The Port Gibson reveille., 1922-05-11
The new LAW
GOVERNING BOARDS
Supervisors and Aldermen Must pre-.
pare Budget of Yearly Expenses
and Clerks Must Keep Complete Set
of Books.

Of Books.
Senator Barrett sends the Reveille
copy of the new law governing
boards of supervisors and boards of
aldermen. The law, which is rather
drastic, goes into effect on Nav 3lst.
We reproduce below the law in full:
Section /. Be it enacted by the
Legislature of the State of Mississip-
pi, That the boards Of supervisors Of
the several counties and the boards of
mayor and aldermen of towns and vii
lagos at their September meeting of
each year prepare budget Of county
and municipal expenses respectively
estimated for the next year, and shall
prepare statement showing the ag-
| gregate revenue collected during the
current year in said county for county
purposes and for municipal purposes
respectively. In such statement il
shall show every source of revenue
along with the amount derived from
each source. Said budget with said
statement of revenue and expenses
shall be published in the county paper
IN September of each year That this
shall be the only publication required
of towns and villages.
Sec, 2. That said budget of ex-
penses and revenue be in such form
as may be necessary, to show all esti-
mates for the different county and
municipal purposes of expenditure
and source of revenue respectively.
Sec. 3. That the clerks Of the board |
Of supervisors and of municipalities /
shall open and keep a regular set of /
books either by single or double entry. /
subject always to inspection within /
office hours, of any citizen desiring to |
inspect the same. That said books |
shall contain accounts, under head
ings, corresponding with the several
headings, of the budget, so that the
expenditures under each head may be
at once known. That such books shall
be paid for out Of the general county
fund upon the order of the board Of
supervisors and of the general muni-
cipal und on the order of the proper
municipal authorities. Said clerks
shall also mark filed as of date of the
presentation of the same, each, every
and all claims against said county and
municipality respectively; and shall
number the same in regular consecu-
tive order; and shall file and keep the
same in like manner; and shall safely
preserve the same as records of their
respective Offices. And shall safely
preserve the same as a record of his /
office. Each years records shall be
kept separate and begun with a new
number each year and run in regular
order.
In issuing any warrant under order
of the boards, to pay any one of said
claims, SO numbered and kept, he shall
enter the number of the claim in the
body of the warrant, so that the claim
may be easily found and so that pos
sible duplication may be avoided. For
failure to perform any duty herein re-
quired, said clerk shall be subject to
suit, on his bond for any damage
which the county may sustain by reas-
on of such failure. Such suit or suits
shall be brought by the county prose-
cutting attorney or district attorney.
Said boards shall designate on each al i,
lowance Of a claim against the county
and municipalities, the fund out of
which same shall be paid and to what
account the sums shall be charged in
said books. Each allowance shall
have the number of the claim noted in
the minutes Of the said board.
Sec. A. The boards shall at all
times keep within the sums named in r
it's said budget and within the annuel /
revenue always seeking to lessen ex-
instead of exceeding rev. 7
snue and budget estimates. /
Sec. 5. In cases Of emergency,
floods or storms have dam r
aged, or destroyed bridges, school Z
houses, or injured court house or
epidemies, infectious dis
eases, or like conditions, unforeseen, i
said boards shall have power to bor- 5
ILL - I
such emergency.
Sec. 6. That the majority of the
qualified resident property taxpayers
If any county, town or village, may
petition against any of items of pro-
posed expenditure for such county or
purposes; and file such pc
ition with the board of supervisors if
t be a county proposition or with the q
BOARD of aldermen of the town or viii 3
age, if it be a municipal proposition; G
md after such petitions dulv filed with I
uch county or municipal authorities, n
t shall be unlawful to impose any h
axation based on such items thus PEI y
itioned against, other than taxes for b
of interest or installments on
,onds, unless the question shall be 7
irst submitted and favorably voted
lpon at an election to be held for that
purpose in such county or municipa-
ty, provided, however, that this sec a
ion shall not apply to contingencies n
et forth in section five of this act. s
Sec. Z. Any violation of this act T
hall make the member of the boards
-otng for same and the sureties on &
heir official bond liable for the full {
mount of the claim allowed, the con-
ract entered into, or the public work e
for; and the county prosecu-
ing or district attorney shall sue for
he recovery of the sum or sums so c
,oted, as aforesaid in the name Of the 2
nay be.
Sec. 8. That this act shall take ef-
'ect and be in force sixty days from e
md after its passage.
Approved March 81, 1922. a