Chap. 286.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the city of Bristol, and to
repeal all other acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith.

Approved March 14, 1908.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the cor-
porate limits of the city of Bristol, Virginia, shall be, and are hereby,
established as follows:

Beginning on the State line, between the States of Virginia and
Tennessee, at the point where Beaver creek crosses said line on State
street, between the town or cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol,
Virginia, and running thence east along said State line for the distance
of one mile; thence running a due course north for the distance of
one mile; thence running west parallel with said State line for the
distance of two miles; thence running a due course south to the said
State line; and thence along said State line east to the beginning.

And the same shall be, and is, hereby made a city corporate under the
name of the city of Bristol, and as such shall have, exercise and enjoy
all the rights, immunities, powers and privileges, and be subject to all
the duties and obligations incumbent on or pertaining to said city as
a municipal corporation.
2. The city shall be divided into three wards, as follows: The first
ward shall consist of all that portion of the city lying west of the fol-
lowing line; commencing at the intersection of Main and James streets,
and running thence along the middle of James and Johnson streets
to the termination of the same; and thence a straight line to the cor-
poration limits on the north; the second ward shall consist of all that
portion of the city lying east of the first ward and west of the follow-
ing line; commencing on Main street at the intersection of Main and
Front streets and running thence along the middle of Front and Russell
streets to the termiation of the same; and thence a straight line to
the corporation limits on the north; the third ward shall consist of all
that portion of the city lying east of the second ward. The city council
shall have the power to re-arrange and increase but not to diminish the
number of wards of said city.

3. The administration and government of said city shall be vested
in one principal officer to be styled as mayor, and one board to be called
the council of the city of Bristol, and in such other boards and officers
as are hereinafter mentioned or may be provided by the council.

4, The municipal officers of said city shall consist of a mayor, a treas-
urer, nine councilmen, a clerk of a court of hustings or corporation, an
attorney for the Commonwealth, a sergeant, a commissioner of the reve-
nue, one justice of the peace from each ward, and one constable for the
city and such other officers as may be hereinafter provided for or ap-
pointed by the council.

5. The mayor and council of said city shall be elected on the second
Tuesday in June, and their terms of office shall begin on the first day
of September succeeding. All other elective officers provided for by
this act, or hereafter authorized by law, shall be elected on Tuesday after
the first Monday in November, and their terms of office shall begin on
the first day of January succeeding.

6. There shall be elected on the second Tuesday in June, nineteen
hundred and eight, nine members of the city council, three from each
ward, three of said members, one from each ward, shall be elected for
one year, three of said members, one from each ward, for two years, and
three of said members, one from each ward, shall be elected for three
years, and thereafter there shall be elected, annually, three members of
said council one from each ward, whose term of office shall be three years.

%. All elections shall be held at the court house, or city hall of said
city under and pursuant to the general laws of the State, and the persons
from each ward receiving the highest vote for council shall be declared
elected, and the person from each ward receiving the highest vote for
justice of the peace shall be declared elected, and in all other cases the
persons receiving the highest vote shall be declared elected.

8. The council at its last meeting in August, nineteen hundred and
eight, and at its meeting in August every year thereafter, shall elect a
chief of police, who shall hold office for one year, and may at the same
time elect a clerk of the council, who shall hold office for one year, or
until their successors qualify, and may also elect a city engineer, a city
attorney, an auditor, a collector of taxes, a water commissioner, a street
commissioner, each for a term of one year, and may elect such other
officers as it may deem expedient for the proper conduct of the affairs
of the city, and prescribe their salaries, duties, and terms of office. Any
office which the city council has power to create, it may at any time,
for good cause, abolish, whether the term of office of the incumbent has
expired or not. ;

9. No person shall be eligible to any municipal office in said city unless
he is a qualified voter thereof, nor shall any person be capable of holding
at the same time more than one office mentioned in this act, except as
hereinafter provided, and removal from the city of any one holding a
municipal office shall vacate said office. No member of the council shall
be eligible during his tenure of office as such member, or for one year
thereafter, to any office to be filled by the council by election or appoint-
ment.

10. When any vacancy shall occur in the council by death, resigna-
tion, removal from ward, failure to qualify, or from any other cause,
the council shall elect a qualified person to fill the vacancy for the un-
expired term.

11. It shall not be lawful for any member of the council or any other
officer or agent, or any commissioner appointed for the opening of streets,
or any member of a committee constituted or appointed for the manage-
ment, regulation, or control of corporate property of this city to be a
contractor with the said corporation or its agents, or with such committee
for any work or labor ordered to be done, or goods, wares, and mer-
chandise, or supplies of any kind ordered by the said corporation, or by
such committee to be purchased, or in any manner, directly or indi-
rectly, to be interested in the profits of any such contract. Every such
contract shall be void, and the officer, agent, or member of such committee
making such contract shall forfeit to the city the full amount stipu-
lated for thereby. No officer of the city, who alone or with other
is charged with the duty of auditing, settling or providing by levy or
otherwise for the payment of claims against such city shall by contract,
directly or indirectly, become the owner of or interested in any claim
against such city. Every such contract shall be void, and if any such
claim be paid, the amount paid with interest may be recovered back by
the city within two years after payment by action or motion in the cir-
cuit or corporation or hustings court having jurisdiction over said city.

12. Any person holding a municipal office and vacating the same on
account of removal or otherwise shall deliver over to his successor in
office, or to the city clerk, all property and books and papers belonging
to the city or appertaining to such office which may be in his possession
or under his control, and in case of his failure to do so within ten days
after he shall have vacated the office, or within such time thereafter as
the council shall elect and upon notification or request of the city clerk,
he shall forfeit and pay to said city the sum of five hundred dollars,
to be sued for and recovered with costs, and all books, records, and
documents used in such office by virtue of any provisions of this act or
of any ordinance or resolution of the council, or by order of any superior
officer of said city, shall be deemed the property of said city and as ap-
pertaining to said office, and the incumbent of such office, and his sure-
ties shall be responsible therefor.

13. All officers provided for in this act and all officers elected by the
council, shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, execute
bond, payable to the city of Bristol, in such penalty as said council may
prescribe, conditioned for the faithful discharge of their respective
duties; all sureties to be residents of the State of Virginia, except well-
known and responsible surety companies: provided, that the provisions
of this section shall not apply to councilmen, the mayor, justices of the
peace, city attorney, overseers of the poor, and the city physician and
board of health. ,

14. (a) The mayor and all municipal officers of said city, before
entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall be sworn in
accordance with the laws of the State by any one authorized to admin-
ister oaths under the laws of the State. If any person elected or ap-
pointed to any office in said city shall neglect to take such oath for
thirty days after receiving notice of his election or appointment, or
for the like space of time, neglect to give such sureties as may be required
of him by the council, he shall be considered as having declined said
office, and the same shall be declared vacant, and such vacancies shall be
filled as prescribed by section ten of this chapter or as hereinafter other-
wise provided.

(b) The oath herein provided to be taken by all officers shall be
reduced to writing, and the party taking the same shall, in the presence
of the officer administering said oath, subscribe to the same, and the
fact of his taking the oath, the date thereof, and the genuineness of his
signature shall be certified to by the officer administering the oath, and
the said oath, together with the certificate, shall be carried to the clerk
of the corporation court, and he shall endorse the date received and file
the same as part of the record in said office, in a suitable file or book
which he shall keep for that purpose. No officer shall be considered
qualified, and the term of office shall be deemed vacant unless the oath
therein directed is filed as herein provided.

15. The mayor.—There shall be elected by the qualified voters of said
city a mayor for a term of four years, who shall be the chief executive
officer of said city and shall possess the powers of a justice of the peace,
and shall take care that the by-laws and ordinances thereof are fully
executed. He shall see that the duties of the various city officers,
members of the police and fire departments, whether elected or ap-
pointed, in and for the city, are faithfully performed. He shall have
power to investigate their acts, have access to all books and documents
in their offices, and may examine them and their subordinates on oath.
The evidence given by persons so examined shall not be used against
them in any criminal proceedings. He shall also have power to suspend
such officers and members of the police and fire department, and to
remove such officers for misconduct in office or neglect of duty, to be
specified in the order of suspension or removal; but no such removal
shall be made without reasonable notice to the officer complained of, and
opportunity afforded him to be heard in person or by counsel, and to
present testimony in his defense. From such order of suspension or
removal, the officer so suspended or removed, or the member of the
police or fire departments so suspended, shall have an appeal of right
to the corporation court, in which court the case shall be heard de novo
by the judge thereof, in term time or in vacation, whose decision shall
be final. He shall have all other powers and duties which may be here-
inafter, or by general laws, conferred upon him. The corporation court
of said city may remove the mayor from office for malfeasance, mis-
feasance, or gross neglect of official duty, and such removal shall be
deemed a vacation of the office. All proceedings against the mayor for
the purpose of removing him from office shall be by order or motion
before said court upon reasonable notice to the party affected thereby,
and with the right to said party of an appeal to the supreme court of
appeals.

The mayor shall be present at the annual settlement of the finance
committee with the treasurer and the chief of police and the quarterly
settlements with the water commissioner. He shall at any and all
times have access to all papers and books in the care and custody of any
city official. He shall exercise supervision over the books and accounts
of the city clerk and the accounts of the clerk of the corporation court in
so far as the revenues of the city are involved. He shall audit the ac-
count of the clerk of said court to that extent, and shall determine and
ascertain that the said clerk has given the city proper credit with the
collection of all city delinquent taxes, taxes on deeds, and all sums col-
lectible by him. He shall examine the accounts kept by the clerk with
all city officers and see that the same are kept in the manner and method
prescribed by this act and as the council may direct, and shall report
any failure of duty on the part of the clerk or other officer, and take
such action thereon as is provided by this act or the city ordinances. The
mayor shall semi-annually, or oftener, if so required by the council,
report to said council the particulars and manner in which he is dis-
charging the duties required by this section. ;

16. In the event of death, resignation, removal of the mayor, or his
inability to discharge his duties from other causes, his place shall be
filled and his duties shall be discharged by the president of the council
until another mayor is elected and qualified, or until such inability shall}
cease.

1%. Within ten days after the death, resignation or removal of the
mayor, the corporation court of the city shall order a special election,
which shall be held within thirty days after such order is entered, to fill
the unexpired term of the mayor; provided, the unexpired part of such
term remaining after such election is as much as one year.

18. It shall be his duty to communicate to the council at the end of
each fiscal year, or oftener, if it should be required by said council, a
general statement of the condition of the city in relation to its govern-
ment, finances and improvements, and shall make monthly such recom-
mendations as he may deem proper, and he shall have power to call a
meeting of the council whenever he deems it necessary.

19. Every ordinance, or resolution having the effect of an ordinance,
passed by the council of the city, shall, before it becomes operative, be
presented to the mayor of said city, and if he approves it, he shall sign
same, but it not, he shall return it with his objections in ‘writing to the
clerk of the council, and it shall be entered at length upon the records of
the council; whereupon the council shall proceed to reconsider the same.
Upon such consideration, if the ordinance or resolution be approved by
two-thirds of all the members elected to the council, it shall’ become
operative notwithstanding the objection of the mayor.
If any ordinance or resolution shall not be returned by the mayor
within five days (Sundays excepted), after it shall have been presented
to him, it shall become operative in like manner as if he had signed it,
unless his term of office, or that of the council, shall expire within five
days. He shall have power to veto any particular item or items of an
appropriation ordinance or resolution; but the veto shall not effect any
item or items to which he does not object. The item or items objected
to shall not take effect except in the manner provided in this section as
to ordinances or resolutions not approved by the mayor. No ordinance
or resolution appropriating money exceeding the sum of one hundred dol-
lars, imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrowing of money, shall be
passed except by a recorded affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members
elected to the council; and in case of the veto by the mayor of such ordi-
nance or resolution, it shall require a recorded affirmative vote of two-
thirds of all the members elected to the council to pass same over such
veto in the manner provided in this section.

20. The mayor’s salary shall be fixed by the city council, but shall not
exceed five hundred dollars a year, and he shall receive no other com-
pensation or emoluments whatever, except as hereinafter provided. He
shall be eligible to appointment by the corporation court, or the judge
thereof in vacation, to the office of police justice, and when acting as
such police justice, he may collect such fees as are allowed by law to a
justice of the peace.

21. He shall, by virtue of his office, if appointed by the judge of the
corporation court as police justice, and while acting as such, possess all
the jurisdiction and exercise all the power and authority, both in criminal
and civil cases, of a justice of a peace of said city, and for one mile beyond
the corporate limits of said city, in addition to the powers hereby given
him by virtue of this act; provided, however, that in every case tried by
the said mayor, arising either under the general laws of the State or the
ordinances of Bristol, there shall be an appeal of right to the corporation
court of said city whenever the fine and costs shall amount to a sum
in excess of ten dollars, the proceedings upon such appeal to be the same
as are provided for in the case of appeal from a justice of the peace.

22. The mayor shall have control of the police force for the purpose
of maintaining peace and order, and executing the laws and ordinances
of the city. He shall have power to appoint and swear in special police-
men whenever the public safety demands it, who shall have such powers
as regular policemen.

23. The council.shall elect one of its members to act as president, who
shall preside at its meetings and continue in office one year, unless
elected to fill a vacancy, when the election shall be for the unexpired term.
The council shall also elect one of its members to be vice-president, who
shall preside at such meetings in the absence of the president, and who,
when the president shall be absent from the city or unable to perform
the duties of his office by reason of sickness or other cause, shall perform
any and all duties required or intrusted to such president under any
provision of this charter. When, for any cause, both the president and
vice-president shall be absent from any meeting, a president pro tempore
shall be elected by the council, who shall preside during the absence of
the president and vice-president. The president, vice-president, or presi-
dent pro tempore, who shall preside when the proceedings of a previous
meeting are read, shall sign the same.

24. The president of the council, or the vice-president, when authorized
as above stated to act for the president, shall have power at any time
to call a meeting of the council, and, in case of absence, sickness, dis-
ability, or refusal to act, of both the president and the vice-president of
the council, it may be convened by the order in writing of any three mem-
bers of said council, but no such meetings shall be convened until notice
has been served upon each member of the council in person, or by leaving
a copy of the same at his place of abode, which, in all cases, shall state
the purpose for which such special meetings are called.

25. The council shall fix by ordinance the time for holding its stated
meetings, and no business shall be transacted at a special meeting, except
that for which it shall have been called.

26. The council shall have authority to adopt such rules and to appoint
such officers and clerks as it may deem proper for the regulation of its
proceedings, and for the convenient transaction of business, to compel
the attendance of absent members, to punish its members for disorderly
behavior, and by a vote of two-thirds of its members to expel a member
for malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office. The council shall
keep a journal of its procedings, and its meetings shall be open, except
when by a recorded vote of two-thirds of those members present, the
council shall declare that the public welfare requires secrecy. The
council, or any of its committees, when authorized by the said council,
the board of police commissioners, and the board of fire commissioners,
if there be such board, may each in any investigation held by them respec-
tively within their respective powers and duties, order the attendance
of any person as a witness, and the production by any person of all
proper books and papers. Any person refusing or failing to attend or
testify or to produce such books and papers, may be summoned by such
investigating body before the police justice, or in case there is no police
justice, before the mayor or other officer having the powers of a justice
of the peace of the city, and upon failure to give satisfactory excuse, may
be fined by him not exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars, or im-
prisoned not exceeding thirty days, such person to have the right of appeal
as in cases of misdemeanor to the corporation court of said city.

Such witnesses may be sworn by the officer presiding at such investiga-
tion, and shall be liable to prosecution for perjury for any false testi-
mony given at any such investigation.

27. A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business. No vote shall be reconsidered or re-
scinded at any special meeting unless at such special meeting there be
present such a number of members as were present when such vote was
taken. No ordinance or resolution appropriating money exceeding the
sum of one thousand dollars, imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrow-
ing of money, shall be passed on the same day in which any such ordi-
nance or resolution is proposed.

27. (a) No debt shall be created by the council for a longer period
than twelve months unless the ordinance creating the same shall have
been introduced at some meeting of the council at least thirty days
before the same is passed, but an amendment to such ordinance need not
lie over for an additional] thirty days.
28. The city council shall have, subject to the provision of this act,
the control and management of the fiscal and municipal affairs of the
city, and all property, real and personal, belonging to said city, and
shall have the power by a two-thirds vote of said council to buy, lease,
sell, or otherwise dispose of any and all real estate that is or may be
owned by said city, and shall have the right to donate and convey the
same, or any part thereof, to manufacturing industries that may be
located in said city, and may make such ordinances and by-laws relating
to the same as they shall deem proper, and they shall likewise have
power to make such ordinances, orders, by-laws, and regulations as they
may deem necessary to carry out the following powers which are hereby
vested in them.

29. To secure the inhabitants from contagious, infectious, or other
dangerous diseases, to establish, to erect and to regulate hospitals, and
to subscribe funds for the maintenance of private hospital or hospitals
established by the city or to which the city shall have subscribed; to
appoint and to organize a board of health for said city, and to clothe it
with authority necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of
their duties.

30. To require and to compel the abatement and removal of nuisances
within said city at the expense of the person or persons causing the
same, or the owner or owners of the ground whereon the same may be,
and to collect said expense by a suit or motion; to prevent and to regu-
late slaughter houses, soap and candle factories, oil tanks, lumber yards,
or other combustible articles within said city, or to restrain the exercise
of any dangerous, offensive, unwholesome business, trade or employ-
ment therein, and to regulate the transportation of coal and other
articles, or live stock, through the streets of said city.

31. If any ground in said city be subject to be covered with stagnant
water, or if the owner or owners, occupier or occupiers thereof shall
permit any offensive or unwholesome substances to remain or accumu-
late therein, the council may cause such grounds to be filled, raised or
drained, or may cause such substance to be covered or to be removed
therefrom, and may collect the expense for so doing from the owner or
owners, occupier or occupiers, or any of them (except in cases where
such nuisance is caused by the action of the city authorities or their
agents, in which case the city shall pay the expenses of abating the
same), by distress and sale in the same manner in which taxes levied
upon_the real estate for the benefit of the city are authorized to be col-
lected, or by suit or motion: provided, that reasonable notice shall first
be given to said owner or owners, or his or her or their agent or agents.
In case of non-resident owners who have no agent in said city such notice
may be given by publication for not less than ten days in any news-
paper published in said city, all expenses of said publication to be paid
for by the owner or occupier as above. The occupier or tenant of such
premises shall only be compelled to pay for the same an amount not
exceeding the amount due by him for rent, and he shall have the right
to offset any amount he may have so paid against the rent due the owner
of the premises.

32. To direct the location of and control of all buildings for storing
gunpowder and other combustible and explosive substances, and to
regulate the sale and use of gunpowder, firecrackers, or fireworks manu-
factured or prepared therefrom, kerosene oil, nitroglycerine, camphene,
burning fluid, or any other combustible material; to regulate the exhi-
bition of fireworks, the discharge of firearms, the use of light and candles
in barns, stables and other outbuildings, and to restrain the making of
bonfires in streets and yards.

33. To regulate the keeping of hogs and other animals within the city,
and to prescribe limits within which such animals may be kept, or from
which they may be excluded; to prevent hogs, dogs, and other animals
from running at large within said city, and to subject the same to con-
fiscation, regulation, and taxes as it may deem proper.

34. To prevent riding and driving of horses or other animals, motor
cars, or other vehicles, at an improper speed; throwing stones or engag-
ing in any employment or sport on the streets, sidewalks, or public
alleys dangerous or annoying to passengers or the public, and to prohibit
and punish the abuse or cruel treatment of horses or other animals in
said city.

35. To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants, and street beggars;
to prevent vice and immorality; to preserve the peace and good order;
to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to
suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; to prevent and punish
lewd, indecent, and disorderly exhibitions in said city, and to expel
therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided therein
as much as one year.

36. To forbid, prevent and to punish the selling or giving away of
liquors and intoxicating drinks to be drunk in any public place not duly
licensed, and the selling or giving to be drunk any intoxicating drinks
or liquors to any child or minor, and the selling or giving away of cigar-
ettes to any minor under fifteen years of age, and for any violation of
any such ordinance it may impose fines in addition to those prescribed
by the laws of the State.

37. To prevent the coming into the city of persons having no osten-
sible means of support, and of persons who may be dangerous to the
peace and safety of the city.

38. To prescribe the limits within which no building shall be con-
structed, except of brick, stone, or other incombustible material with
fire-proof roof, and to impose a penalty for a violation of any such ordi-
nance, and to appoint one or more persons to_inspect buildings and to
condemn such as are unsound or unsafe.

39. The council may, by ordinance, make such regulations not in-
consistent with law as it may deem expedient, in relation to the erection
of buildings or the alteration of the same, and may regulate the build-
ings, construction, management, and inspection of elevators, hoist-ways,
elevator shafts, and plumbing, steam, gas, and electric fittings of build-
ings in said city, and may prescribe such buildings as shall have fire-
escapes.

40. The council may, by ordinance, make such regulations in relation
to the construction of all wagons, carts, carriages, trucks, sleighs, sleds,
and other vehicles, or any part thereof, and their loads, passing over
the highways and public places of said city as it may deem necessary for
the public good.
41. The council may enact stringent and efficient laws for securing
the safety of persons from fires in halls and buildings used for public
assemblies, entertainments, or amusements.

42. In addition to the foregoing powers, the council shall have all
the general power vested in it by the laws of the State, and shall further
have power to establish a market or markets in and for said city, and
appoint proper officers therefor; prescribe the times and places for hold-
ing ‘the same; provide suitable buildings and grounds therefor; and to
enforce such regulations as shall be necessary and proper to prevent
huckstering, forestalling, or regrating.

43. To erect and provide in or near said city, suitable workhouses,
houses of correction and reformation, and houses for the reception and
maintenance of the poor and destitute, and they shall possess and exer-
cise authority over all persons within the limits of the city, receiving
or entitled to the benefits of the poor laws; appoint necessary officers
and persons proper to be connected with the aforesaid institutions, and
regulate pauperism within the limits of the city, and the council,
through the agency they shall appoint for the direction and manage-
ment of the poor of the city, shall exercise the powers and perform the
duties vested by law in the overseers of the poor.

44. To erect and keep in order all public buildings necessary and
proper for said city; to erect within the city, a city prison, and said
prison shall contain such apartments as shall. be necessary fur the safe
keeping of all persons confined therein.

45. To establish or enlarge, acquire by purchase or otherwise, and
operate water-works and gas-works and electric light plants within or
without the limits of the city, contract and agree with the owners of any
land for the use and purchase thereof, or have the same condemned
according to law, for the location, extension, or enlargement of their
said works, the pipes connected therewith, or any of the fixtures or
appurtenances thereof, and shall have power to protect from injury,
by ordinance prescribing adequate penalties, the said works, pipes, fix-
tures, poles, and lands or anything connected therewith, whether within
or without the limits of said city.

46. To close or extend, widen or narrow, lay out, graduate, curve,
pave, and otherwise improve the streets, sidewalks and public alleys in
said city and have them kept in good order and properly lighted, and
over any street or alley in the city which has been, or may be, ceded and
conveyed to the city by proper deed, they shall have like power ana
authority as over other streets and alleys. They may build bridges in
and culverts under said streets and alleys, and may prevent or remove
any structure, obstruction, or encroachment over or under, or in any
street, sidewalk or alley in said city, and may permit shade trees to be
planted along said streets. No street railway, gas, water, steam or
electric heating, electric lighting or power, cold storage, compressed air,
viaduct, conduit, telephone or bridge company, nor any corporation,
association, person, or partnership, engaged in these or like enterprises,
shall be permitted to use the streets, alleys, or public grounds of the city,
without the previous consent of the council of said city, and in the
manner provided by law. In the meantime no order shall be made, no
injunction shall be awarded by any court or judge to stay the proceed-
ings of tie city in the prosecution of their works, unless it be manifest
that they, their officers, agent, or servants are transcending the authority
given them by this act, and that the interposition of the court is neces-
sary to prevent injury that cannot be adequaely compensated in damages.

4%. The rights of the city in and to its streets, avenues, parks, bridges,
and other public places, and its gas, water, and electric works, shall not
be sold, except by an ordinance or resolution passed by a recorded,
affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members elected to the council,
and under such other restrictions as may be imposed by iaw; and in
case of the veto by the mayor of such ordinance or resolution, it shall
require a recorded, affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members
elected to the council, had in the one heretofore provided for in this
charter, to pass the same over the veto, no franchise, lease, or right, of
any kind, to use any such public property, or any other public property, the
easement, of any description, in a manner not permitted to the general
public, shall be granted for a longer period than thirty years. Before
granting any such franchise or privilege for a term of years, except for
a trunk railway, the council shall first, after due advertisement, receive
bids therefor publicly in such manner as is provided by the following
section, and shall then act as may be required by law. Such grant, and_
any contract in pursuance thereof, may provide that upon the termina-
tion of the grant, the plant as well as the property, if any, of the
grantee in the streets, avenues, and other public places, shall, thereupon,
without compensation to the grantee, or upon the payment of a fair
valuation therefor, be and become the property of the city; but the
grantee shall be entitled te no payment by reason of the value of the
franchise; and any such plant or property acquired by the city may be
sold or leased, or, if authorized by law, maintained, controlled and
operated by the city. Every such grant shall specify the mode of deter-
mining any valuation therein provided for, and shall make adequate
provision by way of forfeiture of the grant, or otherwise secure efficiency
of public service at reasonable rates, and the maintenance of the prop-
erty in good order throughout the term of the grant.

47. (a) Before granting any fianchise, privilege, lease, or right of
kind to use any public property, or easement of any description, except
in the case of and for a trunk railway, it shall be the duty of the city
to advertise the ordinance proposing to make the grant, after its term
shall have been approved by the mayor, or the ordinance passed over the
mayor’s veto, as in case of other ordinances, once a week for four suc-
cessive weeks in a newspaper published in said city, or if no newspaper
be published therein, then in some newspaper having general circulation
therein; and the ordinance may be also advertised as many times in such
other newspaper or newspapers, published in or out of the city or State,
as the council may select and determine upon.

Such advertisement shall invite bids for the franchise, privilege, or
right proposed to be granted in the ordinance, which bids are to be in
writing, and delivered upon a day and hour named in the advertisement
to the presiding officer of the council of the city in open session. ,

The costs of the advertising herein required shall be paid by the city.
which, however, shall be reimbursed by the person or corporation to
whom the grant is finally made. The city shall have the right to reject
any and all bids, and shall reserve this right in the advertisement herein-
before required. °

The presiding officer aforesaid shall read aloud, or cause to be read
aloud, the bids that have been received for public information; and shall
then inquire if any further bids are offered. If further bids are offered
they shall be received until no further bids are offered; but if not, the
presiding officer shall declare the bidding closed.

After reference to committee and such other investigation as the
council sees fit to make, it shall be the duty of the council, if it sees fit
to make the grant, to accept the highest and best bid, and to enact the
ordinance as advertised, without substantial variation, except as to the
insertion of the name of the accepted bidder: provided, that the council
may, by a recorded vote of a majority of the members elected to the
council, reject a higher and accept a lower bid, and award the said
franchise, right, or privilege to the lower bidder, if, in its opinion,
some reason affecting the interest of the city or town makes it advisable
so to do, which reason shall -be itself expressed in the body of the sub-
sequent ordinance granting the franchise, right, or privilege; but if,
after such advertisements, no bid, or no satisfactory bid, shall be made,
the council may advertise for further bids, and in case no bid at all is
made, the council may, if it sees fit so to do, enact an ordinance in the
manner required by law, granting such franchises, rights, or privileges
to any person or corporation making application therefor: provided,
futher, however, that the person or coporation to whom any such fran-
chise, right, or privilege is awarded, whether by competing bids or other-
wise, as hereinbefore provided, shall first execute a bond, with good and
sufficient security, in favor of the city, in such sum as said city shall
determine, conditioned upon the constructing and putting into opera-
tion and maintaining the plant or plants provided for in the franchise,
right, or privilege granted. ;

The subsequent ordinance actually making the grant, with a detailed
list giving names, amounts, and addresses of all bidders, shall be pre-
sented to the mayor for his information and for his approval or dis-
approval, as in the case of all other ordinances.

No amendment or extension of any such franchise, right, or privilege
that now exists, or that may hereafter be authorized, which extends
or enlarges such fianchise, right, or privilege, either as to the time dur-
ing which it is to last or as to the territory in which it is to be enjoyed,
shall be granted, until the provisions of this act shall have been com-
plied with ; and no amendment that releases the grantee, or his assignee,
from the performance of any duty required by the ordinance granting
the franchise, or that authorizes an increase in the charges to be made
by such grantee or assignee, for the use by the public of the benefits of
such franchise, shall be granted unless and until notice of such pro-
posed amendment for ten days in some newspaper published in the city,
or, if there be no newspaper published therein, then in some newspaper
having circulation therein.

The corporation court shall have jurisdiction by mandamus, accord-
ing to the provisions of section one hundred and forty-four of the Code
of Virginia, to enforce compliance by said city, and by all grantees of
franchises, whether now in force or granted under the provisions of this
act, with all the terms and contracts and obligations of either part, as
contained in franchises. Services of process in such mandamus pro-
ceeding may be made upon any agent or employee of such grantees re-
siding in said city, or otherwise, as provided by law for service of process
on defendant: provided, however, that such jurisdiction in mandamus
shall not preclude any party from bringing any other suit or action
which such party would be entitled to bring without the passage of this
act, at law or in equity.

Any person or corporation that shall undertake to occupy or use any
of the streets, avenues, parks, bridges, or any other public places or
public property, or any easement of any description in said city in a
manner not permitted to the general public, without having first legally
obtained the consent thereto of the city council or a franchise therefor,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be
fined not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, each day’s
continuance thereof to be a separate offense, and such occupancy shall
be deemed a nuisance, and the court or justice trying the case shall have
power to cause the said nuisance to be abated, and to commit the of-
fenders and all their agents and employees.engaged in such offenses to
jail until such order of the court shall be obeyed.

48. To permit railroads and street-car lines to be built and to deter-
mine and designate the route and grade thereof; to permit or prohibit
poles for electrical purposes to be erected, gas and steam pipes to be
laid in the streets, and to prescribe an annual license charge for the
privileges granted hereunder; to regulate the speed of engines and cars
upon the railroads within the city, and to wholly exclude the same when
the welfare of the city may demand it.

49. To make provisions tor and regulate the weighing of hay, fodder,
oats, shucks, or other long forage. They may also provide for measuring
corn, oats, grain, coal, stone, wood, lumber, boards, potatoes, and other
articles for sale and barter.

50. ''o require every merchant, retailer, trader, and dealer of mer-
chandise or property of any description, which is sold by measure or
weight, to cause their weights and measures to be sealed by the city
sealer, to be subject to his inspection; and may impose penalties for any
violation of any such ordinances.

51. The council shall, in the year nineteen hundred and three, and
every tenth year thereafter, and also whenever the boundaries: of the
wards of the city are changed, prescribe by ordinance the number of
members of each ward of the council and reapportion the representa-
tives therein among the wards, but so as to give, as far as practicable,
to each ward of the city, equal representation in the council, in propor-
tion to the population of each ward. In determining such population,
the council shall be governed by the last United States census or by
enumeration to be provided by ordinance of said council, or such other
enumeration as may be provided by law: provided, however, that when-
ever, by the last United States census, or by other enumerations made
by authority of the council, or as may be provided by law, it shall appear
that the population in any ward exceeds that of any other ward by as
much as three thousand inhabitants, or whenever the corporate limits
of the city shall be extended or contracted, or whenever in the opinion
of the council, it shall be the duty of the city council to redistrict the
city into wards, or shall increase or diminish the number of wards s0
that no one ward shall exceed any other ward’ in population by more
than three thousand inhabitants. For the purpose of carrying out the
provisions of this section, or whenever it shall be considered to the
interest of the city, the council shall have full power, by ordinance, to
authorize an enumeration of the population of the city, and if the dif-
ferent wards thereof enumerated by such number of enumerators, with
such compensation, and in such manner as may be provided for in such
ordinance, provided, that whenever such enumeration is authorized, the
enumerators provided for in such ordinance shall be named by the judge
of the corporation court of said city, provided, however, that, if, by any
change of the boundaries of a ward, or by the increase or diminution of
the number of wards, any officer who is required by law to be a resident
of the ward from which he is elected or appointed, shall become a
resident of a different ward, such officer stall, notwithstanding, serve
as such to the end of the term. The council shall have power to give
names to or alter the names of streets, and to provide for the regulation
and safe construction of houses within the city.

52. To make such rules and orders as will protect its citizens against
danger of unsafe houses or walls, and to that end shall have power to
cause to be condemned and taken down any such buildings or walls and
to designate and prescribe from time to time the part of the city within
which no buildings of wood shall be erected, and to regulate the con-
struction of buildings in the city so as to protect it against danger from
fire.

53. To prescribe any penalty for the violation of any city ordinance
not exceeding three hundred dollars, or twelve months imprisonment in
jail, or both.

54. To hold such land as may have been already acquired by the city
of Bristol to be used as a place for the burial of the dead, and to
acquire by purchase or otherwise such additonal land as may be neces-
sary for that purpose, to prescribe and enforce all needful rules and
regulations not inconsistent with the laws of the State for the use, pro-
tection, preservation, and ornamentation of the cemetery, to set aside
in their discretion by metes and bounds a portion thereof for the inter-
ment of strangers and the indigent poor.

55. To establish new streets and extend and alter any street that has
been or may hereafter be established, and to pave the same; to have side-
walks, gutters, culverts, and sewers built or any improvements what-
soever made thereon, and shall determine what portion, if any, of the
whole expense shall be paid by the owners of the real estate benefited
thereby, but all proceedings for local assessments shall be made as here-
inafter provided, and the council shall prescribe the time and manner
in which the said assessment shall be payable.

56. Concurrently with the board of supervisors of Washington county
to take care, supervise, and control for a distance of two miles from the
‘city limits of all public roads extending from the city into Washington
county, Virginia, and jointly with said supervisors to close, extend,
widen, narrow, lay out, grade, pave, macadamize, and otherwise improve
and alter said roads for such distance and keep the same in good order
and repair, and to condemn the necessary land for this purpose, to
make or conduct sewers, drains, and ducts through the same, or wher-
ever else they deem expedient for the maintaining and preserving
thereof; build bridges in or culverts under said roads; prevent or re-
move obstructions or encroachments in, under, or over the same; plant
shade trees along the same and prevent the cumbering or injuring in
any manner said roads, and do all things necessary for the proper use
and preservation thereof, but the said council of the city of Bristol shall
in no case have power to expend more than one-half of the amount of
money used in the construction and repairing of said roads. The city
council shall have authority to pass the proper and necessary ordinances
for the carrying out the powers hereby conferred, and to enforce the
same by fine, to be inflicted by its mayor or police justice by the same
proceedings and in the same manner that violations of the city ordi-
nances are now punished, and the city is given the same powers for
collecting said fines that it possesses in the collection of fines inflicted
for offenses committed within its limits. Nothing contained herein shall
be construed as compelling the exercise of the powers herein given or as
fixing any liability on the said city for the failure to exercise or the im-
proper exercise of the said powers, except damages for the land con-
demned, which are to be ascertained and fixed in the manner provided
by the general laws of the State.

5%. To pass all by-laws, rules, and ordinances not repugnant to the
Constitution and laws of the State which it may deem necessary for the
good order and government of the city, the management of its property,
the conduct of its affairs, the peace, comfort, convenience, order, morals,
health, and protection of its citizens or their property, and to do such
other things and pass such other Jaws as may be necessary or proper to
carry into full effect any power, authority, capacity, or jurisdiction,
which is or shall be granted to or vested in said city or in the council,
court or officers thereof, or which may be necessarily incident to a mu-
nicipal corporation.

58. All contracts for the erection of public improvements within the
jurisdiction of the city council shall be let to the lowest and best bidder,
and, except in cases of emergency, notices shall be given at least thirty
days before the work is finally let by advertisement at least once a week
in one or more newspapers published in the city, and by a printed notice
posted at the courthouse door and at other public places in said city,
and the party to whom said contract shall be let shall give such bond
as the council may require, but in no event shall any contract be let to
any member of the city council, nor shall any member have an interest
in such contract, either directly or indirectly.

59. The council may, in the name and for the use of the city, con-
tract debts and cause to be issued therefor certificates, notes or bonds,
but no debt of the city shall be payable more than thirty-four years from
the date thereof: provided, that the council shall not have power to
contract debts for the city or issue evidences thereof, whether certificates,
notes or bonds, for sums which, when added to the debt of the city then
existing, shall cause the total amount of the indebtedness of the city
to be greater than fifteen per centum of the value of the real and per-
sonal estate in the city as assessed for taxation, except for the issue of
bonds otherwise provided by law; and provided further, that the council
shall not contract debts or issue any evidence thereof for the purpose
of subsevibing to the capital stock of any internal improvement com-
pany, nor shall it cause the bonds of any such company to be endorsed
by the city: provided, that the council of said city may, upon the appli-
cation of the president of any incorporated company for a work of in-
ternal improvement or other purpose, submit to the qualified voters of
said city in the manner now prescribed by law the question of sub-
scribing to the capital stock of such company such an amount not ex-
ceeding fifty thousand dollars to any one company, and upon such terms
and conditions as may be stated in the order of the council submitting
the question. Said city of Bristol is authorized to subscribe to the capi-
tal stock of such company any amount not exceeding fifty thousand dol-’
lars to any one company, and upon such terms and conditions as may
he stated in the order of said council as aforesaid, and if the requisite
number of votes, as provided in chapter fifty-one of the Code of Vir-
ginia, be cast in favor of the subscription, then it shall be the duty of
said council to make said subscription upon the terms and conditions
stated in its order, and to levy and collect such an amount of taxes per
annum as may be necessary to pay the interest and provide a sinking
fund on the bonds of the city which may be issued for the purpose of
paying such subscription: provided, that no tax levied by the city upon
any real or personal property in said city shall exceed two dollars upon
the one hundred dollars’ assessed value thereof; and provided also, that
the city council shall have power by a two-thirds vote to exempt from
city taxation any manufacturing establishment for a period not exceed-
ing five vears.

60. No debt shall be created by the council for a longer period than
six months, unless the ordinance creating the saine shall have heen
introduced at some meeting of the council at least thirty days before the
same is passed ; but an amendment to such an ordinance need not lie over
for an additional thirty days.

61. The council shall annually cause to be made up and entered on
their journal on account of all sums lawfully chargeable on the city
which ought to be paid within one year, and order a city levy of so much
as in their opinion is necessary to be raised in that way, in addition
to what may be received for licenses and from other sources: provided,
that the levy so ordered on real and personal estate shall not exceed two
dollars on every one hundred dollars of the assessed value thereof. The
levy so ordered may be upon the male persons in the said city above the
age of twenty-one years and upon any property therein, and on such
other subjects as may at that time be assessed with State taxes against
persons residing therein.

For the execution of its powers and duties the council may tax all real
and personal property in the city not exempt by law from taxation; all
corporations located in the city or having their principal office therein
and not exempt by law from taxation; all moneys owned by, or credits
due to any person living in the city, all capital of persons having a
place of business in the city and doing business therein, and employed
in said business, though the said business may extend beyond the city:
provided, that so much of said capital as is invested in real estate, or
employed in the manufacture of articles outside the city limits, shall
not be taxed as capital; all stocks in incorporated joint stock companies
doing business in the city, and by whomsoever owned, and not exempt
by law from taxation; income, interest, or money, dividends of banks or
other corporations; provided, that no such capital, interest, income or
dividends shal] be taxed when a license or other tax is imposed upon the
business in which said capital is employed, or upon the principal, money,
credits or stock from which the interest, income, or dividend is derived ;
nor shall a tax be imposed at the same time upon stock of a corporation
and upon the dividends thereon. Assessment upon stocks and bonds
shall be according to the market value thereof. The council may tax
deeds and all other papers placed upon the records in the clrek’s office,
any sums not exceeding like taxes levied by the State.

62. The council may impose a tax of one dollar per annum upon
each male resident of the city who has attained the age of twenty-one
years.

63. The council may impose a tax on merchants, commission mer-
chants, auctioneers, manufacturers, traders, lawyers, physicians, dentists,
brokers, keepers of ordinaries, hotel keepers, boarding house keepers,
keepers of drinking or eating houses, keepers of livery stables, pho-
tographic artists of all kinds, agents of all kinds (including the agents
of insurance companies whose principal office is not located in the city),
sellers of wines and other liquors, vendors of quack medicine, public
theatrical or other performances or shows, keepers of billiard tables,
tenpin alleys, pistol galleries, hawkers, peddlers, sample merchants, and
upon any other person or employment which it may deem proper,
whether such person or employment be herein specially enumerated or
not, and whether any tax be imposed thereon by the State or not. As
to all such persons or employment, the council] may lay a direct tax,
or may require a license tax therefor, under such regulations as it may
prescribe, and levy a tax thereon; but the taxes herein authorized shall
be subject to the provisions and conditions set forth in the sixty-first
section of this charter.

64. The council may subject any person, who, without having ob-
tained a license therefor, shall do any act or follow any employment or
business in the city, for which a license may be required by ordinance,
to such fine or penalty as it is authorized to impose for any violation of
its laws.

65. There shall be set apart annually from the revenues of the city
a sinking fund equal to one per centum on the aggregate outstanding
debt of the city, which by its terms is not payable within one year, and
whenever the said city shall increase its bonded indebtedness or issue
new bonds for the redemption of the existing obligation, it shall create
at their maturity, which sinking fund shall be applied to such purpose
and none other, and shall be securely invested in interest bearing munici-
pal, State or government bonds or other securities to be approved by
the council. The council may use said funds in the purchase and re-
demption of any bonds for which said fund was created.

66. Whenever the council shall decide upon a bond issue, the pur-
pose or purposes for which the proceeds thereof are to be used shall be
spread upon the record of the council, and when such bonds are issued,
shall be sold to the highest bidder for cash, and the proceeds shall be
used for the purposes expressed and none other. No bonds or other
evidences of debt shall bear a greater rate of interest than six per centum
per annum. Any bonds issued by the city under this act shall be signed
by the mayor and countersigned by the clerk under the seal of the city
and shall be made payable at the office of the city treasurer, or such
other place as the council may provide. Such bonds shall be advertised
and sold by the city treasurer under the direction and supervision of
the finance committee, or such other committee as may be appointed by
the council.

6%. The council may vest in the collector of city taxes and assessments,
the collector of water rents, and any other collector of sums due the
city, which it may appoint, any or all of the powers which are now, or
may be hereafter vested in any collector of State taxes, and may pre-
scribe the mode of his proceeding, and the mode of proceeding against
him for the failure to perform his duties. No deed of trust or mortgage
upon goods or chattels shall prevent the same from being distrained
and sold for taxes assessed against the grantor in said deed, while such
goods and chattels remain in the possession of the grantor, nor shall
any such deed prevent the goods and chattels conveyed, from being dis-
trained and sold for taxes assessed thereon, no matter in whose possession
they may be found.

68. There shall be a lien on real estate for the city taxes assessed
thereon, from the commencement of the year for which they are assesséd.
The city council may require real estate in the city delinquent for the
non-payment of taxes to be sold for said taxes, with interest thereon,
and such percentum as they prescribe for expenses of collection, and.
they may regulate the terms on which real estate so delinquent may be
sold or redeemed: provided, that such sales shall be made subject to the
prior lien of the Commonwealth for taxes.

The city shall also have a lien for its taxes or levies upon all such
corporate property as it is authorized to tax under section one hundred
and seventy-six of the Constitution, said lien shall, subject to the prior
lien of the State for taxes, take precedence of all other liens or incum-
brances.

69. A tenant from whom payment of taxes on his landlord’s property
shall be obtained by distress or otherwise shall have credit for the same
against such person on account of his rent, unless by contract the tenant
is to pay such taxes. ,

70. All moneys received or collected for the use of the city, shall be
paid over, held, and disbursed as the council may order or prescribe.

The city of Bristol and its inhabitants shall be exempt from all assess-
ments for levies in the way of taxes imposed by the authority of Wash-
ington county for any purpose whatever, except upon property in said
county, owned by the inhabitants of said city, nor shall such inhabitants
be liable to serve upon juries in said county.

%1. The city shall not impose any tax or assessment upon abutting
land owners for street or other local improvements, except for making
and improving the walkways upon then existing streets, and improving
and paving then existing alleys, and for either the construction, or for
the use of sewers; and the same, when imposed, shall not be in excess
of the peculiar benefits resulting therefrom to such abutting land owners.
Such improvements shall be ordered by the council, and the cost thereof
be apportioned in pursuance of an agreement between the city and the
abutting land owners, but in the absence of such agreement, no improve-
ment, the cost of which is to be defrayed in part by such local tax or
assessment, shall be ordered, except on a petition from not less than
three-fourths of the land owners to be effected thereby, or by a two-
thirds vote of all the members elected to the council; but, when no
petition is filed, notice shall first be given to abutting land owners not
less than ten days in advance, notifying them when and where they may
appear before the council, or the committee thereof, how the matter
may be referred, to be heard for or against such improvement; but no
such notice shall be necessary when the owner is a non-resident, or is not
sui juris. Any committee to act under this or subsequent provisions
of this section, shall be composed of not less than three members. The
cost of such improvement, when the same shall have been ascertained,
shall be apportioned by the council, or under its direction, between the
city and the abutting landowners: provided, that, except when it is
otherwise agreed, the portion assessed against each landowner, or for
which he is liable by agreement, shall be reported forthwith to the city
treasurer, who shall enter the same as provided for other taxes in a
separate book provided and kept for that purpose. When the apportion-
ment is not fixed by agreement, notice thereof, and of the amount
assessed against him, shall be given each of the then abutting land-
owners, and he shall be cited thereby to appear before the council, or
the committee thereof having the matter in charge, not less than fifteen
days after the service of such notice, at a time and place to be desig-
nated therein, to show cause, if any he can, against such assessment.
Notice to an infant or insane person may be served on his guardian, or
committee, and notice to a non-resident of the State may be mailed to
him at his place of residence, or served on his agent, if he have one
within the State, or if he have no such agent, on the tenant of the free-
hold. Any landowner wishing to make objections, may appear in
person or by counsel, and if he require it, to a hearing before the council.
Tf his objections are overruled, he shall have appeal as of right to the
corporation court of the city. When an appeal is taken, the clerk of
the council shall immediately deliver to the clerk of the court, the
original notice relating to said assessment, with the judgment of the
council, or committee, endorsed thereon, and’ the clerk shall docket the
same. There such appeal shall be tried by the court, or the judge
thereof, in a summary way, without pleadings in writing, and without
a jury, in term time or in vacation, after reasonable notice to the adverse
party, and the hearing shall be de novo.

The amount assessed against each landowner, or fixed by agreement
with him, shall be a lien on his abutting land from the time the council
assess or fix the amount thereof, subject, however, to his right of appeal
and objection as aforesaid, and may be enforced by a suit in equity; and,
provided, that as against a purchaser for value and without notice, such
assessment or tax shall not be a lien except and until it shall have been
reported to the city treasurer and entered by him as hereinbefore pro-
vided.
71. (a) In connection with its system of sewerage within the city,
the council may adopt and use Beaver creek as a sewer; provided that
reasonable care be used in confining said creek within its channel, and
to this end the council may at any time order the channel of said Beaver
creek to be so altered, widened or deepened, as it may think proper,
and such wall, or walls, to be constructed along its banks as will prevent
overflow. ;

72. The treasurer—The treasurer shall be elected as heinbefore
provided on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nineteen
hundred and five, and every four years thereafter, and shall hold his
office for a term of four years, but he shall not be eligible for more than
two consecutive terms, nor act as deputy for his immediate successor.
He shall qualify before the corporation court of said city, and his oath
shall be filed with the clerk of said court, and he shall give bond in some
surety company to be approved by the council in a penalty to be deter-
mined by said council, but not less than thirty thousand dollars in any
one year.

%3. The treasurer shall receive such compensation as 1s provided by
law in the case of a county treasurer for the collection of all State taxes
or other funds, and for the collection of the city’s revenues the council
may prescribe either a monthly salary or per centum to be charged on
any and all taxes or funds collected or received by him on account of
or for the city, provided that his total compensation from the city shall
not exceed the sum of twelve hundred dollars per annum. No person
shall be allowed to qualify a second time as treasurer ynoless and until
he shall have satisfactorily settled his account as treasurer for the preced-
ing term; and if such settlement be not made on or before the regular
time for his entering upon the duties of his office for another term, the
office shall be considered vacant and the vacancy shall be filled as herein-
before provided.

v4, The said treasurer shall receive all money belonging to the city.
He shall keep his books and accounts in such manner as the city council
may prescribe, and such books and accounts shall always be subject
to the inspection of the mayor and any member of the city council or
any committee thereof and the clerk of the city council.

%5. No money shall be paid out by the treasurer except upon a
warrant of the clerk of the council, countersigned by the mayor, and
he shall keep a separate account of each fund and appropriation, and
the debts and credits belonging thereto, in the book prescribed for that
purpose.

76. All moneys to be paid into the treasury of the city, except taxes
and such other assessments as the city council may so ordain, shall be
paid by the person liable to pay the same, or his agent, to the treasurer
in the following manner: A warrant shall first be obtained from the
clerk of the council directing the treasurer to receive the sum to be paid.
specifying on what account the payment is to be made. Upon the pay-
ment of the moncy to the treasurer he shall give a receipt for the same,
which shall be carried to the clerk, and his receipt therefor shall be the
acquittance of the party making the payment.

The warrant book of the clerk and the receipt of the clerk shall be in
the following form:
ME. gcwsw ems eae hiw seem ews nee this day deposited as per my
order the sum of ................ dollars with the city treasurer, on
account of

City Clerk.
Bristol, Virginia,
eT ee ee 19.....

CITY CLERK'S RECEIPT.

. No. ec eee eee eee
This is to certify that Mr .............. cee cece cee eens has
deposited with the treasurer for the city of Bristol, Virginia, the sum
0) dollars, on account of ..............00000,

Geom te eee ee EE an ties
Bristol, Virginia,
cee eee eens 19.....

TREASURER'S WARRANT,

Now oe. eee ee ee eee
The treasurer for the city of Bristol, Virginia, will receive from
Mr. wo cece eee nee the sum of ..........00 eee

dollars on account of ....... 0... ccc cece een eee aes

City Clerk.

The receipt book and record of the city treasurer shall be in the fol-
lowing form:

TREASURER’S MEMORANDUM.

No: iss cmseaiws mews
Mr. wo cee te eee this dav deposited with us as per
order of the citv clerk the sum of ................0..0008. dollars,
on. account: of 2s cerawiws owe weews ee ewetwsamees cuss pie mew Ble 62 &

Ss. City Treasurer.
SRBAOUAREA O&O ABUL.

Bristol, Virginia,

Pee Se MER Ew ERS EN Ds cess
Do
To the city clerk of Bristol, Virginia:

This certifies that Mr. ............ 00... ce eee eens » has this day
paid me as directed by you the sum of .............. dollars on ac-
COUNT Of sims awisw vs wim Wem Re ME KERR De en eee mem came nem ele

$.... City Treasurer.

The treasurer shall not under any conditions receive any money,
unless otherwise provided, except upon the warrant of the clerk, and
no money shall be received unless he properly fills out the receipt herein
provided, and he shall retain the stub of each receipt, together with all
the clerk’s warrants, as a part of the records of his office. No payment
shall be considered valid and binding on the city unless made in strict
accordance with the provisions herein, and if the treasurer fails or re-
fuses to perform any duties required of him by this chapter he shall be
fined not less than five nor more than one hundred dollars, and he and
his securities on his official bond shall be liable for all damages which
may accrue to the city or any other person by reason of such failure
or refusal.

77. The treasurer shall also report to the city council at the end of
each fiscal year, and oftener if required, a full and detailed account of
all receipts and expenditures during the preceding fiscal year and the
state of the treasury which shall be posted at the courthouse door and
published in a newspaper in said city. He shall also keep a register of
all warrants, their date, amount, number, and fund from which paid
and the person to whom paid, specifying also the time of payment, and
all such warrants shall be examined at the time of making such report
to the city council by a committee thereof, and by the clerk of the city
council, who shall examine and compare the same with the books of
the clerk and report discrepancies, if any, to the council.

78. The treasurer shall collect all taxes and assessments which said
city council may authorize him to collect, and perform such other duties
as may herein be prescribed or ordained by the city council.

79. All moneys received on any special assessment shall be held by
the treasurer as a special fund, to be applied to the payment for which
the assessment was made, and said money shall be used for no other
purpose whatsoever.

80. The treasurer shall keep all moneys in his hands belonging to the
city separate and distinct from his own money, and he is hereby ex-
pressly prohibited from using directly, or indirectly, said money or
warrants in his custody, or keeping for his own use and benefit, or
that of any person, or persons, whomsoever, and any violation of this
provision shall subject him to immediate removal from office, after
reasonable notice to appear before the council. In case of his removal
the city council shall elect a qualified person to fill said office until the
next general election which may be held in the city, when the qualified
voters of said city, as in other cases, fill such vacancy by an election of
a treasurer who shall hold his office for the remainder of the unexpired
term.

81. The said treasurer shall not receive any commissions greater than
five per centum on any city taxes, levies, or assessments, or sums paid
to him. On the collection of city fines, the collection of water rents,
the collection of delinquent taxes paid by the clerk of court, or on any
other collections where the same is collected by some officer, and deliv-
ered to the said treasurer in bulk as herein provided, he shall receive
only such compensation as the city council may determine, and in no
case shall the same exceed one per centum.

82. The said treasurer shall not be entitled to any commission what-
soever, for handling the orders of the court, releasing the erroneous
assessment on either real or personal property, and any attempt by said
treasurer to charge a commission on said release orders of court shall
subject him to the fine herein provided, and removal from office.

83. The said treasurer in his annual settlements with the city shall
present to the finance committee his account with the auditor of the
State, so that it may determine what amount of compensation the State
has paid him.

84. The said treasurer shall make out his tax tickets, and keep the
hooks and record of his office in a neat, convenient, and legible manner,
and in conformity to the ordinances of the city council pertaining thereto.

85. The said treasurer shall not pay any order or allowance made
against the city by the courts until he receive the voucher provided by
this act, to be issued by the clerk of the council upon the order of the
clerk of said court.

86. The said treasurer shall not pay any sum or claim for accounts,
claims for salaries, or any claim of any kind against the city in advance
of the allowance of such claim by the city council and in advance of
the issuance of the voucher which the city clerk is directed to issue for
such allowances or salaries, nor shall he pay any such claim or voucher
so issued until the mayor has countersigned the same as herein pro-
vided, and upon violation of these provisions, he shall be subject to the
fines and penalties provided in section forty-three of this chapter.

87. The clerk of the corporation court shall be ex-officio clerk of the
council, but the city council may elect a clerk as hereinafter provided,
who shall hold his office for one year and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualify, unless sooner removed from office by the city
council. He shall qualify as hereinbefore provided, and his oath shall
be filed as hereinbefore’ provided, and he shall give bond, with surety,
to be approved by the council, in a penalty to be determined by the
council, but the penalty of said bond to be not Jess than one thousand
dollars.

88. The said clerk shall attend the mectings of the city council and
keep a record of its proceedings. Te shall have the custody of the
corporate seal. He shall keep all papers that by the provisions of this
act or the direction of the city council are required to be filed with or
kept by him. It shall also be his duty, immediately after the close of
each session of the city council, to make and present to the mayor a
transcript of every ordinance, resolution, or order concerning any public
improvement or of the payment of money, and every ordinance, resolu-
tion, or order and act of legislative character passed by the city council
at such session. He shall in like manner transmit to the treasurer a
transcript of all ordinances, resolution, or orders, appropriating money,
or authorizing the payment of money, the issue of bonds or notes. He
shall in like manner give notice to all parties presenting communica-
tions or petitions to the city council of the final action of the council
on such communication or petition. He shall publish such reports and
ordinances as the city council are required by this act to publish, and
such other reports and ordinances as they may direct, and shall, in gen-
eral, perform such other acts and duties as the city council may from
time to time require of him.

89. The said clerk shall, in a suitable book kept for that purpose,
keep an accurate account with the city treasurer, and all entries to be
made therein shall, if practicable, be made on the date which they occur,
and the accounts so kept that an examination of said book at any time
will show the condition of the treasury. No other account shall be
kept in this book. He shall as soon as the commissioner of the revenue
completes the land and personal property books take the copies of said
books, which the commissioner is required to furnish the city, carefully
audit said books comparing them with the books of the previous year.
The land book shall be compared with the assessor’s book and the list of
transfers furnished by the clerk of the corporation court and the per-
sonal property book shall be compared with the books of the previous
year, and the said clerk of the council shall procure a copy of the poll-
books used in the election next preceding the assessment from which
said books were made, and he shall ascertain which of the citizens and
voters, if any, have not been assessed by the commissioner of the revenue,
and the list of those not assessed shall be laid before the city council
at its next meeting. The said clerk shall examine said books and see
that the amount of tax is correctly extended in accordance with the
rate of taxation at that time in force, and the columns of said book
shall be carefully audited and the errors therein, if any, shall be cor-
rected. The commissioner of the revenue is required to be present and
render the clerk such assistance as he may desire, and in case of a dis-
agreement between the commissioner and clerk, the finance committee
of the council shall, upon being notified, at once assemble and deter-
mine the question in dispute; when said books are corrected and audited
the total thereof shall be charged to the city treasurer on his account.
The said clerk shall take the delinquent lists required to be furnished
him by the treasurer and lay the same before the finance committee,
and it shall be the duty of said finance committee to carefully examine
said delinquent report of both real and personal tax. (If said treasurer
has returned any tax, either real or personal, delinquent that should
not under the provisions of the law of the State and the ordinances of
the city have been returned delinquent, the said committee shall refuse
to allow him credit therefor and shall strike from the delinquent report
any and all such taxes; after said report has been corrected as herein
provided, the clerk will credit the treasurer with the amount of same).
90. The delinquent land report shall be returned to the treasurer,
and he shall be charged with the same, and he shall dispose of the
same as he is directed by the laws of the State to dispose of the de-
linquent land tax due the State. The clerk will as soon as the treasurer
reports to him, give him credit on his account for any erroneous assess-
ment of tax, all sales of land to the Commonwealth, and all sales of land
to others than the Commonwealth, and the lists of land previously sold
to the Commonwealth, give said treasurer credit on his account for the
full amount of the respective reports, but no such report shall be
credited him until the same has been laid before the finance com-
mittee, and the additions carefully audited by the clerk, and the names
in all such reports shall be examined, and the amounts opposite such
names likewise examined and compared with the delinquent report and
the assessment of lands and the fact of any discrepancy, alterations, or
changes shall be reported to the city council. The said clerk shall charge
the treasurer on his account with the amount of each warrant issued
directing the treasurer to receive any money other than taxes as herein
provided, and said warrants shall be issued for the payment of water
rents collected by the water commissioner, fines collected by the chief
of police, delinquent personal tax and local assessments collected by the
chief of police, delinquent real estate tax collected by the clerk of the
court, tax’ on deeds and all other funds collected by the clerk of the
court, and all collections of any nature and kind whatever, except as
otherwise provided by this act. ,

91. The said clerk shall in a separate book kept for that purpose,
enter all vouchers that he is herein directed to issue for the payment of
money, and shall at the end of each fiscal year compare the said book
with the vouchers paid by the treasurer at that time, completing the.
entries to be made in said book, and he shall credit the account of the
treasurer with the actual amount of vouchers so entered in said book,
which shall be in the following form:

RECORD OF WARRANTS ISSUED

.

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92. A report shall be made to the city council of all outstanding
vouchers at that time, and oftener if so required. The coupons de-
tached from any and all bonds issued by the city shall be cancelled by
the treasurer when paid and shall be examined by the clerk, and he shall
present the same to the finance committee, together with the vouchers
paid by the treasurer at the end of the fiscal year, and when said list
has been carefully audited and found to be correct he shall give the
treasurer credit therefor.

The said clerk shall, under the direction of the city council and on
some suitable form for the purpose, have printed a city license blank ;
the said blanks shall be printed and numbered, and each license shall
have a stub corresponding in numbers with the attached license, which
stub shall show the date the license was issued, to whom it was issued,
for what it was issued, the date it begins, the date it expires, and other
matter that is pertinent, including the amount paid for such license
and the fee therefor. Said book shall be delivered to the commissioner
of revenue, and at the end of each month when the commissioner de-
livers said book to the clerk as he is required to do he shall examine
said stub, compare the same with schedule of license tax at that time
in force, and if any license has been issued for an improper amount
the fact shall at once be reported to the city council. The total amount
of license shall be charged to the city treasurer on his account at the
end of each month by the clerk when he examines the same and he shall
furnish the city treasurer a list of such charges at the time of charging
the same to his account.

93. The said clerk shall, in a book kept for that purpose and none
other, properly indexed, record the list of water consumers which the
commissioner of water is directed to furnish him, and at the end of
each quarter he shall compare the stubs of all water tickets issued by
the commissioner with the said lists and report to the finance or water
committee any and all names who have not paid their water rent. He
shall keep an account of all tickets issued and giving him credit for the
amount of money he deposits with the treasurer. Said clerk, as soon
as he receives the delinquent personal property report and has credited
the same to the treasurer as herein provided, shall deliver to the chief
of police the delinquent personal tax tickets returned by said treasurer,
charging the police officer with the full amount of the same, and at the
end of the fiscal year he shall credit the said police officer with the
amount of tickets returned uncollected, but no ticket shall be credited
him until the same and its reason for being so returned have been
examined by the finance committee, and they shall refuse to give such
officer credit for any sums he could have collected by due diligence, and
the report of said committee, together with the report of said police
officer, may be laid before the city council and published or disposed of
as it may direct.

94. The said clerk shall have printed and bound in a suitable book
blanks in suitable form for orders for any supplies for the water, street,
police, fire, and court purposes, or for any other purpose that the coun-
cil may direct ; and for each order issued he shall fill out the stub which
shall show for what, to whom, the amount, date, and any other matter
deemed pertinent, and he shall issue such order only in pursuance to
the ordinances of the city council, and before each stated meeting he
will audit all accounts that have been filed with him in accordance with
the rules and ordinances of the council using the stub in the order
book, and any account filed with him shall have attached thereto the
order or orders covering the amount; he will refuse to audit any account
unless the order covering the same is attached thereto, and when such
accounts, with the orders thereto attached have been audited and ap-
proved for payment by the finance committee he will list the same, read
them at the stated council meeting, record them when allowed in the
minutes of the council and file the account and order in alphabetical
order endorsing thereon the date of allowance.

95. The said clerk shall keep an accurate account, in a book for that
purpose, with each city official, giving said officer such credits for
salary, et cetera, as the city council may allow him and charging him
with each voucher issued, and he shall not under any circumstances
issue any voucher for labor or service to be performed, and no voucher
shall be issued for less than one month’s services, and then only on the
last day or at the expiration of said month.

96. The compensation and salary of said clerk shall be such as is
fixed by the city council, so that the same shall not be less than thirty
dollars per month.

97. The said clerk shall issue a voucher for all orders given him which
have been issued by the clerk of the corporation court, and shall preserve
and keep all such court orders or allowances as a part of the records
of his office, and he shall not issue a voucher for any court allowances,
unless the party to whom said allowance was made by the court or his
agent present such order from the clerk of the court.

98. If the city clerk fails or refuses to perform any of the duties re-
quired of him by this act or by the city council, he shall be fined not
less than five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each
offense, and he, his sureties on his official bond, shall be liable for all
damage which may accrue to the city or any other person by reason of
such failure or refusal.

99. The said clerk shall keep his office and all books and papers dele-
gated to his care and custody in the courthouse of said city in the
office or room set apart therefor by the city council.

100. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city on the
Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred and
five, and every eight years thereafter, a clerk of the corporation court
for the said city whose term shall be eight years and until his suc-
cussor is elected and qualified. He shall receive in compensation for
his services the fees and emoluments allowed by law to clerks, and he
shall be allowed and paid upon the order of the city council, an ex-
officio salary of not less than one hundred and fifty dollars per annum
for services performed for the city as clerk of the corporation court,
which sum shall be paid monthly by the city treasurer.

101. He shall be ex-officio clerk of the city council, unlesss a majority
of the members of said council shall on a recorded vote deem it expedient
to otherwise elect a city clerk.

102. He shall, at the end of each fiscal year or oftener, if required,
furnish a statement of city delinquent taxes, tax on deed, and all other
taxes, levies, and assessments collected or collectable by him. All sums
collected by him shall be paid over to the city treasurer upon the warrant
of the city clerk as herein provided for the payment of funds into the
treasury.

103. The said clerk will furnish all lists, statements, and reports that
the council may require of him, or that is provided by this act.

104. For all allowances made against the city by the courts, or by
the laws of the State, for any account, claim, warrant, for jurors’ or
witness’ attendance, the said clerk shall issue as soon as allowed by the
court, and called for by the party or his agent, to whom said allowance
is made, issue an order on a suitable form for that purpose, retaining
a proper stub for all orders so issued, upon the city clerk, which said
order shall direct the city clerk to issue a voucher on the city treasurer
for the sum so allowed, and said order shall state for what the allowance
is made, and any other matter required by the court or city council.
And no such order shall be issued in any other name than in the name
of the party to whom the allowance is made by the court.

105. To aid the commissioner of revenue in his duties, the clerk of
the court of hustings for the city of Bristol, as required, shall deliver
to him such lists as mentioned in section four hundred and thirty-nine
of the Code of eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as far as may relate
to lands in said city.

He shall receive for his services the fees allowed by law, and such
other compensation as the city council may from time to time direct.

106. The clerk shall execute such bond as the judge of the corporation
court may fix, and in a penalty prescribed by him, and with such security
as said judge may require. ,

107. If the said clerk fails or refuses to perform any of the duties
required of him by this act or the court or city council, he shall be
fined not less than five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for
each offense, and he and his sureties on his official bond shall be liable
for all damage which may accrue to the city or any other person by
reason of such failure or refusal.

108. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city on Tues-
day after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred and five,
and every four years thereafter, one Commonwealth’s attorney, who
shall prosecute in all cases in the corporation court of said city. He
shall hold his office for a term of four years and until his successor be
elected and qualified, and shall receive such compensation as may be
prescribed by law, and such ex-officio salary for services as may be allowed
by the-city council. He shall be eligible for appointment as city attor-
ney, said appointment to be made by the city council.

109. There shall be appointed or elected as provided by general law,
one commissioner of the revenue who shall hold his office for a term of
four years from the first day of January next succeeding his appoint-
ment. The commissioner of revenue now in office shall continue to dis-
charge the duties of his office until his successor shall be appointed and
qualified. He shall give bond with surety in such amount as the court
may determine, which shall be filed in the office of the clerk of said
court.
110. The duties and liabilities of the said commissioner of the
revenue shall be the same as are defined and prescribed by chapter
twenty-four of the Code for commissioners of the revenue for counties
so far as the same may be applicable and not inconsistent with this act
and the Constitution and laws of the State; and in addition to the
compensation allowed him by and from the State under that chapter, he
shall be entitled to such compensation for extending in his land and
personal property books all city levies as the council may deem
reasonable. For every city license granted by the commissioner under
this charter he shall receive a fee of seventy-five cents, and for trans-
ferring a license, the fee shall be fifty cents. All such fees shall be
paid by the person obtaining:the license or transfer; and such license
or transfer may be withheld until the fees are paid.

The said commissioner of the revenue shall perform all the duties in
relation to the assessment of property for the purpose of levying the
city taxes that may be ordered by the city council. He shall keep his
office in some convenient place in said city, and shall keep therein such
books, schedules, and records in such manner as the mayor and city
council may direct and prescribe, which books, records, and other
papers, shall be subject to the inspection and examination of the mayor,
the members of the city council, or any committee thereof, and of the
collector of city taxes and the clerk of the council.

111. If ‘the commissioner of the revenue ascertain that any person,
or any real or personal property, or income, or salary, has not been
assessed for city taxation for any: year, or that the same has been assessed
at less than the law required for any year, or that the taxes thereon
for any cause have not been realized, it shall be the duty of the com-
missioner to list the same, and assess city taxes thereon at the rate
prescribed for that year, adding thereto interest at the rate of six per
centum per annum. Where the same was omitted by no fault of the
person charged with the taxes, no interest shall be charged: provided,
that this section shall not apply to any taxes omitted prior to the passage
of this act.

112. The said commissioner shall at the time he delivers the copies
of the land and personal property books required of him under the
State law, deliver to the clerk of the corporation court a copy of the
land and personal property books, and shall assist the clerk in his
examination and auditing of said books, and perform any duties re-
quired of him by the city council, and render said clerk all such assist-
ance as is required under the laws of the State.

113. He shall apply to the city clerk who shall furnish him with the
proper city license book, and he shall issue all city licenses which the
council may direct of him, and no license shall be issued except from
the said license book, and at the time of issuing said license the stub
which is retained in the book shall be properly filled out by the com-
missioner. When he is applied to for license he shall ascertain the
correct amount, make the proper entries, sign the license himself as
commissioner and deliver the same to the treasurer who shall collect the
tax thereon. No license shall be valid until the treasurer has signed the
same and delivered to the party, and no license shall be delivered until
paid for. The commissioner is expressly forbidden signing the treas-
urer’s name to a license or any other paper. He shall not issue any
license for any other amount than that fixed by the city council, and
where a license should be issued, and no rate therefore is established,
he shall forthwith report the fact to the finance committee or city
council who shall determine the rate. He shall at least twenty-four
hours before each regular meeting of the city council leave with the city
clerk his license book together with a list of all licenses issued by him
during the preceding month, and he shall be present at the stated finance
committee meeting and render to them any explanation or assistance
regarding said license report and his acts and doings as commissioner as
the committee or council may require of him.

114. The commissioner of the revenue in his annual report to the
finance committee shall submit a detailed statement setting forth the
names alphabetically arranged of persons or firms chargeable with a city
license tax, the nature of the business in which said persons or firms are
engaged, the annual purchases of merchants, the time for which said
license runs, and the amount of the said license tax.

The commissioner of the revenue is expressly prohibited from collect-
ing all or any part of the license tax, which tax shall be paid to the treas-
urer or his deputy by the party making application for license or his agent ;
and the clerk of the council shall have printed on the city license herein-
before provided for, the following words “the commissioner of the
revenue is prohibited from collecting or receipting for the tax hereon,
which tax shall be paid to the treasurer or his deputy, otherwise this
license shall be void.”

If the commissioner of the revenue fails or refuses to perform any
of the duties required of him by this act, or required of him by the
city council, he shall be fined not less than five dollars nor more than
one hundred dollars for each offense, and he and his sureties on his
official bond shall be liable for all damages, which may accrue to the
city or any other person by reason of such failure or refusal.

115. City Sergeant.—There shall be elected by the qualified voters of
said city on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nineteen
hundred and five, and every four years thereafter, one city sergeant,
who shall‘attend the terms of the corporation court for said city and act
as the officer thereof, and shall receive therefor such compensation as
the court may allow, so that the same be not less than two hundred
dollars nor more than-three hundred dollars per annum. The said
sergeant is hereby vested with full powers of a policeman, and is author-
ized and empowered to make arrest for all violations of the city ordi-
nances and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by
law, or by the council, and for any and all duties imposed upon him by
the said council, he shall receive such amounts for the performance
thereof as the council may determine.

116. The sergeant may with the approval of the court of hustings
for the city of Bristol, appoint a deputy or deputies, who may be re-
moved from office by the said sergeant or by the corporation court,
without notice to said deputy. During the continuance in office of said
seregant, his deputy or deputies may discharge any of the duties of the
office of sergeant, but the sergeant and his sureties shall be liable there-
for.
117%. Constable-—There shall be elected by the qualified voters of said
city on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred
and five, and every four years thereafter, one constable for said city,
who shall hold his office for a term of four years and until his successor
shall be appointed and qualified. Said constable shall keep his office
in some convenient place in the city, and shall receive such compensation
for his services as is allowed by law. He shall have the same powers
and duties, and shall be subject to the same penalties as prescribed bv
law for other constables. Said power shall be exercised and performed
by him within the corporate limits of said city and within the county
of Washington, and said constable shall also have the same power and
duties as the sergeant of said city, and may execute any process, civil
or criminal, that may be executed by said sergeant, or by the sheriff or
constable of Washington county within said county and said city. And
he shall perform such other duties as is required by law, or as the city
council may prescribe, and receive such compensation in addition to the
fees allowed by law as said council may allow.

118. Justices of the Peace—There shall be elected by the qualified
voters of said city on Tuesday after the first Monday in November,
nineteen hundred and five, and every four years thereaftery one justice
of the peace for each ward of said city, who shall be residents of their
respective wards, and who shall hold office for a term of four years and
until their successors are elected and qualified, and shall perform such
duties and possess the jurisdiction provided by law for justices of the
peace generally.

119. (a) The office of police justice is hereby created for said city,
and the judge of the corporation court shall appoint one of the three
justices of the peace, the mayor or some other proper person, to perform
the duties of the police justice as hereinafter prescribed. He shall be
appointed in the month of August, nineteen hundred and eight, and
every four years thereafter. His term of office shall begin the first of
September next after his appointment and continue for a term of four
years and until his successor is appointed and qualified. He shall
receive such fees as herein provided and may be paid a salary to be fixed
by the city council, provided the same shall not exceed two hundred
dollars.

(b) He shall possess all the jurisdiction and exercise the powers and
authority in civil and criminal cases of a justice of the peace within
the limits of said city, and within one mile thereof, and also all power
conferred upon police justices by the general laws of this State, and
in addition to said powers and duties, it shall be his duty to enforce
the penal laws and ordinances of the city and like ordinances and resolu-
tions of the council; his jurisdiction shall extend as to all ordinances,
resolutions and orders of the council, to the corporate limits of said
city. In enforcing the laws and ordinances of the city, he shall have
authority to impose such fines and penalties and inflict such punishment
as by the laws and ordinances ordained.

(c) The maximum limit of his jurisdiction in civil cases shall be
one hundred dollars, except he shall have original jurisdiction to trv
attachment cases where the amount involved is not over one hundred
dollars, and where the matter in controversy does not exceed ten dollars,
his judgment shall be final.
(d) An appeal may be taken from the judgment of the police justice
in imposing penalties for violation of city ordinances to the corporation
court of the city, except in cases where the penalty imposed is a fine not
exceeding ten dollars, in which case it shall be final.

(e) He shall have power to enforce the payment of any fine or
penalty imposed by him for violation of city ordinances by imprison-
ment in the city jail.

(f) He shall hold court every day except Sunday, when the same
may be held to take cognizance of such cases as may be brought before
him under the laws of the State, or ordinances of the city, and at such
place as shall be prescribed by the council.

(g) The said justice shall perform any other duties assigned him
HA the council not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the

tate.

(h) In case of the absence from the city or inability to act in any
particular case, said police justice may designate one of the justices of
the peace to act in his place, who, when acting, shall possess the same
powers, and discharge the same duties as said justice and receive the
same compensation, provided that if such absence or inability shall
continue more than two days, such designation shall be made by the
judge of the corporation court.

i) Any vacancy occurring in the office of the police justice may be
filled by the judge of the corporation court with one of the justices of
said city, or some other proper person, and said police justice may be
removed by the said judge for malfeasance, misfeasance, and gross
neglect of official duty; and such removal shall be deemed a vacation of
the office; but all procedings under this section shall be by order or
motion before said court upon reasonable notice to the party to be
affected thereby.

(j) The police justice shall keep a regular account of all fines, for-
feitures, and costs imposed for the violation of the city ordinances. He
shall report the same in an itemized statement to the council monthly.
The chief of police shall collect such fines, forfeitures, and costs and
report the same monthly to the council, and pay over the same monthly
to the treasurer. The police justice shall receive such fee as a justice
of the peace, and a fee of fifty cents for each warrant issued or tried, or
submitted for violation of the city ordinances, to be assessed in the case
as other costs of trial; but in no case shall said fee of fifty cents be paid
by the said city.

(k) The account of fines and forfeitures fenein directed to be kept
shall be kept in a suitable book for that purpose, and the said police
justice shall enter all cases coming before him on the said books, and
shall enter the amount of the fine, and give the disposition of the case
as soon as he has disposed of the same. The monthly report herein re-
quired of him shall be handed the city clerk at least twenty-four hours
before each stated council meeting.

(1) If the police justice fails or refuses to perform any of the duties
required of him by this act, or by the city council, he shall be fined not
less than five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each offense,
and he and the sureties on his official bond shall be liable for all damages
which may accrue to the’city or any other person, by reason of such
failure or refusal.
(m) The said justice shall execute bond in such penalty as the city
council may require, and with security satisfactory to them, in addition
to the bond he executes as justice of the peace.

120. Chief of Police——The chief of police shall be elected by the city
council of the city of Bristol for the term of one year. His salary shall
be fixed by the city council, not to be less than fifty dollars per month,
and shall not be diminished during his term of office. He shall, before
entering upon the duties of his office, be sworn in accordance with the
laws of this State, execute bond in some approved surety company in
such penalty as the council may require, with said sureties to be ap-
proved by the council, payable to the city by its corporate name for the
faithful discharge of his duties. His duties shall be such as prescribed
by law and such as may be prescribed by the council. The said bond
and oath of the chief of police shall be filed with the clerk as herein
provided.

121. Assistant Police——The chief of police shall recommend to the
council for confirmation two assistant policemen and ss many more as
the council may deem necessary, and the council shall fix their salary
not to be less than forty dollars per month. Such assistance police-
men shall be sworn in as provided by law, and shall be required to
execute bond, with security, in such amount as the council may prescribe,
so that the penalty thereof be not less than five hundred dollars, condi-
tioned upon the faithful discharge of their duties.

The police force, composed of the chief of police and assistant police-
men, shall be under the control of the mayor for the purpose of en-
forcing peace and order, and executing the laws and ordinances of the
city, and shall also perform such other duties as the council may pre-
scribe.

122. For the purpose of enabling it to execute its duties and powers,
each member of the police force and each policeman is hereby made
and constituted a conservator of the peace and endowed with all the
powers of a constable in criminal cases, and all other powers which
under the laws of the city may be necessary to enable him to discharge
the duties of his office. Uniform rules and regulations shall be pre-
scribed by the mayor and approved by the council. The pay of all
policemen shall be prescribed by the council.

123. The chief of police shall be collector of delinquent city personal
tax, fines, and such other levies and assessments as the council may
prescribe. He shall take the delinquent personal property tickets de-
livered to him by the city clerk and proceed to collect the same as the
council may direct, and for that purpose shall have all the powers and
authority and be subject to the same liabilities and penalties as are pre-
scribed for the collector in the collection of State taxes and county and
city levies, and may be proceeded against in the same manner, so far as
applicable and consistent with the provisions of this act. He shall pay
over to the city treasurer on the warrant of the city clerk all taxes col-
lected by him at least once a month, or oftener if required, and all
moneys which come into his hands for taxes or otherwise belonging to
the city. He shall report to the council at each stated meeting the
amount of money collected by him and paid over as herein directed. At
the end of each fiscal year he will return all delinquent tax tickets in his
hands which he has been unable to collect, appending to said report the
reason why said tickets are returned. The said chief of police shall
collect all fines imposed by the police justice, mayor, or other officer,
and shall, at least twenty-four hours before each stated council meeting,
file with the clerk a report of all fines entrusted to him for collection
by the police justice, and said report shall conform with the books of
the police justice as to number of names and amounts of fines, and the
said report shall show what disposition has been made of each fine,
and the amount collected on fines shall be paid to the city treasurer on
the warrant of the clerk. The said police officer shall receive such
compensation for the collection of taxes, et cetera, as the council may
prescribe, and his salary and commissions together shall in no case
exceed the sum of nine hundred dollars per annum.

124. If the chief of police fails or refuses to perform any of the
duties required of him by this act or by. the council or the mayor, he
shall be fined not less than five dollars nor more than one hundred
dollars for each offense, and he and his sureties on his official bond
shal] be liable for all damages which may accrue to the city or any
other person, by reason of such failure or refusal.

125. There shall be appointed annually, if it is deemed necessary
or expedient by the city council, one street and water commissioner,
whose term of office shall be for one year, unless sooner removed; he
shall qualify in the same mode as other city officials; shall give bond
in the mode and penalty prescribed by the city council. Said commis-
sioner shall ascertain and furnish the city clerk with a true and accurate
list of each water consumer, and shall at least once a month correct said
list, by the addition thereto, of any new consumer, or the erasure there-
from of any discontinuation of water supply. He shall assess water
rents at the rates fixed by the city council; he shall collect the same,
and for all sums paid him he shall issue a proper receipt therefor, and
retain in a book printed and prepared for that purpose a proper stub,
giving the date of the receipt, to whom issued, for what issued, the
amount issued, the location of the hydrant or other apparatus, and
such other data as the water commissioner or other committee of the
council may ordain and prescribe. He shall at least once a month
deposit with the city treasurer the amounts collected by him on the
warrant of the clerk issued as herein provided; and he shall at the end
of each quarter, leave with the city clerk the receipt book used during
that quarter, together with a written report of his collections, his acts
and doings as commissioner, and shall see, that a copy of said report is
laid before the council at the first stated meeting after making such
report, and the amounts deposited by him. He shall report all unpaid
water rents, stating briefly opposite each delinquent item the cause for
non-payment; and the committee of the council shall release him from
its collection if they find it properly returned delinquent, otherwise
they shall have power to charge the commissioner with such sums, and
he and his sureties on his official bond shall be liable therefor. ;

126. The said commissioner shall perform all such duties in regard to
the streets and water-works and the superintendence thereof, as the
council may prescribe.
127. The council, if it is so advised and deems it expedient, may
delegate all the duties and powers of the street and water commissioner
to some other officer herein or otherwise provided for.

128. The salary of said commissioner shall be fixed and determined
by the city council.

129. If the commissioner fails or refuses to perform any of the
duties required of him by this chapter or the city council, he shall be
fined not less than five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for
each offense, and he and his securities on his official bond shall be liable
for all damages which may accrue to the city or any other person by
reason of such failure or refusal.

130. City Attorney—The city attorney, together with the mayor,
shall have the management, charge, and control of all the law business
of the city, and be the legal adviser of the mayor, police justice, city
council, or any committee thereof, and of the several departments of
the city government, and when required shall furnish written opinions
upon any subject involving questions of law submitted to him by the
council. .

‘131. It shall be the duty of the city attorney to draft all bonds,
deeds, obligations, contracts, leases, conveyances, agreements, and other
legal instruments of different nature, which may be required of him
by the mayor, or any ordinance or order of the city council. It shall
also be his duty to commence and prosecute to action all suits to be
commenced by the city before any tribunal, whether in law or in equity,
and also to appear in defense of the rights and interests of the city,
or any officer of the city, in any suit or prosecution for any act in the
discharge of their official duties, wherein any estate, right, privilege,
ordinance, or acts of the city government may be called in question.

132. When the mayor or chief of police shall request him, he shall
appear before the mayor to represent the city in any case for violation
of the ordinances, and he shall perform all such other services as are,
or may be, required of him by the mayor or city council.

133. The city attorney shall at the end of each fiscal year submit to
the council a report of all legal business transacted by him during the
preceding year, wherein shall be included a statement of all opinions
given the council or any city official, all deeds and contracts prepared,
all cases tried and how disposed of and the legal status of all suits pend-
ing in which said city is interested, together with any other information
or suggestions he may deem pertinent.

134. He shall receive such.compensation for his services as may be
fixed by the council.

135. The judge of the corporation court for said city shall receive
an annual salary of not less than fifteen hundred dollars, nor more than
twenty-five hundred dollars, to be fixed by the city council, and to be
paid every thirty days, as provided by law; said judge shall qualify by
taking the oath required by law within thirty days after receiving his
commission, said oath to be taken before any officer authorized by law
to administer oaths, which oath shall be returned to the clerk of said
corporation court and by him recorded in the common law order book
of said court, and the original filed as provided by law. Said judge
shall not be permitted to practice law in any courts of this Common-
wealth.
136. The said city of Bristol shall be and remain a part and parcel
of the same legislative and senatorial district to which it belonged as
the town of Goodson, and to which it now belongs as the city of Bristol.

137. The present mayor, councilmen, and all other officers of the
city of Bristol shall continue to hold office, and to perform the duties
of their respective offices for said city, until their successors be elected
or appointed and qualified, as herein or elsewhere provided by law; and
all liabilities, actions, claims, contracts, and prosecutions heretofore
existing under the charter of the city of Bristol, shall remain and con-
tinue as if this act had not been passed.

138. All ordinances now in force in the city of Bristol, not incon-
sistent with this charter shall be and remain in force until altered,
amended, or repealed by the council of said city.

139. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this charter are hereby
repealed, in so far as they affect the provisions of this charter, and
former charters for the city of Bristol are hereby repealed.

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