The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-07-22
COMMISSION TO OFFER ADVICE
Work of Building Roads Will Be Put
More Fully Into the Hands Of the
Local Communities and Aid Will Be
BASED on Valuation Of Property.

highways, 1T is the best winch mas Deen
offered thus far at this session of the
legislature said Highway Commits
sioner G. e. Moore Saturday.
The special legislative committee on
highways reported new measure on
Thursday providing for a combination
of the county and state system Of high
way construction and providing for an
appropriation for state aid i'm
provement of highways and bridges.
The new bill gives the counties more
authority in highway construction than
under the present law and reduces the
limit,of the amount of money that may
be used for such work each year to
about one-third what it now is. Sena-
tor w. J. Bichler, chairman of the com
mittee, said that he believed the new
bill would be acceptable to all persons
interested and would pass the legisla-
ture and become a law.
Theasenate placed the state highway
aid bill, on. the calendar for next We'd
nesday. The committee announced in
reporting the bill that Associate JUS
tice r. ID Marshall of the Wisconsin
supreme court had given valuable as
sistance in drafting the measure.
Under the new. law the state high
way commission is required to advise
towns villages. and counties regarding
CONSTRUCTION and maintenance of any
road or bridge, 1t is required to make
suitable regulations for the adequate
surveying, planning, constructing and
inspecting Of all roads and bridges
constructed under state aid, and these
regulations must be observed by the
several counties to make them eligible
Ito receive state aid for highways.
The bill provides for a county high
way committee to have charge Of high
way and bridge construction work sub
ject to advisory supervision by the
statecommission. In Milwaukee coun-
ey the supervisors are authorized to
fix the number ofmembers of the coun-
ty committee. and terms of such mem
bers.
Each county is to elect a highway
commissioner, who is to be chosen for
two years and be under control of the
county highway committee. Salaries
9of county commissioners are to run
from 5000 year to $1,000 in coun-
tets doing over $4,000 worth of high
work aagyear.
The state is to pay one-third, the
county one-third and the town or vii
lage one-third of the cost Of highway
and bridge Improvement. Tn the con-
struction of strictly state highways
the county pays 40 per cent and the
state GO per cent.
Stateaaid is to be apportioned on the
ratio, of the assessed valuation Of prop
erty in the county to the total amount
available. Counties are limited in lev
ying taxes for highway aid to mills
per dollar on the assessed valuation Of
their taxable property, and towns
with assessed valuation of less than
100000 to two mills, towns of assessed
valuation of from 100000 to $1,000,
900 to ~ mills and towns Of over ST.
5000 TO l mill.
Mr.. Moore was rather doubtful
about the bill which vests county
committee with considerable powers
in highway matters. f'What we have
been trying to get away from in many
Countess he said, els the interfer-
ence of the road committee in the SUI
pervision ant construction work. We
have aimed to limit their functions to
questions of appeal as to construction
work, 30 auditing the accounts Of the
highway commissioner and to purchas-
ing such road machinery as is author
lied by the county board We have
deemed that these powers were suf-
ficient. We have considered it better
plan to vest the authority in the high
way commissioner 50 that he alone will
be held responsible. With an advis-
ory committee. there will undoubtedly
be a shifting of responsibility such as
was common under the old township
plan"
Mr.. Moore aid not approve Of the
proposal TO mold down highway appro
spriations. tits all right to limit
state aid if they wish, = be said, 'Sbut
II county or town wants to get
large stretch of road built in any one
year, they should not be prevented
from doing 50. If they are willing to
raise the money for that purpose, that
is their business. - Mr.. Moore called
attention to several townships in Rock
county where there was disposition
ITO get the highways built as quickly as
possible and had appropriated large
amounts to carry the work through in
one or two years. Tn the interest of
good roads, Mr.. Moore claimed, the
state highways should be built as soon
as possible,