Title 58 — Townships

If a township clerk willfully neglects or refuses to perform any of the duties required of the township clerk under this chapter, that person is guilty of an infraction.

After the same have first been offered to the state archivist for preservation as archival resources, the township clerk shall destroy by any suitable means as determined by the board of township supervisors any of the following books, forms, or blanks after the same have become …

The township treasurer may receive as compensation for services up to one hundred dollars a day for each day necessarily devoted to the work of the treasurer's office not exceeding four thousand dollars in a calendar year. The electors of the township shall establish the daily co…

The township treasurer shall receive and take charge of all moneys belonging to the township or which by law are required to be paid into the township treasury and shall pay over and account for the same upon the order of the township or the officers thereof duly authorized in th…

The township treasurer shall draw from the county treasurer such moneys as have been received by the county treasurer for the use of the township. Upon the receipt of such moneys, the township treasurer shall deliver proper vouchers therefor. 58-08-04. Treasurer to keep account o…

The township treasurer shall prepare an annual statement of receipts and disbursements for the period January first to December thirty-first of each year. The statement must include the amount, date, source, and fund credited for each receipt and the amount, date, payee, purpose,…

Each township treasurer who refuses or neglects to comply with sections 58-08-02 through 58-08-05 shall forfeit not more than two thousand dollars to be recovered in a civil action brought in the district court in the name of the person who prosecutes the action. The amount of th…

Each township treasurer shall keep a suitable book to be provided at the expense of the township in which the township treasurer shall register serially all township warrants which are presented for payment and which cannot be paid for want of funds. When such warrants are presen…

A township treasurer may not deposit, in that person's own name, moneys belonging to the township in any bank, savings bank, trust company, or other fiduciary institution. All township moneys must be deposited in the name of the township and any interest on such moneys must be cr…

Repealed by S.L. 1973, ch. 450, § 4; 1973, ch. 492, § 4.

The township assessor is entitled to compensation for services in the sum determined by the board of township supervisors for the time actually and necessarily employed in making and completing the assessment of the township and mileage at a rate not exceeding the allowable milea…

The township assessor must be governed by, and shall make assessments and returns as provided in, title 57.

The board of township supervisors shall constitute a board of auditors for the purpose of auditing all accounts payable by the township. Two members of the board of township supervisors acting as the board of auditors constitute a quorum.

The board of auditors shall meet on the second Tuesday in March and on the second Monday in June in each year and at such other times as it deems necessary and expedient for the purpose of auditing and settling all charges against the township. It shall state on each account the …

At its meeting on the second Tuesday of March in each year, the board of auditors shall examine and audit the accounts of the township treasurer for all moneys received and disbursed. At the meeting, the board shall audit the accounts of all other township officers who are author…

The board of auditors shall make a report stating in detail the items of account audited and allowed, the nature of each account, and the name of the person to whom such account was allowed. It shall also prepare a statement of the fiscal concerns of the township and an estimate …

The report of the board of auditors must be produced and must be read publicly by the township clerk at the next ensuing township meeting, and the whole or any portion of such report may be referred by order of the meeting to a committee whose duty it is to examine the same and r…

The amount of any account audited and allowed by the board of auditors and the amount of any account voted to be allowed at any township meeting must be paid by the township treasurer on the order of the board signed by the chairman and countersigned by the clerk of the township.…

The board of township supervisors, at its meeting on the fourth Tuesday in March, shall appoint one township overseer of highways who must be a practical roadbuilder.

The compensation of the overseer must be fixed by the board of township supervisors and must be paid on the presentation of a proper claim at the meeting of the board on the last Tuesday in October.

The township overseer of highways shall: 1. Have direct charge of the construction and maintenance of all township highways and bridges, whether the work done is by contract or day labor. 2. Be responsible for the maintenance of the township highways throughout the entire year. 3…

Upon the recommendation of the overseer, the board of township supervisors may appoint one or more assistant overseers of highways. An assistant overseer shall work under the direction of the overseer and the board of township supervisors. 58-12-05. Township overseer of highways …

Repealed by S.L. 1975, ch. 106, § 673.

Every overseer who refuses or neglects to perform any of the duties which are required of the overseer shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars for each such refusal or neglect which is recoverable in a civil action brought by the township and which must be used in making and improvi…

Any pound established by the township electors must be under the care and direction of a poundmaster appointed by the board of township supervisors. If a poundmaster is not appointed, the chairman of the board of township supervisors may contract with the county sheriff to perfor…

Repealed by S.L. 1989, ch. 559, § 7.

The poundmaster has a lien on every animal taken into the pound for the full amount of the poundmaster's actual charges and expenses and is entitled to the possession of any animal until the charges and expenses are paid.

If the actual charges and expenses of the poundmaster are not paid and the animals are not removed within five days after they are impounded, the poundmaster shall give notice by publication in the official newspaper of the township if one has been designated or, if one has not b…

Out of the money realized from the sale of any impounded animals, the poundmaster shall deduct all of the poundmaster's legal fees and charges and shall deliver the balance, if any, to the chairman of the board of township supervisors, with an accurate description of the animals …

Upon the petition of a majority of the qualified electors of an unorganized township or a township dissolved as a civil township, the board of county commissioners shall have the same power to establish and regulate pounds as the qualified electors and supervisors of an organized…

A poundmaster or an agent of the poundmaster who has custody of an animal under this chapter, is acting in an official capacity, and making a good-faith effort to comply with this chapter is immune from any civil or criminal liability for acts taken or omitted while attempting to…

If the poundmaster comes into possession of any animal that the poundmaster believes is an estray, the poundmaster shall contact the brand inspector and deliver or arrange for the delivery of the animal to a licensed livestock auction market. The brand inspector shall provide for…

Whenever any controversy or claim for relief exists between townships or between a township and a person, a civil action may be commenced and prosecuted for the purpose of trying and determining the controversy. The action must be conducted as any other action or proceeding of a …

In all actions and proceedings, the township shall sue and be sued in its name.

When a township is sued, the member of the board of township supervisors upon whom service of process is made shall call a special meeting of the board within six days after service. At the special meeting, the board shall provide for the defense of the action and employ counsel …

Repealed by omission from this code.

If it appears, on the trial of an action brought by a township to recover a penalty imposed for trespass committed on township lands, that the actual amount of injury to the township lands exceeds the sum of twelve dollars and fifty cents, the amount of actual damage with costs o…

When a judgment is recovered against any township, an execution may not be issued upon the judgment, but the judgment, unless reversed or stayed on appeal, must be paid by the township treasurer upon demand and the delivery to the township treasurer of a certified copy of the doc…

When a certified copy of an unsatisfied final judgment entered against a township is presented to the annual meeting of the township, the board of township supervisors shall make a levy in an amount sufficient to pay such judgment and shall certify the levy to the county auditor …

If the township makes a levy for the payment of a judgment, the moneys derived from such levy shall be used for no other purpose. If the amount received by the township treasurer from the county treasurer on such levy is not paid upon such judgment within thirty days after its re…

Two publications of the resolution provided in section 58-16-01 in a paper printed or published in the unincorporated townsite are sufficient notice to the owner of the land along which the sidewalk is to be built to construct the same. If no newspaper is published in the unincor…

The board of township supervisors shall assess and levy upon each lot or parcel of land along which the sidewalk has been built by the township a sum sufficient to cover the cost of the construction thereof and shall assess and levy against each lot or parcel of land benefited by…

Any township may acquire, establish, construct, expand, own, lease, control, equip, improve, maintain, operate, regulate, and police any park either within or without the geographic limits of such township and may use for such purposes any available property owned or controlled o…

In townships supporting parks, funding may be provided from revenues derived from the general fund levy authority of the township for park purposes.

The board of township supervisors may certify annually to the county auditor the amount of tax to be levied by such township for park purposes in the same manner as provided by law for other township levies. The proceeds of such taxes must be deposited in a special fund or accoun…

For the purpose of making an improvement project and defraying the cost by special assessment, a board of township supervisors may create an improvement district upon petition of sixty percent of the freeholders in a proposed improvement district area. The improvement district mu…

Each improvement district must be of such size and form as to include all properties, which in the judgment of the board of township supervisors will be benefited by the construction of the improvement project that is proposed to be made in or for the district.

After an improvement district has been created, the board of township supervisors shall direct a competent engineer to prepare a report as to the general nature, purpose, and feasibility of the proposed improvement and an estimate of the probable cost of the work. The board of to…

At the special township meeting for public disclosure of the findings of the engineer, the freeholders of the township in attendance are entitled to vote on the question of whether to proceed with the improvement project. Upon approval by sixty percent or more of the votes cast a…

If the election under this chapter results in approval of a project, the board of township supervisors may cause the improvement to be made and may levy and collect assessments from the improvement district.