the inspection of buildings. The board for the inspection of buildings and the inspector of buildings shall have, and exercise such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by ordinance and concurrent resolution. [Amended 1891, chap 7.]

SEC. 108. [Park commissioners.]-In each city of the metropolitan class there shall be a board of park commissioners who shall have charge of all the parks and public grounds belonging to the city, and the streets and alleys in any cemetery situated within the limits of such city, which said streets and alleys have been or may hereafter be dedicated to and for the use of the public without obligation to keep in repair by said board; with power to establish rules for the management, care and use of public parks and parkways, streets and alleys; and it shall be the duty of said board from time to time to devise, suggest and recommend to the mayor and council a system of public parks, parkways and boulevards, or additions thereto, within the city or within three miles of the limits thereof, and to designate the lands and grounds necessary to be used, purchased or appropriated for such purpose. And thereupon it shall be the duty of the mayor and council to take such action as may be necessary for the appropriation of the lands and grounds so designated, and for the purpose of making payments for such lands and grounds, assess such real estate as may be specially benefited by reason of the appropriation thereof for such purpose; and issue bonds as may be required for such purpose to the extent and amount required in excess of such assessment. And said mayor and council are further authorized upon the recommendation of said park commission, and with their concurrence to negotiate for, and purchase in the name of said city, lands within the limits herein designated to be used and improved for park purposes, notwithstanding said limits include land within the corporate boundaries of other cities or villages, and if such lands are in the limits of other cities or villages, said cities or villages shall cease to have jurisdiction over the said lands after the said land is ac-. quired for park purposes as aforesaid, by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, and said commission are hereby authorized to purchase or condemn land in cities or villages within said limits. And for the purpose of paying for and improving the same, may appropriate money from the general fund of said city not otherwise appropriated, or may issue bonds for the purpose of such purchase and improvement to an amount not to exceed five hundred thousand ($500,000.00) dollars within three years from the taking effect of this act, and thereafter not to exceed fifty thousand ($50,000.00) dollars per year. Said bonds to be designated and known as "Park Bonds" and to be issued and used in accordance with the provisions governing the issuance of sewer, funding and other public improvement bonds by this act contemplated. Provided, No such bonds shall be issued until the question of their issuing the same has been submitted to the electors of the city at a general election therein, and authorized by a vote of two-thirds (3) of the electors voting on such question at such election. Where improvements are made upon or in streets or sidewalks adjacent to, and abutting upon parks, parkways and similar grounds in the charge and control of said board of park commissioners, the cost or expense of which would otherwise be chargeable to the city the same shall be paid from the "Park" fund tax hereinafter provided; and said commissioners are hereby directed to pay the cost of such improvements. Said board of park commissioners shall be composed of five (5) members who shall be resident free holders of such city, and who shall be appointed by the judges of the district court of the judicial district in which such city shall be situated. The members of said board shall be appointed by said judges, a majority of said judges concurring, on the second Tuesday of May, 1889, or on the second Tuesday of May following the creation under this act of any city of the metropolitan class, one for the term of one year, one for the term of two years, one for the term of three years, one for the term of four years, and one for the term of five years; and after the appointment of said five members, it shall be the duty of said judges, a majority concurring, to appoint or reappoint one member of said board each year, on the second Tuesday of May. A majority of all the members of the board of park commissioners shall constitute a quorum. It shall be the duty of said board of park commissioners to

lay out, improve, and beautify all grounds now owned or hereafter acquired for public parks and employ a secretary and also such landscape gardeners, superintendents, keepers, assistants, or laborers as may be necessary for the proper care and maintenance of such parks or the improvement or beautifying thereof, to the extent that funds may be provided for such purposes. The members of said board at its first meeting each year, after the first Tuesday in May, shall elect one of their own members as chairman of said board. Before entering upon their duties each member of said board shall take an oath, to be filed with the city clerk, that he will faithfully perform the duties of his appointment, and in the selection or designation of lands for parks or boulevards, and in making appointments he will act for the best interests of such city and the public, and will not in any manner be actuated or influenced by personal or political motives. The chairman of said board shall receive a salary of six hundred dollars per annum and the other members of said board of park commissioners shall each receive a salary of two hundred dollars per annum. For the purpose of paying such salaries, providing funds for laying out, improving, or beautifying parks and public grounds, and providing for the payment of the salaries and wages of the employes of said board, the mayor and council shall each year at the time of making the levy of taxes for general city purposes, make a levy of not less than one and one-half mills, and not exceeding three mills on the dollar valuation on all the real estate and personal property within the corporate limits of such city, taxable according to the laws of this state, and such fund to be known as the "park" fund, the warrants thereon to be drawn only in payment of accounts or claims audited by the said board of park commissioners, and the mayor and council are hereby authorized and empowered to make a levy for the purposes required by this section for the year 1889 upon the first Tuesday of April or the first regular meeting of the coun cil after the passage and approval of this act; Provided, That when the total valuation of property in said city for purposes of taxation shall in any one year exceed the sum of twenty-five millions of dollars, then and in that case the rate of levy for the tax. herein provided, shall be reduced and decreased in exact ratio and proportion to the increase in valuation of taxable property over and above the said sum of twenty-five millions of dollars. [Amended 1891, chap. 7.]

SEC. 109. [Boiler inspector.]-In all cities of the metropolitan class there shall be a boiler inspector, who shall be appointed by the mayor, with the approval of the city council. The boiler inspector shall be a practical, mechanical engineer, and perform such duties and have such powers concerning the inspection of steam boilers within the city as may be prescribed by ordinance, and he shall be authorized to charge such fees for the inspection of steam boilers and other steam generators as may be prescribed by ordinance, which he shall pay to the city treasurer at the end of each month, and he shall receive a salary at the rate of eighteen hundred (1800) dollars per annum, payable monthly, which shall be in full for all his services, and he shall not receive any other fee or perquisite. [Amended 1889, chap. 13.]

SEC. 110. [Comptroller.]- The comptroller shall act as the general accountant and fiscal agency of the city, and shall exercise a general supervision over all officers of the city charged in any manner with the receipt, collection, or disbursement of the city revenue. He shall be a competent book-keeper and accountant, and it shall be his duty, under the direction of the mayor and city council, to keep a complete set of books wherein shall be stated, among other things, the amount of the appropriation that has been made, or the fund that has been created for each distinct object of expenditure, and the amount that has been expended on account of such appropriation fund. He shall also keep full, clear, correct, and separate accounts of all the revenue funds and incomes payable into the city treasury, and of all disbursements on account thereof. He shall always keep accurate and separate accounts between the city and the officers of the city, and between the city and all contractors or other persons doing work or furnishing material for the city. He shall also keep a regular and accurate account of debit and ⚫ credit with the city treasurer, charging said treasurer with the amount of taxes levied on the assessment roll, and giving him credit for all duplicate receipts furnished with his statements, and keep an account in like manner with said treasurer whenever assessments or appropriations are made, and expenditures ordered for any special object. He shall also carefully examine and check the annual report of the city treasurer, and communicate to the city council as soon thereafter as practicable, the result of such examination; and he shall also carefully examine each month the account, statement, and vouchers required by law to be rendered at the end of each month by the city treasurer, making from time to time such reports to the city council concerning such account and statements as may seem necessary and proper. He shall also keep a record of the bonds issued by the city, and of the payment and cancellation of all bonds of the city, and shall see that all bonds, upon payment thereof, are properly cancelled and destroyed. He shall perform such other duties as may be required by ordinance, and he shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office, and he shall furnish a bond with at least two good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the council, in the sum of ten thousand ($10,000) dollars, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties. It shall be the duty of the mayor, on or before the first day of February of each year, to secure from the heads of each department of the city an estimate of the probable cost of such department for the current year following, and he shall submit such estimates to the city council, who shall thereupon make such corrections as shall be needed to embody the total expenditures on each of the several funds of the city, including rents, salaries, repairs, etc., and one copy of such revised estimate shall, within two weeks, be filed with the city comptroller, the mayor, and city clerk respectively. The comptroller shall thereupon deduct the amounts so shown from the limits of funds available for the expenditure of the city for the current year, and no contract or vote incurring an indebtedness for moneys payable out of any fund shall be made by the mayor or city council, and no final action shall be taken upon such proposed contract or indebtedness without the certificate of the comptroller that there are funds available to pay the same. And in no event shall any contract be made or indebtedness created in excess of the limit authorized by law, except in the event of an unforeseen accident, requiring immediate repair for the public good, which fact must be certified to by the board of public works, and only then with the concurrence of the mayor and two-thirds of the entire council. All bonds to be issued by cities of the metropolitan class shall be prepared and registered by the city comptroller before delivered to the city treasurer for issuance, and it shall be the duty of the city treasurer to promptly report to the comptroller detailed statements of all receipts of moneys from the proceeds of the sale of bonds, and to whom such bonds were sold. All warrants for payment of liabilities of the city shall be made and signed by the comptroller, signed by the mayor and issued by the comptroller. A monthly statement of all moneys and fees received by officers for the city must be reported on the first day of each subsequent month to the comptroller, in addition to the statement said officials are required to furnish the treasurer. The comptroller is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint one deputy to be paid by the city, but for whose acts and doings said comptroller shall be responsible. And during the absence, disability or inability to act of said comptroller, said deputy may, and he is hereby authorized, to do and perform any and all acts that might by such comptroller himself be done and performed if present. Such appointment shall be in writing and the same be reported in writing to the city council by the comptroller. [Amended 1891, chap. 7.]

SEC. 111. [Attorney.]-A city attorney shall be appointed by the mayor, by and with the consent of the city council. It shall be the duty of the city attorney to attend to all cases in any court in this state, except the police court and appeal cases therefrom, wherein the city may be a party, plaintiff or defendant, or a party in interest; to advise the city council, or any committee thereof, in writing when required, as to all legal questions that may arişe before them; to advise the mayor and all other officers in relation to their duties, and from time to time make such reports in relation to the suits in which the city is interested as may be required by the mayor or city council, and to perform such other duties, not inconsistent with the duties imposed by this act, as by ordinance may be directed. [Amended 1891, chap. 7.]

SEC. 112. [Assistant attorney--City prosecutor.]-An assistant city attorney, who shall be designated and nominated by the city attorney, shall be appointed by the mayor, by and with the consent of the city council. It shall be the duty of the assistant city attorney, under his direction, to assist the city attorney in the trial of all cases in which it is the duty of the city attorney to engage, and perform such other official duties as may be directed by the city attorney. He shall, in the absence, sickness, or inability to act, at his request, perform the duties of the city attorney, and shall attend the regular meetings of the city council; he shall attend to all cases on appeal from the police court for the violation of any city ordinances and may appear and assist the city prosecutor in the trial of any case in the police court when deemed advis able; and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by ordinance. A city prosecutor shall also be appointed by the mayor, by and with the consent of the city council. It shall be the duty of the city prosecutor to attend all sessions of the police court, and file and prosecute all criminal complaints against persons charged with the violations of the ordinances of the city or laws of the state within the final jurisdiction of the court. He shall be active and vigilant in the enforcement of all ordinances of the city and shall cause all violations of the ordinances of the city to be prosecuted. [Amended 1891, chap. 7.]

SEC. 113. [Street grading, etc.--Contracts.] -All grading, paving, macadamizing, curbing or guttering of any streets, avenues, or alleys in the city, shall be done by contract with the lowest responsible bidder or by days work as petitioned by property owners representing a majority of the property in front feet, in any paving district, under the direction and supervision of the board of public works; Provided, also, That in all matters of contract with the city for work to be done or material furnished, parties contracting shall give bond to the city, with not less than two sureties, in double the amount of said contract, for the faithful performance of the same. Sureties on said bonds shall be resident freeholders of the county within which said city is situate, and shall justify under oath that they are worth double the amount for which they may sign said bond, over and above all debts, liabilities, obligations and exemptions; Provided, also, That no contracts or extensions of contracts for a period of more than two years shall at any time be made or entered into, without first having submitted the same to a vote of the people at some general election, held in accordance with existing laws, governing the voting of bonds; such provision shall not apply to guarantee for paving or other work done for or material furnished to said city. No action shall at any time be taken contemplating the extension or renewal of franchises heretofore granted [Amended 1891, chap. 7.]

SEC. 114. [Same-Inspection-Acceptance.]-When any improvement mentioned in this act is completed according to contract, it shall be the duty of the city engineer to carefully inspect the same, and if the improvement is found to be properly done, such engineer shall accept the same, and forthwith report his acceptance thereof for the confirmation or rejection of the board of public works and city council, who may confirm or reject such acceptance. When the contract for such work provides for the acceptance thereof, in front of or along any block or piece of ground, the engineer may accept the same in sections from time to time, if found to be done according to contract, reporting his acceptance as in other cases; Provided, Nothing in this act contained shall be construed to interfere with, or affect contracts of such cities for public works now existing, and all such contracts shall be governed by the acts and ordinances existing at the time they were made.

SEC. 115. [Street sprinkling.]-The mayor and council shall have power to provide for the sprinkling of the streets of said city, and for the purpose of accomplishing such sprinkling, may by ordinance, create suitable districts to be called and designated "sprinkling districts," and may order and direct the work of sprinkling to be done and performed upon the streets, alleys, parkways, boulevards or any or all thereof, therein. Said sprinkling shall be done only upon contract in writing let upon advertisement to the lowest responsible bidder; such advertisement shall specify the district or districts proposed to be sprinkled, especially describing the same, and bids shall be made and contracts let with reference to such district or districts so specified. For the purpose of paying the cost of sprinkling herein contemplated and so contracted for, the mayor and council shall have power ver and they are hereby authorized to levy and assess the cost of sprinkling in any district or districts upon all lots, lands, grounds, property and estate therein; such tax or assessment to be equal and uniform upon all feet front of property within or abutting upon the streets, alleys, parkways or boulevards within the district so created. Such a tax and assessment shall be a lien upon all such lots, lands and real estate, and shall be enforced and collected as are other special taxes. [Amended 1891, chap. 7.]

SEC. 116. [Grades-Establishment.]-The mayor and council of any city governed by this act shall have power by ordinance to establish the grade of any street, avenue, or alley in the city, and when the grade of any street, avenue, or alley shall have been heretofore established, or when the grade of any street, avenue, or alley shall be established and approved as herein provided, the grade of no street or part of a street shall be changed unless the consent in writing is first obtained of the owners of lots or lands abutting upon the street or part of street where such change of grade is to be made, who represent a majority of the feet front thereon, and not then until the damages to property owners which may be caused by such change of grade shall have been assessed and determined by three disinterested freeholders, who shall be appointed by the mayor and council for that purpose, who shall make such appraisement, taking into consideration the benefits, if any, to such property, and file their report with the city clerk; and the amount of damages so assessed shall be tendered to such property owners or their agents as soon as the funds for that purpose are obtained from the assessments of such damages upon property benefited by reason of such change of grade, or otherwise realized; Provided, That no street, avenue, or alley shall be worked to such change of grade until the damages so assessed shall be tendered to such property owners or their agents.

SEC. 117. [Same-Damages.] - Before any street, avenue, or alley shall be ordered graded, the damages, if any, by reason of such grading to property along that portion of the street proposed to be graded, including approaches thereto, shall first be ascertained and determined by three disinterested freeholders, who shall be appointed by the mayor and council for that purpose, who shall make such appraisement, taking into consideration the benefits, if any, to such property, and who shall exclude any damages resulting from any change or changes of the original or first established grade; and the amount of damages so assessed, unless an appeal is taken, shall be due and payable to such property owners, or their agents, in sixty days after the completion and acceptance of such work of grading.

SEC. 118. [Eminent domain-Damages.] - Whenever it shall become necessary to appropriate private property for the use of the city for streets, alleys, avenues, sewers, parks, boulevards, public squares, gas-works, water-works, or such other purpose authorized by this act, and such appropriation shall be declared necessary by ordinance, the mayor, with the approval of the council, shall appoint three disinterested freeholders of the city, who, after being duly sworn to perform the duties of their appointment with fidelity and impartialty, shall assess the damages to the owners of the property respectively taken by such appropriation. Such assessment shall be reported to the council for confirmation, and if the same shall be confirmed, the damages so assessed shall be paid to the owners of such property, or deposited with the city treasurer subject to the order of such owners respectively, after which such property may at any time be taken for the use of the city. If the assessment be not confirmed by the council, proceedings may be taken anew to assess the damages. [Amended 1889, chap. 13.]