Private Acts of 1951 Chapter 460

SECTION 1. That Chapter 636, House Bill 1400 of the Private Acts of 1949, the caption of which is set out in the caption hereof, be and the same is hereby repealed as of the day before the general August election to be held in August 1952, but will remain in full force and effect until said date, and on said date any office created by said Act is hereby abolished.

SECTION 2. That in order to establish a system for the construction, repair, maintenance and operation of a road system in all counties of this State having a population of not less than 4050 and not more than 4092 under the Federal Census of 1940 or any subsequent Federal Census in lieu of the system created by the Act repealed in the first section hereof, there is hereby created the office of Road Supervisor who shall be elected at the next general election in August 1962, who shall hold his office for a term of four (4) years or until his successor is elected and qualified. No member of the Quarterly County Court shall be eligible for the office of Road Supervisor.

The said Road Supervisor shall take his oath of office on the first Monday after the general August election in 1952, and the said Road Supervisor will take over and perform the duties of his office on the first Monday after the general August election in 1952, and before he assumes the duties and obligations of his office he shall be required to make an indemnity bond, to be paid out of said gas tax, in the amount of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars with some solvent bonding company authorized to do business in Tennessee, payable to the County, that he will faithfully and honestly comply with the requirements of his office. The Road Supervisor may be removed from office by a majority vote of the Quarterly County Court at any of their regular quarterly sessions upon conviction after trial, that he has been guilty of any illegal acts in office, but he shall first be furnished with a copy of the charges against him at least five days before date of trial. In case of vacancy in office of the Road Supervisor, and occurring while the Quarterly County Court is not in session, the same shall be filled by appointment made by the Judge or Chairman of the County Court, to hold until the next meeting of the Quarterly County Court when the vacancy will be filled by the Court until the next regular August election. The Road Supervisor shall be a resident of the County, a freeholder, and must have had previous experience as road builder and known to be a well qualified man with ability to deal with the public and to handle efficiently and ably the workers under his supervision. The said Road Supervisor shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office which may be increased or diminished from time to time. In the event the county needs his services in connection with other road construction or in securing rights of way 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 Fourteen Thousand Dollars ($14,000) a year for his services and in addition thereto he shall be allowed a county owned automobile or pickup truck to make his trips over the county roads, said upkeep and gas used in this county owned truck or automobile shall be paid out the county road fund as well as all salaries incident to the various road operations, shall be paid from said road fund. Said road fund is created by the gas tax, received from the State and should at any time this gas tax be withheld for any cause from the county, then all expenses of road building, including salaries, shall terminate and payments cease. The bookkeeper hereinafter named shall draw his, or her, pay from the road or gas fund the same as other payments are made.

On September 1, 1981, the base salary provided in the second paragraph of this section shall be adjusted to reflect the percent of change in the average consumer price index (all items city average) as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor statistics between that figure for the calendar year 1980 and the calendar year 1979. Each succeeding September 1, a similar adjustment shall be made, based on the percent of change in the average consumer price index between the two (2) calendar years preceding September 1 of the year in which the adjustment is made.

SECTION 3. That the Road Supervisor shall have general supervision of all common and graded and macadamized roads in the county, other than the State and Federal Highways. He shall have control of the funds derived from taxation or otherwise for the construction and maintenance of all roads in the county under the limitations hereinafter provided for. It shall be the duty of the Road Supervisor to purchase all machines, tools, supplies, etc., which exceed a purchase price of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), under the rules of public advertising for sealed bids for each month's supplies upon estimates or requisitions. All bids to be opened on a fixed date in the office of the County Judge or Chairman in the presence of the County Judge or Chairman, the Clerk of the County Court and the Road Supervisor, and the contract for purchase awarded to the lowest and best bidder. An emergency fund of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars is hereby set up each month and the same to be used by the Road Supervisor in the purchase of materials, machinery and other articles necessary for the carrying on of his duties as such Road Supervisor, and any of his money expended by him during the month shall be accounted for at the end of each month in full. Any of said fund not expended at the end of the month shall revert to the general road fund of the county. It shall be the duty of the Road Supervisor to take receipts showing the full amounts paid for such purchases for any company, firm, individual or from any source that said purchases shall be made and to file said receipts along with his reports to be made monthly, with the Clerk of the County Court, which shall become a part of the road records and which shall be kept as a public record. The Road Supervisor shall not incur any debt beyond the sum set apart for roads for each current year, and at the expiration of his term of office any and all debts so incurred shall become an obligation against himself and his bondsmen and shall be collected by the county as other debts, and when paid shall be returned to the county road fund.

He shall keep or cause to be kept a record of all his actions, preserve all papers, accounts, petitions and reports which may come into his hands and which shall become public records, subject to inspection to any one who may desire to see them. He shall before giving orders for payment carefully audit the accounts of overseers and other persons employed by him. He shall keep a complete and full record of all claims which he orders paid and shall draw an order on the County Judge for same which shall state in detail for what purpose this order is to be paid, and it shall be the duty of the County Judge to audit the account or order paid and to issue warrant to the Trustee for payment which shall constitute a charge against the county road fund. The Road Supervisor shall make or cause to be made a complete detailed report to each Quarterly County Court term, same to be made out in duplicate, one to be retained in the office of the Road Supervisor and the other to be filed with the County Court Clerk for public view. At the first session each year of the Quarterly County Court a complete inventory of all county's road machinery, tools and all other property shall be shown in said report, showing in what repair same is at the beginning of each year as well as to show in said report the conditions of each district roads and bridges.

SECTION 4. That said Road Supervisor shall have the authority and it shall become his duty to lay out all roads in the county and classify them into First-class, Second-class, Thirdclass and Fourth-class roads. First-class roads shall not be less than 24 feet in width, Secondclass not less than 18 feet wide, Third-class not less than 14 feet wide, and Fourth-class not less than 9 feet wide. Said Road Supervisor can make any changes in the county roads as the public needs may require by cutting down grades, ditching, cutting off rights-of-way, opening or closing by mutual consent with interested parties to adjacent properties by written agreements. Except as provided herein, no public funds shall be spent on private roads, without first laying them off and designating them as public roads, to be included within the above classes to be kept open to the public, nor spent on other private property or for private purposes. Any other method for opening public roads shall be within the provisions of the general law of condemnation procedure. It is further provided, that the Road Supervisor shall have control of the building, repairing, and maintaining of all bridges and culverts within county's road system, and shall buy only first class material for the use in the construction and repairing of said bridges. At or after a public auction for the sale of any equipment belonging to the Van Buren County Road Department, the Road Supervisor, with the approval of the County Judge, may reject any or all bids on said equipment and may trade the equipment in on other equipment, provided that the trade-in allowance is in an amount greater than any bona fide bid or offer received at the public sale.

The Road Supervisor is authorized, upon the appropriation of county funds to the road fund of the county for that purpose, to direct that personnel, equipment or materials of the county Highway Department may be used to spread rock or gravel upon such driveways or private roads entering onto a public road as the Road Supervisor may designate and to direct that personnel or equipment, or both, of the County Highway Department may be used to excavate graves at such terms and conditions as such official may require, except that the excavation of graves shall be done on behalf of indigent or low income citizens only, as determined by the Road Supervisor.

SECTION 5. That the Road Supervisor shall have full power to hire and to fire men employed to do road work. He shall fix their wages, which shall be in accordance with the prevailing wage scale for like work in the community where their work is performed, he shall have the authority and it shall be his duty to get the best qualified men to use with the operation of the county's machinery.

SECTION 6. That the Road Supervisor shall have authority to appoint a bookkeeper and prescribe his or her duties, such bookkeeper to serve at the pleasure of the Road Supervisor. The compensation of the bookkeeper shall be fixed by the Quarterly County Court which shall have authority to make such salary provisions retroactive to January 1, 1974. Said bookkeeper is to keep all the records of the County Highway Department and is to work in the office of the Road Supervisor. No member of the County Court shall be eligible for the office of bookkeeper for said County Highway Department. Said compensation of said bookkeeper when fixed shall be paid from the county's gas tax road fund, and chargeable thereto. Before saidbookkeeper assumes the duties and obligations of his, or her, office he shall be required to make an indemnity bond in the amount of One Thousand ($1,000.00) Dollars with good and sufficient security, approved by said Road Supervisor, payable to the county, that he will faithfully and honestly comply with the requirements of his office.

SECTION 7. That this Act shall be liberally construed and interpreted, and its provisions are hereby declared to be severable. If any of its sections, provisions, exceptions, sentences, clauses, phrases or parts be held unconstitutional or void, the remainder 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 therein.

SECTION 8. That all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act be and the same are hereby repealed.

SECTION 9. That this Act take effect on the day of the general August election in 1952, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed: March 13, 1951.