Minnesota Session Laws - 1986, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1986 

                        CHAPTER 327-S.F.No. 1797
           An act relating to public administration; providing 
          for various town powers; permitting certain sales of 
          public property; providing conditions for contractor's 
          bonds; amending Minnesota Statutes 1984, sections 
          366.01, subdivision 1; 367.31, subdivision 4; and 
          471.64, subdivision 1; and Minnesota Statutes 1985 
          Supplement, sections 365.10; and 574.26. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
365.10, is amended to read: 
    365.10 [TOWN MEETINGS, POWERS.] 
    The electors of each town have power, at their annual town 
meeting: 
    (1) to determine the locations of pounds, and number of 
poundmasters, and to discontinue any such pounds; 
    (2) to select such town officers as are to be chosen; 
    (3) to make lawful orders and bylaws as they deem proper 
for restraining horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and other domestic 
animals from going at large on the highways, provide for 
impounding those animals so going at large, and to fix penalties 
for violations of the orders or bylaws; 
    (4) to vote money for the repair and construction of roads 
and bridges, and to vote such sums as they deem expedient for 
other town expenses, including the construction and maintenance 
of docks and breakwaters; 
    (5) when they deem it for the interest of the town to 
direct that a specified amount of the road tax be expended, 
under the direction of their town board, on the roads of an 
adjoining town; 
    (6) to authorize the town board to purchase or build a town 
hall or other building for the use of the town, and to 
determine, by ballot, the amount of money to be raised for that 
purpose; but, if a site for a town hall is once obtained, it 
shall not be changed for another site, except by vote therefor 
designating a new site by two-thirds of the votes cast at such 
election of the legal voters of the town; 
     (7) to authorize the town board, by vote, to purchase 
grounds for a town cemetery, and limit the price to be paid, and 
to vote a tax for the payment thereof; 
     (8) to authorize the town, either by itself or in 
conjunction with one or more other towns, to purchase grounds 
for a public park and to limit the price to be paid therefor, to 
authorize the town, alone or in conjunction with such other town 
or towns, to care for, improve, and beautify such parks, and to 
determine, by ballot, the amount of money to be raised for that 
purpose, and to vote a tax for the payment thereof; 
     (9) to vote money to aid in the construction of community 
halls, to be erected by farm bureaus, farmers clubs, or other 
like organizations;  
     (10) to vote a tax to purchase and maintain a public 
dumping ground;  
     (11) to authorize the town board, by resolution, to 
determine whether to open or maintain town roads or town 
cartways under the jurisdiction of the town board upon which no 
maintenance or construction has been conducted for 25 years or 
more.  For purposes of this clause the provisions of section 
163.16 shall not apply to town roads described in this clause.  
Nothing in this clause shall be construed to abridge the right 
of town voters or land owners to petition for the establishment 
of a cartway as provided in section 164.08;  
    (12) to authorize the town board to spend money in an 
amount as determined by the electors for the purpose of 
commemorating an event of historical significance to the town; 
    (13) to authorize the town board to provide, by ordinance, 
for licensing and regulating the presence or keeping of dogs and 
cats and their running at large within the town; and 
    (14) to authorize the town board to contract with nonprofit 
organizations for health, social, or recreational services in an 
amount not to exceed a total of $5,000 in any year when deemed 
in the public interest and of benefit to the town; and 
    (15) to authorize the town board to provide for the 
collection and disposal of household waste and other refuse, 
consistent with other law. 
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 366.01, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  The supervisors of each town shall 
constitute a board to be designated "The Town Board of 
.............," and any two shall constitute a quorum except in 
towns operating under option A in which case any three shall 
constitute a quorum and except when otherwise provided.  The 
supervisors shall have charge of all the affairs of the town not 
by law committed to other officers. They shall draw orders on 
the treasurer for the disbursement of money to pay the town 
expenses, and for all money raised by the town to be disbursed 
for any other purpose.  They may pay the premium upon the bond 
of the town treasurer a town officer where the surety is a 
corporation authorized by law to be surety.  In lieu of 
individual bonds, the town board may provide for blanket 
position bonds furnished by a surety company to cover officers 
required to furnish a bond if all the obligations required by 
law or ordinance to be assumed by the principals and the 
principals' sureties by an individual bond are included in the 
blanket position bond. 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 367.31, 
subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 4.  [ELECTION; FORM OF BALLOT.] The proposals for 
adoption of the options shall be stated on the ballot 
substantially as follows: 
    "Shall option A, providing for a five member town board of 
supervisors, be adopted for the government of the town?"  
    "Shall option B, providing for the appointment of the clerk 
and treasurer by the town board, be adopted for the government 
of the town?"  
    "Shall option C, providing for the appointment of a town 
administrator by the town board, be adopted for the government 
of the town?"  
    "Shall option D, providing for the combining of the offices 
of clerk and treasurer, be adopted for the government of the 
town?"  
    If a proposal under option B is to appoint only the clerk 
or only the treasurer the ballot question shall be varied to 
read appropriately.  If a town has combined the offices of clerk 
and treasurer, the word "clerk-treasurer" shall be substituted 
for the words "clerk and treasurer" in the question on the 
ballot on adoption of option B.  In any of these cases, the 
question shall be followed by the words "Yes" and "No" with an 
appropriate square before each in which an elector may record 
his choice.  
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 471.64, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  Any county, city, town, school district, or 
other political subdivision of the state may enter into any 
contract with the United States of America or with any agency 
thereof, any state agency, or with any other political 
subdivision of the state for the purchase, lease, sale, or other 
acquisition or disposition of equipment, supplies, materials, or 
other property, including real property, without regard to 
statutory or charter provisions.  The acquisition or disposition 
of such property from or to the federal government shall be in 
accordance with the rules and regulations which may be 
prescribed by the United States of America or any agency thereof.
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1985 Supplement, section 
574.26, is amended to read: 
    574.26 [CONTRACTORS' BONDS.] 
    Except as provided in sections 574.263 and 574.264 or if 
the amount of the contract is $10,000 or less, a contract with 
the state, or with any municipal corporation or other public 
board or body thereof, for the doing of any public work, is not 
valid unless the contractor shall give bond to the state or 
other body contracted with, for the use of the obligee, the 
state and of all persons doing work or furnishing skill, tools, 
machinery, or materials or insurance premiums or equipment or 
supplies for any camp maintained for the feeding or keeping of 
men and animals engaged under, or for the purpose of, such 
contract, conditioned for the payment, as they become due, of 
all just claims for such work, tools, machinery, skill, 
materials, insurance premiums, equipment, taxes incurred under 
section 290.92 or chapter 297A, and supplies for the completion 
of the contract in accordance with its terms, for saving the 
obligee harmless from all costs and charges that may accrue on 
account of the doing of the work specified, and for the 
enforcing of the terms of the bond if action is brought on the 
bond, including reasonable attorney's fees, in any case where 
such action is successfully maintained and for the compliance 
with the laws appertaining thereto.  The penalty of such bond 
shall be not less than the contract price, and if after the 
giving of the bond the contract price should for any reason be 
increased, the obligee may require an additional bond, the 
penalty of which shall be not less than the amount of such 
increase, and if such additional bond be not furnished within 
ten days after such demand, the work on the contract shall cease 
until such additional bond shall have been furnished.  In 
contracts made by the commissioner of administration or the 
department of transportation of the state, the penalty of the 
bond shall be in such amount as the commissioner of 
administration or the commissioner of transportation may fix, 
but not less than three-quarters of the contract price. 
    Approved March 17, 1986