§ 195 — County aid for construction, improvement and maintenance of town highways

§ 195. County aid for construction, improvement and maintenance of\ntown highways. 1. The board of supervisors of a county may aid a town or\ntowns in the construction or improvement of a town highway or town\nhighways therein, and shall designate the highway or highways which the\ntown or towns are to construct or improve by the aid of the county. Such\ncounty may prepare a map showing the highways to be improved under this\nsection in that county. This section shall not apply to the\nconstruction, improvement or maintenance of any such highway with state\nmoneys, as defined by article six, except provisions hereof which, by\nthat article, are expressly made applicable thereto. No highway or part\nthereof within the county road system established as provided in article\nsix shall be constructed or improved under the provisions of this\nsection, except with the consent of the commissioner of transportation\nand in accordance with a written outline of the work, approved by him,\nshowing the course, width, thickness and type of the proposed road.\n 2. The board may by resolution direct the county superintendent to\nsupervise the preparation of grade and culvert work of a road so\ndesignated by said map for improvement, by the town superintendent of\nthe town in which such improvement shall be made, and upon the county\nsuperintendent's certification that the road is prepared and that the\ntown is equipped with sufficient machinery to properly perform the work,\nsuch machinery to be furnished by the town and used during the road's\nconstruction, the construction of an improved road or town highway may\nproceed under the direction of the county superintendent of highways or\nof a committee known as the highway officials of the county as\nhereinafter provided. The construction work shall be under the charge\nand supervision of a competent person designated by the county\nsuperintendent by and with the advice and consent of the town board and\nthe compensation of such person shall be a town charge. In the event the\nboard of supervisors of any county in which roads are to be constructed\nunder this section shall so determine, the same may be constructed by\nthe county to be paid for by the town and county as herein provided and\nconstructed under the direct personal supervision of the county\nsuperintendent of highways or some person designated by him; and for\nthat purpose such county superintendent of highways, or his nominee,\nshall have power and authority to employ labor and teams, purchase\nnecessary material and do all work necessary for the construction of\nsuch highway. The board of supervisors with the county superintendent of\nhighways shall have power and authority to purchase at the expense of\nthe county any machinery which they may deem necessary to be used in the\nconstruction of such highways.\n 3. The employment of convict labor on roads so constructed shall be\nauthorized and permitted, in the discretion of the commissioner of\ncorrection, upon the requisition of the county superintendent of\nhighways. The board of supervisors of Erie county shall have power, if\nthey deem it proper, to employ convicts, sentenced to be confined in a\npenitentiary situate within the territorial limits of such county and\nliable to be employed at hard labor, upon any highway or work connected\ntherewith within such county, and such board of supervisors shall have\npower to make all necessary appointments, rules and regulations for such\nemployment within such county, including the right to fix a per diem\ncompensation for such employment at a rate not to exceed ten cents.\n 4. A board of supervisors of a county shall decide whether the\ndirection of the work shall be by the county superintendent of highways\nor a committee known as the highway officials of the county. The highway\nofficials of the county under this section shall consist of the county\nsuperintendent, three members of the board, appointed by the chairman.\nThe supervisor of the town in which a road or town highway is being\nimproved shall be a member of the said committee on all questions\ninvolving the work in the town of which he is the supervisor. Unless the\nadvice and direction of the county superintendent of highways or of the\nhighway officials shall be followed in the prosecution of the work, no\nliability therefor shall accrue to the county for its share of the cost\nof work.\n 5. Upon ordering the construction of an improved road or town highway\nunder this section, the board of supervisors shall, by resolution,\ndetermine the proportions thereof to be borne by the county and town or\ntowns respectively. The part, if any, to be borne by a town, as shown by\nsuch determination may be a town charge, and the residue shall be a\ncounty charge. The amounts to be borne by the county shall be provided\nfor by a tax, to be levied upon the taxable property of the county and\ncollected in the same manner as for other county charges and shall be\npaid into the county treasury. The amount thereof to be borne by the\ntown may by resolution of the town board, be paid from any funds in such\ntown that may be legally used for highway purposes.\n 6. The board of supervisors may, in its discretion, appropriate and\nmake immediately available from county funds either the whole of the\nmoneys to complete the construction of such road or town highway or the\npart thereof to be provided by the county. Nothing contained in this\nsection shall be construed to prevent the county or town from financing\nits share, in whole or in part, pursuant to the local finance law.\n 7. Where the improvement of a road to be constructed or improved at\nthe joint expense of a county and a town or towns therein involves or\nnecessitates the widening of a highway already existing or acquirement\nor extinguishment of any easements or rights in land within or without\nthe boundaries of an existing highway, the board of supervisors of such\ncounty or the town board or town boards of the town or towns through\nwhich such road passes, separately or in combination, may acquire land\nfor such widening and acquire or extinguish such easements and rights in\nland. The cost of acquiring such lands and of acquiring or extinguishing\nsuch easements and rights in land the expenses connected therewith shall\nbe deemed a part of the cost of the construction or improvement of such\nhighway.\n 8. The board of supervisors shall, from time to time, impose upon the\ntaxable property of the county a tax sufficient to pay at maturity any\ncounty obligations issued to carry out the purposes of this section, and\ninterest thereon, and upon the taxable property of any town a tax\nsufficient to pay at maturity any such obligations of the town, and\ninterest. Payments from time to time by the county treasurer of moneys\nprovided under this section shall be made for the prosecution of such\nwork upon the certificate of the county superintendent countersigned by\nthe chairman of the board of supervisors. Said orders shall be drawn to\nthe order of the supervisors of the respective towns where roads or town\nhighways are being constructed to be disbursed by them, upon vouchers\napproved by the town superintendent or person designated in his stead,\nin accordance with the agreement as provided by section two hundred and\neighty-four of this chapter. The board of supervisors may determine that\nthe amount, if any, to be borne by the town shall be paid by the town\ninto the county treasury, and the whole of such money including the\nshare of the county and of the town, if any, shall be paid out by the\ncounty treasurer on orders drawn by the county superintendent of\nhighways and countersigned by the chairman of the board of supervisors\nto be accounted for on forms of report as may be prescribed by the state\ncomptroller and printed in the next issue of the proceedings of the\nboard of supervisors.\n Such roads and highways, when completed and accepted by the board of\nsupervisors shall be thereafter repaired and maintained by the towns\nwherein such highways are located in the same manner as all other town\nhighways; except there shall be raised annually by the county and by the\ntown a tax of not less than one hundred dollars per mile for each mile\nof highways improved in a town under the provisions of this section.\nThe amount thereof to be borne by the county or by the town or towns\nshall be apportioned by the board of supervisors. The part, if any, to\nbe borne by a town or towns, as shown by such apportionment, shall be a\ncharge against the town or towns and the residue shall be a county\ncharge. The amount to be borne by the county shall be provided for by a\ntax to be levied upon the taxable property of the county and collected\nin the same manner as for other county charges and shall be paid into\nthe county treasury. The amount thereof to be borne by the town shall,\nby resolution of the town board, be paid from any funds in such town\nthat may be legally used for highway purposes. The resolution providing\nfor such apportionment shall also indicate the amount which shall be\npaid to each such town, and a certified copy thereof shall be filed with\nthe county treasurer. On receipt of such money the supervisor shall\ncredit the amount to the town highway fund. The board of supervisors may\ndetermine that such highways be thereafter repaired and maintained under\nthe supervision and direction of the county superintendent of highways\nand thereafter the amount, if any, to be borne by the town shall be paid\nby the town into the county treasury and the whole of such money\nincluding the share of the county and of the town, if any, shall be paid\nout by the county treasurer for the repair and maintenance of such\nhighways on orders signed by the county superintendent of highways, and\ncountersigned by the chairman of the board of supervisors.\n 9. The board of supervisors may aid a town, or towns, in the repair\nand maintenance of a highway formerly constructed by the state and\nabandoned to a town by official order of the commissioner of\ntransportation or a predecessor thereof in the same manner as is\nprovided for the repair and maintenance of a highway built under the\nprovisions of this section and outlined under subdivision eight above.\n