[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of County Commissioners of
Worcester County 8-25-1981 by Bill No. 81-5 as Title 3 of the Public Works Article
of the 1981 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
After April 18, 1916, the County Commissioners of Wicomico and
Worcester Counties are hereby fully empowered to take such steps as
they may deem proper to drain the lands along the upper waters of
the Pocomoke River in said two counties by clearing out and deepening
the bed of said river where it runs through said swamplands and by
causing to be cut proper drains into said river through said lands
so as to drain the same.
Before undertaking said work, said County Commissioners of Worcester
County shall select a suitable engineer and the County Commissioners
of Wicomico County shall likewise select a suitable engineer, and
said two engineers shall jointly proceed to lay out a swamp district
in each of said counties and ascertain the number of acres of land
in said swamp district and also the number of acres in each county
and shall make suitable plots of the same and shall lay off the swampland
in each county into divisions or zones according to the benefits it
will receive, in their judgment, from said drainage and the total
cost, in their judgment, of draining said land.
Before beginning said work, the County Commissioners of each
of said counties shall adopt said report with full power in them to
amend, adopt or reject said report and plans or to modify the same
in such manner as they may deem proper.
After the adoption of suitable plans for doing said work, the
County Commissioners of the two counties shall advertise for bids
in whole or in part for doing said work and shall award the contract
for doing said work to the lowest responsible bidder and shall require
each bidder to specify the time required for said work and shall require
the bidder to whom the contract is awarded to give bond for the faithful
performance of his contract according to said plans and specifications
and may have such assistance as they may deem proper to see that said
contract is properly performed.
The County Commissioners of each of said counties are hereby
fully authorized and empowered to levy in their respective counties,
upon the swamplands and lands drained in each district, such sum of
money as may be necessary to pay each county's proportion in
payment of said work, and the County Commissioners of each county
are hereby fully authorized to levy such sum of money in one year
or extend it over a period not exceeding five years in equal amounts
each year, with an additional sum each year to pay the interest upon
the unpaid portions of said money to be levied. Said County Commissioners
in each of said counties are hereby authorized, in making said levy
upon said swamplands and lands drained, to have the right to levy
upon each swamp district or zone in each of said counties such proportion
of said taxes as they may deem proper according to benefits received
so as to make said tax fair and equitable.
Said County Commissioners shall have the authority, in their
discretion, to rent, lease or purchase machinery and equipment designed
for construction and maintenance of drainage channels.
Should the State of Maryland make an appropriation to aid in
this work, without declaring how the same shall be applied, then the
same shall be applied to the amount of debt incurred in each county
in draining said swamplands according to the number of acres of swampland
in each of said counties.
