Road Dockets

A. General
1. Documents related to road dockets shall be filed in the Office of the Clerk of Courts. [42 Pa.C.S.A. §2756]
2. Documents related to road dockets include bridges and viaducts. [16 Pa.C.S.A. §2604]
3. The filing requirements may vary depending upon the class county.
4. Whenever the proper authorities of any county, borough, or the supervisor or commissioners or other legally constituted road authority of any township deems it advisable to change, alter or create a new road, a resolution/ordinance setting forth the facts, and accompanied by a map or draft of such proposed change, shall be presented to the court of quarter sessions after approval.
5. The general provisions to obtain approval of the court of quarter sessions are as follows:[16 Pa.C.S.A. §2740]   

• a.) When the county commissioners resolve to exercise any of the powers conferred in subdivision (a) of this article, they shall cause to be prepared surveys and plans of such road or tunnel, subway or underground road showing the improvement proposed to be made, together with any proposed changes in existing roads, and they shall present such surveys and plans, together with their petition, on behalf of such county, to the court of quarter sessions, praying for approval of such proposed exercise of powers. Such petition shall briefly describe the proposed improvement and the estimated cost thereof and, if the method of construction has not been fully determined, the estimated cost thereof according to each of the several methods in which the improvement may practically be made.
• b.) On the filing of such petition, the court shall fix a time for a hearing thereon. Notice of said hearing shall be given by an advertisement published at least ten days prior to the hearing in two newspapers of general circulation in the county, which notice shall briefly describe the location of the improvement proposed to be made and the time, place and purpose of said hearing. Upon the hearing thereof, the court may, for proper cause shown, disapprove the petition; otherwise, it shall approve the same and order that the improvement be made and constructed in accordance with the plans and surveys accompanying the petition. Thereupon, any original location, relocation, opening, widening, straightening, extension, alteration or vacation of any road as set forth in the proceedings and the right to proceed with such improvement shall become absolute.
• c.) The words "improved" or "improvement" as herein used mean each and every power conferred upon counties under the terms of any of the proceedings sections of this article.  

B. Procedures
Road resolutions/ordinances/petitions are indexed and recorded in a Road Docket. With the inception of CPCMS, these documents are now indexed and docketed under Miscellaneous Docket (MD). 

• a. All road docket matters filed require the payment of a $26.50 filing fee in accordance with the fee schedule. Originals are filed with the Clerk of Courts. Exceptions/objections and any subsequent documents that may be filed shall be docketed to the same court number as the original filing.

Financial Audits

The Clerk of Courts accepts Miscellaneous Docket filings of annual financial audits for Adams County boroughs and townships. Adams County school district audits are filed with the Clerk of Courts Office.

Tax Collectors

A. General Notes
1. A tax collector shall include every person duly elected or appointed to collect all taxes levied by any political subdivision. The term of office is four years. [72 P.S. §5511]
2. In boroughs, towns, and townships of the second class, the elected tax collector shall be the collector of the borough/township and school taxes, etc. Before performing any duties, an oath of office and bond shall be filed with the Clerk of Courts by the tax collector. [72 P.S. §511 (4) (b)]
3. One surety bond to the Commonwealth with the amount fixed by the Court of Common Pleas is required.
4. The bond may be an annual bond or for the full term at the option of the tax collector.
5. The bond must have at least one bonding company and have the sufficiency of sureties approved by the Court.
6. The amount of the bond shall never exceed the estimated amount of the taxes charged in the duplicates delivered to the tax collector.
7. The bond must be filed in the Office of the Clerk of Courts on or before the 15th day of March of the first year of the term of office.
8. If any taxing body feels the bond is insufficient, it may petition the Court for an increase in the face amount of the bond.
9. When a vacancy exists and the local taxing body has not made an appointment within thirty days, the Court of Common Pleas may appoint a qualified resident of the district to serve until the next municipal election or for the unexpired term of office. In townships of the second class, the township or school district may appoint separate individuals to collect taxes.
a. Bonding will be in accordance with provisions previously set forth.
10. Some counties may choose to use blanket bond option of Tax Collector/County.  

B. General Procedures
1. The Clerk of Courts shall administer the oath.
2. Upon payment of the filing fee, the Clerk of Courts shall accept the oath and bond for filing.
3. The filing shall be appropriately docketed by the Clerk of Courts.