COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

1005

	147. Oath of examiners.	162. Establishment of public landings.
	148. Meeting of examiners.	163. Proceedings similar to those for pub-
	149. Report to county commissioners.	lic roads.
	150. To give reasons for their opinion.
	151. Consent of owner, when necessary;	Schools.
	Allegany, Baltimore, Montgomery, Washington and Wicomico counties	164. County commissioners authorized to receive and control money given in
	excepted. 152. Width of roads.	trust by will or deed for purposes of
		education.
	153. Ascertainment of damages, how made. 154. By whom to be paid. 155. To whom to be paid.	165. State's attorneys are charged with duty of seeing to proper execution of such trusts.
	156. Petitioners to pay cost when petition
	dismissed.
	157. Action of county commissioners on	Farmers' Co-operative Demonstration' Work.
	return of examiners.
	158. Compensation of examiners.	166. Appropriations authorized for farm-
	159. Levy to pay cost of opening.	ers' co-operative demonstration work
	160-161. Sign boards; penalty for injuring.	in connection with U. S. Depart-
		ment of Agriculture or Md. Agri-
	Public Landings.	cultural College.

General Provisions.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 1. 1912, sec. 1. 1904, sec. 1. 1888, sec. 1. 1874, ch. 411. 1906, ch. 249.
1910, ch. 664 (p. 85). 1929, ch. 354.

1. The county commissioners of each county in this State are declared
to be a corporation and shall have full power to appoint road supervisors,
collectors of taxes, trustees of the poor, a clerk to their board, and all other
officers, agents and servants required for county purpose not otherwise pro-
vided for by law or by the constitution, and they shall have charge of and
control over the property owned by the county, and over county roads and
bridges, and whenever in their opinion the public interests require or will
be thereby advanced, may commit the whole matter of grading and con-
structing public roads and the repairs thereof, and the construction and
repairs of public bridges to the charge of competent and scientifically edu-
cated civil engineers, who shall direct and manage all such public works
under the immediate control of said county commissioners, and who shall
hold office for such time, with such salary, under such bond and subject to
such regulations as may be directed by the said county commissioners from
time to time, and calculated to secure competent officers and a faithful dis-
charge of duty.

This section and sees. 2, 4 and 14 referred to in construing art. 89B, sec. 4—see notes
thereto. Huffman v. State Roads Commn., 152 Md. 578.

See notes to sec. 162.

Authority of county commissioners.

County commissioners have limited authority and persons dealing with them are
charged with knowledge of the extent of their powers. Their charters need not spe-
cifically designate every act they may do, nor every officer they may appoint. It is
the duty of county commissioners to assess unassessed lands for taxation; hence, they
may employ a person to make abstracts of title of unassessed lands, and if his report
is adopted, or, being received, ought to be adopted, they must pay for it. Tasker v.
Garrett County, 82 Md. 153.

County commissioners can only perform acts expressly or impliedly permitted by
their charter. Peter v. Prettyman, 62 Md. 571.

County commissioners have discretion to determine which public roads at any time
need repairing, etc., and the amount to be expended. Blundon v. Crosier, 93 Md. 358.

County commissioners may provide by an agreement for construction, grading and
bridging of a road to the satisfaction of the roads engineer. Riggs v. Winterode,
100 Md. 444.