(a) The Madison County governing body shall reimburse the office of license commissioner and the office of tax collector from the general fund of the county the amount of any shortage of funds or other monetary loss, not to exceed a total of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per annum, arising or caused by error, if the mistake or omission was caused without his or her personal knowledge, including loss arising from acceptance of worthless or forged checks, drafts, money orders, or other written orders for money or its equivalent.
(b) It shall be the duty of the license commissioner and tax collector to insure that their employees exercise due care in performing their duties and to make a diligent effort to correct the error, mistake, or omission and collect the amount subject to potential loss immediately upon becoming aware of the potential loss. This section shall not apply to any deliberate misuse or misappropriation of funds by the officials or any clerk or employee of their offices.