North Carolina General Statutes 159-29. Fidelity bonds
(a) The finance officer shall give a true accounting and faithful performance bond with sufficient sureties in an amount to be fixed by the governing board. A person may not be appointed as a finance officer if the person is unable to obtain the bond required by this section. The premium on the bond shall be paid by the local government or public authority. The amount of the bond fixed by the governing board may not be less than the greater of the following:
(1) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 159-29
- Clerk: means an officer or employee of a local government or public authority charged by law or direction of the governing board with the duty of keeping the minutes of board meetings and conserving records evidencing official actions of the board. See North Carolina General Statutes 159-1
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- local government: is a municipal corporation that is not subject to the State Budget Act (Chapter 143C of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 159-7
- Public authority: is a municipal corporation (other than a unit of local government) that is not subject to the State Budget Act (Chapter 143C of the N. See North Carolina General Statutes 159-7
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(2) An amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the unit’s annually budgeted funds, up to one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(b) Each officer, employee, or agent of a local government or public authority who handles or has in his custody more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) of the unit’s or public authority’s funds at any time, or who handles or has access to the inventories of the unit or public authority, shall, before being entitled to assume his duties, give a faithful performance bond with sufficient sureties payable to the local government or public authority. A person who is unable to secure the bond required by this section cannot assume the duties for which a bond is required under this section. The governing board shall determine the amount of the bond, and the unit or public authority may pay the premium on the bond. Each bond, when approved by the governing board, shall be deposited with the clerk to the board.
If another statute requires an officer, employee, or agent to be bonded, this subsection does not require an additional bond for that officer, employee, or agent.
(c) A local government or public authority may adopt a system of blanket faithful performance bonding as an alternative to individual bonds. If such a system is adopted, statutory requirements of individual bonds, except for elected officials and for finance officers and tax collectors by whatever title known, do not apply to an officer, employee, or agent covered by the blanket bond. However, although an individual bond is required for an elected official, a tax collector, or finance officer, such an officer or elected official may also be included within the coverage of a blanket bond if the blanket bond protects against risks not protected against by the individual bond. (1971, c. 780, s. 1; 1975, c. 514, s. 14; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 975, s. 32; 2005-238, s. 2; 2022-53, s. 9(a).)