Before assuming office, the tax collecting official shall execute a bond in duplicate with a surety company authorized to do business in Alabama, payable to the State of Alabama, in an amount to be determined for every county by the Comptroller. The amount of the bond for each tax collecting official shall be set at the beginning of his or her elected or appointed term for the duration of the term. A new bond for an additional amount may be required whenever, in the judgment of the Comptroller, the public welfare demands such action. The amount of the bond shall be determined by the use of the following table based on a percentage of the total annual taxes collected, as recorded in the latest audit report for each office published at least four months prior to the date the bond is required to be filed:

TABLE FOR COMPUTING AMOUNT OF TAX COLLECTING OFFICIAL’S BOND.

The bond of the tax collecting official shall be approved by the Comptroller, conditioned on the faithful performance of the duties of his or her office. The bond, in duplicate, shall be sent to the office of the Comptroller on or before September 1, next after his or her election or, if appointed, prior to the date that he or she is to assume the duties of the office, for the Comptroller’s approval. One copy shall be retained and filed in the Comptroller’s office, and one copy shall be returned to the office of the judge of probate to be filed and recorded in his or her office. The cost of the bond required by this section shall be paid out of the general fund of the county on a warrant of the county commission, and the same shall be a preferred claim against the county.