Scope and Content Note
These are notices of assessment and related letters, bills, and other documentation charging the cost of cutting brush along state roads within town boundaries. Such assessments were authorized by section 55 of the Highway Law. Chapter 648 of the Laws of 1907 (section 53A) provided that owners "cut and remove noxious weeds and brush" growing within the bounds of the highway fronting privately owned or occupied lands. Unless cut and removed, the Commissioner of Highways would do the work and assess the cost against the owner.
Records include letters to the comptroller and/or the Conservation Commission from town officials (superintendents or commissioners of highways) notifying that they will assess the cost of cutting brush along public highways or lots belonging to the state; bills for labor performed in cutting and removing brush, weeds, and grass in a work area; and letters protesting the assessment, typically disputing ownership of the land involved.
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