The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-05-25
MAY HIRE. ENGINEER.
New Law Does Away With County
Surveyor and Lets Board Boss
Road Work.

| Under the terms of the new road
law, just passed by the general as
sem bly,, the office Of County Survey
or is abolished. The present encum-
bents of this office in the various
counties of the state will serve out
their present terms, meaning the
years 1911 and 1912. After that no
more will be elected.
OF course somebody must take the
place of the surveyor, and do the
work that has heretofore been done
by him. The new statute provides
as follows for filling his place:
THE Board Of Supervisors shall
have power to employ a competent
person who shall perform the duties
now belonging to the office Of the
county surveyor, and who may be
employed for the purpose of making
general specifications for the grad
ing, repairing and building of roads,
bridges and culverts, and to perform
such other duties as the Board may
determine. We may say in passing
that while the bill providing that
the Board must employ competent
county engineer for supervision OF
road building was not passed, the
| new act empowers the Boards to
make just this change in the system
if they think it advisable.
The new law empowers the Board
of Supervisors to levy special road
tax of two mills, over and above
what they have had power to levy
before. This section reads as fol-
lows:
For the grading and building of
roads the Board may levy not more
than two mills on dollar, to be
known as the county road building
fund, but such tax shall not be levied
upon any property assessable within
the limits of any city or incorporated
town and none of such road tax shall
be used in the grading or building
of any roads within the limits of
such cities or incorporated towns"
This additional levy places in the
hands of the Boards of Supervisors
to be expended under their direct
supervision, the following road mon
ey; first the one mill tax which they
have had in the past; second, the
one mill road drainage levy, which
they have had for the past two years.;
third, the new two mill road levy;
this makes a total of four mills I'M
der direct control of the Board of
Supervisors for road purposes, and
| four mills raise upwards of $40, 900
in taxes. Under the new auto tax
law some $4,000 more will be placed
in the hands of the Board of Super
visors, making total of $4,000 to
$4,000 per year which is available
| for expenditure under direct control
of the Board.
AS to the sums available for ex-
|penditure by the Township Trus-
tees, no change of Importance has
been made, but the section regulat-
ing such levy and expenditure has
been rewritten and now reads as
follows.
"The township trustees of each
township shall meet on the first Mon
day in February and on the first
Monday in April, or as soon thereaf-
ter as the assessment book is re-
ceived by the township clerk and on
the first Monday in November in
each year. At the February meeting
said trustees shall elect superin-
tendent of dragging and employ a
road Superintendent. At the April
meeting said trustees shall deter
mine:
/. The rate of property tax to
be levied for the succeeding year for
the repairs of the roads, culverts
and bridges and for guide boards,
lplows, scrapers, road drags, tools
and machinery adapted to the re-
pair of the roads, culverts and
bridges and for the destruction of
noxious weeds in public highways
and other public places, and for the
payment of any Indebtedness pre-
viously incurred for road purposes,
and levy the same, which shall not
be more than four mills on the dol
lar on the amount of the township
assessment for that year, which when
collected shall be expended under
the direction and order of the town
ship trustees; and they may deter
mine and certify to the Board of
Supervisors tax on the assessed
property in the township of not ex-
ceeding five mills on a dollar of
such assessment which shall be APP
piled, or so much thereof as may be
necessary in paying drainage taxes
heretofore levied and still unpaid or
for the payment of any drainage as
sessments that may be hereafter
| levied against the township on ac-
count of benefits to highways under
the provision of Section Sixteen (16)
of Chapter One Hundred Eighteen
! G18) of the Acts of the Thirty
third General Assembly of Iowa and
the balance of such levy or the whole
thereof in case there be no drainage
taxes due from the township may
be applied in paying the expenses Of
bringing highways of the township
or in cooperating with those owning
land in the township in securing the
drainage of such highways; but in
event that the amount to be expend-
ed in any one place exceed the sum
of fifty dollars $500 the township
shall not pay more than it's just
proportion of the benefits to be as
certained by a competent civil en-
gineer and duly set forth in his re-
port approving of such drainage
which report shall be filed with the
township clerk before any money is
paid out for such drainage.
2. The amount that will be al