The county commission must hire a county engineer, and the engineer must handle Clarke County road and bridge work within commission-set limits.
The county commission shall employ a county engineer, who shall be a qualified and competent civil engineer, possessing all of the qualities as specified for county engineers pursuant to law. The county engineer shall devote his or her time and attention to the maintenance and construction of the Clarke County public roads, highways, bridges, and county shops. The county engineer shall serve at the pleasure of the county commission. The County Engineer of Clarke County shall perform all of the following duties: (1) Employ, supervise, and direct all assistants necessary to properly maintain and construct the public roads, highways, bridges, and county shops of Clarke County, and shall prescribe their duties and discharge employees for cause or when not needed. (2) Perform engineering and surveying services as required, and prepare and maintain all necessary maps and records. (3) Maintain the necessary accounting funds and records to reflect the cost of the county highway system. (4) Build or construct new roads or change old roads. (5) Maintain and construct all county roads on the basis of the county as a whole, without regard to any district or beat lines. The county engineer is designated as the person authorized to make written requisition to the chair of the commission or his or her duly designated purchasing agent for all articles, materials, supplies, and equipment necessary for the maintenance and construction of the roads, bridges, and county shop in Clarke County. The county commission shall fix, from time to time, in accordance with prevailing economic conditions, the number of employees and the various scales of wages or salaries to be paid for labor necessary in the maintenance and construction of the roads, bridges, and county shop operation, and the wage or salary scale shall not be exceeded by the county engineer in the employment of labor and assistants. The county commission shall fix the amount of the salary of the county engineer, payable in equal monthly installments from the gasoline tax fund of Clarke County. Before entering upon his or her duties, the county engineer shall make and enter into a surety bond in an amount set, from time to time, by the county commission, conditioned for the faithful discharge and performance of his or her duties as county engineer, and for the faithful accounting of all monies or property of the county, which may come into his or her possession or custody. The bond shall be executed by a surety company authorized and qualified to do business in Alabama, approved by the chair of the county commission, and the premiums thereon shall be paid by Clarke County. The county commission shall furnish the county engineer with an office and all necessary office supplies, and shall furnish him or her with necessary transportation in connection with his or her duties pursuant to this section. The county engineer shall be the custodian of all road tools, machinery, supplies, and equipment. The county commission shall furnish the necessary storage facilities in which to keep the tools, machinery, supplies, and equipment and the county engineer shall keep on file in his or her office, at all times, an up-to-date inventory, containing a list of all the tools, machinery, equipment, and supplies belonging to the county. The authority of the county engineer shall be limited to the expenditure of funds for the purposes of construction, maintenance, or repairs of public roads and bridges of the county as appropriated by the county commission. The county commission shall fix and determine the amount of funds which will be available for the purpose of building, maintaining, and constructing public roads, bridges, and ferries of Clarke County for the ensuing fiscal year, beginning on October 1. That amount, other than the salary of the county engineer, and his or her necessary expenses, shall not be exceeded, except that the county commission may, from time to time, within any period, increase the amount allowed to be expended by the county engineer during the period, provided that the authorization does not conflict with other provisions of law.