Duties-County Trustee

Reference Number: CTAS-72

The county trustee has three major functions: (1) collecting the county's property taxes; (2) accounting for and disbursing county funds (including proper apportionment and determination of fund availability); and (3) investing temporarily idle county funds. The first of these duties, collection of Property Taxes, is covered under the Revenue topic. The second and third primary responsibilities both relate to financial matters. According to T.C.A. § 8-11-104, the trustee's basic duties include the following:

Collect all state and county taxes on property;
Keep a fair and regular account of all the money received;
Receive the county's bills;
Keep a successive warrant book, or a book showing all bills received, ruled in columns, showing the number, payee or holder, date of the day of presentation, and amount of the bill;
Pay the legal demands (just claims) immediately if there are unappropriated funds sufficient to do so; otherwise, to deliver the demand to the owner endorsed, and pay it in numerical order (Interest might be due if so contracted by the county legislative body, but only until there are funds in the county treasury to make payment. Davidson County v. Olwill, 72 Tenn. 28 (1879).);
Keep fair and regular accounts of such payments;
Furnish the county executive with any papers and vouchers necessary for perfecting any settlement with any person who is accountable for county revenue; and
On going out of office:

(a) Deliver all books and papers of the office to the successor, especially the book showing warrants payable; and

(b) Make settlement with the county executive and pay over the balance of funds remaining to the successor in office, making duplicate receipts (one of which is delivered to the county clerk to be recorded in the revenue docket).