West Virginia Code 8-13-23 – Preparation, publication and disposition of financial statements
(a) Every city, within ninety days after the beginning of each fiscal year, shall prepare on a form to be prescribed by the State Tax Commissioner and cause to be published a sworn statement revealing: (1) The receipts and expenditures of the city during the previous fiscal year; (2) the name of each person who received more than $50 during the previous fiscal year, together with the amount received; and (3) all debts of the city, the purpose for which each debt was contracted, its due date and to what date the interest on the debt has been paid. The statement shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for the publication shall be the city: Provided, That all salaries, receipts, payments to each individual vendor and expenditures to employees of municipal offices, companies and departments may be published in the aggregate.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 8-13-23
- City: is a word of art and shall mean, include, and be limited to any Class I, Class II, and Class III city, as classified in section three of this article (except in those instances where the context in which used clearly indicates that a particular class of city is intended), heretofore or hereafter incorporated as a municipal corporation under the laws of this state, however created and whether operating under: (i) A special legislative charter. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- County commission: shall mean the governmental body created by section 22, article eight of the Constitution of this state, or any existing tribunal created in lieu of a county commission. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Governing body: shall mean the mayor and council together, the council, the board of directors, the commission, or other board or body of any municipality, by whatever name called, as the case may be, charged with the responsibility of enacting ordinances and determining the public policy of such municipality. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
- Mayor: shall mean the individual called mayor unless as to a particular municipality a commissioner (in a commission form of government) or the city manager (in a manager form of government) is designated or constituted by charter provision as the principal or chief executive officer or chief administrator thereof, in which event the term "mayor" shall mean as to such municipality such commissioner or city manager unless as to any particular power, authority, duty or function specified in this chapter to be exercised, discharged or fulfilled by the mayor it is provided by charter provision or ordinance that such particular power, authority, duty, or function shall be exercised, discharged, or fulfilled by the individual called mayor and not by a commissioner or city manager, in which event such particular power, authority, duty, or function shall in fact be exercised, discharged, or fulfilled in and for such municipality by the individual called mayor: Provided, That in the exercise and discharge of the ex officio justice of the peace, conservator of the peace, and mayor's court functions specified in this chapter, the term "mayor" shall always mean the individual called mayor. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Person: shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or any other entity or organization of whatever character or description. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Recorder: shall mean the recorder, clerk, or other municipal officer, by whatever name called, charged with the responsibility of keeping the journal of the proceedings of the governing body of the municipality and other municipal records. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- Resident: shall mean any individual who maintains a usual and bona fide place of abode within the corporate limits of a municipality or within the boundaries of a territory referred to in this chapter, as the case may be. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Town: includes a city, village or town, and the word "council" any body or board, whether composed of one or more branches, which is authorized to make ordinances for the government of a city, town, or village. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Town or village: is a term of art and shall, notwithstanding the provisions of §. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
(b) Every city shall transmit to any resident of the city who requests it a copy of any published statement for the fiscal year designated, supplemented by a document listing the names of each person who received less than $50 from any fund during the fiscal year and showing the amount paid to each and the purpose for which paid and an itemization of the salaries, receipts, payments to each individual vendor and expenditures to employees of municipal offices, companies and departments otherwise published in the aggregate.
(c) Every town or village, within one hundred twenty days after the beginning of each fiscal year, shall prepare on a form to be prescribed by the State Tax Commissioner a sworn statement revealing: (1) The receipts and expenditures of the town or village during the previous fiscal year arranged under descriptive headings; (2) the name of each person who received money from any fund during the previous fiscal year, together with the amount received and the purpose for which paid; and (3) all debts of the town or village, the purpose for which each debt was contracted, its due date and to what date the interest on the debt has been paid: Provided, That all salaries, receipts, payments to each individual vendor and expenditures to employees of municipal offices, companies and departments may be published in the aggregate.
(d) Every town or village shall transmit to any resident of the town or village who requests it, a copy of any statement for the fiscal year designated. Any town or village may, if its governing body thereof elects, also publish the statement as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and in that event, the publication area for the publication shall be the town or village.
(e) The statement required by subsection (a) of this section and the statement required by subsection (c) of this section shall be sworn to by the recorder, the mayor and two members of the governing body of the municipality. As soon as practicable following the close of the fiscal year, a copy of any statement required by this section shall be filed by the municipality with the State Tax Commissioner, the clerk of the county commission of the county and the clerk of the circuit court of the circuit in which the municipality or the major portion of the territory of the municipality is located. If the governing body fails or refuses to perform any of the duties set forth in this section, every member of the governing body and the recorder of the governing body concurring in the failure or refusal shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100. If any of the provisions of this section are violated, it is the duty of the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the municipality or the major portion of the territory of the municipality is located to immediately present the evidence of the violation to the grand jury if in session, and if not in session he or she shall cause the violations to be investigated by the next succeeding grand jury.
(f) Where in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section, salaries, receipts, payments to each individual vendor and expenditures are published in the aggregate, the city, town or village shall, upon written request, provide to any resident of the city, town or village an itemized accounting of the salaries, receipts, payments to each individual vendor and expenditures.