An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-299, as amended, of the Code of Virginia, relating to devices signalling intention to turn or stop and rules therefor.
Volume 1968 Law 99
Volume | 1910 |
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Law Number | 143 |
Subjects |
Law Body
Chap. 143.—An AGT to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to incor-
porate the town of Stuart, in the county of Patrick, approved November
22, 1884.
Approved March 11, 1910.
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act en-
titled an act to incorporate the town of Stuart, in the county of Patrick,
approved November twenty-second, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, be
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:
81. That the territory hereinafter described, in the county of Patrick,
as the same has been or may be Jaid off into lots, streets and alleys, shall
be, and the same is hereby, made a town cerporate by the name of the
town of Stuart.
§2. The boundaries of said town shall be as follows: Beginning at a
walnut tree on Mayo river, near where Staples and Williams’ mill stood ;
thence down the river as it meanders to the crossing in Lybrook’s (new
Clark’s) bottom; thence a straight line to Mill branch at a point just
below the old site of the Bishop turning-lathe ; thence up the branch as it
meanders to the fork of said branch near Nowlin’s (now Munford’s)
spring; thence a straight line to the northeast corner of the Turner
orchard (now owned by J. C. Shockley); thence with the road by
Colonel A. Staples’ residence to a cherry tree on the road leading to Rye
Cove ; thence a straight line to the beginning.
§3. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of said town, on the
212 , ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.
second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and ten, and every two years
thereafter, one elector of said town, who shall be denominated the mayor,
and five other electors, who shall be denominated the councilmen of said
town. The mayor and councilmen shall constitute the council of said
town. The persons so elected enter upon the duties of their office on the
first day of September next succeeding their election, and shall continue
jn office until their successors are qualified. Every person elected a coun-
cilman of said town shall take an oath faithfully to execute the duties of
his office to the best of his judgment. The person elected mayor shall
take the oaths prescribed by law for all State officers.
$4. The council of said town shall judge of the election, qualifica-
tion, and return of its members; may fine them for disorderly behavior,
and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. If any per-
son returned be adjudged disqualified or be expelled, a new election to
fill the vacancy shall be held at the same place, on such day as the coun-
cil may prescribe. Any vacancy occurring otherwise during the term for
which any of the said persons have been elected may be filled by the
council by the appointment of any one eligible to such office. A vacancy
m the office of mayor may be filled by the council from the electors of
said town.
§5. The council shall have authority to suspend and remove all other
town officers, whether they. be elected or appointed, 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 an opportunity afforded him to be heard
in his defense.
§6. For the transaction af business by the council of the town four
members of said council (of whom the mayor may be counted one) shall
constitute a quorum.
§7. The mayor of said town and the other members. of the council
shall each be clother with all the powers and authority of a justice in
civil matters within the corporate limits of the town, and in criminal
matters within said limits and one mile beyond the same; and shall have
power to issue process, hear and determine all prosecutions, cases, and
controversies which may arise under the by-laws and ordinances of the
town; impose fines and inflict punishments when and wherever they are
authorized by the said by-laws and ordinances of the town, and issue
executions for the collection of said fines; and may commit the offender
to jail until the fine and costs, or the costs where no fine is assessed, be
paid: provided, that no person shall be held more than ninety days for
the non-payment of a fine and costs, or costs when no fine is imposed.
§8. The jurisdiction of the corporate authorities of said town, in crim-
inal matters, and for imposing and collecting a license tax on all shows,
performances and exhibitions, shall extend one mile beyond the corporate
limits of said town.
§9. It shall be the duty of the mayor to comics to the council
annually, as soon as may be after the close of the fiscal vear, and oftener
if he shall deem it expedient or be required so to do by the council,
general statement of the situation and condition of the town in relation
to its government, finances, and improvements, with such recommenda-
tions as he may deem proper.
§10. The mayor shall exercise a constant supervision over the con-
duct of all subordinate officers; have power and authority to investigate
their acts; have access to all books and documents in their offices, and
may examine such officers and their subordinates on oath. He shall also
have power to suspend all officers elected or appointed by the council
until the next regular meeting of the council, but such suspension shall
in all cases be for misconduct in office, or neglect of duty, to be specified
in the order of suspension. In case of the suspension of any such officer,
the mayor shall appoint some other person in his place to hold said office
and perform the duties thereof until the next regular meeting of the
council; and at such meeting the mayor shall report his suspension of
the officer suspended, together with his reasons for such suspension.
$11. The council shall, by ordinance or resolution, fix the time for
its regular stated meetings ; and no business shall be transacted at a spe-
cial meeting except that for which it shall be called.
§12. The counsel shall have authority to adopt such rules and appoint
such committees as they shall deem proper for the regulation of their
proceedings and for the convenient transaction of business, and to compel
the attendance of absent members. The clerk of the council shall record
all proceedings of the council at large in a book to be kept for that
purpose, and shall properly index the same. The meetings of the council
shall be open, except when, in the opinion of the council, the public wel-
fare shall require secrecy.
§13. The council of said town shall not levy any tax or contract any
corporate debt unless by a vote of two-thirds of the council, which vote
shall be by yeas and nays, and recorded in the journal. The mayor shall
preside over the said council, but in the event of the absence of the mayor
the council may appoint a president pro tempore. A journal shall be
kept of their proceedings, and at the request of any member present the
yeas and nays on any question shall be recorded. At the next meeting
the proceedings shall be read and signed by the person who was pre-
siding when the previous meeting adjourned, or if he be not present, by
the person presiding when they were read.
§14. In addition to the powers conferred by the general laws of the
State of Virginia, the council of said town shall have power to lay off
streets, walks and alleys; alter, improve, and light the same, and have
them kept in good order; to lay off public grounds and provide all build-
ings proper for the town; to prescribe the time for holding markets, and
regulate the same; to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dan-
gerous, offensive, or unhealthy; to secure the inhabitants from con-
tagious, infectious, or other dangerous diseases; to establish, erect, and
regulate hospitals; to provide for and order the removal of patients to
such hospitals; to appoint and organize a board of health for said town,
with the authority necessary for the prompt and efficient performance
of its duties; to require and compel the abatement and removal of nui-
sances within the town at the expense of the person or persons causing
the same, or the owner or owners of the ground whereon the
same may be; to require and compel the owners of houses in the town,
or if the owner be unknown or absent, the occupants of such houses, to
connect their water closets and water drains with the sewer of the town,
and upon their failure to do so, the same may be done by the town, and
the cost attending the same shall be collected from the occupants or
owners of such houses as taxes are allowed to be collected; to prevent or
regulate slaughter-houses and tanneries within the town, or the exer-
cise of any dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy business, trade, or employ-
ment therein; to prevent horses, cattle, hogs, dogs, and all other animals
from running at large in said town, and may subject the same to such.
confiscation, regulation, and taxes as they may deem proper; to prohibit
the raising and keeping of hogs in the town, or any part thereof; to
regulate the use and speed of automobiles, bicycles, and other vehicles
within the town; to prevent the riding or driving of horses or other
animals at an improper speed, throwing stones or other missiles, or
engaging in any employment or sport on the streets, sidewalks, or public
alleys dangerous or annoying to passengers, and to prohibit and punish
the abuse or cruel treatment of horses or other animals in said town; to
restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and street beggars; to pre-
vent vice and immorality, obscenity and profanity; to preserve peace
and good order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and dis-
orderly assemblages ; to suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling houses ;
to prevent lewd, indecent and disorderly conduct or exhibitions in said
town, and to expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct; to prevent,
forbid, and punish the selling or giving alcoholic liquors to be drunk in
any place not duly licensed, and the selling or giving of cigarettes to any
minor without the consent in writing of his or her parent or guardian ;
to regulate the keeping of gunpowder or other combustible, and provide
magazines for the same; to provide places for the interment of the dead
in or near the town; to acquire or otherwise obtain control of, or estab-
lish, maintain, operate, extend and enlarge water works, gas works, elec-
tric plants, and other public utilities within or without the limits of the
town ; to acquire within or without the limits of the town, by purchase,
condemnation, or otherwise, whatever land may be necessary for acquir-
ing, locating, establishing, maintaining, operating, extending or enlarg-
ing said water works, gas works, electric plants and other public utilities,
and the right of way, rails, pipes, poles, conduits or wires connected
therewith, or any of the fixtures or appurtenances thereof; to prevent the
pollution of the water and injuries to water works, for which purpose
their jurisdiction shall extend five miles above the same; to make, erect,
and construct within or without the town drains, sewers and public
ducts, and to acquire within or without the town, by purchase, condemna-
tion, or otherwise, so much land as may be necessary to make, erect, con-
struct, operate and maintain the same; to make regulations concerning
the building of houses in the town; to prescribe and establish building
lines, to regulate the height of buildings, and to provide regulations for
the purpose of guarding against danger of fire; to protect the property
of the town and its inhabitants and preserve peace and good order therein.
For the purpose of carrying into effect these, and the other powers vested
in the town, the council may make ordinances and by-laws, and prescribe
fines or other punishment for the violation thereof; keep a town guard,
appoint such officers as they may deem proper, define their powers, pre-
scribe their duties and compensation, and take from any of them a bond,
with sureties, in such penalty as the council may deem fit, payable to the
tewn by its corporate name, and with condition for the faithful dis-
charge of the said duties.
§15. No ordinance hereafter passed by the council of said town, as
now constituted or hereafter elected, for the violation of which any pen-
alty is imposed, shall take effect until the same shall have been published
in a newspaper published in said town, or by handbills, or as the council
may order. If such publication be by bandbills, the same shall be posted
in at least three public places in said town, and a certificate of such post-
ing shall be filed by the sergeant in the office of the clerk of the council.
After the expiration of six months from the date of the passage of any
ordinance its publication shall not be questioned or its validity affected
by any failure to publish the same. All laws, regulations, and ordi-
nances, when certified by the clerk of the council, may be read in evidence
in all courts of justice, and in all proceedings before any officer, body,
or board.
816. The town council shall not take or use any private property for
atreets or other public purposes without making to the owner thereof just
compensation for the same; but in cases where the council shall fail, by
agreement, to obtain title to any ground, or an easement therein, for such
purpose, it shall be lawful for the said council to apply to and obtain from
the circuit court of Patrick county authority to condemn the same, which
shal] be applied for and proceeded with according to law.
817. In every case where a street of said town has been or shall be
encroached upon by any fence, building, or otherwise, the council may
require the owner, if known, or if unknown the occupant of the premises
encroaching, to remove the same; and if such removal be not made
within the time fixed by the council, they may impose a penalty of not
exceeding five dollars for each and every day it is allowed to continue
thereafter, and may cause the encroachment to be removed, and collect
from the owner or occupier of the premises the cost of removing the
same in the manner provided for the collection of taxes and levies. No
encroachment upon any street, sidewalk, or public alley, however long
continued, shal] constitute an adverse possession to confer any right upon
the person claiming thereunder or against the said town.
818. Any street or allev reserved in the division or subdivision into
lots of any portion of the territory within the corporate limits of said
town by plat or plan of record shall be deemed and held to be a dedica-
tion to the public use, unless it appears by the record that the street or
alley so reserved is designated for private use only.
§19. There shall be elected by the council at its first meeting in Sep-
tember after its election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, one town
treasurer, who shall hold his office during the pleasure of the council.
He shall qualify and give bond before the council with surety approved
by it, in a penalty to be determined by the council. Any vacancy in the
office shall be filled by the council.
§20. The town treasurer shall collect and receive all money belong-
to the town, and shall keep his office in some convenient place in the
town. He shall keep his books and accounts in such manner as the town
council may direct, and such books and accounts shall always be subject
to the inspection of the mayor or any member of the town council, or any
committee or committees thereof. He shall receive for his services such
compensation as the town council may from time to time allow.
§21. The treasurer shall report to the council, or to a committee
thereof, at the end of each month, or oftener if required by the council,
a full and detailed account of all receipts and expenditures during the
preceding month, and the state of the treasury at the end of such month.
He shall also keep a register of all warrants, their dates, amount, num-
ber, and the fund from which paid, and the person to whom paid, specify-
ing also the time of payment; and all such warrants shall be examined
by a committee of the council appointed for that purpose, who shall com-
pare the same with the books of the treasurer and report discrepancies,
if any, to the council.
§22. No money shall be paid out by the treasurer except by order of
the council, and upon a warrant of the clerk of the council, countersigned
by the mayor; and the said treasurer shall keep a separate account of each
fund or appropriation, and the debits and credits belonging thereto. .
- §23. The treasurer shall collect all taxes, levies and assessments
which may be imposed by the town council, and for the purpose shall be
invested with all the powers, and subject to all the liabilities and penalties
prescribed by law in regard to county treasurers.
§24. All funds received on any special levy or assessment shall be held
by the treasurer as a special fund to be applied to the purpose or pur-
poses for which the levy or assessment was made, and shall be used for
no other purpose whatever.
§24. The treasurer may be required to keep all funds belonging to the
town in such place or places of deposit as the council may, by ordinance
or resolution, direct. All funds in the hands of the treasurer shall be
kept separate and distinct from all other funds, and he is hereby ex-
pressly prohibited from using, either directly or indirectly, any corpora-
tion funds or warrants for his own benefit, or that of any other person or
persons whomsoever.
§25. There shall be elected by the council at its first meeting in Sep-
tember after its election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, one clerk of
the council, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the council. It
shall be his duty to attend the meetings of the council and keep a record
of its proceedings. He shall keep all papers required to be kept by this
act, or that may be required to be kept by order of the council. He shall
publish such reports and ordinances as the town council is required by
this act to publish, and such other reports and ordinances as it may direct,
and shall in general perform such other acts and duties as the council
may from time to time require. Any vacancy in this office shall be filled
by the council.
§26. The said clerk of the council shall perform all the duties of a
commissioner of revenue in relation to the assessment of property for the
purpose of levying the town taxes, and shall assess all license taxes that
may be imposed by the council. He shall keep his office in some con-
venient place in the said town, and shall keep therein such books, sched-
ules, records, and other papers as the council may direct, which shall be
subject to the inspection and examination at all times of the mayor, or
any member of the council, or any committee or committees thereof. His
compensation shal] be such as the council from time to time may allow.
§27. There shall. be elected by the council at its first meeting in Sep-
tember after its election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, one town
sergeant, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the council, and who
shall have the same powers and discharge the same duties as constables
within the corporate limits of said town, and to the distance of one mile
beyond the same.- His compensation shall be such as the council may
from time to time allow. Any vacancy in this office shall be filled by the
council. :
-§28. All councilmen and other municipal officers of the said town here-
tofore elected or appointed shall hold their respective offices for the terms
for which they were elected or appointed, and until the officers hereby
provided for shall have been elected or appointed and qualified; and all
officers to be elected or appointed under the provisions of this charter
shall hold over after the expiration of the terms for which they were re:
spectively elected or appointed until their successors shall have been
elected or appointed and qualified.
§29. In said town the assessment of real estate and personal property,
for the purposes of municipal taxation, shall be the same as the assess-
ment thereof for the purpose. of State taxation, when there shall be a
State assessment of such property. | |
830. In addition to the State tax on any license, where any is im-
posed, the council of said town may, when anything for which a license
is required by ordinance or otherwise is to be done within the town, im-
pose a tax for the privilege of doing the same, and require a license to be
obtained therefor; and in any case in which they see fit, require from the
person licensed bond, with sureties, in such penalty and with such condi-
tions as they may deem proper, or make any regulations concerning the
same.
§31. The council of said town shall annually cause to be made up and
entered on their journal an account of all sums lawfully chargeable on
the town which ought to be paid within one year, and order a town levy
of so much as in their opinion, not exceeding forty cents on one hundred
dollars’ assessed valuation, is necessary to be raised in that way, in addi-
tion to what may be received for licenses and from other sources. The
levy so ordered may be upon the male persons in the said town above the
age of twenty-one years, not exceeding one dollar upon each of such per-
sons, and upon the property therein, and on such other subjects as may
at the time be assessed with State taxes. |
_ §32. All ordinances now in force in said town not inconsistent with
this charter, the laws of this State, and of the United States, shall be
and remain in force until amended or repealed by the town council.
§33. The council of said town may adopt and use the jail of Patrick
county as the jail of said town.
§34. An emergency existing therefor, because of the inability of the
authorities of said town to make certain: needed improvements therein
under the provisions of the existing charter, this act shall be in force
from its passage.
2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby re-
vealed.