Chap. 301.—An ACT to provide for the building, working and repairing of
public roads of Sussex county, and to authorize any magisterial district
therein to borrow money and to issue bonds for the purpose of building
said roads, and to provide for the payment of such bonds and the interest
to accrue thereon, and authorizing the county to issue bonds for any
magisterial district road purposes.

Approved March 16, 1910.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the board
of supervisors of Sussex county shall, from time to time, divide said
county into road districts, cach containing one or more magisterial dis-
tricts, and shall at their annual mecting held in December of each vear.
or as soon thereafter as practicable, appoint a road superintendent for
each said road district, who shall be a person nominated by the super.
visors of such road district, to hold office for one year, commencing Jan.
uary first next after his appointment, and until his successor is appointec
and qualified. The said road superintendent shall be a resident of saic
district during his term of office, and it shall be his duty to superintenc
and direct the building, and to assist in the work of building, repairing;
and keeping in order of all roads and bridges within his district, 1
such manner and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribec
by the board of supervisors of his county.

2. Said road superintendent shall qualify before the circuit court o
Sussex county, or the clerk of said court in vacation, and each of then
shall enter into and acknowledge a bond before the said court, or clerk
with approved security, in the penalty of two thousand dollars, condi
tioned for the faithful discharge of all duties which may devolve upo!
him by virtue of said office, and a failure to qualify within thirty day
after his appointment shall vacate his office. Such bond shall be payabl
to the board of supervisors of Sussex county, and conditioned as foresaic
and a recovery thereon shall be for the benefit of the road district 1
which such road superintendent resides. .

3. The board of supervisors shall have the power to remove sai
superintendent at their pleasure, and the supervisor or supervisors ¢
his road district shall, subject to the approval of the board of supervisors,
have the power to determine the amount of compensation such road super-
intendent shall receive during his term of office: provided, that such
salary shall be sufficient, when possible so to do, to pay such superin-
tendent for his entire time, and thus keep him constantly employed in
road work.

4. The said road superintendent shall make a report in writing to
the board of supervisors of such matters and things relative to the roads
in his district as the said board may require, and whenever required by
them. |

5. Every superintendent shall be liable to prosecution for any neglect
of duty or malfeasance in office, and upon conviction shall be fined in
each case not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, such fine
to be used on the roads in the district wherein the superintendent re-
sides.

6. The said superintendent shall deliver to the board of supervisors,
along with the report provided for in section four of this act, a statement
of all labor employed by him, together with the price agreed to be paid
per day, or per month, and also of any other expenses incurred by him
as such superintendent. The said statement shall be sworn to, and
when said statement shall have been approved by said board, and not till
then, warrants shall be issued for the several amounts shown to be due by
said statement. In order to enable said road superintendent to settle in
cash with the men employed by him to work on such roads, it shall be
lawful for the board of supervisors to issue a warrant in his favor for a
sum not to exceed two hundred and fifty dollars, at any one time, to be
used by said superintendent exclusively in the payment for work done
upon the roads of his road district, and for board of team, and if he
shall use the same for any other purpose, he shall be guilty of a misde-
meanor, and upon conviction shall be fined or imprisoned, or both, in the
discretion of the court or jury trying the case. Said superintendent shall
keep the money so advanced to him deposited in one of the banks of Sus-
sex county to his credit as road superintendent, and shall pay the same
out only on checks signed by him as such road superintendent. He shal!
return to the board of supervisors, with the statement required by section
six of this act, all canceled checks drawn by him as aforesaid, and the
board of supervisors are authorized to credit said supervisor on the
amount advanced to him the aggregate amount of the canceled checks so
returned by him as aforesaid, when it shall appear that said checks were
given in payment of items included in the statement mentioned in sec-
tion six of this act.

%. The said road superintendent shall have charge of all teams, tools
and implements belonging to his road district, or to said county and used
on work under his charge, and shall be responsible for their condition,
and he shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him from
time to time by the board of supervisors of his county.

8. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of said county, as
far as possible with the means at their disposal, to open all roads in their
county thirty feet wide, grub and build with a road plow a roadbed
thereon twenty-two feet wide, and thoroughly drain and maintain said
roads in that condition. And said board shall from time to time pre-
scribe and note on the records of their proceedings such plans, restric-
tions and directions as they shall deem best for the building, working
and keeping in order the roads in the several road districts of said
county, issue any special plans, specifications, restrictions or directions
which they may prescribe for particular roads and bridges. And the
said board shall have the power to adopt different plans for working and
repairing the roads in the different districts in said county; or they may
permit the members of said board residing in a road district to prepare
such plans, specifications and restrictions as they may deem best for
building, repairing and keeping in order the roads of their road district.

9. It shall be lawful for said board of supervisors to hire or buy such
teams, tools or implements as it may be deemed necessary to build, work
and keep in order the roads of any road district out of the funds belong-
ing to the magisterial districts which compose such road districts, and
such property so purchased shall belong to the magisterial districts com-
posing such road district; and it shall also be lawful for such board to
purchase teams, tools, implements and machines to an amount not ex-
ceeding one thousand dollars in any one year in any road district on a
credit, and to levy a tax to pay the same in the succeeding year there-
after.

10. It shall be the duty of each supervisor at least two times in each
year to ride over the roads of his magisterial district, and at the next
meeting of said board thereafter to make a report in writing of the con-
dition of the roads in his district, and for the services required of said
supervisor by this act, each of them shall receive as their compensation
the sum of two dollars for each day, not to exceed ten in one year, he
may be engaged in discharging his duties in connection with work on the
bridges and roads of his district.

11. Upon complaint in writing of any three citizens of any road
district in said county to any supervisor thereof, that any portion of the
road in said district is in bad condition, it shall be the duty of the super-
visor of said district to notify the road superintendent of said district of
such condition, and it shall be the duty of said road superintendent to
repair said portion of eaid road as soon thereafter as is practicable.

12. The said board shall annually levy, along with the county levy, a
tax on all property, real and personal, assessed for State taxation in the
several road districts aforesaid, for the building, working, repairing and
keeping in order of the public roads and bridges under this act, which
tax shall not exceed seventy cents on the one hundred dollars of said
property, and said tax shall be laid separately on each magisterial dis-
trict, and may be of different rates in different magisterial districts; and
of the moneys collected by the county treasurer in each magisterial dis-
trict, a separate account shall be kept, and the same shall be expended
in the magisterial district in which they were collected.

13. The said board of supervisors may appropriate a portion of the
county levy toward the building, working and repairing the roads and
bridges of the county, or any portion thereof. _ .

14. The general road law of this State, in so far as it is not incon-
sistent with the provisions of this act, but no further, shall also be and
remain in force in Sussex county.
The board ef supervisors may be authorized, by a vote of a majority
of the qualified voters of any magisterial district as hereinafter provided,
to borrow money for the purpose of building the roads of such magiste-
rial district, the same to be built, except when impracticable so to do,
of the material found alongside and within the road limits, and may
issue either registered or coupon bonds of such district for the sum of
money so borrowed ; the said bonds to be payable at a period not exceed-
ing twenty-five years after their date, and to be made redeemable at the
option of the board of supervisors at any time after three years from
their date, and such bonds to bear interest at a rate not exceeding six
per centum per annum, payable either annually or semi-annually, as said
member of said board may prescribe, with the approval of the judge of
Sussex circuit court: provided, that no such bonds shall be sold for less
than their par value, and that at no time shall the aggregate amounts of
bonds issued and outstanding in any district exceed ten per centum of the
aggregate assessed value of the real estate located in said magisterial
district. :

16. The said bonds shall be of such form and denomination as the
board of supervisors may prescribe, with the consent and approval of the
judge of the circuit court for Sussex county, and the same to be spread
upon the order book of said court and the minute book of the board of
supervisors of his county; and said bonds shall be signed by the chairman
of the board of supervisors, and shall be attested by the clerk of said
board.

17%. The proceeds realized from the sale of such bonds issued under
the provisions of this act shall not be used for any other purpose except
that of building and repairing the roads of the magisterial ‘district for
which the same are issued, and no bonds shall be issued under the pro-
visions of this act unless authorized by a majority of the qualified voters
of the magisterial district proposing to issue the same, voting at a
special election to be ordered and held as hereinafter provided.

18. Whenever such of the qualified voters of a magisterial district in
said county as shall be equal in number to one-fourth of the number of
persons voting at the preceding November election in said district, shall
in term or vacation, petition the judge of the circuit court of said county
for a special election in said district upon the question of issuing bonds
in said district for the building and repairing the roads therein as afore-
said, it shall be the duty of the said court, or the judge thereof in vaca-
tion, to order a special election to be held in such district at such time,
and after such notice, which shall not be less than thirty days nor more
than sixty days, as the court may prescribe by order entered upon the
minute book of said court, to take the sense of the qualified voters of such
magisterial district on the question whether the member of the board of
supervisors for said district shall issue the bonds of said district for
said purpose. The order of said court or judge shall state the maximum
amount of bonds to be issued and the denomination of the same. The
qualified voters at any special election held under this act shall be those
qualified to vote at the preceding regular November election, and those
who may have come of age and registered since said preceding regular
November election, except those who, by commission of crime or re-
moval from the district, have disqualified themselves to vote.
19. The regular election officers of said magisterial district at the
time designated in the order authorizing the vote, shall open the polls
at the various polling places in said district, and shall conduct such elec-
tion and close the polls in such manner as is provided by law in other
elections; and at said election each qualified voter who shall approve
such issue of bonds shall deposit a ticket, or ballot on which shall be
written or printed the words “For bond issue,” and each qualified
voter who shall oppose such issue of bonds shall deposit a ticket or ballot
whereon shall be written or printed “Against bond issue.”

The judges of election at the several voting places shall immediately
after the closing of the polls at each of said places count the ballots de-
posited, and shall within two days after such election make returns to
the clerk of circuit court of said county.

20. The said clerk, the Commonwealth’s attorney and the sheriff of
said county shall, within two days after the judges of election have made
returns of the poll books and ballots as aforesaid, meet at the office of
said clerk, and, having taken an oath before each other faithfully to dis-
charge their duties, canvass the returns and certify the result thereof to
the circuit court of said county, or the judge thereof in vacation, who
shall enter the same upon his common law order book. :

21. If it shall appear in the report of the canvass of said returns
that a majority of the qualified voters of the district voting upon the
question are in favor of issuing the bonds for the purpose aforesaid, the
circuit court shall, at its next term, or the judge thereof in vacation,
shall enter of record an order requiring the supervisor of said district to
proceed at the next mecting of the board of supervisors to carry out the
wishes of the voters as expressed in said election.

22. Whenever the sense of the qualified voters of a magisterial dis-
trict shall be taken on the question whether the bonds of said district
shall be issued for the purpose aforesaid, the said election and returns
shall be subject to inquiry, determination and judgment of the circuit
court of the county in which such election was held, the proceeding of
said court to be governed by the provisions of section five of an act
approved February twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and eight, entitled on
act to provide for the issuing of county bonds of permanent road and
bridge improvement in the magisterial districts of the counties of the
State.

23. The board of supervisors shall have the power to appeint an
agent, or agents, to negotiate a loan or loans, to sell said bonds, provided
said bonds shall be paid for in lawful money, and shall not be sold at a
price which will net the district less than their par value. When said
bonds have been sold the board of supervisors of said county shall issue
bonds and deliver them to the treasurer of the county, who shall de-
liver said bonds upon the payment of the purchase price. The said
treasurer and his sureties shall be liable for the amounts received for
said bonds as though it were a county levy, and said fund shall be ex-
pended for the purposes and in the magisterial district for which it was
intended, and none other. The said treasurer shall receive as compen-
sation for his services hereunder one-fourth of one per centum on the
amount thus coming into his hands.
24. After issuing such bonds, when the next levy is made a tax shall
be levied on all property liable to State tax in such magisterial district
in which the proceeds of the bonds have been or are to be expended, to
pay interest on the bonds so issued and to create a sinking fund to re-
deem the principal thereof at maturity, and from year to year said levy
shall be made until the debt and interest are paid, which levy shall not
exceed eighty cents on the hundred dollars of taxable property in the said
magisterial district of said county; the amount levied for and set apart
as a sinking fund and the interest accruing thereon shall be used for the
payment of the principal of the said bonds, and for no other purpose.

The board of supervisors is hereby authorized and empowered to
apply any part of said sinking fund, at the request of the member of
said board from said district, to the payment or purchase of any of the
said bonds at any time, and all bonds so paid off or purchased by said
board shall be immediately canceled. The board of supervisors are
authorized to lend out, on real estate security, the loan not to exceed
fifty per centum of the assessed value of such real estate, or deposit in
bank at interest, all accumulations of money to credit of said sinking
fund provided as aforesaid, and to collect and reinvest the same, and
the interest accruing thereon, so often as it may be expedient, until such
bonds become subject to call: provided, that no money to the credit of
said sinking fund shall be loaned out, deposited, or invested by the said
board of supervisors unless said loan, deposit or investment shall be first
approved by the circuit court of said county, or the judge thereof in
vacation, and the form of the security be examined and approved by the
attorney for the Commonwealth of said county, which approval shall
be entered of record in the order book of said court.

25. When the said district wishes to redeem any of its outstanding
bonds subject to call, issued under the provisions of this act, it may,
through the chairman of the board of supervisors give notice of its readi-
ness to do so to the holder, in person or by publication thereof once a
week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published in said county, or
nearest thereto. It shall be sufficient in the notice to give the number
and amount of each bond, and fix a day for its presentation for payment,
which shall not be less than ten days from the date of personal service
of the notice or the completion of the publication thereof, as the case
may be. If the bond be not presented on the day fixed for its redemption
interest thereon shall cease from that day.

26. The money derived from the sale of said bonds shall be expended
in the manner hereinafter provided, and in none other, in building and
repairing the roads of the magisterial district by which said bonds were
issued.

27. There shall be a road board for each magisterial district, voting
for a bond issue as aforesaid, composed of three reputable citizens and
taxpayers of said district. The said board shall be appointed by the
joint vote of the judge of the circuit court, the clerk of the circuit court
and the Commonwealth’s attorney of said county, by a unanimous vote
of said officials. The appointment shall be made within ten days after
such district shall have voted in favor of the bond issue, and the judge
of the circuit court shall enter an order in vacation showing the ap-
pointment of said road board and the names and residences of the mem-
bers of the same. The members of the said board shall qualify before the
clerk of the circuit court of the county by taking the oath of office pre-
scribed by law, and shall serve for a period of one year, and until their
successors are appointed and qualified.

28. The supervisor of the district voting in favor of a bond issue shall,
either with or without a competent road engineer, whom he is authorized
to employ, make plans and specifications of all roads to be built or im-
proved from the proceeds of such bond issue, and submit the same to
said road board for its approval before beginning said work. And the
board of supervisors of said county shall issue warrants for any portion
of the proceeds of such bond issue, when such expenditure is approved by
the said road board, as well as the supervisor from said district, but not
otherwise.

29. The members of said road board shall receive as compensation for
their services, not to exceed three dollars per day, for the time actually
employed in the discharge of their duties, the same to be paid out of the
road fund of said district.

30. An emergency existing, this act shall be in force from its passage.