Chap. 217.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the city of Clifton Forge,
and to repeal all other acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith.
(S B 106]
Approved March 14, 1918.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That all
acts creating and amending the charter of the city of Clifton Forge,
in the county of Alleghany, be, and the same are hereby consoli-
dated into one act and amended, in manner and form following,
which shall constitute a new charter for sald city.

Chapter I.

Corporate limits.—The territory contained within the limits pre-
scribed by an act approved February third, nineteen hundred, and
as enlarged and extended, in the year nineteen hundred and six,
under section ten hundred and fourteen-a of the Code of Virginia
and here designated as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner
of lot eleven, block forty-six, section two, of the lands of the Clifton
Forge Company, thence in a southeasterly direction in a straight
line to Hazel run, thence along the east bank of Hazel run as it
meanders, to its intersection with the county road, thence along the
west line of the old county road to a stone on top of the hill, thence
by a direct line crossing J ackson river to a point on the north side
of the county road three hundred feet east of Spout spring, thence
in a straight line in a southwesterly direction to a point fifty feet
south of the southeast corner of a lot in “North View,” formerly
owned and occupied by Mary Lightfoot (colored), thence in a direct.
line to the southeast corner of a lot formerly owned by Bill Williams
(colored), thence in a direct line to a large rock fifty feet in the
rear and south of two cabins on the side of the hill in the rear of
the old public schoolhouse lot, thence to the southeast corner of S. R.
Wickline’s lot on the north side of the county road and east of and
adjoining Mrs. Murray’s old homestead, thence with the north line
of the county road to the southwest corner of the late A. J. Acord’s
lot, thence in a northwesterly direction in a straight line, along the
boundary line of the city of Clifton Forge, to its intersection with
the south line of the right of way of the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
way, situated on the south side of Jackson river; thence west, south
of Jackson river, along the south line of the right of way of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company, to a point on said line,
where a line drawn due south crossing Jackson river, from a point
on Bridge street, thirty feet, east of the old railway bridge, now
used as the county bridge, will intersect the same at right angles;
then from said point on Bridge street in a northerly direction along
the east bank of Jackson river and twenty feet distant therefrom
to a point on the north line of Albemarle street, twenty feet east of
Jackson river; thence in an easterly direction along the north line
of Albemarle street to its intersection with the east line of Mount
street, thence in a northeasterly direction in a straight line to a
point in the center of the southwest fork of Dry creek, immediately
opposite the southwest corner of lot two of Smith’s addition to
Clifton Forge, as shown on a plat of the same recorded in the clerk’s
office of the county court of Alleghany county, Va.; thence along
the center of the southwest fork of Dry creek in a northerly direc-
tion to its intersection. with the west line of lot thirty-three of
Smith’s addition, thence along the west line of said lot thirty-three
to the northwest corner of said lot thirty-three, thence north forty-
eight degrees west in a straight line to the center of the middle of
Dry creek, thence in a northerly direction along the middle fork of
Dry creek to a point due west of the southwest corner of lot nine,
block twenty-two, section one, of the lands of the Clifton Forge
Company; thence in a straight line to the northwest corner of lot
fifteen, block twenty-one, section one of the lands of the Clifton
Forge Company; thence following said company’s line to the north-
east corner of lot eleven, block forty-six, section two, of the lands
of the Clifton Forge Company, the place of beginning, shall be
deemed and taken as the city of Clifton Forge and the inhabitants
of the city of Clifton Forge for all purposes for which cities are
incorporated in this Commonwealth, and shall continue to be one
body politic in fact and in name, under the style and denomination
of the city of Clifton Forge, Virginia, and exercise and enjoy all the
rights, powers and privileges and be subject to all duties and obli-
gations now incumbent and pertaining to said city as municipal
corporation.
Chapter II.

2. Government.—The government of the city of Clifton Forge
shall be vested in a mayor and council and such boards and officers
as are permitted and required by law, and may be constituted and
appointed by said council. . -

8. The municipal officers of the said city shall consist of a
mayor, twelve councilmen, a treasurer, a clerk of the circuit court
of said city, an attorney for the Commonwealth, a sergeant, a com-
missioner of the revenue.

4. The city shall remain divided into three wards as now des-
ignated by law. , :

5. The mayor and councilmen of said city shall be elected by
the people on the second Tuesday in June, and their term of office
shall begin on the first day of September next ensuing, all other
elective officers herein provided for, or hereafter authorized bY law,
shall be elected by the people on Tuesday after the first Monday in
November and their term of office shall begin on the first day of
January next ensuing.

6. No person shall be eligible to any municipal office, unless he
be a resident of the city for twelve months, before his election; and
the removal from the city, of any one holding such office, shall
vacate the same.

7. 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 this State. And if any person
elected or appointed to any office in said city, shall neglect to take
such oath for thirty days after receiving such notice of his election
or appointment, or shall for a like space of time neglect to give such
security as may be required of him by the council, he shall be con-
sidered as having declined said office, and the office, to which he was
elected or appointed shall be declared vacant, and such vacancy
shall be filled as by law provided.

8. The circuit court for the city of Clifton Forge shall remain
as it now exists, and be held by the judge of the nineteenth judicial
circuit at such times as are, or may be designated by law, and the
jurisdiction of said court shall be such as is now prescribed.

Chapter III.

9. Mayor.—There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the
city, on the second Tuesday in June, every fourth year, a mayor,
the present incumbent to hold until his successor is elected and qual-
ified, in nineteen hundred and twenty. The mayor’s salary shall be
fixed by the council, and his salary shall not be diminished during
his term of office.

10. The mayor shall possess all the powers of a justice of the
peace of said city, except he shall have no civil jurisdiction, and
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to try all violations of city
ordinances occurring in said city, and within one mile of the cor-
poration limits thereof. ,

11. An appeal shall lie from a judgment of the mayor, to the
circuit court of the city of Clifton Forge.

12. It shall be his duty to communicate to the city council annu-
ally, at the beginning of each fiscal year, or oftener if he shall be
required by said council, a general statement of the condition of
the city in relation to its government, finances and improvements,
with such recommendations as he may deem proper. )

13. He shall exercise a constant supervision over the conduct
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 said officers and their subordinates on oath. He
shall also have power to suspend or remove such officer for miscon-
duct in office or neglect of duty, but no such removal shall be made
without reasonable notice to the officer complained of, and an oppor-
tunity be afforded him to be heard in his defense. On the removal
or suspension of such an officer, the mayor shall report the same
to the city council at their next stated meeting for their considera-
tion. But in no case shall it be final until ratified by two-thirds of
the whole council.

14. In case of the absence of and inability of the mayor, the
president of the council shall possess the same power and discharge
the municipal duties of the mayor during such absence or inability
or in the event the president of the council is unable to act, then
any member of the council may act in place of the mayor, when
requested by the mayor or the president of the council.

15. In the event of the death, resignation or 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 presi-
dent of the council, until another mayor is elected and qualified, or
until such inability shall cease. Ifthe president declines said office,
the council shall elect some other person to fill the vacancy. Within
ten days after the death, resignation or removal of the mayor, the
circuit 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 mayor, provided the unexpired part of such term
remaining after such election is as much as one year. Said election
shall be held in the manner provided by general law for the hold-
ing of special elections.

16. The mayor shall keep a book in his office, to be known as
the “Record of Warrants Issued and Fines Imposed.” In said book
shall be set forth the names of all persons for whom warrants are
issued and the date of said warrants and disposition finally made
of said cases, showing the amount of fines imposed. All fines
imposed for the violation of city ordinances shall be paid to the
chief of police of the city, and it shall be the duty of the said chief
of police to submit to the auditor of said city, at least twenty-four
hours before each regular meeting of the city council, an itemized
statement of the fines collected by him during the preceding month.
showing the names of the persons paying the fine and the amount
thereof collected. It shall be the duty of the city auditor, upon
receiving said report of the chief of police, to compare said report
with the record required to be kept by the mayor, and to report ta
the council any differences or descrepancies therein, if any.

Chapter IV.

17. City council.—There shall be elected by the qualified voters
of each ward of the city on the second Tuesday in June, nineteen
hundred and eighteen, and each two years thereafter, six council.
men, two from each ward, to fill the vacancies then occurring, whc
shall serve for a period of four years.

18. The council shall elect one of its memebrs to act as presi.
dent, who shall preside at its meetings and continue in office for twe
years, unless elected to fill the 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 ir
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 all duties required
or intrusted to such president under any provision of this charter,
When for any cause both the president and the 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 presi.
dent and vice-president. The president, vice-president and presi.
dent pro tempore, who shall preside when the proceedings of a pre-
vious meeting are read, shall sign the same.

19. The said council shall by ordinance fix the time and place
for their meetings, and no business shall be transacted at a special
meeting but that for which it shall be called. The mayor, the presi-
dent of the council, or any two members of the council, may call a
special meeting of said council, and in said call shall be specifi-
cally set forth the matters to be acted upon at said special meeting.

20. The city council shall have authoritv to adopt such rules
and appoint such officers, committees or clerks as they may deem
proper for the regulation of their proceedings and for the conveni-
ence of business, to compel the attendance of absent members. to
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, by a vote of three-
fourths of the whole council, to expel a member for malfeasance
or misfeasance in office. They shall keep a minute book, in which
their clerk shall note the proceedings of the council, and shall record
said proceedings at large on the record book and keep the same prop-
erly indexed. The meetings of the council shall be open to the pub-
lic, except when the public welfare shall require secrecy.

21. The council shall be the judges of the election and qualifi-
cation of its members.

92, A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of buisness, but no ordinance shall be
passed or resolution adopted having for its object the appropria-
tion of more than five hundred dollars, except by the concurrence
of at least two-thirds of its members. No vote or question decided
at a stated meeting shall be reconsidered at a special meeting unless
there be at Jeast ten members present and seven of them concur. All
contracts relating to city affairs shall be in writing, signed and exe-
cuted in the name of the city by the officer authorized by resolution
or ordinance to make the same, and in cases not otherwise directed
shall be executed by the mayor. Every contract involving appro-
priation of money shall only be payable out of the fund provided
for the purpose, and no debt or contract shall be binding upon the
city unless authorized by law or by ordinance and an appropriation
sufficient to pay the same be previously enacted and made by coun-
cil; provided, that persons claiming unauthorized debts or contracts
may recover against the person illegally making the same.

23. The city council shall have, subject to the provisions of this
act, the control and management of the fiscal and municipal affairs
of the city and of all property, real and personal, belonging to the
said city, and 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:

First. The city council is hereby vested with all the powers
given to cities under the Constitution and general laws of this
Commonwealth.

Second. The city council shall have power to establish a mar-
ket or markets in and for said city and appoint proper officers there-
for, prescribe the time and place for holding same, provide suitable
buildings and grounds therefor, and to enforce such regulations rel-
ative thereto as shall be necessary and proper.

Third. The council shall have power to erect and provide in
or near said city suitable workhouses, houses of correction or refor-
mation and houses for the reception and maintenance of the poor
and destitute, and they shall possess and exercise authority over all
persons within the limits of the city receiving or entitled to the
benefit of the poor laws, appoint necessary officers and other persons
proper to be connected with the aforesaid institution, and regulate
pauperism within the limits of the city, and the council, through
the agency they shall appoint for the direction and maintenance
of the poor of the city, shall exercise the powers and perform the
duties vested by law in overseers of the poor.

Fourth. The council shall have power to erect and keep in order
all public buildings, parks necessary or proper for said city.

Fifth. The council shall have power to establish, enlarge or
operate a system of sewerage, water works, gas works, telephone
works and electric light works within or without the limits of the
city, to contract or agree with the owners of any land for the use
and purchase thereof, or to have the same condemned according to
law, within or without the city, for the location, extension and
enlargement of their said works, the pipes or wires connected there-
with, or any other appurtenances or fixtures thereof, and shall have
power to protect from injury, by ordinances prescribing adequate
penalties, the works, pipes, fixtures and land, or anything connected
therewith, whether within or without the limits of said city.

And the council of said city shall have the power to prescribe,
fix and regulate the rates of charges to be observed from time to
time, by ordinances, in any franchise which the council has granted
or issued, or that may be hereafter issued under the provisions of
section ten hundred and thirty-three-f of the Code of Virginia and
acts amendatory thereof, to any public service corporation, other
than transportation, transmission and telephone companies, whose
service is wholly within the limits of said city.

Sixth. The city council shall have power to establish, enlarge
and operate works or plants within or without the limits of the city
for furnishing water and light, or either to the inhabitants of said
city, to persons, firms or other municipalities in the vicinity thereof;
to contract and agree with the owners of any land for the use and
puree thereof, or have the same condemned according to law,

or the location, extension, or any of the fixtures or appurtenances
thereof, and shall have power to protect from injury, by ordinances
prescribing adequate penalties, the said work, pipes, fixtures and
and, or anything connected therewith whether within or without
the limits of the city.

Seventh. The city council shall have the power to close or
extend, widen or narrow, lay out, graduate, curb and pave or other-
wise 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 or
conveyed to the city by proper deed they shall have like power and
authority as over other streets and alleys; they may buy or build
bridges in and culverts under said streets, and may prevent or
remove any obstruction or incroachment over or under, or in any
street, sidewalk or alley in said city, and may permit shade trees
to be planted along said streets, but no company shall occupy with
its works, or any appurtenances thereof, the streets, sidewalks or
alleys of the city without the consent of the council duly entered
upon its record. In the meantime, no order shall be made and no
injunction shall be awarded by any court or judge to stay the pro-
ceedings of the city in the prosecution of their works unless it be
manifest that they, their officers, agents or servants are transcend-
ing the authority given them by this act, and that interposition of
the court is necessary to prevent that which cannot adequately be
compensated in damages.

Kighth. The city council shall have the power to prevent the
cumbering of streets, sidewalks, alleys, lanes or bridges in the city
in any manner whatever.

Ninth. The city council shall have the power to secure the
inhabitants from contagious, infectious or other dangerous diseases,
and to prevent, by appropriate legal remedy, all measures affecting
or likely to affect the city or the inhabitants thereof, when the same
may originate outside of the limits of said city; to establish, erect
and regulate hospitals; to provide and enforce the removal of
patients to hospitals; to appoint and organize a board of health
for said city, with the authority necessary for the prompt and effi-
cient performance of its duties.

Tenth. The council shall have power to require and compel the
abatement and removal of all nuisances within said city at the
expense of the person or persons causing same, or the owners of the
ground whereon the same shall be; to prevent and regulate slaugh-
ter-houses within said city, or the exercise of any dangerous, offen-
sive or unhealthy business, trade or employment therein, and to reg-
ulate the transportation of explosives and other articles throug
the streets of said city.

Eleventh. If any grounds in the said city shall be subject to
be covered with stagnant water, or if the owner or owners, occupler
or occupiers thereof, shall permit any offensive or unwholesome sub-
stance to remain or accumulate 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
expenses of so doing from the said owner or owners, occupier or
occupiers, or any of them (except in cases where such nuisance 1s
caused by the action of the city authorities or their agents, in which
case the city shall pay the expense of abating the same), by dis-
tress and sale, in the same manner in which taxes levied upon real
estate for the benefit of said city, are authorized to be collected; pro-
vided, that reasonable notice shall first be given to said owners or
their agents. In case of non-resident owners who have no agents
in said city, such notice may be given by publication for not less
than four weeks in any newspaper in said city; provided, also, that
should the expense of abating such nuisance exceed the sum of ten
dollars, the owner of the premises shall have the right of appeal to
the circuit court of the city.

Twelfth. The council shall have power to direct the location
of all buildings for storing gunpowder and other combustible sub-
stances, and to regulate the sale and use of gunpowder, firecrackers,
or other combustible material; to regulate the exhibition of fire-
works, the discharge of firearms, the use of lights and candles in
barns, stables and other buildings, and to restrain the making of
bonfires in streets and yards.

Thirteenth. The council shall have power to prevent hogs, d
and other animals from running at large in said city, and may su
ject the same to such confiscations, regulations and taxes as they
may deem proper.

__Fourteenth. The council shall have the power to prevent the
riding or driving of horses or animals or motor vehicles at an
Improper speed, throwing stones or the engaging in any employ-
ment or sport on the streets, sidewalks or public alleys, dangerous
or annoying to passengers, and to prohibit and punish the abuse
or cruel treatment to horses or other animals in such city.

Fifteenth. The council shall have the power to restrain and
punish drunkards, vagrants and street beggars; to prevent vice and
immorality; to preserve the public peace and good order; to pre-
vent and quel] riots, disturbances and disorderly assemblages; to
suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling-houses; to prevent and
punish lewd, indecent and disorderly conduct or exhibitions in said
city, and for the violation of any such ordinance may impose fines
in addition to those prescribed by the State.

Sixteenth. The council shall have power to pass any ordinance,
relating to the sale of spiritous liquors or prohibiting and regulat-
ing the sale thereof, not in conflict with the laws of the State and
may inipose fines and penalties in addition to those prescribed by
the laws of the State for any violations thereof.

Seventeenth. The council shall have the power to prevent the
coming into the city of persons having no ostensible means of sup-
port, and of persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety
of the city.

Eighteenth. The city council is empowered to acquire by pur-
chase or otherwise such lands as may be necessary for the burial of
the dead, authority to purchase burial grounds either within or
without city limits. The said council shall also have power to pre-
scribe and enforce al] needful rules and regulations not inconsist-
ent with the laws of the State, of the use, protection, preservation
and ornamentation of the cemetery; to set aside, in their discretion,
by metes and bounds a portion thereof for the interment of stran-
gers and the indigent poor; to divide the remainder into burial
lots, and sell or lease the same, and to execute all proper deeds or
other writings, in evidence of such sale or lease, and to prescribe in
what the money from such sale or lease of burial lots shall be
invested, used and employed for the use, protection, preservation
and ornamentation of said cemetery. The cemetery when estab-
lished and inclosed with the property included in it, shall be exempt
from all State, county and municipal taxation, and the council shall
hold all property, Franchises and choses in action of whatever
nature heretofore acquired by the city of Clifton Forge. :

Nineteenth. Where, by the provisions of this act or by general
law, the council have authority to pass ordinances on any subject,
they may prescribe any penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars
for a violation thereof, and may provide that the offender, on fail-
ure to pay the penalty recovered, shall be imprisoned in the jail
of the city for a term not exceeding ninety days, which penalties
may be prosecuted and recovered with costs in the name of the city
of Clifton Forge, or shall compel them to work on the streets or
other public improvements in the said city; provided, that in all
cases the accused shall have the right to appeal to the circuit court
of the city of Clifton Forge. |

Twentieth. In every case where a street or alleyway in said
city has been or shall be encroached upon by any fence, building
or otherwise, the council may require the owner (if known) to
remove the same, and if such removal be not made within the time
prescribed by the council, they may impose a penalty of five dol-
ars for each and every day it is allowed to continue thereafter, and
may cause the encroachment to be removed and collect from the
owner all reasonable charges therefor, with costs, by the same pro-
cess that they are hereinafter empowered to collect taxes. No
encroachment upon any street, however long continued, shall con-
stitute any adverse possession to or confer any rights upon the per-
sons claiming thereunder as against the said city.

Twenty-first. Whenever any street, alley or lane in said city
shall have been open to and used as such by the public for a period
of five years, the same shall thereby become a street, alley or lane,
for public purposes, and the council shall have the same authority
and jurisdiction over, and right and interest therein, as they have
by law over the streets, alleys and lanes laid out by them, and any
street or alley reserved in the division or sub-division into lots of
any portion of the territory within the corporate limits of said city,
by plan or plat of record, shall be deemed and held to be dedicated
to public use, unless it appears by said record that the street or alley
so reserved is designed for private use, but, upon a petition of the
majority of the persons interested therein, the council shall have
power to open the same for the use of the public.

Twenty-second. The city council shall have the authority and
power to levy taxes or assessments upon abutting land owners for
street or other local improvements as given by general law.

Twenty-third. For the purpose of guarding against the calam-
ities of fire, the city council may, from time to time, designate such
portions and parts of the city as they may deem proper within
which no buildings of wood shall be erected; they may prohibit the
erection of wooden buildings in any portion of the city without their

rmission, and shall, on the petition of the owners of at least one-
ourth of the ground included in any square of said city, prohibit
the erection on such square of any building, or addition to any
building, unless the outer walls thereof be made of brick and’ mor-
tar; or stone and mortar, or concrete, and may provide for the
removal of any such building, or addition, which shall be erected
contrary to such prohibition, at the expense of the builder or owner
thereof, and if any such buildings shall have been commenced before
said petition can be acted upon by the council, or if any building
in progress of erection appears clearly to be unsafe, the council may
cause such building to be taken down.

The city council shall have the power to provide by ordinance
for the placing by the owners of fire escapes on buildings and to
provide reasonable regulations for the protection of the public
against dangers of fire in theatres and public places of amusement.

Ewenty- ourth. And the city council shall have power to make
such regulations and orders as will protect its citizens against dan-
ger from unsafe houses or walls, and to that end shall have power
to cause to be condemned and taken down any such building or wall,
but no such condemnation shall be made, or such house or wall
taken down until the owner thereof, or, in case of an infant or
Insane person, his guardian or committee, be duly summoned before
the mayor of the city, who shall be charged by the ordinances with
such duty, and allowed reasonable opportunity to show cause against
such action.

And the said city council shall have power to provide for the
regular and safe construction of all buildings and houses in the
sald city.

Chapter V.

25. Taxation.—For the execution of its powers and duties the
city council may raise taxes annually, by assessment in said city,
on all subjects taxable by the State, such sums of money as they
shall deem necessary to defray the expense of the city and to pay
the interest on the debt of said city, in such manner as they shall
deem expedient, (in accordance with the laws of this State and the
United States) ; provided, that no tax upon real and personal prop-
erty in said city shall exceed two dollars and ten cents upon the
one hundred dollar assessed value thereof, and, provided also, that
for ten years from the first day of July, nineteen hundred and
eighteen, if the council deem it expedient, they may provide by res-
olution passed by two-thirds of the entire council that no corpora-
tion tax shall be levied upon the machinery, implements, money
and capital of any new manufacturing establishment actually in
use for manufacturing purposes, within the said city, for a term of
five years or less; provided, that the applicants for such exemption
of corporation taxes shall enter into satisfactorly written agree-
ment with the city council to operate their respective manufactur-
ing plants during the term of exemption. The provisions of this
section are not intended to apply to any manufacturing plant that
has been erected, but is intended to be used only to encourage the
building of new manufacturing plants in the city.

26. There shall be a lien on real estate for the city taxes as
assessed thereon from the commencement of the year for which they
were assessed. And the city council may, by ordinartce, allow and
require said taxes to be paid in two equal installments at such times
and with a penalty not in excess of ten per cent, as said council may
designate. The council may require real estate in the city, delin-
quent for the non-payment of taxes or assessments, to be sold for
said taxes and assessments, with interest thereon from the time the
same is delinquent at the rate of six per centum per annum, and ten
per centum of the amount of the tax to cover costs and charges,
exclusive of costs attending the redemption thereof, as hereinafter
provided, and may cause a good sufficient deed to be made to the
purchaser.

27. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the city to make
out and deliver to the council at their regular meeting in July in
each year following the passage of this act, a list of all real estate
whereupon delinquent taxes or assessment are due and unpaid for
the previous year, and thereupon the treasurer of the city, under
the direction of the city council, and when so ordered by it, shall
sell said real estate, and shall cause a notice of the time and place
of such sale to be published in a newspaper published in said city,
for at least thirty days, or four successive issues of said paper or
papers, previous to the day of the sale, and he shall cause to be
published, at the same time and for the same length of time, a list
of the several parcels of real estate delinquent for the non-payment
of the assessments due and the amount of the tax or assessment due
on each parcel.

28. If such tax or assessment and the six per centum interest
and ten per centum cost and charges aforesaid be not paid previous
to the day for which said sale is advertised, or on some day imme-
diately thereafter to which said sale may be adjourned, the treasu-
rere shall proceed to make sale accordingly of said parcels of real
estate, or so much thereof as shall be necessary to satisfy the taxes,
interest and charges aforesaid, to the highest bidder, and the sale
may be adjourned from day to day until it shall be completed. On
such sale the treasurer shall execute to the purchaser a certificate
of sale, in which the property purchased shall be described and the
aggregate amount of taxes or assessments, with the interest and
cost specified; but the treasurer shall not for -himself, whether
directly or indirectly, purchase any real estate so sold.

29. If at any sale no bids shall be made by any person for any
such parcel of land, or such bids shall not be equal to the tax or
assessments, with interest and costs thereon, the the same may be
bid in and purchased by the treasurer for the city. On such sale,
the treasurer shall execute to the city a certificate of sale, in which
the property purchased shall be described and the aggregate amount
of tax or assessments, with interest and cost specified, and shall
deposit such certificates with the clerk of the council of the city.

30. The treasurer shall within thirty days after the sales are
completed, make a report of said sales showing parcel of land sold,
the date of sale, the name of the purchaser, and the amount of the
purchase money for each lot; this report shall within the time afore-
said be filed with the clerk of the council and be by him recorded
in a book for the purpose.

31. The owner of any real estate so sold, his heirs or assigns,
or any person having the right to charge such real estate for a
debt, or otherwise interested therein, may redeem the same by pay-
ing to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two years from
the sale thereof, the whole amount paid by such purchaser, and
such additional taxes thereon as may have been paid by the pur-
chaser, his heirs or assigns, with interest thereon at the rate of six
per centum per annum; or, if purchased by the city with such addi-
tional sum as will have accrued for taxes thereon, if the same had
not been purchased by the city, with interest on the said purchase
money, and taxes, at the rate of ten per centum per annum from
the time that the same may have been so paid, or the same may be
paid within the said two years to the said city treasurer in any
case in which the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, may refuse to
receive the same, or may not reside or cannot be found in the city
of Clifton Forge.

32. Any infant, insane person, or persons in prison, whose real
estate may have been so sold, or his heirs, may redeem the same by
paying to the purenasers his heirs or assigns, within two years from
the removal of their disability the amount for which the same was
sold, with the interest and cost as aforesaid, and such additional
taxes on the real estate as may have been paid by the purchaser,
his heirs or assigns, or the appraised value of any improvement that
may have been made thereon, with interest on the said items at the
rate of six per centum per annum from the time they may have
been made. Upon such payment and the payment of such addi-
tional sum as may have been incurred by the purchaser in obtain-
ing a deed within two years after the removal of such disability,
the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, shall, at the cost of the original
owner, his heirs or assigns, convey to him or them by deed with spe-
cial warranty the real estate so sold.

33. If any real estate so sold be not redeemed within the time
allowed for redemption, the purchaser of such real estate, or his
assigns, may thereupon petition the mayor and council that the
property shall be conveyed to him, and thereupon, after due notice
to the party or parties, for whose delinquent taxes said real estate
was sold, and similar notice to the owner as shown by the records
of the clerk’s office of circuit court of said city, either by personal
service, or in the event personal service cannot be had by reason
of non-residence or disability of any kind, by publication for four
successive weeks in some newspaper published in the city of Clif-
ton Forge, at the expense of the applicant, the said council shall
determine whether or not the requirement as to the assessment, the
sale, the purchase, and the period of redemption shall have been
complied with; and if upon such inquiry it be ascertained that the
same has been regularly complied with, and that the purchaser or
his assigns is entitled to a conveyance of said real estate, the coun-
cil shall direct the same to be conveyed by the clerk of the council
of the city. Where the purchaser has assigned the benefit of his
purchase, the deed may be with his consent evidenced by his join-
ing therein, or by writing annexed thereto be executed to his as-
asignee. And if the purchaser shall have died, his heirs or assigns
may move the council to order the clerk of the council of the city
to execute a deed conveying the property to such heirs or assigns;
such inquiry shall be deemed conclusive as to regularity of all pro-
ceedings connected therewith, but nothing contained in this sec-
tion shall apply to the real estate purchased by the city at delin-
quent tax sales.

34. Any real estate purchased by the city at the delinquent tax
sales provided for in this charter, if not redeemed in accordance
with the provisions of sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight of
this charter, shall be disposed of by the city in such mode as the
council may prescribe. ,

35. When the purchaser of any real estate sold for the taxes,
his heirs or assigns, shall have obtained a deed therefor, and within
sixty days from the date of such deed shall have caused same to
be recorded, such estate shall stand vested in the grantee in such
deed, and his title shall not be subject to defeat, except by showing
that the real estate was not subject to the taxes for which it was
ony or that the taxes for the year for which it was sold had been
paid. .

Chapter VI.

36. License.—The city council may levy a license tax on water

and gas, on the business of furnishing telephone or electric light
service in said city, on auctioneers, on public theatricals, or othe
performances or shows, on hawkers and peddlers, on agents fo
the renting of real estate, on commission merchants, and any othe
business, whether a license may be required therefor by the Stat
or not, except such business as is specifically exempt, or that ha:
been segregated to the State, by general law.

Chapter VII.

37. Bonds.—The council for the city of Clifton Forge, when
ever in the opinion of two-thirds of its members, it is to the interes
of the city,so to do, may borrow money for the uses and purposes
of the city; and to that end, said council, by a recorded vote, show.
ing that two-thirds of the members of the council are of opinior
that it is to the interest of the city so to do, may from time to time
issue and sell bonds of said city, which bonds may be either regis-
tered or coupon, and shall be issued in such denominations and
bear such rate of interest, not exceeding six per centum per annum.
as may be determined by the council. Such bonds shall be made
payable in gold or currency, not exceeding thirty years from their

ate, and may at the option of the council be made redeemable
after such time as the council may prescribe; the interest shall be
payable annually or semi-annually as the council may determine;
and the council may exempt any or all of such bonds from city
taxes; in which case a clause to that effect shall be inserted in each
bond. No bond so issued shall be sold by the city at less than par.
The treasurer shall endorse on each bond issued and sold, a certifi-
cate to the effect that the city of Clifton Forge has received the
amount of said bond from the holder; and when such certificates
is so endorsed upon said bond, and signed by the treasurer, the title
of the purchaser shall in no case be questioned nor shall the pur-
chaser or any subsequent holder be required to see to the proper
app eation of the money by the city and validity of such bonds
shall never thereafter be questioned.

All bonds issued by virtue of this charter, shall be signed b
the mayor, and countersigned by the clerk of the council, and shall
have the seal of the city affxed thereto and said bonds shall be
issued and sold and the proceeds used under the orders of the
council. Every bond issued by the council shall state on its face
for what purpose it was issued, and proceeds of such bonds shall be
applied exclusively to the purpose for which said bonds were issued ;
but the bonded debt of the city shall at no time exceed in the aggre-
pate eighteen per centum of the assessed value of the real estate in
the city except as otherwise provided by law. And provided always,
that no bonds shall be issued or sold for the purpose of subscribing
to the stock of any company incorporated for internal improvement
or other purpose; and nothing contained in the charter shall be
held to authorize the council to endorse or guarantee the bonds of
any person or corporation whatever.
38. City treasurer.—The treasurer shall be elected as heretofore
provided, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nine-
teen hundred and twenty-one, and every four years thereafter, and
shall hold his office for the term of four years. He shall qualify
before the circuit 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.

39. The said treasurer shall receive all money belonging to the
city. He shall keep his books as treasurer in such a manner as the
city council may prescribe; and such books and accounts shall show
all receipts and expenditures of the city, and be kept in his official
name and character, separate and distinct from his individual books,
always subject to the inspection of the mayor and any member
of the city council or any committee or auditing officer of the city
thereof. The compensation of said treasurer as to the collection
of the city revenue shall be such as may be fixed by the council
of said city from time to time. The treasurer at the expiration of
his term of office shall deliver all money, books and papers in his
hands belonging to said office to his successor in office.

40. No money shall be paid out by the treasurer except upon
appropriations made by law or on warrants signed by the city
auditor and countersigned by the mayor.

41. The treasurer shall report to the city council at the end
of each month a full and detailed account of all receipts and ex-
penditures during the preceding month, and the state of the treas-
ury. He shall also keep a register of all warrants, their date.
amount, number and fund from which paid and the person to
whom paid, specify also the time of payment, and all warrants
shall be examined at the final payment. and all such warrants shall
be examined at the time of making such report to the city council
by a committee thereof, or by such person as it may designate, who
shall examine and compare the same and report discrepancies, if
any, to the council.

42. The treasurer shall collect all taxes and assessments which
may be levied by said city and perform such other duties as may
herein be described or may be ordained by the city council.

43. The treasurer shall be required to keep all monies in his
hands belonging to the city in such place or places of deposit as
the city council may by ordinance provide, order, or establish or
direct, shall verify his cash account at least once every three months
to the satisfaction of a committee of council to be appointed for
that purpose; such monies when received by him shall forthwith
be deposited to the credit of the proper account in the proper place
or places of deposit, shall be kept separate and distinct from his
own monies, on separate accounts and books, and none shall be
withdrawn unless the same shall have previously been appropriated
by councils to the purpose for which it is drawn. And he is hereby
expressly prohibited from using, directly or indirectly, the corpo-
ration money or warrants in his custody or keeping for his own
use and benefit, or that of any person or persons whatsoever, or to
receive, directly or indirectly, for his own use, any benefit, interest,
or profit thereof; and any violation of this provision shall subject
him to immediate removal from oftice. In case of his removal, death
or resignation the judge of the circuit court shall appoint a quali-
fied person to fill said office until the next general election which
may be held in the city, when the qualified voters of said city shall,
as In other cases, fill such vacancy by an election of a successor, who
shall hold his office for the remainder, if any, of the unexpired
term of the officer removed, deceased or resigned. No person shall
be allowed to qualify a second term as treasurer, unless and until
he shall have satisfactorily settled his accounts as treasurer for
the preceding 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 hereinbefore provided.

CHAPTER LX.

44. Commissioner of the revenue.—There shall be elected on
the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundrd
and twenty-one, and every four years thereafter, one commissioner
of the revenue. He shall give bond with surety in such amount
as the council of said city may determine.

45. The duties and liabilities of said commissioner of the reve-
nue shall be the same as are defined and prescribed by chapter
twenty-four of the Code for the commissioner of the revenue for
counties as far as the same may be applicable, and not inconsistent
with this act or the Constitution and laws of the State, and in addi-
tion to the compensation allowed him by and from the State under
that chapter, he shall be entitled to such compensation for extend-
ing in his land and personal property books, all city levies, such
sums as the council may deem reasonable. The said commissioner
of the revenue shall perform all the duties in relation to the assess-
ment of property for the purpose of levying the city taxes that
may be ordered by the city council. He shall keep his office in the
city hall of said city, and shall keep therein such books, schedules
and reports in such manner as the city council may direct and pre-
serib2, which books, reports and other papers shall be subject to the
inspection and examination of the mayor and members of the city
council or any committee thereof, and the auditor.

46. The said commissioner shall at the time he delivers the
copies of the land and personal property books required by him
under the State law, deliver to the clerk of the circuit court a copy
of the land and personal property books for the city; and shall
assist the clerk in his examination and auditing of said books and
perform any duties required of him by the city council.

_ 47. He shall apply to the city auditor who shall furnish him
with the proper city license books and he shall issue all city licenses
which the council may direct of him, and no license shall be issued
except from said books and at the time of issuing said license,
the stub which is retained in the books shall be properly filled out
by the commissioner. When he is applied to for license, he shall
ascertain the correct amount, making the proper entries, sign the
license books, reports and making 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 the same to the party,
and no license shall be delivered until paid for. The commissioner
is expressly forbidden to sign the treasurer’s name to the license or
any other paper. He shall, at least, twenty-four hours before each
regular meeting of the city council, leave with the city auditor, his
license book together with a list of all licenses issued by him during
the preceding month, and he shall be present at the State finance
committee meeting and render to them any explanation or assist-
ance regarding said license required, and his acts and doings as
commissioner as the committee of the council may require of him.
48. The commissioner of the revenue shall make an annual
report to the finance committee of the city council and in said
report he shall submit a detailed statement, setting forth the names,
alphabetically arranged, of persons or firms chargeable with the city
license tax, the nature of the business in which said firms or
ersons are engaged, the annual purchase of merchants or capital
invested, the time for which said license runs, and the amount of
the said license tax. The commissioner of the revenue is expressly
prohibited from collecting, all or anv part of the license tax, which
tax shall be paid to the treasurer or his deputy by the party making
application for license of his agent; and the auditor shall have
printed on the city license hereinbefore provided for, the following
words: “The commissioner of the revenue is prohibited from col-
lecting or receipting for the tax thereon, 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, he may be removed from
office, as provided by general law.

CHAPTER X.

49. Commonwealth's attorney.—There shall be elected by the
qualified voters of the city on the Tuesday after the first Monday
in November, nineteen hundred and twenty-one, and every four
years thereafter, one Commonwealth’s attorney, who shall prose-
cute in all cases both for the State and city, in the mayor’s court,
and in the circuit court of the city of Clifton Forge, Virginia. He
shall hold his office for a term of four years and until his successor
be elected and qualified, unless sooner removed, and shall receive
such compensation for his service as may be prescribed by law and
such salary as may be fixed by the city council.
50. City sergeant.—There shall be elected by the qualified voter
of said city on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November
nineteen hundred and twenty-one, and every four years thereafter
one city sergeant, who shall attend the terms of the circuit court fo1
said city and act as officer thereof, and shall perform such othe
duties as may be prescribed and ordained by the city council anc
by general law, and shall receive in compensation therefor the fees
and emoluments allowed by law to sergeants and may be allowed
salary in the discretion of the council.

Chapter XII.

51. Clerk of the circuit court.—There shall be elected by the
qualified voters of said city on the Tuesday after the first Monday
in November, nineteen hundred and nineteen, and every eight years
thereafter, one clerk of the circuit court, who shall serve for a term
of eight years and until his successor be elected and qualified. He
shall receive in compensation for his services, the fees and emolu-
ments allowed by law to clerks and such allowances as the city
council may from time to time deem just and proper.

52. The present officers of the city of Clifton Forge shall serve
to the end of their respective terms for which they were elected.

Chapter XIII.

53. Justices of the peace.—There shall be elected by the quali-
fied voters of each ward, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in
November, nineteen hundred and twenty-one, and every four years
thereafter, one justice of the peace for each of the three wards
of said city.

54. The city council shall elect a chief of police and such other
police officers as may be necessary. The police committee of the
city council shall have the supervision and control of the police of
said city. Said committee shall have the right to remove or sus-
pend with or without cause with the approval of the council any
member of the police force of said city, and the said city council
shall have the authority and power whenever it may deem it ex-

dient to constitute and appoint a board of three members to be

own as the “board of police commissioners,” elected by said council
for one, two and three vears respectively, and upon the organiza-
‘ion of said board, it shall have the entire supervision of the police
of said city. Said board shall elect a chief, whose duties, pay and
9onds shall be such as are ordained by the city council. The board
shall further select such number of patrolmen as it may deem neces-
ary. After the police force has been so constituted any vacancy
herein shall be filled by the board in like manner. Such chief and
»olicemen shall constitute the police force of the city, and shall
iold their positions during their good behavior, or until they may
ye severally removed by said board. The said board shall perform
uch other duties connected with the police department as the city
council may delegate to it, and each member of the board shall be
clothed with the powers of a conservator of the peace under the

laws of the State.
Chapter XIV.

55. City auditor.—There shall be elected by the council of said
city every two years at the stated September meeting following the
regular election of councilmen in the preceding June, one city audi-
tor, whose duties and compensation shall be as fixed by the city
council.

56. All ordinances now in force in the city of Clifton Forge not
inconsistent with this charter, the laws of the State, and of the
United States. shall be and remain in force until amended or re-
pealed by the city council.

57. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby
repealed in so far as thev affect the provisions of this charter, and
all former charters of the town of Clifton Forge are hereby re-
pealed.