Private Acts of 1953 Chapter 575

COMPILER'S NOTE: The following act, Chapter 575 of the Private Acts of 1953, is the current road law in effect for Sequatchie County. However, all amendments to the road law have affected Chapter 203, Private Acts of 1951, though the 1951 Act was repealed by the general repealer clause of the 1953 Act.

Certain differences between the 1951 Act and the 1953 Act should be noted, particularly the method of purchasing materials and equipment necessary for the road department, the duties of the bookkeeper, and the prohibition against payment of any salaries from the general county fund. Also, many provisions of the following Act have been superseded by the Uniform County Road Law, found in Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 54, Chapter 10. Summaries of the 1951 act and its amendments follow this act.

SECTION 1. That all counties of this State having a population of not less than 5500 and not more than 5700, under the Federal Census of 1950 or any subsequent Federal Census, shall elect at the next general election in August, 1954, a Road Supervisor, who shall hold his office for a term of two (2) years, or until his successor is elected and qualified, provided that no member of the County Court shall be eligible to the office of said Road Supervisor. That for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, G. H. Johnson is hereby appointed to serve as Road Supervisor until the regular election in August, 1954.

The said Supervisor shall take his oath of office in September following the election as other County officials, and before he assumes the duties and obligations of his office he shall be required to make an indemnity bond in the amount of Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars with some solvent bonding company authorized to do business in the State of Tennessee, payable to the County, that he will faithfully and honestly comply with the requirements of his office. Said bond shall be paid out of the fund set up herein as other payments authorized herein.

The Road Supervisor may be removed from office by a majority vote of the Quarterly County Court at any of their regular sessions and upon conviction by said Court after trial that he has been guilty of any illegal acts in office or for the conviction of violating any of the provisions of this Act, but he shall first be furnished with a copy of the charge against him at least five days before date of trial and shall be accorded all rights to defend himself as would be the case in a civil trial in this State. In case of vacancy in office occurring while the Quarterly County Court is not in session, the same shall be filled by appointment made by the Judge of said Court to hold until the next regular meeting of the said Court, when the vacancy will be filled by said Court until the next regular August election. Said Supervisor shall be a resident of the County for two (2) years next preceding the election in which he seeks the office and shall be a free-holder in said County.

The said Road Supervisor shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office. In the event the County needs his services in connection with other road construction, or for the securing of right-of-ways for other roads or highways not directly under his supervision he must make himself available. The said Road Supervisor, when elected under this Act, shall receive $250.00 per month, for his services, and in addition he shall be allowed a County owned automobile or pick-up truck to make his trips over the County roads, said upkeep and gas used in said vehicle shall be paid out of the County Road Fund. Said Road fund is herewith declared to be comprised exclusively of two (.o02c) [sic] cent gas tax received from the State; and at any time should this gas tax be withheld, for whatever purpose, then all expenses of road building including salaries, shall terminate and payment cease; and said supervisor and County Judge, hereinafter set forth, shall have no authority or power to obligate the general county fund or create under this Act any liability against said County, but shall be restricted exclusively to the said tax on which to operate.

SECTION 2. That all salaries, wages, compensation, and all other disbursements authorized hereunder shall be paid from said Road Fund set up herein, and no charge hereunder shall be or become a charge against the general County fund or any other county fund.

SECTION 3. That the said Supervisor shall have general supervision of all common, graded and mechanized roads in the County, other than the State and Federal Highways. An emergency fund of Two Thousand Five Hundred ($2,500.00) Dollars, is hereby set up each month and the same is to be used by said Supervisor in the purchase of materials, machinery and other articles necessary for the carrying on of his duties as such; said materials, machinery and/or other articles shall be such that they could not have been anticipated in advance of their need and shall not be such materials or articles of which said department has continuous need for, such, within the meaning of this Act, to be purchased by said department under rules of public advertisement and bid as set up hereinafter; said emergency fund shall not be cumulative and any portion of said $2,500.00 not expended during the current month, shall revert to the general fund of said department. It shall be the duty of said Supervisor to take receipts showing the full amounts paid for such purchases and file said receipts along with his report, to be made monthly, with the Clerk of the County Court, which shall show thereon from what person, firm or corporation said purchases have been made and shall become a part of the road records. Any debts incurred by said Supervisor in violation of this section or any other section hereby shall become an obligation against himself and bondsmen, and shall be collected by the County as other debts, and when paid shall be returned to the County road fund.

The said Supervisor shall have the right and authority to employ persons to do work in laying out, constructing and repairing all the public roads and bridges in said County, and fix the wages or salaries to be paid such employees. He shall have control of all machinery and tools and other property necessary and proper in the building and maintaining of roads, which are now the property or may become the property of such county. However, he shall have no right or authority to dispose of any equipment, machinery or other supplies without the consent of said County Judge, which, if given, shall be sold by public bid or auction, whichever, in their opinion, may be to the greatest advantage to said County. The Supervisor shall be authorized to sell any crushed stone owned by said county at a price or rate set by the Quarterly County Court, the proceeds from such sales to be deposited in the County road fund.

SECTION 4. That the Supervisor shall issue warrants, countersigned by the County Judge, to the County Trustee for the disbursements provided for under this Act, subject to such further restrictions as set out hereinafter.

SECTION 5. That said Road Supervisor shall keep or cause to be kept a record of all his action, preserve all papers, accounts, petitions and reports which may come into his hands, and which shall become public records, subject to public inspection. He shall keep a full and complete record of all claims which he orders paid and it shall be the duty of the County Judge to audit the account so ordered paid. The said Supervisor shall make or cause to be made a complete detailed report to each Quarterly County Court term, in duplicate, one to be retained in the office of the Supervisor and the other to be filed with the County Court Clerk. At the first session each year of the said Quarterly County Court a complete inventory of all machinery, tools and all other property shall be shown in said report, showing in what repair same is as well as to report the condition of each district roads and bridges.

SECTION 6. That for the purpose of this Act, W. B. Standefer, is hereby appointed bookkeeper of the County Highway Department and is to serve in that capacity until the July term of the Quarterly County Court in 1954, at which time said Court is hereby authorized and directed to elect his successor to serve for a period of two years from the date of his election. Said Bookkeeper is to keep all the records of the County Highway Department and such records or such method of bookkeeping shall be used as the Quarterly County Court shall designate, and said Bookkeeper is to work in the office of said Supervisor. Said Bookkeeper, when so employed shall receive compensation not to exceed One Hundred Fifty ($150.00) Dollars per month. It shall be the duty of the bookkeeper set up herein to report to the County Judge any payment or account of whatever nature of kind which has been due and not paid by said Supervisor for more than thirty (30) days, and when so notified it shall be the duty of said Judge to investigate said report immediately and should he find said report to be true he shall refuse to countersign or approve the payment of any wages or salaries from said fund until a warrant or order shall have been issued by said Supervisor for the payment of said delinquent account or obligation.

SECTION 7. That said Supervisor shall submit as often as necessity dictates to the County Judge of such counties request for all machinery, equipment, and supplies which he deems necessary for the proper operation of said department, which, if agreed upon shall be purchased by closed bid after having first advertised same in some newspaper of general circulation in said County for three (3) weeks, stating the machinery, equipment, or materials desired, and setting forth in said publication the general specifications thereof, and time and place of opening of bids, and all such purchases shall be closed with the lowest bidder, but such bids may be all rejected and then re-advertised. No specification for such machinery, equipment or articles needed under this Act shall be so worded as to exclude competitive bidding but shall state in general terms the classifi- cation, and object to be accomplished therewith, together with the quality desired. All such bids shall be received in the office of the County Judge and shall be opened in the same office before all bidders wishing to attend on the date announced in said advertisement. For the purpose of this Act all equipment and machinery acquired under conditional sale or rental purchase agreement shall be defined to be a "purchase" under the scope of this Section. All articles and supplies purchased by said Supervisor not coming within the purview of Section 2, paragraph one (1) of this Act shall be purchased under the rules set up in this Section.

SECTION 8. That the said Supervisor shall not obligate the said road fund for the payment of anything under which said department shall pay over a period extending beyond the term of office of any current Supervisors, that is from September 1st to August 31st, any obligation in violation of this Section shall become null and void and shall not be chargeable against said road fund or any general fund of said County.

SECTION 9. That for the purpose of this Act the Trustee of any County coming under this Act shall have the authority and is directed to immediately deduct from each monthly gas tax payment of said County 8 per centum of said monthly payment and transfer same to the appropriate fund of said County until said County fund shall have been reimbursed for all obligations and payments which have or may be made from said fund on account of expenditures or obligations which were previously made by any highway department prior to the one set up under this Act. However, said Trustee shall have no authority to deduct or transfer any of said fund for expenditures or obligations made by the departments set up herein or hereinafter.

SECTION 10. That all laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed, and this Act shall take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed: April 10, 1953.