HARFORD COUNTY. 2903

1916, ch. 680, sec. 86.

97. The male citizens residing within the corporate limits of the said
town of Bel Air, above the age of twenty-one years, who are assessed with
at least One Hundred Dollars' worth of real or personal property on the
tax books of said town, shall hold an election on the first Monday of May
in each and every year for five commissioners, who shall hold their office
for one year, or until their successors are elected and qualified, and shall
have the management of said town, and no one shall be eligible to hold the
office of Town Commissioner who is not a qualified voter at said election,
and said commissioners shall have full power and authority to enact and
pass all ordinances, to preserve the health of the town, to promote cleanli-
ness and good order, to regulate the keeping and running at large of cattle,
swine, goats, dogs, fowls and other animals, to preserve and promote the
peace, order and good government of said town, to regulate the police
and provide for the payment of the same, to impose and appropriate taxes,
fines, penalties and forfeitures for the breach of their ordinances, and
for the purpose of providing for the extinguishment of fires, and to protect
the property in said town, and for the lighting of the streets thereof, to
contract with corporations, individuals or firms, for a period longer than
one year; provided, that no such contract shall be made to bind the corpo-
rations for a longer period than fifteen years; to establish new avenues,
streets, alleys and sidewalks; to open, widen, narrow, repair, pave, pike,
straighten, extend, stop up or discontinue avenues, streets, alleys and
sidewalks now or hereafter to be laid out or used, and such as may here-
after be lawfully established; to levy and collect taxes for establishing,
opening, narrowing, closing, paving, piking, straightening, repairing and
keeping in order said avenues, streets, alleys and sidewalks, and the roads
leading from and to said town; provided, that when any avenue, street,
alley or sidewalk shall be opened, widened, straightened or closed, the full
value of all property taken and used for such avenue, street, alley or side-
walk or damages to be sustained in closing the same, in whole or in part,
shall be assessed by the commissioners, and the said full value so assessed
shall be paid or offered to be paid to> the proprietors of said property
before the said avenue, street, alley or sidewalk is opened, widened,
straightened or closed, and any proprietor who may feel aggrieved by
such action of the commissioners, shall be entitled to an appeal at any
time within thirty days of such offer of payment, to the Circuit Court for
said County, and such appeal shall be heard and determined as appeals
from justices of the peace are now heard; and the commissioners, in
assessing the damages to said land ta-ken, shall take into consideration the
benefits and advantages derived by the proprietors thereby.
Hanna v. Young, 84 Md. 179.

1916, ch. 680. sec. 87.

98. The said commissioners shall have authority to elect a chairman,
secretary, and treasurer, from among their own number; and all ordi-
nances passed by them shall be signed by the chairman and attested by
the secretary, and no compensation shall be made to them for any service