The leader., 1900-03-28
THE NEW ROAD

THE NEW ROAD LAW.
Section. ]. Be it enacted by the
Legislature of the State of Mississippi
That the board of supervisors of the
various counties of the State of Mis-
sissippi, may at the regular April term
of their meeting, or any other regular
meeting, after the passage of this act
meet and classify the public roads in
their respective counties as roads OF
the first class, and roads of the second
class, which are to be divided into
convenient links and are to be worked
by contract as hereinafter provided
| for.
Section. 2. The board of super
visors in each county is hereby
authorized and empowered, if they
consider it necessary, to the better
working of the roads, aud the general
interest of the county, to employ a
competent person to serve as road
and bridge commissioner, whose com
pensation shall not exceed S. per day,
for each day actually put in the active
discharge of his duties as defined by
the board of supervisors in each
county.
Section. 3. The supervisor of each
district in each county is to have and
is required to exercise general super
vision over the public highways of
his district, for which service he is to
have salary of $40 per annum, if a
road commissioner is employed dur
ing the year; if no road commissioner
is employed during the year, he shall
receive for said extra service a total
sum of $50 per annum.
Section. 4. The members of the
board of supervisors, together with
the road commissioners, if there be
one, as they may agree, shall inspect
each section of the road as subdivided,
together with all the bridges in said
section, and carefully note the char
acter and amount of work needed on
same, and all else necessary to make
same a good and acceptable highway,
and then prepare detailed plans and
specifications for the working of same
by contract filed for record with the
clerk of the board of supervisors for
the inspection of prospective bidders,
prior to the first public letting under
the terms hereof at regular meeting
to be named, and if the inspection
is not made by all the members of the
board, the board may alter the plans
and specifications submitted.
Section. 5. The letting of the con-
tract or contracts for the working and
keeping in condition IN it's entirety
of the public roads or any section
thereof shall be done as in cases of
letting other public contracts, as is
specially provided for in sections $40
and 341, of the Annotated Code of
1892, except that the board shall have
the right to reject any and all bids,
and said contract or contracts shall
be let for term of not less than two
HOT more JudIl lOuT years.
Section. 6. There shall be required
annually in each county eight days
special work service on the public
roads under the contractor, but any
person in lieu of said special work
service may pay a communication tax
for road purpose of S3, and said
special work service on the pubic
roads or Communication tax for road
purposes in lieu thereof shall be i'm
posed on all male persons over the
age of Is years and under the age of
80 years, who are not blind, nor deaf
nor dumb, nor otherwise disabled by
disease or loss of limb, and who are
not ministers in charge of churches,
rabbis, nor students in actual atten-
dance in some school or college. In
addition to the communication tax, there
shall be an advalorem tax on all tax
able property in the county not to
exceed mill on the dollar, in any one
year, all of which tax is to be collected
as other taxes, and paid over to the
county treasurer, who shall keep all
such taxes as separate road fund, to
be used exclusively as such in COM
pliance with the terms hereof, and
only upon the warrant of the board of
supervisors. All of the Communication
tax shall be expended in the district
or incorporated village, town or city
from which the same was collected,
and such Communication tax for road
purposes paid by the residents of such
municipality shall be turned over to
the treasurer of such municipality and
be expended by the proper authorities
thereof for that purpose, but the ad-
volorem tax shall be treated as a gen.
eral road fund for use anywhere in
the county, except the taxes so col
lected on property within the muni-
cipality, the streets OF which are
worked at the expense of the muni-
cipal treasury, which shall be equally
divided between the county road fund
and the municipal street fund.
Section. 7. Any person, in lieu of
the Communication tax of S3, shall have
the right to perform eight days of
work under the contractor, for which
the board shall receive allowance of
So on contract and make provision
therefor in the letting of the contract,
on the nearest unworked road contigu-
Gus to his residence, provided the
said work is done prior to Sept. 4,
of each year, at which time each con-
tractor shall report the names of those
that have worked out their time under
him to the board of supervisors, who
in turn shall make report Of same
to the sheriff and tax collector, who
shall then regularly proceed to the
collection of all delinquent road tax !;
and any person who fails to pay said
tax or to perform the required amount
of work or to pay said tax, shall be
guilty of misdemeanor, and punished
by the courts as other misdemeanors.
The provisions of this act relating
to Communication tax shall not apply
to municipalities which work the
streets at the expense of the muni-
cipal treasury.
Section, s. The board Of super
visors may require the contractor of
any road to take and work the con-
victs sentenced to the county Jail or
committed to same to pay fine and
l -