Each county, established in this state according to the laws thereof, shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of The county of ..............., and by that name may sue and be sued, plead and shall be impleaded, defend and be defended against, in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter, either in law or equity, or other place where justice shall be administered.

The board shall procure and keep a seal, with such emblems and devices as it may think proper, which may be either an engraved or ink stamp seal and which shall be the seal of the county, and no other seal shall be used by the county clerk, except where the county clerk is ex officio clerk of the district court, in which case he shall use the seal of said court in all matters and proceedings therein. The impression or representation of said seal by stamp shall be a sufficient sealing in all cases where sealing is required.

(1) The powers of the county as a body corporate or politic shall be exercised by a county board in the following manner:

(a) In counties under township organization, by the board of supervisors composed of the town and other supervisors elected pursuant to law; and

(b) In counties not under township organization, by the board of county commissioners.

(2) In exercising the powers of the county, the board of supervisors or the board of county commissioners may enter into agreements with the board or boards of another county or counties to exercise and carry out jointly any power or powers possessed by or conferred by law upon each board separately.

Each county shall have power to:

(1) Purchase and hold the real and personal estate necessary for the use of the county;

(2) Purchase, lease, lease with option to buy, acquire by gift or devise, and hold for the benefit of the county real estate sold by virtue of judicial proceedings in which the county is plaintiff or is interested;

(3) Hold all real estate conveyed by general warranty deed to trustees in which the county is the beneficiary, whether the real estate is situated in the county so interested or in some other county or counties of the state;

(4) Sell, convey, exchange, or lease any real or personal estate owned by the county in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as may be deemed in the best interest of the county;

(5) Enter into agreements with other counties to exercise and carry out powers possessed by or conferred by law upon each county separately; and

(6) Enter into contracts and to do all other acts in relation to the property and concerns of the county necessary to the exercise of its corporate powers, except that no lease agreement for the rental of equipment shall be entered into if the consideration for all lease agreements for the fiscal year exceeds one-tenth of one percent of the total taxable value of the taxable property of the county.

Any agreement between counties for the joint exercise of powers shall:

(1)(a) Be in writing and signed by a majority of the board of supervisors or county commissioners of each county that is a party to the agreement; and

(b) After being signed pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) of this section, be filed and recorded in the office of the county clerk of each county that is a party to the agreement;

(2) Specify the powers and obligations of each party under the agreement. Such powers shall:

(a) Be limited to powers imposed by law upon a county that is a party to the agreement or its board of supervisors or county commissioners; and

(b) Not include powers specifically conferred upon and required to be carried out by other elected officers of a county that is a party to the agreement;

(3) Specify the allocation and payment of expenses to be paid by each county under the agreement;

(4) Provide for the following to be reserved to and remain a function of the board of supervisors or county commissioners of each county that is a party to the agreement:

(a) Final action upon the allowance and payment of any claims and obligations against each county; and

(b) The levy and collection of taxes to pay claims and obligations under the agreement; and

(5) Be subject to the Interlocal Cooperation Act.

Any county in which is located a city of the primary class shall have power to purchase, hold, and improve public grounds and parks within the limits of the county, to provide for the protection and preservation of the same, to provide for the planting and protection of shade or ornamental trees, to erect and construct or aid in the erection and construction of statues, memorials, and works of art upon any public grounds, and to receive donations and bequests of money or property for the above purposes in trust or otherwise.

Each county shall have the authority to:

(1) Plan, initiate, fund, maintain, administer, and evaluate facilities, programs, and services that advocate for or meet the rehabilitation, treatment, care, training, educational, residential, diagnostic, evaluation, community supervision, and protective service needs of the following individuals domiciled in the county:

(a) Any person who is dependent, aged, blind, disabled, ill, or infirm;

(b) Any person with a mental disorder;

(c) Any person with an intellectual disability; or

(d) Any person who is a survivor of domestic violence or sexual assault;

(2) Purchase outright by installment contract or by mortgage with the power to borrow funds in connection with such contract or mortgage, hold, sell, and lease for a period of more than one year real estate necessary for use of the county to plan, initiate, fund, maintain, administer, and evaluate such facilities, programs, and services;

(3) Lease personal property necessary for such facilities, programs, and services. Any such lease may provide for installment payments that extend over a period of more than one year, notwithstanding the provisions of section 23-132 or 23-916;

(4) Enter into agreements with other counties, state agencies, other political subdivisions, and private nonprofit organizations to plan, initiate, fund, maintain, administer, and evaluate such facilities, programs, and services. Any agreement with any public agency pursuant to this subdivision is subject to the Interlocal Cooperation Act; and

(5) Contract for such services from public or private entities that provide such services on a vendor basis.

Any county may establish and fund a commission on the status of women. Such commission shall advise the county board on the existence of social, economic, and legal barriers affecting women and ways to eliminate such barriers.

The purpose of a commission established under section 23-104.04 shall be to emphasize studying the changing and developing roles of women in American society including:

(1) Recognition of socioeconomic factors that influence the status of women;

(2) Development of individual potential;

(3) Encouragement of women to utilize their capabilities and assume leadership roles;

(4) Coordination of efforts of numerous women's organizations interested in the welfare of women;

(5) Identification and recognition of contributions made by Nebraska women to the community, state, and nation;

(6) Implementation of this section when improved working conditions, financial security, and legal status of both sexes are involved; and

(7) Promotion of legislation to improve any situation when implementation of subdivisions (1) to (6) of this section indicates a need for change.

The county boards of the several counties shall have the power to take and have the care and custody of all the real and personal estate owned by the county; and, in connection with the foregoing, to file and to require each county officer of the county to file the annual inventory statements with respect to county personal property, as required by sections 23-346 to 23-350.

(1) The county board shall manage the county funds and county business except as otherwise specifically provided.

(2) The county board shall have the authority to establish a petty cash fund for such county for the purpose of making payments for subsidiary general operational expenditures and purchases. Such county board shall set, by resolution of the board, the amount of money to be carried in such petty cash fund and the dollar limit of an expenditure from such fund and such amount shall be stated in the fiscal policy of the county board budget message.

The county board shall have power to make all orders respecting the property of the county; to keep the county buildings insured; to sell the public grounds or buildings of the county, and purchase other properties in lieu thereof; Provided, that the county board may, if it deems it for the best interests of the county, sell county property upon such terms of credit as shall be determined upon by resolution of the board; but any deferred payment shall be for not more than two-thirds of the purchase price, which shall be secured by note or notes, and a first mortgage upon the property so sold, and shall draw not less than six percent interest per annum from date until paid, the interest to be paid annually. The county board shall also have the power to sell or negotiate, without recourse upon the county, the notes and mortgages so taken; but they shall not be sold for less than par value including accrued interest. If, for any reason, such sale of the public grounds by a county board was irregular, illegal, or void, and the purchaser of such public grounds or his grantees have been in open, notorious, undisputed, continuous and adverse possession thereof for more than ten years, and during which ten years the county board has not refunded or offered to refund the purchase price, then in all such cases the county board is authorized and empowered and, when requested by the proper person, is required to convey to the purchaser of such grounds or his grantees, by good and sufficient deed without cost, the fee simple title to the public grounds so irregularly or illegally sold.

(1)(a) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section and section 80-329, any county board has power to sell or lease real estate owned by the county and not required for county purposes at a fair market value regardless of the value of the property. The county board of such county shall hold an open and public hearing prior to any such sale or lease at which any interested party may appear and speak for or against the sale or lease and raise any issue regarding the fair market value of the property as determined by the county board. Public notice of any such public hearing shall be run once each week for two consecutive weeks prior to the hearing date in any newspaper or legal publication distributed generally throughout the county.

(b) The county board shall set a date of sale which shall be within two months of the date of public hearing pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) of this section and shall offer such real estate for sale or lease to the highest bidder.

(c) The county board shall cause to be printed and published once at least ten days prior to the sale or lease in a legal newspaper in the county an advertisement for bids on the property to be sold or leased. The advertisement shall state the legal description and address of the real estate and that the real estate shall be sold or leased to the highest bidder.

(d) If the county board receives no bids or if the bids received are substantially lower than the fair market value, the county board may negotiate a contract for sale or lease of the real estate if such negotiated contract is in the best interests of the county.

(2) A county board may, by majority vote, sell real estate owned by the county in fee simple to another political subdivision in fee simple in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as may be deemed in the best interest of the county. A county board shall cause to be printed and published at least thirty days prior to the sale in a legal newspaper in the county a notice of the intent to sell county real estate to another political subdivision. The notice shall state the legal description and address of the real estate to be sold.

The county board shall have power to lay out, alter or discontinue any road running through its county, to vacate or discontinue public roads running parallel and adjacent to state or federal highways not more than four hundred yards from said highway, or any part thereof, or any abandoned or unused road or part thereof, and for such purpose may acquire title to lands therein, either by gift, prescription, dedication, the exercise of the right of eminent domain, purchase or lease, and may perform such duties concerning roads as may be prescribed by law; Provided, that the county board shall not vacate or discontinue any public road or any part thereof which is within the area of the zoning jurisdiction of a city of the metropolitan, primary or first class without the prior approval of the governing body of such city.

(1) The county board shall have power to examine and settle all accounts against the county and all accounts concerning the receipts and expenditures of the county.

(2) The county board may adopt by resolution an imprest system of accounting for the county and authorize the county clerk to establish an imprest vendor, payroll, or other account for the payment of county warrants in accordance with any guidelines issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts.

The county board shall have power to authorize the vacation of any city or village plat when the same is not within an incorporated city or village, on the petition of two-thirds of the owners thereof.

The county board shall have power to change the name of any city or village plat on the petition of a majority of the local voters residing therein, when the inhabitants thereof have not become a body corporate.

The county board shall have power to settle by compromise or by accepting in full settlement thereof less than the face or full amount on any claim, judgment or demand in favor of the county, on which said claim, judgment or demand no payment or payments have been made or recovered during a full period of five years from and after the date or dates on which said claim, judgment or demand became due and enforceable, and execute full acquittance or receipt for said claim, judgment or demand, or to sell, at public or private sale, any claim, judgment or demand in favor of a county for cash, at the best price obtainable in the judgment of said board, and execute and deliver a proper transfer or assignment of said claim, judgment or demand so sold; Provided, that no member of the board may be personally interested, directly or indirectly, in the purchase of any such claim, judgment or demand.

The county board shall have power as a board, or as individuals, to perform such other duties as may from time to time be imposed by general law.

(1) The county board shall have power: (a) To create a planning commission with the powers and duties set forth in sections 23-114 to 23-114.05, 23-168.01 to 23-168.04, 23-172 to 23-174, 23-174.02, 23-373, and 23-376; (b) to make, adopt, amend, extend, and implement a county comprehensive development plan; (c) to adopt a zoning resolution, which shall have the force and effect of law; and (d) to cede and transfer jurisdiction pursuant to section 13-327 over land otherwise subject to the authority of the county board pursuant to this section.

(2) The zoning resolution may regulate and restrict: (a) The location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures, including tents, cabins, house trailers, and automobile trailers; (b) the percentage of lot areas which may be occupied; (c) building setback lines; (d) sizes of yards, courts, and other open spaces; (e) the density of population; (f) the uses of buildings; and (g) the uses of land for agriculture, forestry, recreation, residence, industry, and trade, after considering factors relating to soil conservation, water supply conservation, surface water drainage and removal, or other uses in the unincorporated area of the county. If a zoning resolution or regulation affects the Niobrara scenic river corridor as defined in section 72-2006, the Niobrara Council shall act on the measure as provided in section 72-2010.

(3)(a) The county board shall not adopt or enforce any zoning resolution or regulation which prohibits the use of land for a proposed residential structure for the sole reason that the proposed structure is a manufactured home if such manufactured home bears an appropriate seal which indicates that it was constructed in accordance with the standards of the Uniform Standard Code for Manufactured Homes and Recreational Vehicles, the Nebraska Uniform Standards for Modular Housing Units Act, or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The county board may require that a manufactured home be located and installed according to the same standards for foundation system, permanent utility connections, setback, and minimum square footage which would apply to a site-built, single-family dwelling on the same lot. The county board may also require that manufactured homes meet the following standards:

(i) The home shall have no less than nine hundred square feet of floor area;

(ii) The home shall have no less than an eighteen-foot exterior width;

(iii) The roof shall be pitched with a minimum vertical rise of two and one-half inches for each twelve inches of horizontal run;

(iv) The exterior material shall be of a color, material, and scale comparable with those existing in residential site-built, single-family construction;

(v) The home shall have a nonreflective roof material which is or simulates asphalt or wood shingles, tile, or rock; and

(vi) The home shall have wheels, axles, transporting lights, and removable towing apparatus removed.

(b) The county board may not require additional standards unless such standards are uniformly applied to all single-family dwellings in the zoning district.

(c) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to supersede any valid restrictive covenants of record.

(4) For purposes of this section, manufactured home shall mean (a) a factory-built structure which is to be used as a place for human habitation, which is not constructed or equipped with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than to a permanent site, which does not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles, and which bears a label certifying that it was built in compliance with National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, 24 C.F.R. 3280 et seq., promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or (b) a modular housing unit as defined in section 71-1557 bearing a seal in accordance with the Nebraska Uniform Standards for Modular Housing Units Act.

(5) Special districts or zones may be established in those areas subject to seasonal or periodic flooding, and such regulations may be applied as will minimize danger to life and property.

(6) The powers conferred by this section shall not be exercised within the limits of any incorporated city or village nor within the area over which a city or village has been granted or ceded zoning jurisdiction and is exercising such jurisdiction. At such time as a city or village exercises control over an unincorporated area by the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance, the ordinance or amendment shall supersede any resolution or regulation of the county.

(1) In order to avail itself of the powers conferred by section 23-114, the county board shall appoint a planning commission to be known as the county planning commission. The members of the commission shall be residents of the county to be planned and shall be appointed with due consideration to geographical and population factors. Since the primary focus of concern and control in county planning and land-use regulatory programs is the unincorporated area, a majority of the members of the commission shall be residents of unincorporated areas, except that this requirement shall not apply to joint planning commissions. Members of the commission shall hold no county or municipal office, except that a member may also be a member of a city, village, or other type of planning commission. The term of each member shall be three years, except that approximately one-third of the members of the first commission shall serve for terms of one year, one-third for terms of two years, and one-third for terms of three years. All members shall hold office until their successors are appointed. Members of the commission may be removed by a majority vote of the county board for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office or other good and sufficient cause upon written charges being filed with the county board and after a public hearing has been held regarding such charges. Vacancies occurring otherwise than through the expiration of terms shall be filled for the unexpired terms by individuals appointed by the county board. Members of the commission shall be compensated for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with their duties in an amount to be fixed by the county board. Reimbursement for mileage shall be made at the rate provided in section 81-1176. Each county board may provide a per diem payment for members of the commission of not to exceed fifteen dollars for each day that each such member attends meetings of the commission or is engaged in matters concerning the commission, but no member shall receive more than one thousand dollars in any one year. Such per diem payments shall be in addition to and separate from compensation for expenses.

(2) The commission: (a) Shall prepare and adopt as its policy statement a comprehensive development plan and such implemental means as a capital improvement program, subdivision regulations, building codes, and a zoning resolution; (b) shall consult with and advise public officials and agencies, public utilities, civic organizations, educational institutions, and citizens relating to the promulgation of implemental programs; (c) may delegate authority to any of the groups named in subdivision (b) of this subsection to conduct studies and make surveys for the commission; and (d) shall make preliminary reports on its findings and hold public hearings before submitting its final reports. The county board shall not hold its public meetings or take action on matters relating to the comprehensive development plan, capital improvements, building codes, subdivision development, or zoning until it has received the recommendations of the commission.

(3) The commission may, with the consent of the governing body, in its own name: Make and enter into contracts with public or private bodies; receive contributions, bequests, gifts, or grants of funds from public or private sources; expend the funds appropriated to it by the county board; employ agents and employees; and acquire, hold, and dispose of property. The commission may, on its own authority: Make arrangements consistent with its program; conduct or sponsor special studies or planning work for any public body or appropriate agency; receive grants, remuneration, or reimbursement for such studies or work; and at its public hearings, summon witnesses, administer oaths, and compel the giving of testimony.

(4) In all counties in the state, the county planning commission may grant conditional uses or special exceptions to property owners for the use of their property if the county board of commissioners or supervisors has officially and generally authorized the commission to exercise such powers and has approved the standards and procedures the commission adopted for equitably and judiciously granting such conditional uses or special exceptions. The granting of a conditional use permit or special exception shall only allow property owners to put their property to a special use if it is among those uses specifically identified in the county zoning regulations as classifications of uses which may require special conditions or requirements to be met by the owners before a use permit or building permit is authorized. The applicant for a conditional use permit or special exception for a livestock operation specifically identified in the county zoning regulations as a classification of use which may require special conditions or requirements to be met within an area of a county zoned for agricultural use may request a determination of the special conditions or requirements to be imposed by the county planning commission or by the county board of commissioners or supervisors if the board has not authorized the commission to exercise such authority. Upon request the commission or board shall issue such determination of the special conditions or requirements to be imposed in a timely manner. Such special conditions or requirements to be imposed may include, but are not limited to, the submission of information that may be separately provided to state or federal agencies in applying to obtain the applicable state and federal permits. The commission or the board may request and review, prior to making a determination of the special conditions or requirements to be imposed, reasonable information relevant to the conditional use or special exception. If a determination of the special conditions or requirements to be imposed has been made, final permit approval may be withheld subject only to a final review by the commission or county board to determine whether there is a substantial change in the applicant's proposed use of the property upon which the determination was based and that the applicant has met, or will meet, the special conditions or requirements imposed in the determination. For purposes of this section, substantial change shall include any significant alteration in the original application including a significant change in the design or location of buildings or facilities, in waste disposal methods or facilities, or in capacity.

(5) The power to grant conditional uses or special exceptions as set forth in subsection (4) of this section shall be the exclusive authority of the commission, except that the county board of commissioners or supervisors may choose to retain for itself the power to grant conditional uses or special exceptions for those classifications of uses specified in the county zoning regulations. The county board of commissioners or supervisors may exercise such power if it has formally adopted standards and procedures for granting such conditional uses or special exceptions in a manner that is equitable and which will promote the public interest. In any county other than a county in which is located a city of the primary class, an appeal of a decision by the county planning commission or county board of commissioners or supervisors regarding a conditional use or special exception shall be made to the district court. In any county in which is located a city of the primary class, an appeal of a decision by the county planning commission regarding a conditional use or special exception shall be made to the county board of commissioners or supervisors, and an appeal of a decision by the county board of commissioners or supervisors regarding a conditional use or special exception shall be made to the district court.

(6) Whenever a county planning commission or county board is authorized to grant conditional uses or special exceptions pursuant to subsection (4) or (5) of this section, the planning commission or county board shall, with its decision to grant or deny a conditional use permit or special exception, issue a statement of factual findings arising from the record of proceedings that support the granting or denial of the conditional use permit or special exception. If a county planning commission's role is advisory to the county board, the county planning commission shall submit such statement with its recommendation to the county board as to whether to approve or deny a conditional use permit or special exception.

The general plan for the improvement and development of the county shall be known as the comprehensive development plan and shall, among other elements, include:

(1) A land-use element which designates the proposed general distribution, general location, and extent of the uses of land for agriculture, housing, commerce, industry, recreation, education, public buildings and lands, and other categories of public and private use of land;

(2) The general location, character, and extent of existing and proposed major streets, roads, and highways, and air and other transportation routes and facilities;

(3) When a new comprehensive plan or a full update to an existing comprehensive plan is developed, an energy element which: Assesses energy infrastructure and energy use by sector, including residential, commercial, and industrial sectors; evaluates utilization of renewable energy sources; and promotes energy conservation measures that benefit the community; and

(4) The general location, type, capacity, and area served of present and projected or needed community facilities including recreation facilities, schools, libraries, other public buildings, and public utilities and services.

The comprehensive development plan shall consist of both graphic and textual material and shall be designed to accommodate anticipated long-range future growth which shall be based upon documented population and economic projections.

Zoning regulations shall be adopted or amended by the county board only after the adoption of the county comprehensive development plan by the county board and the receipt of the planning commission's specific recommendations. Such zoning regulations shall be consistent with an adopted comprehensive development plan and designed for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity, and welfare of the present and future inhabitants of Nebraska, including, among others, such specific purposes as:

(1) Developing both urban and nonurban areas;

(2) Lessening congestion in the streets or roads;

(3) Reducing the waste of excessive amounts of roads;

(4) Securing safety from fire and other dangers;

(5) Lessening or avoiding the hazards to persons and damage to property resulting from the accumulation or runoff of storm or flood waters;

(6) Providing adequate light and air;

(7) Preventing excessive concentration of population and excessive and wasteful scattering of population or settlement;

(8) Promoting such distribution of population, such classification of land uses, and such distribution of land development as will assure adequate provisions for transportation, water flowage, water supply, drainage, sanitation, recreation, soil fertility, food supply, and other public requirements;

(9) Protecting the tax base;

(10) Protecting property against blight and depreciation;

(11) Securing economy in governmental expenditures;

(12) Fostering the state's agriculture, recreation, and other industries;

(13) Encouraging the most appropriate use of land in the county; and

(14) Preserving, protecting, and enhancing historic buildings, places, and districts.

Within the area of jurisdiction and powers established by section 23-114, the county board may divide the county into districts of such number, shape, and area as may be best suited to carry out the purposes of this section and regulate, restrict, or prohibit the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, or use of nonfarm buildings or structures and the use, conditions of use, or occupancy of land. All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of land or buildings throughout each district, but the regulations in one district may differ from those in other districts. An official map or maps indicating the districts and regulations shall be adopted, and within fifteen days after adoption of such regulations or maps, they shall be published in book or pamphlet form or once in a legal newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county or, if none is published in the county, in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the county. Such regulations shall also be spread in the minutes of the proceedings of the county board and such map or maps filed with the county clerk. The county board may decide whether buildings located on farmsteads used as residences shall be subject to such county's zoning regulations and permit requirements.

For purposes of this section and section 23-114.04, nonfarm buildings are all buildings except those buildings utilized for agricultural purposes on a farmstead of twenty acres or more which produces one thousand dollars or more of farm products each year.

(1) The county board shall provide for enforcement of the zoning regulations within its county by requiring the issuance of permits prior to the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, or conversion of any nonfarm building or structure within a zoned area, and the county board may provide for the withholding of any permit if the purpose for which it is sought would conflict with zoning regulations adopted for the particular district in which the building or structure is situated or in which it is proposed to be erected. All plats for subdivisions in the area outside the corporate limits of cities and villages and outside of an unincorporated area wherein a city or village has been granted subdivision jurisdiction and is exercising such jurisdiction must be approved by the county planning commission.

(2) The county board may establish and appoint a county zoning administrator, who may also serve as a building inspector, and may fix his compensation or may authorize any administrative official of the county to assume the functions of such position in addition to his regular duties. The county board may also fix a reasonable schedule of fees for the issuance of permits under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section. The permits shall not be issued unless the plans of and for the proposed erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, use or change of use, including sanitation, plumbing and sewage disposal, are filed in writing in the building inspector's office and such plans fully conform to all zoning regulations then in effect.

The erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance, or use of any building, structure, automobile trailer, or land in violation of sections 23-114 to 23-114.04, 23-168.01 to 23-168.04, 23-172 to 23-174, 23-174.02, 23-373, and 23-376 or of any regulation made by the county board under such sections shall be a misdemeanor. Any person, partnership, limited liability company, association, club, or corporation violating such sections or any regulation of the county board or erecting, constructing, reconstructing, altering, or converting any structure without having first obtained a permit shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor. Each day such violation continues after notice of violation has been given to the offender may be considered a separate offense. In addition to other remedies, the county board or the proper local authorities of the county, as well as any owner or owners of real estate within the district affected by the regulations, may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent such unlawful construction, erection, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance, or use, to restrain, correct, or abate such violation, or to prevent the illegal act, conduct, business, or use in or about such premises. Any taxpayer or taxpayers of the county may institute proceedings to compel specific performance by the proper official or officials of any duty imposed by such sections or in resolutions adopted pursuant to such sections.

When a county planning commission appointed pursuant to section 23-114.01 is considering the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or the approval of the platting or replatting of any development of real estate, the commission shall notify any military installation which is located within the county if the county has received a written request for such notification from the military installation. The county planning commission shall deliver the notification to the military installation at least ten days prior to the meeting of the county planning commission at which the proposal is to be considered.

The county board shall have power to cooperate with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or the United States Department of Agriculture in the control or eradication of insect pests or plant diseases for the protection of agricultural or horticultural crops within the county and to expend money from the general fund for this purpose.

The clerks or assistants of any county officer may be required by the county board to serve or assist without additional pay in any other county office than that to which they were appointed, whenever the county board may deem it advisable and expedient for the efficient and economical administration of the affairs of the county.

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) Immediate family member means a child residing in an official's household, the spouse of an official, or an individual claimed by an official or the official's spouse as a dependent for federal income tax purposes; and

(b) Official means a member of a county board or a member of a county planning commission.

(2) When the construction of any new electric generation facility is being considered within a county, prior to project site selection for the facility or approval of any contract by the county related to the facility, the county board shall:

(a) Conduct a public meeting announcing the proposed project; and

(b) If any official involved in the selection of such project site or approval of such contract or an immediate family member of such official holds, directly or indirectly, a financial interest in such facility, or in the ownership or lease of the property within the county where such facility will be constructed:

(i) Publish notice of the official's financial interest and whether such official has indicated his or her intent to vote to select such project site or approve such contract; and

(ii) Within ninety days after the publication of such notice, hold a public meeting regarding the official's intention to vote to select such project site or approve such contract.

(3)(a) This section shall not affect the validity of any contract or apply to the ownership or lease of any property existing on March 12, 2024.

(b) This section shall not affect any conflict-of-interest provisions of the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act.

It shall be the duty of the county board of each county to cause to be annually levied and collected taxes authorized by law for county purposes. The levy shall be subject to the limit established by section 77-3442.

(1) The county board shall acquire, purchase, construct, renovate, remodel, furnish, equip, add to, improve, or provide a suitable courthouse, jail, and other county buildings and a site or sites therefor and for such purposes borrow money and issue the bonds of the county to pay for the same. Agreements entered into under section 25-412.03 shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section. The board shall keep such buildings in repair and provide suitable rooms and offices for the accommodation of the several courts of record, Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court or any judge thereof, Commissioner of Labor for the conduct and operation of the state free employment service, county board, county clerk, county treasurer, county sheriff, clerk of the district court, county surveyor, county agricultural agent, and county attorney if the county attorney holds his or her office at the county seat and shall provide suitable furniture and equipment therefor. All such courts which desire such accommodation shall be suitably housed in the courthouse.

(2) No levy exceeding (a) two million dollars in counties having in excess of two hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, (b) one million dollars in counties having in excess of one hundred thousand inhabitants and not in excess of two hundred fifty thousand inhabitants, (c) three hundred thousand dollars in counties having in excess of thirty thousand inhabitants and not in excess of one hundred thousand inhabitants, or (d) one hundred fifty thousand dollars in all other counties shall be made within a one-year period for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1) of this section without first submitting the proposition to a vote of the people of the county at a general election or a special election ordered by the board for that purpose and obtaining the approval of a majority of the legal voters thereon.

(3)(a) The county board of any county in this state may, when requested so to do by petition signed by at least a majority of the legal voters in the county based on the average vote of the two preceding general elections, make an annual levy of not to exceed seventeen and five-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in the county for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1) of this section.

(b) If a county on the day it first initiates a project for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1) of this section had no bonded indebtedness payable from its general fund levy, the county board may make an annual levy of not to exceed five and two-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property of the county for a project or projects for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1) of this section without the filing of a petition described in subdivision (3)(a) of this section. The county board shall designate the particular project for which such levy shall be expended, the period of years, which shall not exceed twenty, for which the tax will be levied for such project, and the number of cents of the levy for each year thereof. The county board may designate more than one project and levy a tax pursuant to this section for each such project, concurrently or consecutively, as the case may be, if the aggregate levy in each year and the duration of each levy will not exceed the limitations specified in this subsection. Each levy for a project which is authorized by this subdivision may be imposed for such duration specified by the county board notwithstanding the contemporaneous existence or subsequent imposition of any other levy or levies for another project or projects imposed pursuant to this subdivision and notwithstanding the subsequent issuance by the county of bonded indebtedness payable from its general fund levy.

The county board shall provide and keep in repair, when the finances of the county will permit, suitable fireproof safes for the county clerk and county treasurer. It shall provide suitable books and stationery for the use of the county board, county clerk, county treasurer, county judge, sheriff, clerk of the district court, county school administrator, county surveyor, and county attorney.

The county board of all counties having a population of less than one hundred fifty thousand inhabitants shall cause to be published, within ten working days after the close of each annual, regular, or special meeting of the board, a brief statement of the proceedings thereof which shall also include the amount of each claim allowed, the purpose of the claim, and the name of the claimant, except that the aggregate amount of all payroll claims may be included as one item, in one newspaper of general circulation published in the county and also its proceedings upon the equalization of the assessment roll. Between July 15 and August 15 of each year, the employee job titles and the current annual, monthly, or hourly salaries corresponding to such job titles shall be published. Each job title published shall be descriptive and indicate the duties and functions of the position. No publication in a newspaper shall be required unless the same can be done at an expense not exceeding three-fourths of the legal rate for advertising notices.

In all cases where any bridge or any public building, the property of any county within this state, shall be injured or destroyed by any person or persons, either negligently, carelessly or willfully and maliciously, it shall be the duty of the county board, for and in the name of the county, to sue for and recover such damages as shall have occurred by reason thereof, and the money so recovered shall be paid into the treasury of the county, and by the treasurer be credited to the fund out of which such bridge or building was constructed or repaired. The county board shall also examine and approve and perform all duties required to be performed with respect to annual inventory statements prepared by other county officers and filed with the board, with respect to county personal property as provided in sections 23-346 to 23-350.

Whenever the county board deems it necessary to assess taxes the aggregate of which exceeds the rate of fifty cents on every one hundred dollars of the taxable value of all the taxable property in such county, the county board may, by an order entered of record, set forth substantially the amount of such excess required and the purpose for which the same will be required, and if for the payment of interest, principal, or both upon bonds, such order shall in a general way designate the bonds and specify the number of years such excess must be levied and provide for the submission of the question of assessing the additional rate required to a vote of the people of the county at the next election for county officers after the adoption of the resolution or at a special election ordered by the county board for that purpose. If the proposition for such additional tax is carried, the same shall be paid in money and in no other manner. The additional tax shall not have a duration greater than five years, except that such five-year limitation shall not apply to any additional tax approved by the voters of the county for payment of principal and interest on bonded indebtedness. The additional tax is excluded from the limitation in section 77-3442 as provided by section 77-3444.

The mode of submitting questions to the people for any purpose authorized by law shall be as follows: The whole question, including the sum desired to be raised, or the amount of tax desired to be levied, or the rate per annum, and the whole regulation, including the time of its taking effect, if it be of a nature to be set forth, and the penalty of its violation, if there be one, is to be published for four weeks in some newspaper published in the county. If there be no such newspaper, the publication is to be made by being posted in at least one of the most public places in each election precinct in the county, and in all cases the notice shall name the time when such question will be voted upon, and the form in which the question shall be taken, and a copy of the question submitted shall be posted at each place of voting during the day of election.

When the question submitted involves the borrowing or expenditure of money, or issuance of bonds, the proposition of the question must be accompanied by a provision to levy a tax annually for the payment of interest, if any thereon, and no vote adopting the question proposed shall be valid unless it likewise adopt the amount of tax to be levied to meet the liability incurred.

At the time specified in such notice a vote of the qualified electors shall be taken in each precinct at the place designated in such notice. The votes shall be received, and returns thereof made, and the same shall be canvassed by the same officers and in the same manner as required at each general election.

If it appears that a majority of the total number of votes cast upon the proposition at the election in which the proposition is submitted are in favor of the proposition, except the proposal for bonds as provided in section 23-3501, which require a majority of votes cast upon the proposition at the election at which the proposition is submitted, and it also appears that the requirements of the law have been fully complied with, the same shall be entered at large by the county board upon the book containing the record of its proceedings, and it shall then have power to levy and collect the special tax in the same manner as other county taxes are collected. Propositions thus acted upon cannot be rescinded by the county board.

Money raised by the county board pursuant to the provisions of sections 23-119 to 23-129 is specially appropriated and constituted a fund, distinct from all others, in the hands of the county treasurer, until the obligation assumed be discharged.

(1) Upon the allowance of any claim or account against the county, the county board shall direct the county clerk to draw a warrant upon the county treasurer in payment thereof. The warrant shall be signed by the chairperson of the county board, except as hereinafter provided, and countersigned by the county clerk. Warrants may also be issued as provided in section 23-1303. All warrants payable to officers or employees of the county and claims or accounts allowed in full shall be delivered by the county clerk upon completion of entries so required in the warrant and distribution records of the officer in charge of such records. If a claim or account is not allowed in full, the warrant shall not be delivered to the party until the time for taking an appeal has expired and, if such appeal be taken, then not until the appeal has been determined.

(2) Jurors in the district courts shall, immediately upon the completion of their services, be entitled to a statement under seal from the clerk of the court wherein their services were rendered, certifying the amount due them for service as jurors in such court. Upon presentation by a juror of the certified statement to the county clerk, the county clerk shall immediately issue a warrant upon the county general fund for the amount due as shown by the certified statement, unless the juror has voluntarily waived such amount due for service as a juror. Before delivery of the warrant, the county clerk shall deduct therefrom the amount of any delinquent personal taxes then due from the juror, except that in a county having a county comptroller, the county board shall direct the comptroller to draw the warrant, and the warrant shall be executed as provided in this section, except that it shall be countersigned and issued by the comptroller. If the county clerk or the county comptroller is unable to issue the warrant to the jurors because of insufficient funds, a record of the date of presentation of the certified statements, together with the names and addresses of the jurors, shall be made by the county clerk or the county comptroller and the amount due thereon shall draw interest until there are sufficient funds upon which to draw and pay the warrants, whereupon each juror shall be immediately notified by registered letter, return receipt requested, that upon presentation of a certified statement for juror's fee, a warrant will be drawn therefor with interest, less whatever delinquent personal taxes are then due from him or her.

The county board, after the adoption of the annual county budget statement, may issue warrants against the various funds provided for in such budget statement within the limitations prescribed in this section. It shall be unlawful for the county board of any county to issue any warrants on any fund or contract any indebtedness against any fund, prior to the annual levy made by the county board, in excess of fifty percent of the fund provided for in the adopted budget statement for the ensuing year unless there is money in the treasury to the credit of the proper fund for the payment of the same. After the tax levy has been made by the county board, it shall be unlawful for the county board of any county to (1) issue any warrants for any amount exceeding eighty-five percent of the aggregate of the amount provided by the budget as finally determined when the levy is made unless there is money in the treasury to the credit of the proper fund for the payment of the same or (2) issue any certificate of indebtedness in any form in payment of any account or claim, make any contracts for or incur any indebtedness in any form in payment of any account or claim, or make any contracts for or incur any indebtedness against the county in excess of the amount provided for and appropriated to any or all of the several funds by the annual county budget statement for the current year except as provided in section 13-511.

Each warrant issued shall specify the fund upon which it is drawn.

Any warrant drawn after eighty-five percent of the amount levied for the year is exhausted, and where there are no funds in the treasury for the payment of the same, shall not be chargeable as against the county, but may be collected by civil action from the county board making the same, or any member thereof.

(1) All claims against a county shall be filed with the county clerk within ninety days from the time when any materials or labor, which form the basis of the claims, have been furnished or performed, except that (a) the fees of jurors serving in the district courts shall be paid as provided for in section 23-131, (b) payment may be approved as provided in subsection (2) of this section, and (c) payments may be made as provided in subsection (3) of this section. The county board may authorize procedures whereby claims may be filed electronically. The electronic filing shall include the following: Information with respect to the person filing the claim, the basis of the claim, the amount of the claim, the date of the claim, and any other information the county board may require. The county clerk shall keep records of each electronic claim. The records shall be accessible for public viewing in either electronic or printed format.

(2) A county board may by resolution, which resolution constitutes a claim pursuant to subsection (1) of section 23-1303, approve the payment for a particular piece of personal property prior to the receipt of such property by the county. A county board may by resolution approve the payment for a particular piece of real or personal property at the auction at which such property is sold if the resolution states the maximum amount which the county may bid for the particular piece of real or personal property.

(3) The county board may pay in advance of services being rendered if it is pursuant to a contract entered into with the state. Such contract shall meet the requirements of the Interlocal Cooperation Act.

(4) When the claim of any person against the county is disallowed in whole or in part by the county board, such person may appeal from the decision of the board to the district court of such county by causing a written notice to be served on the county clerk within twenty days after making such decision and executing a bond to such county, with sufficient security, to be approved by the county clerk, conditioned for the faithful prosecution of such appeal and the payment of all costs that shall be adjudged against the appellant. Upon the disallowance of any claim, the county clerk shall notify the claimant, his or her agent, or his or her attorney in writing of the fact within five days after such disallowance. Notice mailed within such time shall be deemed sufficient. In a county with a county comptroller, all claims shall be filed with the comptroller and not with the county clerk. The comptroller shall keep records of each electronic claim. The records shall be accessible for public viewing in either electronic or printed format. When an appeal is taken, it shall be the duty of the county clerk to immediately notify the county comptroller of such appeal.

Whoever files any claim against any county as provided in section 23-135, knowing the claim to contain any false statement or representation as to a material fact, or whoever obtains or receives any money or any warrant for money from any county knowing that the claim therefor was based on a false statement or representation as to a material fact, if the amount claimed or money obtained or received or if the face value of the warrant for money shall be one thousand five hundred dollars or more, shall be guilty of a Class IV felony. If the amount is five hundred dollars or more but less than one thousand five hundred dollars, the person so offending shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. If the amount is less than five hundred dollars, the person so offending shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

Any taxpayer may likewise appeal from the allowance of any claim against the county by serving a like notice within ten days and giving a bond similar to that provided for in section 23-135.

The clerk of the board, upon such appeal being taken and being paid the proper fees therefor, shall make out a complete transcript of the proceedings of the board relating to the matter of its decision and shall deliver it to the clerk of the district court. The appeal shall be entered, tried, and determined and costs awarded in the manner provided in sections 25-1901 to 25-1937.

The provisions of sections 23-135 to 23-137 shall not be so construed as to prevent the county board from once reconsidering their action on any claim, upon due notice to parties interested.

Whenever a tax is levied for the payment of a specific debt, the amount of such tax collected shall be kept as a separate fund in the county treasury, and expended only in the liquidation of such indebtedness; Provided, any surplus remaining in the treasury after full payment of such indebtedness shall be transferred to the general fund of the county.

All persons chargeable with money belonging to any county shall render their accounts to and settle with the county board at the time required by law, and pay into the county treasury any balance which may be due the county, take duplicate receipts therefor, and deposit one of the same with the clerk of the county within five days thereafter.

If any person thus chargeable shall neglect or refuse to render true accounts or settle as aforesaid, the county board shall adjust the accounts of such delinquent, according to the best information they can obtain, and ascertain the balance due the county, and may institute the proper action to recover such balance so found due.

In such case, the delinquent shall not be entitled to any commission, and shall forfeit and pay to the county a penalty of twenty percent on the amount found due the county. Such penalty shall be added to the amount so found due, and it shall be the duty of the court in which any action is brought to recover the same, to include such penalty in any judgment which may be rendered against the delinquent in such action. Such penalty, when collected, shall be paid into the county treasury for the benefit of the school fund.

The county board of any county, whenever the account or claim of any person, firm or corporation against the county is presented to them for allowance, shall procure from the county treasurer a certificate of the amount of delinquent personal taxes assessed against the person, firm or corporation in whose favor the account or claim is presented, and shall deduct from any amount found due upon such account or claim the amount of such tax, and shall forthwith issue a warrant for the balance remaining, if any.

For any such delinquent personal taxes so set off and deducted from any such account or claim, the board shall issue an order to the county treasurer directing him to draw from the same fund out of which said account or claim should have been paid the amount of said delinquent taxes so set off or deducted, and apply the same upon said delinquent personal taxes in satisfaction thereof; and the said treasurer shall, upon application, receipt therefor to the person whose taxes are so satisfied.

In any suit against a county, any delinquent personal taxes assessed against the person in whose favor the cause of action accrued, may be set off against any amount claimed in such action.

The county board of commissioners in all counties having not more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census shall consist of three persons except as follows:

(1) Pursuant to petitions filed or a vote of the county board under section 23-149, the registered voters in any county containing not more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census may vote at any general election as to whether their county board shall consist of three or five commissioners. Upon the completion of the canvass by the county canvassing board, the proposition shall be decided and, if the number of commissioners is increased from three to five commissioners, vacancies shall be deemed to exist and the procedures set forth in sections 32-567 and 32-574 shall be instituted; and

(2) The registered voters of any county under township organization voting to discontinue township organization may also vote as to the number of county commissioners as provided in sections 23-292 to 23-299.

(1)(a) In counties not under township organization, a registered voter may file a petition or petitions for the submission of the question regarding the number of commissioners on the county board. The petition or petitions shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to five percent of the voters registered in the county at the preceding statewide general election.

(b) In counties not under township organization, the county board may, by majority vote of all members, adopt a resolution for the submission of the question regarding the number of commissioners on the county board.

(2) When the petition or petitions or the resolution is filed with the election commissioner or county clerk not less than seventy days before the date of any general election, the election commissioner or county clerk shall cause the question to be submitted to the voters of the county at such election and give notice thereof in the general notice of such election. The forms of ballots shall be respectively: For three commissioners and For five commissioners; and the same shall be printed upon the regular ballots cast for officers voted for at such election and shall be counted and canvassed in the same manner.

(3) If a majority of votes cast at the election favor the proposition For five commissioners, thereafter the county shall have five commissioners, and if a majority of the ballots cast at the election favor the proposition For three commissioners, thereafter the county shall have three commissioners.

(1) The commissioners shall be registered voters and residents of their respective districts.

(2) Beginning in 1992, any person seeking nomination or election to the county board of commissioners in a county having more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census shall have resided within the district he or she seeks to represent for at least six months immediately prior to the date on which he or she is required to file as a candidate for such office. No person shall be eligible to be appointed to the county board in such counties unless he or she has resided in the district he or she would represent for at least six months prior to assuming office.

(3) This section shall be complied with within six months after a determination that the population has reached more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census.

(1) Each county under commissioner organization having not more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census shall be divided into (a) three districts numbered respectively, one, two, and three, (b) five districts as provided for in sections 23-148 and 23-149 numbered respectively, one, two, three, four, and five, or (c) seven districts as provided for in sections 23-292 to 23-299 numbered respectively, one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven. Each county having more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census shall be divided into seven districts numbered respectively, one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

(2) Such districts shall consist of two or more voting precincts comprising compact and contiguous territory and embracing a substantially equal division of the population of the county. District boundary lines shall not be subject to alteration more than once every ten years unless the county has a change in population requiring it to be redistricted pursuant to subdivision (3)(a) of this section or unless there is a vote to change from three to five districts as provided for in sections 23-148 and 23-149.

(3)(a) The establishment of district boundary lines pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be completed within one year after a county attains a population of more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census. Beginning in 2001 and every ten years thereafter, the district boundary lines of any county having more than four hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census shall be redrawn, if necessary to maintain substantially equal district populations, by the date specified in section 32-553.

(b) The establishment of district boundary lines and any alteration thereof under this subsection shall be done by the county board. If the county board fails to do so by the applicable deadline, district boundaries shall be drawn by the election commissioner within six months after the deadline established for the drawing or redrawing of district boundaries by the county board. If the election commissioner fails to meet such deadline, the remedies established in subsection (3) of section 32-555 shall apply.

(4) The district boundary lines shall not be changed at any session of the county board unless all of the commissioners are present at such session.

(5) Commissioners shall be elected as provided in section 32-528. Elections shall be conducted as provided in the Election Act.

(1) The county boards of two or more counties may meet and hold joint sessions for the transaction of joint county business, including, but not limited to, consolidation agreements pursuant to sections 22-401 to 22-416 and 22-418.

(2) When traveling to and from any county board meeting, members of the county board may be reimbursed for mileage at the rate provided in section 81-1176.

The county clerk shall have the power to call special sessions when the interests of the county demand it, upon giving five days' notice of the time and object of calling the commissioners together, by posting up notices in three public places in the county, or by publication in a newspaper published therein.

When two only of the commissioners of the board shall attend, and shall be divided on any question, the decision thereof shall be deferred until the next meeting of the board, and then the matter shall be decided by a majority of the board.

The board of county commissioners at its regular meeting in January of each year shall elect a chairman of the board to serve for the ensuing year, and such chairman shall sign all warrants on the treasurer for money to be paid out of the county treasury.

The county board of each county in this state may borrow money in an amount sufficient to pay all valid, legally existing warrants of the county hereafter drawn on any county fund, which is legally entitled to participate in the annual allocation of revenue, but subject to the following limitations and requirements, to wit:

(1) Money shall not be borrowed in excess of the amount required to pay warrants issued and embraced within the limits imposed by law upon the right of a county to draw and issue warrants.

(2) The money so borrowed may not be used for any purpose other than payment of such warrants.

(3) The obligation thus incurred shall be evidenced by a negotiable promissory note or notes issued in the name of the county, signed by the chairman of the board and witnessed by the county clerk.

(4) The note may run for not more than one year, but shall be callable by the county at any time, and may draw interest at a rate to be determined by the county board.

(5) Such note or notes, before being negotiated, shall be presented to the county treasurer of the county and registered by said officer, and shall be payable out of the revenue collected, received and credited to such fund or funds.

The county board of any county having more than two hundred thousand population may use money available in any fund of the county, if not presently or in the immediate future needed for the use of such fund, with which to take up, as an investment, legal valid warrants drawn upon any other fund of the county in which there may not be money presently available with which to pay such warrant; but such taking up of a warrant shall constitute and be deemed a purchase thereof, as an investment of idle money in the fund for which acquired. Any warrant, so taken by way of investment, shall be registered to the credit of the fund from which the money was taken with which to acquire the warrant and shall not draw interest.

The county board shall provide for the manner in which such regulations and restrictions and the boundaries of such districts shall be determined, established, enforced, and, from time to time, amended, supplemented, or changed. No such regulation, restriction, or boundary shall become effective until after public hearings are held by both the county planning commission and county board in relation thereto, when its parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be given by the publication thereof in a legal newspaper of general circulation in such county one time at least ten days prior to such hearing. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall also be given in writing to the chairperson of any municipal, county, or joint planning commission in the State of Nebraska which has jurisdiction over land within three miles of the property affected by such action. In the absence of a planning commission, such notice shall be given to the clerks of units of local government in the State of Nebraska having jurisdiction over land within three miles of the property affected by such action.

Such regulations, restrictions, and boundaries may from time to time be amended, supplemented, changed, modified, or repealed. In case, however, of a protest against such change, signed by the owners of twenty percent or more either of the area of the lots included in such proposed change, or of those immediately adjacent in the rear thereof extending one hundred feet therefrom, or to those directly opposite thereto extending one hundred feet from the street frontage of such opposite lots, and such change is not in accordance with the comprehensive development plan, such amendments shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of two-thirds majority of the county board. The provisions of section 23-164 relative to public hearings and official notice shall apply equally to all changes or amendments.

(1) The county board shall appoint a board of adjustment which shall consist of five members, plus one additional member designated as an alternate who shall attend and serve only when one of the regular members is unable to attend for any reason, each to be appointed for a term of three years and be removable for cause by the appointing authority upon written charges and after public hearing. No member of the board of adjustment shall be a member of the county board of commissioners or county board of supervisors. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant. One member only of the board of adjustment shall be appointed by the county board from the membership of the county planning commission, and the loss of membership on the planning commission by such member shall also result in his immediate loss of membership on the board of adjustment and the appointment of another planning commissioner to the board of adjustment.

(2) The board of adjustment shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of any resolution adopted pursuant to sections 23-114 to 23-114.05, 23-168.01 to 23-168.04, 23-172 to 23-174, 23-174.02, 23-373, and 23-376. Meetings of the board shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the board may determine. Such chairman, or in his absence the acting chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the board shall be open to the public. The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed with the county clerk and shall be a public record.

(1) An appeal to the board of adjustment may be taken by any person or persons aggrieved, or by any officer, department, board, or bureau of the county affected by any decision of an administrative officer or planning commission. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time, as provided by the rules of the board of adjustment, by filing with the board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The officer or agency from whom the appeal is taken shall transmit to the board of adjustment all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

(2) The board of adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give public notice thereof as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Any party may appear at the hearing in person, by agent, or by attorney.

(1) The board of adjustment shall, subject to such appropriate conditions and safeguards as may be established by the county board, have only the following powers:

(a) To hear and decide appeals when it is alleged by the appellant that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or refusal made by an administrative official or agency based on or made in the enforcement of any zoning regulation or any regulation relating to the location or soundness of structures. The board of adjustment shall have no authority to hear and decide appeals regarding conditional use permits or special exceptions which may be granted pursuant to section 23-114.01;

(b) To hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions of any regulation, requests for interpretation of any map; and

(c) When by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property at the time of the adoption of the zoning regulations, or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition of such piece of property, the strict application of any enacted regulation under sections 23-114 to 23-114.05, 23-168.01 to 23-168.04, 23-172 to 23-174, 23-174.02, 23-373, and 23-376 would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional and undue hardships upon the owner of such property, to authorize, upon an appeal relating to the property, a variance from such strict application so as to relieve such difficulties or hardship, if such relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the intent and purpose of any zoning regulations, but no such variance shall be authorized unless the board of adjustment finds that: (i) The strict application of the resolution would produce undue hardship; (ii) such hardship is not shared generally by other properties in the same zoning district and the same vicinity; (iii) the authorization of such variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property and the character of the district will not be changed by the granting of the variance; and (iv) the granting of such variance is based upon reasons of demonstrable and exceptional hardship as distinguished from variations for purposes of convenience, profit or caprice.

(2) No variance shall be authorized unless the board finds that the condition or situation of the property concerned or the intended use of the property is not of so general or recurring a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation to be adopted as an amendment to the zoning regulations.

(3) In exercising the powers granted in this section, the board may, in conformity with the provisions of sections 23-114 to 23-114.05, 23-168.01 to 23-168.04, 23-172 to 23-174, 23-174.02, 23-373, and 23-376, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as shall be proper, and to that end shall have the power of the officer or agency from whom the appeal is taken. The concurring vote of four members of the board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under any such regulation or to effect any variation in such regulation.

Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the board of adjustment, or any officer, department, board, or bureau of the county, may present to the district court for the county a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality. The petition must be presented to the court within fifteen days after the filing of the decision in the office of the board of adjustment. Upon the filing of such petition a summons shall be issued and be served upon the board of adjustment together with a copy of the petition, and return of service shall be made within four days after the issuance of the summons. Within ten days after the return day of the summons, the county board shall file an answer to the petition which shall admit or deny the substantial averments of the petition and matters in dispute as disclosed by the petition. The answer shall be verified in like manner as required for the petition. At the expiration of the time for filing the answer, the court shall proceed to hear and determine the cause without delay and shall render judgment according to law. If, upon the hearing, it shall appear to the court that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may take evidence or appoint a referee to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same to the court with his findings of fact and conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which the determination of the court shall be made. The court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision brought up for review. Appeal to the district court shall not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the court may, on application, on notice to the board and on due cause shown, grant a restraining order. Any appeal from such judgment of the district court shall be prosecuted in accordance with the general laws of the state regulating appeals in actions at law.

Whenever the regulations made under authority of sections 23-164 to 23-174 require a greater width or size of yard, courts or other open spaces, or require a lower height of building or a less number of stories or require a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied or impose other higher standards than are required in any other statute or local ordinance or regulation, the provisions of the regulations made under authority of said sections shall govern. Wherever the provisions of any other statute or local ordinance or regulation require a greater width or size of yards, courts, or other open space or require a lower height of building or a less number of stories or require a greater percentage of lot to be left unoccupied or impose other higher standards than are required by the regulations made under authority of said sections, the provisions of such statute or local ordinance or regulations shall govern.

(1) The county board may adopt by resolution, which shall have the force and effect of law, the conditions, provisions, limitations, and terms of a building or construction code, a plumbing code, an electrical code, a fire prevention code, or any other code relating to building or relating to the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance, placing, or using of any building, structure, automobile trailer, house trailer, or cabin trailer. For this purpose, the county board may adopt any standard code which contains rules or regulations printed as a code in book or pamphlet form by reference to such code or portions thereof without setting forth in the resolution the conditions, provisions, limitations, or terms of such code. When such code or any such standard code or portion thereof is incorporated by reference into such resolution, it shall have the same force and effect as though it had been written in its entirety in such resolution without further or additional publication.

(2) Not less than one copy of such code or such standard code or portion thereof shall be kept for use and examination by the public in the office of the clerk of such county prior to the adoption thereof and as long as such standard code is in effect in such county.

(3) Any building or construction code implemented under this section shall be adopted and enforced as provided in section 71-6406.

(4) If there is no county resolution adopting a plumbing code in effect for such county, the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code designated by the American National Standards Institute as an American National Standard shall apply to all buildings.

(5) Any code adopted and approved by the county board, as provided in this section, or if there is no county resolution adopting a plumbing code in effect for such county, the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code designated by the American National Standards Institute as an American National Standard, and the building permit requirements or occupancy permit requirements imposed by such code or by sections 23-114.04 and 23-114.05, shall apply to all of the county except within the limits of any incorporated city or village and except within an unincorporated area where a city or village has been granted zoning jurisdiction and is exercising such jurisdiction.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as creating an obligation for the county to inspect plumbing work done within its jurisdiction to determine compliance with the plumbing code.

The county board may also pass, approve and publish any other resolution governing and controlling zoning after the zoning district is created and established as provided in section 23-114.03, and when such resolutions are passed and approved, they shall be published as provided in section 23-172. If any resolution is published by printing the same in book or pamphlet form, purporting to be published by authority of the county board, the same need not be otherwise published, and such book or pamphlet shall be received as evidence of the passage and legal publication of such resolution, as of the dates mentioned in such book or pamphlet, in all courts without further proof.

The use of a building, structure, or land, existing and lawful at the time of the enactment of a zoning regulation, or at the time of an amendment of a regulation, may, except as provided in this section, be continued, although such use does not conform with the provisions of such regulation or amendment, and such use may be extended throughout the same building if no structural alteration of such building is proposed or made for the purpose of such extension. If such nonconforming use is in fact discontinued for a period of twelve months, such right to the nonconforming use shall be forfeited and any future use of the building and premises shall conform to the regulation. The county board may provide in any zoning regulation for the restoration, reconstruction, extension, or substitution of nonconforming uses upon such terms and conditions as may be set forth in the zoning resolution. The county board may, in any zoning regulation, provide for the termination of nonconforming uses, either by specifying the period or periods in which nonconforming uses shall be required to cease, or by providing a formula whereby the compulsory termination of a nonconforming use may be so fixed as to allow for the recovery or amortization of the investment in the nonconformance, except that in the case of a legally erected outdoor advertising sign, device, or display, no amortization schedule shall be used.

If any person shall violate any of the provisions of sections 23-164 to 23-174 for which penalty is not elsewhere provided therein, or if any person shall violate any of the provisions of any resolution adopted under the power and authority granted to county boards under section 23-174.01, 23-174.02, 23-174.03, or 23-174.10 or under sections 23-114, 23-172, and 23-173, such person shall be punished upon conviction in the same manner as for violation of section 23-114.05 in accordance with the penalties prescribed therein.

Every county in which is located a city of the primary class shall have power within the county, except within the area over which zoning jurisdiction has been granted to any city or village and over which such city or village is exercising such jurisdiction, to regulate and restrict (1) the location, height, bulk, and size of buildings and other structures, (2) the percentage of a lot that may be occupied, (3) the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, (4) the density of population, and (5) the locations and uses of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, business, residences and other purposes. Such county shall have power within the county, except within the area over which zoning jurisdiction has been granted to any city or village and over which such city or village is exercising such jurisdiction, to divide the county zoned into districts of such number, shape, and area as may be best suited to carry out the purposes of this section, and to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, or use of buildings, structures, or land within the total area zoned or within districts. All such regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings throughout each district, but regulations applicable to one district may differ from those applicable to other districts. Such zoning regulations shall be designed to secure safety from fire, flood, and other dangers and to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare and shall be made with consideration having been given to the character of the various parts of the area zoned and their peculiar suitability for particular uses and types of development and with a view to conserving property values and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the area zoned in accordance with a comprehensive plan. The provisions of section 23-114 which relate to manufactured homes shall apply to such zoning regulations. Such zoning regulations may include reasonable provisions regarding nonconforming uses and their gradual elimination.

The zoning resolution shall be adopted and amended, and regulations made and promulgated not inconsistent therewith, in the manner provided in sections 23-114, 23-114.03, 23-164, and 23-165.

(1) No owner of any real estate located in a county in which is located a city of the primary class, except within the area over which subdivision jurisdiction has been granted to any city or village, and such city or village is exercising such jurisdiction, shall be permitted to subdivide, plat, or lay out such real estate in building lots and streets, or other portions of the same intended to be dedicated for public use or for the use of the purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent thereto, without first having obtained the approval thereof by the county board of such county. In lieu of approval by the county board, the county board may designate specific types of plats which may be approved by the county planning commission or the planning director. No plat or subdivision of such real estate shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds or have any force or effect unless the same is approved by the county board, the county planning commission, or the planning director of such county. Such a county shall have authority within the area described in this subsection (a) to regulate the subdivision of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership or building development, except that the county shall have no power to regulate subdivision in those instances where the smallest parcel created is more than ten acres in area, (b) to prescribe standards for laying out subdivisions in harmony with the comprehensive plan, (c) to require the installation of improvements by the owner or by the creation of public improvement districts, or by requiring a good and sufficient bond guaranteeing installation of such improvements, and (d) to require the dedication of land for public purposes.

(2) For purposes of this section, subdivision means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, sites, or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of ownership or building development, except that the division of land shall not be considered to be subdivision when the smallest parcel created is more than ten acres in area.

(3) Subdivision plats shall be approved by the county planning commission on recommendation by the planning director and county engineer and may be submitted to the county board for its consideration and action. The county board may withhold approval of a plat until the county engineer has certified that the improvements required by the regulations have been satisfactorily installed or until a sufficient bond guaranteeing installation of the improvements has been posted with the county or until public improvement districts are created. The county board may provide procedures in land subdivision regulation for appeal by any person aggrieved by any action of the county planning commission or planning director.

(4) Any plat shall, after being filed with the register of deeds, be equivalent to a deed in fee simple absolute to the county, from the owner, of such portion of the land as is therein set apart for public use.

In every county in which is located a city of the primary class, there shall be created a planning department, which shall consist of a county planning commission, a planning director, and such subordinate employees as are required to administer the planning program set forth in sections 23-174.01 to 23-174.09. The planning director shall serve as the secretary of the county planning commission and as the administrative head of the planning department.

The general plan for the improvement and development of the county outside of the jurisdiction of any city or village shall be known as the comprehensive plan. This plan for governmental policies and action shall include the pattern and intensity of land use, the provision of public facilities including transportation and other governmental services, the effective development and utilization of human and natural resources, the identification and evaluation of area needs including housing, employment, education, and health and the formulation of programs to meet such needs, surveys of structures and sites determined to be of historic, cultural, archaeological, or architectural significance or value, long-range physical and fiscal plans for governmental policies and action, and coordination of all related plans and activities of the state and local governments and agencies concerned. The comprehensive plan, with the accompanying maps, plats, charts, and descriptive and explanatory materials, shall show the recommendations concerning the physical development pattern of such area, taking into account the availability of and need for conserving land and other irreplaceable natural resources, the preservation of sites of historic, cultural, archaeological, and architectural significance or value, the projected changes in size, movement, and composition of population, the necessity for expanding housing and employment opportunities, and the need for methods of achieving modernization, simplification, and improvements in governmental structures, systems, and procedures related to growth objectives. The comprehensive plan shall, among other things, show:

(1) The general location, character, and extent of existing and proposed streets and highways and railroad, air, and other transportation routes and terminals;

(2) Existing and proposed public ways, parks, grounds, and open spaces;

(3) The general location, character, and extent of schools, school grounds, and other educational facilities and properties;

(4) The general location and extent of existing and proposed public utility installations;

(5) The general location and extent of community development and housing activities; and

(6) The general location of existing and proposed public buildings, structures, and facilities.

The comprehensive plan of the county shall include a land-use plan showing the proposed general distribution and general location of business and industry, residential areas, utilities, and recreational, educational, and other categories of public and private land uses. The land-use plan shall also show the recommended standards of population density based upon population estimates and providing for activities for which space should be supplied within the area covered by the plan. The comprehensive plan shall include and show proposals for acquisition, extension, widening, narrowing, removal, vacation, abandonment, sale, and other actions affecting public improvements.

The planning director shall be responsible for preparing a comprehensive plan of the county and amendments and extensions thereto, and for submitting such plans and modifications to the county planning commission for its consideration and action. The commission shall review such plans and modifications, and those which the county board may suggest, and, after holding at least one public hearing on each proposed action, shall provide its recommendations to the county board of commissioners within a reasonable period of time. The county board of commissioners shall review the recommendations of the planning commission and, after at least one public hearing on each proposed action, shall adopt or reject such plans in whole or in part and with or without modifications.

No resolution which deals with the acquisition, extension, widening, narrowing, removal, vacation, abandonment, sale or other change relating to any public way, transportation, route, ground, open space, building, or structure, or other public improvement of a character included in the comprehensive plan, the subject matter of which has not been reported on by the planning department under the provisions of section 23-174.06, shall be adopted by the county board until such resolution shall first have been referred to the planning department and that department has reported regarding conformity of the proposed action with the comprehensive plan. The department's report shall specify the character and degree of conformity or nonconformity of each proposed action to the comprehensive plan, and a report in writing thereon shall be rendered to the county board within thirty days after the date of receipt of the referral unless a longer period is granted by the county board. If the department fails to render any such report within the allotted time, the approval of the department may be presumed by the county board.

The planning director shall be responsible for the preparation of the zoning resolution and for submitting it to the county planning commission for its consideration and action. The commission shall review the proposed zoning resolution and, after holding at least one public hearing on each proposed action, shall approve or reject it in whole or in part and with or without modifications. When approved by the commission, the proposed resolution shall be submitted to the county board for its consideration, and the zoning resolution shall become effective when adopted by the county board. The county board of such county may amend, supplement, or otherwise modify the zoning resolution. Any such proposed amendment, supplement, or modification shall first be submitted to the planning commission for its recommendations and report. The planning commission shall hold at least one public hearing with relation thereto, before submitting its recommendations and report. After the recommendations and report of the planning commission have been filed, the county board shall, before enacting any proposed amendment, supplement, or modification, hold a public hearing in relation thereto. Notice of the time and place of hearings above referred to shall be given by publication thereof in a paper of general circulation in the county at least one time at least five days before the date of hearing. Notice with reference to proposed amendments, supplements, or modifications of the zoning resolution shall also be posted in a conspicuous place on or near the property upon which the action is pending. Such notice shall be easily visible from the street or highway, and shall be posted at least five days before the hearing.

There may be created a board of zoning appeals comprised of five members appointed by the county board, which board shall have power to hear and decide appeals from any decision or order of the building inspector or other officers charged with the enforcement of the zoning resolution in those cases where it is alleged that such decision or order is in error. The board shall also have power to decide upon petitions for variances and, subject to such standards and procedures as the county board may provide in the zoning resolution, to vary the strict application of the height, area, parking, or density requirements to the extent necessary to permit the owner a reasonable use of his land in those specific instances where there are peculiar, exceptional, and unusual circumstances in connection with a specific parcel of land, which circumstances are not generally found within the locality or neighborhood concerned. The board may also have such related duties as the county board may assign. The county board may provide for appeals from a decision of the board.

In any county which has adopted county zoning regulations, the county board, by resolution, may make regulations as may be necessary or expedient to promote the public health, safety, and welfare, including regulations to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious, infectious, or malignant diseases; to provide rules for the prevention, abatement, and removal of nuisances, including the pollution of air and water; and make and prescribe regulations for the construction, location, and keeping in order of all slaughterhouses, stockyards, warehouses, sheds, stables, barns, commercial feedlots, dairies, junk and salvage yards, or other places where offensive matter is kept, or is likely to accumulate. Such regulations shall be not inconsistent with the general laws of the state and shall apply to all of the county except within the limits of any incorporated city or village, and except within the unincorporated area where a city or village has been granted zoning jurisdiction and is exercising such jurisdiction.

When a county board employs a person and places in his or her charge and under his or her supervision trucks, automobiles, snowplows, road graders, or other vehicles and authorizes such employee to use them upon a public road, the county board shall purchase liability insurance to protect any such employee against loss occasioned by any acts of negligence resulting from the use of such vehicles or equipment. The insurance shall be purchased by public bidding at least once every three years in a limit of not less than one hundred thousand dollars to cover the bodily injury or injuries of one person and, subject to the limitation to one person, one million dollars to cover bodily injury or injuries to more than one person in the same accident and one hundred thousand dollars to cover property damage. The insurance policy may, in the discretion of the county board, contain a deductible provision for up to one thousand dollars of any claim in which event the county shall be considered a self-insurer for that amount. The insurance and bidding requirements of this section shall not apply to a county which is a member of a risk management pool formed pursuant to the Intergovernmental Risk Management Act. Any judgment against any employee shall not be collectible in whole or in part from any member of the county board.

(1) In addition to the powers granted by section 23-104, a county may, in the manner specified by sections 23-187 to 23-193, regulate the following subjects by ordinance:

(a) Parking of motor vehicles on public roads, highways, and rights-of-way as it pertains to snow removal for and access by emergency vehicles to areas within the county;

(b) Motor vehicles as defined in section 60-339 that are abandoned on public or private property;

(c) Low-speed vehicles as described and operated pursuant to section 60-6,380;

(d) Golf car vehicles as described and operated pursuant to section 60-6,381;

(e) Graffiti on public or private property;

(f) False alarms from electronic security systems that result in requests for emergency response from law enforcement or other emergency responders;

(g) Violation of the public peace and good order of the county by disorderly conduct, lewd or lascivious behavior, or public nudity;

(h) Peddlers, hawkers, or solicitors operating for commercial purposes. If a county adopts an ordinance under this subdivision, the ordinance shall provide for registration of any such peddler, hawker, or solicitor without any fee and allow the operation or conduct of any registered peddler, hawker, or solicitor in all areas of the county where the county has jurisdiction and where a city or village has not otherwise regulated such operation or conduct; and

(i) Operation of vehicles on any highway or restrictions on the weight of vehicles pursuant to section 60-681.

(2) For the enforcement of any ordinance authorized by this section, a county may impose fines, forfeitures, or penalties and provide for the recovery, collection, and enforcement of such fines, forfeitures, or penalties. A county may also authorize such other measures for the enforcement of ordinances as may be necessary and proper. A fine enacted pursuant to this section shall not exceed five hundred dollars for each offense.

A county board shall provide notice of the time when any county ordinance is set for consideration before the board. Such notice shall appear at least once a week for two weeks in a newspaper published or of general circulation in the county. The notice shall contain the entire wording of the ordinance and the time and place of the public hearing. The last publication of the notice shall be not less than five days nor more than two weeks prior to the time set for the public hearing on the adoption of the ordinance. A county board shall not take final action on the proposed ordinance until after at least one public hearing has been held thereon by the county board at which public comment regarding the proposed ordinance was permitted.

A county ordinance may be proved by the certificate of the county clerk under the seal of the county. The adoption and publication of the ordinance shall be sufficiently proved by a certificate under the seal of the county, from the county clerk, showing (1) that such ordinance was adopted and (2) when and in what paper the ordinance was published or when, by whom, and where the ordinance was posted.

(1) A county ordinance shall be read by title on three different days unless three-fourths of the county board members, following the public hearing on the ordinance, vote to suspend this requirement. If such requirement is suspended, the ordinance shall be read by title or number and then moved for final adoption. Three-fourths of the county board members may require a reading of any such ordinance in full before adoption under either procedure set out in this section. The votes of each member shall be called aloud and recorded. To adopt any ordinance, the concurrence of a majority of the whole number of the members of the county board shall be required.

(2) A county ordinance shall contain no subject which is not clearly expressed in the title, and no ordinance or section thereof shall be revised or amended unless the new ordinance contains the entire ordinance or section as revised or amended and the ordinance or section that is amended is repealed.

The style of county ordinances shall be: "Be it ordained by the county board of the county of ...........," and all county ordinances shall, within fifteen days after they are adopted, be published in some newspaper published or of general circulation within the county.

(1) No ordinance adopted pursuant to sections 23-187 to 23-193 shall be effective within the corporate boundaries of any incorporated city or village located in whole or in part within the county. No ordinance adopted pursuant to sections 23-187 to 23-193 shall be effective within the area outside of the corporate boundaries of any city or village in which such city or village has been granted and is exercising powers by ordinance on a similar subject matter. Every county ordinance adopted pursuant to sections 23-187 to 23-193 shall include one section defining the area of the county within which the county ordinance is effective. The ordinance shall be amended to reflect any changes in the area of the county's jurisdiction resulting from (a) annexation by a city or village, (b) action by a city or village to adopt an ordinance regarding similar subject matter to that of the county ordinance if the city or village ordinance is to be effective in areas beyond its corporate boundary, or (c) any changes in the area of jurisdiction of the city or village regarding such city or village ordinance.

(2) Before a county adopts an ordinance under sections 23-187 to 23-193, the county clerk shall provide a copy of the text of the ordinance to the clerk of each city and village within the county no later than seven days after the first reading of the ordinance or the public hearing on the ordinance, whichever occurs first. Within seven days after receiving a copy of the ordinance, the city or village shall respond to the county and provide a copy of any ordinance specifying where the city or village is enforcing an ordinance on similar subject matter outside its corporate boundaries. Any ordinance adopted by the county shall not be effective in the area in which the city or village is exercising jurisdiction. Prior to the adoption of the county ordinance, the section of the ordinance that defines the area of county jurisdiction shall be amended to show the removal of the area of the jurisdiction of such city or village as indicated in the city or village ordinance provided to the county from the description of the area within which the county ordinance will be effective. An ordinance adopted under sections 23-187 to 23-193 shall not be effective until fifteen days after its adoption.

(3) Any city or village located in whole or in part within a county that has adopted an ordinance pursuant to sections 23-187 to 23-193 which (a) annexes any territory, (b) adopts an ordinance on similar subject matter to that of the county ordinance and extends the jurisdiction of the city or village under such ordinance to areas beyond its corporate boundaries, or (c) changes the area beyond the corporate boundaries of the city or village within which the city or village exercises jurisdiction by ordinance on similar subject matter to that of the county ordinance shall provide to the county clerk a copy of the ordinance establishing and delineating its jurisdiction or any change to that jurisdiction within seven days after the adoption of the relevant city or village ordinance. Upon the effective date of the city or village ordinance, the county ordinance shall cease to be effective within the area in which the city or village has assumed jurisdiction. The county board shall promptly amend its ordinance to reflect the change in the area within which the county ordinance is effective.

A county attorney may sign and prosecute a complaint in the county court for a violation of an ordinance of the county in which he or she serves as county attorney. No county may prosecute a complaint for a violation of an ordinance unless such county has on file with the court a current copy of the ordinances of such county. Subject to guidelines provided by the State Court Administrator, the court shall prescribe the form in which such ordinances shall be filed.

At any general election that may be held in the several counties of the state, the qualified voters in any county may vote for or against township organization in such county.

(1) In counties not under township organization, a registered voter may file a petition or petitions for the submission of the question of township organization. The petition or petitions shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to five percent of the voters registered in the county at the preceding statewide general election.

(2) The petition or petitions shall be filed in the office of the election commissioner or county clerk by September 1 of the year of the general election at which the petitioners wish to have the question submitted for a vote. If such petition or petitions are filed in conformance with this subsection, the question shall be submitted to the registered voters at the next general election held after the filing of the petition or petitions. The questions on the ballot shall be respectively: For changing to township organization with a seven-member county board of supervisors; or Against changing to township organization.

(3) Elections shall be conducted as provided in the Election Act.

If it shall appear by the returns of said election that a majority of the legal voters of such county voting upon the proposition are for township organization, then the office of county commissioner and the board of county commissioners shall cease to exist on and after the meeting of the supervisors of the county as hereinafter provided, and the county so voting for the adoption of township organization shall thereafter be governed by and subject to the provisions of sections 23-201 to 23-299.

On the second Tuesday after the election under section 23-201 adopting township organization in any county, the county attorney, county clerk, and county treasurer of the county shall meet at the county seat of such county and shall, within three days from and after the first day of meeting, divide such county into seven districts to be known as supervisor districts. Such districts shall be divided as nearly as possible with regular boundary lines and in regular and compact form and shapes, and each of such districts shall as nearly as possible have the same number of inhabitants as any other district. No voting precinct shall be divided by any such district, except that in counties having cities of more than one thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census and when such cities have more inhabitants than the average outlying district, the county board shall add enough contiguous territory to such city so that the inhabitants in such city and contiguous territory equal the inhabitants of two of the other districts. The county attorney, county clerk, and county treasurer shall then divide the tract thus segregated into two supervisor districts with population as nearly equal as possible, and when so divided, each of the districts shall elect one supervisor who shall reside in such supervisor district and be nominated and elected by the registered voters residing in that district. If any such city has more than the requisite inhabitants for two supervisor districts, then sufficient outlying territory may be added to such city to make three supervisor districts. The supervisor in each supervisor district in such city shall reside in such supervisor district and be nominated and elected by the registered voters residing in that supervisor district. The remainder of the county outside of such city districts shall be divided so as to create a total of seven supervisor districts, except that if any county under township organization has gone to an at-large basis for election of supervisors under section 32-554, the board of supervisors of such county may stay on the at-large voting basis.

When the county has been divided as provided in section 23-204, the county attorney, county clerk and county treasurer shall at once proceed to number such districts from one to seven and in case of a city district as contemplated in said section, it shall give such city district two numbers, one odd and one even.

In the event any city having one thousand inhabitants or more as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census shall have enough inhabitants to form one supervisor district, then such city shall constitute one district, or in case the number of inhabitants is fewer than the number in the other districts, then so much contiguous territory shall be added to such city to give it sufficient inhabitants for one supervisor district. Villages may be enumerated with general districts, counting all the inhabitants therein as being within the districts wherein such town or village is situated. No village, or any part thereof, shall be included in or made a part of any supervisor district containing a city having one thousand inhabitants or more as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census, or containing any part of such city.

The county attorney, county clerk, and county treasurer shall forthwith appoint seven supervisors, who shall duly qualify and file their oath of office and bond with the county judge within ten days after such appointment.

The newly appointed supervisors shall, after their bonds are duly approved, meet the first Tuesday in December following the election adopting township organization. They shall at once organize by electing one of the seven supervisors as chairman, who shall appoint all the necessary committees. From and after such meeting and organization the powers of the county commissioners shall cease and the board so organized shall have all the powers, and perform all and singular the duties performed by county boards as contemplated by law.

When the board of supervisors shall have been organized as stated in section 23-208, they shall at once divide the county into townships. The board of supervisors shall divide the county into townships of sufficient population and territory to provide a workable township organization.

Wherever a city of the second class in a county under township organization forms a part of one or more townships in any county, the county board of said county is empowered to create a new township out of said city, whenever requested so to do by a petition or petitions signed by sixty percent of the electors of said city, and also by sixty percent of the electors of the outlying part of the township or townships, of which said city forms a part; Provided, however, that before final action is taken in such matter by said board, two weeks' notice of the filing of such petition, or petitions, and of the time when and place where a hearing thereon will be had, shall be given by publication in some newspaper published in said city, if any such there be.

If any change is made in the corporate boundaries of any city of the second class, after same has been formed into a separate township, the county board of the county in which said city is situated shall have the power to make corresponding changes in the township boundaries of the said city township without either a petition for or notice of such proposed changes.

The board shall also at the meeting mentioned in sections 23-208 and 23-209 designate the name of each town, and may change the name of any town at any other meeting of such board upon a petition of a majority of the voters of such town.

The county clerk shall record in a book kept for that purpose the names and boundaries of each town as designated by the county board, and shall forthwith forward an abstract thereof to the Auditor of Public Accounts of this state, who shall make a record of the same.

The county board shall also, at the meeting at which it shall fix and name the several townships, appoint for each township some suitable person, who is an elector within the township, as chairman of the township board. The person so appointed shall, on or before the first Tuesday in January next ensuing, take the oath of office and file a bond as provided by law. Such bond shall be approved by the board as provided by law. In case such person shall neglect or refuse to qualify, the county board shall at its regular January meeting appoint another who shall qualify as above stated. The person so appointed shall hold said office until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified as provided by law.

The county board shall on or before the third Tuesday in December following the adoption of township organization, appoint for each township one town clerk and one treasurer who are qualified electors residing in the township. Such persons so appointed shall on or before the first Tuesday in January next ensuing take the oath of office and give bond as provided by law. The county board shall approve such bonds at its January meeting or shall meet and approve all bonds given to fill vacancies provided for in this section and section 23-214 before the first day of April next ensuing. In the event the persons appointed shall fail or refuse to qualify by the time named above, the county board shall name some other person or persons possessing the qualifications mentioned in this section. The persons so appointed shall qualify and hold their offices for the term.

The corporate name of each town shall be the town of (name of town), and all acts done by the town and all actions by or against the town shall be in its corporate name.

The officers of the township board shall be elected pursuant to the Election Act at the next general election held in November following appointment and shall have the qualifications required by sections 23-214 and 23-215.

Every town shall have corporate capacity to exercise the powers granted thereto, or necessarily implied, and no others. It shall have the power (1) to sue and be sued; (2) to acquire, by purchase, gift, or devise, and to hold property, both real and personal, for the use of its inhabitants, and to sell and convey the same; and (3) to make all such contracts as may be necessary in the exercise of the powers of the town. In exercising the powers of the township, it may enter into compacts with another township or townships to purchase and jointly own road equipment.

The electors present at the annual town meeting shall have power:

(1) To make all orders for sale, conveyance, regulation, or use of the corporate property of the town that may be deemed to be conducive to the interests of the inhabitants;

(2) To take all necessary measures and give directions for the exercise of their corporate powers;

(3) To provide for the institution, defense, or disposition of suits at law or in equity in which the town is interested;

(4) To take such action as shall induce the planting and cultivation of trees along the highways in such towns and to protect and preserve trees standing along or on highways;

(5) To construct and keep in repair public wells and to regulate the use thereof;

(6) To prevent the exposure or deposit of offensive or injurious substances within the limits of the town;

(7) To make such bylaws, rules, and regulations as may be deemed necessary to carry into effect the powers herein granted and to impose such fines and penalties, not exceeding twenty dollars for one offense, as shall be deemed proper, except when a fine or penalty is already allowed by law, which fine or penalty shall be imposed by the county court;

(8) To direct the raising of money by taxation, subject to approval by the county board, (a) for constructing and repairing roads and bridges within the town to the extent allowed by law; (b) for the prosecution or defense of suits by or against the town or in which it is interested; (c) for any other purpose required by law; (d) for the purpose of building or repairing bridges over streams dividing the town from any other town; (e) for the compensation of town officers at the rate allowed by law and, when no rate is fixed for such amount, as the electors may direct; and (f) for the care and maintenance of abandoned or neglected cemeteries within the town, except that the town board shall not expend more than one hundred dollars in any one year for such purposes. When any county discontinues township organization, the county shall care for and maintain such abandoned or neglected cemeteries;

(9) To guard against the destruction of property in the town by prairie fire;

(10) To restrain, regulate, or prohibit the running at large of cattle, horses, mules, asses, swine, sheep, and goats and determine when such animals may go at large, if at all. All votes thereon shall be by ballot;

(11) To authorize the distraining, impounding, and sale of cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, and swine for penalties incurred and costs of proceedings. The owner of such animals shall have the right to redeem the same from the purchaser thereof at any time within one month from the day of sale by paying the amount of the purchaser's bid, with reasonable costs for their keeping and interest at the rate of seven percent per annum;

(12) To purchase, hold, plat, improve, and maintain grounds for cemetery purposes; to sell and convey lots in such cemeteries for the burial of the dead and to contract with the purchaser to perpetually care for and keep in order the lots so sold; and to elect trustees who shall have power to manage such cemetery under such bylaws as the electors of the township at the annual town meeting shall from time to time adopt. When any county discontinues township organization, the county shall care for and maintain such abandoned or neglected cemeteries; and

(13) To hold an election or town meeting to exceed the levy limits established by section 77-3443.

In case any town in any county wherein township organization may be adopted, shall refuse or neglect to organize and elect town officers at the time fixed by law, it shall be the duty of the county board, upon the affidavit of any freeholder resident of said town, filed in the office of the county clerk, setting forth the facts, to proceed at any regular or special meeting of the board and appoint necessary town officers for such town, and the persons so appointed shall hold their respective offices until others are chosen or appointed in their places, and shall have the same power and be subject to the same duties and penalties as if they had been duly chosen by the electors of the town.

Whenever it shall be made to appear to the county board that the town officers appointed by them or by any preceding board, as provided in section 23-225, have failed to qualify as required by law, so that such town cannot become organized, the board may annex such town to any adjoining town, and the same town so annexed shall thereafter form and constitute a part of such adjoining town.

The citizens of the several towns of this state, qualified by the Constitution of Nebraska to vote at general elections, shall assemble and hold annual town meetings at their respective towns at the time of the budget hearing as provided by the Nebraska Budget Act. Notice of the time and the place of holding such meeting, after the first meeting, shall be given by the town clerk by publishing the notice in a newspaper in or of general circulation in the town at least ten days prior to the meeting.

The electors of each town shall have power at their annual town meetings to elect such town officers as may be required to be chosen to direct the institution and defense of suits at law or equity in which such town may be a party in interest; to direct such sum to be raised in such town for the support and maintenance of roads and bridges, or for any other purpose provided by law as they deem necessary; to take measures and give directions for the exercise of their corporate powers; to impose penalties upon persons offending against any such regulations; and to make rules, regulations, and bylaws necessary to carry into effect the powers herein granted.

It shall be the duty of the town clerk to cause all bylaws, rules, and regulations of the town, within twenty days after their adoption, to be published by posting in three public places in the town or by one insertion in any newspaper published in the county; but all such bylaws, rules, and regulations shall take effect and be in force from the date of their adoption, unless otherwise directed by the electors of the town.

A town meeting shall be held when the town treasurer, town clerk, and the chairman of the board or any two of them together with at least twelve freeholders of the town, shall in writing file in the office of the town clerk a statement that a special meeting is necessary in the best interests of the town setting forth the object of the meeting. The town clerk or, in his absence, the town treasurer shall post notices in five of the most public places of the town giving at least ten days' notice of such special meeting. It shall set forth the objects of the meeting as contained in the statement filed as aforesaid. The place of holding special town meetings shall be at the place where the last annual town meeting was held, but in case such place may be found inconvenient, the meeting may adjourn to the nearest convenient place; Provided, not less than one-third of the electors of a town shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any special town meeting.

The electors at special town meetings, when properly convened, shall have full power to fill any vacancies in any of the town offices when the same shall not already have been filled by appointment; to provide for raising money for repairing highways or buildings, or repairing bridges in case of emergency, and to direct the repairing or building thereof; to act upon any subject within the power of the electors at any annual town meeting which was postponed at the preceding annual town meeting for want of time, to be considered at a future special town meeting; but special town meetings shall have no power to act upon any subject not embraced in the statement of the notice calling the same.

The town clerk elected or appointed shall be the clerk of the town meeting, and shall keep faithfully minutes of its proceedings, in which he shall enter at length every order or direction, and all rules and regulations made by such meeting. If the town clerk is absent from the town meeting, the town treasurer shall perform the duties of the town clerk. The person keeping the minutes shall sign the same.

All questions upon motions made at town meetings shall be determined by a majority of the electors voting, and the presiding officer shall ascertain and declare the result of the votes upon each question.

When the result of any vote shall, upon such declaration, be questioned by one or more of the electors present, the presiding officer shall make the vote certain by causing the voters to rise and be counted, or by dividing off.

No person shall be a voter at any town meeting unless he shall be a registered voter, and a resident of the town wherein he shall offer to vote.

If any person offering to vote at any election, or upon any question arising at such town meeting, shall be challenged as an unqualified voter, the presiding officer shall proceed thereupon in like manner as the judges of general elections are required to do, adapting the oath to the circumstances of the town meeting, and the laws in force in regard to false swearing and illegal voting at general elections shall apply to false swearing and illegal voting at town meetings.

The minutes of the proceedings of every town meeting shall be filed in the office of the town clerk within ten days after such town meeting.

Every person elected or appointed to the office of town clerk, town treasurer, or town chairman, before he enters upon the duties of his office, and within ten days after he shall be notified of his election or appointment, shall take and subscribe before some authorized person an oath or affirmation to faithfully and impartially perform the duties of his office, as prescribed by law, and shall cause a certificate of the same to be filed in the office of the town clerk.

If any person chosen or appointed to any town office shall neglect to take or subscribe such oath, and cause a certificate thereof to be filed as above required, such neglect shall be deemed to be a refusal to serve.

It shall be the duty of every person retiring from a town office to deliver to his successor in office all the records, books, papers, money, and property belonging to such office held by him.

The town treasurer of each town shall give bond to the town in the sum of two thousand dollars, or double the amount of money that may come into his hands, to be fixed by the town board. Whenever it shall be ascertained that such bond has been forfeited, suit in the name of such town on said bond may be brought by any resident freeholder of such town.

All township funds withdrawn from the county treasury, or collected directly by township officers, shall be deposited within ten days in depositories approved for the deposit of county funds of such county in an account in the name of the township.

The town clerk shall prosecute in the name of his town, or otherwise as may be necessary, for all penalties given by law to such town or for its use, and for which no other officer is specially directed to prosecute; and he shall receive all accounts which may be presented to him against the town.

In all counties the care of the poor shall be under the charge of the county board as provided by law.

The town clerk of each town in this state shall have the custody of all records, books and papers of the town, and shall file all certificates of oaths and other papers required by law to be filed in his office. He shall have power to administer the oath of office to all town officers and it is hereby made the duty of the town clerk to administer all oaths which may be required in the transaction of any township business in the town where he may be clerk; Provided, nothing herein shall be so construed as to deprive any other person qualified by law from administering said oaths.

The town clerk in counties under township organization shall proceed to prepare the township budget as prescribed in the Nebraska Budget Act.

The town clerk shall, within ten days after any township meeting at which any action was had for raising money, deliver to the county clerk a certified copy or copies of all entries of votes for the raising of such money, and it shall be the duty of the county clerk to lay all such matters before the county board at their next meeting.

In each town, the clerk, the treasurer, and the chairperson of the board shall examine the accounts of the overseers of highways for money received and disbursed by them and shall require all officers to account to such board for any and all such money received and disbursed by such officers in their official capacity. Such board shall examine and audit all charges and claims against the town and the compensation of all town officers. In case of the absence of any of such officers or their failure to attend any meeting of the board, the two attending may appoint any qualified elector to act with them in the place of the absentee, and the appointee shall act, only for such meeting, in the place of such absentee as a member of such board. Each township shall make an annual budget statement as set out in the Nebraska Budget Act. At its expense, the county board may require an audit of the accounts of any township within the county, whenever in its judgment such audit is necessary. The county board may contract with the Auditor of Public Accounts or select a licensed public accountant or certified public accountant or firm of such accountants to conduct the audit. The original copy of the audit shall be filed in the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts.

The board shall meet at the town clerk's office or other convenient place for the purpose of examining and auditing the town accounts in each fiscal year at such times as the interest of the town may require. Notices of such meetings shall be published once at least ten days before such meeting in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the county.

The accounts so audited, and those rejected, if any, shall be delivered with the certificates of the auditors, or a majority of them, to the town clerk, to be by him kept on file for the inspection of all persons. They shall also be produced by the town clerk at the next annual town meeting, and shall be there publicly read by him.

The town clerk shall draw and sign all orders upon the town treasurer for all money to be disbursed by the township, and all warrants upon the county treasurer for money raised for town purposes, or apportioned to the town by the county or state, and present the same to the chairman of the board, to be countersigned by him, and no warrant shall be paid until so countersigned. No warrant shall be countersigned by the chairman of the board until the amount for which the warrant is drawn is written upon its face. The clerk and chairman of the board shall keep a record in separate books furnished by the county, of the amount, date, purpose for which drawn, and name of person to whom issued, of each warrant signed or countersigned by them. All claims and charges against the town, duly audited and allowed by the town board, shall be paid by order so drawn. No order shall be drawn on the town treasurer in excess of seventy-five percent of the amount of taxes levied for the current year on the property of said town, subject to be expended by said town, unless the money is in the treasury of said town to pay the order so drawn on presentation. When any order drawn as aforesaid is presented to the town treasurer for payment, and is not paid for want of funds, the town treasurer shall endorse on said order presented and not paid for want of funds, and shall note in a book of registration, to be kept for that purpose, the fact of the presentation and nonpayment of said order; and said order shall draw interest at six percent per annum from the date of presentation until there are sufficient funds in the hands of said treasurer to pay the same, after paying all orders drawn against such tax levy presented prior thereto, and said orders shall be paid in the order of their presentation and registration. The money received by the town treasurer as the tax levied in any year shall be applied first in payment of the orders drawn against said levy; and such levy shall be deemed specifically appropriated, so far as the same may be lawfully expended by said town, to the payment of orders drawn against said levy.

The board shall make a certificate to be signed by a majority of its members specifying the value of the claim and to whom the amount is allowed, and shall cause such certificate to be delivered to the town clerk of said town, to be by him kept on file for the inspection of all persons.

The following shall be deemed town charges: The compensation of town officers for services rendered their respective towns, contingent expenses necessarily incurred for the use and benefit of the town, the money authorized by the vote of the town meeting for any town purposes, and every sum directed by law to be raised for town purposes.

The money necessary to defray the town charges of each town shall be levied on the taxable property in such town in the manner prescribed by the Nebraska Budget Act. The rate of taxes for town purposes shall not exceed twenty-eight cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of the taxable property in such township for all purposes subject to approval of the county board. The proceeds of such tax shall be paid by the county treasurer to the town treasurer on or before the fifteenth day of each month or more frequently as provided in section 77-1759.

The members of the town board shall be entitled to a per diem as fixed by the town board at its annual meeting.

No town officer shall be entitled to any fee or compensation from any individual elected or chosen to a town office for administering to him the oath of office.

When any controversy or cause of action shall exist between any towns of this state, or between any town and individual or corporation, proceedings may be had or suits brought, either at law or in equity, for the purpose of trying and finally settling such controversies. In all such suits and proceedings the town shall sue and be sued by its corporate name, except when town officers shall be authorized by law to sue in their names of office for the benefit of the town.

In all legal proceedings against the town by name, the first process and all other writs or proceedings required to be served shall be served in the manner provided for service of a summons in a civil action, and whenever any suit or proceedings shall be commenced against the town, it shall be the duty of the town clerk to attend to the defense thereof, and lay before the electors of the town, at the first town meeting, a full statement of such suit or proceedings for their consideration and direction.

All judgments recovered against a town or against town officers, in actions prosecuted by or against them in their names of office, shall not be collected by execution, but shall be a town charge and when levied and collected shall be paid to the person or persons to whom the same shall have been adjudged.

The county board shall meet at such times and in such manner as provided by law. Each supervisor shall have special charge of the expenditure of money appropriated out of the county treasury by the board for roads, bridges, and culverts within his district, except in city districts when the board shall direct as to which one of the supervisors shall supervise the expenditure of the money appropriated as aforesaid. Said money so appropriated shall not include any money paid as automobile or motor vehicle registration or license fees and shall not be distributed by said board to the individual members thereof to be by them personally paid out upon their own private account nor in any manner whatever; but shall remain in the county treasury until a claim or claims for labor performed shall be properly verified, approved by said supervisor, filed with the county clerk, allowed by the county board, and a warrant drawn therefor.

None of the provisions of sections 23-201 to 23-299, with respect to the meetings of electors of their respective towns and their powers, shall apply to towns whose limits are coextensive with cities of the primary, first and second class, but such cities, and the inhabitants thereof, shall continue to be governed by the laws specially applicable thereto, except that the inhabitants thereof shall have such power as is conferred by law or election in the choosing of supervisors, assessors, judges and clerks of election, and other county officers.

For the purpose of ascertaining the number of inhabitants in the several districts provided by section 23-204, the supervisors or commissioners, as the case may be, shall ascertain the whole number of votes cast at the last preceding general election held within the county, and shall multiply the number of votes so cast by five. This result shall be taken as the whole number of inhabitants of the county or any part thereof as the case may be, and the supervisor districts shall be divided upon the foregoing basis and in accordance with the results thus obtained.

County supervisors shall be elected as provided in section 32-529. Elections shall be conducted as provided in the Election Act. In city districts, the ballots shall state which one of the supervisors is elected for the odd-numbered district and which one for the even-numbered district.

A supervisor elected after November 1986 need not be a resident of the district when he or she files for election as a supervisor from a given district, but a supervisor shall reside in the district in which he or she holds office.

The supervisor districts may be changed after each state and federal census if it appears from an examination that the population has become unequal among the several districts. In the event of any change or amendment of sections 23-201 to 23-299 which may necessitate a change in the boundaries of such supervisor districts or any one of them, the county board shall make such change in boundary at its next regular meeting after such change or amendment takes effect. Those counties under township organization may change their procedures for electing members to their governing board from district to at large or from at large to district following the provisions of section 32-554.

In the absence of any special provision governing the board of supervisors, such board shall be governed by and perform all the duties and have all the powers applicable to county boards as provided by the general laws of this state.

Any incompleted matter or business pending before any board of county commissioners of any county, upon the adoption of township organization by such county, shall be completed and disposed of by the new board the same as if commenced before it.

The regular meetings of the county board shall be held in January.

Special meetings of the county board shall be held only when requested by at least one-third of the members of the board, which request shall be in writing, addressed to the clerk of the board, and specifying the time and object of such meeting. Upon receipt of such request, the clerk shall immediately notify in writing each member of the board of the time and object of such meeting, and shall cause notice of such meeting to be published in some newspaper of the county, if any shall be published therein; Provided, no business shall be transacted at any special meeting except such as is specified in the call.

The board at its regular meeting of each year shall organize by choosing one of its number as chairman, who shall preside at all meetings of the board during the year; and in case of his absence at any meeting, the members present shall choose one of their number as temporary chairman.

The supervisors shall severally lay before the board, at the first regular meeting after election, their certificates of election, which shall be examined by the board, and if found regular, shall be filed in the office of the county clerk.

In addition to the powers hereinbefore conferred upon all county boards, the board of supervisors shall have power (1) to change the boundaries of towns and to create new towns whenever the board determines that the existing towns are not workable towns and (2) to divide the county into convenient voting precincts and, as occasion may require, erect new ones, subdivide precincts already established, and alter voting precinct lines. When a voting precinct has less than seventy-five registered electors, the board of supervisors shall annex such voting precinct to another voting precinct except when the county is divided into more than two legislative districts. Any precinct having two hundred or more square miles and having more than twenty-five electors shall be excluded from being annexed to another voting precinct.

A majority of all the supervisors elected in any county shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and all questions which shall arise at meetings shall be determined by the votes of a majority of the supervisors present, except in cases otherwise provided for.

The chairman of the board of supervisors shall have power to administer an oath to any person concerning any matter submitted to the board, or connected with their powers and duties.

Whenever the county board shall create a new town or change the name of an existing town, the proceedings in giving a name to such new town or changing the name of an existing town, shall be as follows: The proposed name to be given to such new town, or existing town, shall be filed in the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts, there to be retained for at least one year; and the auditor, at any time after the filing of such proposed name, shall, upon application of the board, grant his certificate stating that such proposed name, from information appearing in his office, has not been adopted by any city, town, village or municipal corporation in this state. This certificate must be obtained by the board before any action whatever shall be taken by the board toward making such change of name; and all proceedings instituted in any court or other place, under a name changed, without complying with the provisions of this section, shall be held to be void and of no effect. If such name has been adopted elsewhere in this state, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall so notify the board, whereupon another name shall be filed in his office, which shall there remain in a like manner as hereinbefore provided, and the certificate shall be issued by the auditor immediately after such filing, stating that such name has not been elsewhere adopted; whereupon the board may proceed to make such change of name, and not before. All proceedings pending, and all rights and privileges acquired in the name of such town, by such town, or by any person residing therein, shall be secured to such town or person, and such proceedings continued to final consummation in such name, the same as though the same had not been changed.

Any county which has township organization shall discontinue the same whenever the majority of the registered voters of the county voting on the question of such discontinuance so decide in the manner provided in sections 23-293 to 23-295.

(1) In counties under township organization, a registered voter may file a petition or petitions for submission of the question of the discontinuance of township organization to the registered voters of the county. The petition or petitions shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to five percent of the voters registered in the county at the preceding statewide general election. The petition or petitions shall be filed in the office of the election commissioner or county clerk by September 1 of the year of the general election at which the petitioners wish to have the question submitted for a vote. If such petition or petitions are filed in conformance with this subsection, the question shall be submitted to the registered voters at the next general election held after the filing of the petition or petitions.

(2) In counties under township organization, the county board may, by a resolution supported by a majority of the county board, submit the question of discontinuance of township organization to the registered voters of the county. If such resolution is filed in the office of the election commissioner or county clerk by September 1 of the year of the general election at which the board wishes to have the question submitted for a vote, the question shall be submitted to the registered voters at the next general election held after the filing of the resolution.

(3) A petition or county board resolution for discontinuance of township organization shall specify whether the county board of commissioners to be formed pursuant to section 23-151 will have five or seven members and that reorganization as a county board of commissioners will be effective at the expiration of the supervisors' terms of office in January of the third calendar year following the election to discontinue township organization.

(1) If the petition or county board resolution to discontinue township organization specifies a five-member county board of commissioners pursuant to section 23-293, the questions on the ballot shall be respectively: For discontinuance of township organization and creation of a five-member county board of commissioners; or Against changing to a commissioner form of county government.

(2) If the petition or county board resolution to discontinue township organization specifies a seven-member county board of commissioners pursuant to section 23-293, the questions on the ballot shall be respectively: For discontinuance of township organization and creation of a seven-member county board of commissioners; or Against changing to a commissioner form of county government.

(3) Elections shall be conducted regarding discontinuance of township organization as provided in the Election Act.

If a majority of the votes cast on the question are for the discontinuance of township organization, then such organization shall cease to exist effective at the expiration of the supervisors' terms of office in January of the third calendar year following such election.

When township organization ceases in any county as provided by sections 23-292 to 23-295, a commissioner system shall be established. The county board of commissioners shall have five or seven members as specified in the petition or county board resolution pursuant to section 23-293.

(1) If the voters vote for creation of a seven-member county board of commissioners, the commissioner districts shall be the same districts as the former supervisor districts unless changed at a later date as provided by section 23-149 and the supervisors whose terms have not expired on the effective date of the reorganization prescribed in section 23-293 shall continue in office as commissioners for the remainder of their unexpired terms.

(2)(a) If the voters vote for creation of a five-member county board of commissioners, the county clerk, county treasurer, and county attorney shall meet on the first Saturday after the first Tuesday of January following such election and redistrict the county into five commissioner districts with substantially equal population. Such redistricting shall be completed within thirty days after such initial meeting and shall specify where necessary the newly established districts which the members will serve for the balance of the unexpired terms as designated in subdivision (b) of this subsection. The newly established districts will not be effective until the effective date of the reorganization prescribed in section 23-293 except for purposes of being nominated and elected for office from such districts.

(b)(i) If three members of the county board of supervisors were elected for four-year terms at the election to create a five-member county board of commissioners, each such supervisor shall serve two of such years as a supervisor and two of such years as a commissioner representing the newly established districts as designated under subdivision (a) of this subsection and two commissioners shall be elected for four-year terms from the newly established districts at the next general election.

(ii) If four members of the county board of supervisors were elected for four-year terms at the election to create a five-member county board of commissioners, the three of such supervisors receiving the most votes at such election shall serve two of such years as a supervisor and two of such years as a commissioner representing the newly established districts as designated under subdivision (a) of this subsection, the fourth of such supervisors shall serve a term of two years as a supervisor, and two commissioners shall be elected for four-year terms from the newly established districts at the next general election.

The board of county commissioners, as herein provided, shall be the legal successor of the board of supervisors in said county. Such board shall thereafter be governed by the laws that shall govern counties not under township organization, and in the same manner that said county would have been governed had not such organization been adopted.

(1) If township organization is discontinued in any county, the town clerk in each town in such county, as soon as the county board is qualified pursuant to section 23-297, shall deposit with the county clerk of the county all town records, papers, and documents pertaining to the affairs of such town and certify to the county clerk the amount of indebtedness of such town outstanding at the time of such discontinuance. The county board shall have full and complete power to settle all the unfinished business of the town as fully as might have been done by the town itself and to dispose of any and all property belonging to such town, the proceeds of which, after paying all indebtedness, shall be disposed of by the county board for the benefit of the taxable inhabitants thereof by such board crediting all unexpended balances of the town to the district road fund and in no other manner. The county board, at such time as provided by law, shall levy a tax upon the taxable property of such town to pay any unliquidated indebtedness it may have outstanding.

(2) If township organization is discontinued in any county with a township library, the county board shall hold a public hearing to determine if the township library shall (a) be disposed of, (b) merge with a city, village, or county library, or (c) continue operation. Such public hearing shall occur within one year after voters have approved the discontinuance of township organization. Notice of such hearing shall be published for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. At the same time notice is first published, the county board shall provide notice of such hearing to the Nebraska Library Commission and the regional library system for the region in which the township library is located. No later than sixty days following such hearing, the county board shall adopt a resolution stating the disposition of the library and the effective date of such disposition prior to the discontinuance of township operation.

(1) If a township board has become inactive, the county board of supervisors shall hold a public hearing on the issue of termination of the township board. Notice of the hearing shall be published for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. For purposes of this section, a township board has become inactive when two or more board positions are vacant and the county board has been unable to fill such positions in accordance with sections 32-567 and 32-574 for six or more months.

(2) If no appointment to the township board has been made within thirty days after the public hearing because no resident of the township has provided written notice to the county board that he or she will serve on the township board, the county board may adopt a resolution to terminate the township board. The resolution shall state the effective date of the termination.

(3) Between the date of the public hearing and the date of termination of the township board, the business of the township shall be handled according to this subsection. No tax distributions shall be made to the township. Such funds shall be held by the county board in a separate township fund and disbursed only to pay outstanding obligations of the township board. All claims against the township board shall be filed with the county clerk and heard by the county board. Upon allowance of a claim, the county board shall direct the county clerk to draw a warrant upon the township fund. The warrant shall be signed by the chairperson of the county board and countersigned by the county clerk.

(4) Upon termination of a township board, the county board shall settle all unfinished business of the township board and shall dispose of all property under ownership of the township. Any proceeds of such sale shall first be disbursed to pay any outstanding obligations of the township, and remaining funds shall be credited to the road fund of the county board. Any remaining township board members serving as of the date of termination shall deposit with the county clerk all township records, papers, and documents pertaining to the affairs of the township and shall certify to the county clerk the amount of outstanding indebtedness in existence on the date of termination. The county board shall levy a tax upon the taxable property located within the boundaries of the township to pay for construction and maintenance of township roads within the township and any outstanding indebtedness not paid for under this subsection. The county board shall have continuing authority to construct and maintain township roads within the township and to perform the functions provided in section 23-224 until such time as the township board is reconstituted by general election that results in the filling of all vacancies on the township board.

(5) If more than fifty percent of the township boards in a county have been terminated, the county board shall file with the election commissioner or county clerk a resolution supporting the discontinuance of the township organization of the county pursuant to subsection (2) of section 23-293.

Upon petition filed with the county clerk of any county, signed by twenty percent of the qualified voters of said county as shown by the last preceding election and praying the county board to submit the proposition of ordering a resurvey, in whole or in part, of said county for the purpose of reestablishing the original corners of the United States survey, it shall be the duty of the county board to submit to the voters of the county at the next general election, or a special election, the question whether such resurvey shall be ordered; Provided, upon a like petition signed by twenty percent of the voters of any township or townships in said county, according to the government survey thereof, praying for the submission of a like proposition to the voters of said township or townships, it shall be the duty of the county board in like manner to submit the question at the next general election, or a special election, whether a resurvey shall be ordered in said township or townships. In every case the petition shall set forth in brief form the extent of the resurvey desired and whether it shall be of the township and county lines, or of the county, township and sectional lines, and an estimate as near as may be by the county surveyor of the probable expense of said resurvey. This statement and estimate shall be placed upon the official ballot with the following words thereafter: For resurvey proposition, and Against resurvey proposition.

The vote on the proposition shall be canvassed in the same manner as the vote on county officers. If a majority of the votes upon said proposition shall be in favor of the same, the county board shall within thirty days notify the Board of Educational Lands and Funds who shall require such resurvey to be made under its instructions by such competent deputy state surveyor as it shall appoint, assisted by the county surveyor of the county wherein the work is to be done, and according to the laws governing surveys by the State Surveyor and deputy state surveyors. Such surveys shall be made in accordance with the laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, governing the restoration of lost and obliterated corners and the specifications and instructions of the Board of Educational Lands and Funds. The field notes and plats of said resurvey shall be made in the manner and form prescribed by the Bureau of Land Management for the return of field notes and maps of United States surveys, and shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county where the work is done and duplicate copies filed in the office of the Board of Educational Lands and Funds at Lincoln, Nebraska, before being paid for; Provided, when any integral part of said resurvey is completed upon filing proof of its completion together with plats and field notes for the same approved as provided by law, the county board may allow payment for the part so completed.

In case the question of said resurvey has been submitted to the voters of the entire county, the cost of said resurvey may be paid out of the county general fund in case there is money there available for that purpose. If not, the cost may be provided for by an issue of bonds or special tax levy, in which case the proposition for bonds or special tax levy shall be submitted to the voters as a part of the resurvey proposition; Provided, when a proposition for resurvey has already been submitted to the voters of a county, and a majority have voted in favor of such proposition, it shall be legal for the county board to proceed to make contract for such resurvey in accordance with the provisions of sections 23-301 to 23-303 providing for such contract; provided further, in case the question has been submitted to the voters of any one or more governmental townships of any county under the provisions of section 23-301, and a majority have voted in favor of such proposition, the cost of said resurvey may be paid out of the general fund and said fund may be reimbursed the amount of such expenditure by the assessment of a special tax by the county board of such county equally apportioning the cost of such resurvey upon the area of all real estate in such governmental township or townships according to the acreage in each tract as shown by the original United States survey thereof, and including in addition thereto any accreted lands to such original United States survey as may be shown by the resurvey herein provided.

It shall be the duty of the county board of each organized county in the State of Nebraska to cause to be surveyed, by a competent surveyor, all irregular subdivided tracts or lots of land, other than regular government subdivisions, and cause the same to be platted on a scale of not less than ten inches to the mile; Provided, however, where any county has in its possession the correct field notes of any such tract or lot of land, a new survey shall not be necessary, but such tracts may be mapped from such field notes.

The board shall cause duplicate maps to be made, on which said tracts or lots of land shall be accurately described by lines and numbered from one up to the highest number of such tracts in each section, which numbers together with the number of the section, town and range, shall be distinctly marked. One of said maps shall be conspicuously hung in the office of the county clerk and the other in the office of the county treasurer.

The board shall also cause to be entered in duplicate, in suitable books to be provided for that purpose, the field notes of all such tracts of land within their respective counties, wherein shall be described each tract according to survey, and each tract shall be therein numbered to correspond with its number on the maps. One of such books of field notes shall be filed in the office of the county clerk, and the other in the office of the county treasurer.

When the maps and books of field notes shall be filed as hereinbefore provided, the description of any tract or lot of land described in said maps, by number, section, town and range, shall be a sufficient and legal description thereof for revenue and all other purposes.

Whenever any portion of a county exceeding three hundred and twenty acres in amount is put in peril of destruction by reason of the probable diversion of the channel of any river or watercourse, and whenever a petition stating such fact, signed by twenty freeholders in the precinct, is filed with the county board of such county, it shall be the duty of the county board to view said premises within the succeeding thirty days, and if upon actual view it shall appear that a portion of the county exceeding three hundred and twenty acres is in actual peril of destruction, it may cause to be built any dam, embankment or dike, or aid to such an extent as it may deem proper in the building of any dam, embankment or dike that it may deem necessary for the protection of said land. The amount expended toward such improvements shall be paid out of the general fund of the county.

The supervisors or board of county commissioners of any county in this state shall have the power, as hereinafter provided, to construct, establish or cause to be constructed and established any levee, dike, bank protection or current control in any river or stream wholly within or bordering on the respective counties, and to provide for the maintenance of the same, whenever such project shall be conducive to the public health, convenience, welfare or safety, which purpose shall or may include the protection of lands or property from overflow, wash or bank erosion.

Such board of supervisors or county commissioners shall act only upon a written petition signed by the owners of the majority of the land likely to be affected by the proposed levee, dike, bank protection or current control. The petition shall set forth the necessity for the levee, dike, bank protection or current control, a description of its proposed location, and a general statement of the territory likely to be benefited or affected thereby. The petition shall be accompanied by a bond with sufficient surety or sureties to be approved by the county clerk of said county, conditioned to pay all expenses incurred in case the board does not grant the petition. Such petition may be presented at any regular or special meeting of the board and if sufficient in form the board shall order the same to be filed with the county clerk of said county.

It shall be the duty of such board to act promptly upon all such petitions. Upon the filing of the petition with the county clerk, as provided in section 23-310, the county clerk shall transmit a copy thereof to a competent engineer to be selected by the board, who, together with the board of county commissioners or supervisors, shall, as soon as practicable, inspect the proposed locations. If in the opinion of such board and the engineer such levee, dike, bank protection or current control is necessary or advisable, the board shall cause a survey of the proposed project to be made by such engineer, as herein provided. Such survey shall be primarily for the purpose of aiding the board in determining the necessity or advisability of constructing such project, but shall be a complete survey such as will be required for assessment of its costs. Such survey may extend to other lands than those affected by the proposed project for the purpose of determining the best practical method of protecting an area greater than the originally proposed territory. For the purpose of inspection or surveys the county commissioners, board of supervisors, surveyors, engineers, or their employees may enter upon any lands within the proposed territory, or upon any lands which in their judgment are likely to be affected by the proposed project. The surveyor or engineer shall file his report with the county clerk as soon as possible after being so instructed by the board to make such survey. The report shall include an estimated cost of the work together with a preliminary apportionment of individual assessments.

As soon as the report of the engineer is filed with the county clerk, it shall be the duty of the county clerk to give notice of the filing thereof by publication for three consecutive weeks in some weekly newspaper published in the county where the improvement is to be made, and state therein the proposed location where the improvement is to be made and the time set for the hearing thereon, of which all persons interested shall take notice. The date for said hearing shall not be more than six weeks from the date of the first publication.

On or before the day fixed for the hearing of such report the owners of any land affected by the work proposed may remonstrate against said petition and report, which remonstrance shall be verified by affidavit. If more than one party remonstrates, the same shall be consolidated and tried together, and the report of the engineer shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. The supervisors or board of commissioners shall try the issue thus formed, and if they find for the remonstrance, the petition and report shall be dismissed at the cost of the petitioners, or shall be so amended as to comply with the findings of the board, which amended petition and report shall stand as final; Provided, that if donations shall be made or secured to the satisfaction of the supervisors or board, sufficient with the assessment to exceed the expenses of the work and damages allowed, if any, the petition and report shall not be dismissed, and such donations are hereby authorized to be made. The board shall have power to permit amendments to be made to the petition or report, and to continue the hearing from time to time, so as to subserve the ends of justice.

If at the time fixed for the hearing of the report, the supervisors or board of commissioners shall find that notice has been given, as required by section 23-312, and further find that the proposed work is of public utility, convenience, welfare or safety, and that the benefits assessed exceed the expenses and damages whatsoever they may be, they shall order that the improvement be made and shall specify therein the nature and extent of the improvement. The report of the engineer as finally adopted by the board shall be designated as the plan for protection and shall be submitted to the Director-State Engineer for his information and approval; Provided, that notice of the hour and day of such submission shall be once published in the newspaper selected by the board for other publication notices, at least five days prior thereto. This plan as approved by the Director-State Engineer shall stand as final.

(1) If after the hearing the supervisors or board of county commissioners decide to proceed with the improvement, they shall let the contract for the construction of the work as a whole or in parcels as they may deem best. They shall give notice of the time and place the contract or contracts will be let by publishing for three successive weeks in one or more weekly newspapers published in the county, which notice shall state the specifications, nature, and extent of the improvement, the time within which the work is to be completed, and the allotment or allotments to be let. Sealed proposals shall be received and the work let to the lowest and best responsible bidder. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a bond, in form prepared by the supervisors or board of county commissioners, conditioned for the faithful performance of the contract and executed by the bidder and surety or sureties to the county and to all parties interested in the amount of the bid, shall accompany such bid.

(2) If a contract, the provisions of which are limited to the purchase of supplies or materials, is entered into pursuant to this section and if the amount of the contract is fifty thousand dollars or less, an irrevocable letter of credit, a certified check upon a solvent bank, or a performance bond in a guaranty company qualified to do business in Nebraska, as prescribed by and in an amount determined by the county board of supervisors or commissioners, conditioned for the faithful performance of the contract and executed by the bidder to the county and to all parties interested in the amount of the bid, shall accompany the bid.

As soon as the contract or contracts are let for the construction of the work as provided in section 23-315, the supervisors or board of county commissioners shall levy a special assessment on all the lands specially benefited in accordance with the benefits received as confirmed and adjudged in a sum as may be necessary to pay for the work and all costs and expenses accrued or to accrue, not exceeding the whole benefit upon any one tract.

The board of supervisors or county commissioners shall cause the special assessment made upon the lands benefited as provided in section 23-316 to be entered upon the tax lists of the county as provided in cases of special assessments, which assessment shall constitute a lien on the real estate respectively assessed and shall be collected as other special assessments are collected. One-tenth of each assessment shall be collected each year for a period of ten years with interest at the rate of seven percent per annum on deferred payments, unless paid in full as herein provided.

Within ten days after such work has been completed and approved by the board, the board shall cause a notice to all persons whose lands are benefited by such improvement to be published for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper published and of general circulation in such county or, if no legal newspaper is published in the county, in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the county. Such notice shall fix the time, not more than sixty days from the date of the completion and approval of the work, within which owners of real estate benefited may pay the entire amount assessed against the respective parcels of land benefited and shall state that unless the amount is paid within such time, bonds will be issued for the payment of the special benefits assessed as hereinafter provided.

After sixty days from the completion and approval of the work it shall be the duty of the county board to issue the bonds of the county in the amount of the assessment remaining unpaid at said time, payable in not to exceed ten equal annual installments with interest on deferred payment at seven percent per annum, and said special assessment and taxes shall constitute a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds and interest.

Any person who appeared and filed a remonstrance as to the benefits received by him or her through such improvement or as to the amount of his or her assessment before the supervisors or board of commissioners at the hearing as provided in section 23-313 shall be allowed an appeal to the district court of the county by the same procedure as is provided in section 31-412. On such appeal the only questions that shall be tried shall be the questions raised before the board by the remonstrance. On such trial the report of the engineer shall be admissible in evidence and nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing or permitting the stoppage, prevention, or delay of the proposed work. If more than one party appeals, the appeals shall be consolidated and tried together and the rights of each appellant separately determined. If the court finds for any appellant upon his or her remonstrance, it shall amend the report and the schedule of the assessment in accordance with its finding. The amended report and schedule shall be filed with the county clerk and a copy forwarded to the Director-State Engineer. If on appeal the court finds against the remonstrants, it shall dismiss the appeal at the cost of appellant.

In any county of the State of Nebraska in which the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army, the Bureau of Reclamation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or other department or agency of the federal government shall be authorized by Congress to construct works for flood control, watershed protection and flood prevention, irrigation, soil and water conservation, drainage, or similar projects, or in cooperation with the programs of natural resources districts, irrigation districts, reclamation districts, or similar agencies, the county board thereof shall, if in its opinion the construction is necessary for the public welfare, have the power to: (1) Enter into an undertaking, in the name of the county, to hold the United States of America free from any damage to persons or property resulting during the construction or after the completion thereof, (2) contract with the federal government, in the name of the county, that when the work is completed the county will maintain, keep in repair, and operate such flood control works or other similar projects, (3) furnish all necessary lands, rights-of-way, and easements, as provided in section 23-320.02, (4) appropriate such funds as may be necessary to fully develop, plan, and carry out a coordinated program of flood control or soil and water resource development for such county, and (5) appropriate such funds as may be necessary to pay the construction costs and expenses in excess of funds to be provided by the federal government.

In any county, such as described in section 23-320.01, where it is necessary as a condition to the construction of any flood control works or other similar projects as provided in sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.07, that the county furnish the necessary lands, rights-of-way, or easements therefor, the county board is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire such lands, rights-of-way, or easements as may be necessary, and the board is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire the same by purchase or by gift or by the exercise of the right of eminent domain whether the property be within the limits of such county or outside its boundaries. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724.

Whenever in such county it is necessary to pay any construction costs and expenses in excess of the amounts paid by the federal government or to acquire any lands, rights-of-way, or easements under sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.06, the cost thereof and expenses connected therewith shall be defrayed by the issuance of general obligation bonds of the county, to be issued by the county board of such county without the necessity of an election, either in one issue or in separate issues from time to time as may be necessary and as determined by the county board of the county. The proceeds of the bonds shall be used for such purposes and no other except as otherwise provided in such sections. The aggregate of any such bonds so issued shall not be in excess of two-tenths of one percent of the taxable valuation of the county. All bonds issued under such sections shall mature in annual installments over a period of not more than twenty-five years, and it shall be the duty of the county board of such county to make an annual levy on all the taxable property in such county for the retirement of the principal and interest thereof as the same become due. The bonds provided for in such sections shall not be subject to nor included in any restrictions or limitations upon the amount of bonded indebtedness of the county contained in any other law affecting the county.

Any loss, damage or expense for which the county or the county board may be liable by reason of having entered into an indemnity agreement or undertaking to protect and defend the federal government against loss or damage resulting from or growing out of such flood control works or other similar projects, may be paid for by said county from any funds on hand received from the sale of the bonds issued under the provisions of sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.07; Provided, that said county board may for the purpose of saving and protecting the county from any such loss, damage or expense, apply for and purchase from any insurance or indemnity company authorized to transact business in this state, an insurance or indemnity policy or policies of insurance, and pay the cost of obtaining the same from any funds received from the sale of bonds issued under the provisions of sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.07.

For the purpose of maintaining and operating such flood control works or other similar projects as provided in sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.07 when the works or projects have been completed and turned over to the county and also for the purpose of developing and carrying out a coordinated soil and water resource program and program of flood control for the county, the county board of such county shall be empowered to make an annual tax levy of not to exceed one and seven-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in such county. Pending approval of an authorized flood control plan, the county involved may establish a special flood and erosion control reserve fund. Such fund may be used for obtaining land, easements, and rights-of-way and relocating utilities in connection with water and erosion improvements that have authorization and construction approval. To aid in the growth of such fund, it may be invested in short-term securities authorized by section 77-2315. Money remaining in the fund at the completion of construction or the discontinuance of an authorized project may revert to the general fund. It shall be the duty of the county board and the county engineer to keep all such flood control works or other similar projects in serviceable condition and to make such repairs as may, from time to time, be necessary.

For the purpose of carrying out any of the provisions of sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.06, the county board is hereby authorized to enter into agreements with (1) the United States of America or any department or agency thereof, (2) any city, (3) any drainage district, (4) any other county, (5) any natural resources district, (6) any irrigation district, (7) any reclamation district, (8) any body politic, (9) any person, (10) any firm, or (11) any individual, whenever it shall be necessary as a condition to the construction of flood control works or other similar projects hereunder, and for the maintenance, repair, or operation thereof. To aid and assist in carrying out a coordinated soil and water resource program or program of flood control for any county, the county board may also employ the services of any nonprofit corporation or organization that has as one of its principal objectives or purposes the promotion and development of soil and water resource projects and flood control and to receive gifts and contributions from public and private sources to be expended in providing funds for construction costs and expenses in excess of funds to be provided by the federal government and the tax levy.

Except as herein otherwise expressly provided, all of the rights, powers, authority, and jurisdiction conferred on counties and county boards by sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.06 are hereby also conferred upon and vested in any city of the first or second class or village located in any county such as described in section 23-320.01 and the governing body thereof. The governing body of any such city or village, in the name of the city or village, shall have the power to enter into undertakings and contracts and make agreements in like manner and for like purposes as provided in sections 23-320.01 to 23-320.06 for county boards. Such governing body may provide funds for construction costs and expenses in excess of amounts contributed by the federal government, may acquire lands, rights-of-way, and easements either within or without the limits of the city or village in like manner and for like purposes as provided in section 23-320.02 for county boards, and without further authorization may issue general obligation bonds of the city or village to pay the costs thereof and expenses connected therewith in the manner now provided by law, but the aggregate of any such bonds so issued shall not be in excess of one and eight-tenths percent of the taxable value of the taxable property of the city or village. Such bonds shall not be subject to nor included in any restrictions or limitations upon the amount of bonded indebtedness of the city or village contained in any other law. Funds received from the sale of bonds by any such city or village may be used to pay any loss, damage, or expense for which the city or village or the governing body thereof may be liable in like manner as counties are authorized to pay such loss, damage, or expense under section 23-320.04. For the purposes of maintaining and operating flood control works constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers or other agencies of the United States Government, when the flood control works have been completed and turned over to the city or village, the governing body of such city or village shall be empowered to make an annual tax levy of not to exceed five and two-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of the taxable property within such city or village. It shall be the duty of the governing body of the city or village to keep all such flood control works in serviceable condition and to make such repairs as may from time to time be necessary.

In any county or counties of the State of Nebraska in which the United States, or any of its departments or agencies shall be authorized by Congress to construct works for flood control, watershed protection and flood prevention and drainage programs of the State of Nebraska or any of its agencies or in cooperation with the program of natural resources districts or similar public districts the county or counties, if in its or their opinion the construction is necessary for the public welfare, may: (1) Enter into an undertaking, in the name of the county, to hold the United States of America free from any damage to persons or property resulting during the construction or after the completion thereof; (2) contract with the federal government, in the name of the county, that when such work is completed the county will maintain, keep in repair, and operate such works of improvement; (3) furnish all necessary lands, rights-of-way, and easements as provided in section 23-320.10; (4) enter into agreements with other county governments on provisions for cooperative programs of resource development; (5) establish watershed boundary lines for taxation purposes so that property within the perimeter of the defined drainage-way will be assessed for the financing of the program for improvement; and (6) appropriate such funds as may be needed to carry out and finance the program as outlined in sections 23-320.08 to 23-320.12.

In any county or counties described in section 23-320.08, where it is necessary as a condition to the construction of any flood control works or other similar works of improvement as provided in sections 23-320.08 to 23-320.12, that the county furnish the necessary lands, rights-of-way, or easements therefor, the county board may acquire such lands, rights-of-way, or easements as may be necessary, and the board may acquire the same by purchase or by gift or by the exercise of the right of eminent domain. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724.

For the purpose of obtaining lands, easements, and rights-of-way and maintaining and operating such flood control works or other similar projects as provided in sections 23-320.08 to 23-320.12 when the same have been completed and turned over to the county and also for the purpose of developing and carrying out a coordinated soil and water resource program and program of flood control for the county, the county board of such county shall be empowered to make an annual tax levy of not to exceed one and seven-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in a designated watershed area. It shall be the duty of the county board and the county engineer to keep all such flood control works or other similar projects in serviceable condition and to make such repairs as may, from time to time, be necessary.

For the purpose of carrying out any of the provisions of sections 23-320.08 to 23-320.12, the county board may enter into agreements with (1) the United States of America or any department or agency thereof, (2) any city, (3) any drainage district, (4) any other county, (5) any natural resources district, (6) any irrigation district, (7) any reclamation district, (8) any body politic, (9) any person, or (10) any firm, whenever it shall be necessary as a condition to the construction of flood control works or other similar projects under the provisions of sections 23-320.08 to 23-320.12, and for the maintenance, repair, or operation thereof. To aid and assist in carrying out a coordinated soil and water resource program or program of flood control for any county, the county board may also employ the services of any nonprofit corporation or organization that has as one of its principal objectives or purposes the promotion and development of soil and water resource projects and flood control.

All rights, powers, authority, and jurisdiction conferred on cities of the first class by sections 23-320.07 to 23-320.12, may be exercised by such city, in the absence of federal participation or sponsorship, whenever any project of flood control outside the limits of such city directly affects the welfare of such city and involves a cost of not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars.

The county board shall have power to acquire, take, hold, appropriate, and condemn such real estate as may be necessary for convenience from time to time for the public use of the county; Provided, no appropriation of private property for the use of the county as aforesaid shall be made until full and just compensation therefor shall have been first made to the owner thereof. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724.

The county board of the several counties of the state may appropriate to the county general fund any county sinking fund in the county treasury not levied for the payment of any bonded indebtedness; also any county money from whatever source, excepting the money levied for school purposes, that remain on hand in the county treasury and are no longer required for the purposes for which same were levied; Provided, the county commissioners of the several counties of the state, not under township organization, may appropriate any unexpended balance remaining in the county treasury to the credit of any such precinct (such balance having accrued by reason of taxes collected from a precinct levy for the payment of bonds, after such bonds are paid), to the school districts within such precinct, apportioning such unexpended balance to the several school districts in the said precinct according to the property valuation of the several school districts, as found by the assessor for the year next preceding such appropriation. Where such unexpended balance accrued by reason of taxes collected from a precinct levy for the payment of bridge or irrigation bonds, the county boards of the several counties of the state, not under township organization, may appropriate such unexpended balance remaining in the county treasury to the credit of the road fund of the commissioner district of which such precinct forms a part, to be expended for the improvement of roads, within the limits of such original precinct wherein such taxes were collected.

All contracts, either express or implied, entered into with any county board, for or on behalf of any county, and all orders given by any such board or any of the members thereof, for any article, service, public improvement, material or labor in contravention of any statutory limitation, or when there are or were no funds legally available therefor, or in the absence of a statute expressly authorizing such contract to be entered into, or such order to be given, are hereby declared unlawful and shall be wholly void as an obligation against any such county.

Any public official or officials who shall audit, allow or pay out, or cause to be paid out, any funds of any county for any article, public improvement, material, service or labor, contrary to the provisions of section 23-336, shall be liable for the full amount so expended, and the same may be recovered from any such official or the surety upon his official bond by any such county, or any taxpayer thereof.

No judgment shall hereafter be rendered by any court against any such county in any action brought to recover for any article, public improvement, material, service or labor contracted for or ordered in contravention of any statutory limitation, or when there are or were no funds legally available at the time, with which to pay for the same, or in the absence of a statute expressly authorizing such contract; Provided, that this section and sections 23-336 and 23-337 may not prevent the repairing of any bridge damaged by sudden casualty, when the county board shall first declare that an emergency exists, and give notice of its intention to repair such damage by at least one publication in some newspaper of general circulation in the county.

The county board of any county in which any city or cities are located having at least twenty-five thousand inhabitants but fewer than one hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census is hereby authorized and empowered, whenever the road fund or funds of such county will warrant it, to aid in the grading, paving, or otherwise improving of any street, avenue, or boulevard leading into such city and within the corporate limits thereof, by providing for the payment of not exceeding one-half of the cost of such grading, and not exceeding the cost of the paving of intersections. It shall also be authorized and empowered to grade, pave, or otherwise improve any street, avenue, boulevard, or road, or any portion thereof leading into or adjacent to any such city outside, or partly inside and partly outside the corporate limits thereof, including any portion thereof leading into or across any village or town, and for such improvements outside of the corporate limits of any such city as herein authorized and directed.

Whenever the board shall contemplate the making of such improvements outside the corporate limits of any such city, it shall notify the county surveyor, whose duty it shall be to make an examination of the proposed improvement and report an estimate of the cost thereof to the board. If upon the consideration of such report, the county board determines to make the improvement, it shall cause personal notice to be served on the owners of property abutting on said road outside the corporate limits of such city of its intention to make such improvements, and if the owner is a nonresident, then by personal service upon the agent of such nonresident, if he has one residing in the county, and in case he has no such agent, by publishing such notice in a newspaper published in and of general circulation in such county. Upon the proof of service or publication of said notice, and after giving such owner an opportunity to be heard, the board shall decide upon the material to be used in such improvement and enter an order upon its records for the construction thereof; Provided, however, whenever the street, avenue, boulevard or road upon which improvements are contemplated, lies adjacent to and outside, or partly inside and partly outside, the corporate limits of any such city, the examination of the proposed improvement, report and estimate of the cost thereof, shall be made jointly by the county surveyor and the city engineer of such city, and after the county board shall determine to make such improvement and decide upon the material to be used therein, nothing further shall be done toward the completion of such improvement until such city by and through its proper officers shall agree in writing, a copy of which shall be filed with the board, to construct the one-half of said improvement lying next to or within the corporate limits of the city and pay the cost of said one-half. After such agreement shall have been filed with the county board, the board shall proceed to construct the other one-half of such improvement in the manner provided herein. The county shall pay two-thirds of the cost of the other one-half of such improvement, and the other one-third shall be paid by special assessment of all the real estate abutting on or adjacent to said one-half as provided in section 23-341; and provided further, wherever any such city shall have improved any portion, equal to one-half or more, of any such street, avenue, boulevard or road lying adjacent to and wholly outside, or partly outside and partly inside the corporate limits of any such city, and either paid or provided for the payment of the cost of the same, the county board may proceed to improve in like manner the remaining portion of said street, avenue, boulevard or road, and of the cost thereof the county shall pay two-thirds and the other one-third shall be paid by special assessment of all the real estate abutting on or adjacent to said portion as provided for in section 23-341.

Two-thirds of the cost of any such improvement authorized by sections 23-339 and 23-340 outside the corporate limits of such city and not adjacent thereto, as mentioned in section 23-339, shall be paid by said county board out of the road funds of the county, and one-third by special assessment of all real estate abutting on or adjacent to such improvement to a depth not exceeding five hundred feet on each side thereof, in proportion to the special benefits to such real estate by reason of such improvements. The benefits to such real estate shall be determined by the board, after publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, of notice to the owners of said real estate at least ten days prior to such determination. Such assessment may be made according to the foot frontage of real estate along the line of such improvement or according to such other rule or method as the board may adopt for the distribution and equalization of said one-third of the cost. The amount so assessed shall be placed upon the tax list for the ensuing year and collected in the same manner at the same time as the taxes of other property, and, when collected, shall be held in a special fund and used only in the payment of the cost of that particular improvement, as specified herein.

(1) All contracts for the construction of such improvements outside the corporate limits of any such city shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder who, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, shall enter into a good and sufficient bond for the faithful performance of such contract in such amount and with such sureties as the county board may determine. All payments of such contracts shall be made by warrants drawn on the road fund of the county.

(2) If a contract, the provisions of which are limited to the purchase of supplies or materials, is entered into pursuant to this section and if the amount of the contract is fifty thousand dollars or less, an irrevocable letter of credit, a certified check upon a solvent bank, or a performance bond in a guaranty company qualified to do business in Nebraska, as prescribed by and in an amount determined by the county board of supervisors or commissioners, conditioned for the faithful performance of the contract and executed by the bidder to the county and to all parties interested in the amount of the bid, shall accompany the bid.

The board of county commissioners or the board of county supervisors of the counties of the State of Nebraska is hereby authorized and empowered to permit farmers and landowners in their respective counties to use county machinery and equipment in constructing and maintaining terraces and ditches in said respective counties; Provided, that said farmers or landowners shall first enter into a written agreement with said county commissioners or county supervisors whereby said farmers or landowners agree to pay a reasonable sum of money as rental for said equipment and machinery, which sum shall be fixed by the county commissioners or county supervisors, and to comply with any and all of the conditions and requirements in regard to said rental as made by said county commissioners or county supervisors; Provided, one of the conditions and requirements in regard to said rental shall always be that the county shall furnish an operator for said equipment and machinery, who shall operate the same, and the compensation of said operator shall be considered in determining the amount of rental in each case.

The Auditor of Public Accounts shall establish a uniform system of inventory statements for all county officers and such system, when established, shall be installed and used by all county officers.

It shall be the duty of the county clerk, in all counties having a population of one hundred fifty thousand or more inhabitants, on or before December 1, annually, to prepare separate estimates of the supplies, materials, equipment and machinery required for the use of the county officers during the coming year, which by law are not required to be furnished by the state, and, in order to properly estimate the amounts of supplies, materials, equipment and machinery to be needed by the county government, the county clerk shall keep a perpetual inventory of all personal property of the county.

Within two calendar months after the close of each fiscal year, each county officer shall make, acknowledge under oath, and file with the county board of his or her county an inventory statement of all county personal property in the custody and possession of said county officer. The county board in each county shall examine into each inventory statement so filed, and, if said statement is correct and proper in every particular, the county board shall deliver each of said inventory statements to the clerk of the county for filing as a public record in said county clerk's office in a manner convenient for reference.

Within two calendar months after the close of each fiscal year, each county board shall make, or cause to be made, acknowledged under oath, and filed with the county clerk of such county, an inventory statement of all real estate and real property in which such county has any interest of any kind. Such inventory shall include all real estate owned by the county or in which the county has an interest or lien of any kind including liens acquired by operation of law for any purpose except real estate tax liens which have not been established by judicial decree and except those parcels of land owned by the county for road rights-of-way and other utility rights-of-way. Such inventory shall set forth a description of such properties with sufficient details that the property may be identified in the records of the register of deeds, and shall set forth, if within an area in which the property abuts upon a street, the street and street number of such property and shall set forth the use being made of such property. The county clerk shall retain such inventory for filing as a public record in his or her office in a manner convenient for reference.

All inventory statements required in sections 23-346 and 23-347 shall be filed with the county clerk as a public record, and shall be open to the inspection of the public.

Any county officer, including any member of any county board, who shall fail to file such inventory statements or who shall willfully make any false or incorrect statement therein, or who shall aid, abet, or connive in the making of any false or incorrect statement therein shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor. As part of the judgment of conviction, the court may decree such officer guilty of malfeasance in office for a palpable omission of duty and subject to removal under section 28-924.

The county commissioners or county supervisors of any county in this state shall have authority to expend from the general fund of the county during any one year the proceeds of a tax of three-tenths of one cent on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all taxable property in the county for the purchase and erection of suitable monuments or markers and the purchase of historic sites on which the monuments or markers are located within the county. In any county having a nonprofit historical association or society organized under the corporation laws of this state, the county commissioners or supervisors may grant to such association or society the amount authorized for expenditure by this section upon application by the association or society. Such funds may then be expended, at the direction of the board of directors of such association or society, for the following purposes: (1) Establishment, construction, and reconstruction of historical buildings; (2) purchase of exhibits, equipment, and real and personal property of historical significance and the maintenance thereof; and (3) lease, rental, purchase or construction, and maintenance of buildings other than those of historical nature for the display and storage of exhibits.

Said monuments or markers shall have thereon a suitable inscription indicating the purpose for which the monument or marker is erected.

The county board in each county where money is expended under sections 23-351 to 23-355 shall cause to be kept by the county clerk a record of each monument or marker erected, together with a full account of the location or event which said monument or marker shall commemorate, and a duplicate of said record signed by the members of the county board and attested by the signature and seal of the county clerk shall be sent to the Nebraska State Historical Society.

The county board shall have the right of eminent domain for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 23-351 to 23-355.

All work done under the provisions of sections 23-351 to 23-355 shall be done according to plans and specifications provided by the county board, and said board shall have authority to employ such persons as it deems necessary to prepare said plans and specifications. All work done under the provisions of said sections shall be by contract and said work shall be let to the lowest and best bidder after notice shall have been duly published for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper having general circulation in the county; Provided, where the estimate for labor and material is less than fifty dollars the county board may expend same without advertising. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of said sections the county board may designate a committee of three residents of the county who shall serve without pay to assist in the location of said monuments or markers, the selection of sites, and the preparation of the record pertaining thereto. Said committee shall act in an advisory capacity to the county board.

(1) Whenever there is organized within any county in this state a nonprofit county historical association or society organized under the corporation laws of this state, a tax of not more than three-tenths of one cent on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in such county may be levied for the purpose of establishing a fund to be used for the establishment, management, and purchase of exhibits, equipment, and other personal property and real property and maintenance of such nonprofit county historical association or society, including the construction and improvement of necessary buildings therefor. The levy shall be allocated to the nonprofit county historical association or society by the county, subject to section 77-3443. Such fund shall be paid by the county treasurer to the treasurer of such nonprofit county historical association or society and shall be disbursed under the direction and supervision of the board of directors and officers of such nonprofit county historical association or society. No initial levy shall be made for such purpose unless the proposition to make such levy is first submitted to a vote of the people of the county at a general election and the same is ordered by a majority of the legal voters voting thereon. The proposition to make such levy shall be placed on the ballot by the county board of such county at the next general election following the receipt of a request from the board of directors of such nonprofit county historical association or society to submit such proposition to the voters of the county. After the proposition has been sanctioned by a vote of the people, such levy shall be made to carry out the purposes for which the fund was established. A nonprofit county historical association or society for which a tax is levied under this subsection is subject to the Nebraska Budget Act and the audit requirement of subdivision (4) of section 84-304. The electors of the county may discontinue such levy by a vote of the people in the same manner that the initial levy was authorized. The proposition to discontinue such levy shall be placed on the ballot by the county board of such county at a general election only when requested so to do by a petition signed by at least twenty percent of the legal voters of such county based on the total vote cast for Governor at the last general election in the county.

(2)(a) A nonprofit county historical association or society that is not receiving funds from a levy under subsection (1) of this section may request funding from the county. Approval of part or the entire funding request by the county board shall result in inclusion of the funding request in the county budget and an obligation to provide the funding set out in the county budget. The failure by the county to provide the funding for an approved request may be enforced by making a claim against the county. The funding shall be paid to the treasurer of the nonprofit county historical association or society.

(b) Not later than one calendar year after receiving funding pursuant to this subsection, the nonprofit county historical association or society shall provide the county board with a detailed written accounting of how the funds have been used. Such accounting shall be presented during an open meeting of the county board. The nonprofit county historical association or society shall be ineligible to receive further county funding until after such accounting and presentation is made. A nonprofit county historical association or society that receives county funds pursuant to this subsection is subject to the audit requirement of subdivision (4) of section 84-304.

For the purpose of carrying on an organized animal damage control program within their respective counties, the county boards may cooperate with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, state agencies, private associations, and individuals in the control of coyotes, bobcats, foxes, badgers, opossums, raccoons, skunks, and other predatory animals in this state that are injurious to livestock, poultry, and game animals and the public health. The county boards may also undertake the control of commensal and field rodents, nuisance birds, and other nuisance wildlife if such rodents, birds, or wildlife are causing or are about to cause property damage or represent a human health threat. All control efforts shall be in accordance with the organized and systematic plans of the United States Department of Agriculture and state agencies covering the management and control of animals, birds, and wildlife.

It is the intent of sections 23-358 to 23-361 and 81-2,236 that animal damage control service shall be available to every individual citizen or group of citizens of the state and that employment of such service shall be initiated by the individual or individuals desiring the control of the animals, birds, or wildlife listed in section 23-358 which are causing a problem for such individual or individuals.

In order to support the cost of managing and controlling the animals, birds, or wildlife listed in section 23-358, each county shall match funds supplied by any resident individual or group of individuals either living within the county or owning property therein, up to a maximum of one thousand dollars annually for any specific animal damage control program, and may furnish such additional money as the county board shall deem necessary for the funding of such programs. The county board of each county is authorized to make necessary expenditures from the general fund of the county, except that the portion supplied by each county shall not exceed fifty percent of the total animal damage control program cost, unless such county elects to bear the entire program cost under sections 23-358 to 23-361. The total animal damage control program portion paid by the individual user or users may include, but shall not be limited to, any funds levied under section 23-361 by each county board, but nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt any user from a general levy made by the county board under section 23-360.

A county desiring to cooperate with another county or counties for the establishment of animal damage control services as are set forth in sections 23-358 to 23-361 may enter into agreements and match funds for the establishment of an area program with the state or federal government pursuant to the terms and limitations set forth in section 81-2,236.

In order to perform animal damage control, the county board of each county may make necessary expenditures from any funds of the county as are available for such purpose.

The county board of each county in this state may levy upon every dollar of the taxable value of all the taxable property in such county, for the use of the county board in carrying out the animal damage control program, such amount as may be determined to be necessary therefor. The entire fund derived from such levy shall be set apart in a separate fund and expended only for animal damage control as defined by sections 23-358 to 23-360.

In order to provide additional means for carrying on an animal damage control program for the management and control of coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and other predatory animals destructive of sheep and cattle, county boards may levy in any year a tax of not to exceed twenty cents per head on sheep and cattle on the following conditions:

(1) That a petition to the county board requesting such levy, signed by sixty-seven percent of the owners of the sheep, the cattle, or the sheep and cattle in the county as of January 1 of each year, be filed with the board on or before July 1; and

(2) That a planned program for the management and control of such predatory animals be approved by the county board each year in which such levy is to be made. Such planned program may include entry in the animal damage control program authorized by section 23-358 or any other program approved by the board and designed to manage and control such predatory animals. The proceeds of such levy shall be placed in a separate fund and shall be applied exclusively to carrying out the program adopted. For each year in which such a levy is deemed necessary, a petition shall be presented to the county board for approval as provided in this section.

In order to equitably distribute the added burden of law enforcement imposed upon certain counties of this state by reason of the passage of Public Law 280 of the Eighty-third Congress dealing with state jurisdiction and the resulting withdrawal of federal law enforcement in such counties, there shall each fiscal year be paid out of the state treasury, on the warrant of the Director of Administrative Services as directed by the chairperson of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, not to exceed one hundred one thousand dollars for the benefit of Indians in any county which has land held in trust by the United States Government for the benefit of Indians to be used for purposes of law enforcement and jail operations. Such funds shall be divided as equally as possible between the areas of law enforcement and jail operations. The Auditor of Public Accounts or his or her designee shall conduct, at such time as he or she determines necessary, an audit of the funds distributed pursuant to this section. A detailed report shall be submitted on December 31 of each year, including discussion of the operation and expenditures of the office of the county sheriff and, when completed, a copy of the audit, to the Executive Board of the Legislative Council and the Governor. The report submitted to the executive board shall be submitted electronically. Such payment shall be made to any county of this state meeting the following conditions:

(1) Such county shall have on file in the office of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice a certificate of the county assessor that there are within such county over twenty-five hundred acres of land held in trust by the United States or subject to restriction against alienation imposed by the United States; and

(2) The county board of each such county may participate in alcohol-related programs with nonprofit corporations.

Each qualifying county in which an Indian reservation is located shall receive an equal share of the funds paid out in accordance with section 23-362 for each reservation within the county.

A county having a population of more than thirty thousand inhabitants which has adopted county zoning regulations as provided in sections 23-161 to 23-174.09 may construct or repair sidewalks on any street of a plot of ground outside the corporate limits of a city or village which has been platted into lots and streets, and levy a special tax on lots or parcels of land within the platted area fronting on such sidewalk to pay the expense of such improvements, to be assessed as a special assessment after having given notice of its intention to do so (1) by publication in one issue of a legal newspaper having a general circulation in such county, and (2) by causing a written notice to be served upon the owner of such property involved and allowing the owner six months within which to complete such construction or repair. The estimated cost of any such construction or repair to be undertaken by the county shall annually be included in an appropriation.

The county board of such county may receive bids for constructing or repairing any or all such walks and may let contracts to the lowest responsible bidder for constructing or repairing the same.

The contractor or contractors shall be paid therefor from special assessments against the abutting property. The cost of constructing such sidewalks shall be assessed at a regular meeting of such county board by resolution, fixing the cost along abutting property as a special assessment against such property and the amount charged for the cost thereof with the vote by yeas and nays shall be spread upon the minutes. Notice of the time of such meeting of the county board and its purpose shall be published once in a newspaper published and of general circulation in such county at least five days before the meeting of the county board is to be held, or in place thereof, personal notice may be given such abutting property owners. Such special assessment shall be known as special sidewalk assessment and together with the cost of notice and necessary engineering services, shall be levied and collected as special taxes and shall draw interest at nine percent per annum from the date of levy thereof until satisfied.

Special sidewalk assessments may be collected in the manner usual for the collection or foreclosure of county or state taxes against real estate.

When the real property is located outside the corporate limits of a city or village the county is authorized to pave, repave, surface, resurface, and relay paving; to widen, to improve the horizontal and vertical alignment, to insert traffic medians, channels, overpasses, and underpasses; to apply temporary surfacing; and to curb; but the county may not be required to make any such street improvement if for good reason it deems the same should not be made; Provided, that none of the powers herein granted shall be exercised within the boundaries of any existing sanitary and improvement district, or road improvement district; and provided further, that the powers delegated in this section shall never be exercised in the area within three miles of the corporate limits of a metropolitan city in such county or a primary city; within one mile of the corporate limits of a city of the first class; or within one-half mile of the corporate limits of a city of the second class or village.

To accomplish any of the purposes stated in section 23-368, the county is authorized in all such proceedings to delineate proposed street improvement districts which shall embrace therein the street or streets or part or parts thereof to be improved as well as the abutting, adjacent, and benefited property proposed to be assessed to cover in whole or in part the cost, including land acquisition expenses if any, of the proposed improvement outside of the corporate limits of any city or village.

The county may set up an improvement district as provided in section 23-369 by resolution of the county board and after the passage, approval, and publication of such resolution shall publish notice of the creation of such street improvement district or districts for two consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper published in and of general circulation in such county or, if none is published in the county, in a legal newspaper of general circulation in such county. If a majority of the owners of record title of the property directly abutting on the street or streets improved shall file with the county clerk within twenty days after the first publication of such notice written objections to the creation of such district or districts, the improvements shall not be made, as provided in such resolution, but such resolution shall be repealed.

If said objections are not filed against the district in the time and manner provided in section 23-370, the county board shall forthwith appoint a temporary board of three trustees and all further proceedings shall be in conformity with the provisions of Chapter 39, article 16.

For purposes of sections 23-372 to 23-377, subdivision shall mean the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more sites, or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of ownership or building development, except that the division of land shall not be considered to be subdivision when the smallest parcel of land created is more than ten acres in area.

Before an owner of real property located in an unincorporated area may subdivide, plat, or lay out the real property in building lots, streets, or other portions or for the use of the purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent thereto, the approval of the county board is required, except that:

(1) If the property is within the Niobrara scenic river corridor as defined in section 72-2006, the approval of the Niobrara Council is required; and

(2) If the property is located in an area where a municipality exercises zoning control and does not require approval of the Niobrara Council, the approval of the municipality is required.

No plat of real property, described in section 23-373, shall be recorded or have any force and effect unless the same be approved by the county board of such county. The county board of such county shall have power, by resolution, to provide the manner, plan, or method by which real property in any such area may be subdivided, platted, or laid out, including a plan or system for the avenues, streets, or alleys to be laid out within or across the same including the hard surfacing thereof.

The county board shall have power to compel the owner of any real property in such area in subdividing, platting, or laying out the same to conform to the requirements of the resolution and to lay out and dedicate the avenues, streets, and alleys and hard surfacing thereof in accordance therewith.

The provisions of sections 23-373 to 23-377 shall not apply in any county unless the county board of such county shall have first adopted a comprehensive development plan as defined in section 23-114.02, nor until the county board of such county has duly adopted comprehensive and uniform platting and subdivision regulations governing the alignment of streets, maximum grade of streets and minimum area of lots.

The county board shall also have authority to provide for a comprehensive plan for the area within the zoning and subdivision jurisdiction of the county, to be the general plan for the improvement and development of such area, and to prescribe standards for laying out subdivisions in harmony with such comprehensive plan.

Each county may purchase, construct, maintain, and improve garbage disposal plants, systems or solid waste disposal areas, and purchase equipment for the operation thereof, for the use of its inhabitants and incorporated municipalities located in such county, and may lease or take land in fee by donation, gift, devise, purchase or appropriation for rights-of-way, for the construction and operation of such a disposal plant, system or solid waste disposal areas. Each county may also make and enter into a contract or contracts with any person, firm, or corporation for the construction, maintenance, or operation of a garbage disposal plant, system or solid waste disposal area.

Any governing body of any incorporated city or village situated within the county may enter into agreement with the county as provided by the provisions of Chapter 13, article 8, to operate and maintain any garbage disposal plant, system or solid waste disposal areas located outside the corporate limits of the city or village. The garbage disposal plant, system or solid waste disposal areas shall be open to the public. The county board and the governing body of the city or village shall agree upon the operation and the appropriation of funds to such cooperative undertaking.

The county board may levy a tax sufficient to cover the contributions required to be made. The levy shall be included in determining the maximum levy that a county is authorized to impose.

Whenever fifty or more residents of a county file a written protest with the county board of such county in which they contend that a proposed public exhibition, public entertainment, or public gathering will adversely affect the public health or welfare, or may adversely affect the health and welfare of those in attendance at such public exhibition, public entertainment, or public gathering the county board may set such protest for hearing, and if the board thereafter determines that such exhibition, entertainment, or gathering will apparently have an adverse effect on the public health and welfare or the health and welfare of those in attendance, it shall forthwith cause an action to be brought in the appropriate court to restrain and enjoin such public exhibition, entertainment, or gathering. The court may restrain and permanently enjoin, where the facts indicate the necessity for such action on the basis of the public health and welfare, or, in the alternative, may impose such conditions on the holding of such exhibition, entertainment, or gathering, including the giving of a bond, as will adequately protect the public health and welfare or the health and welfare of those in attendance. The county board shall give such advance notice of the protest and of its hearing thereon as may be reasonable under the circumstances of the particular case, and the notice shall be given by the posting thereof at or immediately adjacent to the premises where such exhibition, entertainment, or gathering is to be held, and it may give such additional notice by publication, or by personal service or service by registered or certified mail on the owner, lessee, or occupant of the premises, or the promoter of such gathering or his agent, as the county board in its judgment may deem feasible.

All counties in Nebraska are hereby authorized and empowered by resolution to regulate the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance within their county limits and outside the limits of any incorporated city or village of all persons or entities furnishing community antenna television service. All counties, acting through their county boards, shall have power to require every individual or entity offering such service, subject to reasonable rules and regulations, to furnish any person applying therefor along the lines of its wires, cables or other conduits, with community antenna television service. The county board shall have power to prescribe reasonable quality standards for such service and to regulate and fix reasonable and compensatory rents or rates for such service including installation charges.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to construct, install, operate, or maintain in or along the streets, alleys and public ways, or elsewhere within the limits of any county, and outside of the limits of any incorporated city or village a community antenna television service without first obtaining, from such county, a permit which permit shall authorize the grantee to provide community antenna television service on a nonexclusive basis within the limits of the county.

Counties may require the filing with the county clerk by the person, firm, or corporation constructing, installing, operating, or maintaining such community antenna television service of a proper map showing the exact location of all underground cables and equipment, together with a statement showing the exact nature of the same.

Counties may levy an annual occupation tax against any person, firm, or corporation now maintaining and operating any community antenna television service within its boundaries; and may levy an annual occupation tax against any persons, firms, or corporations hereafter constructing, installing, operating, or maintaining such community antenna television service. Any such occupation tax so levied shall be due and payable on May 1 of each year to the treasurer of such county.

In the event of violation of any provision of sections 23-383 to 23-388 by any person or entity furnishing community antenna television service, the county having granted such permit shall immediately serve notice of such violation upon the permitholder with directions to correct such violation within ninety days or show cause why such violation should not be corrected at a public hearing held in conjunction with the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. Continued violation of sections 23-383 to 23-388 may be enjoined by the district court. Any person who willfully violates any provision of sections 23-383 to 23-388 shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor for each offense.

No community television franchise heretofore or hereafter granted by any municipality under the provisions of Chapter 18, article 22, shall be affected by the provisions of sections 23-383 to 23-388.

Any county of the State of Nebraska may acquire a site or sites and construct, purchase, or otherwise acquire, remodel, repair, furnish, and equip grandstands, pavilions, exhibition halls, barns, racetracks, and other horseracing facilities by issuing revenue bonds payable solely from the revenue therefrom. The bonds shall not constitute a debt of the county or the State of Nebraska but shall be payable solely out of the revenue. Such bonds shall mature in not to exceed thirty years and bear interest at such rates and have such other terms and conditions as the county board shall determine. A county undertaking construction and acquisition of such facilities shall have the power from time to time to issue bond anticipation notes to mature not less than thirty months from the date thereof in an amount not exceeding the aggregate at any time outstanding of the amount of bonds then or theretofore authorized. Payment of such notes shall be made from any money or revenue which the county may have available for such purposes or from the proceeds of the sale of the revenue bonds authorized in this section. The county may pledge any revenue derived from the operation, management, or sale of the property constructed or acquired with the proceeds of the bonds for the payment of such notes and revenue bonds. Such bonds shall be registered with the county clerk.

Any county constructing or acquiring any of the facilities authorized in section 23-389 that include racetrack and horseracing facilities shall be authorized to lease to or enter into an agreement for operation and maintenance of such facilities by a Nebraska nonprofit corporation organized exclusively for civic purposes or which conducts a livestock exposition for the promotion of the livestock or horse-breeding industry of the state and which does not permit its members to derive personal profit from its activities by way of dividends or otherwise. Any such lease or operating agreement shall provide that all revenue derived therefrom shall be used for expenses of operation and maintenance of the facilities, improvements, or additions to such facilities and public works projects within the county.

Counties acquiring and owning any facilities described in section 23-389 shall not be required to pay taxes or assessments upon any such facilities or upon any charges, fees, revenue, or other income received from such facilities except motor vehicle fuel taxes and the tax and fees imposed by section 2-1208.

Sections 23-389 to 23-392 shall be known and may be cited as the County Horseracing Facility Bond Act.

The county board of any county may issue and sell the general obligation bonds of such county in such amount as the county board may deem advisable for paying the costs of constructing, improving, reconstructing, and repairing bridges and bridge related roadway improvements upon public roads within or adjacent to such county. Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates set by the county board and shall mature at such time or times as shall be set by the county board. No such bonds shall be issued until a proposition for their issuance shall have been submitted to the voters of such county at a general or special election called for such purpose and approved by a majority of the voters voting at such election. Such election may be called either by resolution of the county board or upon a petition submitted to the county board calling for an election. Such petition shall be signed by the legal voters of the county equal in number to ten percent of the number of votes cast in the county for the office of Governor at the most recent election at which the Governor was elected. Notice of any such election shall be given in the manner required for county election notices in section 23-126.

In any county which has issued bonds pursuant to section 23-397, the county board shall levy annually upon all the taxable property in such county a tax sufficient to pay the interest and principal of such bonds as the same fall due.

(1) For any project to repair, retrofit, reconstruct, or replace any bridge, the county board may adopt a resolution which provides for project payment on a set schedule over a period of time that may extend for multiple years beyond the completion date for such project.

(2) This section shall provide full authority for the exercise of the power described in subsection (1) of this section by a county, and no further action shall be required by the county board under any other provision of state law except as provided under the Open Meetings Act prior to the exercise of such power. If there is any provision of law applicable to a county in conflict with this section, this section shall be controlling.

Sections 23-401 to 23-418 shall be known and may be cited as the County Civil Service Commission Act.

The purpose of the County Civil Service Commission Act is to guarantee to all citizens a fair and equal opportunity for employment in the county offices governed by the act and to establish conditions of employment and to promote economy and efficiency in such offices. In addition, the purpose of the act is to establish a system of personnel administration that meets the social, economic, and program needs of county offices. Such system shall provide the means to recruit, select, develop, and maintain an effective and responsive workforce and shall include policies and procedures for employee hiring and advancement, training and career development, position classification, salary administration, benefits, discipline, discharge, and other related matters. All appointments and promotions under the act shall be made based on merit and fitness.

As used in the County Civil Service Commission Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Employees means all county employees of the county. Employees does not include part-time employees, employees subject to the state personnel service, court-appointed employees, employees of the county attorney's office, employees of the public defender's office, dentists, physicians, practicing attorneys, deputy sheriffs, officers appointed by the Governor, or elected officers or the chief deputy of each office or the deputy of each office if there is not more than one deputy in the office;

(2) Part-time employee means any person whose position is seasonal or temporary as defined by the commission;

(3) Department head means an officer holding an elected office, an officer holding office by appointment of the Governor, the chief deputy of any office or the deputy if there is not more than one deputy, and such other persons holding positions as are declared to be department heads by the county board; and

(4) Commission means the civil service commission formed pursuant to section 23-404.

In any county having a population of four hundred thousand inhabitants or more as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, there shall be a civil service commission which shall be formed as provided in the County Civil Service Commission Act. A county shall comply with this section within six months after a determination that the population has reached four hundred thousand inhabitants or more as determined by the most recent federal decennial census.

(1) The commission shall consist of five members who shall be in sympathy with the application of merit principles to public employment. No member of the commission shall be a member of any local, state, or national committee of a political party or an officer or member of a committee in any partisan political club or organization.

(2) The members of the commission shall be as follows: (a) Two elected officers selected from the offices of and elected by the county commissioners, clerk, assessor, treasurer, public defender, register of deeds, clerk of the district court, engineer, and sheriff, being of opposite political parties if possible, and each party shall separately select its own member, (b) two full-time permanent county employees, and (c) one public member holding no public or political office. The initial two such employees shall be selected by the two elected officers referred to in subdivision (a) of this subdivision as follows: Any such employee who is at least twenty-one years of age may submit his or her name as a candidate to the elected officer of the political party with which the employee is registered who shall then select one commission member from such list of names. The four members of the commission shall then select the public member. The commission shall establish employee election procedures which shall provide that all county employees subject to the County Civil Service Commission Act may vote and, if not less than twenty-one years of age, be candidates for a member of the commission. One employee member of the commission shall be a Democrat elected by the Democrat-registered employees subject to the County Civil Service Commission Act and one employee member of the commission shall be a Republican elected by the Republican-registered employees subject to the County Civil Service Commission Act. An employee otherwise eligible to vote and be a candidate for the office of employee member of the commission, but who is not registered as either a Democrat or a Republican, may become eligible to vote, and become a candidate for the office of employee member of the commission by making a declaration that he or she desires to vote for such a member of the commission, or be a candidate for such office, and, in the same declaration, designating the party, Democrat or Republican, with which he or she desires to be affiliated for this purpose. After making such declaration, that employee shall have the same right to vote for a candidate, and be a candidate for the office of employee member of the commission as if the employee were a registered member of the party so designated in the declaration. The manner, form, and contents of such declaration shall be initially established by the two elected officials referred to in subdivision (2)(a) of this section, subject to modification by the commission after it has been fully formed.

(3) The initial term of office of (a) the two elected officers shall be three years from May 21, 1971; (b) the initial term of office of the county employees shall be two years from May 21, 1971; and (c) the initial term of the public member shall be three years from May 21, 1971.

(4) At the expiration of the initial term of office, a successor member shall be elected or appointed as provided in the County Civil Service Commission Act for a term of three years. Membership on the commission of any member shall terminate upon the resignation of any member or at such time as the member no longer complies with the qualifications for election or appointment to the commission. If a member's term terminates prior to the expiration of the term for which the member was elected or appointed, the commission shall appoint a successor complying with the same qualifications for the unexpired term.

The members of the commission shall not receive compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for such necessary expenses and mileage as may be incurred in the performance of their duties with reimbursement for mileage to be made at the rate provided in section 81-1176. The county board shall provide sufficient funds in order that such commission may function as set forth in the County Civil Service Commission Act.

The commission shall hold regular meetings at least once every three months and shall designate the time and place thereof by notice posted in the courthouse at least seven days prior to the meeting. The commission shall adopt rules of procedure and shall keep a record of its proceedings. The commission shall also make provision for special meetings, and all meetings and records of the commission shall be open to the public except as otherwise provided in the County Civil Service Commission Act. The commission shall elect one of its members as chairperson for a period of one year or until a successor has been duly elected and qualified.

(1) The commission may prescribe the following: (a) General employment policies and procedures; (b) regulations for recruiting, examination, and certification of qualified applicants for employment and the maintenance of registers of qualified candidates for employment for all employees governed by the County Civil Service Commission Act; (c) a system of personnel records containing general data on all employees and standards for the development and maintenance of personnel records to be maintained within the offices governed by the act; (d) regulations governing such matters as hours of work, promotions, transfers, demotions, probation, terminations, and reductions in force; (e) regulations for use by all offices governed by the act relating to such matters as employee benefits, vacation, sick leave, and holidays.

(2) The commission shall require department heads to provide sufficient criteria to enable the commission to properly conduct employment examinations.

(3) The commission shall require department heads to supply to the commission position classification plans, job descriptions, and job specifications.

(4) Individual personnel records shall be available for inspection only by the employee involved, the employee's department head, and such other persons as the commission shall authorize.

(5) The commission shall have such other powers as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of the act.

(6) All acts of the commission pursuant to the authority conferred in this section shall be binding on all county department heads governed by the County Civil Service Commission Act.

The commission may recommend to the county board salary and pay plans for the employees.

All employees governed by the County Civil Service Commission Act on September 1, 2019, shall retain their employment without the necessity of taking any qualifying examination.

Any employee may be discharged, suspended, or demoted in rank or compensation by his or her department head by a written order which shall specifically state the reasons therefor. Such order shall be filed with the commission, and a copy of such order shall be served upon the employee personally or by leaving it at his or her usual place of residence. Any employee so affected may, within ten days after service of the order, appeal such order to the commission. Notice of such appeal shall be in writing, signed by the employee appealing, and delivered to any member of the commission. The delivery of the notice of appeal shall be sufficient to perfect an appeal, and no other act shall be deemed necessary to confer jurisdiction of the commission over the appeal. In the event any employee is discharged, suspended, or demoted prior to the formation of the commission, such employee may appeal the order to the commission within ten days after the formation of the commission in the manner provided in this section.

The commission shall, within two weeks after receipt of the notice of appeal, hold a public hearing thereon at which the employee shall be entitled to appear personally, be represented by counsel, cross-examine witnesses, and produce evidence. The commission shall have the authority to affirm, modify, or revoke the order appealed from, and the finding and the decision of the commission shall be certified to the department head who issued the order, and the finding and decision of the commission shall be binding on all parties concerned. In the event of an appeal to the commission, no order affecting an employee shall become permanent until the finding and decision of the commission shall be certified as provided in this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of the County Civil Service Commission Act, an employee affected by an order may request transfer to another department governed by the County Civil Service Commission Act with the consent of the commission and the department head of such other department.

To effectively carry out the duties imposed on the commission by the County Civil Service Commission Act, the commission shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and compel the production of books and papers.

No employee or person desiring to be an employee in an office governed by the County Civil Service Commission Act shall be appointed, demoted, discharged, or in any way favored or discriminated against, because of political, racial, or religious opinions or affiliations, but advocating or being a member of a political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state by force or violence shall be sufficient reason to discharge an employee.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the County Civil Service Commission Act, any person who holds the position of chief deputy, or deputy if there is not more than one deputy in the office, may be removed by the elected officer from the position of chief deputy or deputy without cause, but such person shall, if he or she has been an employee of the county for more than two years prior to the appointment as chief deputy or deputy, have the right, unless discharged or demoted as provided in sections 23-411 and 43-412, to remain as a county employee at a salary not less than eighty percent of his or her average salary during the three preceding years.

(1) The county board shall appoint a human resources director to help carry out the County Civil Service Commission Act. Such human resources director shall be a person experienced in the field of personnel administration and in known sympathy with the application of merit principles in public employment. The human resources director shall report to the county board. In addition to other duties imposed upon him or her by the county board, the human resources director shall:

(a) Apply and carry out the act and the rules and regulations thereunder;

(b) Attend meetings of the commission and act as its secretary and keep minutes of its proceedings;

(c) Establish and maintain a roster of all employees in the classified service which shall set forth the class title, pay, status, and other pertinent data for each employee;

(d) Appoint such employees and experts and special assistants as may be necessary;

(e) Foster and develop, in cooperation with appointing authorities and others, programs for the improvement of employee effectiveness, including, but not limited to, training, safety, health, counseling, and welfare;

(f) Encourage and exercise leadership in the development of effective personnel administration with the several county agencies, departments, and institutions; and

(g) Perform such other duties as he or she may consider necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of the County Civil Service Commission Act.

(2) The human resources director shall require department heads to provide sufficient criteria to enable the commission to properly conduct employment examinations and shall require department heads to supply to the commission position classification plans, job descriptions, and job specifications.

(3) Individual personnel records shall be available for inspection only by the employee involved, the employee's department head, and such other persons as the commission shall authorize.

An appeal from a final order of the commission shall be in the manner provided in sections 25-1901 to 25-1908.

If any provision of the County Civil Service Commission Act or of any rule, regulation, or order thereunder or the application of such provision to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, the remainder of the County Civil Service Commission Act and the application of such provision of the County Civil Service Commission Act or of such rule, regulation, or order to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby.

Whenever it is deemed necessary to erect a courthouse, jail, or other public county buildings in any county in this state, the county board may and, upon petition of not less than one-fourth of the registered voters of the county as shown by the list of registered voters of the last previous general election, shall submit to the people of the county to be voted upon at a general election or at a special election called by the county board for that purpose a proposition to vote a special annual tax for that purpose of not to exceed three and five-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in such county for a term of not to exceed five years. The special annual tax is excluded from the limitation in section 77-3442 as provided by section 77-3444.

The manner of submitting such proposition shall be governed by section 23-126.

The county board, upon being satisfied that all the foregoing requirements have been substantially complied with, and that sixty percent of all the votes cast at said election are in favor of such tax, shall cause such proposition and all the proceedings had thereon to be entered upon the records of said county board, and shall make an order that said levy be carried on the tax lists in a column for that purpose, and collected as other taxes; Provided, that the question of levying such taxes, when defeated, shall not be resubmitted in substance for a period of one year from and after the date of said election.

If the time such election is held and such tax voted is before the tax lists for that year have been delivered to the county treasurer, then such levy shall be entered upon such tax lists for that year; but if such election is not held until after the tax lists for that year have been delivered to the county treasurer, then such tax shall not be levied or carried on such tax lists until the next annual levy of taxes, when the same shall be levied and collected annually for the time voted at such election.

Such sum so levied and collected shall constitute a special fund for the purposes for which the same was voted and shall not be used for any other purpose, and shall be kept by the county treasurer separate and apart from the other county funds.

No contract shall be entered into by the county board for the erection of buildings to be paid for out of such fund until at least seventy percent of such levy has been collected and paid into the county treasury. After the completion of said building, if sufficient funds are not in the county treasury to finish paying for same, warrants may be issued to an amount not exceeding eighty-five percent of the levy yet uncollected.

In case the amount so produced by the rate of tax so proposed and levied shall exceed the amount expended for the specific object for which the same was voted, it shall not therefor be held invalid, but such excess, after said buildings and furnishings are paid for, shall go into the county general fund.

Any county shall have power to purchase, hold, and improve public grounds and parks within the limits of the county, to provide for the protection and preservation of the same, to provide for the planting and protection of shade or ornamental trees, to erect and construct or aid in the erection and construction of statues, memorials, and works of art upon any public grounds, and to receive donations and bequests of money or property for the above purposes in trust or otherwise.

Sections 23-901 to 23-920 shall be known and may be cited as the County Budget Act of 1937.

Sections 23-901 to 23-919 shall apply to all the counties of this state, except counties having a population of two hundred thousand or more inhabitants, and shall apply to counties of the latter class to the extent and under the conditions presented in section 23-920. The fiscal year of all counties, except as is provided for in section 23-920, shall begin July 1 and end June 30, and shall be the budget year.

The budget of the county shall present a complete financial plan for the period for which said budget is drawn, as hereinafter provided. It shall set forth (1) all proposed expenditures for the administration, operation and maintenance of all offices, departments, activities, funds and institutions of the county, (2) the actual or estimated operating deficits from prior years, (3) all interest and debt redemption charges during the period covered by said budget, (4) all expenditures for capital projects to be undertaken or executed during the period covered by said budget, including expenditures for local improvements which may be paid for in whole or in part by special assessments and operating reserves, and (5) the anticipated income, including all fees, license taxes, taxes to be levied and all other means of financing the proposed expenditures for the period covered by said budget; Provided, however, in counties having a population of two hundred thousand or more inhabitants, sections 23-901 to 23-919 shall not apply to any matters connected with the foreclosure of taxes and the county board can at any time appropriate, from the unexpended balances out of the general fund, the sums of money necessary to carry through such a tax foreclosure action or actions.

The budget document, setting forth the financial plan of the county for the period covered by said budget, shall embrace three parts, the nature and contents of which shall be as hereinafter set out.

Part I shall consist of a budget message prepared by the budget-making authority, as provided for hereinafter, which shall outline the fiscal policy of the county for the period covered by said budget, describing in connection therewith the important features of the budget plan. It shall also embrace a general budget summary, setting forth the aggregate figures of the budget in such a manner as to show the balanced relations between the total proposed expenditures and operating reserves and the total anticipated income, including all fees, license taxes, taxes to be levied, and all other sources of revenue, contrasted with the corresponding figures for the last two completed fiscal years. The general budget summary shall be supported by explanatory schedules or statements classifying the expenditures contained therein by offices, departments, activities and funds and the income by offices, departments, activities and funds.

Part II shall embrace the detailed budget estimates, both of expenditures and revenue, as provided for in section 13-504. It shall also include statements of the bonded indebtedness of the county, if any, showing the debt redemption requirements, the debt authorized and unissued, the condition of the sinking funds, the borrowing capacity, and a summary, to be furnished by the county treasurer to the budget-making authority, of the uncollected taxes arising from the last three annual levies. In addition thereto it shall contain any statements relative to the financial plan which the budget-making authority may deem advisable or which may be required by the county boards.

Part III shall embrace complete drafts of the resolutions or motions required to give legal sanction to the financial plan when adopted by the county board. These resolutions or motions shall include an appropriation resolution or motion authorizing, by spending agencies and by funds, all expenditures of the local government for the period covered by said budget and such other resolutions or motions as may be required to provide the income necessary to finance the budget.

The form of the county budget and the form of the budget document, as required by the County Budget Act of 1937, shall be formulated by the Auditor of Public Accounts and the Attorney General. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall draft the forms and act in an advisory capacity in the preparation of the budget and may authorize the use of computer equipment and processing in the preparation of the budget. He or she shall transmit copies of the forms to the county clerk of each county in the state on or before July 15 of each year. Any hospital established pursuant to section 23-3501 may file its budget on an accrual basis. The budget document form shall include such estimate blanks for the various offices and departments of the county and such other additional forms as the Auditor of Public Accounts or the Attorney General deems necessary in the computation and preparation of the county budget. The expense of printing and transmitting the required copies to the counties by the Auditor of Public Accounts shall be borne by the state and included in the proper appropriation.

In each county the finance committee of the county board shall constitute the budget-making authority unless the board, in its discretion, designates or appoints one of its own members or the county comptroller, the county manager, or other qualified person as the budget-making authority. If he or she will accept the appointment, another county official may be appointed as the budget-making authority. For the performance of this additional responsibility, the county official accepting the appointment may receive such additional salary as fixed by the county board.

On or before August 1, the budget-making authority shall prepare a county budget document, in the form required by sections 23-904 and 23-905, for the fiscal year and transmit the document to the county board.

A summary of the budget, in the form required by section 23-905, showing for each fund (1) the requirements, (2) the outstanding warrants, (3) the operating reserve to be maintained, (4) the cash on hand at the close of the preceding fiscal year, (5) the revenue from sources other than taxation, (6) the amount to be raised by taxation, and (7) the amount raised by taxation in the preceding fiscal year, together with a notice of a public hearing to be had with respect to the budget before the county board, shall be published once at least four calendar days prior to the date of hearing in some legal newspaper published and of general circulation in the county or, if no such legal newspaper is published, in some legal newspaper of general circulation in the county. For purposes of such notice, the four calendar days shall include the day of publication but not the day of hearing.

Final action shall not be taken on the proposed budget by the county board until after at least one public hearing has been held thereon by the board, as provided in sections 23-904 to 23-906. It shall be the duty of the county board to arrange for and hold such hearing. A copy of said budget document shall be available at the office of the clerk for public inspection from and after its transmission to the county board by the budget-making authority as provided in section 23-906.

The county board shall consider the budget document, as submitted to it by the budget-making authority, of the county, and may, in its discretion, revise, alter, increase or decrease the items contained in the budget, but not without first having a hearing with the office or department affected; Provided, however, that when it shall increase the total proposed expenditures of the budget it shall also increase the total anticipated income so that the total means of financing the budget shall at least equal in amount the aggregate proposed expenditures, including the operating reserve.

On or before September 30 of each year, the county board shall adopt the budget and appropriate the several amounts specified in the budget for the several departments, offices, activities, and funds of the county for the period to which the budget applies as provided hereinbefore.

The total amount provided in the budget to be raised by taxation shall in no instance exceed the amount of taxes authorized by law to be levied during that year, including the amounts necessary to meet outstanding indebtedness, as evidenced by bonds, coupons, or warrants regularly issued. No changes shall be made in the budget after its adoption, except as provided by sections 13-511 and 23-918. In arriving at the amounts required to be raised by taxation for each fund, the total requirements, the outstanding warrants, and the operating reserve shall be added and from such total shall be deducted the revenue from sources other than taxation and the cash on hand on June 30. The operating reserve in no event shall be more than fifty percent of the total expenditures for the fund during the last completed fiscal year. The income of the county, as estimated in the budget, shall be and become applicable in the amounts and according to the funds specified in the budget for the purpose of meeting the expenditures as contemplated and set forth in the budget.

The amounts required to be raised by taxation for the various offices, departments, activities, and funds of the county, as provided in said budget as adopted, shall not exceed the existing statutory or constitutional limitations relating thereto, and shall be the amount levied by the county board for the purposes designated in said budget.

The funds to be raised by taxation or otherwise, as provided and allowed in said budget, for the various offices, departments, activities, and funds of the county shall, upon the adoption of the budget, be deemed to be and be appropriated to the various offices, departments, activities, and funds as provided in said budget, and shall be used for no other purpose.

The county board shall file with the county clerk the complete budget document, which shall be in the form provided for in sections 23-904 and 23-905. A copy thereof shall also be filed with the Auditor of Public Accounts within thirty days after its adoption. The budget document shall show, in addition to the figures set forth in the general budget summary, the changes made by the county board in the course of its review, revision, and adoption of the budget. It shall also show the tax rate necessary to finance the budget as adopted.

(1) On and after July 1, and until the adoption of the budget by the county board in September, the county board may expend any balance of cash on hand in any fund for the current expenses of the county payable from such fund. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, such expenditures shall not exceed an amount equivalent to the total amount expended under the last budget for such fund in the equivalent period of the prior budget year. Such expenditures shall be charged against the appropriation for such fund as provided in the budget when adopted.

(2) The restriction on expenditures in subsection (1) of this section may be exceeded upon the express finding of the county board that expenditures beyond the amount authorized are necessary to enable the county to meet its statutory duties and responsibilities. The finding and approval of the expenditures in excess of the statutory authorization shall be adopted by the county board in open public session of the county board. Expenditures authorized by this subsection shall be charged against appropriations for each individual fund as provided in the budget when adopted, and nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize expenditures by the county in excess of that authorized by any other statutory provision.

If for any reason the county board fails or neglects in any year to make the appropriation for the support, operation and maintenance of the county government for the fiscal year, then ninety percent of the several amounts appropriated in the last budget for the objects and purposes therein specified, insofar as the same shall relate to the support, operation and maintenance of the county government and the administration thereof, shall be deemed to be appropriated for the fiscal year for the several objects and purposes as specified in the said last budget.

After the adoption of the county budget, no officer, department or other expending agency shall expend or contract to be expended any money, or incur any liability, or enter into any contract which, by its terms, involves the expenditure of money not provided for in the budget, or which involves the expenditure of any money for any of the purposes for which provision is made in the budget in excess of the amounts provided in said budget for such office, department or other expending agency, or purpose, for such fiscal year. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation of this section shall be null and void as to the county, and no money belonging thereto shall be paid thereon.

After the adoption of the county budget, no county shall be liable, either on any contract, implied contract or on any obligation arising by operation of law, for any merchandise, machinery, materials, supplies or other property delivered to or for any services rendered such county in pursuance of any contract entered into by or on behalf of such county in violation of the provisions of section 23-916.

The county board may, during the fiscal year, make additional appropriations or increase existing appropriations to meet emergencies in case of such unanticipated requirements as are essential to the preservation and maintenance within the county of the administration of justice, the public safety, the public welfare, and the public health, the funds therefor to be provided from temporary loans. A resolution, setting forth the nature of such emergency, the amount of the additional or increased appropriations required, and the source of obtaining the funds to provide for such appropriations, shall be entered on the proceedings of the county board. Temporary loans, when made, shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of the county board. Such temporary loans shall be repaid from such sources as may be available or, if no other sources are available, by an annual levy of not to exceed seven cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property of such county. Such tax levy, together with the annual levy for any succeeding year, shall not exceed the existing statutory or constitutional limitation applicable to levies for county purposes.

Any official, employee or member of the county board violating the provisions of sections 23-901 to 23-918, shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor. As part of the judgment of conviction, the court shall forfeit the term and tenure of the office or the employment of the person so convicted and shall order his removal from his said office or employment. Any vacancy arising by reason of said forfeiture and removal shall be filled as provided by law in the case of a vacancy in said office for any other cause. Any member of the county board or any other official whose duty it is to allow claims and issue warrants therefor, or to make purchases, incur indebtedness, enter into contracts for or on behalf of the county, who issues warrants or evidences of indebtedness, or makes any purchase, incurs any indebtedness or enters into any contract for or on behalf of the county contrary to the provisions of said sections, shall be liable to the county for such violations in the full amount of such expenditures, and for the full amount which the county may be required to pay by reason of any purchase made, indebtedness incurred or contract made contrary to the provisions of said sections, whether the liability of the county to pay for such supplies, materials, merchandise, equipment or services is based upon said contract or upon quasi-contract, or upon an obligation arising by operation of law, and recovery may be had against the bondsman of such official for said amounts. Any county treasurer or other official whose duty it is to pay warrants and evidences of indebtedness, who shall pay such warrants and evidences of indebtedness contrary to the provisions of said sections, shall likewise be liable to the county for such violations in the full amount of such expenditures, and recovery may be had against his bondsman for said amount. Suit may be brought either by the county or by any taxpayer thereof for the benefit of the county for any amount for which any official, employee or member of the county board may be liable, as provided in this section.

In counties having two hundred thousand or more inhabitants, the fiscal year shall begin January 1 and end December 31. Any such county may by an affirmative vote of a majority of all the members of the county board elect to change its fiscal year from a period of twelve months commencing January 1 to a period commencing July 1, and to become subject to all the terms of sections 23-901 to 23-919. Any county hospital operating under sections 23-3501 to 23-3527 may, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the board of trustees of such facility, elect to change its fiscal year to any period of twelve months for determining and carrying on its financial affairs.

(1) The county officers in all counties shall have the necessary clerks and assistants for such periods and at such salaries as the county officers may determine, subject to budgetary approval by the county board.

(2) In carrying out its budget-making duties, a county board shall not eliminate an office or unduly hinder a county officer in the conduct of his or her statutory duties. If a county officer challenges the county board's decision in court, the county officer shall have the burden to prove such elimination or hindrance by clear and convincing evidence.

When it is necessary for any county officer or his or her deputy or assistants, except any county sheriff or his or her deputy, to travel on business of the county, he or she shall be allowed mileage at the rate per mile allowed by section 81-1176 for travel by personal automobile upon the presentation of his or her bill for the same accompanied by a proper voucher to the county board of his or her county in like manner as is provided for all other claims against the county, but if travel by rental vehicle or commercial or charter means is economical and practical, then he or she shall be allowed only the actual cost of the rental vehicle or commercial or charter means. The county board may establish different mileage rates based on whether the personal automobile usage is at the convenience of the county or at the convenience of the county officer or his or her deputy or assistant.

(1) If a trip or trips included in an expense claim filed by any county officer or employee for mileage are made by personal automobile or otherwise, only one claim shall be allowed pursuant to section 23-1112, regardless of the fact that one or more persons are transported in the motor vehicle.

(2) No charge for mileage shall be allowed when such mileage accrues while using any motor vehicle owned by the State of Nebraska.

(3) No charge for mileage shall be allowed when such mileage accrues while using any motor vehicle owned by a county, except as provided in section 33-117.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, the salaries of all elected officers of the county shall be fixed by the county board prior to January 15 of the year in which a general election will be held for the respective offices.

(2) The salaries of all deputies in the offices of the elected officers and appointive veterans service officers of the county shall be fixed by the county board at such times as necessity may require.

(3) The county board may make payments that include, but are not limited to, salaries described in this section or reimbursable expenses by electronic funds transfer or a similar means of direct deposit.

(4)(a) The salaries of the members of the county board shall be established by resolution by the members of the county board subject to the requirements in this section. Except as provided in subdivision (b) of this subsection, no such salary shall be increased by more than the cumulative change in the unadjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Federal Bureau for Labor Statistics for the period since the last salary increase plus one percent. No such salary shall be increased more than once every two fiscal years.

(b) The county board may place the issue on the ballot of whether to increase the salary of the members of the county board by more than the amount permitted in subdivision (a) of this subsection for approval by the registered voters of the county. The county board shall determine the percentage of increase and hold a public hearing regarding the increase. If the county board approves the percentage by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the county board, the county board shall transmit the issue to the election commissioner or county clerk for placement on the ballot at the next statewide general election subject to section 32-559.

For the purpose of fixing the salaries of certain officers and their deputies, counties shall be classified as follows: Counties having a population of less than three thousand inhabitants, Class 1; three thousand and less than nine thousand inhabitants, Class 2; nine thousand and less than fourteen thousand inhabitants, Class 3; fourteen thousand and less than twenty thousand inhabitants, Class 4; twenty thousand and less than sixty thousand inhabitants, Class 5; sixty thousand and less than two hundred thousand inhabitants, Class 6; and counties of two hundred thousand inhabitants or more, Class 7.

In counties of Class 1, the county clerk, treasurer, sheriff, attorney, and appointive full-time veterans service officer shall each receive a minimum annual salary of five thousand five hundred dollars, to be paid periodically as other county employees out of the general fund.

In counties of Class 2, the county clerk, assessor, treasurer, sheriff, attorney, and appointive full-time veterans service officer shall each receive a minimum annual salary of six thousand dollars, and in counties entitled by law to have a clerk of the district court, the clerk of the district court shall receive a minimum annual salary of fifty-four hundred dollars, to be paid periodically as other county employees out of the general fund.

In counties of Class 3, the county clerk, assessor, treasurer, sheriff, attorney, appointive full-time veterans service officer, and the clerk of the district court shall each receive a minimum annual salary of six thousand five hundred dollars, to be paid periodically as other county employees out of the general fund.

In counties of Class 4, the county clerk, register of deeds, assessor, treasurer, sheriff, attorney, appointive full-time veterans service officer, and the clerk of the district court shall each receive a minimum annual salary of seventy-five hundred dollars, to be paid periodically as other county employees out of the general fund.

In counties of Class 5, the county clerk, register of deeds, assessor, treasurer, sheriff, attorney, appointive full-time veterans service officer, and the clerk of the district court shall each receive a minimum annual salary of eight thousand dollars, to be paid periodically as other county employees out of the general fund.

Except for members of the county board, salaries of county officers, including appointive full-time veterans service officers, in counties of Class 6 or 7 shall be established by the county board, except that the county assessor in counties of Class 7 shall receive a minimum annual salary of twenty thousand dollars, to be paid periodically as other county employees out of the general fund.

When the same person occupies more than one office in the same county, he shall receive only one minimum annual salary.

The salary of one full-time deputy of the various county offices shall not be less than sixty-five percent of the county officer's salary. No full-time deputy shall, except for vacation and sick leave periods established by the county board, be entitled to such salary during any period of time that such deputy is not actually engaged in the performance of the official duties of a deputy.

Sections 23-1114.02 to 23-1114.07 and 23-1114.09 shall be so interpreted as to effectuate their general purpose, to provide, in the public interest, adequate compensation as therein provided for the county officers affected thereby and to give effect to such salaries as soon as same may become operative under the Constitution of the State of Nebraska.

Sections 23-1114 and 23-1114.02 to 23-1114.07 shall be interpreted so as to effectuate their general purpose, to provide, in the public interest, adequate compensation as therein provided for the members of the county board, and to give effect to such salaries as soon as the same may become operative under the Constitution of the State of Nebraska.

When a county officer is compelled by the pressure of the business of the office to employ a deputy, the county commissioners may make a reasonable allowance to such a deputy.

(1)(a) Unless the county has adopted a retirement system pursuant to section 23-2329, the county board of any county having a population of one hundred fifty thousand inhabitants or more, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, may, in its discretion and with the approval of the voters, provide retirement benefits for present and future employees of the county. The cost of such retirement benefits shall be funded in accordance with sound actuarial principles with the necessary cost being treated in the county budget in the same way as any other operating expense.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this subsection, each employee shall be required to contribute, or have contributed on his or her behalf, an amount at least equal to the county's contribution to the cost of any such retirement program as to service performed after the adoption of such retirement program, but the cost of any benefits based on prior service shall be borne solely by the county.

(c) In a county or municipal county having a population of two hundred fifty thousand or more inhabitants but not more than five hundred thousand inhabitants, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, the county or municipal county shall establish the employee and employer contribution rates to the retirement program for each year after July 15, 1992. The county or municipal county shall contribute one hundred fifty percent of each employee's mandatory contribution, and for an employee hired on or after July 1, 2012, the county or municipal county shall contribute at least one hundred percent of each such employee's mandatory contribution, except that an employee receiving a one hundred fifty percent employer contribution under this subdivision may irrevocably elect to switch to a one hundred percent contribution for all future contributions. The combined contributions of the county or municipal county and its employees to the cost of any such retirement program shall not exceed sixteen percent of the employees' salaries.

(2) Before the county board or council provides retirement benefits for the employees of the county or municipal county, such question shall be submitted at a regular general or primary election held within the county or municipal county, and in which election all persons eligible to vote for the officials of the county or municipal county shall be entitled to vote on such question, which shall be submitted in the following language: Shall the county board or council provide retirement benefits for present and future employees of the county or municipal county? If a majority of the votes cast upon such question are in favor of such question, then the county board or council shall be empowered to provide retirement benefits for present and future employees as provided in this section. If such retirement benefits for present and future county and municipal county employees are approved by the voters and authorized by the county board or council, then the funds of such retirement system, in excess of the amount required for current operations as determined by the county board or council, may be invested and reinvested in the class of securities and investments described in section 30-3209.

(3) As used in this section, employees shall mean all persons or officers devoting more than twenty hours per week to employment by the county or municipal county, all elected officers of the county or municipal county, and such other persons or officers as are classified from time to time as permanent employees by the county board or council.

(4) The county or municipal county may pick up the member contributions required by this section for all compensation paid on or after January 1, 1985, and the contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions in determining federal tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code, except that the county or municipal county shall continue to withhold federal income taxes based upon these contributions until the Internal Revenue Service or the federal courts rule that, pursuant to section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, these contributions shall not be included as gross income of the member until such time as they are distributed or made available. The county or municipal county shall pay these member contributions from the same source of funds which is used in paying earnings to the member. The county or municipal county shall pick up these contributions by a salary deduction either through a reduction in the cash salary of the member or a combination of a reduction in salary and offset against a future salary increase. Member contributions picked up shall be treated in the same manner and to the same extent as member contributions made prior to the date picked up.

(5) Beginning December 31, 1998, through December 31, 2017:

(a) The chairperson of the county board or council with a retirement plan established pursuant to this section and section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code shall file with the Public Employees Retirement Board a report on such plan and shall submit copies of such report to the Auditor of Public Accounts. The Auditor of Public Accounts may prepare a review of such report pursuant to section 84-304.02 but is not required to do so. The report shall be in a form prescribed by the Public Employees Retirement Board and shall contain the following information for each such retirement plan:

(i) The number of persons participating in the retirement plan;

(ii) The contribution rates of participants in the plan;

(iii) Plan assets and liabilities;

(iv) The names and positions of persons administering the plan;

(v) The names and positions of persons investing plan assets;

(vi) The form and nature of investments;

(vii) For each defined contribution plan, a full description of investment policies and options available to plan participants; and

(viii) For each defined benefit plan, the levels of benefits of participants in the plan, the number of members who are eligible for a benefit, and the total present value of such members' benefits, as well as the funding sources which will pay for such benefits.

If a plan contains no current active participants, the chairperson may file in place of such report a statement with the Public Employees Retirement Board indicating the number of retirees still drawing benefits, and the sources and amount of funding for such benefits; and

(b) If such retirement plan is a defined benefit plan which was open to new members on January 1, 2004, in addition to the reports required by section 13-2402, the county board of a county or council of the municipal county with a retirement plan established pursuant to this section shall cause to be prepared an annual report and the chairperson shall file the same with the Public Employees Retirement Board and the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee of the Legislature and submit to the Auditor of Public Accounts a copy of such report. The Auditor of Public Accounts may prepare a review of such report pursuant to section 84-304.02 but is not required to do so. If the county board or council does not submit a copy of the report to the Auditor of Public Accounts within six months after the end of the plan year, the Auditor of Public Accounts may audit, or cause to be audited, the county or municipal county. All costs of the audit shall be paid by the county or municipal county. The report shall consist of a full actuarial analysis of each such retirement plan established pursuant to this section. The analysis shall be prepared by an independent private organization or public entity employing actuaries who are members in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries, and which organization or entity has demonstrated expertise to perform this type of analysis and is unrelated to any organization offering investment advice or which provides investment management services to the retirement plan. The report to the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee shall be submitted electronically.

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of section 84-205 or if a person is participating in a pretrial diversion program established pursuant to sections 29-3601 to 29-3604 or a juvenile pretrial diversion program established pursuant to sections 43-260.02 to 43-260.07, it shall be the duty of the county attorney, when in possession of sufficient evidence to warrant the belief that a person is guilty and can be convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, to prepare, sign, verify, and file the proper complaint against such person and to appear in the several courts of the county and prosecute the appropriate criminal proceeding on behalf of the state and county. Prior to reaching a plea agreement with defense counsel, the county attorney shall consult with or make a good faith effort to consult with the victim regarding the content of and reasons for such plea agreement. The county attorney shall record such consultation or effort in his or her office file.

(2) It shall be the duty of the county attorney to prosecute or defend, on behalf of the state and county, all suits, applications, or motions, civil or criminal, arising under the laws of the state in which the state or the county is a party or interested. The county attorney may be directed by the Attorney General to represent the state in any action or matter in which the state is interested or a party. When such services require the performance of duties which are in addition to the ordinary duties of the county attorney, he or she shall receive such fee for his or her services, in addition to the salary as county attorney, as (a) the court shall order in any action involving court appearance or (b) the Attorney General shall authorize in other matters, with the amount of such additional fee to be paid by the state. It shall also be the duty of the county attorney to appear and prosecute or defend on behalf of the state and county all such suits, applications, or motions which may have been transferred by change of venue from his or her county to any other county in the state. Any counsel who may have been assisting the county attorney in any such suits, applications, or motions in his or her county may be allowed to assist in any other county to which such cause has been removed. The county attorney shall file the annual inventory statement with the county board of county personal property in his or her possession as provided in sections 23-346 to 23-350. It shall be the further duty of the county attorney of each county, within three days from the calling to his or her attention of any violation of the requirements of the law concerning annual inventory statements from county officers, to institute proceedings against such offending officer and in addition thereto to prosecute the appropriate action to remove such county officer from office. When it is the county attorney who is charged with failure to comply with this section, the Attorney General may bring the action. It shall be the duty of the county attorney to make a report on the tenth day of each quarter to the county board which shall show final disposition of all criminal cases the previous quarter, criminal cases pending on the last day of the previous quarter, and criminal cases appealed during the past quarter. The county board may waive the duty to make such report.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a qualified person need not be a resident of the county when he or she files for election as county attorney, but if elected as county attorney, such person shall reside in a county for which he or she holds office, except that a county attorney serving in a county which does not have a city of the metropolitan, primary, or first class may reside in an adjoining Nebraska county.

(2) If there is no county attorney elected pursuant to section 32-522 or if a vacancy occurs for any other reason, the county board of such county may appoint a qualified attorney from any Nebraska county to the office of county attorney. In making such appointment, the county board shall negotiate a contract with the attorney, such contract to specify the terms and conditions of the appointment, including the compensation of the attorney, which compensation shall not be subject to sections 23-1114.02 to 23-1114.06.

(1) No person shall seek nomination or appointment for the office of county attorney in counties of Class 4, 5, 6, or 7, nor serve in that capacity, unless he or she has been admitted to the practice of law in this state for at least two years next preceding the date such person would take office and has practiced law actively in this state during such two-year period, except that if no person who meets the requirements of this subsection has filed for or sought such office by the filing deadline for nomination or by the deadline for applications for appointment, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any person seeking such office.

(2) No person shall seek nomination or appointment for the office of county attorney, nor serve in that capacity, unless he or she has been admitted to the practice of law in this state.

(3) The classification of counties in section 23-1114.01 applies for purposes of this section.

Each county attorney shall appear on behalf of the state before any magistrate, and prosecute all complaints made in behalf of the state of which any magistrate shall have jurisdiction, and he shall appear before any magistrate and conduct any criminal examination which may be had before such magistrate, and shall also prosecute all civil suits before such magistrate in which the state or county is a party or interested.

The county attorney shall without fee or reward give opinions and advice to the board of county commissioners and other civil officers of their respective counties, when requested so to do by such board or officers, upon all matters in which the state or county is interested, or relating to the duty of the board or officers in which the state or county may have an interest; Provided, in all counties of this state the county board may employ such additional counsel in civil matters as it may deem necessary. Such attorney or attorneys shall counsel the board or county officers on such civil matters as the board may lay before him or them, and shall prosecute or defend, on behalf of the county or any of its officers, such civil actions or proceedings as the interests of the county may in their judgment require, and shall receive such reasonable compensation in each case as the board and such counsel may agree upon.

The county attorney may, with the approval and consent of the county board, appoint one or more deputies, who shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by the county board, to assist him in the discharge of his duties.

The county attorney of any county may, under the direction of the district court, procure such assistance in any investigation or appearance or the trial of any person charged with a crime which is a felony, as he may deem necessary for the trial thereof, and such assistant or assistants shall be allowed such compensation for said services as the court shall determine, to be paid by order of the county treasurer, upon presenting to said board the certificate of the district judge before whom said cause was tried certifying to services rendered by such assistant or assistants and the amount of compensation.

In counties having a population of more than thirty thousand inhabitants and not more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, there is hereby created the office of deputy county attorneys, and the county attorney of such county may at his discretion appoint additional deputy county attorneys for such county upon receiving the approval thereof by the county board. The salary of the additional deputy county attorneys, referred to in this section, shall be fixed by the county board.

The deputy county attorney in all counties, except as otherwise provided in section 23-1204.05, shall file a bond in the same manner and for the same amount required of the county attorney and be removable at the pleasure of the county attorney.

In counties whose population is more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, the county attorney may appoint a chief deputy county attorney and one or more deputy county attorneys. Before entering upon the duties of their offices, each of said deputies shall be required to give a bond for the faithful performance of the duties of such office in an amount to be fixed and approved by the judges of the district court.

A grant program is established to reimburse counties for the personal service costs of deputy county attorneys associated with termination of parental rights actions resulting from Laws 1998, LB 1041. Counties in which a city of the metropolitan class or a city of the primary class is located are eligible for grants under this program. The Department of Health and Human Services shall administer the program. Counties receiving grants shall submit quarterly expenditure reports to the department.

Due to the absence, sickness, disability, or conflict of interest of the county attorney and his or her deputies, or upon request of the county attorney for good cause, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any district court, separate juvenile court, or county court before which the cause may be heard may appoint an attorney to act as county attorney in any investigation, appearance, or trial by an order entered upon the minutes of the court. Such attorney shall be allowed compensation for such services as the court determines, to be paid by order of the county treasurer upon presenting to the county board the certificate of the judge before whom the cause was tried certifying to services rendered by such attorney and the amount of compensation.

No prosecuting attorney shall receive any fee or reward from or on behalf of any prosecutor or other individual for services in any prosecution or business which it shall be his official duty to attend; nor shall he act or be concerned, as an attorney or counsel for either party, other than for the state or county, in any civil action depending upon the same state of facts upon which any criminal prosecution, commenced or prosecuted, shall depend, or depending upon the same state of facts, investigated by him, while acting as county coroner.

(1)(a) In counties having a population of two hundred thousand inhabitants or more, the county attorney and all deputy county attorneys shall devote their full time to the legal work of such county and shall not engage in the private practice of law directly or indirectly, nor shall any county attorney, deputy county attorney, or employee of the county attorney of any such county directly or indirectly refer any legal matter or civil or criminal litigation to any lawyer or either directly or indirectly recommend or suggest to any person the employment of any particular lawyer or lawyers to counsel in, conduct, defend, or prosecute any action, case, claim, demand, or legal proceeding, whether in litigation or otherwise. In counties having a population of two hundred thousand inhabitants or more, the county attorney may appoint deputy county attorneys to serve without pay and when so appointed shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

(b) In counties with sixty thousand or more but less than one hundred thousand inhabitants, the county attorney shall receive a salary of not less than twenty-seven thousand five hundred dollars per annum.

(c) In counties with one hundred thousand or more but less than two hundred thousand inhabitants, the county attorney shall receive a salary of not less than thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. The county attorneys of such counties shall not engage in private practice. The deputy county attorneys in such counties may engage in private practice.

(2) In any county not specifically provided for under subsection (1) of this section, the county board may adopt a resolution not less than sixty days prior to the deadline for filing for the office of county attorney providing that the county attorney shall devote his or her full time to the legal work of the county and shall not engage in the private practice of law directly or indirectly and shall not directly or indirectly refer any legal matter or civil or criminal litigation to any lawyer nor directly or indirectly recommend or suggest to any person the employment of any particular lawyer or lawyers to counsel in, conduct, defend, or prosecute any action, case, claim, demand, or legal proceeding, whether in litigation or otherwise. The full-time county attorney shall receive an annual salary, to be set by the county board, to be paid periodically out of the general fund the same as the salaries of other employees, except that in a county having a population of twenty thousand inhabitants or more or when two or more contiguous counties jointly employ one county attorney and have a combined population of twenty thousand inhabitants or more, the county attorney for the county or counties shall receive an annual salary of not less than twenty thousand dollars.

Any county attorney, deputy county attorney, or any employee of the county attorney in any county having a population of more than two hundred thousand inhabitants violating the provisions of section 23-1206.01 shall be guilty of malfeasance in office and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned in the county jail not more than six months, or both such a fine and imprisonment, and in addition shall vacate his office.

(1) It shall be the duty of the county attorney, whenever he or she shall receive any money or other property in his or her official capacity, to give to the person paying or depositing such money or other property duplicate receipts, one of which shall be filed by such person with the county clerk.

(2) Whenever any such money is received by the county attorney, he or she shall carefully manage it and may, when the money cannot immediately be paid out to its rightful owner, deposit the money in interest-bearing accounts in insured banking or savings institutions. Any interest accrued from such deposit shall be paid over to the county treasurer to be credited to the county general fund, except that when the funds so deposited belonged to a deceased person whose personal representative has not yet been appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the interest accruing on such money shall be paid to the estate of such person after the appointment of a personal representative and upon order of the court.

(3) Any property other than money which is received by the county attorney shall be held by him or her in safekeeping until claimed by the rightful owner or, if there is a dispute as to the ownership of such property, until ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction to give possession of the property to some person.