other criminal cases, for which he shall forfeit his office and be forever disqualified from receiving or holding any office under this Act; and, on conviction thereof, he shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars, or imprisonment not to exceed one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and any person or officer who shall wilfully swear falsely in any matter in making any affidavit pro- falsely. vided for in this Act, shall be deemed guilty of the crime of perjury, and shall be liable to indictment and punishment therefor. It shall be the duty of the Mayor and of the City Attorney to take care Duty of Mayor that this section shall be enforced against all offending persons. For swearing and Attorney. SEC. 47. It shall be the duty of every executive officer under Estimates of this Act to make up and transmit to the Common Council, at its officers. first meeting in each month, through the Controller, an estimate, verified by his oath or affirmation, of the probable expenses of his office for the then current month, for fuel, lights and stationery, specifying item by item. The Common Council shall appropriate a sum to each officer, not exceeding the monthly estimate thus made by him; but they may reduce the same. No further amount shall be allowed on account of expenses. The estimate for the monthly Estimate of expenses of the Common Council and each Board thereof, shall be Council, &c. made by the clerk of the Common Council, through the Controller in the same manner and subject to the same provisions as the other estimates for expenses. SEC. 48. All city officers in receipt of fines, fees or other moneys Payment of fees belonging to the city, shall pay the same weekly, on the morning of Saturday, under oath, into the Treasury, and report the same to the Controller; and no officer shall be entitled to receive his salary. until he shall have filed with the Controller a written affidavit, according to a form to be prepared by the City Attorney, that he has faithfully accounted for and paid over all moneys for which he was or is liable to account and pay over, within the month for which he draws his salary. Oath of officers. SEC. 49. The members of the Common Council and the other oath of office. officers to be elected or appointed under this Act, shall, before entering upon their respective duties, take the oath of office as prescribed by law; and they may, by ordinance not inconsistent with law, further provide the duties of the several officers in this Act named. ordinances. SEC. 50. The style of the ordinances of the city shall be, "The Style of people of the City of San Francisco do ordain as follows." All ordinances shall, within five days after their passage, be published in Publication. at least one daily newspaper of the city, and may be proven by the seal of the corporation, and when printed and published by authority of the corporation, the same shail be received in evidence in all courts and places in this city, without further proof. They also may be read as evidence from any written or printed copy thereof, certified under the seal of the city and the certificate of the clerk of the Common Council, to be a copy of an existing ordinance, with the date of its passage. Tax for Com SEC. 51. The Common Council shall have power, and it is hereby made their duty, to provide and maintain free Common Schools within mon Schools. the city; to raise, annually, for school purposes, by tax upon all the real and personal property within the city, subject to taxation, valued according to the City Assessor's list, whatever amount of omney may be requisite, not exceeding one half of one per cent. on the valuation, in addition to all other taxes; out of which fund they may appropriate, annually, for Collection of school moneys. Board of Salary. Ballot for the purchase of the necessary building sites for school houses, a sum not exceeding twenty thousand dollars; for the erection of permanent buildings thereon, a sum not exceeding thirty thousand dollars; and further, to provide, by ordinance, for the collection, custody and disbursement of all school moneys to all schools entitled by law to receive the same, and for drawing from the State and County Treasurers any such moneys to which the city may be entitled; to provide, by ordinance, for the election, by the people at large, and at the time of the general election, of at least eight persons, or whatever larger even number may be deemed necessary, to constitute a Board of Education, of which the Mayor shall be "ex officio" President; also, for the election of a Superintendent of Public Schools, whose duty shall be prescribed and salary fixed by ordinance, not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. The said Board of Education shall, at their first meeting, after the first election under this Act, draw each a ballot from a ballot box, in which a number of ballots equal to the number of elected members shall have been placed, on one half the number of which the word odd shall have been inscribed, and on the other half the word even. Those drawing the word odd shall hold office for one year and those drawing the word even for two years. At all succeeding general elections members shall be elected for two years. The said Board of Education shall make all necessary rules and regulations for the government of the Public Schools, not inconsistent with the laws of this State, and for the division and classification of the same Disbursement of into grades and departments; and all money received into the city treasury, for school purposes, shall be kept as a special deposit, and shall only be paid out in pursuance to an ordinance expressing partic ularly for what school purposes the same is appropriated, and conform in other respects to the provisions of this Act; provided, however, that the rate of taxation shall not exceed two dollars on each hundred dollars. term of office. Further duty. school money. Proviso. Tax for annual expenditures. Power to lay SEC. 52. They shall have power to levy and collect such a sum of money or revenue as shall be requisite to meet the annual expenditure of the City Government, by an equal and uniform tax upon all the property, real and personal, within the city limits, which is, by law, subject to taxation for State and county purposes. SEC. 53. They shall have power, by ordinance, to provide for out streets, &c. the laying out, surveying, opening, grading, regulating, planking, paving, sewering, or in any other way or manner improving or constructing all or any public streets, ways or grounds within said city, as hereinafter provided. Assessment of costs. Private property. Damages, how ascertained. SEC. 54. The cost and expenses of all such works shall be assessed upon the property particularly benefitted thereby, in proportion to the benefit received from such work by said property, exclusive of the general benefit shared by said property, in common with the rest of the city. SEC. 55. They shall have the power to take private property for public purposes, after having ascertained, according to law, the damages to be paid to the owner or owners thereof, which damages the city shall pay before such property shall have been so taken and appropri ated. SEC. 56. The damages mentioned in the last section shall be ascertained by the Commissioner of Assessments, who shall have power to take testimony and make their decision in writing; due notice of the time and place of session being given to the owner or his agent; an appeal may be taken by either party, within ten days, and not afterwards, to a District Court of the county of San Francisco, upon Appeals to complying with the requirements of law for an appeal to the said Dist. Court. Court. On appeal, the question of damages shall be tried by a jury, and the said Court shall have power to bring up all proceedings below ment of Court by "certiorari" to compel the attendance of witnesses, and issue all Power and judg other necessary legal process. The judgment of the said Court shall be final, except where a matter is sent back for a new determination by Exception. the Commissioners of Assessment. sioners. DEC. 57. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners of Assessment, Duty of Commisto ascertain the cost and expenses of any work mentioned in section fifty-three, and, in making such inquiry, they shall take into consideration the expenses of surveys and engineering, and shall assess and apportion such cost and expenses as is provided in section fifty-four. SEC. 58. When such assessment and apportionment is concluded, Statement of a statement thereof, fairly written, and endorsed with the name of the assessment. street and every street on which property fronts which is therein assessed, together with a map thereof, shall be filed in the office of the County Recorder; and, from the time of the filing thereof, as aforesaid, such assessments shall be and remain liens upon the real estate affected thereby, and shall take precedence of all subsequent liens. SEC. 59. Any party affected by such assessment may have the like Appeal. appeal as is provided in section fifty-six. SEC. 60. The city shall not be assessed with nor pay any part of work paid for the expense of such work, except for so much thereof as is done at the by city. intersection or crossing of streets, or in constructing public sewers, or for so much as is properly assessed upon real estate, under section fifty four, which is owned by the city. SEC. 61. Whenever the owners of two thirds of the land fronting on Order of Council. any street, or proposed street, or way, shall present their petition to the Common Council, praying for any work mentioned in section fifty three, the Common Council shall order the same to be done. Notice of SEC. 62. Whenever the Common Council, either upon its own motion or upon the petition of any person or persons interested, shall deem it advisable that any such work should be done, they shall give notice, by advertisement in a daily city newspaper, for twenty succes- work. sive days, of their intention to have such work done, and unless, at the expiration of said twenty days, the owners of more than one third of the land fronting on the proposed improvements, shall, in writing, object thereto, the Common Council shall have power to order the said Power of work to be done, the expenses being assessed as provided in section Council. fifty-four. When the Common Council shall determine, according to the provisions of this section, to order such work to be done, they shall give notice by advertisement in a daily newspaper published in the City Notice for of San Francisco for ten days, that they will, at their next regular proposals. meeting after the expiration of said ten days, receive proposals for the erection of said work. Said proposals shall, at such meeting, be opened by a joint committee composed of three members of each Board. who shall award the contract for such work, to the lowest responsible bidder, Award of if they shall deem the bid a reasonable one, who shall, by virtue of such award, be authorized to proceed to complete such work in a reasonable time, and shall be entitled to recover compensation therefor in the manner hereinafter provided. The Common Council shall not have power to enter into any written contract with such contractor, nor to issue any warrants or other evidence of city indebtedness in favor of such contractor, except as hereinafter provided; but the sole recourse contract. Recourse of contractor. Contracts of Duty of of such contractor for his compensation for the work done, shall be upon the property on such street so graded, planked or otherwise improved, or on such property immediately adjacent thereto as shall appear, by the decision of the Commissioners of Assessments, to be benefited thereby, in the proportion of such assessed benefits; or upon the owner or owners thereof, who shall be liable to the individual suit of the contractor; and all such written contracts entered into, or warrants issued by the Common Council, for such purposes, shall be absolutely null and void as against the city, except when issued as is hereinafter provided. SEC. 63. Whenever it shall appear to the Tax Collector, by the affidavit of any contractor, that a demand in writing has been made upon the owner or owners of any property assessed for the payment of the assessment thereon, or, if a non-resident, upon his authorized agent if he has one, or that diligent search has been made for such owner or agent, and that he or they are unknown or absent, and that such assessment has remained unpaid for more than twenty days after such demand or diligent search; or, where no personal service has been made, that such written demand has been, for the like time, conspicuously posted on the assessed premises, it shall be the duty of the said Tax Collector to sell such assessed premises in the same manner and with the like notice as in case of real estate under execution. Upon such sale the Tax Collector shall sell such assessed premises for the lowest term for which any person will take the same in consideration of paying the assessment with all expenses thereon; and the Tax Collector shall give such purchaser a certificate of such sale, which shall be prima facie evidence of the regularity and sufficiency of all preliminary proceedings and shall entitle the purchaser to the possession of said land and the rents, issues, and the profit thereon for the term for which it was sold, unless the owner thereof, or some person in his behalf, shall, within six months from the day of sale, pay to the purchaser, or to the Tax Collector for his use, the amount paid by him to the Tax Collector, with interest at the rate of twenty-four per cent. per annum, with all legal Council to issue charges thereon. And it shall be the duty of the Common Council to order the issue of warrants in favor of any contractor, whenever the Tax Collector shall certify to them that he has collected all the assessments, as herein before provided. upon any street on which work has been done on the contract of such contractor, payable out of the specific fund so collected as assessments on such street, and none other. Certificate of sale. warrants. Commissioners of Assessment. Council to con firm title, etc. SEC. 64. The Chairman of the Board of City Assessors and the Chairman of the Committee on Strects from each Board of Aldermen shall constitute the Commissioners of Assessment. SEC. 65. The Common Council shall have power to confirm, dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the title to lands or other property of the city, except as hereinafter or otherwise provided by law. SEC. 66. All public buildings belonging to the city, together Property exempt with the furniture, (including fire engine houses and apparatus), and from taxation the lands occupied by them if owned by the city, and all public squares, lands and plazas, ships and basins of the city, shall be forever exempt from sale on execution and from taxation; and the interest of the city in all public wharves, piers and docks, shall be exempt from sale on execution forever. Fiscal year! Taxation SEC. 67. The fiscal year of the city shall commence on the first Monday of July. SEO. 68. Taxation shall be uniform throughout the city. SEC. 69. All contracts for work or supplies of any kind for the Contracts. City of San Francisco, and for the city printing, shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder after due notice given through the public newspapers. Exclusive SEC. 70. The Common Council shall have no power to grant exclusive privileges, or to pass any ordinance to require the weighing, privileges. measuring, gauging or inspecting any merchandize, produce, manufacture or commodity by any city officer; but nothing in this section shall prevent the passage of any ordinance essential to the protection of the public health or morals. SEC. 71. All salaries allowed under this Act shall be payable Salaries. monthly. Common SEC. 72. The powers granted by this Act to the Common Council, or either Board thereof, or to any officer of the city government, Council. shall be to the exclusion of all further and other powers, except those directly necessary to carry out the powers by this Act granted. SEC. 73. The Act entitled "An Act to re-incorporate the City of San Francisco," passed April fifteenth, eighteen hundred and Acts declared fifty-one, is, and all other Acts and parts of Acts, inconsistent with inapplicable. the provisions of this Act, are hereby declared inapplicable to San Francisco; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be con- Proviso. strued to impair the obligation of any valid contract executed under any of said Acts, or divest the City of San Francisco of any rights in property, or under any valid contract, which have heretofore accrued or vested in said city under the same. CHAPTER CXCVIII. AN ACT To provide for the Purchase of the San Francisco Law Library, for the use of the State. [Approved May 5, 1855.] The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and SECTION 1. The sum of seventeen thousand two hundred and fifty Amount dollars ($17,250 00) is hereby appropriated out of any money in the appropriated. Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purchase of the San Francisco Law Library, for the use of the State. Library. SEC. 2. The Secretary of State is hereby authorized and empowered to receive said library, and place the same in the State Library; and the Judges of the Supreme Court shall at all times have the use Judges. of said library, un ler the same rules and regulations that now govern and control the State Library; and the Secretary of State shall receipt for the same. |