Highway Officers, Their General Powers and Duties. §§ 16-18 of highways may bring an action, in the name of the town, against any person or corporation, to sustain the rights of the public in and to any highway in the town, and to enforce the performance of any duty enjoined upon any person or corporation in relation thereto, and to recover any damages sustained or suffered or expenses incurred by such town, in consequence of any act or omission of any such person or corporation, in violation of any law or contract in relation to such highway. § 16. Liability of towns for defective highways.—Every town shall be liable for all damages to person or property, sustained by reason of any defect in its highways or bridges, existing because of the neglect of any commissioner of highways of such town, No action shall be maintained against any town to recover such damages, unless a verified statement of the cause of action shall have been presented to the supervisor of the town, within six months after the cause of action accrued; and no such action shall be commenced until fifteen days after the service of such statement. § 17. Action by town against commissioners.-If a judgment shall be recovered against a town for damages to person or property, sustained by reason of any defect in its highways, or bridges, existing because of the neglect of any commissioner of highways, such commissioner shall be liable to the town for the amount of the judgment, and interest thereon; but such judgment shall not be evidence of the negligence of the commissioners in the action against him. § 18. Audit of damages without action.-The town board of any town may audit as a town charge, in the same manner as other town charges are audited, any one claim not exceeding five hundred dollars, for damages to person or property, heretofore or hereafter sustained by reason of defective highways or bridges in the town, if in their judgment it be for the interest of the town so to do; but no claim shall be so audited, unless it shall have been presented to the supervisor of the town, within six months after it accrued, nor if an action thereon shall be barred by the statute of limitations. The town board may also audit any unpaid judgment heretofore or hereafter recovered against a commissioner of highways for any such damages, if such town board shall be satisfied that he acted in good faith, and the defect causing such damage did not exist because of the negligence or misconduct of am'd 1901 c. 35 A14020.208 the commissioner, against whom such judgment shall have been recovered. § 19. Reports of commissioners.-The commissioners of highways of each town shall make to the town board, at its first meeting in each year, a written report stating, 1. The labor assessed and performed, 2. The sum received by them by penalties, commutations and all other sources, and an itemized account of all moneys paid out during the year, with receipts in full by the respective parties to whom such money was paid; 2m'd 1901c. 4373. The improvements which have been made on the highways and bridges, during the year immediately preceding such report, and the state of such highways and bridges; they shall also make at the second meeting of said board in each year, a statement of the improvements necessary to be made on such highways and bridges, and an estimate of the probable expense thereof, beyond what the labor to be assessed in that year will accomplish; a duplicate of which shall be delivered by the commissioners to the supervisor of the town, who shall present such a duplicate statement to the board of supervisors, who shall cause the amount so estimated, not exceeding five hundred dollars in any one year, to be assessed, levied and collected, in such town, in the same manner as other town charges. am'd 1901 § 20. General duties of overseers.-Each overseer of highways in every town, shall 1. Repair and keep in order the highways within his district. 2. Warn all persons and corporations assessed to work on the highways in his districts, to come and work thereon. 3. Cause the noxious weeds within the bounds of the highway within his district, to be cut down or destroyed twice in each year, once before the first day of July, and again before the first day of September; and the requisite labor therefor shall be considered highway work. 4. Collect all fines and commutation money, and execute all lawful orders of the commissioners. 5. Cause all loose stone lying in the beaten track of every highway within his district, to be removed once in every month,from the first A 1902 0.166 day of April until the first day of December, in each year. Stones so removed shall not be thrown into the gutter, nor into the grass adjoining such highways, but they shall be conveyed to some place, Highway Officers, Their General Powers and Duties. §§ 21-22 from which they will not work back or be brought back into the track by the use of road machines or other implements used in repairing such highways. penalty added 1901°c 54 6. Cause the monuments erected or to be erected, as the boundaries of highways, to be kept up and renewed, so that the extent of such highway boundaries may be publicly known. (As amended by chap, 352 of 1898, § 1.) 8 21. Opening obstructed highways.—Whenever the labor in A 1902 c. 3x= any district has been worked out, computed for, or returned to the supervisor, and the highways are obstructed by snow, or otherwise, and notice has been given to the overseer, in writing, by any two or more inhabitants of the town, liable to payment of highway tax, requesting the removal of such obstruction, the overseer of highways in such district, shall immediately call upon all persons and corporations liable to highway tax therein, to assist in removing such obstructions; and such labor, so called for by the overseer, shall be assessed upon those liable to perform the same, in proportion to their original assessments. And all persons so called out and failing to appear at the place designated by the overseer, or to commute at a dollar a day, within twenty-four hours after due notice, shall be liable to a fine of at the rate of one dollar and fifty cents a day, for each day's labor they may be required to perform, which fine shall be collectible by the overseer, as such, by action in justice's court, and shall be applied to the purposes specified in this section. The overseer shall be liable to a penalty of five dollars per day, for every day he neglects, without good and sufficient reasons, to have such highway opened without delay after receiving such written notice, the penalty to be collected in justice's court, by the person first suing for the same, and the penalty shall be paid over to the commissioners of highways, for the use of the town. § 22. Penalties against overseers.-Every overseer of highways who shall refuse or neglect, 1. To warn the persons and corporations assessed to work on the highways, when he shall have been required so to do, by the commissioners or either of them. 2. To collect the moneys that may arise from fines or commutations. 3. To perform any of the duties required by this chapter, or which may be enjoined on him by the commissioners of highways of his town, and for the omission of which no other penalty is provided, shall for every such refusal or neglect, forfeit the sum of ten dollars. § 23. Penalties, how collected.—The commissioners of highways shall prosecute, in the name of the town, every overseer of highways, for any penalties known to the commissioners to have been incurred by the overseer. They shall also upon the complaint of any resident of the town, that any such penalty has been incurred, prosecute such overseer therefor, if satisfied that the complaint is well founded. The costs and expenses incurred by the commissioners in good faith, in such proceedings, shall be a town charge, to be audited by the town board. If the commissioners refuse or neglect to prosecute for any such penalty, for thirty days after such complaint shall have been made, the complaint may prosecute therefor in the name of the town, upon indemnifying the town for the costs and expenses of such prosecution, in such manner as the supervisor may approve. If the commissioner shall neglect or refuse to prosecute for any such penalty, knowing that the same has been incurred, he shall be liable to a penalty of ten dollars for every such neglect or refusal, to be recovered by action, in the name of the town, brought by the supervisor, or by any taxpayer of the town who may indemnify the town, for the costs and expenses of the action, in such manner as the supervisor may approve. § 24. Compensation of overseers.-If any overseer shall be employed more days in executing the several duties enjoined upon him by this chapter, than he is assessed to work on the highways, he shall be paid for the excess, at the rate of twelve and a half cents per hour for each day, and be allowed to retain the same out of the money which may come into his hands under this chapter; but he shall not be permitted to commute for the days he is assessed nor be entitled to receive any greater sum as compensation, pursuant to this section, than the amount of money in his hands applicable thereto. (As amended by chap. 78 of 1899.) § 25. Division of town into highway commissioner districts.When a town has determined upon having three commissioners of highways, the town board may at a regular or special meeting thereof divide the town into three highway commissioner districts, and assign one of such districts to each commissioner of highways. Notice of such division, containing a brief and accurate description of the boundaries of each district and the name of the commissioner assigned thereto, shall be published once a Assessment for Highway Labor. § 26 week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published in such town, or if no newspaper be published therein, such notice shall be posted in at least six conspicuous places in such town. After a town is divided, the commissioner shall be elected or appointed, so that at all times one commissioner shall reside in each district (Added by chap. 127 of 1898, § 1.) § 26. Duties of commissioner in each district.—When a town is so divided, the commissioners shall apportion to each district the moneys raised and collected from the town at large for highway purposes and the commissioner assigned to or residing in a district shall expend the money so apportioned to his district upon the highways and bridges situated in or upon the borders thereof. Each commissioner shall cause the highways and bridges in his district to be kept in repair, and shall perform all the duties. relating thereto, which the commissioners of highways of the town, except for such division, would perform. His powers and duties as to the supervision, repair, construction and improvements of the highways and bridges within his district shall be exclusive. As to all other powers and duties he shall act in conjunction with the other commissioners. (Added by chap. 127 of 1898, § I.) ARTICLE II. ASSESSMENT FOR HIGHWAY LABOR. SECTION 30. Meetings of commissioners. 31. Lists of inhabitants. 32. Non-resident lands. 33. Assessments of highway labor, how made. 34. Copies of lists delivered to overseers. 35. Names omitted. 36. Appeals by non-residents. 37. Credit on private roads. 38. Certain assessments to be separate. 39. Tenant to deduct assessment. 40. Reassessment in case of neglect. 42. New assessments by overseers. 43. Sidewalks and trees. 44. Abatement of tax for shade trees. 45. Sidewalk tax anticipated. 46. Certificate of anticipation. 47. Transfer of certificate. 48. Abatement of tax for watering trough 49. System of taxation defined. 50. Town may change its system. 51. Vote thereon. |