Chap. 50.—An ACT to provide for the construction, reconstruction, improve-
ment and maintenance of the public roads and bridges in Giles county,
other than such as are included in the State highway system, and to
provide for the issuing of county bonds for the construction, reconstruc-
tion and permanent improvement of the roads and bridges embraced in
the county highway system. [H B 100]

Approved February 10, 1920.
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virgirtia, That the

construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of the
roads and bridges in Giles county, which have been, or may hereafter
be embraced in the county highway system under the provisions ot
an act of the general assembly of Virginia approved on the twenty-
seventh day of March, nineteen hundred and eighteen (Acts ninteeen
and eighteen, page seven hundred and seventy-six, and acts amenda-
tory thereof, and which shall be termed “county highways,” shall
be under the control, management and supervision of a board to be
designated “the Giles country road board” and composed of the su-
pervisors and road commissioners of the several magisterial districts
of the county and the county road superintendent, which board shall
be a body corporate, and the chairman of the board of supervisors
shall be chairman of said board.

2. That the construction, improvement and maintenance of the
public roads and bridges in the several magisterial districts in said
county, not embraced in either the State or county highway systems,
and which shall be termed “district roads,” shall be under the control,
management and supervision of district boards, the board for each
district to be composed of the supervisor and road commissioner for
the district, and the county road superintendent, the superintendent to
be a member of the board for each district; and the supervisor for
each district shall be the chairman of the board of his district.

3. That the persons elected as road commissioners for the several
magisterial districts of the county, at the regular November election,
nineteen hundred and nineteen, shall be the road commissioners for
said districts respectively, and shall hold office as such, for the full
term of four years for which they were elected; and at the regular
November election in nineteen hundred and twenty-three and every
four years thereafter, there shall be elected by the qualified voters
of each district, a road commissioner who shall be a qualified voter
of the district, and whose term of office shall be four years beginning
on the first day of January next succeeding such election.

4. That the county road superintendent, who shall be a man
reasonably well versed in civil engineering and practical road building,
and who shall be a resident of Giles county, shall be appointed by
the county road board (exclusive of the superintendent), the first
appointment to be made as soon as may be practicable after the pas-
sage of this act, the person so appointed to enter upon the discharge
of his duties at such time as said road board may direct, and serve
until December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and twenty; and in the
month of November, nineteen hundred and twenty, and in the same
month each year thereafter, the said county road board (exclusive
of the superintendent) shall appoint a county road superintendent
whose term of office shall be one year beginning on the first day of
January next succeeding his appointment.

5. That the county road superintendent and the road commission-
ers appointed and elected under the provisions of this act shall each
qualify as other county and district officers are required by law to
qualify, and ‘shall each execute bond with approved security, before
the court, judge or clerk before whom he qualifies, in the penalty of
two thousand dollars, payable to Giles county and conditioned for the
faithful discharge of his duties and the proper accounting for all
funds that may come into his hands or under his control.

6. That the county clerk of Giles county shall be clerk of said
county road board and of each of said district boards and shall keep
a fair record of all the proceedings of said boards and separate ac-
counts of all funds coming into the hands, or under the control of said
boards, for which services he shall be paid out of said funds such
amounts as the said boards may fix as just compensation therefor.

7. That the county road board shall meet at the court house on
the days fixed by the board of supervisors for their regular January
and July meetings in each year, and at such other times as they may
deem necessary, upon the call of the chairman or a majority of the
members of the board, such additional meetings to be at the court
house and on days fixed by the board of supervisors for their regular
meetings, when practicable.

A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of the ordinary business of the board, but the
concurrence of a majority of all the members of the board shall be
required for the adoption of methods of construction, improvement
and maintenance of the county highways, and for the purchase of
machinery and equipment. ,

8. That the county road board shall have charge of the roads
and bridges embraced in the county highway system and shall adopt
and prescribe methods for the construction, reconstruction, improve-
ment and maintenance thereof, and fix the prices to be paid for the
hire of hands, and the-use of teams, plows and other implements on
the county highways. The methods so adopted and prescribed and
prices so fixed shall be entered at length upon the record books of the
board and shall be subject to change from time to time upon the con-
currence of a majority of all the members of the board.

The road commissioners of*the several districts shall have the 1m-
mediate charge of the work of maintenance of the parts of the county
highway system in their respective districts, in accordance with the
methods adopted and prescribed by the county road board and under
the general direction and supervision of the county road superinten-
dent.

9. That the district road boards shall have charge of the districts
roads in their respective districts and shall adopt and prescribe
methods for the construction, improvement and maintenance thereof,
and fix the prices to be paid for labor, teams, plows, et cetera, such
methods, prices, et cetera, to be entered at length upon the record
books of said boards and subject to change from time to time as cir-
cumstances may require.

The road commissioners for the several districts shall have the
immediate charge of the work of construction, improvement and main-
tenance of the district roads in their respective districts, in accordance
with the methods so adopted and prescribed, and under the general
supervision of the county road superintendent.

10. That, in the event of the failure or refusal of any road com-
missioner to carry out the instruction of either the county road
board, or the district board of his district, with respect to any work
that he shall be directed by either of said boards to do, or have. done
such hoard may employ some other competent person to do, or have
such work done, and the commissioner so in default shall be liable
to impeachinent for neglect of duty, in the manner prescrib:d by Inw

11. That the several road commissioners shall receive as compen-
sation for their attendance upon the meetings of the county road
board, the same per diem and mileage as is allowed by law to the
members of the board of supervisors for attendance upon their meet-
ings; and for services rendered by them in connection with the work
of construction, improvement or maintenance of the county and dis-
trict roads, they shall receive such compensation as may be fixed
by the county and district road boards by orders entered on the
records of said boards, such compensation in each instance to be
paid out of funds raised to pay for the work in connection with
which such services were rendered.

12. That the county road superintendent. shall, during any period
of construction, reconstruction and permanent improvement of the
roads embraced in the county highway system, devote his entire time
to the superintendence of such work and shall receive such compen-
sation therefor as the county road board (exclusive of himself) may
fix, either by way of salary or per diem; and at other times, he shall
devote so much time to the superintendence of the maintenance of
the county and district roads as the county road board and the
several district boards may direct, and receive such compensation
therefor as said boards may fix the compensation in each instance to.
be paid out of the funds raised to pay for the work in connection
with which services were rendered; and for his attendance upon
meetings of the county road board, when not on salary, or regular
per diem, he shall receive the same as the other members.

The county road board shall have the right and power to remove
the county road superintendent at any time during his term of office,
for neglect of duty, incompetence or malfeasance of office. |

13. That the several supervisors, for their attendance upon meet-
ings. of the county road board held on days fixed for regular meet-
ings of the board of supervisors, shall receive no compensation in
addition to their pay as supervisors, but for meetings held at other
times they shall receive the same per diem and mileage as is allowed
by law to supervisors for attendance upon their meetings, and for
any other services rendered by them, they shall receive such compen-
sation as the county road board may fix therefor; the compensation
in each instance to be paid out of the funds raised to pay for the
work in connection with which such services were rendered.

14. That funds for the construction, reconstruction and permanent
improvement of the roads and bridges embraced in the county high-
way system may be raised by a county bond issue for such amount
as the county road board may require, not to exceed, however, the
sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) ; provided such
bond issue be authorized by a majority of the persons voting at an
election to be held on the question, such election to be ordered by
the board of supervisors of Giles county upon the petition of a
majority of the members of the Giles county road board, or upon a
petition of one hundred qualified voters of the county, and conducted
by the regular election officers of the county, in the same manner
as other county elections are conducted, except that the report of
result of said election shall be certified by the commissioners of
election to the board of supervisors instead of to the court, and
entered by said board upon its records.

The order for such election shall be entered at length upon the
records of the board of supervisors and shall set forth the roads
and bridges to be constructed, reconstructed and improved; the
approximate amount to be expended on the various sections thereof ;
the method of construction and character of improvement to be made,
and the maximum amount of bonds to be issued; and said order shall
hx the date for holding such election and shall be published in the
Pearisburg Virginian for the two successive weeks next preceding
said election. Said election may be held at any time so that it be
not less than fifteen days after the date of said order nor within
thirty days of any regular election, and all persons who were qualified
to vote in the next preceding November election, and all who have
come of age and registered since then, and who have not since become
disqualified, shall be qualified to vote in said election. oe
_ 15. Should the result of said élection be in favor of the bond
issue, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of Giles county,
as soon thereafter as the same can be conveniently done, to issue the
bonds of Giles county for such amounts as the county road board
may request, either all at one time or by installments as said county
road board may direct, so that the total amount thereof be not in
excess of the maximum amount authorized by said election. Said
bonds shall be coupon bonds of such form and in such denominations
as the board of supervisors may adopt and agree upon, a copy of the
form thereof to be entered at length upon the record books of said
board. They shall bear interest payable semi-annually, at a rate not
to exceed six per centum per annum, and the principal thereof shall be
made payable at such time or times as the board of supervisors may
determine, so that none of them be made to run for a longer period
than thirty years.

The board of supervisors shall sell said bonds to the best advan-
tage, but at not less than par, and place the proceeds thereof in the
hands of the treasurer of Giles county who shall disburse the same
as hereinafter provided for, and for which services he shall have
ener of one per centum of the amount so received and dis-
ursed. . :

The funds arising from the sale of said bonds shall be kept as a
separate fund and shall be used exclusively for the construction,
reconstruction and permanent improvement of the roads and bridges
embraced in the county highway system and the other expenses inci-
dent thereto, in accordance with the methods adopted and prescribed
by the county road board and under the supervision of the county
road superintendent, which work may be done either by force account
or by contract, let either privately or to the lowest responsible bidder,
as said board may deem best.

The county road superintendent shall keep, or cause to be kept,
a detailed account of all amounts due for work done and materials
furnished in connection with said work and payable out of said bond
issue funds, and shall make monthly reports thereof to the board of
supervisors who shall audit the same and pay all such amounts as
they may find proper to be paid, by warrants against such funds,
drawn on the treasurer of Giles county. } .

16. The board of supervisors of Giles county shall, annually after
such bonds shall have been issued.and sold, at the time they lay the
other county levies, levy a tax on all the property in the county
subject to taxation for other county purposes, sufficient to raise funds
necessary to keep the interest paid on said bonds and ‘co create a
sinking fund for the payment of the principal théreof as they mature,
and the board of supervisors shall place the accumulations of said
sinking fund in some bank or banks in Giles county at the best obtain-
able rate of interest, until such time as it shall be required to pay
the principal of said bonds.

17. The board of supervisors shall, annually at the time they
lav the other county levies, levy a tax on all the property in Giles
county subject to taxation for other county purposes, not to exceed
twenty cents on the one hundred dollars of the assessed value thereof,
the funds raised thereby to be designed as the county highway main-
tenance funds, and to be used exclusively for the maintenance of the
county highway system and other expenses incident thereto; and the
road commissioners of the several districts shall keep detailed accounts
of all amounts due for such maintenance work in their respective
districts and make monthly reports thereof to the board of supervisors
who shall audit the same and pay all such amounts as they may find
proper to be paid, by warrants against said funds, drawn on the
treasurer of Giles county.

18. The board of supervisors shall also, annually at the time they
lay the other county levies, levy a tax on all the property in the
several inagisterial district in Giles county, subject to taxation for
other county purposes, and which may be at different rates in the dif-
ferent districts but not to exceed fifty. cents on the one hundred
dollars of assessed value in any district, the funds raised thereby to
be designated as district road funds and used exclusively for the
construction, improvement and maintenance of the district roads and
other expenses incident thereto. .,

The funds raised in each district shall be used in the district in
which raised except that the funds raised from the taxation of the
property of railroad companies and other public service corporations
shall be apportioned among the several districts in proportion to
the funds raised from the taxation of other property in each of said
districts.

The road commissioners for the several districts shall keep detailed
accounts of all amounts due for work done and materials furnished
for the construction, improvement and maintenance of the district
roads in their respective districts and make monthly reports thereof
to the board of supervisors who shall audit the same and pay all such
amounts as they find proper to be paid, by warrants against said
funds, drawn on the treasurer of Giles county. )

19. For collecting and disbursing the funds provided to be raised
under the last two preceding sections, the treasurer of Giles county
shall have commissions at the same rate as allowed by law for col-
lecting and disbursing the other county and district levies.

20. The board of supervisors and the several road boards are
hereby authorized to make provision whereby the road commissioners
may issue warrants against the county and district road funds to pay
for work on the roads in such circumstances as said boards may
deem cases of necessity or emergency, all such warrants so issued to
be reported monthly by said commissioners to the board of super-
visors in order that they may be charged against the proper funds.

21. It is to be understood that the roads and bridges embraced
and to be embraced in the aforesaid county highway system, shall be
under such supervision of the State highway department as may be
required by law to entitle the county of Giles to receive State aid in
the construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of
said roads and bridges.

22. An act entitled an act to provide for the establishment,
alteration, discontinuance and working and keeping in repair the
roads and bridges of Giles county, and to punish obstructions of the
road commissioners in the discharge of their duties, and also to
punish road officials of Giles county for any neglect of their official
duties, approved March fifth, nineteen hundred, and all acts and
parts of acts amendatory thereof, and all other acts and parts of acts
in conflict with this act, are hereby repealed; and Giles county desir-
ing to take immediate steps looking to the permanent improvement
of her roads, an emergency is declared to exist, and this act shall be
in force from its passage.