Chap. 1052.—An ACT to provide for the repair, maintenance, construction,
and permanent improvement of the public roads of Henrico county; to
purchase toll roads; to raise revenue therefor, and create a commission to
have charge of the same; to authorize the board of supervisors of said
county to borrow money therefor by the issue of bonds, and to authorize
the qualified voters of said county to vote on the question of issuing bonds.

Approved March 7, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That at the
term of the county court held for the county of ILenrico, within thirty
days after the election herein provided for, should the provisions of this
bill be adopted at said election, and at the June term of said court every
four years thereafter, the judge of said court shall appoint, as herein-
after provided, four freeholders—one from cach magisterial district
of said county—who shall constitute a board of highway commissioners
for the county of Henrico. The commissioners so appointed shall hold
otfice for a period of four years from the first day of July next suc-
ceeding the day of their appointment, or until their successors shall
have been chosen and qualified. Any vacancy occurring In said board of
highway commissioners by death, removal from the county, or other-
wise, shall be filled by the judge of the county court, as hereinafter
provided, and the commissioner so appointed to fill such vacancy shall
hold office for the unexpired term. On or before the first day of July
next succeeding their appointment, the said commissioners shall or-
ganize by the election of one of their number as chairman, and a secre-
tary, who may be one of their number, and whose compensation shall
be fixed by the commissioners, not to exceed two hundred dollars per
annum. Said board shall keep regular minutes of its transactions,
which shall constitute a part of the public records of the county, and
shall always be kept at the county court-house. Said commissioners
shall serve without compensation: provided, that the actual expenses
incurred by them in the performance of their official duty shall be
paid out of the county road funds. The said board shall meet once in
each month at the county court-house at such time as may be fixed by
it by an order entered upon its records. At every meeting of the board
three members shall. constitute a quorum, and in the event of a tie
vote, all the members being present, the judge of the county court shall
be called in and cast the deciding vote.

2. From and after July first, after the adoption of the provisions of
this act, all of the public roads of the county of Ilenrico shall be under
the direction, care, and control of the board of highway commissioners
appointed as herein provided, and it shall be the dutv of such board
of highway commissioners to see that the county road funds are eco-
nomically and properly expended; to establish rules for the opening,
making, alteration, repair, and maintenance of roads, as provided by
law; to see that proper sign-posts are erected; to provide for the erec-
tion and maintenance of suitable and necessary bridges: to establish
regulations for the protection of the public roads and bridges from
improper use and extraordinary damage, and to exercise a general
supervision over all the public roads in the said county.

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3. ‘Lhe board of highway comiussioners shall elect a county super-
intendent of roads, who shall be a civil engineer, and shall hold oftice
for a period of two years from the first day of July next succeeding his
appointinent, or until his successor shall have been chosen and quali-
fied: provided, that he may be removed at any time by the board of
highway commissioners. ,

4. The county superintendent of roads shall report to the board
of highway commissioners and be subject to their control. He shall,
under authority of said board, have direct charge of all the public roads
and road work of the county. He shall, as soon as practicable, prepare
a map or maps of the county, showing accurately all of the public
roads, bridges, and so forth, therein, and shall make reports in writing
to the board of highway commissioners once in each month, or oftener,
if so required by them, showing the condition of all the roads in the
county and the progress of the road work under his charge, with the
amount of work done in the month preceding said report, with such
recommendations as he may deem to be to the best interests of the
county and of the work under his eharge. He may, with the approval
of the board of highway commissioners, employ such assistants or
laborers as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the work com-
mitted to Jus charge. Ile shall have charge of all teams, tools, and
Implements belonging to the county and used on the roads, and shall
be held responsible for their condition; and shall perform such other
duties as may be assigned to him from time to time by the board of
highway commissioners, The superintendent of roads shall not actively
engage in other business or employment during his continuance in
ollice. Ile shall be allowed a Just and reasonable compensation for his
services, to be fixed by the board of highway commissioners: provided,
that the same shall not exeeed fifteen hundred dollars per annum, and
shall give bond in the sum of not less than twenty-five hundred dollars
for the safe-keeping of the property and funds entrusted to his care.

5. From and after the first day of July, following the adoption of the
provisions of this ill, all revenues derived from taxation for road pur-
poses in the county shall be held by the treasurer of the county subject.
to warrants drawn by the board of highway commissioners, signed by
the chairman and secretary of said board. <All such warrants shall
be accompanied by a eertificate of the county superintendent of roads,
showing in detail the purposes for which the moneys are to be paid
out. At the end of each fiscal year the treasurer shall make up and
file with the board of highway commissioners a statement showing
the amount of revenue received from taxation for road purposes, and
the disbursements of the same in detail, which statement shall be filed
with the records of the board and become a part of the public records
of the county.

6. On or before the date of the making of the county levy for each
year, the board of highway commissioners shall certify to the board of
supervisors for the county an estimate of the amount of money needed
for road purposes for the ensuing vear: and said board of supervisors
shall thereupon levy a tax upon all real and personal property in the
county in the same manner as road taxes have heretofore been levied :
provided, that the rate of taxation for road purposes shall in no event
exceed fifteen cents on every one hundred dollars of assessed valuation
of real and personal property in said county: and provided further, that
nothing in this act shall prevent the board of supervisors from levying
the construction fund or any other special taxes that are now levied in
said county, and applying the revenue derived therefrom to the main-
tenance, repair, and improvement of the public roads, as a part of the
regular road funds of the county. But nothing in this act shall be
construed as altering or repealing the acts and amendatory acts here-
totore passed creating “ Northside district,” “© Fairmount district,” and

Jarton Heights district ” in the said county of Henrico.

%. The board of supervisors are hereby authorized to borrow money
for opening and permanently improving public roads in said county,
and for the purchase of any toll roads in said county, opening the same
to the public; to issue bonds of the county therefor, to he called “ road
inprovement bonds,” when authorized to do so by a vote of the people
of the county at some general or special election to be ordered and held
as hereinafter provided; and to authorize such issue of bonds, three-
fifths of the qualified voters voting upon the question shall vote im
favor of such bond issue: provided, that the money derived from the sale
of said bonds shall be used only for the purposes specified in. this see-
tion: provided further, that the streets in Northside district, Fairmount
district, and Barton Tleights district shall be considered public roads
in the meaning of and for the purposes of this section.

8. Upon presentation to the county court of a petition signed by
not less than fifty qualified voters of the county, all of whom shall be
freeholders, praying that the sense of the qualilied voters of the county
be taken on the question as to whether or not this act shall become
operative, and whether the board of supervisors shall issue bonds of
the county to a specified amount for the purposes specified in section
seven of this act, the county court shall enter an order requiring the
judzes of election at the next general election for. state, county, or
district officers, or at a special election held at any other time not less
than thirty days from the date of such order, which shall be designated
therein, to open the polls and take the sense of the qualified voters
of the county. The said order shall state the amount of the proposed
bond issue, the rate of interest which said bonds shall bear, and the
term for which they shall be issued, if authorized: provided, that the
amount of bonds issued under this act shall not exceed two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. Such election shall then. be held, the votes
counted and canvassed, and a return made as provided by law for hold-
ins, counting, and making returns of elections held to ascertain the
sense of the people upon the question of subseribing to the stock of
internal improvement companies, except that the ballot used in such
election shall have written or printed thereon: “ For the law for issuing
bonds in the county of Henrico”; “Against the law for issuing bonds
for the county of Henrico.” :

9. All bonds issued in pursuance of this act shall be coupon bonds
of not less denomination than one hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, each payable in not less than ten years nor more
than forty years from date, and interest pavable semi-annually at the
rate of not exceeding four per centum per annum. The said board
of supervisors shall have the right to redeem any of said bonds after
the expiration of ten years. ‘The said bonds may be divided into
series payable at different dates. ‘They shall be issued in the name of
Henrico county; shall be signed by the chairman of the board of super-
visors of said county, attested by the clerk of said board, and shall have
aflixed thereto the seal of the said board of supervisors.

10. When the bonds to be issued under the provisions of this act
have been authorized by vote of the people as herein provided, they
shall be executed by the board of supervisors as required by this act,
and turned over to the board of highway commissioners, who are hereby
authorized and empowered to make sale of said bonds; but no bonds
shall be sold for less than the par value thereof; and the said bonds
and coupons for interest thereon shall be redeemable in lawful money
at maturity, and shall be receivable at maturity for all taxes and other
debts due to the said county of Henrico, except school levies.

11. The form and denomination of said bonds and coupons shall
be determined by the board of supervisors.

12. The bonds and coupons issued under this act shall be redeemable
at the office of the treasurer of Henrico county, and when paid by him
or received for taxes or other debts shall be marked, “ paid and can-
celled.” The said bonds shall be exempt from all state, county, and
municipal taxation.

13. The board of supervisors of said county shall create a sinking
fund, to be applied to the redemption and payment of the bonds issued
under and by authority of this act, and shall annually, until such
bonds are paid, pay over to the sinking fund commissioners provided
for in this act a sum equal to one (1) per centum of the amount of
bonds issued under this act, and shall pay the interest on whatever
bonds or money may be held by the sinking fund commissioners, as
if they were held by any other person; and shall provide for the pay-
ment of all moneys to the sinking fund commissioners, and all interest.
upon the bonds, out of the general road levy or levies of the county
for road purposes.

14. The judge of the county court, the treasurer of the county, and
the chairman of the board of supervisors shall compose a hoard to be
known as the board of sinking fund commissioners, which board shall
have the power to invest any money deposited with the treasurer of
Henrico county to their credit from time to time, taking such security
therefor as may be approved by any two of their number, except that
the funds entrusted to their custody shall not be Joaned to the county.
And the said board shall see that the provisions of this act with refer-
ence to the sinking fund are strictly complied with.

15. All monevs realized from the sale of the bonds issued under this
act shall be received by the treasurer of Henrico countv and deposited
bv him in some national bank as a special fund, to be known as the
“road improvement fund,” and said fund shall be disbursed only upon
orders drawn by the treasurer of said county and countersigned by the
chairman of the board of highway commissioners: and all such orders
or warrants shall be accompanied by a certificate of the county super-
intendent of roads, showing that the money so drawn has been expended
in accordance with the conditions of this act. The treasurer shal]
receive as compensation for the additional duties imposed on him one-
half of one per centum on all moneys received from sale of bonds under
this act, and one-half of one per centum for the disbursement of the
same as described herein. The treasurer of the county shall be liable
on his official bond for the proper discharge of his duties under this act.
Each member of the board of highway commissioners shall give bond
in the sum of two thousand dollars as a security to the county for
the proper disbursement of the funds derived from the sale of said
bonds; bond to be given by some guarantee company approved by the
county court, cost of same to be paid out of the road fund.

16. The board of highway commissioners is hereby authorized and
empowered to employ all vagrant and convicted criminals confined in
the county Jail upon the public roads of the county, and to establish
proper rules and regulations for the management and guarding of the
same: provided, that no convicted criminal shall be removed from the
jail of the county to be emploved upon the public roads until such re-
moval has been approved by the judge of the county court.

1%. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby
repealed.

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