EOAD MILEAGE AN^D REVENUES IN" NEW ENGLAND STATES. 13 



duplicate such amount as may be voted by the town in excess of the 

 amount otherwise required by law to be raised, provided the town so 

 raises not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. An appropriation 

 is made annually as a "bridge fund" to enable the State highv»^ay 

 commissioner to furnish engineering assistance to the town selectmen 

 in building, rebuilding, or repairing bridges on selected or State 

 roads. A State highway tax of 5 cents on the dollar is assessed 

 annually upon the ''grand Hst," which is arrived at by taking 1 per 

 cent of the assessed valuation. The revenues derived therefrom are 

 apportioned to the towns and incorporated villages by the State 

 treasurer in the ratio of the highway mileage of such town or incor- 

 porated viUage to the total road mileage of the State. 



The net revenues from automobile registrations and licenses are set 

 apart as a maintenance fund to be expended only for repair and 

 maintenance of main thoroughfares and State roads. To'^ms are 

 required to appropriate annually a sum not less than one-fifth of their 

 grand lists to keep highways in repair. No part of the funds raised 

 from town or State highway taxes or appropriated by the State for 

 highway improvements shall be used in repairing, building, or rebuild- 

 ing bridges or culverts, or the approaches thereto, which exceed 4 

 feet span. These shall be under the exclusive control of the select- 

 men, who shall repair and rebuild them when necessary with funds 

 to be raised in the general town tax. 



Selectmen have jurisdiction over the laying out, alteration, discon- 

 tinuance, and working of roads and bridges in their respective towns. 

 A town road commissioner is elected by the town for the purpose 

 of superintending the expenditure of the highway tax and having 

 charge of keeping in repair the highways of the town. A town may 

 elect two road commissioners, in which event the selectmen shall 

 divide the town into two highway districts, one in charge of each 

 commissioner. The county court in each county appoints annually 

 three county road commissioners. If a highway or bridge be out 

 of repair or unsafe, any three citizens or taxpayers of a town may 

 give notice thereof to a selectman, and if the necessary repairs are 

 not then made, complaint may be filed with one of the county road 

 commissioners, who may order the necessary repairs made at the 

 expense of a town within a specified time if the selectmen, after 

 notice, neglect to do so. 



If a tov/n in which the tax for town purposes, except for schools, 

 together with the money expended on its highways in the preceding 

 5 years, has averaged at least $1.50 on the dollar of its grand list, 

 believes it is excessively burdened by being required to build, rebuild, 

 or repair a highway or bridge whoUy in such town, and other town 

 or towns would be especially benefited by the use of such highway, 

 the town so burdened may petition the coxmty court for commissioners 



