Chap. 375.—An ACT to provide for working and Keeping in re-
pair the public roads and bridges of the county of Wythe.

Approved February 25, 1892.
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,

That the board of supervisors of the county of Wythe
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 commissioners and contractors pro-
vided for by law and the provisions of this act. Such tax
shall not be less than ten cents nor more than twenty-five
cents on every one hundred dollars 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, ex-
cept that the levy for each magisterial district shall be
kept separate by the county treasurer, and a different rate
of taxation may be prescribed for different districts in
said county, and the amount collected in each district shall
be expended therein.

2. The said board of supervisors shall at their annual
meeting in February, or as soon thereafter as practicable,
appoint two commissioners, one of whom shall be appointed
from the territory lying east of the court-house in said
county, and the other from that lying west of said court-
house. They shall reside in their respective territories,
and shall be styled commissioner of roads for the the east
end, and commissioner of roads for the west end of said
county, and it shall be their duty to supervise the roads
within the respective magisterial districts assigned them
by said board of supervisors. The said commissioners
shall hold their office for two years from the annual meet-
ing of said board in February, unless sooner removed by
said board for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,
and shall receive such compensation for their services as
said board shall allow, to be paid them at such times and
in such amounts, by warrants drawn by said board on the
treasurer, as said board may, by its order entered on its
minutes, determine. Any vacancy in the office of commis-
sioner shall be filled by said board for the unexpired term.
Said commissioners, before entering upon the duties of
their office, shal] severally take an oath faithfully to per-
form the duties of their office as commissioner, which
oath shall be filed with the papers of said board.

3. The commissioners shall each make annual reports
to said board, or oftener as said board may direct, of all
matters required by supervisors of roads and bridges un-
der section nine hundred and seventy-two, and of the sur-
veyors thereof under section nine hundred and seventy-
five of chapter forty-three of the code.

4. Said commissioners shall let to contract, for the
term of one year, the roads in the magisterial districts
assigned them, respectively, by said board, in one or more
precincts or sections as now established by the order of
the county court of Wythe, as the commissioner in each
of said districts 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 section of road or bridge therein, in addition
to what is specified and required by section nine hundred
and eighty-two of the code; such advertisements to be
posted at at least three public places in the neighborhood
of the work to be done for at least twenty days. But
said commissioner shall have the right to reject the low-
est bid received, if he shal] deem it too high; or if said
commissioner shal! deem it best, he may receive proposi-
tions to do the work, after advertising as above directed,
without requiring said proposals to be sealed.

5. The said commissioner shall report to the board of
Supervisors, at a meeting to be held by them succeeding
any public letting under this act, and as soon as may be
after any private letting, the precincts or sections let, and
at what prices, together with a contract in writing speci-
fying the precincts or sections let, the work to be done,
and signed by himself and said contractor; and if no
reason appear to the contrary, said board shall confirm
said letting, and said contractor shall thereupon enter
into a bond, payable to said board of supervisors, in a
penalty double the amount of his contract, conditioned
for the faithful performance of his contract, and with se-
curity approved by said board. Every such bond shall
be delivered by the clerk of the board of supervisors to
the clerk of the county court of said county, who shall
transcribe and keep the same among the records of his
ar as other official bonds are required to be recorded and

ept.

6. In case said commissioners fail to let any portion of
the public roads to contract in the manner hereinbe-
fore provided, the commissioner so failing to let, shall keep
the same in order by employing hands, teams and other
necessary means, at prices fixed by said board of super-
visors, or if said board fail to fix a schedule of prices, then
at the customary prices of the neighborhood; and if the
commissioner deems it necessary for keeping any precinct
or section in repair, he may employ an overseer over the
same, whose compensation shall be the same as now pro-
vided by law for surveyors of public roads.

7. It shall be the duty of the commissioners to keep
themselves informed of the condition of the roads and
bridges in the magisterial district over which he has
charge, and whenever the commissioner shall deem that a
road or bridge in his district has not been kept by the
contractor in the condition 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 notice put the
section in such repair as his contract calls for, then the
commissioner shal] have said road worked or bridge re-
paired according to the terms of the contract ; and the cost
of such work, including two dollars per day for attending
to same, shall be recoverable on the bond of such con-
tractor, after ten days’ notice, before the county court of
said county, which court shall have jurisdiction to try
said motion, and after having the evidence in support of the
motion and against it, if it is found the condition of said
bond has been broken the court shall give judgment ac-
cording to the right of the same, including costs. Such
motion shall be in the name of the board of supervisors
for Wythe 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 re-
covery in each case shall go into the road fund where the
road is located.

8. The contractors shall be paid for work done under
their contracts semi-annually, at such times as said board
shall, by its order entered upon its minutes at its annual
meeting in February, or as soon thereafter as practicable,
determine, which payment shall be made by the warrant
of said board upon the treasurer; but payment shall be
withheld by said board, if at the time fixed for such pay-
ment said contractor’s road is not in order, until the com-
missioner supervising the same shall report it to be in.
the condition required by his contract.

9. At any time three tax-payers from any district may
petition their road commissioner to view one or more pre-
cincts or sections of road in their district, upon the ground
the same is not worked according tocontract. If said com-
missioner fail or refuse to view the precinct or section com-
plained of, or if his view be adverse to petitioners, upon
motion, the county shall appoint three disinterested view-
ers, who shall, after being duly sworn, view the sections or
precincts and make a report at the next term of court. If
their,report be against the road, the court shall order the
commissioner to proceed as directed by section seven of
this act; but if the report of the viewers be favorable to
the road, the petitioner shall pay cost of the commissioner
and viewers, which shall be not more than one dollar per
day.

10. No person in the county of Wythe shall be required
to work on its roads without compensation, and the entire
burthen of keeping the roads and bridges in repair shall
be paid out of the road funds provided for in this act.

11. No member of the board of supervisors and no com-
missioner appointed under this act shall be interested in
any contract under this act. Any participation therein by
either shall vacate the office of road supervisor and the
appointment of said commissioner, and shall render the
contract entered into with the contractor null and void.

12. So much of chapter forty-three of the code of Vir-
yinia as is in conflict with this act is hereby repealed, so
far as it applies to Wythe county, but in every other re-

t the general road law of the state, as set forth in said

chapter, shall continue to be in force in said county of
Wythe.

13. This act shall be in force when adopted by a ma-
jority of the board of supervisors of Wythe county, upon a
vote recorded upon the minutes of said board.