Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-11-08
NEW OFFICER, THAT OF
co. HIGHWAY COMR.
AN OPEN LETTER TO COUNTY
BOARDS OF STATE.
Document Concerns Changes in
LdW-BOdrd Must Do Things
Attorney Generdl-SdyS Officer
Considers Law on This Subject
to Be Mandatory.
To the County Board:

and carry on experimental work In
road building" This bill also stated
that the Geological Survey "may be
township officers having charge over
highways and bridges. In carrying
out the work of the survey under the
above provisions | have been asked by
many town and county officers III
different parts of the state to explain
the workings of some of the highway
laws passed by the last leg stature.
These requests have made 1t neces-
sary to study these laws and TO get
opinions of the Encouragement relating
to them. In order to make the infOrma-
ton thus obtained useful to as many as
possible, it has been thought best to send
this letter 20 all county boards instead OF
limiting it to those who especially re-
quest it.
The laws which have been most gen
orally inquired about are Chapters 487
and 552 Of the laws Of 1907. Both deal
with prospective system OF county
highways amending the present system
Of work under Chapter 3l2 of the laws OF
1901, and many Of their provisions are
in apparent conflict. The following
quotations from the opinion OF the at
tOrney-generaI will serve as basis for
their proper Interpretation.
Il see no escape from the conclusion
that chapter 487 makes it mandatory on
county boards to carry out the pr0Yls-
ions of this act. In nearly every section
providing for carrying out the provisions
of the act, the word shall is used in its
directions to county boards; thus III sec
tion 1915, it provides:
"The county board shall at its next an
nual session and every three years there
after, elect competent person TO be
known as county highway commits
sioner," etc.
"The next section provides that the
county board shall, at it's next annual
meeting, provide compensation Tor
county highway commissioner. Section
1311-10 provides that the county board,
shall at its next meeting after the pas
sage and publication of this act, deslg-
nate system Of prospective county high
WAYS. And 50 OH throughout the act; It's
provisions are in mandatory FORM"
In relation to chapter 552 he states:
ave arrive at the conclusion that the
provisions Of section 13l1n, 13l1p, and
13llq, and also some parts CT 1910, those
parts in which the word 'shalP is used
when speaking of the duties of the
county board, are mandatory, the same
as the provisions of Chapter 4S7. We
also arrive at the conclusion that the
words Organization Of any county into
a road district, and organization Of the
county into road district" as used in
subdivision % of 13l1n, and subdivision
Cd of 1311p, Chapter 552. refer to the act
of designating system Of prospective
county highways provided in section
1311-1O of Chapter 4S7, and that in a
sense the provisions Of Chapter 552 OF
the laws Of 1907 are a supplement to or
amendment of the provisions in Chapter
4S7, relating to the subject of County
Commissioner of Highways, laying out
of highways, improvements and levying
a tax therefor; that the two acts may be
construed together, and that as Chapter
552 was passed and became a law subse
quent to Chapter 4S7, it amends the pro-
visions of the latter insofar as they con-
fiict in these matters and that the pro-
visions of the former Chapter 552) shall
prevail and are the law upon the subject;
thus Chapter 4S7 provides for electing a
county commissioner, but no qualifica-
tions are required of him, while 552,
which provides for the election of COM
missioner Of highways. also provides
that he shall be a competent engineer or
an experienced rOadbuiIder. The pro-
visions of the latter act prevail "
We think that the provisions of
Chapter $50, in that respect must be
considered as an amendment and quail
fcation of Chapter 4S7 and other like
differences between the two acts shall
be harmonized in the same way
According to this opinion your board
in order to comply with the law should
consider the sections of Chapter 4S7 to
be amended by Chapter 552 as stated
in the appended analysis of the conflict
ing sections. (See appended list of
sections of 4S7 showing the way they
are modified by 552). For convenience
| have given the page numbers of the
1907 session laws on which the sections
mentioned are found.
According to these laws it is the
duty of each county board at its next
meeting:
/. To lay out prospective
system of county highways, which,
SO far as possible, shall be the
main roads to the market on which
must connect with each other, and
extend into every town.
2. To elect some competent en-
gineer or experienced road builder
as county highway commissioner and
fix his compensation.
8. To levy county tax of not
less than one-forth or more than