Chap. 168.—AN ACT to provide for the working of roads and repair-
ing bridges in the county of Culpeper.

Approved March 20, 1877.

1. Be it enacted oY the general assembly of Virginia, That
in the county of Culpeper the public roads and bridges shall
be repaired and kept in order as follows: For each magis-
terial district in the county there is hereby established a
board, consisting of the supervisor of the district (who shall
be chairman thereof), a road commissioner, and a justice of
the peace, who shall be clerk of the board. The said board
shall, and is hereby declared to be a body politic and corpo-
rate, under the name and style of The Board of-Road Com-
missioners for the Magisterial: district, in the County
of Culpeper; and by such name may sue and be sued. The
said board shall have the control of all the roads and bridges
within the district, and of the levying and disbursing of all
taxes imposed for repairing the roads and bridges and keep-
ing the same in order. If from any cause, either of the
members of said board shall be prevented from attending
any meeting thereof, the other mcmbers may, in case of
emergency, call in any justice of the peace for the district,”
who, with them, shall constitute the board for the time being;
and they shall have all the poyer and authority vested by
this act in the board of road commissioners for said district.

2. The justice of the peace constituting-a member of the
board, shall be designated by the board of supervisors from
the justices elected and qualified in the district, and the name
of each justice so desiguated shall be recorded in their order-
book, as early as may be after the passage of this act. A
road commissioner for each magisterial district shall be ap-
pointed by the county court as early as practicable after the
passage of this act. te may at once qualify and enter upon
the performance of his duties, aud shall hold office until his
successor is appointed and qualified. His term of office after

the first appointment shal] be two years, and sba!l commence
on the first day of July succeeding his appointment. Road
commissioners shall be appointed by the county court at its
May term in eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and m
every second year thereafter. Any person, after being road
commissioner for two years, may give up his office, if the
roads and bridges in his district be in good traveling order,
and shall not, within two years thereafter, be reappointed
without his consent.

3. The road precincts shall remain as now laid out and
described by metes and bounds, in the several magisterial
districts, until changed by the board of road commissioners.
The said board shall have power, and it shall be their duty,
to make such changes therein as may be proper. The sur-
veyors in charge of said precincts when this act goes into
effect, shall continue in the performance of their.duties until
the overseers hereinafter provided for shall be appointed and
qualified.

4. The board of road commissioners shall, as soon as they
shall be organized, proceed to appoint one overseer of roads
for each precinct established, not exceeding three for each
magisterial district, who shall reside therein, and shall have
cbarge of the roads and bridges in his precinct. His term
of office after the first appointment, shall be two years, be-
ginning on the first day of August succeeding his appoint-
ment. He shall qualify before the said board, which shall
be recorded in their minute-book. He shall enfer into a
bond, payable to them, in a penalty of double the value of
any property and amount of any tax tickets or money likely
to come into his hands, and with security approved in writ-
ing by the said board. The said board shall, not later than
the fifteenth day of July, in the year eighteen hundred and
seventy-pine, and in every second year thereafter, appoint
one, overseer of roads for each precinct in their district.

5. The duty of the overseer of roads shall be to see that
the roads in his precinct are kept in good repair and in good
traveling order; that the bridges{and crossings for foot pas-
sengers are in safe condition; that the roads are of neces-
sary width, well drained and free from obstructions; that all
dead trees near the roads likely to do damage are cut down,
and loose stones removed from the roads; that sign-boards
are kept at all forks and crossings of public roads, plainly in-
dicating the most noted place to which each road leads, and
the distance thereto; and he shall contract for such tools
and implements necessary for working of roads, subject to
the approval, in writing, of the board of road commissioners,
and he shall have custody of, and be responsible for the same.
He shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by

aw.

6. The overseer of roads shall receive a compensation ot
one dollar a day for every day he is actually engaged in
Summoning hands: provided he shall have summoned not
less than eight hands each day; and one dollar and twenty-
five cents a day for every day he is actually engaged in
working on the roads (less the two days required of him by
law): provided he shall have employed not less than eight
hands each day. Rut in any case in which it shall appear
to the board that through the failure of those summoned to
attend, as required, there have been less than eight hands
employed, but necessary and valuable work has been done,
they may allow a reasonable compensation, not exceeding
fifteen cents for each hand so employed. The overseer of
roads shall not, for any other services rendered by him, re-
ceive any further or other compensation.

7. The overseer of roads, and the sureties on his official
bond, in addition to their liability for all property, tickets,
and money which may come into his hands as Sverseer, and
for which he shall fail to account when required, shall be
liable for any failure or neglect to keep bis roads and bridges
in good order, or perform any other duty required by law.
The amount of such liability may be recovered by the board,
or in their name, by suit in court, or upon the warrant of a
justice, as the case may be; but nothing in this section shall
be construed to exempt any such overseer from liability,
upon indictment, for a failure to keep his roads and bridges
in repair as now provided by law. |

8. The road commissioner shall have general supervision
of all the roads and bridges in his district, including bridges
built jointly by his county and any adjoining county, across
streams which constitute the boundary between such coun-
ties. The overseers of roads in his district shall be under
his authority and subject to his orders. Upon complaint by
him to the board that any overseer neglects or refuses tp per-
form his duties, the board may, if satisfied of the correctness
of such complaint, remove said overseer and appoint anotuer
in his place; and if any overseer shall neglect or refuse, after
notice in writing from the road commissioner to perform any
duty required of him, it shall be the duty of the road com-
missioner to cause the required work to be done. It shall
also be the duty of the road commissioner to superintend the
changing of any road, opening of any new road, or building
of any bridge which may be required of him by the county
court. He shall perform such other duties as may be pre-
scribed by law.

9. If any road commissioner shall neglect or refuse to per-
form the duties required of him by law, he shall be liable, on
presentment of a grand jury, to pay a fine of not more than
twenty-five doliars for each offence. But if it ehall appear
to the court that such prosecution was frivolous and vexa-
tioug the court may, upon acquittal of the road commissioner,
require the prosecutor to pay the costa.

10. Every petition to alter, change, or discontinue a public
road, or to open a new road, or build a bridge, must hereafter
be first referred to the board of road commissioners for the
district in which the same-is to be done, who shall endorse
thereon their approval or disapproval, and the reasons there-
for. The petition, with said endorsements, shall then be pre-
sented to the county court, and there proceeded with as by
the general statutes in such cases made and provided; but
the board of road commissioners may order any change in a
roaad which does not involve the condemnation of land, or
payment of damages, as where the owner consents, and such
consent shall be entered as a matter of record in the minute-
book of said board.

ll. When the location of any road now is, or hereafter
may be on a line dividing two magisterial districts, the road
commissioners of the adjoining districts shall equitably divide
the said road between such districts, or upon their failure to
agree, the county court shall divide the same, and direct what
part of said road shall be kept in repair by each magisterial

istrict.

12. The board of road commissioners for each magisterial
district, at its annual meeting in July, shall levy a tax upon
the property, real.and personal, of the district assessed for
staterevenue, sufficient, with the labor contributed under the
nineteenth section of this act, to pay the expense of keeping
all the public roads and bridges in. his district in good repair,
and in good traveling order, and for all other purposes pro-
vided for in this act: provided that the assessment on pro-
perty shall not be more in any one year than seven and a

alf cents on the hundred dollars. The tax levied on each
precinct shall, as far as practicable, be expended therein.
Land lying partly in one district or precinct, and partly in
another, shall be deemed to be in the district or precinct in
which the greater part thereof lies. .

13. The board of road commigsioners shall annually, by
the first day of August, through their clerk, furnish to each
overseer a statement of the taxes levied against each person
in his precinct, and the aggregate amount of such tax; which
tax the overseer shall collect in money or labor, or partly in
money and partly in labor, as the board may prescribe; and
so much of said tax as he shall be unable to collect, he shall
turn over, with ten per centum added for costs of collection,
ty the proper collecting officer, taking his receipt for the
same. The treasurer or other collector receiving such tax
a:count shall proceed to collect the same as other taxes are
collected; and after deducting the commission of ten per
centum above provided, pay over the net proceeds to the
clerk of the board of road commissioners. The overseer
shall expend so much of the money coming into his hands
under this act and the preceding section, as may be neces-
fary, in connection with the labor provided for in the nine-
teenth section, to keep his roads and bridges in order, and to
pay fur tools and implements, and shall pay to the clerk of
the board of road commissioners, on the second Saturday in
Jane of each year, any surplus remaining in his hands, after
deducting sack compensation for himself as shall be allowed
ty the board.
14. The board of road commissioners for each magisterial
district shall fix a schedule of prices for labor, material, hire
of teams, and other services upon roads in their district.
The said board shall annually, on the second Saturday in
June, audit all claims arising under this act, including the
accounts of the commissioners and overseers of roads; which
accounts shall in all cases be verified by affidavits filed there-
with, and such other testimony aa the said board shall deem
requisite. They shall enter all claims allowed by them in a
book to be kept for this purpose, and shall pay said claims
out of any moneys in the hands of the clerk of the board.

15. The clerk of the board of road commissioners shall
qualify and enter into bond, in a penalty of not less than
two hundred dollars, before the county court, and with secu-
rity to be approved by the court, before the first day of July
succeeding his appointment. It shall be his duty to keep all
papers, books and records of the board, und to receive and
pay out all moneys which they may direct or the law pre-
scribe.

16. The board of supervisors shall, upon the application of
the board of road commissioners for the respective magiste-
rial districts, cause to be delivered to the clerks of the said
boards, all papers, books and documents pertaining to the
roads and bridges in said districts which lately belonged to
the corresponding townships; and shall, upon Jike applica-
‘tion, deliver to the clerks of the respective boards, warrants
upon the county treasurer for any balance of the moneys of
the corresponding townships paid into the county treasury
under the fifty-sixth section of chapter two hundred and
ninety-six of the Acts of Assembly of eighteen hundred and
seventy-four—five, approved March twenty-ninth, eighteen
hundred and seventy-five, which shall remain after payment
of the debts of said townships. The money .so paid over to
the clerks of the boards of road commissioners shall consti-
tute a part of the road fund of the respective districts, and
be expended in keeping the roads and bridges thereof in order.

17. Each member of the board of road commissioners shall
receive one dollar and fifty cents for every day’s service on
the board, or in the performance of any other duty required
of him by law: provided that for services on the board, no
member sha!l receive more than eight dollirs in any year;
and proyided fnrther, that the clerk shall, for all other ser-
vices performed by him during the year, receive not more
than fifteen dollars additional compensation, and the road
commissioner shall, for all other services performed by him
during the year, receive not more than eighteen dollars; ex-
cept that for services rendered in superintending the chang-
ing or opening of roads, or building bridges under order of
the county court, he may receive sach additional sum, not
exceeding one dollar and fifty cents a day, as the board of
supervisors may allow. All claims for compensation under
this section shall be audited by the board of supervisors,
who shall issue their warrants upon thé county treasury for
the sums allowed by them. |

18. If the board of road commissioners shall neglect or re-
fase to perform any duty required of them by this act, the
county court may, upon the applicationsof any party in-
terested, by mandamus, compel said board to perform such
duty.

19. All male persona in each road precinct, except such as
areexempt by law, shall be allotted by the overseer of roads
forthat precinct, and compelled to work two days in each
year on some pablic road therein, as near as may be to their
homes.

2). Every person required to work, shall, either in person
or by a sufficient substitute, attend when required by the
overseer of roads for his precinct, with proper tools, and work
the roads as required in the preceding section. Every person
failing to so attend, shall, if an adult, be liable to pay an ad-
ditional road tax of eighty cents for each day he fails to work;
or. if he be a minor, his parent or guardian shall beso liable;
and said tax, if not paid to the overseer in twenty days there-
after, may be levied for and collected as other district road
taxes are collected under the thirteenth section of this act.
Any money so recovered by the overseer, shall be expended
by him in the repair of his roads and bridges.

21. The cost of changing roads, opening new roads, and
building bridges, rhall hereafter be borne by the respective
districts in which they are located, and when located partly
in one district and partly in another, the cost shall be ap-
portioned equitably between them by the county court; but
whenever the road to be changed or opened, or the bridge to
be built is of such public and general importance as to make
it proper that the cost thereof shall be borne by the whole
county, the court may so order. The board of supervisors
shall be authorized to make such additional levy or assess-
ment upon any district or districts, not exceeding five cents
in the hundred dollars’ worth of property, real and personal,
inany year, as may be required to defray the expenses in-
curred under this section.

22. Such provisions of the general road law of the state as
do not conflict with this act, shall continue in force in the
county named herein, and nothing in this act contained shall
be ko construed as to interfere with existing contracts tor the
working of roads or building bridges in the county to which
its provisions apply.

23. This act sball be in force from its passage.