Chap. 142.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 31 and 39, as amended, of
an act entitled “‘An act to provide a new charter for the town of Vinton, Virginia,
and to repeal all acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith.”, approved March
30, 1936, relating to bond issues and taxation. (H B 127]

Approved March 6, 1940

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That
sections thirty-one and thirty-nine, as amended, of an act entitled
“An act to provide a new charter for the town of Vinton, Virginia,
and to repeal all acts or parts of acts in conflict therewith,’ approved
March thirtieth, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, be amended and
re-enacted so as to read as follows:
Section 31. Bond issues.—(a) The council may in the name of
and for the use of the town contract debts and make and issue, or
cause to be made and issued as evidence thereof, bonds, notes or
other obligations, upon the credit of the town or solely upon the
credit of specific property owned by the town, or solely upon the
credit of income derived from property used in connection with any
public utility owned and operated by the town. But except as pro-
vided in subsection (b) of this section no debt shall hereafter be con-
tracted for a longer period than that of the probable life of the work
or object for which the debt is to be contracted, to be determined by
the director of public works and by him certified to the council.
The probable life of no public improvement shall be considered over
thirty years, except that the possible life of public buildings other
than schoolhouses may be forty years; concrete bridges, forty years;
and parks or other real estate, fifty years; provided, however, that
no bonds shall be issued by the town for any purpose, except as pro-
vided in sub-section (b) of this section, unless and until the same
shall be approved by the majority of the qualified voters, who are
also freeholders, of the town, voting on the question at an election
ordered, held and certified in accordance with the general law, pro-
viding for ordering, holding and certifying bond issue elections in
cities and towns, the ballots to be used at such election, to be prepared
and voted in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred
and ninety-seven-a of the Code of Virginia.

(b) Bonds may be issued for the refunding of previous issues,
but such refunding bonds shall in no case be for a greater period
than thirty years.

(c) In lieu, however, of creating a sinking fund, or sinking funds,
as in section thirty herein provided, the town may issue bonds, here-
after called ‘‘serial bonds,’’ payable in annual installments, the first
of which shall be payable at any time the council may prescribe in
the ordinance authorizing the issue of such bonds; and the last of
which shall be payable within the period of the probable life of the
work or object for which the debt evidenced by said bonds was
created, ascertained and certified as hereinabove provided.

(d) Pending the issuance and sale of any bonds, notes, or other
obligations by this section authorized, or in anticipation of the re-
ceipt of taxes and revenues of the current fiscal year, it shall be lawful
for the town to borrow money temporarily and to issue notes or other
evidences of indebtedness therefor, and from time to time to renew
such temporary loans, or to use current funds, to be ultimately repaid
from the proceeds of said bonds, noteg or other obligations, or from
the town taxes and revenues, as the case may be; provided that the
proceeds of sale of bonds shall not be used, except for the purposes
set out in this subsection, or for permanent improvements and utilities
or refunding matured issues, unless approved by vote of the people.

(e) Restrictions on loans and credits.—The credit of the town
shall not directly or indirectly, under any device or pretense whatso-
ever, be granted to or in aid of any person, association or corporation.
The council shall not issue any bonds, notes or other obligations of
the town, or increase the indebtedness thereof, to an amount greater
than eighteen per centum of the assessed valuation of the real estate
in the town, subject to taxation; provided, however, that in deter-
mining the limitation of the power of the town to incur indebtedness
there shall not be included the classes of indebtedness mentioned in
subsections (a) and (b) of section one hundred and twenty-seven of
the Constitution of the State.

(f) Bonds based solely upon the credit of specific property owned
by the town, or solely upon the credit of income derived from property
used in connection with any public utility owned or operated by the
town, shall be issued subject to this charter and any law applicable
thereto.

(g) Every ordinance authorizing the issuance of bonds shall
specify the purpose or purposes for which they are to be issued, the
aggregate amount of the bonds, the term for which they shall be
issued, and the maximum rate of interest to be paid thereon. Any
such ordinance may be amended by ordinance at any time before
the bonds to be affected by such amendment have been sold. All
other matters relating to such bonds may be determined by resolu-
tion within the limitations prescribed by such ordinance or by this
charter.

(h) However, if there shall be omitted from this charter any
provision essential to the valid authorization, sale, execution and
issuance of any of the bonds of said town, the provisions of the general
law with reference to similar bonds shall supply said omission.

(i) Any bonds issued by the town under this charter shall be
signed by the mayor and attested by the clerk under the seal of the
town, and shall be made payable at the office of the town treasurer
or such other place, in or out of the State, as the council may pro-
vide. Such bonds shall be advertised by the town manager and sold
by the town treasurer, under the supervision of the mayor, town
manager and clerk, and the said sale reported to and approved by
the council, and the proceeds from said sale shall be paid to the town
treasurer.

Section 39. General taxes.—(a) The council may impose a tax of
one dollar per annum upon all residents of the town, not exempt from
payment of the State capitation tax, who have attained the age of
twenty-one years.

(b) The council may impose a tax upon every dog in the town
unless the general law of the State provides for such tax on behalf
of the town.

(c) The council of the toWn of Vinton is authorized to and shall
annually order a town levy, not, however, in excess of one dollar and
fifty cents on the one hundred dollars of assessed value, in addition
to what may be received for licenses and from other sources, to meet
the appropriations made and to be made and all sums required by
law to be raised for the purposes of the town. The levy so ordered
shall be upon all property in the town subject to local taxation under
general law, provided that said council shall not fix such levy on
property partially segregated to the State for purposes of State
taxation at a higher rate than is or may be permitted by the general
laws relating thereto.

(d) That all taxes, whether general or special, assessed upon
any land or lot in said town, are hereby declared to constitute a lien
upon such land or lot, as to general taxes and levies from the com-
mencement of the year for which they were assessed, and as to special
taxes and levies from the time assessed, and if the treasurer of said
town shall not be able, with due diligence, to collect the said taxes by
the first day of August of the year after the same were assessed, he
shall make out lists of such as cannot be collected, in the same man-
ner as county treasurers are required to do in cases of delinquent
State taxes, and present said lists to the said council at its first regular
meeting thereafter. The said council shall examine said lists, and if
approved, shall credit the said treasurer with the amount of same,
and shall have its clerk certify a copy of said list to the county clerk
of Roanoke county, to be by him recorded in the current delinquent
land book, provided for the record of delinquent taxes on real estate
due the State, and shall also certify a copy of the said list to the
treasurer of Roanoke county, to be used by said treasurer in accord-
ance with the law regulating the sale of delinquent lands, and in the
said book there shall also be columns for the entering of the names
of purchasers and the amount and date of sales of the real estate
sold by the said county treasurer for delinquent taxes due the said
town. This record shall be held as notice of the lien thereof, and
the said real estate shall be liable for such tax as against creditors
and purchasers, or other persons into whose hands the said real estate
may pass. The said clerk shall be entitled for each entry of lots in
said record book to a fee of ten cents, and a fee of ten cents for the
entry of each name of purchasers, with date of sales, to be paid by
the town of Vinton, and a fee of twenty-five cents for each redemption
entered, to be paid by the person redeeming the same, and to be
charged against and be a lien upon said land, along with the taxes
and levies against same. When the county treasurer sells the land
for non-payment of State taxes due the State, he shall include in
such taxes the amount due. the town, and he shall collect and account
for same, except where the State is the purchaser. If the land is not
delinquent for State taxes, he shall, nevertheless, sell for the town
taxes. The sales and report of sales and confirmation of same shall
be in all respects in accordance with the law connected with and
regulating the sales of delinquent lands for the non-payment of State
taxes, and the said council shall charge the said treasurer with what-
ever may be due from him on account of said sales, less a commission
of ten per centum to the said treasurer. No land or lot, or parts
thereof, shall be sold for less than the amount of taxes, levies, interest,
penalties and costs, and if no bids shall be received at such sale for
said amount and the Commonwealth is not the purchaser, the same
shall be bid in and purchased by the said treasurer for the said town,
in which event the treasurer shall execute to the said town a certifi-
cate of sale, in which the description and local situation of the prop-
erty, the name of the person assessed with same, the amount of taxes,
levies, interest, penalties and costs, and the date of sale, shall be
specified, and shall deliver the same to the clerk of the council to be
by him preserved, and also to the county clerk of Roanoke county,
to be by him recorded in said book. Any one having the right to
redeem said land may redeem same within the time allowed by law,
for the redemption of real estate sold for delinquent taxes due the
State, by paying to the county clerk of Roanoke county the taxes,
levies, penalties, interest and costs due upon said land. At the
expiration of the time within which the said real estate may be re-
deemed, as provided by law for the redemption of real estate sold
for delinquent taxes due the State, if same has not been redeemed, a
deed shall be executed to the purchaser other than the town of Vinton
by the county clerk of Roanoke county, according to the provisions
of the statute law, providing for the execution of deeds to purchasers
of delinquent lands sold for State taxes. The council for the said
town shall, after four months from the expiration of the time for
the redemption of such real estate as it may have under the terms
of this charter prescribed, have recorded in the deed book of the clerk’s
office of the county clerk of Roanoke county, the certificate of sale
made by the county treasurer and hereinbefore referred to, with the
oath of the said county clerk attached thereto, that the said real
estate has not been redeemed; and thereupon the said town of Vinton
shall acquire an absolute title to same; provided, that four months’
notice of its intention to have such certificate recorded, shall be given
to all persons having the right to redeem the said real estate; and
any one having such right may redeem the same at any time before
the expiration of said four months. The said certificate, or record
thereof, or a certified copy thereof, shall be evidence of the facts
therein stated, in all courts and other places of this Commonwealth;
provided, however, that the failure to obtain or record such certificate
shall not affect the lien of the town of Vinton for the taxes assessed
against such real estate, but the said town may, at any time, elect to
enforce its lien for taxes in a court of equity, and release its rights as
purchaser or to become a purchaser of said real estate. The said
council shall have the right to impose a penalty of five per centum
upon all taxes and levies not paid by December first of the year in
which the same are assessed.

(e) If the commissioner of revenue ascertains that any person or
any real or personal property, or income, or salary, subject to taxation
by the town, has not been assessed for town taxation for any year, or
that the same has been assessed at less than the law requires for any
year, or that the taxes thereon for any cause have not been realized, it
shall be the duty of the commissioner to list the same, and assess town
taxes thereon at the rate prescribed for that year, adding thereto
interest at the rate of six per centum per annum. Where the same
was omitted by no fault of the person charged with the taxes, no
interest shall be charged.

(f) The provisions of subsections (d) and (e) of section thirty-
nine of this charter, insofar as applicable, shall apply to the assess-
ment and collection, and to the administration of the assessment and
collection, of taxes on personal property and all classes thereof.

(g) All goods and chattels of any person against whom taxes for
the town are assessed, may be distrained and sold for said taxes when
due and unpaid in the same manner and to the same extent that
xoods and chattels may be distrained and sold for State taxes.

A tenant by whom payment is made or from whom payment is
obtained, by distress or otherwise, of taxes or levies due the town, by
a person under whom he holds, shall have credit for the same against
such person out of the rents he may owe him, except when the tenant
is bound to pay such taxes and levies by an express contract with
such person. And where taxes or levies are paid to the town by any
fiduciary on any estate in his hands or for which he may be liable,
such taxes and levies shall be refunded out of the said estate.