The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-12
COUNTY PURCHASING BOARD.
Summary of Bill to BE Introduced
in House To-Day.

This morning Representative Roots, of
Fayette county. will present two bills to the
Legislature, one of which is new and the
other old. The new bill is an application
of the principles of purchasing supplies
which is now followed by the institutions
of the State, and these principles are APP
piled to the purchase of supplies for cOun-
ties townships, cities and towns. The bill
creates a purchasing board in each county,
to be composed of the township trustees,
county superintendent of schools, president
of the board of school trustees of each in
corporated town or city and the president
of the Board of County Commissioners. The
board shall meet annually on July 1 of each
year, and at this meeting will require from
trustees and school boards q requisition
for all supplies which they may need dur
ing the year. The board shall then adver
tise for three weeks in each paper in the
county for bids for these supplies. Each
bidder is require to give bond and to make
affidavit that he has entered into no COM
bination with any other bidder to prevent
competition or to keep up prices. The board
may be called together not to exceed once
a month to purchase supplies deemed abso-
lutely necessary in case of an emergency,
or which may have been overlooked. This
section has more particular reference to an
emergency caused by fire, wind or flood. A
trustee or school board may purchase addi-
uonal supplies, the value of which is not
above $25 The board shall act without
compensation.
The bill provides that all warrants or or
derS issued by q trustee or a school board
shall be cOunteFsigned by the president and
secretary of the purchasing board and UNI
less an order or warrant is so issued 1T shall
be void. The penalty for violation of the
act by any trustee or school board is a fine
of from $50 to $500.
The other bill was presented to the House
two years ago, and was No 4S0. 1t passed
the House under a suspension of the rules
but was defeated in the Senate during the
closing days of the session because, Mr..
Roots says, the senators did not understand
II. The bill prohibits township trustees
from the county commissioners If a fund
becomes exhausted and further eXpendi-
lures are required the trustee shall give
due notice of his intention to apply to the
commissioners for permission to borrow
money, by publication in a weekly paper
for three weeks before the application is
made, and any taxpayer of the township
mas the right TO appear at the meeting and
protest against the permission being given.
This bill disclaims in any way to affect the
power of trustees to incur debts, issue
bonds and levy taxes for the erection of
public buildings. The trustee is not per
mltted to purchase supplies of any kind in
an amount exceeding SIS without permission
from the county commissioners. The trustee
is forbidden to divide up his supplies and to
purchase them on different days so as to
eVade this act, nor can he transfer money
from one fund to another without permits
sion from the commissioners. He is re-
quired to make detailed report to the COM
missioners in March Of each year, which is
filed with the county auditor. A violation
of the act makes the violator subject to
fine of from $50 to $500