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PDF versionCOMPILER'S NOTE: See also Private Acts of 1974, Chapter 196, which is amendatory to this and provides for the issuance of work permits and authorizes the County Road Superintendent to designate the maximum weight of vehicles using the county roads.
SECTION 1. That in the Counties of the State of Tennessee having a population of not less than nine thousand nine hundred twenty-five (9,925) nor more than nine thousand nine hundred thirty (9,930), according to the Federal Census of 1940, or any subsequent Federal Census, there is hereby created the office of Superintendent of Roads, who shall be the executive head of the Department of Roads in said Counties.
The qualifications of said Superintendent of Roads shall be that he is a resident and qualified voter of the County to which this Act applies, of good moral character, over the age of twenty-five years, a competent road and bridge builder, and shall have at least a practical education equivalent to eight years elementary school work.
SECTION 2. That the Superintendent of Roads in the County to which this Act applies shall, before entering upon the duties of said office, take and subscribe to an oath that he will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, and that he will faithfully, impartially, diligently, and to the best of his ability and skill, perform all duties required of him as such Superintendent of Roads, and account for all moneys and property coming into his hands as such Superintendent. He shall also execute and file in the office of the County Court Clerk a good and sufficient bond in the penal sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars, which shall be approved by the County Judge or Chairman, payable to the State of Tennessee for the use and benefit of the County to which this Act shall apply, conditioned upon his faithful performance of his duties as Superintendent of Roads, as prescribed by the provisions of this Act, and the faithful accounting of all moneys and property belonging to said County, which may come into his hands as such official. Said bond may be executed with some incorporated bonding company authorized to do business in this State, as surety thereon, and in such event the premium of such bond shall be paid out of the Road Fund of said County, as other disbursements are made.
SECTION 3. That the salary of such Superintendent of Roads shall be the same as that set forth as maximum compensation in Section 8-2403 [8-24-102], Tennessee Code Annotated, for the Clerks of the County and Probate Courts in the class applicable to any County to which this Act applies.
| As amended by: | Private Acts of 1949, Chapter 818 |
| Private Acts of 1951, Chapter 198 | |
| Private Acts of 1953, Chapter 152 | |
| Private Acts of 1963, Chapter 237 | |
| Private Acts of 1967-68, Chapter 421 |
SECTION 4. That the Superintendent of Roads shall have jurisdiction over the expenditure of all Road Funds belonging to the County, including the proceeds of the State Gasoline Tax allocated to such County, subject to the provisions of this Act. He shall have general, complete and exclusive control over the laying out, construction, repairing and maintenance of all public roads and bridges in his County, except such roads and bridges as are under the supervision of the Department of Highways and Public Works of the State of Tennessee. He shall have the right and authority to employ persons to do work in laying out, constructing, repairing and maintaining all public roads and bridges in his County; to employ machenich (sic) when necessary to repair the County road machinery and tools and keep same in proper working condition; to employ a bookkeeper or clerk, to assist in keeping the records of said office in an orderly and proper manner, and to render general clerical assistance; and to fix the wages and compensation to be paid such employees, which wages or compensation shall be such hourly rate as fixed at the time of employment by the Superintendent of Roads and approved by the County Judge of said county, for the period of actual employment, and shall be paid out of the Road Funds of the County.
| As amended by: | Private Acts of 1947, Chapter 276 |
| Private Acts of 1949, Chapter 874 | |
| Private Acts of 1951, Chapter 205 | |
| Private Acts of 1953, Chapter 203 | |
| Private Acts of 1965, Chapter 81 |
SECTION 5. That all expenditures or disbursements of the Road Funds of the County to which this Act applies shall only be made in the following manner: The Superintendent of Roads shall issue warrants, countersigned by the County Judge or Chairman, to the County Trustee, which warrants shall bear consecutive serial numbers and show on their face the purpose for which payment is being made. No single warrant shall be drawn for funds or amounts due or going to more than one person; that is, a separate warrant shall be drawn for every person who is to receive any of said road funds. Upon receipt of a warrant drawn, on the Road Funds of the County, strictly in compliance with the foregoing provisions, such warrant shall be paid by the County Trustee out of said County Road Funds; but the Trustee shall not pay any warrant drawn on the said Road Funds of the County that does not fully comply with all of the requirements set forth in this Section of this Act.
SECTION 6. That before countersigning any warrant drawn on the County Road Funds, the County Judge or Chairman shall make a sufficient investigation to determine that such warrant is correct and proper in every way, and a valid expenditure of the County Road Funds to the amount of such warrant; otherwise he shall not countersign such warrant.
SECTION 7. That the Superintendent of Roads shall have the supervision, charge of and exclusive control over all machinery, equipment, tools, supplies and materials, owned by the County and used in the construction, repairing and maintenance of the public roads and bridges in said County, together with the supervision and control of all garages, shops and other buildings, owned or held by the County for use in connection with the public road system, its operation and maintenance.
Within thirty days after taking office under this Act, the Superintendent of Roads shall make a complete inventory of all the machinery, equipment, tools, supplies and materials, belonging to the County and used for road purposes, and file a copy thereof with the County Court Clerk. Thereafter, on the first day of September of each year he shall file a complete inventory with said County Court Clerk of all such machinery, equipment, tools, supplies and materials, under his control.
SECTION 8. That said Superintendent of Roads shall install a daily card checking system upon which the name of each employee shall appear, and the amount of work done, where done, and the actual hours employed.
SECTION 9. That the Superintendent of Roads shall keep and maintain in his office a permanent record of all inventories and reports herein required to be made by him, and of all warrants drawn by him on the County Road Funds, showing every expenditure made of said funds, including the amount, date, payee, and for what purpose expended.
The Superintendent of Roads shall submit to each quarterly session of the County Court a full and complete report of his activities as such Superintendent of Roads, showing in each report the amount of road funds on hand at the beginning of the quarter, together with the amounts expended for labor, salaries, gasoline, oil, supplies, materials and articles purchased, the number of laborers employed, the number of miles of roads constructed or repaired and where located, during the quarter for which the report is made.
SECTION 10. That the Superintendent of Roads shall keep a strict account of all gasoline and oil purchased and delivered to him for use in connection with the construction and maintenance of the roads and bridges of his County, and of the use and disposition of such gasoline and oil. He shall require a written receipt to be personally signed by each and every person receiving or using any of said gasoline and oil, which receipt shall show the amount of gasoline and/or oil so received or uhed (sic), and the date thereof, which receipts shall be preserved by him as permanent records of his office.
SECTION 11. That the Superintendent of Roads is hereby expressly forbidden to expend any funds or to incur any obligations in excess of the road revenues for the current quarters, and the surpluses carried forward from previous quarters, or to incumber any anticipated road revenues except those accruing during the current quarter. Provided, that in case of emergency, the Quarterly County Court in such County, by a roll call vote of its members, may authorize the purchase of road equipment, machinery or materials, on the installment plan and the incumbrance of anticipated revenues for such purposes only.
SECTION 12. That all machinery, tools, equipment, trucks, tractors, gasoline, oils, automobiles, supplies and materials of every kind, that are to be acquired for use by the Superintendent of Roads and/or for the construction and maintenance of the roads and bridges of such County, and for the proper operation of the highway and road system of the County under this Act, shall be purchased by the Purchasing Commission of such County in accordance with the Act creating such Purchasing Commission; and it shall be unlawful for the Superintendent of Roads to make any of such purchases without complying strictly with this provision of this Act; provided in case of emergency, the Superintendent of Roads, by and with the approval of the County Judge or Chairman, may purchase materials for repairing any of the machinery, tools, equipment, trucks, tractors, and automobiles, not exceeding One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars in cost, but no further or otherwise.
| As amended by: | Private Acts of 1947, Chapter 276 |
SECTION 13. That neither the Superintendent of Roads, nor any assistant, clerk, bookkeeper, laborer, or other employee, working under his direction, shall be financially interested in, or have any personal beneficial interest, either directly or indirectly, in the purchase of any equipment, machinery, tools, trucks, tractors, automobiles, gasoline, oil, supplies or materials for said Department of Roads, nor in any firm, corporation, partnership, association or individual furnishing any of said items. Nor shall the Superintendent of Roads, nor any assistant, clerk, bookkeeper, laborer, or other employee, working under his direction, accept or receive, directly or indirectly, from any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association, to whom any contract may be awarded, by rebate, gift, or otherwise, any money or thing of value whatsoever, or any promise, obligation or contract for future reward or compensation.
Any violation of this Section of this Act is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, the guilty person shall be fined not less than Ten ($10.00) Dollars nor more than Two Hundred Fifty ($250.00) Dollars.
SECTION 14. That the County Superintendent of Roads shall have the power and authority to remove, or cause to be removed, any fence, gate or other obstruction, from the roads or ditches of said county. If any person shall place or maintain any obstacle or obstruction upon the right of way of any road of said County, and shall refuse to remove the same upon the demand of the Superintendent of Roads, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable accordingly.
It shall be a misdemeanor to place a post, pole, brush, timber, or any other obstruction, upon the right-of-way of any road, or the ditches thereof, in such County, provided that electric transmission lines, telephone or telegraph poles, may be placed thereon, under the direction of the Superintendent of Roads, with the approval of the Quarterly County Court.
SECTION 15. That before any new road shall be built, or the construction thereof begun, the course of said road shall first be definitely decided upon, and the right-of-way absolutely acquired and paid for.
SECTION 16. That the Superintendent of Roads shall have the authority to contract with any State or Federal agency by which the road funds of the County may be supplemented or augmented, or by which additional employees may be employed on road work or road construction or repairs, or whereby additional repair and maintenance of such roads may become available. Provided, that such contract shall not incur any liability to the County above the current revenues for the current quarter or quarterly period as hereinabove provided.
SECTION 17. That the method of opening, closing or changing the location of any public road in said county, as provided for in Sections 2731-2741 [54-9-202 through 54-9-212] of the Code of Tennessee, shall not be changed or abridged by this Act, but the same shall remain in full force and effect in said county.
SECTION 18. That when it becomes necessary to do so, in order to carry out efficiently the work on the public roads as provided for by this Act, the Superintendent of Roads, with the written approval of the County Judge or Chairman, may institute condemnation proceedings for the purpose of condemning land for road purposes, chert or gravel beds, rock quarries, or other road building material or rights-of-way necessary for the construction and maintenance of the public roads in such County. Provided, however, that no such condemnation proceeding shall be instituted involving expenditures in excess of revenues for the current year. Said condemnation proceedings shall be instituted in the manner provided by law for the condemnation of land for public purposes under the laws of eminent domain. The damages assessed against the County in all such cases shall be paid out of the Road funds of the County, upon warrant of the Superintendent of Roads, countersigned by the County Judge or Chairman, as hereinabove provided.
SECTION 19. That the Superintendent of Roads shall lay out and classify all public roads of the County, fixing and showing by his permanent records the width and length of the various public roads, the terminal of same, and the identification of such roads either by name or number, and he will make, or have made, and kept as a part of the permanent records of his office, a map or maps of all of said public roads, highways and bridges of the county.
SECTION 20. That the Superintendent of Roads, with the approval and consent of the County Judge or Chairman, may have an automobile purchased by the County Purchasing Commission for his use in carrying out his duties under this Act as Superintendent of Roads, and the cost of such automobile, together with the proper and necessary expenses of the upkeep and/or maintenance of same, shall be paid out of said County road funds by warrant drawn by the Superintendent of Roads and countersigned by the County Judge or Chairman, in the same manner as other expenditures of said road funds are made as herein-above provided. But such automobile shall not, under any circumstances, be used by the Superintendent of Roads upon any private business or for pleasure and shall only be used while he is actually engaged in directing and supervising the construction, repair and maintenance of the public roads and bridges of the County. A strict account shall be kept of all gasoline and oil used in the operation of such automobile, with the Superintendent of Roads being required to personally sign receipts for all such gasoline and oil used in the operation of said automobile from any supplies or stocks thereof belonging to the County; and the Superintendent of Roads will show in each of his quarterly reports to the Quarterly County Court the amount of gasoline and oil used by him in the operation of said automobile during the preceding quarter; also the number of miles travelled, and the cost of the upkeep and maintenance of same.
Any use of said automobile referred to in this section of this Act, other than herein expressly authorized, is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor and punishable as such.
| As amended by: | Private Acts of 1947, Chapter 276 |
SECTION 21. That the Superintendent of Roads in such County shall devote his entire time and attention to the discharge of the dutieh (sic) of his office under this Act, and he shall not hold any other office or position, or engage in any other business or employment, either directly or indirectly, during the term of his office as fixed by this Act. Any violation of this section of this Act shall be grounds for removal of said Superintendent of Roads from his office.
SECTION 22. That the Superintendent of Roads, by and with the consent and approval of the County Judge or Chairman, may use the machinery, equipment, tools, and materials owned by the County for road purposes, and also may use the laborers and employees employed by the County Road Department, when such does not interfere in any manner with the proper operation and maintenance of the County Public Road System, to grade, construct or repair any private road on the private property of any person in the County; provided, that the owner of such private road or roads shall pay adequate compensation for the use of such machinery, tools, equipment and materials, and for the services of the laborers and employees so rendered. The compensation to be paid by the owner of any private road for any such services rendered and work done thereon by the County Road Department shall be fixed and determined by the Superintendent of Roads and the County Judge or Chairman, and shall be paid to the Trustee of the County and by him credited to said County Road Department by placing same in the Road Fund of the County. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the County Road Superintendent to have any work done on any private road in the County, but simply to permit to do such work or have same done, by contract with the owner of such private road, and on the conditions and subject to the provisions hereinabove set out.
| As amended by: | Private Acts of 1947, Chapter 276 |
COMPILER'S NOTE: Section 22 is in direct conflict with the general law found in T.C.A. 54-7-202, which prohibits use of trucks, road equipment, rock, crushed stone or any other road materials of the county highway department for private purposes.
SECTION 23. [Deleted by Private Acts of 1974, Chapter 194]
SECTION 24. That it shall be the duty of the County Judge or Chairman, and the County Finance Committee, to make an audit of the books, records and reports of said Superintendent of Roads at the end of each quarter, and make a report thereon at the following session of the Quarterly County Court. Said audit shall not only cover the financial transactions of the office of Superintendent of Roads, but shall include the checking and reporting upon the amount of gasoline and oil purchased for use by the County Road Department or the Superintendent of Roads, the use or disposition made of such gasoline and oil, and whether or not proper receipt were executed by all parties receiving or using such gasoline and oil, and whether or not said receipts have been properly recorded and kept on file in the office of said Superintendent of Roads, as required by this Act. The report of said County Judge or Chairman and said County Finance Committee, to be made and submitted at the regular sessions of the Quarterly County Court, as herein directed, shall also show whether or not the Superintendent of Roads has properly made all reports and kept the records of the transactions of his office as required by this Act.
SECTION 25. That any violation of any provision, section or part of this Act, by the Superintendent of Roads, and especially of Section 12, Section 13, Section 20, Section 21, Section 22, and Section 23, hereof, is hereby declared to be official misconduct, and to constitute a misdemeanor in office, punishable by fine of not less than Ten ($10.00) Dollars nor more than Two Hundred Fifty ($250.00) Dollars, and by removal from office as provided by Section 1877 et seq., of the Code of Tennessee.
SECTION 26. That there shall be elected by the qualified voters of said County, at the regular August election in 1946, and at such biennial election thereafter, a suitable person as Superintendent of Roads, who shall possess all of the qualifications set forth in Section 1 of this Act. The person so elected to said office of Superintendent of Roads shall take office on the first day of September following such election, and shall hold the same for a term of four years, and until his successor is duly elected and qualified.
| As amended by: | Private Acts of 1955, Chapter 234 |
SECTION 27. That in the event of a vacancy in the office of Superintendent of Roads, the Quarterly County Court of such County shall, either at a regular session or a properly called special session thereof, and by a roll call vote of its members, elect a suitable and qualified person as such Superintendent of Roads to serve in compliance with the provisions of this Act for the balance of the unexpired term, and until his successor shall have been duly elected and qualified as herein provided.
SECTION 28. That in order that the provisions of this Act may be immediately effective and administered for the public convenience and welfare, George B. Vanhook, a suitable person, who is possessed of the qualifications set forth in Section 1 of this Act, is hereby designated and shall be the first Superintendent of Roads, under the procisions (sic) of this Act, and who shall hold said office until September 1, 1946, and until his successor shall have been duly elected and qualified as provided for elsewhere in this Act.
SECTION 29. That the provisions of this Act are hereby declared to be severable; and that, if any section, provision, exception, sentence, clause, phrase, or part of this Act, be held unconstitutional or void, the remainder of the Act shall continue in full force and effect, it being the Legislative intent now hereby declared that this Act would have been adopted even if such unconstitutional or void matter had not been included in the same.
SECTION 30. That all other Acts and laws or parts of Acts and laws in conflict with the several provisions of this Act be and the same are hereby repealed.
SECTION 31. That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.
Passed: February 21, 1945.