1887 private laws – Ch.86 Sec.23

The tax collector whose appointment is herein provided for shall be vested with the same power and authority in the collection of taxes that sheriffs have, and be subject to the same fines and penalties for failure or neglect of duty. He shall be charged with sums appearing by the tax list as due for town taxes. He shall be credited in settlements as sheriffs are credited with amount in suit by appeal, all poll tax as in personal property, certified by the clerk of the commissioners of the county, by order of the board of county commissioners, to be insolvent and uncollectible. He shall at no time retain in his hands over one hundred dollars for a longer time than seven days, under a penalty of ten per centum per month to the town upon all sums so unlawfully retained. The board of commissioners at the meeting before the last regular meeting in each year shall appoint one or more of their number to be present and assist at the accounting and settlement between the tax collector and town clerk and auditand settle the accounts of the town clerk; the accounts so audited shall be reported to the board of commissioners, and when approved by them shall be recorded in the minute book of said board, and shall be prima facie evidence of their correctness, and impeachable only for fraud or specified error. It shall be the duty of said board to remove any tax collector who shall fail to settle and fully pay up the taxes by law due from him, and he shall not be eligible to re-election to said office: Provided, however, that any male person so certified to be insolvent or delinquent as aforesaid, not previously exempted by order of the board of commissioners, who shall fail to pay said taxes to the collector for six months after such return of imsolvents or delinquents as aforesaid, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction before the mayor shall be fined double the value of the taxes so due, not to exceed in any case fifty dollars; and the mayor, if said person be committed to prison for failure to pay the fine, may employ such offender in working the public streets and other public works of said town, as set forth in section fourteen of this act, and said mayor may allow such offender a credit of so much per day on said fine and costs as to him may seem just and reasonable.