1607. Expenditures financed by bond issue — Expenditures in excess of appropriations — Liability of officers. Where any budget shall contain an expenditure program to be financed from a bond issue to be authorized thereafter, no such expenditures shall be made or incurred unti…

31-1608. Expenditures to meet emergency. Upon the happening of any emergency caused by fire, flood, explosion, storm, epidemic, riot or insurrection, or for the immediate preservation of order or of public health or for the restoration to a condition of usefulness of public prope…

31-1609. Lapse of appropriations — Incomplete improvements. All appropriations, other than appropriations for incompleted improvements in progress of construction, shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year; provided, that the appropriation accounts may remain open until the first…

31-1611. Quarterly statements. On or before the last day of January, April, July and October in each fiscal year, the county budget officer shall submit to the board of county commissioners a statement showing the expenditures and liabilities against each separate budget appropri…

31-1613. Separability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this act is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this act.

31-1701. Audit of county finances — Filing. The board of county commissioners of every county shall cause to be made, annually, a full and complete audit of the financial transactions of the county. Such audit shall be made by and under the direction of the board of county commis…

31-1801. Drawing expenses in advance. In each instance where the duties of the sheriff of any county require him, in his official capacity, to incur traveling and hotel expenses, training, or any duty requiring the need of a warrant, for himself or his deputies, he may, prior to …

31-1802. Sheriff’s revolving expense fund. There shall be set aside by the board of county commissioners of each county upon the request of the sheriff thereof by order entered in their minutes a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), to be known as the "Sheriff’s Revo…

31-1803. Audit and allowance of fund — Repayment of disallowed amount. After the performance of the duty, which necessitated the incurring of traveling and hotel expenses, training, or any duty requiring the need of a warrant, and the withdrawal of money has been made, as in this…

31-1804. Penalty for failure to make repayment. Any sheriff failing to make repayment, as herein provided, to the said fund, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

31-1901. Commissioners may issue funding and refunding bonds. The board of county commissioners of any county in this state may issue negotiable coupon bonds of their county for the purpose of paying, redeeming, funding or refunding the outstanding indebtedness of the county, inc…