Chap. 114.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 5, 14, 27 and 33, as hereto-
fore amended, of an act entitled “An act to amend and re-enact an act en-
titled an act to incorporate the town of South Norfolk, in the county of Nor-
folk, approved September 11, 1919, as heretofore amended, which town has
since become the city of South Norfolk; and to provide a charter for the
city of South Norfolk,’ approved March 20, 1924, Section 5 relating to the
election of councilmen and other city officers, Section 14 to the trial justice
of the city and his jurisdiction, Section 27 to borrowing money, and Section
33 to appeals from the trial justice: and to further amend said act by adding
thereto a new section numbered 42-a, relating to time for bringing action
against city for damages; and to repeal Section 1l-a thereof. [S B 141]

Approved March 5, 1936

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That sections
five, fourteen, twenty-seven and thirty-three, as heretofore amended,
of an act entitled “An act to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act
to incorporate the town of South Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk,
approved September eleventh, nineteen hundred and nineteen, as here-
tofore amended, which town has since become the city of South Nor-
folk; and to provide a charter for the city of South Norfolk,” ap-
proved March twentieth, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, be amended
and re-enacted, and that the said act be further amended by adding
thereto a new section to be numbered section forty-two-a, so that the
said amended sections and the said new section, shall read as follows:

Section 5. The councilmen, treasurer, commissioner of the revenue
and city sergeant shall be elected for terms of four years, and each
shall serve until his successor shall have qualified. On the second
Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, and on the second
Tuesday in June of every fourth year thereafter, there shall be elected
from the city at large two councilmen for terms of four years; and on
the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, and on
the second Tuesday in June of every fourth year thereafter, there shall
be elected from the city at large three councilmen for terms of four
years. The terms of office of all councilmen hereafter elected shall
begin on the first day of September next succeeding their election.
The treasurer, commissioner of the revenue and city sergeant shall be
elected at the general election held for the election of members of the
House of Delegates in November and immediately preceding the ex-
piration of the terms of office of their predecessors, and shall take
office on the first day of January next succeeding their election.

The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city for
a term of four years. His salary, which, on and after September first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-five, shall not exceed nine hundred dollars
per annum, shall be fixed by the common council and shall not be
diminished during his term of office.

Section 14. The common council shall, on or before September first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-five, and every two years thereafter, ap-
point a trial justice and a substitute trial justice for the city, who shall
take office on September first of the year of appointment and _ shall
serve for a term of two years. Such trial justice shall receive such
salary not to exceed nine hundred dollars per annum, as may be fixed
by the common council, and he shall receive no other compensation for
his services as trial justice. The substitute trial justice shall act as
trial justice during the absence or inability of the trial justice, and his
compensation shall be the same as that of the trial justice for the time
served by him as such substitute trial justice, and shall be paid out
of the salary of the trial justice. Before entering upon the discharge
of their duties the trial justice and the substitute trial justice shall take
the oaths required by law and enter into bond in such penalty and
with such surety as the common council may determine. The common
council shall have authority to appoint a clerk who shall be known as
clerk of the trial justice court, and who shall receive such compensa-
tion as may be fixed by the common council, not in excess of five
hundred dollars per annum. Such trial justice shall possess the same
jurisdiction and exercise the same powers and authority in civil and
criminal matters within the corporate limits of the said city as are by
law possessed and exercised by trial justices of counties with reference
to such matters in counties, and shall have the same jurisdiction and
authority to issue process and to try and determine all civil and criminal
cases arising in the said city, as trial justices of counties have with
reference to such matters in counties and shall have the power to issue
process, hear and determine all prosecutions, cases and controversies
which may arise under the by-laws and ordinances of the city; impose
fines and inflict punishment when and wherever they are authorized
by the said by-laws and ordinances and to issue execution for the col-
lection of the said fines and to impose such fines and penalties for the
violation of such by-laws and ordinances as to him shall seem just,
where the amount of the penalty or fine for such violation of such by-
laws and ordinances is not fixed by the same; and may, upon the
failure of the offender to pay the fine or penalty recovered and the
costs, order the offender to be confined in the county jail of Norfolk
county or the prison of the city for a term not exceeding ninety days.
All fees allowed the trial justice under the general laws of this State
for the issuance of warrants, trials of cases, et cetera, shall be collected
as their costs are collected and turned into the city treasury; and said
trial justice shall have the powers of police justice of the cities of the
first class for the purpose of admitting persons to bail. Said trial
justice shall also be judge of the juvenile and domestic relations court
of said city.

Section 27. The common council of the city of South Norfolk
shall not hereafter issue any bonds for any purpose, other than refund-
ing purposes, unless and until such issue shall be ratified by a majority
of the votes cast at an election held for the purpose. The common
council, whenever four-fifths of its members by a recorded vote shall
decide that it is to the interest of the city so to do, shall provide by
ordinance for a bond issue election.

In anticipation of the receipt of taxes and revenues of the current
fiscal year, it shall be lawful for the city of South Norfolk to borrow
money temporarily in any fiscal year and to issue notes or other evi-
dences of the indebtedness therefor, and from time to time to renew
such temporary loans, including all renewals thereof, shall not be made
for a greater period than one year and shall not exceed in the aggregate
at any one time the uncollected portion of the estimated revenue for
the year in which they are made. All such temporary loans shall be
evidenced by instruments upon the face of which there shall be plainly
written “temporary loan.” Such temporary loans may be made and
notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued therefor pursuant to
a resolution or ordinance of the common council of the city of South
Norfolk, and no election shall be necessary to authorize such temporary
loans or the issuance of notes or other evidences of indebtedness there-
for. Such notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in anticipa-
tion of the receipts of taxes and revenues of the current fiscal year
shall be general obligations of the city of South Norfolk, for the
payment of which the full faith and credit of said city shall be deemed
to be pledged.
Section 33. Appeals may be taken to the circuit court of Norfolk
county from the decision of the trial justice in both civil and criminal
matters on the same terms, and be tried in the same way, as appeals
from the decision of the trial justice of counties are taken, and tried
in like cases, except that no appeal shall be granted from the decision
of the trial justice imposing a fine for offenses not made criminal by
the common law or the statutes of the State of Virginia until and
after bond be given by the person so fined, with security approved by
the trial justice conditioned to pay all fines, costs and damages that
may be awarded by the said court on appeal, the penalty of said bond
to be double the sum sufficient to pay all such fines, costs and damages.

Section 42-a. No action shall be maintained against the said city for
damages for any injury to any person or property alleged to have been
sustained by reason of the negligence of the city or of any officer,
agent, or employee thereof, unless a written statement, verified by the
oath of the claimant, his agent or attorney, or the personal represen-
tative of any decedent, whose death is the result of the alleged negli-
gence of the city, its officers, agents or employees, of the nature of ©
the claim and the time and place at which the injury is alleged to have
occurred, or to have been received, shall have been filed with the city
attorney of said city within sixty days after such cause of action shall
have occurred. And no officer, agent or employees of the city shall have
authority to waive such condition precedent or any of them.

2. Be it further enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, that
section eleven-a, of said act be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

3. An emergency existing, this act shall be in force from its passage.