County hospitals; general powers of trustees; duties; tax levies; etc.

The board of hospital trustees shall have power to appoint a suitable superintendent or matron, or both, and necessary assistants, and fix their compensation and shall also have power to remove such appointees and shall in general carry out the spirit and intent of this law in establishing and maintaining a county hospital. The board of hospital trustees shall hold meetings at least once each month and keep a complete record of all its transactions. Three members of said board shall be required to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and two or more of said trustees shall visit and examine said hospital twice each month. The board shall, prior to July 1 of each year, file with the board of county commissioners of said county a report of their proceedings with reference to such hospital and a statement of all receipts and expenditures made during the year and shall certify to the said board of county commissioners the amount necessary for the improvement and maintenance of such public hospital, so established, during the ensuing year, and the said board of county commissioners shall, at its annual meeting for the purpose of determining the amount to be raised for all county purposes, levy a sufficient tax upon all the assessed value of the taxable property in the county as will produce the sum required by the said board of trustees’ report, but said hospital levy, together with the levy necessary to liquidate the bonds aforesaid, shall not exceed 10 mills on the assessed valuation. No trustee shall have a personal, pecuniary interest, either directly or indirectly, in the purchase of any supplies for said hospital, unless the same are purchased by competitive bidding.