TITLE II. THE GOVERNMENT OF COUNTIES. CHAPTER I. Counties as bodies corporate. II. County officers. III. County charges. IV. Division or alteration of bounds of counties. Every county is a body corporate. Power vest ed in board of supervisors. Enumeration of powers. CHAPTER I. COUNTIES AS BODIES CORPORATE. SECTION 876. Every county is a body corporate. From 1 R. S., 676. § 876. Every county is a body politic and corporate, and as such has the powers specified or necessarily implied in this title, or in special statutes, and no others. § 877. Its powers can only be exercised by the board of supervisors, or in pursuance of a resolution adopted by them; but a conveyance authorized by subdivision 2 of the following section, made in any manner, for the use of the inhabitants, shall have the same effect as if made to the board of supervisors. 1. To sue and be sued in the name of the board of supervisors; 2. To purchase and hold lands within its limits. and for the use of its inhabitants, subject to the power of the legislature; 3. To make such contracts and purchase and hold such personal property as necessary to the exercise of its powers; 4. To make such orders for the disposition or use of its property as the interests of its inhabitants require. CHAPTER II. COUNTY OFFICERS. ARTICLE I. The board of supervisors. II. The county treasurer. III. The county clerk. IV. The sheriff. V. The surrogate. ARTICLE I. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. SECTION 879. Meetings of the board of supervisors. 880. Quorum. 881. Chairman. 882. Powers of the board. 883. Votes: 884. Notice of certain applications. 885. Removal of county buildings. 886. Record of change. 887. Application to alter towns. 888. Mode of notice. 889. Map to be furnished. 890. Certain provisions for new towns. 891. Duty of secretary of state. 892. Power to require attendance of witnesses. 893. Service of subpoena. Meetings of the board of SECTION 894. Neglect to comply. 895. Adjournment. Bond to appear. 896. Proceedings on the bond. 897. Examination of witnesses. 898. Form and verification of accounts to be audited. 899. Fees, &c., of officers for criminal proceedings. 900. Fees for subpoenaing witnesses. 901. Accounts to be numbered and preserved. 902. Town charges. 903. The clerk, his compensation. 904. Duty of the clerk. 905. Clerk to make annual statement. 906. Board to publish annual statement of accounts audited. 907. Solitary cells for convicts. 908. Compensation of the supervisors. 909. Supervisors to render accounts. 910. Penalty for neglect of duty. § 879. The board of supervisors in each county supervisors. shall hold an annual meeting at such time and Quorum. Chairman. Powers of the board. place as they may fix. They may hold special meetings at the call of their clerk, on the written request of a majority of the board, and in such other cases as are specially provided by law. They may adjourn from time to time. Every meeting shall be open to all persons. § 880. A majority of the board constitute a quorum. § 881. They shall at each annual meeting choose one, of their number as chairman for the ensuing year. In his absence at any meeting, the members present shall choose a temporary chairman. 1. To make such orders respecting the corporate property of the county as they deem expedient; 2. To liquidate and audit accounts against the county, and direct the raising of the sums necessary to defray them; 3. To purchase real property necessary for any public county building, and for the support of the poor, and to determine the site thereof when it has not been already located; 4. To remove or designate a new site for any county building under the restrictions provided in section 885; 5. To erect necessary county buildings, and to raise, by tax upon the county the moneys necessary for their erection, not exceeding five thousand dollars in any one year; 6. To borrow money for the purposes of the three preceding subdivisions, and provide for its payment, with interest, in yearly installments or otherwise, within ten years, by tax; 7. To repair the county buildings and raise the expense thereof by tax; but the sums expended in repairs of the court-house and jail in any one year shall not exceed five hundred dollars; 8. To construct and repair bridges in the county, and raise by tax the moneys necessary therefor, apportioning the tax among the several towns as they deem just; 9. To raise by tax the necessary highway moneys in pursuance of chapter II of title III of Part III of this Code; 10. To appoint special commissioners to lay out a highway, if they deem the highway important and are satisfied that the authority of the town commissioners will not be exercised to lay it out; but such appointment shall not be made unless the applicant presents proof of service on the commissioners of highways of each town through which the route lies, of written notice of the application six days previous to its presentation, and specifying its object and the names of the proposed commissioners; 11. To provide for the payment of the services and expenses of such special commissioners; 12. To erect and alter towns as prescribed in subsequent sections of this article; 13. To authorize a town to borrow, by its vote, money to build or repair highways, not exceeding four thousand dollars in one year, and provide for its payment, with interest, within ten years, by tax upon the town; 14. To sell or lease any real property of the county, and prescribed the mode of conveyance; 15. To abolish or revive the distinction between town and county poor; 16. To fix at any annual meeting the time when |