Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-05
THE NEW ROAD BILL
Prepared by the State Commis-
sion viii Be Formally
introduced To-Day.
POINTS OF THE MEASURE.
Township Supervisors Required to
Serve Without Salary, and a
COUNTY ENGINEER TO BE CHOSEN.
Plans for the AppOrtionmeRt of the Funds
to Be Raised.
The FULL TEXT OF THE SYSTEM GIVEN
POINTS OF THE MEASURE,
COUNTY ENGINEER TO BE CHOSEN.
Plans for the AppOrtionmeRt of the Funds
to Be Raised.
The FULL TEXT OF THE SYSTEM GIVEN
FrRoM A srAFr CORRESPONDENT J


State Road Commission, which will be in
troduced in the Senate tomorrow by Har-
land:
An act providing for the election, appoint
ment qualification and organization of the
supervisors in the several townships of this
Commonwealth; defining their duties, author
izing them to make repairs and maintain roads
and bridges or to give out contracts for the
same, and to construct highways by contract;
also to levy and collect taxes to employ the
labor and to make reports to the County
Engineer; providing also for the election
appointment of county engineer; de-
fining his duties and fixing his salary:
prescribing the manner Of petitioning for road
views. ETC.; to lay out, vacate or open roads and
highways" and the notices thereof required
to be served defining the word Highways" and
manner Of construction, penalties for violation
of the act, directing the Secretary of Internal
Affairs to furnish blanks for supervisors and
10 give the State Treasurer a statement of the
moneys expended in the several townships etc. I;
to fix the basis for the distribution of the State
appropriation.
Section BE it enacted by the Senate and
the House of Representatives of the Common
wealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly
met and it is hereby enacted by the authority
OF the same that in every township of this
Commonwealth the qualified voters thereof
shall, on the third Tuesday of February 1892
elect one person to serve one year. one person
TO serve two years, and one person to serve
three years, who shall be styled supervisors;
and at each township election thereafter they
shall elect one person TO serve three years; and
In case of death, resignation, or removal from
township or from any other cause, a vacancy
shall occur said vacancy shall be filled by ap-
polntment by the Court of Quarter Sessions of
the proper county: provided, that in any town
ship which now has three supervisors or other
officers having charge of roads elected under
existing laws, no new election under this sec
tiOn shall be required except as the terms of
said officers expire. And provided further
that no person shall be eligible to the office of
supervisor, unless he shall be a freeholder in
such township and shall be citizen of the
township during the three years Immediately
preceding the date of such election.
Organization of the Supervisors.
Sec.2-Tee supervisors of each township shall
meet at tie place where the auditors of ,the
respective townships meet to perform their Off
cial duties on the first Monday of March next
following their election, and yearly thereafter,
and after being duly sworn or affirmed accord.
ing TO law to discharge their duties with fdel-
iIy. a copy of the same to be FLED with the
township auditors. shall organize as a board by
electing one of their number as President and
one as Secretary, anu In all townships which
do not have township or district treasurer
elected under existing laws they shall appoin;
one person as their treasurer who shall not be
a member of said board. and shall proceed to
levy road tax, which shall not exceed 10 mills
on each dollar Of valuation. except by the
authority of the Court Of Quarter Sessions
this valuation shall be the last adjusted valua-
tiOn for county purposes, and which shall be
furnished to said supervisor by the commits
siOners of the proper counties. The supervisors
may also divide their townships into such road
districts as they may deem best, and shall ap-
point road master. or masters, for such dis
trlct, or districts, who shall be citizens of the
township for which they are appon ted, and
shall hold their appointment at the discretion
of the supervisors. 1t shall be the DUTY
of each road master TO see that the work
done in his district or division in accordance
with plans. specifications and directions fur
nshed him by the road supervisors to work
upon the roads himself, to oversee the men
employed while at work, to keep the time of
each man working under him, and report TO
the ROAD supervisor as often as they may di-
rect. The supervisors from time to time shall
tx the wages to be paid per day to road masters
and laborers and the number of hours consti-
tuting days work on the roads and bridges.
Sec. SHAT the road supervisors shall
have full control of road masters and employ
ment of laborers, and in engaging the labor to
work on the pubic roads and bridges in the
several townships of This Commonwealth, it
shall be the duty Of the supervisors thereof to
give the taxpayers resident of such townships
between the ages of Is and So the preference
on condition that said taxpayers shall noti-
fy said supervisors before
the first Monday of May in each
year OF their desire to secure such work and
provided, however, that no unnaturalized per-
son shall be employed on such public works.
And said supervisors are authorized also to
purchase such material. scrapers, plows stone
crushers. rollers and other road machinery
tools and property as shall in their judgment
be necessary for making and repairing roads
and bridges; the same to be the property of
the township used exclusively for township
purposes aud to be properly taken care of by
said supervisors.
The Purchase of Machinery.
Sec. 4-Said supervisors are hereby au-
thorized to Join with the supervisors of one or
more of the townships in their respective
in, T1oaY
cry as in their Judgment may be too ex-
pensive to justify such purchase by said town.
ship alone; The said machIneryNo belong to
such townships in proportion to the amount
paid therefor by each, and the right to use the
same to be regulated by agreement, to be made
between said supervisors at the time of joining
III sad purchasei provided, that said joint
ownership shall merely continue during such
period may be agreeable to all of
said joint owners and either Board of
supervisors may at any time elect to
sever said joint ownership as to any or all of
SAID machinery i'll case the same cannot be
Agreed upon amicably By petition of the super
Ttisors OF either of said joint owning townships to
JES. Court of Quarter Sessions, which Court
after Lotice and opportunity to be heard shall
be given TO the supervisors of each of the
other townships shall then make such order
for the sale or disposal of said joint property
as will be right and proper in each case.
Sec. 5-That the supervisors of each town.
ship shall make or cause TO be made dupli-
cate designating the amount of road tax levied
against each taxpayer OF the township and de-
liver the same 10 the township OF district treas
urer elected under existing laws or appointed
under the second section hereof, and shall also
give him a warrant to collect, the same to be
collected as follows, viz: 10 all taxpayers who
pay their road tax before June l of each year to
the Treasurer an abatement of per centum
shall be made. On all road taxes paid to
the Treasurer between June l and Oe-
tODer / of each year the taxpayers will
be required to pay the full amount of road tax
airEr han and nnf Z In Let. nOf,l ,lnr
in each year the Treasurer shall make out list
of all delinquent taxpayers, with the amount
of road tax levied against each, with per-
centum added thereto as penalty for such de-
inquency, and deliver the same to the town.
ship collector duly authorized to collect taxes
under existing laws. who shall Immediately
proceed TO collect the same and make payment
thereof to the Treasurer as soon as received,
and the collector shall receive for his services
the 5per cenIum penalty added. The Treasurer
shall receive as compensation for his services
such amount as the Board OF Supervisors may
prescribe. not exceeding l per centum of all
moneys received by hI.n.
Safety of the Funds Considered.
Sec 6-That the township or District
Treasurer appointed by the Board of Super
visors shall be required to give bond with at
least two sufficient sureties, to be approved by
the Court of Quarter Sessions of the proper
county. in the sum double the amount of the
road tax, duplicate and moneys received from
the State appropriation for roads or from other
sources for like purposes, conditioned that the
said Treasurer shall well and truly paw over an
account for all moneys collected and received
by him for road purposes according to law. and
such bonds shall be filed with the Clerk of the
Court aforesaid. And he shall pay out moneys
received only on written order of the Board of
Supervisors, setting forth what the same is
given for, signed by the President and attested
by the Secretary thereof.
Sec. THAT it shall be the duty of the