Counties can adopt appropriation ordinances authorizing sell bonds in order to fund County Jails, Roads, Infrastructure, and Programs of which provide services to the residents of the county.
Under S.D.C.L 7-24, the Citizens of the State of South Dakota have adopted the following rules:
Whenever any county having five hundred voters or more shall have been organized for four years or more and the county seat of such county has been permanently located as provided by law and the building or buildings occupied by such county for courthouse, office, or jail purposes are inadequate to the wants thereof or unsafe by reason of risk by fire or otherwise or whenever it is deemed necessary and for the best interests of said county to erect a suitable building or buildings for the care of the poor, such county may issue its bonds for the purpose of purchasing a site for a courthouse, office, or a jail building or for purchasing a site or grounds for a building or buildings suitable for the care of the county poor or for the erection of a courthouse, office, or jail, building or buildings suitable for the care of the poor under the restrictions and according to the provisions of this chapter.
In accordance with S.D.C.L 6-8B – if a majority of all registered voters voting at the bond election authorize the bond issue, of which no bonds may be issued either for general or special purposes by any public body unless at an election sixty percent of voters of the public body voting upon the question vote in favor of issuing the bonds. The election shall be held in the manner described by law for other elections of the public body.
Resolution or ordinance declaring necessity of bond issue–Contents–Election – If it is determined by the governing body to be necessary or expedient for any public body to issue its bonds the governing body at a regular meeting thereof or a special meeting duly called may by resolution or ordinance declare the necessity thereof and may submit the question of the issuance of bonds to the voters of the public body at any annual election or at a special election called for that purpose.
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shall set forth clearly the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued;
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state the maximum amount of the bonds;
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may also include the maximum rate of interest which they draw;
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shall state the maximum time within which they shall become due and payable;
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may state other matters the governing body determines relevant to the bond issue.
The governing body shall publish notice of the election once each week for two consecutive weeks in all official newspapers designated by the public body or if there is no official newspaper, a newspaper of general circulation serving the public body. The second notice shall be published not less than four nor more than ten days before the election. The notice shall state the maximum amount of bonds to be issued, the purpose for which bonds are to be issued, and other matters the governing body determines to be necessary.
The question of the issuance of bonds for the purchase or the construction of any building, facility, or improvement may be treated and submitted as a single proposition, and the governing body may determine, if bonds are authorized, whether the purchase or the construction thereof will better serve the interests of the public body. The authorization of bonds for the purpose of purchase or construction of any building, facility, or improvement includes the authorization to expend the proceeds for any equipment and furnishings, the purchase of any land, and the payment of all fees and expenses reasonably necessary to complete the building, facility, or improvement for the purpose intended. Expenditures for the above purposes need not be included in any annual appropriation ordinance of the public body. If the requisite percentage of the voters cast their vote in favor of a bond issue, the governing body without further act may issue bonds to the amount voted for and sell and negotiate the same.
Whenever the question of bonding the county for the purpose of bonding the county for the purpose of building or renovating, improving, remodeling, altering, adding to, or repairing a courthouse, jail, memorial building, or other county buildings shall have been submitted to a vote of the voters and such bond issue shall have been carried by a vote of the voters, then in addition to the proceeds raised from the sale of such bonds the board may, whenever there remains in the treasury of such county an unexpended balance of any special fund and all claims against such fund have been fully paid, or when there remains an unexpended balance of the general fund and all claims against such fund have been fully paid, in its discretion, apply the whole or any part of such accumulated funds to the purposes specified in this section and it shall not be necessary to submit the question of such expenditure to the voters of the county.
The question considering the procedure, determining the process of the statewide “Sealed Bid Process” of accepting contracts can be found under S.D.C.L 5-18A:
5-18A-5. Procedures for competitive sealed bids.
The following procedures apply to the use of competitive sealed bids:
(1) Public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given pursuant to § 5-18A-14;
(2) The invitation for bids shall include a purchase description, all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement. The invitation for bids for supplies shall include the length of time, not to exceed forty-five days, between the bid opening and the award of the bid;
(3) A bid may be submitted either manually or electronically in a manner authorized by the purchasing agency;
(4) Each bid shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid, and other relevant information as may be specified, together with the name of each bidder shall be recorded. Except as otherwise provided by law, the record and each bid shall be open to public inspection;
(5) Each bid shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in this section. Each bid shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bids;
(6) Any bid may be withdrawn by letter, by electronic communications, or in person before the time specified in the advertisement for bid. The purchasing agency may allow modification of bids by mail, facsimile, or electronic notice received at the place designated in the invitation to bid not later than the time set for the opening of bids. A modification may not reveal the bid price but shall provide the addition, subtraction, or modification so the final prices or terms will not be known to the purchasing agency until the sealed bid is opened. A modification may not be withdrawn after the time set for the opening of bids. Each modification shall be confirmed in writing by the successful bidder before award of the contract. No bid made may be changed or altered by telephone. After bid opening, no withdrawal of a bid or change in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the purchasing agency or fair competition is permitted. The purchasing agency may waive technical irregularities in the bid or proposal of the low bidder or offeror that do not alter the price, quality, or quantity of the services, or items of tangible personal property bid or offered. Any decision to permit the correction or withdrawal of a bid, or to cancel an award or a contract based on a bid mistake, shall be supported by a written determination made by the purchasing agency, and included in the bid file;
(7) The contract for services or public improvement shall be awarded within thirty days and the contract for supplies shall be awarded within forty-five days of the bid opening by written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids. The purchasing agency may reject any and all bids and readvertise for bids if none of the bids are satisfactory, or if the purchasing agency believes an agreement has been entered into by the bidders to prevent competition. If the low bidder is not responsible or the bid is not made in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and chapters 5-18B, 5-18C, and 5-18D or the low bid is withdrawn as authorized by this section, the bid of the next lowest responsible and responsive bidder may be accepted;
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If it is considered impractical to initially prepare a purchase description to support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by an invitation for bids limited to those bidders whose offers have been qualified under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation;
(9) If, after advertising for bids, no firm bids are received, the purchasing agency may negotiate a contract for the purchase of the supplies, services, or public improvement projects at the most advantageous price, if the specifications of the original bid are met;
(10) If two or more competitive sealed bids submitted are identical in price and product quality, the bids are the low bid, and no resident bidder preference is applicable, the purchasing agency may:
(a) Award the bid by lottery to one of the identical low bidders; or
(b) Reject all the bids and resolicit bids for the required supplies, services, or public improvement.
