CHAP. 86.—An ACT to provide for the better Working alle keep-
ing in repair of the county roads in the courty of Norfolk.

Approved January 26, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That the county court of Norfolk county, shall, at the
July term of said court, appoint one road commissioner
for each magisterial district in said county, who shall be
a resident and voter of said district. That the court, at
the time of appointment, shall designate two of said
commissioners whose term of office shall expire at the
end of one year, and two at the end of two years, and two
at the end of three years, from July first, next succeeding
their appointment. Annually thereafter, at the May term,
the court shall make appointments to fill the vacancies
which will occur in the following July, and such ap-
pointees shall hold office for three years, unless removed
for cause after due notice: provided no person shall
be appointed a road commissioner except upon the recom-
mendation of not less than fifty freeholders of the dis-
trict. ,

2. The commissioners shall constitute a board of road
commissioners, and shall have control of the county roads.
They shall qualify as other district officers are required
by law to qualify, each giving bond in the penalty of not
less than five hundred dollars.

3. The board of commissioners shall meet at the court-
house on the second Monday of January, April, July and
October of each year, and shall hold such special meet-
ings as may be deemed necessary for the public service.
And it shall be the duty of the chairman to cell such a
special meeting when requested in writing to do so by two
commissioners, by the judge of the county court, or by
ten tax-payers.

4. At the first meeting of the board, and annually there-
after at the July meeting, it shall organize by the election
of a chairman and clerk. The clerk may or may not be a
member of the board.

5. The clerk shall keep, in a well bound volume, a com-
plete and accurate record of the proceedings of the board,
of all money placed to the credit of the board, of all bills
allowed, and warrants issued. He shall keep a record of
all roads and sections, with the names of the overseers or
contractors thereof; also of all contracts for ditching,
grading, building, or repairing roads or bridges, with the
terms of contract. He shall draw drafts or warrants on
the county treasurer for all such bills as have been prop-
erly examined, allowed and ordered to be paid by the
board; and for this service shall receive such compensa.
tion as the board may determine, not to exceed one hun-
dred and fifty dollars per annum.

6. The board shall sit with open doors, and the books
and records shall at all times be open to the inspection of
any citizen. It may require the sheriff or any constable
to attend and preserve order, and pay for this service an
amount not exceeding two dollars per day.

7. If there should be a tie vote on any question, it shall
be the duty of the clerk to certify the same to the judge
of the county court, who shall thereupon attend the meet-
ing of the board, and the vote shall again be taken, and
if again there is a tie, the judge shall give the casting
vote. :

8. As soon as practical after the organization, the board
shall classify the roads of the county into two classes, to
be known as county roads and district roads. All of the
more important roads leading to the cities of Norfolk and
Portsmouth, to the town of Berkley, and to the important
landings and railroad stations, together with the cause-
ways and large bridges, shall be placed in the first class,
and known as county roads. All other roads and bridges
shall be placed in the second class, and known as district
roads. The county roads and bridges shall be divided into
as many divisions as there are commissioners, and each
commissioner shall have charge and oversight of one divi-
sion; and the district roads and bridges shall be under
the care of the commissioner of the district where located.
All roads, both county and district, shal] be subdivided in
sections not exceeding ten miles in length, with an over-
seer for one or more sections.

9. The board shall appoint an overseer for each section,
who shall hold office for two years from July first next suc-
ceeding his appointment, and shall receive for his services
ten per centum of all amounts, under thirty dollars, expend-
ed by him on his section, and two dollars for each day he
may work a gang of men on the road: provided that he shal]
not be paid for more than ten days in one year, or an
amount greater than twenty cents for each man who works
one day.

10. The board shall require the overseers to keep the
sections of road assigned them, by mending or filling all
breaks, holes, ruts, and so forth, cutting away the weeds
and brush, repairing bridges, and so forth, as specified un-
der section defining duties of overseers. But when any
ditching, grading, building, or shelling is required, the
cost of which will exceed thirty dollars, the board shall
require the commissioner having charge of the road where
the work is located to post notices in at least three places
in the county, one of which shall be in the neighborhood
of the work, specifying clearly the amount and character
of the work, and naming a day and hour when bids will
be received and opened for the doing of said work, and at
the named hour to publicly open all bids and award the
contract to the lowest bidder: provided, however, he may,
if he deem it for the public interest, reject any or all bids.
But the bidder of any rejected bid, may, within two days
thereafter, appeal to the board of commissioners, and its
decision shall be final. The commissioner shall file a
written report of all contracts made under this section,
and the bond of the contractor, with the clerk of the board
of commissioners.

11.eThe overseer shall enrol] all male persons living on
his section who are subject to road duty, and file a copy of
the enrollment with the clerk of the board of commission-
ers. He shall have authority and be required to work
these persons on his section, or such as may be assigned
to him by the board, two days in each year, and with them
as much as possible keep his section of road in general
repair. He may also expend on his section the fines and
money which may be paid to him in lieu of work, or which
may be appropriated by the board of commissioners; and
he shall annually make a written report to the board, show-
ing the number of days employed, number of men worked,
the amount of money collected and expended, with an es-
timate of the work required for the ensuing year.

12. The board of commissioners shall assign to each
overseer a gang of men from bis own or adjacent sections:
provided no man shall be required to go more than five
miles from his own section.

13. All male persons in the county, between the ages of
eighteen and fifty years, when duly notified by an overseer
of roads, shall attend and work the road under the direc-
tion of the said overseer two days in each year: provided
this shall not apply to ministers of the gospel who have
regular work, or to such persons as may be exempted by
the board of commissioners, the county court, or a justice
of the peace, on account of disability, or to any man who
shall pay one dollar in lieu of work. If any man shall,
after notice, refuse or fail to attend and work, it shall be
the duty of the overseer, within thirty days thereafter, to
enter a fine against said delinquent of seventy-five cents
for each day of delinquency, and after adding fifty per
centum for costs, place a bill of the same in the hands of
a constable for collection, and this officer shal] have power
to distrain therefor or otherwise collect the same in the
mode provided for the collection of taxes. The officer
having the collection of the fine shall account fer it to the
overseer, retaining the aforesad fifty per centum costs for
his services. He shall also, annually, in July, report in
writing to the board of commissioners the number and
amount of fines placed in his hands, and how disposed of ;
and the board may hold the collecting officer responsible
for any fines which, in its judgment, he has not used due
diligence in collecting.

14. When any section of road, causeway, or bridge
shall require draining, grading or timbering, and the
overseer be unable with his force to do it, he shall make
a report thereof to the board of commissioners, and if the
cost be estimated not to exceed thirty dollars, the board
may direct the overseer to hire workmen and do the work,
to be paid for out of the road levy; but if the estimated
cost exceeds thirty dollars, the board shall require the
commissioners in charge to advertise and let the sqgme as
hereinbefore prescribed. But when by storm or other-
wise in sudden damage to a highway so as to interrupt
travel or endanger life, any two commissioners may order
to repair, even if the cost should exceed thirty dollars,
without awaiting the slow process of advertising.

15. Annually, upon the recommendation of the board
of commissioners, the board of supervisors shall levy a
tax of not less than five nor more than ten cents on the
one hundred dollars of taxables in said county, which
shall be assessed and collected as other county taxes, and
shall be known as the county road tax, the proceeds of
which shall be placed by the county treasurer to the credit
of the board of commissioners, and shall be used by them
in keeping and improving the county roads, bridges and
causeways. In addition to the above, the board of super-
visors shal], on the recommendation of the commis-
sioner, or twenty-five freeholders of any district, levy a
tax of not less than five nor more than ten cents on the
one hundred dollars of taxables in said district, to be as-
sessed and collected as other district taxes, and to be
known as the district road tax, the proceeds of which
shall be placed to the credit of the road board, to be ex-
pended upon the roads of the district where raised. And
the said board of supervisors shall cause one-half the net
proceeds of the county’s interest in the rental of the Nor-
folk county ferries to be placed to the credit of the board
of commissioners, to be applied as they deem best.

16. The board of commissioners shal! annually in July,
make a report to the county court and to the board of
supervisors, setting forth the amount and character of
the work done the preceding year, with the cost of the
same, together with the amount of money received and
expended; also an estimate of the amount required for
the ensuing year, and the board of supervisors may refuse
to make the annual levy for roads until this report is be-
fore them.

17. The county treasurer shall collect the road taxes,
and place them to the credit of the board of commissioners,
and pay out the same on the warrant of the said board, when
‘signed by the clerk and countersigned by the chairman
of the same. He shall annually, at the November meet-
ing of the commissioners, make a full report of all road
money received and paid out by him, of the amounts
assessed, collected and delinquent. The board of com-
missioners shall compare his vouchers and books with
those of the board, and make a complete audit of his
accounts with the board. The treasurer shall receive the
same commissions on road money collected and disbursed
by him, as on other county and district funds.

18. No commissioner or overseer appointed under this
act shall be interested directly or indirectly in any con-
tract, or any profit of any contract, made by or with any
person who may contract to do work on the roads, or in
the sale or purchase of any supplies or material for said
roads; and any commissioner or overseer becoming so
interested, shall forfeit the same, together with his salary,
and shall be dismissed from his office by the county court,
and be fined not less than five nor more than fifty dollars
for each offence.

19. Each commissioner shall receive for his service one
hundred dollars per annum.

20. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict
with this act are null and void.

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