CHAP. 421.—An ACT to authorize the board of supervisors of
the county of Carroll to let to contract the public roads of said
county, and levy a tax to keep the same in order.

Approved February 29, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors of
the county of Carroll 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 magisterial district into road precincts, des-
ignating them as between given points and numbering
the same. Lach 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 work-
ing and keeping in order and repairing the public roads and
bridges in such districts and the compensation of the su-
pervisors and contractors provided for by law and the pro-
visions of this act. Such tax shall not be less than fifteen
cents nor more than twenty-five cents on every one hun-
dred dollars of such property, and the same shal! be col-
lected, 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; 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.

3. Said board shal! let to contract for the term of two
years the roads in the said county, in one or more pre-
cincts, as said board may deem most admissable, 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 road or bridge therein, in
addition to what is specified and required by section nine
hundred and eighty-two of the code, such advertisement
to be posted at at least three public places in the neigh-
borhood 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 deem it best, they may receive propositions
to do the work after advertising as above directed, with-
out requiring aaid proposals to be sealed: provided that
each supervisor 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 to 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 or su-
pervisor 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 the same, shall be en-
tered 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 pen-
alty 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 the said court among the records of his
office as other official bonds are required to be recorded
and kept.

6. It shall be the duty of the supervisor of each magis-
terial district to keep himself informed of the condition
of the roads and bridges in his magisterial district, and
whenever the supervisors shal] 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 receipt of the notice put the sec-
tion or precinct in such repair as his contract calls for,
then the supervisor shall have 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 at-
tending 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 having the evidence in sup-
port of said motion and against it, if it is found the con-
ditions of said bond has been broken, 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 Carroll county, and it shall be the duty of
the commonwealth’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 shal] be required, and the
recovery in each case shall go into the road fund of the
district wherein the road is 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 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 su-
pervisor of the district in which the road is located shall
report the road to be in the condition required by the con-
tract.
8. At any time three tax-payers from any district may
petition the supervisor of such district to view one or more
precincts of road in their district, upon the ground the
same is not worked according to contract. If said super.
visor fail or refuse to view the precinct or precincts com.
plained 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 pre-
cinct 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 ac-
cording 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 approved by the court) in a penalty
of not less than three hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand 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 dis-
tricts, the supervisors of the districts so divided shall ap-
portion said road between said districts in such a way as
will equally divide the burden of keeping the same in or-
der. 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 tothecourt. Fortheir services they shall receive
as compensation one dollar per day.

11. No person in the county of Carroll shall be required
to work on its roads without compensation, except such
service as may be required under section nine hundred and
fifty-two of the code, which section is not affected by this
act, but otherwise the entire burden of keeping the roads
and bridges in repair shall be paid out of the road funds,
as provided in this act.

12. No member of the board of supervisors shall be in-
terested in any 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 thirty dollars annually for the addi-
tional 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 contracte, and notices of lettings, and any other papers
necessary to carry out the provisions of this act, the ex-
pense of preparing and printing the same to be audited by
the board of supervisors and paid out of the general coun-
ty levy. The clerk of the county court shall be ex-officio
clerk of road board, and shall receive such a sum for his
services as the board of supervisors shall deem just, to be
paid out of the general county levy.

15. So much of chapter forty-three of the code of Vir-
ginia as is in conflict with this act is hereby repealed, so
far as it applies to Carroll] county, but in every other re-
spect the general road law of the state, as set forth in said
chapter, shall continue to be in force in said county of
Carroll.

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