CHAPTER 173

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 1.02, 2.08, 2.04, 2.05, 2.07, 2.08, 2.14,
2.15, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19, 2.20, 2.28, 2.29, 2.31, 2.32, 3.05, 3.18, 3.20, 3.21,
4.06, 6.02 and 7.01, and to repeal § 2.30, of Chapter 240 of the Acts
of Assembly of 1954, approved March 13, 1954, which provided a
charter for the town of Christiansburg in the county of Montgomery,
the amended sections relating, respectively, to the boundaries of the
town, municipal offices, town manager, removal of officers and em-
ployees, officers may fill more than one office; what offices mayor and
councilmen not eligible for; duties of mayor; vice-mayor; salaries
of council; meetings of council; quorum; special meetings of council;
signing of minutes; duties of town clerk; dutics of town treasurer:
duties of chief of police; control of police force; assessment of real
and personal property; temporary borrowing power of council; sink-
ng fund; audit of financial records: power and authority to establish
certain authority plants and facilities; certain powers and authority
of council with respect to sewer and water lines and pines; certain
contracts to be let to bidders, and the repealed section relating to the
duties of the town sergeant.

[TH 381]

Approved March 12, 1968

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

il. That §§ 1.02. 2.08, 2.04. 2.05. 2.07. 2.08. 2.14, 2.15, 2.17, 2.18. 2.19.
2.20, 2.28, 2.29, 2.31, 2.82. 3.05, 3.18, 3.20. 3.21, 4.06, 6.092 and 7.01 of
chapter 240 of the Acts of Assembly of 1954, approved March thirteen,
1ineteen hundred fifty-four, be amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 1.02. The Boundaries.—The present boundaries of the town are *
is set forth in an annexation order entered on the fifteenth day of May,
vineteen hundred sixty-five, and of record in Chancery Ordcr Book No.
0, page 196, et seq. of the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Mont-
jomery County, Virginia, and are incorporated herein by reference thereto.

§ 2.03. Municipal Officers—The municipal officers of said town
hall, in addition to the mayor, consist of treasurer, * chief of police, and
clerk of the town council; and the * mayor may appoint such committees
of the council as he may see fit, and the council may create such boards
and departments of town government and administration with such powers
and duties and subject to such regulations as it may see fit, consistent with
the provisions of this act and the general laws of this state. The said treas-
urer and clerk may be one and the same person if the council * deem it
more expedient.

§ 2.04. Town Manager.—The council of the town may, in its dis-
cretion, * appoint a town manager who may also serve as town engineer.
Upon * appointment of a town manager, * he shall be vested with the ad-
ministrative and executive powers of the town and shall hold office during
the pleasure of the council. He shall receive such compensation as may be
fixed by the council. * He shall see that within the town the laws, ordi-
nances, resolutions and bylaws of the council are faithfully executed and
that the duties of the various other appointed town officers, members of the
police, fire and public works departments and all other departments of the
town government, are faithfully * performed. He shall have power to in-
vestigate their acts, have access to all books and documents in their offices
and may examine them or their subordinates on oath, but the evidence
given by the persons so examined shall not be used against them in any
criminal proceedings. He shall attend all meetings of the council and rec-
ommend for adoption such measures as he may deem expedient. He shall
make reports to the council from time to time as to the affairs of the town,
keep the council fully advised as to the town’s financial condition and its
future financial needs. He shall prepare and submit to the council a tenta-
tive budget for each fiscal year. * The town manager shall perform such
other duties as may be prescribed by the council and shall be bonded in
such amount as the council may deem necessary.

2.05. Removal of Officers and Employees.—All officers and em-
ployees appointed may be removed by the town council at its pleasure, and
where the appointment is by a committee or board, or where such appoint-
ment is by the mayor, * or town manager, such removal may be by order
of the mavor, * town manager, or committee or board.

§ 2.07. Officers—Fill More than One Office.—It shall be * unlawful
for any officer appointed by the council, any committee, municipal board,
or the head of any department to fill two or more of the offices whose
incumbents are appointed by the council or by any appointing power
designated by the council, * except as otherwise provided herein.

§ 2.08. * Eligibility of Mayor and Councilmen for Remunerative
Position.—The mayor and no member of the town council during his
tenure of office as such shall be eligible to any remunerative office, position,
or employment to be filled by the council by election or appointment, except
that a member of the council appointed to a board or commission may be
compensated as a member of such.

§ 2.14. Duties of Mayor.—The mavor shall * preside at the meetings
of the council, voting only in case of a tie, and perform such other duties
as may be prescribed by this charter and by general law and such as may
be imposed by the council consistent with his office. He shall perform the.
duties of the town manager during the absence of the town manager or
while the office of town manager is vacant. He shall have power to investi-
gate the acts of the various town officers. members of the police, fire and
public works departments and all other departments of the town govern-
ment, whether elected or appointed. The mayor shall have and exercise
all power and authority conferred by general law on mayors of towns
and not inronsistent with this charter; and shall, from time to time,
recommend to the council such measures which he may deem needful for
the welfare of the town.

§ 2.15. * Vice-Mayor.—The council shall choose from its members
a vice-mayor who in case of the absence or inability of the mayor to act,
shall possess the same powers and discharge the duties of the mayor dur-
ing such absence or inability; and in case of the absence or inability of
both the mayor and the vice-mayor, the council shall choose another of
its members who shall possess the same powers and discharge the duties of
the mayor during the absence or inability of both the mayor and vice-mayor.

§ 2.17. Salaries of Councilmen.—The town council is hereby author-
ized and empowered, by ordinance or resolution, passed by the affirmative
reccrdcd vote of two-thirds of the full membership thereof, to be deter-
mined by yeas and nays, to provide and fix salaries for its members, as
it may determine, to be payable in such amounts and at such time or
times as it may direct. The council may provide and fix the salaries for
its members, on the basis of stated amounts or sums, for each regular
and special meeting of the council * and each committee meeting attended
by members, and may prescribe that no member shall receive any com-
pensation for any meeting of said council or committee not attended by
such member.

§ 2.18. Meeting of Council—Quorum—Adoption of Procedural
Rules.—The council shall by ordinance adopt such rules as it might deem
proper for the regulation of its proceedings and shall meet at such times
as may be prescribed by ordinance, provided, however, that it shall hold
at least one regular meeting each month. The mayor and the councilmen
shal] constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, or in the absence
of the mayor, four councilmen shall constitute a quorum. No ordinance, or
resolution appropriating money exceeding the sum of five hundred dollars,
imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrowing of money shall be passed
by the council except by a recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all
members elected to the council. No such ordinance shall be passed by the
council on the same day on which it is introduced, nor shall any such
ordinance or resolution be valid until at least three days intervene between
its introduction and the date of passage. The meetings of the council
shall be public, unless the council by a recorded affirmative vote of two-
thirds of its members shall declare that the public welfare demands an
executive session of the council; and citizens may have access to the
minutes and records of the council at any reasonable time during estab-
lished office hours of the general offices of the town.

§ 2.19. Special Meetings—The mayor, or any other two members
of the council, may call a special meeting of the council upon at least
twelve hours written notice of the time, place and purpose to each member
served personally or left at his usual place of business or residence by *
any police officer, and no business shall be transacted by the council in
such special meeting which has not been stated in the notice, provided,
hovwever, that these regulations shall not apply when all members of the
council attend such meeting or waive notice thereof, nor shall it apply
to an adjourned session from a regular meeting.

No vote shall be reconsidered or rescinded at any special meeting,
unless at such special meeting there be present as large a number of
members of council present as were present when such vote was taken.

§ 4.20. * Record of Proceedings.—A record shall be kept of the pro-
ceedings of the town council, and at the request of any member present
the yeas and nays shall be recorded on any question. At the next meeting
the proceedings shall be read and signed by the person who was presiding
when the previous meeting adjourned, or if he be not then present, by
the person presiding when they were read, but reading of minutes may be
dispensed with at the pleasure of the council.

§ 228. * Clerk of the Council.—The clerk of the council shall be
appointed by it, and shall attend the meetings of the council and shall keep
permanent records of its proceedings; and also keep such other papers,
documents and records pertaining to the town as may be determined by
the council; he sha! be custodian of the town seal and shall affix it to all
documents and instruments requiring the seal, and shall attest the same;
he snail! give notice to all parties, presenting petitions or communications;
he shalt give to the prcper department or officials ample notice of the
exp'yation or termination of any franchise, contract or agreements; he
shall publish such records and ordinances as the council is required to pub-
fish, and such other records and ordinances as it may direct; he shall upon
final passage transmit to the proper departments or officials copies of all
ordinances or resolutions of the council relating in any way to such de-
partments or to the duties of such officials, and he shall perform such other
acts and duties as the council may, from time to time, allow or require. |

Town Treasurer.—There shall be appointed by the council
a town treasurer who shali hold office during the pleasure of the council;
but the present treasurer of the town shall continue to discharge the duties
of the office until removeu by the council or until his or her successor
shall have qualifiea Any vacancy in this office shall be promptly filled
by the council. The said treasurer shall be the disbursing agent of the
town and have the custody of all money and all evidences of value belong-
ing to the town or held in trust by the town. He shall receive all money
belonging to and received by the town and keep correct accounts of all
receipts from all sources and of all expenditures of all departments. He
shall collect all taxes and assessments, * and other charges belonging to
and payable to the town, and for that purpose he is hereby vested with
powers similar to these which are now or may hereafter be vested in
county and town treasurers for the collection of county, town, and state
taxes under the general law; he shall keep, disburse and deposit all money
or funds in such manner and in such places as may be determined by
ordinance or the provisions of the law applicable thereto; he shall pay no
money out of the treasury, except in the manner prescribed by this
charter or by ordinance or the general law; he shall perform such duties
as ure usually incident to the office of commissioner of revenue in relation
to the assessment of property for town taxation and town license taxes
and shail have power to administer oaths in performance of his or her
official duties. The treasurer shall not be entitled to any commission for
handling the funds of the town but shall be paid such salary as may be
provided by the council, and before entering upon the duties of his office
shall execute a bond in such amount and with such security as the council
by ordinance may prescribe. The treasurer shall be subject to the admin-
istrative supervision of the * town manager of the town of Christiansburg.
The said treasurer and clerk may be one and the same person if the council
may deem it more expedient.

§.2.81. Chief of Police—* The town council shal] have the power
and authority to appoint a chief of police and such additional police officers
and privates as it may deem necessary or proper, to prescribe rules and
regulations for the government thereof, to prescribe their rate of pay;
and in addition thereto the mayor, or in his absence, the * vice-mayor, or
in the absence of both, any councilman, shall have the power and authority
whenever the regular police force of the town is inadequate to meet the
needs of the occasion, to appoint and swear in such additional or special
policemen as he may deem requisite for a term of service not to exceed
ten days and at such compensation as the council may fix for special
policemen. The duties and powers of such special policemen shall be the
same as that of private of the regular police force. *

§ 2.32. * Police Force.—The police force shall be under the control
of the * town manager, and during any time that the office of town man-
ager is not filled, or in the absence of the town manager, under the control
of the mayor, for the purpose of enforcing peace and order and executing
the laws of the state and ordinances of the town. They shall * perform
such other duties as the council may prescribe. For the purpose of enabling
them to execute their duties, each policeman is hereby invested with all
the power and authority which belongs to the office of the constable at
common law in criminal cases.

§ 3.05. Property Assessments.—The assessment of real and personal
property in the town for the purpose of municipal taxation shall be the
same as the assessment for the purpose of county taxation, but where the
commissioner of revenue for the town knows of property that has been
omitted by the commissioner of revenue of the county from his books, the
commissioner of revenue of the town, shall advise the commissioner of
revenue of the county thereof, and thereafter such omitted property, real
or personal, shall be assessed for taxation in the manner provided by gen-
eral law. However, the council may, by unanimous vote at a meeting at
which all members are present. provide for another method of assessing
real and personal property in the town for municipal taxation not in con-
flict with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

§ 3.18. The council shall have the power to negotiate temporary
loans, in anticipation of taxes, for the purpose of paying current expenses
of the town; such loans to be evidenced by bonds or notes bearing interest
at not exceeding * the then current rate of interest established by
State statute; such bonds or notes shall be payable within one year from
date of issue out of the current revenue of the year in which the same
are issued. No such temporary loan shall in the aggregate exceed fifteen
per cent of the previous year’s gross income.

§ 3.20. Sinking Funds.—/(a) There shall be set apart from the
revenues of the town an annual amount to be covered into a sinking fund
sufficient * to pay, at or before maturities, all outstanding bonded indebt-
edness of the town. * This does not include so-called short term obliqa-
tions of the town. The council may, in its discretion, annually, from time
to time, set aside such additional sinking funds for equipment and capital
amprovements as it may deem advisable.

(b) All sinking funds set aside for the payment of the bonded indebt-
edness of the town shall be used exclusively 7m the payment or purchase
and redemntion of such outstanding bonds. When any sinking funds are
not immediately needed for the purpose for which they were provided,
they may be invested in securities as provided for by § 26-40 of the Code
of Virginia under the then existing laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia
for public sinking funds, to such extent as the council shall deem proper
or expedient.

§ 8.21. The council shall have the financial records of the town
audited bv a certified public accountant biannually, * as soon after the
close of the fiscal year as is practicable or at any other time deemed
necessary by the council. The fiscal vear begins September one of each
year and ends August thirty-one of the following year.

The town council may, by resolution. change the fiscal year where it
would seem to be to the best interest of the town.

§ 4.06. (a) The town council shall have the nower and authority to
acquire or otherwise obtain control of, or establish, maintain, operate,
extend and enlarge waterworks, sewerage systems and treatment facili-
ties, gasworks, electric plants, airports and other public utilities within
or without the limits of the town; * to acquire within or without the
limits of the town by purchase. or otherivise, whatever land may be neces-
sary for acquiring, locating, establishing, maintaining, operating, extend-
ina and enlargina said waterworks, electric plants, airnorts, and other
utilities, and rights of aay, rails. pipes, manholes, poles. conduits and
wires conrected therewith; establish rates, rules and requlations for all
public utilities operated by the town, any or all of which rates, rules and
regulations the council may alter at any time without notice. The town coun-
cil may, by ordinance, prohibit the waste and unnecessary use of water.

(b) The town of Christiansburg may exercise the power of eminent
domain with respect to land and improvements thereon, machinery and
equipment, for any lawful purposes of said town.

The powers set forth in §$ 15.1-837 through 15.1-915 inclusive of
Chapter 18 of Title 15.1 of the Code of Virginia as in force on January
one, nineteen hundred sixty-eight are hereby conferred on and vested in
the town of Christiansburg. In addition, the town of Christiansburg shall
have the powers set forth in §§ 38-70.1 through 88-70.11. When certifi-
cates are issued pursuant to §§ 33-70.1 through 88-70.11, inclusive, of the
Code of Virginia as amended, and acts amendatory thereof and supple-
mental thereto, they may be issued by the town council, signed by the town
manager, or the mayor, and countersigned by the town treasurer. Such
certificate shall have the same effect as a certificate tssued by the State
Highway Commissioner under the aforesaid laws, and may be issued in
any case in which the town proposes to acquire property of any kind by
the exercise of its powers of eminent domain for any lawful public pur-
pose, whether within or without the town; provided, that the provisions
of §§ 33-70.1 through 33-70.11, inclusive, shall not be used except for the
acquisition of lands or easements necessary for streets, water, sewer or
utility pines or lines or related faci’t'ies.

§ 6.02. The town council shall have the power and authority to
require the owners or occupiers of the real estate within the corporate
limits of the town * to use such sewer pipes and conduits and water fur-
nished by the town under such ordinances and regulations as the council
may deem necessary to secure the proper sewerage thereof and to improve
and secure good sanitary conditions; and shall have the power to enforce
the observance of all such ordinances and regulations by the imposition
and collection of fines and penalties, to be collected as other fines and
penalties, under the provisions of this act.

§ 7. All contracts for the erection of public improvements and
buildings within the jurisdiction of the town where the estimated cost
thereof exceeds three thousand dollars, and in all cases where practicable,
shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder, all things considered, * and
the party to whom any contract is let shall give bond as the council] may
require, but in no event shall any contract be let to any member of the
town council, nor shall any member have any interest in such contract.
2. That § 2.30 of Chapter 240 of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen
fifty-four, approved March thirteen, nineteen hundred fifty-four, is
repealed.

3. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.