Qualifications of Town Officers.

$$ 61-65

moneys, books, documents, papers or property of the town shall be turned over or delivered to such supervisor elect.

§ 61. Undertaking of commissioner of excise.-Each commissioner of excise shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, execute an undertaking to be approved by the supervisor of his town, to the effect that he will pay over to the supervisor of his town, within thirty days after the receipt thereof, all moneys received by him as such commissioner of excise, which undertaking shall be delivered to the supervisor, and by him filed in the office of the town clerk within ten days thereafter.

§ 62. Undertaking of overseer of the poor.-Every person elected or appointed overseer of the poor in any town shall, within ten days after being notified of his election or appointment, execute an undertaking with one or more sureties, to be approved by the supervisor of his town, to the effect that he will faithfully discharge the duties of his office, and will pay according to law all moneys which shall come into his hands as such overseer, which undertaking shall be delivered to the supervisor and filed by him in the office of the town clerk within ten days thereafter.

§ 63. Undertaking of commissioner of highways.—Every commissioner of highways shall, within ten days after notice of his election or appointment, execute an undertaking with two or more sureties, to be approved by the supervisor of his town, to the effect that he will faithfully discharge his duties as such commissioner, and within ten days after the expiration of his term of office, pay over to his successor all moneys remaining in his hands as such commissioner, and render to such successor a true account of all moneys received and paid out by him as such commissioner, which undertaking shall be delivered to the supervisor, and filed by him in the office of the town clerk within ten days thereafter.

§ 64. Resignation of town officers.-Any three justices of the peace of a town may, for sufficient cause shown to them accept the resignation of any town officer of their town; and whenever they shall accept any such resignation, they shall forthwith give notice thereof to the town clerk of the town.

§ 65. Filling of vacancies. When a vacancy shall occur or exist in any town office, the town board or a majority of them may, by an instrument under their hands and seals, appoint a suitable person to fill the vacancy, and the person appointed,

except justices of the peace, shall hold the office until the next biennial town meeting. A person so appointed to the office of justice of the peace shall hold the office until the next biennial town meeting, unless the appointment shall be made to fill the vacancy of an officer whose term will expire on the thirty-first day of December next thereafter, in which case the term of office of the person so appointed shall expire on the thirty-first day of December next succeeding his appointment. The board making the appointment shall cause the same to be forthwith filed in the office of the town clerk, who shall forthwith give notice to the person appointed. A copy of the appointment of a justice of the peace shall also be filed in the office of the county clerk before the person appointed shall be authorized to act. (As amended by chap. 481 of 1897, § 17.)

§ 66. Form of undertaking and liability thereon.—Every undertaking of a town officer, as provided by this chapter or otherwise, must be executed by such officer and his sureties and acknowledged or proven and certified in like manner as debts* to be recorded, and the approval indorsed thereon. The parties executing such undertaking shall be jointly and severally liable, regardless of its form in that respect, for the damages to any person or party by reason of a breach of its terms.

§ 67. County clerk to report omissions of town officers.-The clerk of each county shall make a report to the district attorney of the county, of all omissions by any town officer to make and transmit any returns or certificates, which by law they are required to make to such clerk, and the district attorney shall enforce the penalty, by law imposed upon the delinquent officer.

ARTICLE IV.

THE GENERAL DUTIES OF TOWN OFFICERS.

SECTION 80. General duties of supervisor.

81. Town surveys.

82. Fires in woods.

83. General duties of town clerk.

84. Delivery of books and papers by outgoing officer to successor.

85. Furniture and blank books for clerk's office.

86. Sign for clerk's office.

§ 80. General duties of supervisor. The supervisor of each town shall:

* So in the original.

The General Duties of Town Officers.

§ 81

1. Receive and pay over all moneys raised therein for defraying town charges, except those raised for the support of highways and bridges, and of the poor.

2. Prosecute, in the name of his town, for all penalties given by law to such town for its use, and for which no other officer is specially directed to prosecute.

3. Keep a just and true account of the receipt and expenditures of all moneys which shall come into his hands by virtue of his office, in a book to be provided for that purpose at the expense of the town, and to be delivered to his successor in office.

4. On the Tuesday preceding the biennial town meeting, and on the corresponding date in each alternate year, account with the justices of the peace and town clerk of the town for the disbursement of all moneys received by him. If the biennial town meeting in any town is held at the time of a general election, such account shall be rendered on the third Tuesday of December in each year.

5. Receive all accounts against the town, which shall be presented to him, and present the same to the town board for audit, except such accounts as he may be required by law to present to the board of supervisors.

6. Attend the annual meeting of the board of supervisors of the county, and every adjourned or special meeting of which he shall have notice, and present to such board the town audits, and such other accounts and demands against the town, and such reports and statements as he may be required by law to present to such board.

7. Sell and convey in the name of the town property owned by it, when directed by a town meeting. (As amended by chap. 481 of 1897, § 18; chap. 363 of 1898, § 7, and chap. 377 of 1900.)

§ 81. Town surveys. Whenever the supervisor of any town shall be required by the state engineer and surveyor to cause a survey to be made of the bounds of his town, such supervisor, within sixty days thereafter, shall cause such survey to be made, and transmit, by mail or otherwise, a map and description thereof to the state engineer and surveyor. The expense of such survey and map shall be defrayed by the several towns whose bounds, either wholly or in part, shall be described thereby; such expense to be apportioned by the board of supervisors of the county. If any supervisor shall refuse or neglect to cause such survey to be made, he shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars to the people of the state.

§ 82. Fires in woods.-Whenever the woods in any town shall be on fire, it shall be the duty of the justices of the peace, the supervisor and commissioners of highways of such town, and of each of them, to order such and so many of the inhabitants of such town liable to work on the highways, and residing in the vicinity of the fire, as they shall severally deem necessary, to repair to the place where such fire shall prevail, and there to assist in extinguishing the same, or in stopping its progress.

mo 190le. 488§ 83. General duties of town clerks.-The town clerk of each town shall have the custody of all the records, books and papers of the town; and he shall duly file all certificates of oaths and other papers required by law to be filed in his office. He shall transcribe in the books of records of his town the minutes of the proceedings of every town meeting held therein, and shall enter in such book every order or direction and all rules and regulations made by any such town meeting. He shall deliver to the supervisor, before the annual meeting of the board of supervisors of the county in each year, certified copies of all entries of votes for raising money made since the last meeting of the board of supervisors, and recorded in the town book. Immediately after the qualifying of any constable elected or appointed in his town, he shall return to the clerk of the county the name of such constable. If any town clerk shall willfully omit to make such return, he shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered by the supervisor in the name of, and for the use of the town.

84. Delivery of books and papers by outgoing officer to successor. Whenever the term of office of any supervisor, town clerk, commissioner of highways or overseer of the poor shall expire, or when either of such officers shall resign, and another person shall be elected or appointed to the office, the succeeding officer shall, immediately after he shall have entered on the duties of his office, demand of his predecessor all the records, books and papers under his control belonging to such office. Every person so going out of office, whenever so required, shall deliver upon oath to his successor all the records, books and papers in his possession or under his control belonging to the office held by him, which oath may be administered by the officer to whom such delivery shall be made, and shall, at the same time pay over to his successor the moneys belonging to the town remaining in his hands. If any such officers shall have died, the successors or successor of such officer shall make such demand of the

executors or administrators of such deceased officer, and such executors or administrators shall deliver, upon the like oath, all records, books and papers in their possession, or under their control, belonging to the office held by their testator or intestate. If any person so going out of office, or his executors or administrators, shall refuse or neglect, when lawfully required, to deliver such records, books or papers, he shall forfeit to the town, for every such refusal or neglect, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars; and officers entitled to demand such records, books and papers may compel the delivery thereof in the manner prescribed by law.

§ 85. Furniture and blank books for clerk's office. The town clerk of any town may, with the consent of the town board of his town, purchase or furnish for the town clerk's office all necessary bound blank books for the entering and keeping of the records of his town, and also necessary book and office cases, tables and other furniture for the use and convenience of the office and the safe-keeping of the books and papers of the town, and the expense thereof shall be a town charge, to be audited and paid as other town charges.

§ 86. Sign for clerk's office. There shall also in like manner be furnished and kept for every town clerk's office a sign with the name of the town followed by the words, "town clerk's office" in plain characters thereon, with sufficient board space immediately below for posting thereon the legal notices of the town, which sign and board-space shall be placed and kept on or at the outside front door of every town clerk's office, which board shall always be one of the public places upon which any legal notice in the town may be posted.

ARTICLE V.

DIVISION FENCES.

SECTION 100. Apportionment of division fence.

101. When lands may lie open.

102. Division fences on change of title.

103. Settlement of disputes.

104. Powers of fence viewers.

105. Neglect to make or repair division fences.

106. Fence destroyed by accident.

107. Damages for insufficient fence.

108. Damages for omitting to build fence.

109. Use of barbed wire in the construction of division fences.