Trustees to prescribe duties of officers. Taxes. Who shall constitution of the United States and of the state of New York, faithfully to discharge the duties of the office to which they shall have been elected to the best of their ability; and a neglect to take and subscribe such oath for ten days after notification of the election, shall be deemed a refusal of the person so neglecting to serve. S5. The trustees shall have power, from time to time, to prescribe the duties of all officers and persons appointed by them under this act, subject to the provisions of this act, and may remove all such persons so appointed at any time. TITLE IV. ASSESSMENT, LEVYING AND COLLECTION OF TAXES-HIGH- S1. The said village is hereby declared a separate road district and exempt from the superintendence of the commissioners of highways of the town of Moravia, and the trustees of said village shall be commissioners of highways for said village, and possess all powers given by any law of this state to the commissioners of highways of towns, as far as the same may be applicable; and the said trustees, for the purpose of improving the streets and bridges, may from time to time contract with or appoint an individual or individuals to superintend the work and procure the materials directed by said trustees to be done and procured in or for said district, and may compensate such individual for his services out of the highway taxes in the treasury; the said trustees having the direction as to the amount to be expended, and the work to be done, and the materials to be procured. S2. Every person owning or occupying any land in pay tax., &c. said village, and every corporation in possession of any land in said village, and all lands owned by any non-resident of said village, of which there is no occupant, and every person or corporation being the owner or possessor of any personal estate in his, her or their own right, or as executor, administrator, trustee, assignee or guardian for another, and every male inhabitant above the age of twenty-one years, residing in said village at the time the assessment is made, shall be assessed to raise the sum deemed necessary by said trustees to make the streets bridges, sewers, ditches and sluices which shall be deemed necessary, and to repair and keep the same in repair in said village. If any person residing in said village shall be the owner or occupant of any lot, farm or piece of land lying partly within and partly without the boundaries of said village, the whole lot, farm or piece of land so owned or occupied shall be subject and liable to assessment and taxation within said village. determine necessary to street, &c. 53. The trustees shall meet within two weeks after Trustees to they shall have been chosen, in said village, on such day the amount and at such place as they may appoint, and afterwards at make such times and places as they may choose, and deter:nine the amount or sum of money which they shall deem necessary to defray the expenses attendant upon the making of streets, bridges, sewers, ditches, sluices and crosswalks in said village, and to repair and keep in repair the same, and for all other purposes for which this act provides, to be paid out of such tax for the ensuing year, who shall then or at some subsequent meeting, proceed to apportion such sum among the persons and property liable to pay the same, as follows: Every male Poll tax inhabitant of said village above the age of twenty-one years (except ministers of the gospel and priests of every denomination, paupers, idiots, lunatics, and persons whom the said trustees may exempt by reason of indigence), shall be assessed at least the sum of fifty cents, as a poll tax. $4. The residue of such sum shall be apportioned upon Residue of the estate, real and personal, of every inhabitant of such assessment. village, and every corporation therein, and land of which there is no occupant or owner residing in said village (excepting the real and personal estate of any religious society therein, and all property belonging to any school district therein, and property belonging to the said village, and except such portion of the property which by any law of this state is exempt, owned by any minister of the gospel). made. $5. To raise the tax provided for in the preceding sec- Roll to be tion, the trustees shall first cause a roll of all persons and corporations, and non-resident lands liable to be assessed for such tax, to be made, together with the valuation of their real and personal estate, with columns prepared for the insertion of the poll tax and for the taxes upon I said Valuation of prop erty. In case of real and personal estate; they shall then cause to be in such roll the poll taxes imposed upon the persons liable therefor; they shall then apportion the residue of the amount to be raised among the several persons and cor-· porations, and upon the non-resident lands named in said roll, in proportion to the amount of real and personal estate assessed to each respectively. The valuations of taxable property shall be ascertained so far as possible from the then last assessment roll of the town of Moravia, which valuations said trustees shall insert upon their rolls, and no person shall be entitled to any reduction in the valuation of such property as so ascertained, unless he shall give notice of his claim to such reduction to the trustees of said village, or to one of them, before they shall have made out said roll. $6. In every case where such reduction shall be duly reduction, claimed, and in every case where the valuation of taxable property does not appear upon the said last assessment roll of said town, the trustees shall ascertain the true value of the property to be taxed, from the best evidence in their power, and when they shall have ascertained the same, as aforesaid, they shall give a written notice to the persons, corporation or corporations the valuation of whose property has been thus ascertained, except the owners of non-resident lands, personally or by leaving it at his, her or their place of residence or business, stating the amount of such valuation; and if he, she or they feel aggrieved thereby, the said trustees will meet at such time and place as they may designate in said notice, not Appication less than five days from that day, to review the same, on tion of val- which day and place said trustees shall meet, and if such person or persons, or corporation, or any one in his, her or their behalf, shall appear and apply to have such valuation reduced, it shall be the duty of said trustees to examine such person or persons so appearing, under oath to be administered by any one of the trustees, touching the value of the property thus ascertained, and after such examination they shall fix the value thereof as they may deem just; but if such person or persons so appearing shall refuse to be thus examined, or to answer any question as to the value of such property or the amount thereof, which said trustees shall deem pertinent and proper, the said trustees shall not reduce the value for reduc uation. thereof as by them before ascertained. The examination shall be taken in writing and subscribed by such person and filed by the clerk of said village; and any person who shall willfully swear falsely on such examination shall be deemed guilty of willful and corrupt perjury. The amount of tax to be paid by each person or corporation, and each property of a non-resident, shall be entered in appropriate columns; and when the taxes shall be entered therein, and properly corrected, the roll shall be signed by said trustees, or by the major part of them, and then filed with the treasurer of said village, and then the same shall be evidence in all courts and places of the imposition of the taxes therein contained; and the taxes therein apportioned upon or in respect to any real estate shall be a lien thereon for the space of three years from the time the tax roll is filed with the treasurer, unless previously paid or collected. A majority of said board of trustees shall be a quorum to transact all business in relation to the imposition, apportioning or levying of taxes under this act, and no tax or tax list or warrant shall be void, for the reason that the whole of the board of trustees were not present when the same were imposed, levied or apportioned; provided a majority of said trustees were present or finally adopted and signed the roll, be pub $7. Upon receiving the tax roll, the treasurer shall Notices to cause notices to be posted in five public places in said lished. village, that such roll has been delivered to him, and that he will be ready at his office, between nine and twelve o'clock in the forenoon, and two and four in the afternoon of each day except Sundays, for thirty days, then next ensuing, to receive payment of the taxes thereon, and that persons paying their taxes within that time will be charged only one cent upon the dollar and all fractions of the dollar, for the collection thereof. The treasurer shall, for Treasurer thirty days after posting said notice, or some person in his to attend for behalf, attend daily, as in said notice specified, to receive taxes. the taxes on such roll, with such commission; upon receiving any tax, the treasurer shall write "paid " on the margin of the roll, opposite to the tax so paid, and shall give the person so paying it, a receipt if required. receiving $8. At the expiration of said thirty days, mentioned After thirty in the preceding section, the treasurer shall deliver to days, &c. Compensa tion of treasurer. Taxes unpaid. Unpaid tax es to be pub lished. said trustees the said tax roll in his hands, who shall then annex their warrant, under their hands and the seal of said corporation, directed to said treasurer, and deliver the same to him, authorizing and commanding him, within thirty days thereafter, to levy and collect the taxes thereon remaining unpaid, with five per cent upon the dollar and all fractions of a dollar, commission thereon; the said treasurer shall have and possess the like power and authority for levying and collecting the same under said warrant, as collectors of towns possess in the collection of taxes, and he shall make return thereof to said trustees within thirty days thereafter. S9. The treasurer may receive and retain for his own use, as compensation for his services rendered therein, the commissions mentioned in sections number seven and eight of this title. 10. If any of the taxes mentioned in the tax roll shall remain unpaid, and the treasurer shall be unable to collect the same, he shall deliver to the trustees an account of the taxes so remaining unpaid, and upon making an affidavit before the trustees, or any one of them, who shall have authority to administer the oath to said treasurer, that the sum or sums mentioned in such amount remain unpaid, and that he has not been able, upon diligent inquiry, to discover any goods or chattels belonging to, or in possession of the person or persons, or corporation charged with, or liable to pay such sum or sums of money whereon he could levy the same, the treasurer, in his account with the trustees, shall be credited with the amount of such unpaid, uncollectable taxes, and shall thereupon deliver the said amount and his affidavit to said trustees at their next meeting. S 11. Upon the return of any unpaid taxes imposed upon any real estate, to the trustees, they shall cause a copy of so much of the tax roll as contains them to be published in the newspaper printed and published in said village, once in each week, for four weeks successively (and in case there shall be no newspaper printed and published in said village, then the said treasurer shall cause the same to be posted in five public places in said village), with a notice that if said taxes are not paid to the treasurer within four weeks from the time of the first publication of said tax roll and notice (or of the posting |