PHILLIPS LEE GOLDSBOROUGH, ESQ., GOVERNOR. 1049

alderman unless such business has been made a special order
of the day, or such action has been taken at a regular meet-
ing of the board of aldermen.

SEC. 275. The board of aldermen shall have and" possess
and the said board and its members shall exercise all executive,
legislative and judicial powers and duties, now had, possessed
and exercised by the mayor, board of aldermen, city register,
assessors and all other executive and administrative officers
of said city; And in addition to the powers and duties con-
ferred by Chapter 57 of the Acts of the General Assembly of
Maryland of 1908, the board of aldermen may sit as a board of
equalization and may either upon appeal by a property owner,
or on its own motion value any taxable property, increase,
diminish, or abate any assessment, provided however that before
they shall value any property not theretofore assessed or
increase the valuation of any property they shall first give
notice to the owner or person in charge of said property to
show cause why the same should not be valued, or the valuation
thereof not increased, as the case may be; and said board shall
have power to correct erroneous assessments and to hear com-
plaint thereunder and to readjust any assessment found by
it to be erroneous. The executive and administrative power,
authorities and duties in said city shall be distributed into and
among three departments as follows:

1. Department of Public Affairs, Police and Public Safety.

2. Department of Accounts and Finance.

3. Department of Streets, Public Improvements, Parks and
Public Property.

The board of aldermen shall determine the powers and
duties to be performed by, and assign them to the appropriate
department; shall prescribe the powers and duties of officers
and employees; may assign particular officers and employees
to one or more of the departments; may require an officer or
employee to perform duties in two or more departments; and
may make such other rules and regulations as may be neces-
sary or proper for the efficient and economical conduct of the
business of the city.

SEC. 276. The mayor shall be superintendent of the depart-
ment of public affairs, police and public safety, he shall be pres-
ident of the board of aldermen and preside at its meetings, he
shall have general supervision over all the departments of the
city government and may require at any time full and partic-
ular information from any alderman as to the affairs of his
department, but the mayor shall have no power to countermand