A County Deep in Warrants Calls for $200,000 in Bonds

Whereas, it appears to the board of county commissioners of Stevens County, State of Washington, that there are outstanding against the current expense fund of Stevens County, Washington, warrants issued by said county between the 20th day of November, 1906, and the 6th day of March, 1909, a portion of which said warrants are bearing eight per cent interest.

Whereas, the said warrants have been regularly issued for the ordinary current expenses of said county, and are now outstanding, subsisting obligations of said county, for which there are no funds available; and

Whereas, a certain portion of said warrants have been issued in excess of the constitutional limits of the indebtedness of said county, namely, one and one-half per cent of the assessed value of the property therein, and are therefore invalid in that particular.

Subsequent to the said 6th day of March, 1909, other warrants have been issued against the county current expense fund prior to the issuance of the bonds hereinafter provided for in the amount of $22,224.10 and interest; and

Whereas, it appears to the board of county commissioners that the best interests of said county will be subserved by borrowing money and the issuance of bonds for the redemption of said warrants and interest thereon;

Be it resolved by the board of county commissioners of Stevens County, Washington, at an adjourned regular meeting thereof, held this 29th day of July, 1909, that a special election of said county shall be, and the same is hereby called for the 7th day of September, 1909; and that at such special election so to be held there shall be, and hereby is, submitted to the electors of said county the following propositions, namely:

1. The question of whether or not said current expense fund warrant indebtedness incurred between the 20th day of November, 1906, and the 6th day of March, 1909, shall be ratified and validated.

2. The question of whether or not said county shall borrow money in the sum of $200,000.00, and issue the bonds of said county therefor, provided that said bonds shall be issued in four blocks as follows:

The first block of $50,000.00 to be issued, sold, and the proceeds thereof to be exclusively for the redemption of $50,000.00 of the outstanding current expense fund warrant indebtedness of said county; and after the said $50,000.00 of said bonds have been so issued, sold, and the proceeds thereof applied to the redemption of said warrant indebtedness shall have been so redeemed, then the second block of said bonds, amounting to the sum of $50,000.00, shall be issued, and when said second block of $50,000.00 shall have been so issued, sold, and the proceeds thereof applied for the redemption of said warrant indebtedness, and when such $50,000.00 of said warrant indebtedness has been redeemed, then the third block of said bonds, amounting to the sum of $50,000.00, shall be issued, and when said third block of $50,000.00 shall have been issued, sold, and the proceeds thereof applied for the redemption of said warrant indebtedness, and when such $50,000.00 of said warrant indebtedness has been so redeemed, then the fourth block of said bonds, amounting to the sum of $50,000.00 shall be issued, and so much of the proceeds thereof as necessary applied to the funding of the remainder of said indebtedness.

All of the bonds herein provided for shall be payable and redeemable twenty years after date, but said county may redeem all or any part of said bonds at any time after the expiration of ten years. They shall bear interest from and after the date of issuance thereof, at a rate not exceeding 5 per cent per annum, to be payable semi-annually, both principal and interest of said bonds to be payable either at the office of the county treasurer of Stevens County, Washington, or at the office of the state treasurer at Olympia, Washington, or at the fiscal agency of the State of Washington in the city of New York and State of New York at the option of the purchaser.

Be it further resolved, that the polls shall be open on the day of said special election from 8 o'clock a.m. until 7 o'clock p.m. of the 7th day of September, 1909.

Be it further resolved, that the county auditor shall cause notice of said election to be given as provided by law.—G. W. Sutherland, W. W. Bryant, S. S. Beggs.