Chap. 256.—An ACT to authorize the board of supervisors of Flu
vanna county to contract for keeping the roads and bridges of sai
county in repair, and to assess taxes therefor.

° Approved February 26, 1884.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, Tha
on and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred an
eighty-six, it shall be lawful for the county of Fluvanna to worl
and keep in repairs, highways, roads and bridges as follows

2. The board of supervisors of said county shall take charg:
of and have worked and kept in repairs all public roads anc
bridges heretofore and hereafter established, and for this pur-
pose are authorized and impowered to levy a road tax not ex-
ceeding in any one year twenty cents upon the hundred dollars
of assessed taxable value in said county, outside incorporated
towns which levy a tax to keep their streets in repair, and to
adopt such regulations as may be necessary to secure the
proper working of roads in said county. |

3. The said board of supervisors shall, as soon after the first
day of January, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, as may be
practicable, appoint one commissioner of roads for each mag-
isterial district in said county, who shall qualify before the
court of said county by taking the usual oath of office, and
shall continue as such until their successors are duly qualified.
The term of said commissioners of roads shall be two years,
and shall commence on the first day of July succeeding their
appointment ; and they shall be appointed at the meeting of
said board of supervisors next preceding that day ; provided,
however, that the commissioners first appointed under this act,
shall hold office until the first day of July, eighteen hundred
and eighty-eight. Thesaid commissioners of roads shall have
supervision of all the roads and bridges, within their respective
districts in said county, and all applications to the court for
changes, or opening new roads must be reported on by the
commissioner of the district in which said road is located.

4. The said commissioners of roads, severally, shall annually,
at the May term of the court of said county, let to contract, to
the lowest suitable bidder, the work of keeping in repair the
roads and bridges in their districts, notices of which lettings
shall be posted for ten days at each post-office, and otherwise
published, at the discretion of the commissioner, or by order of
the board of supervisors. The said letting shall be in whole or
in sections, at the discretion of the commissioner, and for the year
ending on the first day of July in each year: provided, however,
that the contracts made at the May term of the court, eighteen
hundred and eighty-six, shall continue in force until the first
day of July, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven. They shall
require the bids to be in writing, and signed by the contractors,
and shall deliver the same, under seal, to the board of super-
visors, for their examination, and approval or rejection, at their
first meeting thereafter. Each contractor shall be required to
give bond, with good security, in a penalty at least double the
amount of his bid, for the faithful performance of his contract,
which bonds shall be filed with the clerk of the board of super-
visors. A recovery may be had for any breach of said contract,
in the name of the county, for the benefit of the road Pind, in
the county court, by. motion, after ten days’ notice to the con-
tractor and his security or securities.

5. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of roads to give
personal supervision to all the roads and bridges in their re-
spective districts, to see that the contractor is faithfully perform-
ing his contract; and for any failure in carrying it out, the
commissioner of the district shall at once institute, through the
prosecuting attorney, proceedings for the recovery of damages
for any breach of said contract.

6. The commissioner of roads shall receive as compensation
not exceeding two dollars a day for every day actually em-
ployed, but in no case shall his compensation exceed one hun-
dred dollars per year, to be paid by the county. ~

7. Theboard of supervisors shall have power at any time,
for good cause, to revoke the appointment of any commis-
sioner of roads, and to appoint his successor to fill his unex-
pired term.

8. The board of supervisors shal provide for the payment
of all the costs which may be incurred in keeping the public
roads in order, and for altering the same, and for opening new
roads, including land damages, and for repairing and building
bridges, to be levied, collected and paid out, according to pro-
visions of law.

. No member of the board of supervisors or commissioner
of roads shall be directly or indirecily interested in any con-
tract made under this act; any participation therein by either
shall, under this contract, be null and void.

10. No appropriation by the county court for roads or bridges,
in excess of thirty dollars, shall be binding on the county, or
paid unless and until the same shall have been submitted to and
approved by the board of supervisors.

11. All levies made and collected under this act shall be col-
lected and accounted for by the county treasurer as a special
road fund, and shall be paid out on the order of the board of
supervisors.

12. When the court shall order the opening: of a new road
or the erection of a new bridge, the work of opening or build-
ing the same shall be let to contract by the commissioner of the
district in which said road or bridge is located, the contractor
giving bond and security, to be approved and accepted by the
board of supervisors.

13. Each contractor shall be entitled to the services, for not
more than two days in any year, of all persons liable to service
in working the public roads under existing laws; and any per-
son for failure to attend with proper tools and work the roads
on such days as the contractor may direct shall pay to the con-
tractor seventy-five cents for.every day in which there may be
such failure. If the money be not paid to the contractor within
thirty days, he shall make out a ticket against such delinquent,
if he be a person of full age, or if he be an infant, against his
parent or guardian, for the amount of such fine, and place the
same in the hands of the constable of his district, who is hereby
required to receive the same for collection, and take a receipt
of the officer for the same. The officer having charge of the
collection of such fines shall distrain therefor in the same man-
ner as for taxes and county levies, and may sell any property
distrained after ten days’ notice. Such officer shall have a fee
of twenty-five cents in all cases where the money shall have
been collected by him, to be paid by the party in addition tc
the fine. He shall pay over to the contractor all such fines
within sixty days after they come into his hands, or return the
same to the contractor as insolvent when the fine cannot be col-
lected by levy. If the officer shall fail to make payment of the
fine, or return the same insolvent, within thirty days from the
date he received it, he and his sureties in his official bond shall
be liable for such fine, whether collected by him or not, to be
recovered by the contractor upon motion.

14. To enable the board of supervisors to speedily commence
operations under this act, they are empowered to issue county
bonds the amount not to exceed five thousand dollars, in de-
nominations of from fifty to five hundred dollars, as in the
judgment of the supervisor may seem best, payable annually
from one to ten years, bearing six per centum interest from date
of issue; and they shall provide to pay punctually the said bonds
as they become due, as well as the interest, annually, on all the
outstanding bonds.

15. 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.

16. This act shall be submitted to the board of supervisors
of Fluvanna county, and may be adopted by a majority of said
board voting therefor, a record of such vote to be made and
preserved in the minutes of the board, and if adopted shall be
put into operation in the manner and at the time herein pro:
vided for, or on the first day of July of any succeeding year:
provided, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed
as to relieve any road overseer from any duty ‘or liability, as
such, until his road precinct shall have been let to contract ac-
cording to law: and provided further, that any action of the
board of supervisors adopting the provisions of this act may be
rescinded by a majority vote in favor thereof, and entered as
aforesaid, the same to take effect at the end of any contract

ear.
J 17. This act shall be in force from its passage.