Chap. 654.—An ACT to authorize the board of supervisors of Floyd county to let
to contract the public roads of that county and levy a tax to keep the same in
repair,

Approved March 2, 1898.

1. Be itenacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That it shall be
the duty of the board of supervisors of the county of Floyd to take
charge of and have kept in order the public roads and bridges in said
county, and in order thereto they shall, as soon as practicable after this
act takes effect, proceed to lay off all the public roads in each mazgiste-
rial district into road precincts, designating them as between given
points and numbering the same. Each precinct shall be known as road
precinct number , in magisterial district.

2. The board of supervisors shall annually levy, along with the county
levy, a tax upon the property, real and personal, assessed for taxation
in the several magisterial districts of the county, which shall be applied
to the working and keeping in order, and repairing the public roads and
bridges in such districts, and the compensation of the supervisors and
contractors provided for by law and the provisions of this act. Such
tax shall not be more than twenty-five cents on every one hundred dol-
lars of such property, and the same shall be collected, accounted for,
and paid out on the warrant of said board as if it were a county levy,
except that the levy for each magisterial district shall be kept separate
by the county treasurer; anda different rate of taxation may be pre-
scribed for different districts in said county, and the amount collected in
each district shall be expended therein.

3. Thesaid board shall let to contract for the term of one year at its
first setting under this act, and each letting of contract after that shall
be for a period of three years, the roads in said county in one or more
precincts: provided, that no contract shall be let to any one person or
firm for less than five nor more than twenty-five miles, as said board
may deem most advisable, to the lowest bidder, having first advertised
for sealed bids, stating clearly in the advertisement the work to be done
on said precinct, or precincts, of roads or bridges therein, in addition to
what is specified and required by section nine hundred and eighty-two of
the code, such advertisement to be posted in at least three public places in
the neighborhood of the work to be done, for at least twenty days. But
said board shall have the right to reject the lowest bid received if they
shall deem it too high; or, if said board shall deemit best they may re-
ceive propositions to do the work after advertising as above directed,
without requiring said proposals to be sealed: provided, that each super-
visor may exercise in his magisterial district all the power given by
this section, upon being authorized by the whole board.

4. Should the board of supervisors be unable to let to contract any
road or roads on satisfactory terms, they may empower the supervisor
of the magisterial district in which such road or roads are situated tc
have the same worked by the day, week or month, payable out of the
road levy of the district, respectively, in which any such road or roads
may be situated.

5. Upon the accepting of any bid by the said board of supervisors
having the same in charge, a contract in writing, specifying the precinct
or precincts let, the work to be done, and the price to be paid for same,
shall be entered into, signed by the contractor and the chairman of said
board or the supervisor having the same in charge; and said contractor
shall thereupon, at the next term of the county court, enter into a bond
before the judge of said court, payable to the board of supervisors, in a
penalty double the amount of his contract, conditioned for the faithful
performance of his contract, and with security approved by said court.
Every such bond shall be kept by the clerk of said court among the
records of his office as other official bonds are required to be recorded
and kept.

G. It shall be the duty of the supervisor of each magisterial district
to keep himeclf informed of the condition of the roads and bridges in his
magisterial district, and whenever the supervisor shall deem that a road
or bridge in his district has not been kept by the contractor in the con-
dition required by his contract he shall at once notify the contractor in
writing of the fact, and if he does not within ten days from the receipt
of the notice put the section or precinct in such repair as his contract
calls for, then the supervisor shall have the said road worked or bridge
repaired according to the terms of the contract; and the cost of such
work, including two dollars per day for attending to the same, shall be
recoverable on the bond of such contractor, after ten days’ notice, before
the county court of said county, which court shall have jurisdiction to
try said motion; and after hearing the evidence in support of said motion
and against it, if it is found the conditions of said bond have been bro-
ken, the court shall give judgment according to the rights of the same,
including costs. Such motion shall be in the name of the board of
supervisors of Floyd county, and it shall be the duty of the common-
wealth’s attorney for the county to represent the said board in such
court. If any defendant in such motion shall require it, the motion
may be tried before a jury, but no pleading in writing shall be required,
and the recovery in each case shall go into the road fund of the district
wherein the road is situated or located.

7. The contractors shall be paid for work done under their contracts
semi-annually at such times as the board may prescribe, which payment
shall be made by warrants of said board upon the treasurer, but pay-
ment shall be withheld by said board, if at the time fixed for such
payment said contractor’s road is not in order, until the supervisor of
the district in which the road is located shall report the road to be in the
condition required by the contract.

S. At any time three taxpayers from any district may petition the
supervisors of such district to view one or more precincts of road in
their district upon the ground the same is not worked according to con-
tract. Lf said supervisor fail or refuse to view the precinct or precincts
complained of, or if his view be adverse to petitioners, upon motion the
county court shall appoint three disinterested viewers, who shall, after
being duly sworn, view the precinct or precincts complained of and
make a report at the next term of the court. If their report be against
the road, the court shall order the supervisor to proceed according to
section six of this act; but if the report of the viewers be favorable to the
road, the petitioners shall pay the cost of the viewers, which shall not
be more than one dollar per day.

9. Said supervisors shall, in addition to the bond now required of
them by law as supervisors, give an additional bond (with security ap-
proved by the court) in a penalty of not less than three hundred dollars
conditioned for the faithful performance of their duties as supervisors of
roads as required by this act.

10. That in case of a road dividing two magisterial districts, the super-
visors of the district so divided ¢hall apportion said road between said
districts in such a way as will equally divide the burden of keeping the
same in order. If they cannot agree the county court shall appoint
three disinterested freeholders, who, acting under oath, shall apportion
said road between said districts, and report the same to the court. Tur
their services they shall receive as compensation one dollar per day.

11. No person in the county of Floyd shall be compelled to work on
any road without compensation, and when any road is established or
altered by order of court the same shall be opened and kept in order as
provided in this act, unless the person for whose benetit said road is
established or altered shall agree to open or alter the same until a suffi-
cient amount is raised under this act to carry on the work of keeping the
roads in order, the same shall be paid for out of any funds in the treas-
ury not otherwise appropriated. The board of supervisors may change
or alter the road precincts provided for in this act whenever they may
deem proper.

12. No member of the board of supervisors shall be interested in anv
contract under this act. Any participation therein by them shall vacate
the office of supervisor, and shall render the contract entered into with
the contractor null and void.

13. The members of the board of supervisors shall each receive the
sum of forty dollars annually for the additional duties imposed upon
them by this act.

14. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to direct the
clerk of the county court to have prepared and printed for the use of
the board of supervisors blank forms and contracts and notices of let-
tings, and any other papers necessary to carry out the provisions of this
act, the expense of preparing and printing the same to be audited by
the board of supervisors and paid out of the general county levy. The
clerk of the county court shall be ex-officio clerk of the road board, and
shall receive such a sum for his services as the board of supervisors may
deem just, to be paid out of the general county levy.

15. So much of chapter forty-three of the code of Virginia as is in
conflict with this act ig hereby repealed so far as it applies to Flovd
county, but in every other respect the general road law of the state as
set forth in said chapter shall continue to be in force in said county of
Floyd.

16. The provisions of this act shall not be effective unless by and with
the consent of a majority of the board of supervisors of Floyd county.