Title 16, City, County, State And Local Powers

Accumulated retained earnings or fund surplus; capital improvements reserve. (a) A municipality may accumulate retained earnings in any enterprise or intragovernmental service fund or accumulate a fund surplus in any other fund. With respect to the general fund the accumulated fu…

Property tax levy. The amount of estimated revenue from property tax required by the budget shall constitute the basis for determination of the property tax to be levied for the corresponding tax years subject to legal limitations. The amount of tax shrinkage allowed shall not ex…

Authorized purchases or encumbrances. All purchases or all encumbrances on behalf of any municipality shall be made or incurred only upon an order or approval of the person duly authorized to make such purchases except encumbrances or expenditures directly investigated and report…

Limitation on expenditures or encumbrances; documentation of expenditures. (a) No officer or employee of a municipality shall make any expenditure or encumbrance in excess of the total appropriation for any department. The budget officer shall report to the governing body any exp…

Budget hearings. (a) A summary of the proposed budget shall be entered into the minutes and the governing body shall publish the summary at least one (1) week before the hearing date in a newspaper having general circulation in which the municipality is located, if there is one, …

Limitation on appropriations. The governing body of a municipality shall not make any appropriation in the final budget of any fund in excess of the estimated expendable revenue of the fund for the budget year.

Adoption of budget. (a) Within twenty-four (24) hours of the conclusion of the public hearing under W.S. 16-4-109(b), the governing body of each municipality shall, by resolution or ordinance, make the necessary appropriations and adopt the budget, which, subject to future amendm…

Transfer of unencumbered or unexpended appropriation balances. At the request of the budget officer or upon its own motion after publication of notice, the governing body may by resolution transfer any unencumbered or unexpended appropriation balance or part thereof from one (1) …

General fund budget increase. The budget of the general fund may be increased by resolution of the governing body. The source of the revenue shall be shown whether unanticipated, unappropriated surplus, donations, etc.

Emergency expenditures. If the governing body determines an emergency exists and the expenditure of money in excess of the general fund budget is necessary, it may make the expenditures from revenues available under W.S. 16-4-105(a)(ii) as reasonably necessary to meet the emergen…

Appropriations lapse; prior claims. All appropriations excluding appropriations for capital projects shall lapse following the close of the budget year to the extent they are not expended or encumbered. All claims incurred prior to the close of any fiscal year shall be treated as…

Transfer of special fund balances. If the necessity to maintain any special revenue or assessment fund ceases and there is a balance in the fund, the governing body shall authorize the transfer of the balance to the fund balance account in the general fund. Any balance which rema…

Interfund loans. The governing body may authorize interfund loans from one (1) fund to another at interest rates and terms for repayment as it may prescribe and may invest available cash in any fund as provided by law.

Special assessments. Money received by the municipal treasurer from any special assessment shall be applied towards payment of the improvement for which the assessment was approved. The money shall be used exclusively for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds or …

Financial statements and reports; public inspection. (a) The budget officer shall present to the governing body the statement and reports provided by subsection (b) of this section. (b) Appropriate interim financial statements and reports of financial position, operating results …

Prescribed accounting systems. (a) Each municipality shall maintain their accounting records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. (b) Each school district and community college shall continue to maintain the uniform system of accounting prescribed by the s…

Required annual audits; conduct; expenses; commencement and completion; additional requirements for school audits. (a) The governing body of each municipality shall cause to be made an annual audit of the financial affairs and transactions of all funds and activities of the munic…

Required annual audits; reports; contents and filing. (a) Audit reports shall conform to generally accepted accounting principles as provided by W.S. 16-4-121(c). (b) Copies of the audit reports shall be filed with and preserved by the county clerk of each affected county and sha…

Examinations of audit reports; violations; malfeasance by public officers and employees. (a) The director of the state department of audit shall monitor and may examine each audit to determine if the audit is in compliance with this act. The director shall have access to the work…

Payment of expenses to conventions or meetings; required specific appropriation; violation. It is unlawful for any board of county commissioners or any town or city council to allow or pay out of the county or city funds, any bill for expenses incurred by any county officer or re…

Fiscal year for governmental entities; budget format for certain entities not subject to the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act. (a) The fiscal year for all governmental entities within this state, no matter how formed, shall commence on July 1 in each year, except as otherw…

Definitions; short title; designation of ombudsman. (a) As used in this act: (i) "Custodian" means the official custodian or any authorized person having personal custody and control of the public records in question; (ii) "Official custodian" means any officer or employee of a g…

Right of inspection; rules and regulations; unavailability; training. (a) All public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, during business hours of the governmental entity, except as provided in this act or as otherwise provided by law, but the g…

Right of inspection; grounds for denial; access of news media; order permitting or restricting disclosure; exceptions. (a) The custodian of any public records shall allow any person the right of inspection of the records or any portion thereof except on one (1) or more of the fol…

Right of inspection; copies, printouts or photographs; fees. (a) In all cases in which a person has the right to inspect and copy any public records he may request that he be furnished copies, printouts or photographs for a reasonable fee to be set by the official custodian. Wher…

Penalties; remedies. Any person who knowingly or intentionally violates the provisions of this act is liable for a penalty not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00). The penalty may be recovered in a civil action and damages may be assessed by the court.

When documents deemed filed. (a) Any report, claim, tax return, statement or other document or any payment required or authorized to be filed or made to the state of Wyoming or to any political subdivision thereof, which is: (i) Transmitted through the United States mail, shall b…

Competent evidence of delivery. If any report, claim, tax return, statement or other document or payment is sent by United States mail and either registered or certified, a record authenticated by the United States post office of the registration or certification is competent evi…

Filing date falling on Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. If the date for filing any report, claim, tax return, statement or other document or making any payment falls upon a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the acts shall be considered timely if performed on the next business …

Applicability of provisions. W.S. 16-4-301 through 16-4-304 apply only to those reports, claims, tax returns, statements and other documents and payments for which failure or neglect to file or make the same subjects a person, firm or corporation to criminal or civil penalties or…

Statement of purpose. The agencies of Wyoming exist to conduct public business. Certain deliberations and actions shall be taken openly as provided in this act.

Definitions. (a) As used in this act: (i) "Action" means the transaction of official business of an agency including a collective decision, a collective commitment or promise to make a positive or negative decision, or an actual vote upon a motion, proposal, resolution, regulatio…

Meetings to be open; participation by public; minutes. (a) All meetings of the governing body of an agency are public meetings, open to the public at all times, except as otherwise provided. No action of a governing body of an agency shall be taken except during a public meeting …

Types of meetings; notice; recess. (a) In the absence of a statutory requirement, the governing body of an agency shall provide by ordinance, resolution, bylaws or rule for holding regular meetings unless the agency's normal business does not require regular meetings in which cas…

Executive sessions. (a) A governing body of an agency may hold executive sessions not open to the public: (i) With the attorney general, county attorney, district attorney, city attorney, sheriff, chief of police or their respective deputies, or other officers of the law, on matt…

Disruption of public meetings. If any public meeting is willfully disrupted by a person or group of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of the meeting unfeasible, and order cannot be restored by the removal of the person or persons who are willfully interrupting the meeti…

Conflict of law. If the provisions of this act conflict with any other statute, the provisions of this act shall control.

Penalty. (a) Any member or members of an agency who knowingly or intentionally violate the provisions of this act shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) except as provided in this subsection. Any member of the governing body of an …

Definition. (a) Repealed by Laws 1987, ch. 123, § 2. (b) As used in this section and W.S. 16-4-502, "entity" means a city, town, county, school district, community college district and special taxing district.

Collection of debts due a governmental entity; discharge of uncollectible debts. (a) The governing body of any governmental entity may authorize the use of the services of a collection agency licensed in Wyoming to assist in the collection of debts due the governmental entity. (b…

Audit requirements relating to federal aid; frequency of audits. Any federal audit requirement for state agencies that receive federal aid shall be made in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards on a biennial basis or as the agency may request.