362                               Laws of Maryland                        [Ch. 287

the duties of his office, shall take an oath before the Clerk of the
Circuit Court for said County, in form similar to that taken by
collectors of taxes, except as to the title of the office. The Commis-
sion is hereby empowered to pay the premiums on all bonds. All
checks issued by said Commission shall be countersigned by the
chairman. The said Commission shall annually have its accounts
audited by a certified public accountant, to be selected by said Com-
mission, and paid by said Commission, and publish a full, true and
itemized account, under oath, of its receipts and disbursements in a
newspaper published in said Howard County.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Commission shall
cause surveys, plans, specifications and estimates to be made for
water supply, sewerage and drainage systems in those portions of
Howard County, or any other project within or outside Howard
County as referred to in Section 14 herein, in which the Commission
exercises authority, and shall divide each sub-district into water,
sewerage and drainage districts in such way as shall, in its judgment,
best serve the needs of the various communities, and shall promote
convenience and economy of installation and operation. Whenever,
and as, such plans are completed, the Commission shall give notice
by publication in one newspaper published within the County, for
three weeks, and by handbills posted and circulated in the localities
where said improvements are contemplated, and shall state in said
notice the probable cost of the contemplated improvements, and shall
further state therein that plans of the improvements may be in-
spected at the Commission's office and that any person interested in
said improvements will be heard by the Commission at a time to be
specified in the notice, but not less than ten days after first publica-
tion thereof. If ten residents and landowners in the district wherein
the improvements are contemplated shall thereupon, and within ten
days after the last of said publications of said notice, file a petition
with the Commission protesting against the proposed improvement,
the Commission shall grant them a hearing within ten days after such
petition is filed in the office of the Commission and after not less than
five days notice of the time and place of said hearing by advertise-
ment published in one newspaper published within the County, and
by personal notices addressed to any one or more persons whose names
are signed to said petition. After due hearing as aforesaid, the Com-
mission shall decide upon the reasonableness of the objections stated
in the petition; and shall dispose of the same by written order con-
curred in by a majority of the Commissioners, which order shall be
published in the same manner as notices are herein required to be
published and a copy of which shall be mailed to any one or more of
the petitioners. If the petitioners are not satisfied with the Com-
mission's decision, they shall have the right to take and enter, within
ten days after the last publication of said order as aforesaid, an ap-
peal to the County Commissioners of Howard County, who shall re-
view the Commission's decision and decide as to the necessity and
propriety of the improvement contemplated and whether the district
can stand the cost of the same; and the decision of the County Com-
missioners shall be final.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of retiring
the bonds authorized to be issued by this Act and of paying the in-
terest thereon, and for the payment of salaries and other expenses
of the Commission, the Commission shall cause to be levied, against