Chap. 446.—An ACT to provide for the working and keeping in repair the public
roads and bridges of Essex county.

Approved February 23, 1898.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the - board
of supervisors of Essex county shall have the authority to work and keep
in repair the public roads of said county by contract, and to that end
the said board shall cause the said county to be divided into three road
districts by proper metes and bounds.

2. Inthe month of May or June in the year eighteen hundred and
nincty-eight, and every five years thereafter, they shall let to contract
the working and repairing of the roads in the said road district, includ-
ing the building and keeping in repair the bridges in said road districts
(except such bridges as may be excepted as hereinafter provided), to the
lowest responsible bidder, after giving due notice that sealed proposals
will be received for the working and repairing of said roads and bridges.
The said Loard shall have the authority to reject any or all the bids
offered, and to make such contracts with reference to the working and
repairing of said roads and bridges as the said board may deem best to
promote the intcrest of the county.

3. Before advertising for bids as above directed the said board of
supervisors shall except from the contract of letting such bridges as in
their judgment should be built and kept in repairs by special contract
and out of the general county levy, and in their advertisement shall
enumerate the bridges that will be excepted from the contract of letting ;
and the bridges so excepted shall be built and kept in repairs under the
directions of the said board of supervisors and paid for out of the gen-
eral countv levy.

4. The said contract of letting shall go into effect on the first day of
July, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and shall run for five years.

5. The said board of supervisors shall require the said contractor or
contractors to enter into bond with good security, to be approved by the
said board, in the penalty of not less than five hundred nor more than
fifteen hundred dollars, conditioned to faithfully perform his duty as
such contractor. The said contractor shall be paid quarterly, but before
any warrant shall be drawn in his favor the said board of supervisors
must be satisfied that the work has been done according to contract, and
this fact must be ascertained by a previous examination of said roads by
one or more members of said board, or in any other way the said board
may deem best to get the desired information ; and when the said board
is satisfied that the roads have been worked according to contract, then
a warrant shall be drawn in favor of the contractor, to be paid out of the
fund levied for county purposes.

6. In order to carry out the plan of working the public roads, above
set forth, the said board of supervisors may, and are hereby authorized,
to purchase as many road machines as they may think necessary, and
pay for the same out of the general county levy, and let the said road
machines to the said contractor on such terms as may he agreed upon.

7. For the purpose of working and keeping in repair the roads and
bridges of the said county the said board of supervisors are hereby au-
thorized to levy an amount not to exceed the rate of twenty-five cents
on the one hundred dollars on all the taxable property of said county
now taxed under the revenue laws of this commonwealth, the said taxes
to be levied and collected as other taxes are: provided, that the board
of supervisors may levy different amounts for each magisterial district,
not to exceed twenty-five cents on the one hundred dollars’ worth of
property and the levy for each magisterial district, to be expended only
in the said district.

8. For their services under this act the members of the board of su-
pervisors shall receive, in addition to their regular pay as supervisors,
the sum of two dollars per day for the time actually employed: pro-
vided, that no one member of the said board of supervisors shall receive
more than thirty dollars in any one year for his services under this act.

9. The act approved February twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and
ninety-two, entitled ‘‘ An act for working the county roads of Essex,’
and all other acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby
repealed; but the board of supervisors are hereby authorized to make
such temporary arrangements for the working of the public roads of
the county of Essex as they may deem best, until the contract for letting
hereinbefore provided shall go into effect on the first day of July, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-eight.

10. This act shall be in force from its passage.