Chap. 167.—An ACT to add a new chapter to the Code of Virginia to be desig-
nated as chapter 109-a thereof; and to* add fourteen new sections to the
Code of Virginia, numbered 2773-a to 2773-n, both inclusive, relating to the
organization and government of counties, and providing for complete forms
of county organization and government different from that provided for in
article seven of the Constitution of Virginia, sections 110-115 inclusive
thereof, to become effective in any county of Virginia, having a population
of more than 500 inhabitants to the square mile when submitted to the quali-
fied voters thereof in an election held for such purpose and approved by the
majority of those voting thereon, as is authorized by section 110 of the
Constitution; providing for such election for the redistricting of such
counties and providing when and under what conditions the territory in
such counties may be annexed by any city. [H B 342]

Approved March 20, 1930

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
Code of Virginia be amended by adding thereto a new chapter num-
bered one hundred and nine-a, and that fourteen new sections be added
to the Code of Virginia numbered twenty-seven hundred and seventy-
three-a to twenty-seven hundred and seventy-three-n, both inclusive. tc
read as follows:

Sections 2773-a. Subject to the velection hereinafter provided,
the provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to any county having
a population of five hundred inhabitants or more to the square mile, as
shown by the last United States census. Subject to the approval of a
majority of the qualified voters of any such county who vote thereon.
either of the two forms of, the county organization and government
provided in this chapter may be adopted.

(A) MODIFIED COMMISSION PLAN

Section 2773-b. In every county adopting this plan, the legislative,
executive and administrative powers, theretofore exercised by board of
supervisors of such county and such as may be thereafter conferred by
law, shall be exercised by a board constituted of five members, to be
known as the board of commissioners and hereinafter referred to as
the board, elected for a term of four years; provided, however. that
the county officers whose elections by popular vote is provided for by
section one hundred and ten of the Constitution, the trial justice, or
county judge, and the school superintendent and school board of such
county shall continue as provided by law with all the power, authority
and duties conferred by law upon such officers, court and school board
at the time this act takes effect and such other powers and duties as
may thereafter be conferred upon them by general law. With the
exception of the officers hereinbefore mentioned, all other officers of
said county shall be appointed by the said board of commissioners.
The board shall elect one of its members, who shall be designated as
chairman, to preside over the meetings of the said board. He shall
possess all the rights and duties of a member of the board but shall
have no veto power. The board shall be elected at large or by districts
as may be determined by the votes of such county in the election pro-
vided for in this chapter. The board shall divide the administration
of the county into departments and determine and prescribe the jurisdic-
tion and duties of each department and the powers and duties of the
officers and employees therein and make such rules and regulations for
the conduct of each department as it may deem desirable for the pur-
pose of securing efficiency and economy in administration.

Section 2773-c. The board shall, from time to time, designate and
assign the particular administrative duties of each of its members and
each member of the board shall be designated for particular service as
the head of a department, or departments, over which he shall have
special oversight and direction, subject to the provisions of this chapter
and the ordinances of the board. Such designations and assignments
may be changed whenever desired by the board and during any tem-
porary disability or absence of a member, the board may designate an-
other member to act until such disabled or absent member shall resume
his duties.

Section 2773-d. The board shall, at its first meeting, or as soon
thereafter as practicable, determine what appointive officers are neces-
sary for the proper and efficient administration of the county and shall
prescribe the qualifications, powers and duties of such officers and fix
their compensation. The board shall forthwith, or as soon as desir-
able, make appointments to fill such offices. All other employees of the
county shall be employed by the board, or under its authority; any
officer or employee whether appointed by the board or under its au-
thority, may be removed by the board at any time except as specially
provided by law. The member designated as the head of a department
shall have the power of removal of any officer or employee in such de-
partment.

Section 2773-e. The chairman shall attend the meetings of the
board and preside thereat. Jt shall be the duty of the chairman to
acquaint himself with the conduct of each of the county departments
(in addition to those under his immediate supervision) and from time
to time to report to the board with such recommendations as he shall
deem desirable.

(B) COUNTY MANAGER PLAN

Section 2773-f. Under the county manager plan all of the legisla-
tive powers of the county, however conferred or possessed by it, are
hereby vested in a board of five members to be known as the county
board. The members of said board shall be elected in the manner here-
inafter provided, and for terms of four years. It shall be the duty
of the county board to appoint the county manager, who need not be
a resident of the county or of the State. The county board shall elect
one of its members as chairman, who shall preside over its meetings.
The chairman shall be elected by the board annually and any vacancy in
the office shall be filled by the board for the unexpired term. The
chairman shall have the same powers and duties as other members of
the board with a vote but no veto, and shall be the official head of the
county. With the exception of those officers whose election is pro-
vided for by popular vote in section one hundred and ten of the Con-
stitution and the trial justice or county judge, members of the board
shall be the only elective county officials. The county board shall be
a body corporate and as such shall have the right to sue and be sued in
the same manner as is now provided by law for boards of supervisors.

Section 2773-g. The administrative and executive powers of the
county, including the power of appointment of all officers and employees
whose appointment or election is not otherwise provided by law, are
vested in an official known as the county manager, who shall be ap-
pointed by the county board at its first meeting or as soon thereafter
as practicable. He shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by
the board. The officers whose election by popular vote is provided
for in section one hundred and ten of the Constitution and the trial
justice or county judge, the school board and the superintendent of
schools shall not be subject to appointment but shall be selected in the
manner prescribed by law. The heads of all departments other than
those hereinbefore referred to and excepted from the provisions of this
paragraph shall be selected by the county board.

Section 2773-h. In addition to other duties as are or may be pre-
scribed by law or directed by the board, the county manager shall, each
year, by February first, prepare and submit to the board a tentative
budget prepared in accordance with the provisions of law in effect
governing the preparation of the county budget, and showing in detail
the recommendations of the county manager for expenditures on each
road and bridge or for other purposes. Prior to April first, but not
thereafter, the board may alter, amend or change any item reported
by the county manager, but in event of the failure of the board to act
thereon, the tentative budget as prepared and submitted by the county
manager shall be deemed the county budget and be in full force and
effect, subject to the provisions of law as to the county budget. After
the county budget has become effective, no changes shall be made in
the allocations of funds as therein made, unless such change is recom-
mended by the county manager and approved by the board, provided,
that in no event shall any change of more than ten per centum be made
in any allocation.

The county manager shall be the executive and administrative of-
ficer of the county in all matters relating to the public roads and bridges
of the county, and the other public works and business of the county,
except public schools, and shall have general supervision and charge
of all construction and maintenance of the public roads, bridges and
landings of the county, and all public works and business of the county,
except public schools, and the purchase of all supplies, equipment and
materials for the roads, bridges and landings and other public works
and business of the county, and the employment of all superintendents,
foremen and labor therefor.

The county manager shall keep the board advised as to the financial
condition of the county, and at each regular meeting of the board he
shall present to the board an itemized statement of all expenditures
made by him since his last report, and on or before July fifteenth of
each year shall file with the clerk of the board an itemized statement
showing the amount expended on each road, bridge or for other pur-
poses for the year preceding, ending June thirtieth.

The term of office of such county manager shall expire on December
thirty-first of each year, but, except as hereinafter provided, he shall
be notified at least sixty days before the expiration of the year if his
services are not desired for the ensuing year. He shall receive such
annual salary as the board may prescribe, payable in monthly instal-
ments from county funds. He shall devote his full time to the per-
formance of the duties imposed on him by law, and the performance
of such other duties as may be directed by the board.

The board may at any time remove the county manager for neglect
of duty, malfeasance or misfeasance in office, or incompetency.

Section 2773-1. The board, by a majority vote of all the members
elected, may abolish any board, commission, or officer of such county
except the school board, school superintendent and trial justice, and the
officers elected by popular vote provided for in section one hundred
and ten of the Constitution, and may delegate and distribute the duties,
authority and powers of the boards, commissions, or officers abolished,
to the county manager or to any other officer of the county it may
think proper. In the event of the abolition of any such board, com-
mission, or office, those to whom the duties thereof may be delegated
or distributed, shall discharge all of the duties, exercise all of the pow-
ers and authorities, and both they and the county for which they were
appointed, or by whom they were employed, shall enjoy the immunities
and exemptions from liability or otherwise that were enjoyed by the
abolished boards, commissions, or offices, prior to the adoption of the
county manager plan of government, except in so far as such duties.
powers, authority, immunities and exemptions have been or hereafter
may be changed according to law.

(C) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO EITHER FORM OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Section 2773-j. Except as modified by the preceding sections in
this chapter, in counties adopting either plan of government provided
for herein, the board shall have, possess, and exercise the general man-
agement of the affairs of the county, and in addition to such powers
and duties as are designated and imposed by this chapter, shall exercise
and perform all of the powers and duties now authorized or imposed
by general law or special act on the board of supervisors of such county
in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter
and shall have all the powers conferred by general law on city councils.

Sections 2773-k. Unless otherwise provided in the election here-
inafter provided for, the members of the board shall be elected from
the county at large and not by districts. Subject to the result of such
election, the magisterial districts in such counties are hereby abolished
for all purposes and thereafter the county shall be operated as a unit.
In the event that the majority of those voting thereon decide that the
county board shall be elected by districts, the judge of the circuit court
of said county shall, within thirty days thereafter, divide the said county
into five election districts and by order duly entered upon the minute
book of the said court, fix and determine the metes and bounds of each
of said districts, having in mind that in the establishment of such dis-
tricts, they shall be made as nearly equal as possible as to population,
without dividing the thickly settled communities. In case of election
by districts, the members of the board shall be duly qualified voters
and residents of the districts they respectively represent and one shall
be elected by the qualified voters of each district. In case of a decision
to abolish the districts, the members of the board shall be qualified
voters of the county. Removal from the county or district from which
elected shall forthwith vacate the office held by any member.

Section 2773-1. When a county has once adopted one of the forms
of government provided for in this chapter, thereafter no part of its
territory may be annexed by any city unless the whole county be an-
nexed. In such latter case the county shall not be annexed until the
question of annexation has been first submitted to a referendum of the
voters of such county and approved by a majority of those voting
thereon.

Section 2773-m. The provisions of this chapter shall not become
effective in any county until there has been submitted to the qualified
voters thereof, in an election held for such purpose, the questions as to
whether the form of its government shall be changed, as to which form
of government is desired, and as to whether the members of the board
shall be elected by the county at large or by districts. The form of
ballot shall be as provided in the next section.

Section 2773-n. Whenever two hundred or more qualified voters
in any such county shall petition the circuit court or the judge thereof
in vacation for said purpose, said court or judge shall by order entered
of record require the judges of election, on the day fixed in said order,
not less than thirty days from the date of such order, to open a poll
and take the sense of the qualified voters of the county on the questions
submitted as hereinafter provided for. In the calling and holding of
said election, the same procedure shall be followed as is provided in
section twenty-seven hundred and thirty-nine of the Code except that
the ballot shall have written or printed thereon the following:

Question 1. Shall the county change its form of government ?

For
Against
(Strike out one)
Question 2. In the event of such change, which form of govern-
ment shall be adopted ? |
Modified commission plan
or
County manager plan
(Strike out one)
Question 3. In the event of such change, shall the governing board
be elected at large or by districts?
At large
By districts
| (Strike out one)
The commissioners of election shall ascertain whether a majority of
the qualified voters of the county voting on the question are in favor
of changing its form of government and, if so, whether the form shall
be the commission plan or the county manager plan, and whether the
governing board shall be elected by the county at large or by districts
and make report thereof to the circuit court of the county or to the
judge thereof in vacation. If it appears from such report that a ma-
jority of the qualified voters of the county, voting on the question, are
in favor of the change, the circuit court, at its next term, shall enter
of record such fact and such additional facts as to the form of county
government adopted and as to whether the governing board shall be
elected by the county at large or by districts.

From and after the date on which the officers first elected under
the provisions of this chapter shall take office, the form of government
of such county shall be in accordance with this act.

When either of the forms of county government provided herein
shall be adopted for any county in the manner herein prescribed, the
members of the county board shall be elected at the next succeeding
regular election and shall take and hold office for a term of four years
beginning on the first day of January after their election. ‘The salary
of each member of the board shall be six hundred dollars per annum.