said act be, and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "62. And be it enacted, That all licenses granted by virtue of the ordinances of the board of aldermen, shall issue from this bureau, bearing its stamp, the signature of the said register, and be countersigned on the face by the comptroller, on the payment of the fees or charges prescribed by such ordinances." ment. 25. And be it enacted, That clause V of the eighty-third Amendsection of said act be, and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "V. To obtain by contract when practicable, all supplies involving an expenditure of upwards of two hundred and fifty dollars, required by the public schools of said city; proposals for such supplies shall be solicited by advertisements in two daily newspapers of said city, and shall be published therein for five days previous to the awarding of a contract, and such contract shall be made with the lowest bidder, who shall give satisfactory security for the performance thereof; provided, however, that the board may reject any or all bids." 26. And be it enacted, That the eighty-fifth section of Amendsaid act be and the same is hereby amended, to read as fol- ment. lows: "85. And be it enacted, That whenever the said board of education shall decide to establish a school or schools in said city, it shall procure a school house by hiring the same, or if a majority of all the members elected so decide by vote, at a regular meeting of the board, by purchasing a site in the name of "the mayor and aldermen of the city of Pat erson," and erecting the necessary buildings thereon, according to plans and specifications which shall be procured and approved by the said board; the erection of such buildings and the furnishing and fitting up thereof, and the altering, furnishing and fitting up of any hired or other buildings shall be done by contract, proposals for which shall be solicited by advertisements published in two daily newspapers of said city, for five days, unless such altering, furnishing and fitting up shall not exceed five hundred dollars in cost; in all cases such contracts shall be awarded to the lowest bidder who shall give satisfactory security for the faithful performance thereof; provided, however, that the said board shall have the right to reject any or all bids, and ad Repealer. Amend ment. Amendment. vertise anew for other proposals; the said board shall at no time enter into any contract or contracts which singly or in the aggregate shall require the payment from the city treasury of more than twenty thousand dollars in any one year, but which sum may, by authority of the board of aldermen, be increased to thirty thousand dollars, in addition to the sum annually appropriated for the current expenses of the schools, as hereinbefore prescribed." 27. And be it enacted, That the eighty-seventh section of said act be and the same is hereby repealed. 28. And be it enacted, That the eighty-eighth section of said act be, and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "88. And be it enacted, That whenever the appropriation aforesaid, shall have been made, the city clerk shall notify the board of education and the city treasurer thereof, and it shall thereupon be the duty of the said treasurer to place such sums so appropriated to the credit of the board of education; he shall keep the accounts of said board entirely separate from other accounts on his books, charging under one head the payments on account of current expenses, and under another head the payments on account of erections or permanent improvements, executed under the direction of the said department of public instruction, and he shall pay on presentation to him, all drafts drawn upon him by said department, duly attested by the signature of the president and secretary of the board of education, to an amount not exceeding the balance remaining on his books to the credit of the said department; each draft so presented shall state the purpose for which it is given, and whether for current expense account or whether for permanent improvement account, and shall be made payable to the order of the person entitled to receive the same, and be endorsed by said. person on the receipt thereof; provided, however, that said city treasurer shall not pay on either of said accounts, any sum or sums in excess of the pro rata per centum of the amount incorporated in and collected under the general tax ordinance of any fiscal year for educational purposes unless by authority of the board of aldermen." 29. And be it enacted, That the ninety-third section of said act be, and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "93. And be it enacted, That whenever the labor and materials required for the completion of any work belonging to this department shall require in the whole the expenditure of a sum exceeding five hundred dollars, such work shall be done under a contract drawn in such general or particular form as the board of aldermen may prescribe; all such contracts shall be awarded upon sealed proposals made in compliance with public notice duly advertised for five days in two daily newspapers of said city, and the said proposals shall be publicly opened by the department of streets and sewers, in the presence of the department of finance and comptroller, and all such contracts shall be awarded to the lowest bidder; provided, however, that the board of aldermen may prescribe by ordinance the prices to be paid for the various kinds of rock cuttings, without estimate thereon, but where rock is known to exist the prices shall be included in the proposals required by this section, and that the said department of streets and sewers may reject any or all bids and advertise as before." 30. And be it enacted, That the ninety-seventh section of Amendsaid act be, and the same is hereby amended, to read as fol- ment. lows: "97. And be it enacted, That the bureau of street openings shall consist of a board of street openings, composed of the commissioners of assessment of taxes for the time being." ment. 31. And be it enacted, That the ninety-ninth section of Amendsaid act be, and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "99. And be it enacted, That upon receiving such notification it shall be the duty of the said board to make an estimate and assessment of the damages and benefits to result from such work or improvements; the said board shall give at least five days' notice of their first meeting in two daily newspapers of said city, and shall have power to examine witnesses under oath or affirmation, to be administered by either of the members thereof, to enter upon and view any premises likely to be damaged or benefited by such proposed work, and to adjourn from time to time; they shall cause a survey and map of such work or improvement to be made by the city surveyor, and of the lots or parcel of land to be benefited or damaged thereby, and shall fairly and equitably assess such estimated costs on the lands and real estate to be thus benefited; but if in the judgment of said board such estimated costs shall exceed the value of the benefits to re Amend ment. Amendment. sult from such proposed work or improvement, then and in that case said board shall have power to assess upon the city at large such estimated excess of costs over benefits to result from such proposed work, and the proportion so assessed upon the city shall be raised and paid for by general tax as other taxes are; no allowance shall be made for damages for any erections taken in whole or in part upon the line of any street or avenue which shall have been laid out and established by the board of aldermen, and not subsequently vacated before such erection was begun; in the estimate of costs of such work or improvement there shall be included the sum of one hundred dollars to reimburse the city for expenses incurred in the prosecution thereof." 32. And be it enacted, That the one hundredth section of said act be and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "100. And be it enacted, That within three months, after receiving notification aforesaid, the board of street openings shall file in the office of the superintendent of streets and sewers a map and report, signed by all or any three members of the said board, of the proposed work or improvements, showing the precise nature thereof and the assessment upon, and the allowances to the parties benefited or damaged thereby, and thereupon the said superintendent shall forthwith give ten days' notice in two daily newspapers of said city, that such map and report have been tiled in his office, and that parties objecting to such assessments and allowances, shall present their objections in writing at his office, within ten days from the date of such notice. It shall be the duty of the department of streets and sewers, to examine such objections and to report thereon at the regu lar meeting of the board of aldermen next succeeding the expiration of such notice, with such recommendations as to said department may seem proper." 33. And be it enacted, That the one hundred and eighteenth section of said act be and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "118. And be it enacted, That the mayor and aldermen of the City of Paterson are hereby authorized and empow ered to issue "sewer bonds" to an amount not exceeding seventy-five thousand dollars in any one year, the proceeds whereof shall be applied only to the construction of sewers and drains in said city; but the aggregate amount of such bonds issued, or hereafter to be issued, shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars; the said bonds shall bear not more than seven per centum interest per annum, payable semi-annually, shall have not more than twenty-five years to run, and shall have the credit of the corporation, and the real and personal property thereof pledged for the payment of the interest and principal of such bonds; any work, for which such bonds may be issued, shall be paid for only out of the proceeds of the sale of said bonds." 34. And be it enacted, That the one hundred and twenty- Amendthird section of said act be and the same is hereby amended, ment. to read as follows: "123. And be it enacted, That the bureau of estimates and assessments shall consist of the board of street openings, the superintendent of streets and sewers, and the city surveyor for the time being." ment. 35. And be it enacted, That the one hundred and thirty- Amendfirst section of said act be and the same is hereby amended, to read as follows: "131. And be it enacted, That on or before the second Monday in June, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and annually thereafter, it shall be the duty of the said board of estimates and assessments to estimate the average cost per lineal foot of all sewers and drains constructed in the several drainage districts of said city, subsequently to the year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and up to the time of making such annual estimate, and to transmit a certified statement of such estimate to the department of finance; and in making the annual enumerations, valuations and assessments for taxes in such year, the commissioners of assessment of taxes shall, in a separate column of their assessment books, assess upon each lot fronting on or adjoining a street through which a sewer or drain has been constructed up to that time, a sum per lineal foot of frontage equal to three and a half per centum of the average cost per lineal foot of all sewers and drains constructed subsequently to the year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, in the drainage district wherein such lot is situated, estimated as aforesaid; and the proceeds of such special tax shall be applied to the satisfaction of the interest on the sewer bonds issued or to be issued by the corporation; but no lot shall be assessed for more than twenty-five feet of frontage for every twenty-five hundred feet in area thereof." |