'730 . ARTICLE 3.

.agents or employeees, exercising the business of a common carrier, per-
mitting his or its vehicles of steam or other engines or cars to obstruct
any crossing for a longer period than ten minutes at any one time shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be liable to arrest and prosecution
at the instance of any road official, his or their representatives, or at the
instance of any taxpayer of the county, and upon conviction by any jus-
tice of the peace exercising criminal jurisdiction in Baltimore County
shall be fined in any amount not less than one dollar nor more than fifty
dollars for each offense; any person arrested under this section shall have
the right to elect that his case be sent to the Circuit Court for trial. All
fines collected under this section shall be paid into the General Road
and Bridge Fund of the county.

1904, ch. 465. B. Co. C. (1908), sec. 344. B. Co. C. (1916), sec. 499. Acts 1927, ch.
184. 1920, ch. 4. 1922, ch. 165. B. Co. C. (1928), sec. 589.

589. The County Commissioners of Baltimore County shall, after the
passage of this Act, annually on or before the first day of January, appoint
as Baltimore County Roads Engineer a man having the degree of civil
engineer and experience in bridge and road building, or a man who has
had at least ten years' experience in road and bridge building, in a super-
visory and executive capacity, in charge of important road and bridge
work. The Baltimore County Roads Engineer shall be directly answer-
able to the County Commissioners of Baltimore County for the faithful
and efficient discharge of his duties and it shall be the duty of said County
Commissioners to remove him from office and he shall be removable from

office by them for neglect of duty, inefficiency, dishonesty and for any

other cause, matter or thing whatsoever which in the opinion of said
County Commissioners necessitates his removal for the better, more effi-

cient or more economical administration of county affairs relating to
roads. But the Baltimore County Roads Engineer shall not be remov-
able from his office by the County Commissioners except after written

charges preferred against him and an opportunity to be heard in his

defense afforded him. Hearings in regard to removal of the Roads Engi-
neer from office shall be public, and there shall be no appeal from the
decisions of the 'County Commissioners thereon. Whenever a vacancy exists
in the office of the Roads Engineer, the County Commissioners of Balti-
more County shall immediately fill the same.

The Baltimore County Roads Engineer shall be responsible to the Coun-
ty Commissioners for the proper expenditure of all money collected, by
levy or otherwise, for county road and bridge purposes. He shall have
power to employ so many and such mechanics and laborers as he may
think necessary for the proper construction, care and maintenance of the

county roads and fix the wages thereof. He shall have power to appoint
so many and such assistants, inspectors, foremen and clerks as he may
think necessary and fix their salaries, subject to the approval of said
County Commissioners. He shall have power to arbitrarily discharge any
of his employees or appointees, without the consent of the County Com-
missioners, but whenever anyone appointed by him and whose salary has