The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-04-18
Opinion On Road Work
County Attorney Rex Makes 1t Plain
To Everybody

submit the following opinion As to
the practical working of the road law
as defined by Chapter 22l Of the laws
of 1911, and the emergency law passed
at the last session Of the legislature,
being senate bill No. 33 and particu-
larly as to the method of paying in
the road tax and making the levy for
the same.
Under section one of Chapter 22l the
laws of 1911 the Office Of Road Over
seer was abolished and the supervisors
of the township p have the entire control
and must let the road work out by
contract as provided in section 5 OF
this law.
Under section four of the same law
there is a provisO reading, THAT the
electors at tbs annual town meeting in
March may upon notice given by the
Township Clerk by a majority vote by
ballot decide to allow said taxes to be
paid in labor at the rate Of 2Oc per
hour per man or 1Oc per hour for man
and team" " The previous provisions
OF the same section clea rly show that
the assessments upon persons ana
property shall be paid in cash and
that the township clerk atler the board
of supervisors have made the levy OF
taxes for this purpose shall notify the
County Auditor of the amount o. levy
and that the County Auditor shall en-
ter the same upon the county tax list
and that it shall be collected by the
County Treasurer in the same manner
as other township taxes are collected.
| take it to be the intention of the leg
islature as expressed IN this section
that all road taxes should be paid IN
to the County Treasurer like other
township taxes but that if at the an
nual township meeting in March vote
by ballot is had and it is decided to
permit persons to pay their road taxes
In labor it can be done. Thus a per-
son NAV work at the rate above stated
Der hour and when he has worked out
enough time at that price to cover the
road tax levied against him he would
receive receipt or warrant to this
effect which would entitled him to col
lect back the amount OF the road tax
against him.
In the said section four it is also
provided that the township supervis
ors on the lst Tuesday OF September
OF each year shall levy road taxes for
the township. This law went into ef-
feet on the lst of July, 1911 1t con-
talned a provision that in any county
where petition was filed signed
by a certain number OF elett0rs OF
the county h 1t the question
should be submitted to the voters for
ratification at the following general
election, and that if majority OF the
voters voted in favor OF adopting the
law, it would apply in the county, 9th
erwioe not to apply. In tins county
petition was filed and a vote was had
at the general election IN November,
1912. The result of the election was
that the law was adopted. 1t was also
provided that where a vote for the
adoption Of the law was petitioned for
that the operation of the law should
be suspended until it had been adopt
ed hy the voters Of the county. Thus
it will seem that in this county the law
was spended until November, 1912,
so that no levy was made by the town
shin supervisors on the ! st tuesday Of
September ia the years 1911 and l9l2,
and the road taxes and work continued
IN this county under the old law. The
new law went into effect after the vote
of the peoWle was canvasSed and de-
clared to be in favor of it. That left
this county without any definite man
ner of collecting road taxes or doing
road work during the year 1918, but IN
order to meet the condition an6 make
it possible to collect road taxes in a
legal way the last legislature passed
Senate bill 33 with an emergency
clause. This last law provided that
the township supervisors in counties
where the law had been submitted to
the referendum vote and consequently
no provision was made for levying Of
the road tax by the townships for the
wear 1913 were authorized and empow-
cred to levy and tax for road purposes
for 1913 on the 4th Tuesday in March.
1918, to take the place of a levy that
might have been made on the lst
Tuesday of September, 1912, if the
law had not been submitted to vote.
And it further provides that the board
of supervisors of the township are en-
powered to issue warrants during the
calendar year of 1913, against the levy
provided for in Senate Bill No. 33.
And it further makes provision that
this tax shall be extended into the tax
list and collected subject to all the
provisions of the law covering taxes
for 1913 This means that the taxes
so LEVIED shall be collected by the
County Treasurer in the same manner
as other township taxes. In other
words the law passed this year made
it possible to levy the road tax but in
all other respects the law passed in
1911 CONTROLS.
Respectfully submitted,