Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 April 1919 — TRUSTEES ARE TO DO WORK [ARTICLE]

TRUSTEES ARE TO DO WORK

Instructions Ordered Sent by Hoard of Accounts to Officials. Governor Goodrich Monday announced that “the necessity for a special session of the legislature seems to have been disposed of by tine last opinion of the attorneygeneral’* and said that he has Instructed Gilbert H. Hendren, chief examiner for the state board of accounts, to prepare instructions to send to the township trustees, that they are required under the law to act in accordance with the attorneygeneral's opinion. Mr. Hendren begun at onoe to prepare the letter. It was to contain Instructions that the trustees should look after the work on township roads just as formerly, with tire exception that they would be under the direction of the county commissioners. The letter, it is understood, will direct county treasurers to pay over to township trustees the road money heretofore paid to the trustees, and in such cases as where the township trustees had turned Over the money to the county treasurer, under the first opinion of the attorney-general on the subject, the county treasurer is to refund the- money to the township trustees. /

In the supplemental opinion, given to Mr. Hendren, by Ele Stansbury, attorney-general, be construes the county unit road law and the Beardsley law. The proposal to call a special session of the legislature was due to a desire to correct the county unit road law, which as enrolled and filed with the secretary of state, does not contain amendments adopted by the house and approved by the conference committee and »by both branches of the general assembly. The county unit road act seemed to take away from the township trustees all road duties, while the Beardsley act gave them authority over township roads. Inasmuch as the increased salaries given to township trustees by a former legislature were based largely on their duties iu looking after roads, it was believed that the county unit road act of the recent legislature, as enrolled, would require the county commissioners to expend considerable sums for deputy road superintendents. Hence, the reason for a special session of the legislature. The attorney-general now construes the two laws together in such a way that the township trustees have the legal duty of looking after roads, under the supervision of the county commissioners.