special election.

tral and convenient place therein designated, at which the question whether the amount required for such expenditure shall be raised by special tax, will be submitted to the qualified electors for their determination. The publication of the notice shall be continued until the day appointed for the special election.

may

Inspectors of § 88. The common council shall appoint three freeholders of the city inspectors of such special election, and fill vacancies occurring in their number. The clerk of the city shall attend such election and have with him the last assessment rolls, filed in his office by the assessors.

Their duties.

Voters.

Ballots.

Challenge

Oath.

Vote when received.

Laws appli cable.

Certificate

§ 89. The inspectors of such special election shall take the oath required by law of inspectors of election, and they shall have the same powers and perform the same duties and in like manner as the ordinary inspectors of elections. The polls of such elections shall be opened at nine o'clock in the forenoon, and remain open until four o'clock in the afternoon.

1

$90. Every male resident of the city of the age of twenty-one years, or upwards, whose name shall be on either of the assessment rolls of the said city, made by the assessors, next preceding such special election, or against whom or whose real or personal estate a tax may be imposed upon said roll, and no other person shall be entitled to vote at such special election.

§ 91. Every person entitled to vote at such special election may vote a ballot folded so as to conceal its contents, upon which shall be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, "For special tax," or "Against special tax." The ballots shall be received by the inspectors and deposited in a box provided for the purpose, and at the closing of the polls shall be canvassed in the same manner that the ballots are canvassed at the city elections, and all provisions of law applicable to such canvass, shall be applicable to the canvass at special elections.

§ 92. If a person offering to vote at such special election shall be challenged in relation to his rights by any other person entitled to vote thereat, one of the inspectors shall tender to him the following oath or affirmation :

"You swear (or affirm) that you are a resident of the city of Utica, aged twenty-one years or upwards, and that you have not voted at this election."

If he shall take the oath, and his name shall be found on the assessment roll as provided in the 91st section, his vote shall be received. If he shall decline to take it, it shall not be received.

§ 93. All provisions of law for punishing false swearing, and fraudulent voting and for preserving order at elections, shall be applicable to special elections held pursuant to the provisions of this title, so far as they can be applied.

§ 94. The inspectors of the special elections held pursuant to to be made. the provisions of this title shall make and sign a certificate of the number of votes "for special tax," and "against special tax," and shall file the same with the clerk upon the same or the next succeeding day.

before the

of.

§ 95. The clerk shall lay such certificate before the common To be laid council at its next meeting, and the same shall be recorded at council and length in the records of its proceedings. If it shall appear that effect therea majority of the votes cast at such special election were for "special tax," the common council shall cause the amount specified in the report, as required to be raised by tax for the purpose therein set forth, in addition to the moneys otherwise authorised to be raised by the provisions of this act. It may direct the whole sum required to be raised in addition to and with the next annual tax for ordinary expenses, or in two or three equal annual instalments, with the next two or three annual taxes. Such special tax, whether raised in one, two, or three instalments, shall be added to the sums otherwise to be raised, and imposed, and collected therewith, and by the same power and authority.

§ 96. The aggregate of all sums of money authorised to be Amount to raised by special tax, pursuant to the provisions of this title, in be raised. any one year, shall not exceed ten thousand dollars.

separate.

§ 97. All moneys raised pursuant to the provisions of this title, Moneys raisshall be kept by the treasurer as a separate fund, and shall only ed to be kept be drawn by orders specifying that the same were drawn to meet the expenditure for which they were raised, or to discharge a loan made to anticipate such moneys.

§ 98. Until the debt of the city ascertained pursuant to the pro- Provision re

visions of the second section of the "Act to amend an act entitled lative to the city debt. 'An act to incorporate the city of Utica,' "passed May 7, 1847, shall be paid, the common council shall have power to raise annually, in addition to the amount of moneys otherwise authorised to be raised, such instalment of such debt, with the interest thereon, as shall be provided for by such second section of the said act. Such instalment and interest shall be raised with the other moneys to be raised by virtue of this act, and in the same tax. All the provisions of such second section relative to the disposition of the moneys therein referred to, shall apply to the disposition of the moneys to be raised under the provisions of this section.

§ 99. The common council is prohibited from borrowing any money or contracting any pecuniary obligation whatever, on the part of the city, excepting as follows:

1. It may make temporary loans to anticipate not exceeding Temporary two-thirds of the ordinary tax of the current fiscal year, and to loans. be paid before the first day of February within such fiscal year.

2. In case the common council shall determine to raise the amount of any special tax by annual instalments, it may make a loan for the purpose of anticipating two-thirds of the whole amount to be raised; and in such case it shall be the duty of the treasurer, as such instalments are realised, to pay them in discharge of such loan.

§ 100. The common council shall contract no debt on the Restriction. part of the city, excepting as herein otherwise provided, which shall not be payable within the fiscal year in which it is contracted, and which cannot be discharged from the income of such year.

Claims

against the be audited

city how to

and paid.

Notice to be published as claims.

TITLE IX.

OF THE AUDITING OF CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY.

§ 101. All claims and demands against the city shall be audited by the common council upon days to be designated for the purpose, at least as often as once in three months. All claims must be presented in writing. They shall be numbered and filed by the clerk, and a brief entry of the name of the claimant, number, nature and amount of the claim made by the clerk in a book kept by him for the purpose, prepared with appropriate letters and columns so that the entry shall serve as an alphabetical index to the claim. The book shall be provided with a column in which shall be entered after the claim the date when it is audited, and the amount, if any, allowed thereon. The claims shall be audited, and the amounts allowed paid without unreasonable delay. In case the common council shall disallow any claim, or allow but a part thereof, its decision shall be a bar to the claim disallowed or the part not allowed, unless an action shall be commenced against the city there on within six months from the time the same was audited.

§ 102. At least two weeks before Thursday in the second week to auditing prior to the annual city election, the common council shall cause a notice to be published in the official newspapers, and the publication to be continued for two weeks, that upon such Thursday it will meet for the purpose of auditing all claims and demands against the city which have not been audited. Upon such Thursday, the common council shall meet and proceed to audit all claims against the city which may be presented, and to make provisions for the payment of all such as it shall have allowed and of all portions of claims which it has allowed. Upon completing the auditing of all claims presented, it shall cause to be prepared and published in the official newspapers at least one week before the city election, a statement of all the claims and demands against the city which have been presented to the common council during the fiscal year, with the amount claimed and the amount, if any, allowed.

Claims presented not to

the files.

§ 103. No claim against the city which has been presented to be with- the common council to be audited, shall be withdrawn from the drawn from files. No claim or demand against the city which has not been audited, or which has not been liquidated by the common council, shall bear interest unless it shall be presented to the common council to be audited at the annual auditing of claims provided for in this title. But the provisions of this section shall not apply to claims which are to be paid from the moneys authorised to be raised by special tax.

Provision respecting costs.

§ 104. No costs shall be recovered against the city in any action brought against it for any unliquidated claim which has not been presented to the common council to be audited: nor shall costs be recovered against the city in any action upon any unliquidated claim which shall have been allowed in part by the

common council, unless the recovery shall be for a greater sum than the amount allowed by the common council with the interest thereon from the time it was allowed.

TITLE X.

OF COMMON SCHOOLS.

schools.

§ 105. The act entitled "An act in relation to common schools Common in the city of Utica," passed April 7, 1842, and the several acts amending the same, shall continue in force, excepting where their provisions are herein expressly amended, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

§ 106. The board of commissioners of common schools may, Expenses of. from the moneys received by them for the school district library district libradefray the contingent expenses of the library and the salary of the librarian, and apply such portion of it as they may deem proper to the payment of teachers' salaries.

TITLE XI.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

brief descrip

§ 107. The common council may from time to time require City surveythe city surveyor to prepare and furnish to any of the assessors or to furnish brief but certain descriptions of any real estate to enable him to tions of prepare the assessment roll of his ward, or require the city sur-lands. veyor to prepare a roll for such assessor containing the descriptions of the real estate in the ward with blanks for valuation and for the names of persons owning personal estate and such other blanks as are required in assessment rolls and the descriptions or rolls thus prepared shall be followed by the assessors in making the rolls.

by assessors.

§ 108. After the assessors of the city shall have completed Rolls when their assessment in the manner provided by law, and make a sep- to be filed arate roll for each ward of the city they shall file the same with the clerk of the city who shall correct any clerical errors therein and make exact copies of each of them which copies he shall certify to be correct and deliver the same to one of the supervisors of the city on or before the first day of November to be by him presented to the board of supervisors as the assessment rolls for the several wards of the city.

as one of the

§ 109. The city shall be regarded as one of the towns of Onei- The city to da county under the provisions of article fifth, chapter eleven, of be regarded part one, of the revised statutes, and the supervisors and clerk towns. thereof shall constitute its board of town auditors for the purpose of auditing and allowing town charges and claims.

§ 110. The several wards of the city shall be considered towns Wards how for the purposes of the provisions of the revised statutes entitled considered. "Of the return and summoning of juries" in respect to the return of jurors; and the supervisor and assessor elected in the respective wards, shall execute the duties therein enjoined upon the supervisor, assessors and town clerks of the several towns in the

City how

for raising

taxes.

Allowance

to collectors.

One town.

Fiscal year.

state, except that a duplicate of the returns of jurors made by them shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the city.

§ 111. The city of Utica shall be regarded as one of the towns of Oneida county, for the purpose of raising and collecting the annual town, county, and state taxes, and the same provisions of law which shall apply to the assessment and collection of taxes in the towns of the state, and the duty of all officers concerned therein or connected therewith, excepting as the same are modified and altered by this act, shall be applicable thereto; but in assessing and laying the town, county, and state taxes therein, the same shall be assessed and laid upon assessment rolls, prepared as herein provided for each of the wards of the city, which shall be delivered to the collectors of the respective wards for collection, in the manner provided by law.

§ 112. The common council may determine the commission for collecting the tax imposed by the boards of supervisors which may be collected by the collectors of the city not to exceed three cents for a tax of less than one dollar to be paid by any person, nor to exceed three per cent. upon all sums exceeding one dollar.

§ 113. The city of Utica for all purposes except those provided for in this act, shall be regarded as one of the towns of Oneida county.

§ 114. The fiscal year under the provisions of this act, shall commence on the adjournment of the common council when assembled on Thursday of the second week before the annual city election for the final auditing of all claims against the city. The Civil year. civil year shall commence on the second Tuesday in March in each year.

Repeal.

Right to repeal.

§ 115. All acts in relation to the city of Utica inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are repealed; but the repeal shall not affect any proceedings had or commenced under the same when this act takes effect, nor any rights or dues to which the city is entitled by virtue thereof.

§ 116. The legislature may at any time alter, amend or repeal this act.

Salary office.

Chap. 185.

AN ACT to amend "An act concerning the district attorney of the county of Albany," passed February 21, 1840.

Passed March 31, 1849, "three fifths being present." The People of the State of New-York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

§ 1. The district attorney of the county of Albany shall receive for his services in civil and criminal proceedings, including the prosecution of recognizances, bastardy cases, and for the per