Clerk, the name of the county in which the town is located, and the State of Indiana.

3307f. Duty of Marshal. 6. The Town Marshal shall execute all writs and other processes which may be issued by the Town Clerk.

[1873 S., p. 218. In force March 10, 1873.]

3308. Officers to be elected. 15. There shall be elected, at the first and at every subsequent election, one trustee from each district in said town, and also a Clerk and Treasurer, who shall respectively hold their offices until the first Monday in May next following, or until their successors are elected and qualified: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prevent the respective offices of Clerk and Treasurer from being held by one and the same person.

1. This section is in part superseded by section 3307a-3307f.

2. A Trustee must be elected for each district of a town, but by the voters of the whole town. -Millikin c. Bloomington, 49 Ind. 62.

3. Each trustee must reside in his own district and have the qualifications required by law. Millikin . Town, 49 Ind. 62.

3309. Who elected Tie Certificate.

16. The persons having

the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected as such Trustees, and the persons who received the greatest number of votes, respectively, for Clerk and Treasurer, as designated by the ballot for such office, shall be declared so elected; and if two or more shall have an equal and highest number of votes, and there be no choice, the inspectors of such election shall forthwith determine, by lot, which shall be deemed elected. And it shall be the further duty of such inspectors to make a certified statement, over their own signatures, of the persons elected to fill the several offices in said town, and to file the same with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county thereof, within ten days from the day of such election. And no act or ordinance of any Board of Trustees chosen at such election shall be valid until the provisions of this section are substantially complied with.

1. An act of 1875 (S., p. 74) legalizes elections prior to March 13, 1875, in towns wherein the certified statement had not been filed with the Clerk within the prescribed time.

2. When the inspector of a town election does not certify, within ten days, nor at any time, to the election of the persons elected as officers, the persons so elected have no authority.-Dinwiddie v. Rushville, 37 Ind. 66.

3. If the certificate of election of trustee of a town is filed with the clerk of the cir enit court after the time fixed by law, the former proceedings of the board of trustees will be validated. Jennings r. Fisher, 103 Ind. 112.

4. The officers of the election may be compelled by mandate to make and file the certificate of election. Enos v. State ex rel. 131 Ind. 560.

[1 R. S. 1852, p. 482. In force May 6, 1853.]

3310. Clerk's duty. 17. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the proper county to make a record of such certified statement; for which service there shall be paid the same fee as is allowed Clerks for similar services in other cases.

[1881 S., p. 708. In force March 25, 1881.]

3311. Trustees, how elected Term. 1. At the next ensuing May election to be held for the election of town officers, as now provided by law, the Town Trustees shall be chosen in the following manner to hold their offices for the time herein set forth: In a town where there are three Trustees to be elected, the person receiving the greatest number of votes shall hold his office for two years from and after said election, and the two other persons receiving the next greatest number of votes each shall hold their offices for one year from said election. And where there are four Trustees to be elected, the two persons receiving the greatest number of votes each shall hold their offices for two years, and the two persons receiving the next greatest number of votes each shall hold their offices for one year. And where there are five Trustees to be elected, the two persons receiving the greatest number of votes each shall hold their offices for two years, and the three persons receiving the next greatest number of votes each shall hold their offices for one year. And where there are six Trus

tees to be elected, the three persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall hold their offices for two years, and the three persons receiving the next greatest number of votes shall hold their offices for one year. And where there are seven Trustees to be elected, the three persons receiving the greatest number of votes shall hold their offices for two years, and the four persons receiving the next greatest number of votes shall hold their offices for one year. And it is further Provided, That at the May elections for the election of town officers, succeeding the May election of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, the Town Trustees of the districts where a vacancy will occur, by reason of the expiration of the term, shall be elected for the term of two years each. In all cases where two or more persons receive an equal number of votes, and there be no choice, the inspector shall determine, as is now provided by law, as to who is elected.

See sections 3307a-3307f. The validity of the election of trustees can not be collaterally questioned. Redden v. Town, 29 Ind. 118.

[1 R. S. 1852, p. 482. In force May 6, 1853.]

3312. Vacancies. 18. A vacancy occurring in the Board of Trustees, or in any corporation office, shall be filled by appointment, at a special meeting of the Trustees called for that purpose; but such appointment shall be made from the district, if a Trustee [be appointed], in which the vacancy has occurred, and shall, in no case, extend beyond the annual election provided for in this Act.

3313. President - Oath. 19. The Board of Trustees, chosen as aforesaid, shall elect a president from their own body; and such President, Trustees, and all other officers elect, shall, within five days after such election, take and subscribe, before some person authorized to administer the same, the usual oath or affirmation for the faithful performance of the duties of their respective offices.

3314. Corporate name.

20. The President and Trustees of such town, and their successors, in office, shall constitute a body politic and corporate, by the name of the "Town of -;" and shall be capable, in law, to prosecute and defend suits to which they are a party.

[1859, p. 206. In force March 4, 1859.]

3315. Order of incorporation, when conclusive. 1. In all cases where the inhabitants of any town in this State have taken steps to incorporate the same under "An Act for the incorporation of towns, defining their powers, providing for the election of the officers thereof, and declaring their duties," approved June 11, 1852; and where the Board of County Commissioners of the county in which such town is situated have, in pursuance of such proceedings, made a final order declaring such town incorporated by the name designated, in pursuance of section nine of the above-recited Act [§ 3301], such order shall be conclusive, and such town shall be deemed and taken to be an incorporated town: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to affect any case where an appeal has been taken from such order, or where an appeal may hereafter be taken from such order within the time prescribed by law.

[1 R. S. 1852, p. 482. In force May 6, 1853.]

3316. How old town may incorporate. 56. Any town heretofore incorporated may, by a resolution of the Board of Trustees or other municipal board thereof, entered upon the record-book of the corporation, become incorporated under this Act; but the same shall be deemed a surrender of all the rights and franchises acquired under any former Act of incorporation or Acts amendatory thereto. A copy of such resolution shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the proper county, and entered by him of record. Trustees and other officers of such incorporated town by whatever name designated, performing duties of a like nature to those required of officers created by this Act, shall continue to be the officers of such town, by the name as specified in this Act, until superseded by the annual election.

3317. Debts not affected.

58. No debt or liability due to or from any incorporated town shall be impaired by reason of such town being brought within the provisions of this Act, and becoming incorporated under it.

[1901 S., p. 356. Approved March 11, 1901.]

3318. Dissolution of town-Proceedings. 53. When an application, in the form of a petition, signed by not less than two-thirds of all the legal voters of any incorporated town within this State, shall be presented to the Board of Trustees of said town, in writing, and duly verified by one or more of said petitioners, asking for the dissolution of said town as a corporation, and therein setting forth the reasons therefor, said Board of Trustees shall, if they deem the reasons stated in said petition sufficient to justify the same, cause a meeting of the legal voters of such town to be held in the manner hereinafter stated, to determine whether or not said corporation shall be dissolved. Said petition shall be filed with the Town Clerk, and said petitioners shall file with said petition a list of all the legal voters of said town, which shall be taken within ten days prior to the filing of the same, and which census shall embrace the names of only such legal voters of said town as may reside therein at the time said census is taken, and the person taking the same shall attach thereto his affidavit as to the accuracy and correctness of the same. On the filing of said petition and census with said Clerk, he shall give notice of the filing of the same, and the time when the same will be heard by said Board of Trustees, by publication in a newspaper of general circulation published at the county seat of the county wherein said town is located, and by posting copies of said notice in at least ten of the most public places in said town, and said notice shall be given at least twenty days before any action is taken on said petition by said Board of Trustees, and shall state when said petition will be presented to, and heard by, said Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees 'shall, at the time named in said notice, hear and consider said petition, and for the purpose of aiding said Board of Trustees in determining the propriety of submitting to the voters of said town for their determination, at a special meeting to be held for that purpose, as hereinafter provided, the question as to the dissolution of said corporation, shall hear and consider any and all statements, oral and written, that may be presented to said Board of Trustees by the voters of said town, at said meeting, in support of and in opposition to the granting of said petition, and, thereupon, said Board of Trustees shall determine whether or not the reasons recited by said petitioners, is [if] found to be true, are sufficient to justify the submission of the question to the voters of said town for their determination, at a meeting to be held for that purpose, but no order for the holding of such meeting shall be made by the Board of Trustees, unless all the requirements of this act, as above set forth, have been strictly complied with, and unless said petition has been signed by two thirds of all the legal voters, as shown by such census, and any voters, who signed said petition may, before final action is taken thereon by said Board of Trustees, withdraw their names therefrom and when so withdrawn, they shall not be counted by said Board of Trustees in ascertaining and determining whether said petition has been signed by the number of voters required by this act. If said Board of Trustees determine to submit the question as to the dissolution of said corporation to the voters of said town for their determination, said Board of Trustees shall fix the time and place, within said town, of holding a meeting of said voters for that purpose, and the Town Clerk shall give at least twenty days notice of the time and place said meeting will be held, which notice as to publication and posting, shall be given in the manner above provided for in the filing of said petition and the hearing of the same. The president of said Board of Trustees shall preside at said meeting and two judges shall be selected to supervise the receiving and counting of the ballots that may be cast by the voters at said meeting, one of whom shall be selected by those who may favor such dissolution and one by those who may be opposed to the same, and it shall be the duty of said judges to see that no ballots are cast by persons who are not then legal voters of said town, and that the ballots cast at said

After

meeting are honestly and truly counted, and the Clerk of said town shall act as the clerk of said meeting and keep a record of all the names of those voting at such meeting and perform the duties usual to a clerk at an election. said judges have been selected, a poll shall be opened, as at other town meetings, and the voters shall vote by ballot, on the question so submitted to them, "Yes" or "No." If two thirds of all the votes given shall have thereon the word "Yes," and four fifths of all the legal voters of said town, as shown by said census, shall have voted at said meeting, said question shall be regarded as determined in the affirmative, and within four days thereafter, a statement of all the votes cast at said meeting, both in the affirmative and in the negative, on said question, shall be prepared by the Town Clerk, and signed by said judges and by the president of said Board of Trustees, and attested by said Clerk, and filed in the Clerk's office of the county wherein said town is located, and said town shall, at the expiration of six months from the time of the holding of said meeting, cease to be a corporation, and the property owned by such corporation, after the payment of its debts and liabilities, shall be disposed of in such manner as a majority of the voters of such town, at any special meeting thereof, may direct, but no such dissolution shall affect the rights of any person in any contract or agreement to which said corporation is a party. In case the prayer of said petition shall not, for any reason, be granted, all costs and expenses incurred by, or connected with the filing of said petition, including the costs and expenses caused by said meeting. if held, shall be paid by the petitioners, who on the filing of said petition with said Clerk, shall give bond, payable to said Board of Trustees of said town, in such sum as may be required by the president and clerk of said Board of Trustees, and with sufficient surety to be approved by them for the payment of said costs and expenses. Any person aggrieved by the action of said Board of Trustees on said petition and census, or the result of said meeting, may appeal therefrom to the Circuit Court of the county wherein said town is located, within thirty days therefrom, by giving written notice of such appeal to the Board of Trustees and by filing with the Town Clerk a bond with sufficient freehold sureties in the sum of five hundred dollars ($500), for the prosecution of said appeal and the payment of the costs thereof if the same be determined against the persons so appealing, and no further action shall be taken by such Board of Trustees until such appeal is heard and determined.

This section supersedes section 3318 Horner's R. S. 1897 on the subject of dissolution of town. [1 R. S. 1852. In force May 6, 1852.]

3319. Rights and contracts not affected.

54. No such dissolution shall affect the rights of any person in any contract or agreement to which such corporation is a party.

[1 R. S. 1852, p. 482. In force May 6, 1853.]

3320. Official bonds. 28. The Clerk, Treasurer, and Marshal shall, within ten days from their election or appointment, each and severally give bonds, payable to the State of Indiana, with freehold sureties, to such an amount as the Board of Trustees shall direct; but the bonds of the Treasurer and Marshal shall, respectively, be for double the amount of the estimated tax duplicate for the current year.

3321. Books, etc., to successor. 29. All books, vouchers, moneys, or other property belonging to the corporation, and in charge or possession of any officer of the same, shall be delivered to his successor when qualified.

3322. Duties of Treasurer. 39. The Treasurer of every incorporated town shall so keep his accounts as to show when and from what sources all moneys paid him have been derived, and to whom and when such moneys, or any part thereof, have been paid. The Treasurer shall grant all licenses authorized by this Act, upon the presentation of the receipt of the Marshal that the money therefor had been paid to said Marshal. His books, accounts, and vouchers shall, at all times, be subject to the examination of the Board of Trustees; and it is hereby made their duty to examine the same at a regular meeting of such Board, on some day between the first and last Monday of April in each year, and to have settlement with the said Treasurer.

3323. Publication of Treasurer's settlement. 40. It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees, immediately after the annual settlement with the Treasurer of said corporation, to publish in a newspaper, if one be printed therein, or, if there be no newspaper, then by posting in. three or more public places, an exhibit of the receipts and expenditures, specifying the sources of such receipts, what appropriations were made, for what objects, and the specific amount of each.

3324. Duties of Clerk. 41. The Clerk of such town shall have the custody of the records, books, and papers of the Board of Trustees, and shall attend all meetings and record the proceedings of said Board, and shall perform all other duties appertaining to his office and required of him by the by-laws.

[1879, p. 15. In force March 10, 1879.]

3325. Marshal. 2. The Town Marshal shall be elected by the qualified voters, as other officers are elected under the present election laws of this State, in all incorporated towns of this State; and he shall hold his office for one year, or until his successor is elected and qualified.

3326. Marshal. 4. Whenever any vacancy shall occur in the office of Town Marshal, by death, resignation, or removal, the Board of Trustees of such incorporated town shall have power to appoint a successor, who shall hold his office until his successor is elected and qualified.

[1 R. S. 1852, p. 482. In force May 6, 1853.]

3327. Powers of Marshal. 42. The Marshal of such town shall possess the powers and be subject to the liabilities possessed and conferred by law, upon Constables, in executing the orders of the Trustees