SEC. 6. The said Commissioners shall be sworn to faith- Duties and fully discharge their duties according to the provisions of Commis this Act. They shall proceed to view the lands and tene- sioners. ments mentioned and described in the notice, ordinances, resolutions, and map aforesaid, and may examine witnesses on oath, to be administered by either of them, and shall keep minutes of the testimony so taken. They shall appraise the damages which the owner or owners, or those having a less than freehold estate of the lands and tenements to be taken for such public improvement, will severally receive by being deprived thereof, and shall assess and apportion the whole amount of such damages, together with the costs and charges of said Board of Trustees, and the costs of said proceedings in Court, and of said Commission, to be taxed and allowed by the said Court upon the owners of lands and tenements within the territory deemed by the resolution and ordinance of said City Board of Trustees to be benefited by such improvement, as near as may be, in proportion to the benefit which each shall be deemed to acquire by the making thereof; provided, that no damage shall be allowed for the injury or removal of any building erected on any of said lands after the filing of said map; and provided further, that the owners of buildings heretofore erected upon said lands shall not be required to remove the same within five years from the entry of the final decree in this case by the District Court. ers' report must con SEC. 7. The said Commissiouers shall make a report Commissionthereof to the said District Court, in which report they shall describe with all reasonable certainty the several pieces and tain. parcels of land taken for such improvement, and the names and residences of the owner or owners thereof, respectively, and the rights of such owners, so far as they can be ascertained, designating unknown owners, if any such there be, and the sum of money which should be paid to each of the owners of said several parcels of land, including any and all lands purchased by and conveyed to said city for the purposes of said improvement, and the cost and expense thereof. They shall also in such report specify the sums of money which each and every owner of houses and lands deemed to be benefited by such improvement, whether known or unknown, as aforesaid, should pay toward the expense of making the same, and the lands in respect to which he shall be deemed by them to be so benefited; and in case the land in respect to which any person shall be deemed to be benefited shall be the same of which any portion held by him under the same title shall be taken for such improvement, that fact shall be stated in their report. They shall also file a duplicate of such report in the office of the City Clerk of said city. SEC. 8. Upon the filing of such report, the said Court shall Hearing of assign a day for hearing objections to the confirmation of report. said report; and on the day assigned, or on such other day or days to which the same shall be adjourned by said Court, shall hear the allegations of all parties interested, and may take proof in relation thereto from time to time, and shall Court to vest confirm the said report, or may set the same aside, and refer the matter to the same, or to new Commissioners. SEC. 9. Upon the final confirmation of the report of the title in city. Commissioners of Appraisal and Assessments, the said District Court shall enter a decree that the City of Petaluma shall be entitled to take the lands and tenements specified in the report of such Commissioners, as necessary for the making of such public improvement, on paying to the owners of such lands and tenements the amount of damages assessed in such report; and when any damages shall be awarded, and any assessments for benefits of the improvements in respect of which such damages are awarded shall be made upon the same person or persons, or in respect to the ownership of any entire parcel of land, a part of which shall be taken for such improvement, in that case the said city shall become vested with the title of such lands upon paying, or depositing in Court, the amount of the difference between the sums of money so awarded and assessed. Appeals. Assessment roll must show. Payment of damages. SEC. 10. Appeal from the order or decree confirming the report of said Commissioners may be taken by any party interested in the matter, in accordance with the provisions of the "Code of Civil Procedure" of the State of California, made and provided for taking appeals from orders, judgments, or decrees made and entered in said District Court in civil actions. SEC. 11. Whenever the amount of damages for taking any lands as aforesaid, and assessment thereof, shall be finally ascertained and fixed, either by confirmation of the District Court as aforesaid, or by the confirmation, correction, or modification of the report of the Commissioners by the Supreme Court, the Clerk of the said city shall make a transcript in the form used for assessment rolls in said city, except that in said assessment roll to be made from such report, as confirmed, shall be set down in separate columns: First-The names of all persons, corporations, or companies assessed, when known; and if not known, then that fact. Second-A description of the land in respect to which they are assessed. Third-The amount to which such persons shall be assessed, respectively. Fourth-The amount of damages, if any, to which said persons are entitled, respectively, by the award of the Commissioners. Fifth-The amount of the excess, if any, to be collected. The transcript, when so made, shall be certified by the Clerk of said city as correct, and thereupon the assessment shall be collected in the manner prescribed for the collection of street assessments in said city by the City Attorney, and shall be a lien upon the respective tracts and parcels of land, as aforesaid. SEC. 12. Upon the collection of said assessments upon the said assessment roll as aforesaid, the Board of Trustees shall forthwith pay the amount of said damages to the owners of said lands and tenements to whom the same shall have been allowed; and in case such owners be unknown non-residents of said city, or minors having no legally appointed guardian, it shall be lawful for said Board of Trustees, in such case, to pay the amount of said damages into the office of the Clerk of the said District Court, accompanied by a statement of the facts and circumstances under which said payment is made and describing the land taken by said City of Petaluma for which such damages have been awarded. Said money so paid into the said Court shall be held and paid by said Court in the manner prescribed by law respecting moneys belonging to doubtful or unknown owners, deposited in said Courts, and the same proceedings had to ascertain rights of parties thereto. SEC. 13. When such damages shall be paid, as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the said Board of Trustees, or any of their officers or agents, to take or enter upon any lands or tenements, for the taking of which such damage shall have been allowed. SEC. 14. This Act shall take effect immediately. CHAP. CCCXXXVIII.-An Act concerning roads in the County of Humboldt. [Approved March 25, 1876.] The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and districts. SECTION 1. It shall be the duty of the Board of Super- Supervisors visors of Humboldt County, as soon as practicable after the lay out passage of this Act, to re-divide the said county into as many road districts as may be suitable and convenient, and numbering the same from one upwards, and at any time thereafter such districts to alter or change, and new districts to form, as occasion may require. For each of said districts the said Board shall appoint a Road Overseer, who shall continue in office until his successor shall be elected and qualified. terms of. SEC. 2. At the general election for the year eighteen hun- Overseers, dred and seventy-seven, and for every two years thereafter, there shall be elected in each road district, by the voters thereof, a Road Overseer, whose term of office shall commence on the first Monday in November next after his election and continue for two years, and until the election and qualification of a successor. bond. SEC. 3. Road Overseers shall, within ten days after receiv- Oath and ing notice of their appointment or certificate of their election, take the usual oath of office, and give the official bond. required by said Board of Supervisors, with two or more. sureties, to be approved by the County Judge. SEC. 4. The said Board of Supervisors shall have power Removals. to remove any Road Overseer for neglect or misconduct in office, and shall also have power to fill any vacancy that may occur in that office. Duties of render accounts. SEC. 5. Road Overseers, under the direction and supervision and pursuant to the orders of the said Board of Supervisors, must take charge of the public highways within. their respective districts, and, as far as the means applicable to the purpose and at their disposal will allow, must: 1. Keep all such highways clear from obstructions, and in good order and repair. 2. Cause bridges and culverts, where necessary, to be built, keep the same in good order and repair, and renew them when destroyed; and 3. Cause guide-boards, with suitable inscriptions, to be erected and maintained at the intersection of all wagon roads. 4. Direct and oversee all work and labor done upon the highways. Overseers to SEC. 6. Each Road Overseer shall render to the Board of Supervisors, at their regular meetings in May and November of each year, a verified and itemized account of his receipts and expenditures as Road Overseer for the preceding six months, showing particularly the sums received by him, when and from whom received; also, the sums paid, when, to whom, and for what purpose paid; and also, the balance in money due to him or to the Road District Fund; also, shall, at the meetings of said Board for levying county taxes, make or [a] report, in writing, of the general condition of the roads in his road district, with an estimate of the probable amount of money which will be necessary to keep the said roads in ordinary repair during the next twelve months ensuing, and such other information as would be likely to aid the said Board in making the apportionment of money as required by section twelve of this Act. Salary of SEC. 7. He shall also, at same time, report to the said Board verified and detailed statements of each place where, and purpose for which, labor and money, or either, were expended, and the amounts thereof; and of the tools and implements belonging to his road district, remaining in his hands; and also of the number of days' and parts of days' services by him actually and necessarily performed in the discharge of his official duties, and the nature of such services, and the time and place when and where performed. SEC. 8. Each Road Overseer shall also, at the end of the time for which he shall have held his office, pay over to the County Treasurer of the County of Humboldt all moneys remaining in his hands, to be placed to the credit of the Road Fund of his district; and he shall deliver to his successor in office all tools and implements belonging to his road district, taking a receipt therefor, and filing the same with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. SEC. 9. Each Road Overseer rendering to the Board of Overseers. Supervisors the account as required by section six of this Act, and the detailed statements required by section seven, at the time and in the manner directed by said sections, shall receive for his services a sum to be fixed by the Board of Supervisors, not exceeding four dollars for each day's service performed by him on the highway of his district as such Overseer. SEC. 10. At the regular meeting of the Board of Super- Road tax. visors for levying county taxes, the Board shall annually levy upon all taxable property in said County of Humboldt a tax for road purposes, not exceeding forty cents on the one hundred dollars on the assessed value thereof for the year for which said tax shall be levied, which tax shall be collected by the Tax Collector, who shall receive as a compensation therefor two per cent., at the same time and in the same manner as State and other county taxes are collected, and paid over to the County Treasurer for road purposes. Road Funds. SEC. 11. The said Board of Supervisors shall, at the same Apportionmeeting in each year, make an estimate of the probable ment of amount of moneys which will be collected from the property road tax during that fiscal year, and after deducting therefrom fifteen per cent. thereof, to be placed in the General Road Fund, for general road purposes, shall apportion the residue between the several road districts, to be kept by the County Treasurer in separate road district funds, and to be used in the respective districts for road purposes during such fiscal year. SEC. 12. In making such apportionment the Board of Supervisors shall not be controlled by the amount of the property tax that will probably be collected in each road district, but must take into consideration the general advantage to the county by making highways in particular districts, and may apportion to such districts more or less than the amount of property taxes to be collected therein. how paid. SEC. 13. All damages for taking lands for highways must Damages, be paid by the order of the Board of Supervisors in warrants specifying the purpose, drawn on the County Treasurer. Such warrants may be made payable out of the General County Fund, or out of the General Road Fund, or out of the Road Fund of the district in which the land lies. The cost of erecting bridges may be paid for in warrants drawn in same manner and payable out of either of said funds. And SEC. 14. The cost and expense of laying out of roads, and Costs and keeping the roads, bridges, and culverts in good order and expenses. condition, in any road district, must be paid by the Overseer of the district by warrants drawn in the same manner directed by the preceding section, and payable out of the fund of the road district in which the work has been done. if, upon settlement of the account of any Road Overseer, a sum of money shall be found due to him, such sum shall be paid by like warrant; provided, that if any such work shall be for the general advantage of the whole county, and the cost and expense too onerous to be borne by a single district, then such cost and expense, or any portion thereof, may be paid for in warrants drawn upon the General Road Fund. shall be done SEC. 15. Whenever the work to be done, or materials to When work be furnished in the construction of a road, or in the repair by contract. thereof, at any one place, or in the construction or repair of any bridge or culverts, shall exceed in cost one hundred dollars, the same shall be done under contract, awarded by said Board of Supervisors to the lowest responsible bidder, after at least one week's notice shall have been given by publica |