9-3-103 in attending to such services, in addition to his salary

9-3-103 in attending to such services, in addition to his salary as county attorney.

18-3-305. Repealed by Laws 1981, Sp. Sess., ch. 22, § 2.

ARTICLE 4 - COUNTY CLERKS

18-3-401. Office created; election.

There shall be elected in each county a county clerk, who shall be a resident of the county in which the county clerk serves, beginning on the first day of the term and through the last day of the term for which the county clerk serves.

18-3-402. Duties generally.

(a) The county clerk shall:

(i) Act as clerk to the board of county commissioners and as such shall:

(A) Attend all sessions of the board of county commissioners either in person or by deputy;

(B) Keep the seal, records and papers of the board of county commissioners;

(C) Keep a record of all proceedings of the board;

(D) Make regular entries of all the board's resolutions, orders and decisions in all questions coming before it;

(E) Sign all orders issued by the board for the payment of money and preserve and file all accounts acted upon by the board with a memorandum of its action thereon;

(F) Perform other duties as required by the board of county commissioners.

(ii) Keep a record of all licenses, except marriage licenses, giving the names of the persons to whom such licenses are issued with the date, amount and purpose for which the license was issued;

(iii) Keep blank county warrants or blank orders which shall be properly filled out before any warrants are delivered. He shall not deliver any warrant until it is properly signed by the chairman of the board of county commissioners, countersigned by the county treasurer and attested by himself with the county seal;

(iv) Keep a seal provided by the board of county commissioners, the impression, ink stamp or digital equivalent of which shall contain the words "The State of Wyoming, County Clerk", together with the name of the county;  (v) Designate upon every account audited and allowed the amount allowed and file such accounts as well as those not allowed in separate accounts. He shall not sign or issue any county warrants unless ordered by the board of county commissioners. He shall number each warrant issued;

(vi) Have custody and keep all books, records, deeds, maps, papers and copies thereof deposited or kept in his office as required by law. All deeds, mortgages, and other instruments in writing authorized by law to be recorded or filed in his office and left in his office shall be:

(A) Recorded in distinct handwriting or by typing, photostating, photographing, printing or other reproduction, either in whole or in part, in suitable books; or

(B) Recorded on microfilm, microcards or other permanent record retention medium. All reproduction processes shall be instituted and used pursuant to W.S. 9-2-413. Maps may either be recorded as herein provided or if the copying is unlikely to provide a satisfactory record, the county clerk may keep the originals or tracings thereof, undamaged and unfolded and make prints available for public use.

(vii) Record any deed containing a metes and bounds description which may be accompanied by a map prepared in compliance with law and delineating the land described in the deed. If a map delineating the land has been previously recorded, the deed may make reference to the recorded map;

(viii) Require any person presenting a document for recording which is legible but not sufficiently clear to produce a readable copy to substitute a clear original or legible true copy of the original document;

(ix) Keep in his office a general index, direct and inverted, in which he shall make correct entries of every instrument recorded or filed under appropriate headings, entering the names of the grantors and grantees in alphabetical order. He shall make correct entries in the index of every instrument required by law to be entered therein. He shall immediately note in the appropriate index whenever any mortgage, bond or other instrument has been released or discharged from record, whether by written release or by recording a deed of release;  (x) Keep a record specifying the time of reception, the names of the grantors, the names of the grantees, from whom received, to whom delivered and the fees received:

(A) Whenever any instrument is received for recording, immediately endorse upon the instrument his certificate, noting the day, hour and minute of its reception, the reference where recorded, the fees received for recording and date of record;

(B) The date of record of all instruments requiring recording or filing shall be the date of filing;

(C) Whenever any instrument has been filed the county clerk shall immediately make an entry of the same, and after the instrument requiring recording is recorded he shall immediately deliver it to the person authorized to receive it;

(D) No county clerk shall perform any of these duties unless any required fee has been paid.

(xi) Keep abstract records in which all transfers and mortgages of real property and all liens upon real estate are briefly entered. All instruments affecting real estate and left for record or filed in the office shall be abstracted against all lands described in the instrument either directly or by reference to another properly recorded instrument as soon as practicable in the order in which received:

(A) The county clerk shall enter in the abstract all recorded transfers of real estate and all mortgages, construction liens and judgment liens;

(B) All abstract entries of land shall describe the legal division of land or subdivision, naming section, township and range according to the United States surveys when the same is described in the instrument filed for record. The abstract entries shall include:

(I) The name of the grantor or grantee;

(II) The name of the mortgagor or mortgagee or the parties thereto;

(III) The character of the instrument;  (IV) The consideration stated in the instrument;

(V) The date of the instrument;

(VI) The date of filing in the clerk's office;

(VII) The description of the premises;

(VIII) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 3, § 2.

(C) All abstract entries of town lots shall be made in a similar manner to those of lands and shall reference the number of the lot and block.

(xii) File or file and record every notice, abstract or statement of any lien or claim or release or discharge thereof in favor of the United States or any department or bureau thereof as provided by the laws of the United States when any such instrument has been prepared in conformity to the laws of the United States and is presented for filing or filing and recording:

(A) The county clerk shall number such notices, abstracts or statements in the order in which they are filed and if they are required to be recorded he shall record them in accordance with subparagraph (xi)(B) of this subsection, with the character of the instrument being called "federal lien";

(B) No fee shall be charged for the performance of these services and the failure to file, record or index properly the notice, abstract or statement shall not affect the validity or legality of any such lien, claim, release or discharge.

(xiii) Accept and use as official records, when furnished to him without charge, records containing printed forms of water right contracts, forms for subscription to the stock of corporations or associations whereby water rights are acquired and forms of deeds of water rights from all corporations and water user associations organized for constructing, maintaining or operating ditches, reservoirs or other water works for irrigation, mining, milling or power purposes;  (xiv) Issue certificates under the seal of the county relating to the selection or relinquishment of state or school lands required by the state board of land commissioners without requiring the payment of fees:

(A) At the request of the state board of land commissioners the county clerk shall record and abstract all contracts between the United States and the state of Wyoming. All deeds, relinquishments or assignments executed by the authority of the state board of land commissioners shall be executed under his seal without requiring the payment of fees.

(xv) Endorse a certificate upon every bond or evidence of debt issued pursuant to law that the same is within the lawful debt limit of the county and is issued according to law. Such certificates shall be signed in his official character;

(xvi) Collect and remit to the county treasurer the following fees:

(A) Recording charges for any instrument-first page ...............................$12.00

Each additional page ..................$3.00

(B) Abstract of personal property (per year) ................................................$1.00

(C) Acknowledgments ..................$2.00

(D) Bond oath and notary public commission-first page ...............................$12.00

Each additional page ..................$3.00

(E) Military discharge and separation papers (first recording) .........................No Charge

(F) Marriage license ................$30.00

(G) Marriage license certified copy ..$5.00

(H) Repealed by Laws 2002, Ch. 96, § 2.

(J) Certification ....................$5.00  (K) State tax liens .................$20.00

(L) Release of state tax liens................................INCLUDED IN FILING FEE

(M) Additional recording charge for any instrument with more than five (5) grantors or grantees of a different surname or more than five (5) claim names-each additional name ......................................$1.00

(N) Additional recording charge for each section (including quarter and quarter-quarter, if applicable), block, lot or tract-description in excess of ten (10) .............................................$1.00

(O) Plats filed (including cemeteries and amended plats) ......................................$75.00

(P) Liens filed pursuant to Title 29-first page ................................................$12.00

Each additional page ..................$3.00

(Q) Filing charge for each corner record or certificate ..........................................$5.00

(R) Recording charge for any instrument containing more than two (2) real estate descriptions by book and page only-each additional description .......$2.00

(S) Liens filed upon real property pursuant to W.S. 20-6-106(y) .................................$12.00

Each additional page ..................$3.00

Additional recording charge for each additional collateral description ....................$1.00

(T) For filing and indexing an original financing and termination statement .................$20.00

For each additional certificate of title upon which the lien is note for perfection ...........$1.00

(U) For statements of amendment, continuation or assignment............................$5.00  (W) For lien search and certification of filings of record and affixing the seal .............$20.00

(Y) Repealed By Laws 2010, Ch. 69, § 204.

(xvii) Permit any person authorized by the board of county commissioners of any new county or of any bonded abstract company, and at the expense of the new county or abstract company, to examine the records of all deeds, mortgages, maps and other instruments which affect any property located within the boundaries of the new county, and to transcribe, photograph or reproduce the same:

(A) The county clerk shall compare the transcribed, photographed or reproduced instruments in his office and shall certify to the county clerk of the new county or the abstract company that they are true and correct copies of the originals. The county clerk certifying the instruments shall not receive any additional payment for time spent in comparing and certifying the instruments. All expenses shall be paid by the new county;

(B) The county clerk of the new county or the bonded abstract company shall index and abstract all transcribed, photographed or reproduced instruments in accordance with paragraphs (vi) through (xii) of this subsection which shall be received in evidence and have the same effect as if they had been originally filed in the new county.

(xviii) Deliver upon the written demand of the county clerk of any new county all records containing abstracts of lands in townships lying wholly within the boundaries of the new county and all records containing abstracts of townsites and town lots lying wholly within the boundaries of the new county together with the plats of the townsites or town lots. When the county clerk of the new county has received the records and abstracts they shall become a part of the records of the new county and no further abstracts of the instruments are required;

(xix) Repealed By Laws 2010, Ch. 34, § 2.

(xx) Deliver to his successor in office all books, records, papers and other items belonging to his office;

(xxi) Remit all monies coming into his office to the county treasurer;  (xxii) Perform other duties as prescribed by law, as county clerk and register of deeds;

(xxiii) Perform all duties or general accounting required to implement the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act;

(xxiv) File maps as defined in W.S. 33-29-801. The county clerk shall charge a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for filing the maps;

(xxv) If the county clerk accepts electronic recordings of deeds, mortgages, conveyances, patents, certificates, instruments and other like documents, establish procedures to govern the electronic recordings consistent with rules promulgated by the department of enterprise technology services pursuant to W.S. 34-1-405;

(xxvi) Report all conveyances, as defined by W.S. 19- 13-501(a)(i), to the director of the office of homeland security and the division of criminal investigation in accordance with W.S. 19-13-501 and 19-13-502.

(b) No individual, corporation or governmental entity is exempt from payment of fees in advance.

(c) A county clerk may charge a reasonable fee for a copy or a reproduction of a public record, but the fee shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication of the record. As used in this subsection, "actual cost of duplication" means the cost of materials and supplies used to duplicate or reproduce the record, but shall not include the cost of labor or the overhead associated with the duplication.

(d) Each county clerk shall, after receiving a proposed budget for a special district or other specified entity under W.S. 9-1-507(a)(viii), ensure that the proposed budget is forwarded to the board of county commissioners and county assessor.

ARTICLE 5 - COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

18-3-501. Composition; election for increasing the number; term; quorum; election for districting; procedures.

(a) Each board of county commissioners shall consist of three (3) qualified electors who shall be elected in the following manner: at the general election held in the year 1980 and every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected one (1) commissioner for a term of four (4) years and at the general election held in the year of 1978 and every fourth year thereafter there shall be elected two (2) commissioners for a term of four (4) years each. Any two (2) members of the board constitute a quorum and are competent to act. In addition to the other residency requirements imposed by this section, each county commissioner shall be a resident of the county in which the county commissioner serves, beginning on the first day of the term and through the last day of the term for which the county commissioner serves.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, any county may increase the membership of its board of county commissioners from three (3) to five (5) members if a proposition for the increase is submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the county and a majority of those casting their ballots vote in favor of the increase. Additional offices created under this subsection shall be filled at the general election next following the election at which the increase was approved. At that general election, not more than one (1) commissioner shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, and the election ballots shall so state. Each term shall otherwise be four (4) years.

(c) The proposition to increase the membership of the board of county commissioners shall be at the expense of the county and be submitted to the electors of the county upon receipt by the county clerk of a petition requesting the election signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the qualified electors of the county. To be counted the electors shall be registered voters when the completed petition is submitted for verification. The number of electors required shall be determined by the number of votes cast at the last general election. The election shall be at the direction and under the supervision of the county clerk. The petition shall be in substantially the following form:

"This petition is for the purpose of requesting an election to increase the membership of the board of county commissioners from three (3) to five (5) members. If a proposition for the increase is submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the county and a majority of those casting their ballots vote in favor of the increase, the additional offices created shall be filled at the general election held in (year). The eligible registered electors supporting the petition and numbering not less than ten percent (10%) of the total number of votes cast at the last general election in the county for which this petition is filed, are as follows:

(Signature) (Printed Name) (Residence Address) (Date)

VERIFICATION OF CIRCULATORS

I, .... do hereby certify that I am a circulator of this petition, and I solely and personally circulated this petition, that all the signatures appearing herein were made in my presence from (month)_(day), (year) through (month) (day), (year), and to the best of my knowledge and belief such signatures are those of the persons whose names they purport to be.

(Signature)

(Residence Address)"

(d) The proposition may be submitted at any general election. A notice of election shall be given in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation published in the county wherein the election is to be held and shall specify the object of the election. The notice shall be published at least once each week for a thirty (30) day period preceding the election. At the election the ballots shall contain the words "for increasing the membership of the board of county commissioners from three (3) to five (5) members", and "against increasing the membership of the board of county commissioners from three (3) to five (5) members".

(e) If a county votes to increase the membership of its board of county commissioners under subsection (b) of this section, three (3) members of the board constitute a quorum and are competent to act.

(f) Any county may decrease the membership of its board of county commissioners from five (5) to three (3) members in the same petition and proposition process as an increase under subsections (b) and (c) of this section. The vote to decrease membership shall be in the general election preceding the election of three (3) commissioners. Notice of the election shall be given as provided in subsection (d) of this section.  (g) Any county in which the electors vote to increase the number of county commissioners from three (3) to five (5) as provided by this section may be divided into five (5) districts if a proposition for districting is submitted to a vote of the qualified electorate of the county and a majority of those casting their ballots vote in favor of the districting. The proposition for districting shall be submitted to a vote in the manner provided by subsections (c) and (d) of this section. At the election, the ballot shall contain the words "for dividing the county into five (5) county commissioner election districts" and "against dividing the county into five (5) county commissioner election districts". The proposition to increase the number of county commissioners and the proposition for districting may appear on the ballot at the same general election, however the ballots shall state that the proposition for districting is contingent upon approval of the proposition to increase the number of commissioners. The petition required by subsection (c) of this section may contain both the proposition to increase the number of commissioners and the proposition for districting, or the propositions may be circulated and submitted on separate petitions. If the proposition for districting is not approved, the commissioners shall represent the county on at-large basis.

(h) If the proposition for districting is approved, the board of county commissioners shall devise a districting plan dividing the county into districts as nearly equal in population as practicable considering the geographic, economic and social characteristics of the county. The districting plan shall be made before March 1 next following the election at which the proposition for districting is approved and shall be effective as of March 1 the following year. The districting plan may provide that any commissioner elected after the effective date of the districting plan shall reside in and represent the district from which he is elected by the electors of that district, and, beginning January 1, 2012, that commissioners may serve at large or that district representation may be apportioned in any combination of single member, multi-member and at large representation, provided that in all cases commissioners represent a population as nearly equal as is practicable considering the geographic, economic and social characteristics of the county. Commissioners in office on the effective date of the districting plan shall serve the county at large until the regular expiration of their term. The districting plan shall designate which districts shall elect county commissioners in the general election next following the effective date of the districting plan. In any county in which the voters approved increasing the number of commissioners and districting at the same election, the districting plan shall also designate which district shall elect a county commissioner at the next general election for a term of two (2) years, as provided by subsection (b) of this section. The ballot shall state the term in the designated district to be for two (2) years. Thereafter, all terms shall be four (4) years.

(j) Appeals from the actions of the boards of county commissioners shall be as provided by law.

(k) If required to do so pursuant to a final court order or changes in population affecting the constitutionality of a current districting plan, the board of county commissioners may by resolution devise a districting or redistricting plan dividing the county into any number of districts necessary to meet the requirements of the court order or necessary to address the population changes. A districting or redistricting plan devised under this subsection may include single member or multi-member districts in which the candidates must reside and which are apportioned by population, districts in which candidates are elected at large, or any combination of districts in which candidates must reside and are apportioned by population or are elected at large provided that in all cases commissioners represent a population as nearly equal as is practicable considering the geographic, economic and social characteristics of the county. A districting or redistricting plan created under this subsection shall not be subject to a vote of the electors and shall go into effect after the next general election and shall be subject to the following:

(i) An initial districting plan created under this subsection shall provide for at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the commissioners to serve an initial term of two (2) years and the remainder to serve an initial term of four (4) years. Thereafter, all terms shall be four (4) years. The terms of all commissioners serving at the time of the approval of the districting plan shall expire at the end of the current year and all offices created under this subsection shall be filled at the general election held on the effective date of the districting plan;

(ii) For a redistricting plan, commissioners in office on the effective date of the districting plan shall serve the county at large until the regular expiration of their term, if practical. The county commission shall determine whether honoring the four (4) year terms is practical.  18-3-502. Meetings in counties.

Each board of county commissioners shall meet at the county seat of their respective counties on the first Tuesday in each month or at such other times as may be designated by resolution of the board or when it is necessary to meet for the transaction of urgent county business.

18-3-503. Length of sessions.

The board of county commissioners may sit four (4) days or longer at each regular session and two (2) days at each special session, but shall not receive any compensation for any length of time over four (4) days at regular sessions, and over two (2) days at special sessions.

18-3-504. Powers and duties generally.

(a) Each board of county commissioners may:

(i) Make such orders concerning the property of the county as they deem expedient;

(ii) Examine and settle all accounts of receipts and expenses of the county and examine, settle and allow all accounts against the county and issue county orders therefor as provided by law;

(iii) Provide for the construction and maintenance of county buildings and insure them in the name of the county treasurer for the benefit of the county. If there are no county buildings they may provide suitable rooms for county purposes;

(iv) Apportion and order the levying of taxes as provided by law;

(v) Represent the county, including but not limited to representing the county as a cooperating agency with special expertise in matters related to the National Environmental Policy Act and in federal land planning, implementation and management actions as provided for by W.S. 18-5-208(a), care for the county property and manage the business and concerns of the county in all cases where no provision is made by law;

(vi) Lay out, alter or discontinue any road running through the county and for such purpose acquire the use of lands therein either by gift, prescription, dedication, the exercise of the right of eminent domain, purchase or lease and perform such other duties respecting roads as required by law;

(vii) Grant licenses for keeping ferries, toll bridges and toll gates as prescribed by law;

(viii) Dissolve any board that the board of county commissioners has created under this article, W.S. 18-11-101 or under chapter 9, article 1 of this title in accordance with W.S.