[House Bill No. 620.]

[319.]

AN ACT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF DERBY.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

SECTION 1. Section five of an act amending the charter of the city of Derby, approved March 21, 1901, is hereby amended by striking out the word "two" in the second line of said section and inserting in lieu thereof the word "three," so that said section as amended shall read as follows: The board of apportionment and taxation of the city of Derby shall annually appropriate a sum of money, not less than three thousand dollars, for the care, maintenance, and support of said public library, and may from time to time appropriate, in addition thereto, sums of money for building purposes, repairs, or improvements in real estate and fixtures, not exceeding two thousand dollars in any five years. All moneys, which have been or shall be appropriated by said city for library purposes, shall, by the treasurer of said city, be paid over to the treasurer appointed by the board of library directors on the first Monday in February in each year. No payment shall be made by said treasurer appointed by said board of library directors, except upon bills or orders approved in such manner as may be provided in the by-laws, and all bills and vouchers for expenses incurred shall be kept on file as may be provided in the by-laws, and shall be subject to inspection by the mayor, the city treasurer, the corporation counsel, and any member of the board of directors of said library. The board of directors of said library shall not, on account of city appropriations or as chargeable thereto, expend any money in excess of the money therefor appropriated by said board of apportionment and taxation for the use of said library; except, however, that any funds, not derived from such city appropriation, may be expended to such an amount and for such purposes as said board of directors shall deem that the interests of said library may require.

SEC. 2. The bonds of all city officials shall be taken to the city of Derby, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the office according to law. The form of each bond shall be to the satisfaction of the mayor, and no person or corporation shall be accepted by the board of finance as surety on such bond except a corporation authorized by the laws of this State to give bonds and become surety for bonds of municipal and other officials. The expense of all bonds required by this act shall be paid by the city.

SEC. 3. Neither the mayor, city clerk, street commissioner, police commissioner, fire commissioner, or superintendent of the poor shall directly or indirectly furnish any materials to said city or be directly or indirectly employed to do any work, except his official duty, for said city.

SEC. 4. The salary of the chief of police shall be one thousand dollars per annum, which shall be in lieu of all fees. All fees which

shall be taxed in favor of the chief of police in any civil or criminal proceeding in which the city is a party shall be paid into the city treasury for the use of said city.

SEC. 5. There shall be in said city a finance committee, to consist of two residents of said city, who, except the committee appointed in June, 1905, as hereinafter provided, shall be appointed by the board of apportionment and taxation in the month of December, 1906, and biennially thereafter, and said finance committee, except the said committee appointed in June, 1905, shall hold their offices for the term of two years from the first Monday of January succeeding their appointment and until their successors are duly appointed and qualified; and said appointments shall be so made that not more than one member of said committee shall at any time belong to the same political party. Any vacancy occurring in said committee shall be filled by said board of apportionment and taxation for the unexpired term. In the month of June, 1905, the board of apportionment and taxation shall appoint a finance committee who shall hold office until the first Monday of January, 1907, and until their successors are duly appointed and qualified. It shall be the duty of said committee to hold such meetings as may be necessary for the transaction of business, and the city clerk shall be the clerk thereof. Said committee shall carefully examine and consider all claims and accounts against the city submitted for its approval, and approve, by the signatures of both of the members of said committee, such claims and accounts against said city as it finds to be justly due.

SEC. 6. The city clerk shall keep, in books provided for that purpose, accounts of each of the city departments with such city officers as may be designated by the finance committee, and such other accounts as the city ordinances or said finance committee may direct. He shall prescribe the form of all accounts and all of the books to be rendered and kept and provide all books, stationery, and office supplies necessary for the use of the various city departments and officials. He shall keep a separate account of each specific item of the appropriations, and shall require all warrants to state specifically against which of said items the warrant is drawn. He shall not suffer any appropriation to be overdrawn, or the appropriation for one item of expense to be drawn upon for any other purpose, or by any department other than that for which the appropriation was specifically made, except in case of transfers made by the board of apportionment and taxation. No warrants shall be issued unless sufficient funds to pay the same shall actually be in the treasury. If he shall draw any warrant in payment of any bill, contract, or claim in excess of the appropriations properly applicable thereto, the city shall not be liable for such excess, but he shall be personally liable therefor, and his sureties shall also be liable therefor to the amount of his bond.

SEC. 7. Each claim or account against the city shall be verified by the oath or affirmation of the claimant or his authorized agent, if required by the city clerk, and then certified to be correct and justly

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due by the officer or board by whom, or under whose authority the same was contracted. Such claim or account shall then be transmitted to the city clerk, who shall carefully examine and compute each bill rendered, and, on finding it correct, he shall so certify, and then lay it before the finance committee for approval; and no bill shall be paid until approved by said finance committee in writing. If any claimant is indebted to said city, the city clerk shall report such indebtedness to said committee, together with the claim. Said city clerk shall number the several claims, when approved by the finance committee, and enter them in books kept by him for that purpose; and when said claims have been so numbered and entered, the city clerk shall draw his order on the city treasurer for the several amounts due, and prepare and fill out receipts in accordance therewith; provided, that, for any interest for which the city is legally liable upon its bonds, the city clerk may draw his order upon the treasurer, upon which order, when countersigned by the mayor, said interest shall be paid. When the identity of any claimant is doubtful, said claimant may be required to make oath or affirmation, or furnish other evidence that he is the person, or the legal representative of the person, in whose favor the order is drawn; and the city clerk is hereby authorized to administer oaths or affirmations.

SEC. 8. No public improvement of any kind shall be ordered by the board of aldermen, or other authority having power to authorize the same, until an appropriation for said improvement has been duly made.

SEC. 9. Whenever said city shall lay out any street, or change the grade thereof, or enter upon any public improvement in said city, and any person affected thereby shall make any claim upon said city for damages resulting therefrom, it shall be unlawful for any board or official of said city to make any agreement with such property owner to do any work on his or her property, or to furnish any materials to be used thereon, in settlement or payment of any such claim for damage.

SEC. 10. Whenever any work is necessary to be done to execute or perfect a particular undertaking, or whenever any supply is needful for any particular purpose, and the several parts of said work or supply shall together involve the expenditure of more than two hundred dollars, a written contract for such work or supply shall be made, under such regulations as the board of aldermen may by ordinance establish, which contract shall be founded on sealed bids or proposals, made in compliance with public notice, duly advertised by publication at least five days before the time fixed for opening said bids or proposals. The finance committee shall have charge of advertising for said proposals and shall open said bids in public, and if said finance committee shall not deem it for the interest of the city to reject all bids, said committee shall award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder; provided, however, that if said committee shall not deem it practicable, or for the best interests of the city, to proceed as above required for any particular work, or the obtaining of any particular supply, said committee

may reject such bids. The form of each contract, which shall include the specifications, shall be approved by the corporation counsel, and the contractor shall give security to the satisfaction of the mayor for the faithful performance of his contract. If the lowest bidder shall neglect or refuse to accept the contract within five days after written notice that the same has been awarded, according to his bid or proposal, or if he fail to execute his contract, or to give proper security, such contract may be readvertised and relet in the manner provided, or, with the written approval of the mayor filed for public record with the city clerk, said contract may be awarded to the next lowest responsible bidder. If any work shall be abandoned by any contractor, it may be readvertised and relet in the manner provided for in the original contract, or said committee, with the written approval of the mayor, may cause said work to be finished without making a new contract, and the original contractor shall be liable to the city for any excess in the cost of said work over the amount of the original contract. No bid shall be accepted from, or contract awarded to any person who is in arrears to the city upon debt or contract, or who is a defaulter as surety or otherwise upon any obligation to the city. Three copies of every contract shall be executed, and one of the original copies thereof shall be filed in the city clerk's office. Whenever proposals for furnishing supplies or doing work are invited by advertisement by the finance. committee, said committee shall require, as a condition precedent to the reception of any proposal, the deposit with such board of a check. drawn to the order of the treasurer and certified by some reliable bank. Such checks shall accompany the proposal, and shall be for an amount of not less than five per centum of the amount required by said bid to be paid by the city for the proposed work to be done or supplies to be furnished. Within three days after it is decided who is the lowest responsible bidder, the treasurer shall return all such checks to the persons depositing the same, except the check deposited by the lowest responsible bidder for such contract; and if the said responsible bidder shall refuse or neglect, within five days after due notice that the contract has been awarded to him, to execute the same, the amount of the deposit made by him shall be forfeited to and retained by said city as liquidated damages for such neglect or refusal, and shall be paid into the treasury of said city; but if said lowest responsible bidder shall execute the contract within the time aforesaid, the amount of his deposit shall be returned to him.

SEC. 11. No official of said city shall, in any manner, either directly or indirectly, incur any expense, contract, or obligation on behalf of the city in excess of the amount appropriated for the use of the department for which such official is charged; and in case any official of said city shall contract any debt or obligation in the name of the city in excess of the appropriation made to be expended by said official, said official shall be liable, both personally and upon his bond, for the excess be the appropriation properly applicable thereto, and said city! y case be liable for such excess.

SEC. 12. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the foregoing provisions are hereby repealed.

SEC. 13. The provisions of section three of this act shall take effect on the first Monday of January, 1907, and all the other provisions hereof shall take effect from the passage of this act.

Approved, June 16, 1905.

[House Joint Resolution No. 418.]
[320.]

AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY WATER SUPPLY CORPORATION.

Resolved by this Assembly: SECTION 1. That section two of the resolution incorporating The City Water Supply Corporation, approved May 27, 1903, is hereby amended to read as follows: The capital stock of said corporation shall be one hundred thousand dollars with the right to increase the same to five hundred thousand dollars; each share of stock shall be of the par value of one hundred dollars, and said shares shall be deemed personal property and be transferable only on the books of said corporation in such form as the directors of said corporation shall prescribe; and said corporation shall at all times have a lien upon the stock or property of the members of said corporation invested therein for all debts due from them to said corporation.

SEC. 2. Section eight of said resolution is amended to read as follows: Said corporation is hereby incorporated for the purpose of furnishing water to any or all of such water companies as now are, or may hereafter be, engaged in supplying water for domestic or other uses, in either or all of the towns of Derby and Ansonia and the borough of Shelton in the town of Huntington, and for such purpose it is hereby invested with power and authority to open any of such streets, highways, or public grounds in the westerly and southerly parts of said towns of Seymour and Oxford, and to lay down and construct therein such pipes and conduits as may be reasonably necessary and proper to carry and conduct the waters described in and included within the provisions of section nine of this resolution down. the Housatonic valley, so-called, to the boundary line between the towns of Seymour and Derby, and to repair, replace, and maintain such pipes and conduits; and, for such purposes, said corporation may carry and conduct such pipes and conduits, through, under, or over any water-course, streets, turnpikes, roads, railroads, highways, or other ways, or public grounds, within said westerly and southerly parts of said towns of Seymour and Oxford, as may be reasonably necessary and proper to carry and conduct said waters to the boundary line aforesaid, and also, subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, may open the grounds of and lay down and construct such supply pipes and conduits elsewhere in such streets, highways, and public grounds, within any territory covered by the provisions of the