Chap. 84.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 3, as amended, 3-a and 6 of
Chapter 161 of the Acts of Assembly of 1926, approved March 17, 1926, relating
to the powers and duties of the governing bodies of certain counties with re-
spect to sanitary districts, and the manner of holding elections in such districts.

[H B 139]
Approved March 2, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That sections three, as amended, three-a and six of chapter one
hundred sixty-one of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred twenty-
six, approved March seventeen, nineteen hundred twenty-six, be amend-
ed and re-enacted, as follows:

Section 3. After the entry of such order creating a sanitary district
of such county, the board of supervisors thereof shall have the following
powers and duties, subject to the conditions and limitations hereinafter
prescribed :

(a) To construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and
to operate water supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat, light,
power, gas, sidewalks and fire-fighting systems, for the use and benefit
of the public in such sanitary district.

(a-1) To acquire, maintain and operate, within such sanitary dis-
trict, such community buildings and other recreational facilities as the
board may deem expedient or advisable, and to make such charges for
the use of such facilities as may be prescribed by the board.

(b) To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease, or other-
wise, and to maintain and operate any such water supply, drainage, sew-
erage, garbage disposal, heat, light and power and gas and sidewalks and
fire-fighting systems in such district.

(c) To contract with any person, firm, corporation or municipality
to construct, establish, maintain, and operate any such water supply,
drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat; light, power, gas, sidewalks
and fire-fighting systems in such district.

(d) To require owners or tenants of any property in the district
to connect with any such system or systems, and to contract with the
owner or tenants for such connections. In order to require owners or
tenants of any property in the district to connect with any such system
or systems, the board of supervisors shall have power and authority to
adopt ordinances so requiring owners or tenants to connect with such
systems, and to use the same, and the board of supervisors shall have
power to provide for a punishment in the ordinance of not exceeding a
fifty dollar fine for each failure and refusal to so connect with such sys-
tems, or to use the same. Before adopting any such ordinance the board
of supervisors shall give public notice of the intention to propose the
same for passage by posting hand bill notices of such proposal in three
or more public places in the sanitary district at least ten days prior to
the time the ordinance shall be proposed for passage. The ordinance
shall not become effective after its passage until ten days like notice has
been given by posting copies of such ordinance in three or more public
places in the district. Violations of such ordinances shall be tried before
the trial justice court of the county as is provided for trial of misde-
meanors, and with like right of appeal.

(e) To fix and prescribe the rates of charge for the use of any such
system or systems and to provide for the collection of such charges. And
to enable the board to enforce the collection of charges for the use of any
such systems against the person or persons, firm or corporation using
the same, the charges when made for the use of any such system shall
be collectible by distress, levy, garnishment, attachment or otherwise
without recourse to court procedure, except so far as the selected pro-
cedure may require the same. And the board shall have power to desig-
nate as its agent for the purpose of collection such officer or officers, per-
son or persons as it may determine, and the officer or officers, person or
persons shall be vested with the same power and authority as a sheriff
or constable may have in like procedure.

(f{) To employ and fix the compensation of any technical, clerical,
or other force and help which from time to time, in their judgment, may
be deemed necessary for the construction, operation or maintenance of
any such system or systems.

(g) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corporation,
or municipality with regard to the connection of any system or systems
with any other system or systems, now in operation or hereafter to be
established, and with regard to any other matter necessary and proper
for the construction or operation and maintenance of any such system
within the sanitary district.

(h) To contract for the extension of any such system into territory
outside of the district, and for the use thereof, upon such terms and con-
ditions as the board may from time to time determine upon.

Section 3-a. In addition to the powers and duties conferred and
imposed upon the board of supervisors by section three, such board shall
have the following powers and duties, subject to the conditions and limi-
tations hereinafter prescribed ;

(a) To employ and fix the compensation of counsel for such legal
advice or services as the board deems necessary ;

(b) To levy and collect an annual tax upon all the property in such
sanitary district subject to local taxation to pay, either in whole or in
part, the costs, expenses and charges incident to constructing, maintain-
ing and operating water supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage removal and
disposal, heat, lights, fire-fighting equipment and power and gas systems
and sidewalks, and incident to the acquisition and maintenance of such
community buildings and recreational facilities, for the use and benefit
of the public in such sanitary district ;

(c) To exercise the same power and authority for the abatement
of nuisances in such sanitary district as is vested by law in councils of
cities and towns for the abatement of nuisances therein, and it shall be
the duty of the board to exercise such power when any such nuisance shall
be shown to exist.

Section 6. The regular election officers of the county in and for
the sanitary district or districts, at the time designated in the order au-
thorizing the vote, shall open polls at such voting places in the district
or districts as may be designated in the order, and shall conduct the
election and close the polls in such manner as is provided by law in
other elections. The ballots shall be furnished by the regular election
officials and shall be prepared, printed and voted in accordance with the
provisions of section one hundred ninety-seven-a of the Code of Virginia.

2. An emergency exists and this act 1s in force from its passage.