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Show four County ternment THE COUNTY SHERIFF County Sheriffs and their appointed deputies are responsible for the preservation of the Peace of the county. They cooperate with the State Highway Patrol and with the police forces of the municipalities within the county. The sheriff is required to attend in person or by deputy all sessions of district court held within the county. The Sheriff or his deputies take charge of ar.d keep the county jail and the prisoners therein. He receives and safely keeps all persons duly committed to his custody and must file and preserve all commitments by which persons are committed, and keep a record of each person. He is required to make arrests of law violators. Legal processes and notices are ' recorded, served and returns made on same by county sheriffs. He is fire warden VtfEs THE COUNTY ASSESSOR The determination of the valuations of real and presonal property in the county is the primary duty of the county assessor. The properties of public utilities such as railroad, power, telephone, and gas companies, are assessed by the State Tax Commission. By law, property in Utah is to be assessed for taxes by calculating forty per cent of the reasonable fair cash, value. In recent years local real estate assessments have been based on 1940 values. Therefore, the assessed values of property locally assessed average only a little more than 20 per cent of actual current selling prices of the property. Surveys have indicated that there is a wide variation in the rates at which property is assessed for taxes in Utah. Property valuations by county assessors are subject to review by county boards of equalization and by the State Tax Commission. F. BENNION SETH WRIGHT for the county. Fires occurring on public domain within the county must be extinguished by the sheriff. Burning permits outside the city limits are issued by the sheriff. He can command the aid of as many male inhabitants of his county may think necessary in the execution of his duties. The sheriff of the county in which a. criminal is sentenced to confinement in the state prison, or is sentenced to death, shall 'Cause such convict to be removed., from the county jail and conveyed to the slate prison and delivered to the warden thereof. In the case of a death sentence the sheriff has charge of carrying out the execution of such person or persons as are sentenced to death. He has charge of the safekeeping of all county property. lie is the keeper of the court house and its grounds. The. sheriff is the only other authorized person, besides a doctor or coroner, who can sign a death certificate. lie is in charge of inspecting buildings that are being constructed in the county and seeing that a building permit is obtained by such persons. He also must investigate such things as: plane, boat, mine and gunshot wound accidents. Along with his many Official duties and responsibilities there enters such other matters as: settling family feuds, delivering emergency messages, g providing emergency taxi service, transpor-tatinpatients to and from hospitals in Provo, Salt Lake, Ogden, Shiprock, Farmshutington etc.,: making emergency blood tles and he- has even been known to do baby sitting and plumbing work. Know your county government. Know your County Sheriff, hes here to help YOU. as-h- e . - THE COUNTY ATTORNEY The office of county attorney is created by express constitutional provision, and his statutory duties cover the whole range of governmental activities in the county. He must cause the arrest of and prosecute in the justices court all public offenders in the county and assist the district attorney in his prosecution in the district court. He must REDD represent the interests of juveniles charged with delinquency in the juvenile court, represent the state in juvenile custody cases and prosecute persons charged in the juvenile court with contributing to the delinquency of minors; he must approve or reject all claims for juror fees and fees for witnesses in criminal cases; he must defend all actions against the county arid prosecute for the county all actions for debt, fines, penalties, and for forfeitures; he must give his opinion to all county, district and precinct offices and must give receipts and account monthly for all moneys and property received by him in hjs official capacity. He is the official advisor of the Board of County Commissioners and must pass on all claims against the county. He must forward to the district attorney the transcript of all examinations before a justice of the peace of persons charged with felony and held for the district court with a list of the witnesses for the state and a statement of the facts. He must v institute suits to recover all forfeitures by the county treasurer. He must appear and represent the child in cases for the annulment of an adoption. No warrant for the arrest of any person shall be issued by a justice of the peace except on his approval.' He must institute proceedings to enforce the banking laws, institute bastardy proceedings and examine the woman in the presence of the defendant, prosecute violations of the blue sky laws, and in ail cases where foul play is suspected, he must receive the death certificate and investigate the bodies and circumstances of death and make recommendations on whether an inquest should be held; he must be served with summons in all divorce cases charging permanent insanity and must investigate the merits of .the case and defend the rights of the person so charged, and witness the drawing of the names of all trial and grand jurors. He must prosecute the violation of election laws, laws requiring campaign statements, and the corrupt practice act. He must examine and certify the fees of all jurors and all witnesses in criminal cases, institute suits to recover all moneys unlawfully paid by the county; upon request, aid in the presecution or defense of workmens compensation, suits, collect property of deceased from justice of the the peace and the costs of inquests from the estate of the deceased, prosecute military offenses, institute proceedings for a bond to keep the peace and prosecute the violation thereof, and is the legal adviser of the state engineer on matters in his county. Other. Statutory duties devolving on the assessor make him, under certain circumstances, a member of the county board of canvassers, and he is required to assemble information for the state department of publicity and industrial development, as successor to the former bureau of immigration, labor and statistics. Also business licenses RALPH BURTENSHAW outside the incorporated areas and the Motor Vehicle license plates are sold from the assessors office. The County assessor must ascertain the names of all taxable inhabitants and all pro- perty in the county subject to taxation, and must assess such property to the person by it was owned or claimed, or in whose possession or control it was, at 12 oclock m. of the first day of January. whom To aid in the orderly process of irnosi ing and collecting taxes, the law provides that the county assessor must complete the assessment work indicated above before the 15th day of April of each year. However, at any time during the year the assessor must: (1) assess property liable to taxation that was brought into the county from another county of this state at any time after the first day of Jan., when such property has not been assessed for that year. (2) assess any property he may discover to have escaped assessment. (3) assess livestock brought into this state to be grazed, ranged or fed for a portion of the year, in excess of thirty days or taken out of the state for a eimiliar purpose, for. a. portion of the year. |
