Chap. 203.—An ACT to amend and re-enact the charter of the town
e ae neebone as approved April 28th, 1884, and amended March
15th, 1875.

Approved February 23, 1888.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That .
the whole of the charter of the town of Waynesboro’, in the
county of Augusta, approved April twenty-eighth, eighteen
hundred and seventy-four, and amended March fifteenth,
eighteen hundred and seventy-five, be amended and re-enacted
80 as to read as follows:

§1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That the town of Waynesboro’, in the county of Augusta, as
the same has been and may hereafter be laid off into lots,
streets and alleys, shall be and the same is hereby made a
town corporate, by the name of Waynesboro’, and by that
name shall have and exercise all the powers, rights, privi-
leges and immunities conferred upon towns of less than five
thousand inhabitants by the laws of the commonwealth of
Virginia, so far as such laws do not conflict with the pro-
visions of this act.

§ 2. That the administration and government of said town |
shall be vested in a council of seven, who shall be electors of !
said town, one of whom shall be designated for mayor and the |
remaining six for councilmen, to be chosen on the fourth
Thursday in May, eighteen bundred and eighty-eight, and ;
every two years thereafter, by the qualified voters of said
town, after a notice of ten days preceding said election shall ;
have been given. The registration of voters in said town,
and all elections for whatever purpose, shall be held and con-
ducted as provided by law for towns of less than five thou-
sand inhabitants. On the first day of July next eugpeeding |
any regular election for mayor and councilmen, the said '
mayor and ponialiahekae qualify and enter upon the_ dis-

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charge of their duties, and shall remain in office until their
successors are elected and qualified according to law. Three
members of said council and the mayor, or four members, one
of whom shall be elected president pro tempore, shall consti-
tute a quorum for the transaction of business. In case any
two or more persons receive the same number of votes at any
election for mayor and councilmen, the succeeding council
shall determine by lot who shall be declared elected; and in
case of a vacancy in the office of mayor or councilman by
death, resignation or otherwise, the said council may fill said
vacancy in the office of councilman from the qualified voters
of the town, and in the office of mayor from the body of the
council or the electors of the town. The said council shall
appoint a registrar, who shall register the qualified voters of
the town in the manner prescribed by law, and three judges
of election, who shall also be commissioners of election, who
shall discharge their duties in accordance with the law for
the government of judges and commissioners of elections.
One of said judges may also act as the clerk of election.

§3. The mayor, as chief magistrate of the corporation,
shall have all the powers, rights and privileges such office
confers in the general law governing towns of less than five
thousand inhabitants; and in civil cases that may arise within
the corporate limits, he shall have and exercise all the powers
vested in justices of the peace by the laws of the state. The
said mayor shall be the president of the council, and as such
he shall preside in all their meetings. The mayor or any
three members may call a special session of the council. In

_case of a tie upon any question that may be before the coun-
cil for consideration, the mayor shall have the casting vote.

§ 4. The council shall at their first meeting and every two
years thereafter, elect from their own body, or the qualified
voters of the town, a secretary and treasurer. It shall be the
duty of the secretary to keep a fair and just record of the
proceedings of the council, and to publish in such manner a8
the council may indicate, the ordinances and by-laws that
may from time to time be passed; for which services he shall
have such compensation as the council may determine td be
right and proper. The said treasurer shall receive and keep
all moneys and other funds belonging to the corporation, and
pay out the same on the order of the council drawn by the

-mayor and attested by the secretary. The said treasurer
shall be required to give bond, with approved security, ™
such penalty as the council may determine, payable to them
and their successors for the benefit of the town.

§5. The said council shall also at their first meeting and
every two years thereafter, elect a sergeant, who shall hold
office two years or until his successor is elected and qualified.
The said sergeant shall be a conservator of the peace, and in
civil cases that may arise within the corporate limits, he shall
be vested with all the powers the laws of the state confer
upon constables, and his jurisdiction as a police officer sha
extend one mile beyond the corporate limits. He shall pos

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sess the like rights of distress and powers in collecting cor-
poration taxes, service of process, and return thereof arising
under authority of this act and all laws made in pursuance
of it, and shall be entitled to like fees and commissions as
are allowed by the laws of the commonwealth to the collec-
tors and constables thereof for similar duties and services.
Said sergeant shall execute bond, with approved security, in
such penalty as the council may deem proper, payable to
them and their successors in office for the benefit of the
town, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties,
and payment over to them and their successors of said taxes
and ouher moneys and funds collected and received by him
in virtue of his office. And he and his securities, and his and
their executors, and so forth, shall be subject to such pro-
ceedings by motion or otherwise, before the county or circuit
court of Augusta county for the enforcement of the payment
of such taxes or other moneys and funds by him collected, or
could have collected, and received as aforesaid, at the suit or
motion of said mayor or other person entitled so to do. The
said council may, by two-thirds vote, remove the said ser-
geant from office for incompetency, misconduct, or negligence
of duty, and elect another to fill the unexpired term.

§6. That said town and taxable property and persons
therein shall be exempt and free from the payment of any
county road tax or poor rates, and from contributing to any
county expenses for any year in which it shall appear that
said town shall at its own expense provide for its own poor
and Pe the streets and roads in order.

_§7. That for the purpose of maintaining the police regula-
tions of said town under the authority of this act, the juris-
ction of the corporate authorities shall be, and the same is
hereby made to extend one mile in a direct line from the cor-
Poration limits.

§8 That the said council shall appoint annually three asses-
‘or, who shall be freeholders in, and electors of said town,
and whose duty it shall be during the month of February in
each year, to assess the value of all real estate in the corpo-
ay imits ; and one of said assessors shall be designated by
te council, whose duty it shall be during the month of Feb-
"uaty ine@ach year, to assess the value of all personal prop-
erty in said town, which assessments shall form a basis of
on tion, The said council shall also have power to levy and
o’ect annually a tax on all real and personal property so
ie in said town, and on such other subjects as are or
and. is taxed by the revenue laws of the commonwealth,
fn te 80 poll or head tax and a tax on dogs owned or kept
rs corporate limits. The said council shall have power
a a license to be taken out in any pursuit calling,
the sald Occupation, profession, or other purpose for which
on shows laws require, or may require a license tax; and also
corporat aud other public exhibitions within one mile of the
exceed “© limits: provided, that the tax on realty shall not

“dim any one year, fifty cents on the one hundred dol-
lars value thereof; that the poll tax shall not exceed fifty
cents on each male person over twenty-one years of age and
in any one year, and that the tax imposed on all subjects and
property shall not exceed the taxes imposed on like subjects
and property by the revenue laws of the commonwealth.

§9. The said council shall have authority to impose a
special tax on all persons doing a regular business in the
town, and who reside without the corporate limits: provided
such special tax shall not exceed in any one year the sum of
ten dollars, and that the payment of such special tax shall
not exempt such person or persons from the payment of any
regular tax imposed on said business within the corporate
limits.

§10. That all persons in pursuit of any trade, calling,
occupation, or profession, and residing in the corporate limits
on the first day of February of any year, shall be liable to
taxation under this act. And all persons entering into any
trade or profession, and so forth, after the first day of Feb-
ruary in any year, shall be liable to a pro rata rate of taxa-
tion.

§11. The said council shall have power and authority to
make all necessary provisions to prevent accidents by fire,
such as the purchase of fire engines, hooks and ladders, and
other fixtures useful for such purpose. They shall have
power to provide the town with water, by means of wells,
pumps, and water works, or in any way by them deemed to
be for the best interest, comfort, and satety of the town, and
for such purpose may levy and collect a water tax, to be
imposed on each head of a family or other person using
water from the town wells, springs, hydrants, and other
water fixtures; said water tax to be in proportion to the
amount of water used by each family or person using water
from the town wells, hydrants, and so forth. They shall
have power to provide for the interment of the dead, and to
regulate the same. They may also establish a market, and
make ordinances for the management thereof. They shall
have power to open new streets and alleys, and to widen,
grade, pave, and improve existing streets, sidewalks, alleys,
gutters, and bridges, and for such purpose may levy and col-
lect a special road tax, not to exceed fifteen cents on the one
hundred dollars value of taxable property. They shall have
power to prevent the obstruction of streets, alleys, sidewalks,
gutters, and so forth, by the hitching of horses, standing of
wagons, or in any way whatever, by imposing a reasonable fine
for such offences. They may also punish by fine the firing
of guns or pistols, the setting fire to powder and other com-
bustible or explosive material, the running and fast drivi
of horses and other animals on the streets and alleys, and al
else detrimental to the peace and good order of the town.
They shall have power to prescribe rules for the orderly
building of houses and their proper location, such as stables,
water-closets, hog-pens, cattle-sheds, -as well as dwellings,
stores, and shops. They shall have power to regulate the

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erection of chimneys, stoves and stove-pipes, and to abate

and remove all nuisances at the expense of those who occa-

sion them. They shall have power to prohibit all animals, .
except milch cows, from running at large and beyond their |
owner’s premises, and to pass all by-laws and ordinances not
contrary to the constitution and laws of the commonwealth |
and of the United States, which said council may deom
necessary for the carrying into effect such powers and privi-

leges as have or may hereafter be vested in them. They

shall also have power, before the mayor or acting mayor, to.
regulate the police, and to enforce all laws, by-laws, and ordi-
nances of the said town by a penalty not exceeding one hun-

dred dollars for one offence; said penalty or fine to be paid

into the corporation fund. They shall have power to amend

or repeal any by-law or ordinance, or remit any fine or taxes

that may to them seem proper and just. Any ordinance or

by-laws may be enforced by fine or imprisonment or both, or

in lieu of fine, by labor in chain-gang or otherwise, at the

discretion of the mayor.

§12. For the violation of any police law, other than capi-
tal crimes and penitentiary offences, and for the violation of
any special law relating to said town, and not enumerated in
this act, the said council shall have power to impose fines and
collect the same, not to exceed fines imposed by state law for
like misdemeanors, and may add to said fines, imprisonment
or hard labor, not to exceed the punishment imposed by the
laws of the commonwealth for like offences, and all such fines
shall constitute a part of the corporation tund.

§13. The said council shall have power, whenever they
may deem it expedient, to have the side-walks, foot-ways and
gutters along any street or alley in said town, of such width
48 they may prescribe, properly paved and otherwise suitably
improved, altered or repaired as they may think fit, at a
paper cost to the owners or occupants of the said lands or
lots along the front side of which such foot-ways, side-walks,
and so forth, may extend; and to levy and collect for that
purpose a special tax on each of such lands or lots, propor-
tioned to the number of feet of the same, which special tax
shall be collected as taxes on real and personal property are
by this act directed to be collected: provided that before any
owner or occupant of any land or lot in said town shall be
required to make such pavement at his own proper cost, ora
tax levied on the same for such purpose, there shall be on
such land or lot a dwelling or business house not less than
Will average fifteen feet square. And in all cases where the
lessee or tenant shall pay the expense of any such pavement
or improvement, the amount of said expense shall be an off-
or credit against a like amount of rent due or that may

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§14. All taxes, whether general or special, assessed upon
any property in said town, under the provisions of this act,
are hereby declared to constitute a lien on such property;
and if the sergeant, or other legally authorized collector, has
not been able, with due diligence, to collect the same by the
first day of December of the year in which the same were
assessed, he shall, at the first meeting of the council there-
after, make return, upon oath, of the taxes he has failed to
collect, and the property upon which such uncollected taxes
were assessed, and thereupon the council shall have the same
remedy against the property of said delinquents as this com-
monwealth has in similar cases.

§ 15. The said council may at any time extend the limits
of said town by ordering an election to be held for such pur-
pose and in such manner as elections are usually held accord-
ing to law; and if it appears that two-thirds of the owners of
real estate in said town, and also two-thirds in the proposed
extended limits, shall have voted for such extension, then,
and not otherwise, said council shall declare the corporation
limits extended, and accordingly proceed to make an order,
to be recorded on the records of said town and in the clerk’s
office of Augusta county, establishing such extended limits,
and accurately describing the same.

§ 16. The said council shall have power to provide for the
order and quiet of the Sabbath, to punish drunkenness by
proper penalties, and to regulate the sale of intoxicating
drinks within the corporate limits and one mile thereof: pro-
vided that any fine imposed on a minor shall be paid by his
parent or guardian.

§17. The said council shall have power to take private
property for public use: provided they shall pay a proper
compensation for thesame. If, however, the owner or owners
of such property object or will not agree to receive a proper
price, the said council may proceed to condemn such property
in the manner prescribed by the laws of the commonwealth
for condemnation of private property for public use, and for
this purpose the mayor’s court of said town shall have the
same jurisdiction as the county court has for condemning
land for road purposes within the county.

§ 18. The said council shall have power to regulate and
provide for weighing and measuring hay, wood, coal and
other articles sold or for sale in said town.

§ 19. All fines, penalties and amercements and other moneys
raised and received by virtue of this act and not otherwise
directed to be applied, shall be at the disposal of said council
for the benefit of the town. All officers now holding office
under this charter, shall continue to discharge the duties
of their respective offices until their successors are elected
and qualified.

§ 20. The said council shall have power to fix and regulate
the compensation and salaries of officers, and the, wages paid
for hire of teams, labor and so forth.

§21. All sections and parts of sections of any charter for
said town heretofore approved, except special laws relating
to said town, and not enumerated in any charter act, are
hereby repealed.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage.

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