trict from overflow. Such election shall be called by posting notices in three of the most public places in said district for ten days, and by publication in a newspaper printed in said county. Said notices shall contain the time and place of holding said election, the names of the Inspector and Judges of said election, who shall conduct such election, as near as practicable, in conformity with the general Election Laws, except registration shall not be required. At said election the ballots shall contain the words "Tax-Yes," or "Tax-No;" and also the name of one person as Assessor and Tax Collector. If a majority of the If majority votes cast are "Tax-Yes," then the Board of Supervisors shall vote in favor so proclaim it and proceed to levy, and levy a tax on all the property of said district, which tax shall not exceed two per cent. on such property. They shall also cause certificates of election to issue to the persons having the highest number of votes for the respective offices. Said officers shall hold their respective offices until the next general election for county officers, when their successors shall be elected. After said general election said Assessor and Tax Collector shall hold their respective offices for two years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. The County Surveyor of the County of Duty of Sutter shall be ex officio Engineer of all such levee districts in levee disthe county, and shall make such surveys, levels and estimates, superintend all works, and shall give general direction for all their construction, subject to the control of said Board of Supervisors; for which he shall charge and receive five dollars for each and every day so employed; and no portion of a levee or other work shall be received from contractors or others contracting the same, until approved by the Engineer and by the Board, as being in accordance with the terms of the contract. Said engineer may employ such assistance and upon such terms as the Board may authorize. Engineer of tricts. trict officers. SEC. 4. The Assessor and Tax Collector for levee districts other diserected by or under this Act shall have, while in the discharge of their duties, all the power and authority given by law to District or County Assessors and Tax Collectors, and shall give such bonds for the faithful performance of their duties as the Board of Supervisors shall require. The Levee Superintendent shall have the supervision and care of all levees or works built under this Act in his district, under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, to whom he shall report at such times as they may require. SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of said Board of Supervisors, Assessments whenever any portion of said county has been erected into a levee district for protection from overflow as herein provided, to cause the Levee District Assessor to at once proceed to assess all the property in said levee district; and in making such assessment, said Assessor shall assess the value of such real estate and personal property, placing the same in distinct and separate columns in the assessment roll prepared by him. Said assessment roll shall be called "Special Levee Assessment Roll of District Number One, Two or Three," as the case may be. SEC. 6. The assessments mentioned in section five shall be Assessment completed as soon as practicable; and immediately upon their roll. completion, the Assessor shall deliver the assessment roll to the Equalization County Auditor, who shall forthwith give notice by publication in a newspaper printed in the county that the special assessment roll of Levee District Number One, Two or Three, as the case may be, has been completed and is in his possession, open for examination, and that the Board of Equalization will, upon a day to be named in the notice, which day shall not be less than five nor more than ten days from the publication of the notice, meet to hear and determine complaints in regard to valuation and assessments therein. SEC. 7. Upon the day specified in the notice required by section six, for the meeting, the Board of Equalization shall meet and continue in session from day to day so long as may be necessary, not to exceed ten days, exclusive of Sundays, to hear and determine such objections to the valuations and assessments as may come before them; and the Board may change the valuation as may be just, and may cite any person to appear before them and answer concerning his property. The Clerk of the Board shall be present during its sessions and note all alterations in value, or in the owners thereof; and within ten days after the close of the session he shall have the total values, as finally equalized by the Board, extended into columns and Collection. added up, and deliver the same to the District Collector of the particular levee district for which it has been made, who shall give notice that said taxes are due and payable at his office; and if not paid on or before the third Monday of November next succeeding, the same shall become delinquent, and shall be passed over to the District Attorney for collection, under the same rules as apply to delinquent State or county taxes. The taxes levied under and by virtue of this Act for any levee district shall constitute a special fund for that district, and shall be called the "Levee Fund of District Number One, Two or Three," as the case may be; and when collected shall be paid into the County Treasury to the credit of the Levee District Fund of the levee district wherein the tax was levied and collected; and the money shall be drawn out of said fund as hereinafter provided. A special tax for levee purposes shall be levied annually for each levee district erected in said county, not exceeding the rate per cent. named in section three of this Act; and a special assessment for levee purposes, and a special levee assessment roll for each levee district, shall be annually made. Special Fund Land to be SEC. 8. The Board of Supervisors, their agents or employés, condemned. may immediately enter upon and take possession of any land that may be necessary for any levee or work of protection within any district, or in the county outside the district, that may be necessary or proper to furnish material for its construction, and may have the same condemned for public use; provided, however, that if the same be private and individual property, and the rights and privileges necessary be not granted by the owner or owners thereof, the Board of Supervisors shall petition the County Judge of the County of Sutter to appoint three appraisers to assess the damages arising from the taking of such land or material; and said Judge shall thereupon appoint three disinterested persons, who shall have full power to proceed to such premises and to examine, hear and determine all questions of damages and injuries to such land arising from Damages. such taking, and to award the amount of the same to the person or persons entitled thereto; but if it shall appear to said appraisers that the building of such levee or other work of protection will be of more benefit than injury to the property of the party so denying the right of way, then said appraisers shall report the amount of such benefit; and for this purpose, said appraisers shall have power to administer oaths. Said appraisers shall make their report to said Judge, and the same shall be approved or set aside by him, for cause shown; and if set aside, he shall appoint other appraisers, who shall proceed in like manner; and as soon as such awards shall be affirmed by said Judge it shall have the effect of a judgment; and if said final Awards. award or judgment be in favor of the party so claiming damages, the Board of Supervisors shall order it to be paid in the same manner as other claims against the particular district; but if it be against said party so claiming damages, the District Attorney is hereby authorized to collect the amount of such award for the benefit of the particular levee district. structed. SEC. 9. When it shall be found necessary to use any levee or Works embankment, or work of protection which has heretofore been already conconstructed by private enterprise, the said levee, embankment or other work shall be measured, estimated and paid for to the owner or owners, or person or persons who contributed towards building the same, in proportion to the amount of each one's contribution, at the contract price; and the sum so paid shall be deducted from the amount to be paid the contractor. tions. SEC. 10. As soon as said Board of Supervisors have finally Plans and adopted a plan for the protection of any levee district, they specificashall divide it into any convenient number of sections, and shall give notice for a period not less than ten days, by publication in a newspaper printed in the County of Sutter, if there be one, or such newspaper or newspapers published in adjoining counties as the Board may direct, for bids for the construction of each separate section of any levee or other work of protection against overflow, or for the whole work; and that plans and specifications can be seen at the County Clerk's office; and that the Board of Supervisors are prepared to receive sealed pro- Proposals. posals for the construction of such work in accordance with the plaus and specifications; and that the same will be let to the lowest responsible bidder or bidders, stating the time and place said proposals will be received and opened, which bids, at the time and place appointed, shall be opened in public; and as soon as convenient thereafter the Board shall let said work, either in sections or as a whole, to such bidder or bidders as they shall deem most advantageous, or they may reject any or all bids and re-advertise for proposals. If there should be two or more equal bids for the same section, and one of the bidders be the owner of the land on which said work is to be built, then the preference shall be given to such owner. SEC. 11. Any person or persons to whom a contract may be Contracts. awarded shall enter into a bond with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by said Board of Supervisors, payable to the State of California, for the use of such levee district, for double the amount of the contract price, conditioned for the faithful performance of said contract. 320 Payment. Work to be completed in four months. Register of warrants. Redemption SEC. 12. When any specified portion of the work under con- on any Levee District Fund shall be paid out of any money in SEC. 13. Any contract entered into for the construction of SEC. 14. When there shall be sufficient money in any Levee of warrants. Fund to redeem warrants drawing interest payable therefrom, the County Treasurer shall give notice in a newspaper printed in said county, if there be one, or by notice posted in some public place, stating therein that he is ready to redeem said warrants; and from the date of such notice said warrants shall cease to draw interest. In such notice the warrants shall not be mentioned in detail, but the Treasurer shall state therein only that warrants drawn on the Levee Fund of such a levee district (giving its number), and presented for payment prior to a certain date (stating the date), are redeemable; provided, that when only a part of the warrants presented for payment on the same day are redeemable, the Treasurer shall designate such redeemable warrants in the notice. When a warrant is redeemable, the interest, if any, shall be noted thereon, distinct from the principal. Warrants shall be paid in the order of their registry; and when a warrant is not presented for payment within sixty days from the date of this notice herein required, the money set aside for the payment of such warrant shall be applied to the redemption of unpaid warrants next in order of registry; provided, that the Board of Supervisors may, on application and presentation of warrants properly indorsed and advertised, pass an order directing the County Treasurer to redeem and cancel such warrants out of any money in the proper Levee Fund not otherwise appropriated. SEC. 15. No member of the Board of Supervisors, and no be interested county officer, or Levee District Assessor and Tax Collector, or Public offiLevee Superintendent, shall be concerned or interested, either cers not ste directly or indirectly, as principal, partner or agent, in any in contracts. contract to be awarded by the Board under this Act, or in the profits to be derived therefrom; and any such official person being convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of felony, and such conviction shall work a forfeiture of his office, and he shall be punished by imprisoment in the State Prison for a period not less than one nor more than four years. SEC. 16. All taxes levied and collected by virtue of this Act shall be paid in gold or silver coin of the United States. SEC. 17. Said Board shall cause to be recorded by the County Recorder, in a book to be kept exclusively for that purpose, a certified statement of the boundaries of each levee district established by said Board. injuring SEC. 18. Any person or persons who shall wilfully or ma- Penalty for liciously cut, injure or destroy, or attempt to cut, injure or levees. destroy, any levee or other work of protection built under the provisions of this Act, or that may be in charge of said Board of Supervisors, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and upon conviction thereof before any Court of competent jurisdiction shall be fined in any sum not less than fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or be confined in the State Prison not less than one nor more than five years, or may be both fined and imprisoned, at the discretion of the Court. SEC. 19. When a levee district has been created under the Annual tax. provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of the Board, annually thereafter, and at the time of levying the annual tax for county purposes, to annually levy a tax, not exceeding the per cent. and in the manner and upon the basis herein before provided, upon the property in such levee district or districts, respectively; and the same shall be collected and paid into the County Treasury, as herein before provided, to the credit of the Levee Fund of each district from which such tax is collected, respectively, and be paid as herein before provided upon contracts for building, and for work, labor or material done or used in enlarging, strengthening, repairing, protecting, and such other expenses as may be necessarily incurred in keeping up the levee of the district to which each fund belongs, respectively. mitted. SEC. 20. The Board of Supervisors are hereby authorized Taxes reand required to remit the taxes on all the property left between Feather River and the levee or embankment in District Number One; and said Board, in their discretion and for good cause shown, shall remit such other tax in said district as may to them seem just and proper. of districts. SEC. 21. Whenever a petition shall be received by said Board Formation of Supervisors from persons in possession of more than one half of the acres of any specified portion of said county, asking to be set apart and erected into a levee district, said Board shall at once erect such territory into a levee district and place it under the provisions of this Act, to be called Levee District Number Two, Three, and so on, as the case may be; provided, that it shall |