Clerk of road district. of Supervisors, or other officers, shall be deemed withdrawn by this Act from the officers last above named and conferred exclusively upon road districts and their officers; and provided further, that all road poll taxes hereafter collected in any road district shall belong to such district and be used only upon the district roads therein; and provided further, that unless and until the public highways in the several counties of this State shall be classified into district and other roads in pursuance of statute, all public highways in each road district in the several counties of this State shall be deemed to be district roads under the provisions of this Act. ARTICLE IV. CLERKS OF ROAD DISTRICTS. SEC. 24. Boards of road trustees must, annually, on the first day of July, meet and elect one of their number clerk of the district. Such clerk shall receive, in addition to his comCompensa pensation as trustee, the sum of twenty-five dollars per annum, which shall be allowed and paid at the same time, in the same manner, and subject to the same conditions as his compensation as trustee. tion. Duties. Inventory. Warrants. Bids for SEC. 25. It shall be the duty of said clerk: 1. To call meetings of the board at the request of two members, and to act as clerk of the board, and keep a record of its proceedings, and an accurate account of the receipts and expenditures of all moneys by the district, which accounts. shall show the sources from which all said moneys are received, and the date when, the purpose for which, and the persons to whom the same were expended. 2. To keep his records and accounts open to the inspection of the electors of the district, and in suitable books provided by the board of road trustees for that purpose. 3. To perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law, or by the board of road trustees. SEC. 26. The clerk of each district must, under the direction of the board of trustees, keep an inventory of all property belonging to or in use by the district, and cause the same to be kept in repair so as to be fit for use, and exercise general care and supervision over the property in use by or belonging to the district. SEC. 27. No warrant must be drawn in favor of any employé, or other person doing service or furnishing material, or otherwise acquiring or holding a claim against a road district, unless the officer or officers whose duty it is to draw such warrant is satisfied that the employé, or other person making such claim, has faithfully performed the services, or rendered value for the claim for which the warrant is drawn. SEC. 28. There shall be free competition on all bids for concontracts. tracts to do work or furnish material, or render service to a road district, but when all other things are equal, a contract shall be let, or employment given, to a resident of the road district to which the service is to be rendered or employment furnished in preference to all other persons. SEC. 29. A majority of the board of trustees in actual Quorum. session shall be necessary for the transaction of business. ARTICLE V. DISTRICT ROAD TAX. SEC. 30. The board of trustees of any district may, prior District to the fifteenth day of August of any year, when in their judg- road tax. ment it is advisable, call an election, and submit to the qualified electors of the district the question whether a tax shall be raised to furnish additional funds for the use of the district in the procuring of title to any rights of way, or for the opening of any For what specific existing roads, or for the constructing, or performing purposes. work on, any existing road, or for the sprinkling of any road, or for the purchase of materials or implements or machinery, or for any two or all of these purposes; provided, that where a tax which has been collected for any or all of the purposes, as aforesaid, shall not have been used therefor within two years from the time set, such taxes so collected and unexpended shall be returned to the parties from whom the same were collected. etc. SEC. 31. Such election must be called by posting notices in Election, at least three of the most public places in the district for twenty notices, days; and also, if there is a newspaper in the county, by advertising therein once a week for three weeks; provided, that one of such notices shall be posted at each school-house, if any, and one at each post office, if any, in such road district. must SEC. 32. Such notices must specify the time and place of Notices holding the election, the amount of money proposed to be specify, raised, and the purpose or purposes for which it is intended to what. be used. conduct SEC. 33. The election shall be conducted in conformity to Manner of the provisions of sections fifteen hundred and ninety-six, fifteen ing hundred and ninety-seven, fifteen hundred and ninety-eight, elections. fifteen hundred and ninety-nine, sixteen hundred, and sixteen hundred and one of the Political Code; provided, that no particular form of ballot shall be required, nor shall any informalities invalidate the same if the election shall have been otherwise fairly conducted. SEC. 34. At such election the ballots must contain the words Ballots. "Tax-Yes" or "Tax-No." SEC. 35. If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of the tax levy are "Tax-Yes," the officers of the election must certify the fact to the board of road trustees of the district. SEC. 36. The board of trustees must, upon receipt of a certificate of such fact, report the same to the Board of Supervisors, stating the amount of money to be raised. tax; how ascer SEC. 37. The Board of Supervisors must, at the time of Amount of levying the county taxes, levy a tax upon all taxable property in the road district voting such tax, sufficient to raise the tained. amount voted. The rate of taxation shall be ascertained by Maximum tax rate. County to receive deducting fifteen per cent for anticipated delinquencies from the aggregate assessed value of the property in the district, as it appears upon the assessment roll of the county, and then dividing the sum voted by the remainder of such aggregate assessed value. The taxes so levied shall be computed and entered on the assessment roll by the County Auditor, and collected at the same time and in the same manner as state and county taxes; and when collected shall be paid into the county treasury for the use of the road district voting the same, for the purpose or purposes for which the same were voted. SEC. 38. The maximum rate of tax levied by the board of road trustees in any one year, for the purposes mentioned in this article, must not exceed forty cents on each one hundred dollars of the taxable property of the district. ARTICLE VI. MISCELLANEOUS GENERAL PROVISIONS, RELATIVE TO ROAD FUNDS SEC. 39. No Assessor, Tax Collector, City, City and County, officers not or County Treasurer, must charge or receive any fee or comfee or compensation whatever, for assessing, collecting, receiving, keeppensation. ing, or disbursing any road moneys, but the whole moneys collected must be paid to the City, City and County, or County Treasurer; provided, that said Assessor or Tax Collector, for Exception. services actually rendered in the collection of road poll taxes, shall receive the sum of fifteen per cent of the sum collected, unless otherwise provided by law. No officer to act as agent. Officers interested in con tracts. SEC. 40. No officer named in this Act must directly or indirectly act as agent for any manufacturer or seller of materials or implements, or of any other person, in the furnishing or endeavoring to furnish any road machinery or implements, or any material or article whatever, to any road district in his county; or directly or indirectly contract for or receive any gift, reward, or other thing for so furnishing or selling, or recommending the purchase of any machinery, implements, material, or any article or thing of value; and any officer so acting or receiving must be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction be punished as provided by section nineteen of the Penal Code, and in addition to such punishment must be removed from office. Every road trustee may administer oaths as to all matters affecting the business or affairs of his district. SEC. 41. No road trustee must be interested, directly or not to be indirectly, in any contract made by the board of trustees, of which such trustee is a member; nor shall any Supervisor or county officer of any county be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract made by the board of trustees of any road district of the county in which he holds office, and every contract made in violation of the provisions of this section shall be absolutely null and void. against district. SEC. 42. The road year shall coincide with the fiscal year, and begin on the first day of July and end on the last day of June. All claims and demands against any road district claims and shall first be presented to the board of trustees thereof, and if demands the trustees allow the same they shall draw their warrant, road made payable out of the proper fund of their district. A statement of such claim or demand, itemized and verified in the manner required by law for claims against the county, shall be filed with the clerk of the Board of Supervisors at least one day before it is presented for allowance. Such warrants shall accompany said statement, but shall not be filed with the clerk. The Board of Supervisors shall carefully examine and audit every such claim, and if they approve the same, they shall indorse their allowance in the trustees' warrant therefor, which shall then be presented to the Auditor, who shall draw his requisition to pay the same upon the County Treasurer, against the proper fund of the district drawing the warrant; provided, that in no case shall the Board of Supervisors allow any claim for an amount larger than that specified in the trustees' warrant therefor, nor shall the Auditor draw his requisition to pay any claim for an amount greater than that allowed by the Board of Supervisors. When the board of trustees or the Board of Supervisors find that any claim presented against any road district is not payable by such district, or is not a proper charge against, such board must reject it, and such rejection shall be clearly entered on the minutes of the board of trustees, or indorsed by the Board of Supervisors on such warrant, and thereafter the same proceedings may be had thereon against such district as is provided by law for the case of the rejection of a claim against the county. SEC. 43. The offering of any valuable thing to any member Bribery punishof a Board of Supervisors or board of road trustees, with the able. intent thereby to influence his action in regard to the purchase of ARTICLE VII. VOTING AND ISSUANCE OF ROAD DISTRICT BONDS. district SEC. 44. The board of road trustees, or other governing Road body of any road district, may, when in their judgment it is bonds. advisable, and must, upon a petition of forty per cent of the electors of the district, call an election and submit to the Notice of election. Must contain. How election etc. electors of the district the question whether the bonds of such district shall be issued and sold for the purpose of raising money for procuring rights of way, for opening roads, for repairing roads, for the construction of roads, for the purchase of water or water rights, the establishing of a system for sprinkling roads, or for any or all of such purposes, and for the purpose of funding any indebtedness already lawfully incurred for such purposes, or any thereof. SEC. 45. Such election must be called by posting notices, signed by at least a majority of the board, in at least three of the most public places in the district, for not less than twenty days before the election; and if there is a newspaper published in the county, by publishing such notice therein not less than once a week for three successive weeks; provided, that one of such notices shall be posted in a conspicuous place at each school-house, if any, and one in a conspicuous place at each post office, if any, in the district. SEC. 46. Such notice must contain: 1. The time and place of holding such election. 2. The names of the inspectors and judges to conduct the same. 3. The hours of the day during which the polls will be open. 4. The amount and denomination of the bonds, the rate of interest, and the number of years, not exceeding ten, the whole or any part of said bonds are to run. 5. The purpose or purposes for which such bonds are to be issued. SEC. 47. Such election shall be conducted in conformity shall be with the provisions of sections fifteen hundred and ninety-six, conducted, fifteen hundred and ninety-seven, fifteen hundred and ninetyeight, fifteen hundred and ninety-nine, sixteen hundred, sixteen hundred and one, and eighteen hundred and thirty-four of the Political Code, except that the words to appear on the ballots shall be "Bonds-Yes" or "Bonds-No," or words substantially equivalent thereto. returns. Canvass of SEC. 48. On the seventh day after said election, at one o'clock P. M., the returns having been made to the board of trustees or other governing body of such road district, the board must meet and canvass such returns, and if it appears that two thirds of the votes cast at such election were in favor of issuing such bonds, then the board shall cause an entry of the fact to be made upon its minutes, and shall certify to the Board of Supervisors of the county all the proceedings had in the premises, and thereupon said Board of Supervisors shall be and they are hereby authorized and directed to issue the bonds of such district to the number and amount provided in such proceedings, payable out of the bond fund of such district, naming the same, and that the money shall be raised by taxation upon the taxable property in said district, for the redemption of said bonds, and the payment of the interest thereon; provided, that the total amount of bonds so issued shall not exceed five per cent of the taxable property of the amount of district, as shown by the last equalized assessment book of the Total bonds. county. |