ing, of which all have notice, may exercise the powers of the commission. § 8. Organization of commission; chairman and treasurer. The commissioners shall, with all convenient speed, after qualifying as provided in section six of this article, meet and organize by appointing one of the members chairman and another treasurer of the commission. § 9. Duties and bond of treasurer. The treasurer shall collect and be custodian of all moneys to be collected or received by the commissioners under the provisions of this chapter, and shall pay out the same only upon the orders of the commis sioners, signed by at least two of said commissioners. The treasurer shall, in all cases where the amount to be collected or received by him exceeds five hundred dollars, give a bond with sufficient sureties to the people of the state of New York, to be approved by the county judge of the county in which such lands or a part thereof are situated, or by a justice of the supreme court, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office, such bond to be filed in the office of the clerk of the county in which the oath of said commissioners is filed. § 10. Commissioners to determine whether drainage necessary; to file their determination, and give notice thereof. The said commissioners shall after notice to the petitioner and the parties named in the petitions, in such manner as they shall order, proceed by personal view of lands and otherwise to determine whether it is necessary in order to drain. such lands, that a ditch or ditches or other channels for the free passage of water shall be opened through lands belonging to others than the petitioner, and also whether it is necessary for the public health that such lands shall be drained. The said commissioners shall file in the office of the county clerk for said county their determination signed by them, or by a majority of them, if they do not all concur; and in case the lands are situated in more than one county, then the said commissioners shall cause a duplicate of their determination so made and filed as aforesaid to be made and filed in each of the other counties in which a part of such lands are situated, which duplicate shall be signed by them as aforesaid, and give notice of such filing to all whom it may concern, by publishing such notice at least twice in some newspaper published in a town in which such lands or a part thereof are situated; or if there be no such newspaper, then in a newspaper published at a place nearest to said lands respectively, and by mailing a copy of such notice directed to each person interested in such lands or any part thereof at his last known post-office address, who has not been personally served with such notice. § 11. Appeal from determination of commissioners; witnesses. Any party feeling aggrieved by such determination may appeal therefrom to the county court, or to the supreme court in the event the proceedings were instituted or are pending in that court, by giving written notice of such appeal to said commissioners within ten days after the last publication of such notice. The said court to which such appeal is taken shall thereupon on motion of either party and on at least ten days' notice proceed to hear said. appeal and to determine the same. The attendance of witnesses in any proceeding taken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be compelled as in civil actions in such court with like fees. § 12. Survey to be made and map prepared in case drainage found necessary. If it shall be adjudged and determined either by the said commissioners or by the court on appeal that for the benefit of the public health such ditches, drains or channels should be opened, or that such lands should be drained, it shall be their duty, unless the same shall be done by the petitioner and owners of such lands to their satisfaction, to cause an accurate survey of all the said lands to be made and a map thereof to be made on a scale of three hundred and thirty feet to one inch, showing all the lands that are proposed to be drained, the number of acres in each separate tract to be benefited by such drainage, the names of the owners or occupants thereof so far as can with due diligence be ascertained, and the relative levels of each tract, and the width, depth, slope of sides, shape and course of such ditch or ditches or channels for the passage of water as they shall determine to be necessary for the drainage of such lands, and for the purposes of this chapter such commissioners are empowered to employ a competent civil engineer or surveyor, or to authorize such commissioner as may be a civil engineer or surveyor to act as such, and to enter upon any and all the lands named in the petition or deemed necessary by such commissioners and survey the same and take levels thereof, and by themselves, their servants and agents to do all things necessary to the preparation for the construction and necessary for the construction and completion of all such ditches and channels for the passage of water, as they shall deem to be necessary for the complete drainage of the said swamps, bog, meadow or other low lands. § 13. Map or duplicate thereof to be filed. The said commissioners shall, in the completion of the work, cause such map, or a duplicate thereof, certified by them, to be filed in the office of each county clerk in which their determination is by section ten of this chapter required to be filed, which, or a duly authenticated copy of which, may be used in evidence in any suit or proceeding in this state. § 14. Compensation and expenses of commissioners. The said commissioners shall be paid for their services five dollars each, for each full day actually employed in their said duties. They shall keep an account of all their expenses and of all the costs and expenses incurred in draining said lands, including all the costs and expenses incurred in any proceedings under this chapter and preliminary or incident thereto, and any land damages as hereinafter provided, all of which shall be a lien upon the property benefited. § 15. Commissioners authorized to borrow funds. In case it shall be necessary to raise funds for construction of said ditches or channels, or land damages, before the assessment hereinafter provided for can be made and collected, the said commissioners are hereby empowered from time to time, with the approval of the court in which the proceeding was initiated or is pending, to borrow so much money as may be necessary therefor, upon such evidences of indebtedness as they may deem proper, bearing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable upon the completion of such assessment and collection; and the interest accruing thereon shall be assessed as other expenses for the said construction. Such evidences of indebtedness shall not be issued for less than par, and shall be receivable in payment of such assessments. Said commissioners shall thereafter certify such amount to be borrowed to the supervisor or supervisors of the town or towns in which the lands to be assessed are located. § 16. Bonds to be issued and sold to repay moneys so borrowed. The supervisor or supervisors of such town or towns shall thereupon immediately issue bonds of the town or towns to the total amount named in said statement prepared by said commissioners, and so certified by them to him or them, such bonds to be made payable on or before such time or times, not to exceed five years from the date thereof, as the said commissioners shall determine. In case the lands to be drained. are located in more than one town, the total amount to be so raised, as certified by the commissioners, shall be apportioned by the court in which the proceeding is pending among the several towns in which the lands to be drained are located, upon application of said commissioners to said court, written notice of said application having been first served on the supervisors, or town clerks, of such several towns, not less than eight days before such application, unless, upon order to show cause, a shorter notice is permitted to be so served. Upon service of notice of such apportionment, specifying the amount to be raised by each town, the supervisor of each town shall thereupon immediately issue bonds of the town to the total amount so apportioned to his town, payable in manner, time and form as herein otherwise provided. All such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding six per centum per annum, and shall be negotiated for not less than their par value. They shall be sold on sealed proposals or at public auction upon notice published in the official paper, if any, and also in each other newspaper actually printed in the town, and in such other newspapers as the supervisor of each town may determine, and posted in three public places in the town, at least ten days before the sale, to the person who will take them at the lowest rate of interest. They shall be consecutively numbered from one to the highest number issued, and the clerk shall keep a record of the number of each bond or obligation, its date, amount, rate of interest, when and where payable, and the purchaser thereof, or the person to whom they are issued. The proceeds from the sale of said bonds shall immediately be delivered by the said supervisor to the treasurer of said commission. The said commissioners shall, from the proceeds derived from the sale of said bonds, pay all obligations incurred by them for draining said lands, authorized by this chapter, including such evidences of indebtedness as they may have theretofore issued in pursuance of authority contained in this chapter. § 17. Compensation for land taken or damages inflicted. Any person whose land is taken in the construction of any such ditch or channel shall be paid by said commissioners on or before the commencement of the work the value of the land so taken, and such other injuries as the party may sustain. § 18. Condemnation of land. If the commissioners can not agree with any person upon the compensation and damages for making and maintaining forever such ditches or channels, the said commissioners shall proceed to acquire title to the said easement upon and across the land of such person in the manner, so far as the same is applicable, prescribed by the condemnation law. The easements over and upon all lands included in or affected by the work determined upon by the commissioners may be obtained by one proceeding under this section. In case said commissioners become satisfied before the easements and rights for the maintaining forever of any or all of the ditches or drains previously determined by them to be necessary for the drainage of the lands, as hereinbefore provided, have been fully acquired, that part of such drains are no longer necessary for the public health they may, with the consent in writing of the owners of the land whereon the same are located, abandon the said drains, so deemed by them to be unnecessary for the public health, and they shall thereupon make a certificate in writing setting forth and describing the ditches and drains so to be abandoned, and file the same in the county clerk's office wherein their determination of the necessity of the draining such lands has been filed, and thereupon the said drains set forth and described in said last named certificate and any and all easements and rights to construct and maintain the same, shall be deemed to be forthwith abandoned and extinguished, but any costs and expenses previously incurred in connection with such drains so abandoned shall be assessed and collected as in this chapter provided. § 19. Provisions of this article to apply to proceedings for deepening outlets of ponds. The provisions of this article shall apply, so far as practicable, to proceedings for deepening and clearing out the outlet of any pond so as to permit the free passage of waters therefrom, and to the performance of the work required therefor, and to the assessment and the payment of the cost of such work. ARTICLE 3 Assessments to Pay Cost of Drainage Section 30. Commissioners to make statement of cost of work and assess same according to benefits received. 31. Statement and assessment to be filed. 32. Notice to be given to owners and officers of towns or villages assessed. 33. Appeal from assessment. 34. Levying assessments. 35. Towns or villages authorized to borrow money to pay assessments. 36. Method of payment in case of annual assessments. 38. Proceedings thereupon. 39. Appeals on questions of law; how taken. |