Montana Attorney General Opinion 16-76

Opinion No. 76. State Exaroiner-Reports-Special Report, Publication of -Cities and Towns. HELD: A special report of the state examiner, covering an investi- gation of a shortage of city funds,is not a report of the affairs of a city within the meaning and purpose of Chapter 33, Laws of 1929, and there- fore need not be published. April 4, 1935. Mr. R. N. Hawkins Assistant State Examiner The Capitol You have submitted a copy of re- port of the State Examiner covering a special examination made of the books and accounts of Lloyd S. Kurth, former Water Registrar of the City of Great Falls, said report covering a period beginning wJth May 4, 1931, and ending June 30, 1933. You have requested my opinion as to whether this report should be published. Chapter 33, Laws of 1929, requires the publication of the state examiner's report covering the examination of the affairs of any incorporated city or town. In my opinion this statute was intended to cover the annual or regu- lar report by the state examiner of the affairs of a city or town so that the people would be informed thereof, but that the publication of this spe- cial report, consisting of 100 pages of closely typewritten matter, and cov- ering in detail hundreds of items hav- ing to do with the shortage of the city water registrar, is not in the pur- view of the statute. This report is a detailed statement of the findings of the state examiner after weeks of in- 72 OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL vestigation. The publication thereof would require the special edition of a newspaper and no doubt would cost hundreds of dollars and could not serve any useful purpose. It is not a report of the affairs of a city with- in the meaning and purpose of the statute.