REQUESTED BY: William W. Lyons, Attorney for McCook Public Power District
QUESTION: Is the manager of a public or rural power district required to file a Statement of Financial Interests pursuant to the provisions of section 49-1493(6),R.S. Supp., 1976?
CONCLUSION
Yes.
ANALYSIS: Section 49-1493 provides that a member of the board of directors or an officer of a district organized under the provisions of Chapter 70 is required to file Statements of Financial Interests.
The question is whether or not the manager of such a district is an officer and thereby required to file.
Chapter 70, Article 6, sets forth the provisions pertaining to public power and irrigation districts. Chapter 70, Article 8, sets forth the provisions applicable to rural power district.
Section 70-802, R.R.S., 1943, provides as follows:
Unless the text otherwise requires: . . . (2) The terms public power district and district as used in section 70-801 to 70-808 shall mean the same and also have the same meaning as the term public power district as applied to public corporations created under the provisions of Article 6, Chapter 70, and amendments thereof.
Section 70-805, R.R.S., 1943, provides:
The Department shall cause such certificate to be filed as provided in section 70-608, and thereupon such district under its designated name shall be and constitute a body politic and corporate and thenceforth shall be a public power district governed by all provisions of Article 6, Chapter 70, and of other pertinent statutes, insofar as the same pertain to public power districts after their creation.
Section 70-620.01, R.R.S., 1943, provides:
A general manager may be employed on such terms as the board deems advisable. He shall be chief executive officer of the district and, subject to the control of the board of directors, shall manage, conduct and administer the affairs of the district in an efficient and economical manner.
In view of the provisions of section 70-620.01 specifically describing the general manager as an officer and further providing duties for him akin to an officer of a corporation or body corporate, we hereby rule that a general manager is an officer of a district organized under the provisions of Chapter 70 and therefore required to file a Statement of Financial Interests.
