Title 21, Governmental Finance

After registration of a municipal bond as provided in section 21-03-34, no transfer thereof is valid unless made on the records of the county auditor or the records of the municipality by the registered owner in person, or by the registered owner's duly authorized attorney, and s…

All money borrowed by municipalities and all money received in payment of any tax levied in accordance with this chapter is lawful money of the United States, and all municipal bonds must be payable in such money.

The governing body of any municipality indebted on account of outstanding municipal bonds is authorized in its discretion to appoint a fiscal agent located in some city within or without the state, or if deemed convenient, one such agent, in each of two cities. Every such fiscal …

All borrowed money must be paid into the treasury of the municipality borrowing it, must be kept there until used, in a fund separate and distinct from all other funds, to be used for the purpose for which it was borrowed and for no other purpose except that such funds may be tem…

The proceeds of any municipal bond sale, which have not been used for the purpose issued within three years after date of issue, may be disposed of by the governing body of the municipality as follows: 1. Sufficient funds must be transferred to the sinking fund of the issue in an…

After any municipality has provided, as required by section 21-03-16, for an issue of bonds for a lawful purpose which can be accomplished only through performance of an executory contract by some other contracting party, such contract may be entered into before the actual execut…

The city auditor, park district treasurer, or business manager of the school district or similarly acting officer of the respective municipality is custodian of each of its sinking funds, unless the governing body by resolution appoints the county treasurer.

When the county treasurer is custodian of any sinking fund, the county treasurer may not remit to the treasurer of the taxing district any taxes levied or any other moneys received for the purpose of paying the interest on or retiring the principal of bonds issued, but the county…

The sinking fund must be disbursed by the county treasurer or treasurer of the municipality, as the case may be, upon the directions therefor by resolution of the governing body of the municipality issuing such bonds. As such bonds mature, the county treasurer, upon warrant drawn…

Taking care that enough cash is retained always in the sinking fund to provide for annual payments of principal and interest, the surplus, if any, may be loaned or invested under the direction of the proper governing body as follows: 1. In the outstanding bonds for the payment of…

Money may not be withdrawn from a sinking fund and appropriated to any purpose other than the purpose for which the fund was instituted until that purpose has been accomplished, except as authorized by section 6-09.4-23 and sections 21-03-42 through 21-03-45.

Any surplus in a sinking fund after all of the bonds for the payment of which the fund was created have been paid and canceled and after all investments of the second and third class finally have been disposed of or realized upon, must, within two years, be placed in the general …

When in this chapter a county officer is required to take any action with reference to the bond issues or sinking funds of any municipality of such county, if such municipality is situated partly within one county and partly within another or others, the governing body of such mu…

No action may be brought or maintained in any court in this state questioning the validity of any bonds issued pursuant to this chapter, or of any tax levied pursuant hereto, unless such action has been commenced within thirty days after the adoption of the resolution of the gove…

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Board" means the governing board of any public corporation, including the board of county commissioners, the city council, the board of city commissioners, the school board, the board of township superv…

Public funds belonging to or in the custody of the state must be deposited in the Bank of North Dakota.

Public funds belonging to or in the custody of any public corporation must be deposited in the Bank of North Dakota or in financial institutions which have been duly designated as depositories in the manner prescribed in this chapter.

The treasurer of a public corporation and every other person legally charged with the custody of public funds, which, according to the provisions of this chapter, must be deposited in the Bank of North Dakota or in a depository duly designated as provided in this chapter, promptl…

Any financial institution duly incorporated in this state under and pursuant to the laws governing the incorporation of financial institutions, and any financial institution situated and doing business within this state, and the Bank of North Dakota, may be designated a depositor…

In a county where only one financial institution is located or functioning, the board may designate such financial institution as a depository, or it may designate another financial institution or financial institutions, within the state, or the Bank of North Dakota, as depositor…

In no case may the amount of county funds deposited by the board of county commissioners in any one financial institution exceed the combined capital and surplus of such financial institution. In a county where the deposits to be made by the board of county commissioners of count…

Except as is otherwise provided in sections 21-04-16 and 21-04-17, and before any deposit is made in any depository other than the Bank of North Dakota, by or in behalf of any public corporation, such depository shall furnish a bond payable to the public corporation making such d…

The treasurer of a public corporation and every other individual legally charged with the custody of public funds may accept from any financial institution, as security for repayment of deposits, a pledge of securities in lieu of a personal or surety bond. When securities are ple…

Letters of credit issued by the Bank of North Dakota in connection with section 21-04-09 must be secured by collateral. A security interest is created and attaches when the Bank issues a letter of credit in connection with section 21-04-09. Filing is not required for perfection o…

All interest which becomes due and is paid on securities pledged to secure public deposits must be paid over to the depository financial institution until such time as it defaults in the repayment of the funds of the public corporation deposited as provided herein. After thirty d…

Whenever any depository financial institution desires to terminate the liability for any deposits of any public corporation for which such depository has given a bond or pledged assets for the repayment, it shall notify the board of the public corporation affected of such desire.…

The governing board of any public corporation, except the board of supervisors of any township and the school board of any common school district, at its regular meeting in January of each even-numbered year, shall assemble and examine all outstanding bonds and require new bonds …

A proposal for deposit must be sealed and delivered to the clerk and must have attached to it a statement showing the financial condition of the financial institution at that time and as disclosed in the several statements of financial condition made during the last preceding twe…

The board of supervisors of any township and the school board of any public school district may designate depositories at any meeting of such board and no notice to financial institutions need be given and no formal proposals need be received.

Whenever it appears that a bank designated by a public corporation as depository of its funds has complied with the provisions of the act of Congress relating to the guaranty of deposits in state and national banks, no bond may be required of said bank to secure the deposits of a…

If at any time it appears that the benefit of the federal act guarantying deposits in financial institutions has been withdrawn or is about to be withdrawn from the financial institution in which any public funds are deposited, the board having control of or supervision over such…

Depositories of public funds in this state shall pay substantially the same rate of interest or dividend thereon as such financial institutions pay upon individual deposits.

Each depository shall: 1. Furnish on the first day of each month to the public corporation, the state, or state institution, to the credit of which the deposit is held, an itemized statement of the amount in such deposit subject to check. Such statement must be verified whenever …

This chapter does not apply to a public corporation unless the amount in the treasury of such corporation equals or exceeds the sum of five hundred dollars. The board of a public corporation having on hand less than five hundred dollars, and therefore not within the provisions of…

To the extent that public funds are deposited as provided in this chapter, the legal custodian thereof, and the sureties on the legal custodian's bond, are exempt from all liability by reason of loss of any such funds from failure or other act of any such depository.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

Any board, commission, bureau, or individual having the legal custody of any public funds that do not expressly or by name come within the provisions of the preceding sections of this chapter, nevertheless must be governed by the provisions of this chapter. They shall deposit suc…

No account or claim against any township or county of this state may be allowed by the governing body thereof until a full itemized statement in writing has been filed with the governing body or unless otherwise authorized by the governing body pursuant to contract or other actio…

The verification described in section 21-05-01 may be in substantially the following form: Certificate I do hereby certify that the within bill, claim, account, or demand is just and true; that the money therein charged actually was paid for the purpose therein stated; that the s…

The board of county commissioners or board of township supervisors before which any bill, claim, account, or demand against the county or township shall come for audit and approval, if deemed necessary, may require to be furnished a statement made under oath containing such other…

In case any account, claim, or demand against a county or township is made or presented by any administrator or executor on behalf of the estate of a deceased person, the administrator or executor may not be required to verify the same but may prove the same otherwise to the sati…

Whenever an account, claim, or demand against any township or county is reviewed in the manner prescribed in section 21-05-01, the board to which the same is presented may receive and consider the same and may allow or disallow the same, in whole or in part, as to the board appea…

Any person, whether or not acting as a member of any board, who audits and allows any account, claim, or demand against any county or township required to be itemized, without having the same first duly itemized, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

A duplicate of any bond, warrant, interest coupon, or other obligation of the state or of any political subdivision thereof may be issued if such obligation: 1. Becomes so mutilated or defaced as to be unfit for circulation and the same is surrendered and canceled; or 2. Is lost …

If any instrument which might be duplicated under the provisions of this chapter is due and payable, the same may be paid by the state treasurer or the treasurer of the political subdivision, as the case may be, without the issuance of a duplicate.

The duplication or payment of any mutilated, defaced, lost, or destroyed obligation must be made upon resolution duly adopted: 1. In case of a bond or interest coupon of the state, by the industrial commission. 2. In case of any other obligation of the state, by the board, office…