# Title 11 — Counties

## Chapter 11-10.3 — Multisubdivisions Office Combinations

### § 11-10.3-01. Multicounty combination of elective offices.

1. A county may combine any county elective office with one or more elective offices of
one or more other counties for the purpose of sharing that combined office for the
performance of functions and the provision of services among those counties. The
procedures set forth in this chapter apply to the combination, unless a specific
procedure for combining particular elective county offices is otherwise provided by law.
2. A proposal for combining county elective offices may be accomplished:
a. By the boards of county commissioners of each affected county by entering into a
joint powers agreement incorporating a plan for the office combination, subject to
the right of referendum in the electors of each of the counties; or
b. By initiative of the electors of each affected county. A petition signed by ten
percent or more of the total number of qualified electors of each county voting for
governor at the most recent gubernatorial election may be submitted to the
boards of county commissioners of each county, calling upon the boards to
submit to the electors the question of adopting a plan described in, or annexed to,
the petition.
3. A joint powers agreement entered into between counties for combining the functions of
any county elective office pursuant to subdivision a of subsection 2 may be referred to
the qualified electors of an affected county by a petition protesting the agreement. The
petition must be signed by ten percent or more of the total number of qualified electors
of the county voting for governor at the most recent gubernatorial election, and filed
with the county auditor, or functional equivalent of that office, before four p.m. on the
thirtieth day after the agreement is adopted. Within ten days after the filing of the
petition, the county auditor shall examine the petition and ascertain from the voter list
whether the petition contains the signatures of a sufficient number of qualified electors.
Any insufficiencies may be cured by the filing of an amended petition within ten days
after the county auditor declares the insufficiency. The implementation of the terms of
the joint powers agreement is suspended upon a determination by the county auditor
that the petition was timely filed and contains the signatures of a sufficient number of
qualified electors. The board of county commissioners shall reconsider the referred
agreement and, if the board does not terminate the agreement in its entirety, shall
submit the question to a vote of the qualified electors of the county at the next regular
election. The county auditor shall cause the complete text of the agreement to be
published in the official newspaper of the county, not less than two weeks nor more
than thirty days, before the date of the election. The boards of county commissioners
may, prior to the election, hold public hearings and community forums and use other
suitable means to disseminate information, receive suggestions and comments, and
encourage public discussion of the purpose and provisions of the plan. If a majority of
the qualified electors voting on the question in the county approve the question, the
plan incorporated in the agreement is effective and becomes operative according to
the terms of the agreement as if the agreement had not been suspended. If the
electors of either county do not approve the question, the plan does not become
effective.
4. The question of combination of the functions of elective county offices brought by
petition pursuant to subdivision b of subsection 2 must be submitted by the boards of
county commissioners to the electors in each of the affected counties at a primary or
general election not less than sixty days nor more than two years, as specified in the
petition, after the petition is determined sufficient by each board. The question on the
ballot at the election must be framed in a manner that fairly and accurately describes
the substance of the proposed office-sharing arrangement. The board of county
commissioners in each affected county shall cause the complete text of the proposed
plan for combining offices to be published in the official newspaper of the county, at
least once during two different weeks within the thirty-day period immediately

preceding the date of the election. The boards of county commissioners may, prior to
the election, hold public hearings and community forums and use other suitable means
to disseminate information, receive suggestions and comments, and encourage public
discussion of the purpose and provisions of the plan. If a majority of the qualified
electors of each county voting on the question approves of its adoption, the plan is
effective according to its terms.
5. One copy of the plan as approved must be filed with the district court for each county
and one with each county auditor or functional equivalent to remain as a part of each
county's permanent records. The boards of county commissioners may take any action
necessary to bring about an orderly transition in implementation of the plan.
6. A plan, or part of a plan, adopted pursuant to this chapter may be revised or
terminated through another joint powers agreement or petition submitted pursuant to
the procedure set forth in this chapter for adopting a plan, or pursuant to provisions for
termination or revision provided in the original joint powers agreement.
### § 11-10.3-02. Contents of plan - Limitations.

1. A joint powers agreement or plan for combining the function of county elective offices
may specify:
a. The offices to be combined;
b. The selection, powers, duties, functions, qualifications and training, terms,
candidate residency requirements notwithstanding section 11-10-04, and
compensation of the combined office, and status of the office as elective or
appointive;
c. The manner of apportionment of the costs of the office;
d. Procedures for the selection, transfer, reassignment, or termination of personnel
associated with the affected offices;
e. Procedures for the transfer of powers, records, documents, and property;
f. Procedures for termination or modification of the arrangement;
g. The process for transition in implementing the office combination, including
delayed effective dates for implementation at the end of a current term or a future
term, upon the occurrence of a vacancy, or on a date certain;
h. A process for the limited application or temporary implementation of the plan,
including provisions that permit implementation on an experimental or pilot basis
such as the expiration of the plan on a date certain in the future, require
reapproval of the plan by the electors at a future date, or a phased-in
implementation of various components of the plan; and
i. Other provisions pertaining to the combined office that the affected boards of
county commissioners deem necessary or advisable.
2. A proposed plan for combining the functions of county elective offices may not diminish
the term of office for which a current county officer was elected, redesignate that
elected office during that term as appointed, or reduce the salary of the office for that
term. The plan may not diminish any general responsibility of county government to
perform any function or provide any service that is required by law to be performed or
provided by county government.
3. A proposed plan may not diminish the future term of office, or redesignate an elected
office as appointed, with respect to any person who, on August 1, 1993, holds an
elected county office and continues to hold that specific office for future terms on an
uninterrupted basis. This subsection does not apply after January 1, 2002, or if the
person holding the affected office consents in writing to the proposed plan, and files
that written document prior to the scheduled implementation of the plan with the district
court for each county.
### § 11-10.3-03. Office sharing among political subdivisions.

A proposal for combining appointive offices of two or more counties, appointive offices of a
county and another political subdivision, or appointive offices of two or more political
subdivisions which are not counties may be implemented through the execution of a joint

powers agreement, unless a specific procedure for combining particular appointive offices is
otherwise provided by law. The proposal is not subject to the referendum or election procedures
of this chapter. A proposal for combining both elective and appointive offices of two or more
counties, between a county and another political subdivision, or between two or more political
subdivisions which are not counties, is subject to the referendum procedures of this chapter only
in the county or other political subdivision of the elective office.
