Middletown transcript., 1905-01-21

This amount of $50, 7O6.l8 raised each
year as special tax for road purposes
appears to be quite large and if properly
expended upon our pu bile roads should
make an excellent showing. My opinion
is that about one-third of this amount is
expended in the present road commits
sioner's salary and that of supervisors and
tax collectors for commission, etc. The
best thing to do under such circumstances
appears to me as follows:
l. Abolish the office of Road Commits
sion.
2. Abolish the Office of Tax Collectors.
3. Let the Levy Court take full charge
of the roads.
4. Let the county assume all indebted
ness Of the present Road Commissioners RS.
5. Abolish the present read tax a nd
make IL cent increase on the county
rate. This would raise 500, 900 and re-
duce the tax in many of the hundreds.
6. Increase the present Levy Court to
II members, 10 of which should come
from the hundreds and from Whining
ton. Make the salary of each 81 500 per
year and require each courtman to devote
his entire time to public roads and the
collection OF road taxes. As Wilmington
has receiver of taxes an exception
should be made in her case. The result
of this would be saving of about $4,000
per year over the present method and
think would give better results.
Yours respectfully
David C. Rose.
Arnold Naudain, Jr., of the commit
tee, submitted the following:
Resolved, That the Levy Court COL
lect and pay out the entire road tax of
the county. That the Levy Court lay
out each hundred in three districts,
called road commissioner districts, the
roads in that district to be mended by
the road commissioners already elected
in that district until their term expires,
? their places to be filled by the voters
in said district.
The road commissioners duties
should be to 60 over the roads in; his
district and make an estimate of the
cost of keeping the bitches, brakes,
and culverts in order, and other. nee
essary repairs for the year and send
the same in writing to the Levy Court
by a-d day.
To employ men to do the work in
May and June of each year, also to go
over the roads in his district, to pick
off stones and repair the bitches and
brakes.
The road commissioners pay to be
not more than twenty cents an hour
and the men employed fifteen cents an
hour.
To compel the property owner to
break road through the snow drifts
that form along his property or give
the public a good temporary road
around.
It required some time to settle down
to business for some members did not
seem to have clear idea of just what
the object of the meeting was. Some
started to criticize the present road COM
missioners for the manner in which they
had been conducting affairs, but they
were promptly reminded that the meet
ing had been called, not to criticize the
actions of any one but to devise some
means of remedying' present conditions.
Richard e. Buckingham, said Mr..
Rose, in his report, favored putting the
care of the county roads into the hands
of the Levy courtmen and making it
county affair instead of having it in the
hands of the various hundreds. He de-
clared that the temporary road business
should not be abandoned because some
roads can not be permanently improved.
Mr.. Naudain said it was not advisable
to appoint road commissioners. His idea
was to divide the hundreds into districts
and let each district elect its own COM
missioner or supervisor. In this way,
good men could be chosen for the posi-
lions. He declared that while the pres
snt good roads law has been in force two
years, he did not know of good road that
had been constructed in the county under
that law.
Daniel w. Corbit said in the experi-
snce of the people in the lower counties
The election system had not worked with
satisfaction. Large assessments had been
evied for good road purposes but little
had ever been spent on the roads as the
money had gone for other purposes. He
that the voters OF either politi-
sal party did not select the best men for
The position Of road commissioner and he
Ehonght the Levy cssrt sl.onlJ appoias
Ehem.