Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1907-07-12
CITY OFFICIAL PAPER
More Looseness in County Affairs.
We have called attention to a num-

IL nllu tItu-lu OOuuLy utdudBeiuoubs
paeIddIciai to the Interests of the |
taxpayers. We venture the opinion |
that The present. infamous road law is
largely re5ponsi6Ie for the IaxItY that |
seena TO peImeate the county govern |
neat. That law is simply vicious in |
It's nature aud tendency, and has pro-
baoiS accomplished more to discredit
county management than ali other
euactments of a doubtful character
combined within the past decade. No
words of condemnation are too severe
tor a Law that permits a set OF super
Sisors to have absolute control CT
road work, and disburse onethird of
the total money collected for the
maintenance of the county govern
meut. Each supervisor in his own
district decides what work shall be
done on the highways, hires the men
TO do the work, passes the bills for
labor and supplies, and in most cases
draws the money from the treasury,
and pays thu various claimants.
Where in the whole systems OF
national OF state governments Will
you find parallel to such disgrace
full mode of conducting public affairs.
Can 1t be surprising that the baneful
effects of such system should be felt
throughout the whole ramiticatlons of
the local government. The intention
of this article is to show up one
phase of the road law in actual work
ing. 1t must be noticed that at every
meeting of the board on the first
Monday of each month. claim for
salary of $50 for each supervisor for
services as road commissioner is
passed for payment by the supervisors
themselves with clock work regular
ity. In addition to this they draw a
regular salary at the rate of $500 per
year as supervisors, which means
S33 l3 per supervisor per month.
This salary allowance being fixed by
law, no bill therefor is needed to be
presented or allowed. The salary is
paid by warrant drawn by the auditor
directly upun the treasurer, the same
as the salaries of other county
officers. But different practice is
followed with regard to compensation
as road commissioner, although the
money comes out of the salary fund.-
Why this difference? Ii the COM
pensstion for rad commissioner is in
the nature of fixed salary, as the
monthly bills therefor would indicate,
why do bills pass through the nom
sensical redtape business of being
presented and allowed at every
regular monthly session by the
claimants themselves.
Looking over these road commiss-
ioners' bills We find them presented
in this shape:
For services as load commissioner S25
They bear no Endorsement of the
district attorney as legal claim.
We assume therefore that they do
not go before that official for his
approval or dIsapproval. They seem
to have been presented, allowed and
paid as matter of course, the same
as other salaries. The gu estion of
their legitimacy seems never to have
been raised heretofore. The pro-
vision of the county govern ment act
relating to this matter reads as
follows for Amador county:
Each supervisor $500 per annum,
and ten cents per mile for travelling
to and from his residence to tie
county seat at each session.; and, un-
less other wise provided by law, when
serving as load commissioner So per
day. But he shall not in any one
year receive more than $500 for ser
Siees as such ruad commissioner.
Now where is the authority in that
section for treating road commiss-
toner's services as a fixed salary at
SO per month. The plan adopted
seems to be to divide the maximum
amount for the year-S3O0-by II.
which gives the monthly sum of S25.
the amount drawn. At So per day
each supervisor would have to give
100 days every year to road overseer-
ship. No one will assume that they
give more time than that to road
work. Indeed, few will believe that
anything like one hundred full DAYS
are devoted to this duty. Three hun
dred days cannot be divided into
twelve equal parts-even days-so as
to make S25 per month. So that the
monthly claim for road commissioner
assumes on its face that the official
has actually devoted more time to the
work than he can draw pay for. 10
earn that amount he must work nine
days per month, which at 81 per day
would make ST. This means two
thirds of day each month without
pay, amounting in the course of a
year to eight full days donated to
the county. it is presumed that
under this loose iointed law, any por-
tion of a day in road supervision
entities the commissioners to a full
Gays pay. If be travels few rods,
and spends a few minutes in looking
at piece of WORK, he is entitled to
charge So therefor. Who will contend
that this amount of attention is given
to the roads in each district.
Another point. These road COM
L.