An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-299, as amended, of the Code of Virginia, relating to devices signalling intention to turn or stop and rules therefor.
Volume 1968 Law 99
Law Body
Chap. 340.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the town of Gate City, in
the county of Scott, and to repeal all acts and parts of acts inconsistent
therewith. {H 31
Approved March 31, 1948
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia as follows:
1. Section 1. The Town Corporate.——The inhabitants of the ter-
ritory comprised within the present limits of the town of Gate City, or
within such limits as may be hereafter established by law, shall constitute
and continue a body politic and corporate, to be known and designated
as the town of Gate City, and as such shall have and may exercise all
powers which are now or hereafter may be conferred upon or delegated
to towns under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth of
Virginia, as fully and completely as though such powers were specifically
enumerated herein, and no enumeration of particular powers by this
charter shall be held to be exclusive, and shall have, exercise and enjoy
all the rights, immunities, powers and privileges and be subject to all
the duties and obligations now appertaining to and incumbent on said
town as a municipal corporation, and the said town of Gate City, as such,
shall have perpetual succession, may sue and be sued, implead and be
impleaded, contract and be contracted with, and may have a corporate
seal which it may alter, renew, or amend, at its pleasure by proper
ordinance.
Section 2. The boundaries of said town shall be as follows:
Beginning at the old southwest corner of corporation line established
by Acts of Assembly of 1892, thence by survey established by court
decision in annexation proceedings north 47 degrees 30 minutes East
2935.6 feet, thence South 87 degrees 28 minutes East 1999.1 feet, thence
North 18 degrees 28 minutes West 2580 feet, thence North 71 degrees
30 minutes East 2100 feet, thence South 42 degrees 30 minutes East
2350 feet, thence North 47 degrees 30 minutes East 2418.4 feet, thence
South 42 degrees 30 minutes East 1450 feet, thence North 47 degrees
30 minutes East 1012.6 feet, thence North 77 degrees 30 minutes East
2930 feet, thence North 2 degrees 30 minutes East 807 feet, thence with
railroad right of way North 89 degrees 20 minutes East 1044 feet, thence
North 86 degrees 32 minutes East 382 feet, thence North 80 degrees
45 minutes East 1765 feet, thence leaving railroad right of way South 62
degrees 15 minutes East 1680 feet to the beginning.
Section 3. ‘Powers of the Town of Gate City—In addition to the
powers elsewhere mentioned in this charter and the powers conferred by
the general law and the Constitution, the said town of Gate City shall
have the following powers:
(1) To raise annually, by the levy of taxes and assessments in the
said town, on all such property, real and personal, as is now or may be
subject to taxation by towns by the general laws of this Commonwealth,
such sums of money as the council thereof shall deem necessary for the
purpose of the said town, in such manner as the said council shall deem
expedient in accordance with the Constitution of this State and of the
United States, provided that the tax rate shall not exceed two dollars
on the one hundred dollars assessed value of any such property ; provided,
however, that it shall impose no taxes on the bonds of the said town.
(2) To impose special or local assessments for local improvements
and force payment thereof, subject to such limitations prescribed by
the Constitution and laws of the State as may be in force at time of the
imposition of such special or local assessments.
(3) To impose a tax not exceeding one dollar per annum upon all
persons residing in said town above the age of twenty-one, not exempt
from the payment of State capitation tax.
(4) To contract debts, borrow money and make and issue evi-
dences of indebtedness.
(5) To expend the money of the town for all lawful purposes.
(6) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation or other-
wise, property, real or personal, or any estate therein within or without
the town, for any of the purposes of the town; and to hold, improve,
sell, lease, mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of the same or any
part thereof, including any property now owned by the town.
(7) To establish markets in the town and regulate the same, and
to enforce such regulations in regards to the keeping and sales of fresh
meat, vegetables, eggs and other green groceries and the trade of
hucksters and junk dealers as may be deemed advisable ; and to make and
enforce such regulations as shall be necessary to prevent huckstering,
forestalling or regrating.
(8) To own, operate and maintain water works and to acquire
in any lawful manner in any county of the State, such water, lands,
property rights, and riparian rights as the council of the said town may
deem necessary for the purpose of providing an adequate water supply to
the said town and piping and conducting the same; to lay, erect and
maintain all necessary mains and service lines, either within or without
the corporate limits of the said town, for the distribution of water to its
customers and consumers, both within and without the corporate limits
of the said town and to charge and collect water rents therefor ; to erect
and maintain all necessary dams, pumping stations and other works in
connection therewith; to make reasonable rules and regulations for
promoting the purity of its said water supply and for protecting the
same from pollution; and for this purpose to exercise full police powers
and sanitary patrol over all land comprised within the limits of the
water shed, tributary to any such water supply wherever such land
may be located in this State; to impose and enforce adequate penalties
for the violation of any such rules and regulations; and to prevent by in-
junction any pollution or threatened pollution of such water supply, and
any and all acts likely to impair the purity thereof; and to carry out the
powers herein granted, the said town may exercise within the State all
powers of eminent domain provided by the laws of this State.
(9) To acquire by gift, purchase, exchange or by the exercise of
the power of eminent domain within this State lands, or any interest or
estate in lands, rock quarries, gravel pits, sand pits, water and water
rights and the necessary roadways thereto, either within or without the
town, and acquire and install machinery and equipment, and build the
necessary roads or tramways thereto; and operate the same for the
purpose of producing materials required for any and all purposes of
the town; and to acquire, by purchase, exchange or by the exercise of
the power of eminent domain within this State, lands, machinery and
equipment, and build and operate a plant or plants for the preparation
and fixing of materials for any and all purposes of the said town.
(10) To collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes, garbage, car-
casses of dead animals and other refuse, and make reasonable charges
therefor; to acquire and operate reduction or any other plants for the
utilization or destruction of such materials, or any of them; to contract
or regulate the collection and disposal thereof and to require and regulate
the collection and disposal thereof.
(11) To inspect, test, measure and weigh any commodity or com-
modities or articles of consumption for use within the town; and to
establish, regulate, license, and inspect weights, meters, measures and
les.
(12) To license and regulate the holding and location of shows,
circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals, and other similar shows or fairs,
or prohibit the holding of the same, or any of them, within the town or
within one mile thereof.
(13) To require every owner of motor vehicles residing in the
said town, on a date to be designated by the Council, to annually register
such motor vehicles and to obtain a license to operate the same by making
application to the treasurer of the said town, or such other person as may
be designated by the council of the said town, to issue said license, and to
require the said owner to pay an annual license fee therefor to be fixed
by the Council; provided that the said license fee shall not exceed the
amount charged by the State on the said machine.
(14) To construct, maintain, regulate and operate public improve-
ments of all kinds, including municipal and other buildings, markets, and
all buildings and structures necessary or appropriate for the use and pro-
per operation of the various departments of the town; and to acquire by
condemnation or otherwise, all lands, riparian and other rights and
easements necessary for such improvements, or any of them.
(15) To establish, enter, open, widen, extend, grade, improve,
construct, maintain and clean public highways, streets, sidewalks, beule-
vards, parkways, and alleys, and to alter, vacate, or close the same; to
establish and maintain parks, playgrounds, and public grounds; to
keep them lighted and in good order; to construct, maintain and operate
bridges, viaducts, subways, tunnels, sewers and drains and to regulate
the use of all such highways, parks, public grounds and works; to plant
and maintain or remove shade trees along the streets and upon such
public grounds; to prevent the obstruction of such streets, alleys, and
highways, abolish and prevent grade crossings over the same by
railroads in the manner prescribed by the general law for the elimination
of grade crossings ; to require any railroad company operating a railroad
at a place where any highway or street is crossed within the town limits
to erect and maintain at such crossing any style of gate deemed proper
and keep a man in charge thereof, or keep a flagman at such crossing
during such hours as the council may require in accordance with the
general law of the State, and to regulate the length of time such crossing
may be closed due to any operations of the railroads; to regulate, to the
extent permitted by general law, the operation and speed of cars, and
vehicles upon said streets and highways, as well as the speed of all
engines, cars, and trains on railroads within the town; and to do all
other things whatsoever adapted to make said streets and highways
safe, convenient and attractive.
(16) To construct in such parks, playgrounds, and public grounds,
as it may maintain, or upon any town property, stadiums, swimming
pools, and recreation or amusement buildings, structures, or inclosures
of every character, refreshment stands, restaurants, et cetera; to charge
for admission, and use of the same, and rent out or lease the privileges of
construction or using such stadiums, swimming pools, recreation or
amusement buildings, structures, or inclosures of every character,
refreshment stands, or restaurants, et cetera.
(17) To establish, impose, and enforce the collection of water
and sewage rates, and rates and charges for public utilities, or other
services, products, or conveniences, operated, rented or furnished by the
town, and to assess, or cause to be assessed, after reasonable notice to
the owner or owners, water and sewage rates and charges directly
against the owner or owners of the buildings or against the proper tenant
or tenants; and in event such rates and charges shall be assessed against
a tenant or owner or owners then the council may by ordinance, require
of such tenant or owner or owners a deposit of such reasonable amount
as it may by such ordinance prescribe before furnishing such service
to such tenant, or owner or owners.
(18) To establish, construct, and maintain sanitary sewers, sewer
lines and systems, and to require the abutting property owners to con-
nect therewith and to establish, construct, maintain and operate sewage
disposal plants, and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise, within
or without the town, all lands, rights of ways, riparian and other rights,
and easements necessary for the purposes aforesaid, and to charge,
assess, and collect reasonable fees, rentals, assessments or cost of service
for connecting with and using the same.
(19) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and general
laws of Virginia and this charter to grant franchises for public utilities.
(20) To charge and to collect fees for permits to use public facili-
ties and for public services and privileges. The said town shall have the
power and right to charge a different rate for any service rendered or
convenience furnished to citizens without the corporate limits from the
rates charged for similar service to citizens within the corporate limits.
(21) To compel the abatement and removal of all nuisances within
the town or upon property owned by the town beyond its limits at the
expense of the person or persons causing the same, or of the owner or
occupant of the ground or premises whereon the same may be, and to
collect said expense by suit or motion or by distress and sale; to require
all lands, lots and other premises within the town, to be kept clean and
sanitary and free from stagnant water, weeds, filth, and unsightly
deposits, or to make them so at the expense of the owners or occupants
thereof, and to collect said expense by suit or motion or by distress and
sale; to regulate, or prevent slaughter houses or other noisome or
offensive business within the said town, or the exercise of any dangerous
or unwholesome business, trade or employment therein; to regulate
the transportation of all articles through the streets of the town; to
compel the abatement of smoke and dust and prevent unnecessary noise ;
to regulate the location of stables and the manner in which they shall be
kept and constructed; to regulate the location, construction, operation,
and maintenance of billboards and generally to define, prohibit,
abate, suppress and prevent all things detrimental to the health,
morals, aesthetic, well being, safety, convenience and welfare of the in-
habitants of the town; and to require all owners or occupants of property
having sidewalks in front thereof to keep the same clean and sanitary,
and free from all weeds, filth, unsightly deposits, ice and snow.
(22) To prevent or extinguish fires, and to establish, regulate, and
control a fire department or division; to regulate the size, heights,
materials and construction of buildings, fences, walls, retaining walls or
other structures hereafter erected, in such manner as the public safety
or conveniences may require; to remove or require to be removed or
reconstructed any building, structure or addition thereto, which by
reason of dilapidation, defect of structure, or other causes, may have
become dangerous to life or property, or which may be erected con-
trary to law; to establish or designate from time to time fire limits,
within which limits wooden buildings shall not be constructed, removed
to, added to, enlarged, or repaired and to direct that any and all future
buildings within such limits shall be constructed of stone, natural or
artificial, concrete, brick, iron or other fireproof material; and may
640 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY [va., 1948
enact stringent and efficient laws for securing the safety of persons from
fires in halls and buildings used for public assemblies, entertainments or
amusements.
(23) To direct the location of all buildings for storing explosives
or combustible substances; to regulate the sale and use of gunpowder,
nitroglycerin, fireworks, gasoline, kerosene oil or other like materials, to
the extent not prohibited by general law of the State; to regulate the
exhibition of fireworks, the discharge of firearms, and the making of
bonfires in the streets and yards.
(24) To provide for the preservation of the general health of the
inhabitants of said town, make regulations to secure the same, inspect all
foodstuffs and prevent the introduction and sale in said town of any
articles or thing intended for human consumption, which is adulterated,
impure or otherwise dangerous to health, and to condemn, seize and
destroy or otherwise dispose of any such article or thing without liability
to the owner thereof; to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious
or infectious diseases, and prevent and suppress disease generally; to
provide and regulate hospitals within or without the town limits, and
if necessary to the suppression of disease, to enforce the removal of
persons afflicted with contagious or infectious diseases to hospitals pro-
vided for them ; to provide for the organization of a department or bureau
of health, to have the powers of a board of health for said town, with
the authority necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of its
duties, with: the power to invest any or all of the officials or employees
of such department of health with such powers as the public officers of the
town have, to establish quarantine ground within or without the town,
and establish such quarantine regulations against infectious and con-
tagious diseases as the council may see fit, subject to the laws of the
State and of the United States.
(25) To provide for the care, support and maintenance of children
and of sick, aged, insane or poor persons and paupers.
(26) To prevent the riding or driving of horses or other animals at
an improper speed; to prevent the throwing of stones, or engaging in
any sort of employment in public streets which is dangerous or annoying
to passersby, and to prohibit and punish the abuse of animals.
(27) To the extent permitted by general law of the State: To con-
trol, regulate, limit and restrict the operation of motor vehicles carrying
passengers for hire upon the streets or alleys of the town; to regulate
the use of automobiles and other automotive vehicles upon the streets ; to
regulate the routes in and through the town to be used by motor vehicle
carriers operating in and through said town and to prescribe different
routes for different carriers; to prohibit the use of certain streets by
motor trucks; and generally to prescribe such regulations respecting
motor traffic therein as may be necessary for the general welfare.
(28) To acquire in any lawful manner, for the purpose of en-
couraging commerce and manufacture, lands within or without the town
not exceeding at any one time five hundred acres in the aggregate, and
from time to time to sell or lease the same or any part thereof for
industrial or commercial uses and purposes.
(29) To provide in or near the town, lands to be used as burial
places for the dead ; to improve and care for the same and the approaches
thereto, and to charge for and regulate the use of the ground therein,
and to cooperate with any non-profit corporation in the improvements
and care of burial places and approaches thereto; and to provide for
the perpetual upkeep and care of any plot or burial lot therein, the town
is authorized to take and receive sums of money by gift, bequest, or
otherwise to be kept invested, and the income thereof used in and about
the perpetual upkeep and care of the said lot or plot, for which the said
donation, gift, or bequest shall have been made.
(30) To prevent any person having no visible means of support,
paupers, and persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety
to the town, from coming to said town from without the same; and also
to expel therefrom any such person who has been in said town less than
twelve months.
(31) To exercise full police powers and establish and maintain a
department or divison of police.
(32) To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and _ street
beggars, to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and disorderly assem-
blages; to suppress houses of ill fame and gambling houses; to prevent
and punish lewd, indecent and disorderly exhibitions in said town; and
to expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided
therein as much as one year.
(33) To make and enforce ordinances, not inconsistent with the
laws of this State.
(34) To prohibit and punish mischievous, wanton, or malicious
damage to school and public property, as well as private property.
(35) To prohibit and punish minors from frequenting, playing in
or loitering in any public poolroom, billiard parlor, or bowling alley, and
to punish any proprietor or agent thereof for permitting same.
(36) To compel persons sentenced to confinement in the jail of
the town for any misdemeanor or other violation of the laws or ordin-
ances of the said town to work on the public streets, parks or other
public works of the town; and on the requisition of the mayor, or
other person acting as judge of the municipal court, it shall be the duty
of the sergeant of the town to deliver such person to the duly authorized
agent of the town for such purposes from day to day as he may be re-
quired. For the purpose of carrying into effect the police regulations of
said town, the town shall be allowed to use the county jail of Scott
County, for the safe keeping and confinement of all persons who shall
be sentenced to imprisonment under the ordinances of said town.
(37) To offer and pay rewards for the apprehension and conviction
of criminals.
(38) To give names to or alter the names of the streets.
(39) To enjoin and restrain the violation of any town ordinance
or ordinances, although a penalty is provided upon conviction of such
violation.
(40) To pass and enforce all by-laws, rules, regulations and ordi-
nances which it may deem necessary for the good order and government
of the town, the management of its property, the conduct of its affairs,
the peace, comfort, convenience, order, morals, health and protection of
its citizens of their property and to do such other things and pass such
other laws as may be necessary or proper to carry into full effect, all
powers, authority, capacity, or jurisdiction, which is or shall be granted
to or vested in said town, or in the council, court, or officers thereof, or
which may be necessarily incident to a municipal corporation.
(41) To do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient and
lawful to be done for promoting or maintaining the general welfare,
comfort, education, morals, peace, government, health, trade, commerce,
or industries of the town, or its inhabitants.
(42) To prescribe any penalty for the violation of any town ordi-
nance, rule, or regulation or of any provision of this charter, not
exceeding five hundred dollars or twelve months’ imprisonment in
jail, or both.
(43) To make and adopt a comprehensive plan for the town, and
to that end all plats and re-plats hereafter made subdividing any land
within the town or within one mile thereof, into streets, alleys, roads and
lots or tracts shall be submitted to and approved by the council before
such plats or re-plats are filed for record or recorded in the office of
the clerk of Scott County, Virginia.
(44) To own, operate and maintain electric light and gas works,
either within or without the corporate limits of the town and to supply
electricity and gas whether the same be generated or purchased by
said town, to its customers and consumers both without and within the
corporate limits of the said town, at such price and upon such terms as
it may prescribe, and to that end it may contract and purchase electricity
and gas from the owners thereof upon such terms as it may deem
expedient.
(45) To provide by ordinance for a system of meat and milk
inspection, and appoint milk and meat inspectors, agents, or officers to
carry the same into effect, license, regulate, control and locate slaughter
houses within or without the corporate limits of the town, and for such
services of inspection to make reasonable charge therefor ; and to provide
such reasonable penalties for the violation of such ordinances.
(46) To regulate, permit or prohibit poles and wires for electric,
telephone and telegraph purposes to be erected and gas pipes to be
laid in the streets and alleys, and to prescribe and collect annual charge
for such privileges, heretofore or hereafter granted ; to require the owner
or lessee of an electric light, telephone or telegraph pole, or poles, or
wires, now in use or hereafter erected, to change the location or move
the same; to require all telephone and telegraph wires and all wires and
cables carrying electricity, now in use or hereafter used, to be placed in
conduits underground and prescribe rules and regulations for the con-
struction and use of such conduits.
(47) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corporation,
municipality, or sanitary district with regard to the connections of any
water system or sewage system owned and operated by the town with
any other system or systems now in operation or hereafter to be estab-
lished, within or without the corporate limits and with regard to any
other matter necessary and proper for the construction or operation and
maintenance of any such systems within or without the said town.
Section 4. Administration and Government.—The administration
and government of the town of Gate City shall be vested in a body to be
called the council of the town of Gate City, which shall consist of five
(5) members, who shall be known as councilmen, and a mayor, all of
whom shall be residents and qualified voters of the said town. On the
second Tuesday of June, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, there shall
be elected by the qualified voters of the town of Gate City, five councilmen
and a mayor, who shall be electors of said town, whose terms of office
shall begin on the first day of September, next succeeding their election.
Of the five members elected to the council, on the second Tuesday in
June, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, those two members receiving
the greatest number of votes shall hold office for a term of four years,
beginning on the first day of September, nineteen hundred and forty-
nine, and until their duly elected successors shall have qualified. The
other three members shall serve for a term of two years, beginning Sep-
tember first, nineteen hundred and forty-nine. In case of tie among
any of the members, lots shall be cast among those tying to determine
which one or ones shall hold office for the term of four years. On the
second Tuesday of June, nineteen hundred and fifty-one, and every two
years thereafter, there shall be elected by the qualified voters of the
said town, three councilmen and a mayor, and the two members receiving
the greatest number of votes shall hold office for a term of four years,
beginning on September first, succeeding their election, and until their
duly elected successors shall have qualified. The other member who is
elected at that time shall serve for a term of two years, beginning on
September first, succeeding (his or her) election and until (his or her)
duly elected successor shall have qualified.
The Mayor shall serve for a term of two years. The Council of
the said town shall have power to elect or appoint such other officers
as it may deem necessary, and to define their duties, including a town
manager, who may or may not be a resident or qualified voter of the
said town, who shall, under the control of the council, have general
charge and management of the administration affairs and work of the
said town, and who shall perform such other duties as may be required
of him by the council. The said manager, if one should be elected or
appointed, shall receive such salary as shall be allowed him by the
council and may be dismissed at any time by the said council. The coun-
cil may create, appoint, or elect such other departments, bodies, boards,
and other officers as are hereinafter provided for, or as are permitted, or
required by law to be appointed by the council, including a town tax
assessor, whose duty it shall be to assess or value all real and personal
property subject to taxation by the town.
The present acting council of the town shall have the right to
elect or appoint a town manager whose duties shall be the same as
defined hereinabove.
Section 5. The Mayor.—The mayor shall preside over the delibera-
tions of the council and shall have the same power and rights of voting
as other members of the council in case of a tie, but he shall have no
right of veto; he shall be the chief executive officer of the town and
shall perform such other duties consistent with his office as may be
imposed by the council; he shall take care and see that the by-laws,
ordinances, acts and resolutions of the council are faithfully executed:
he shall have and exercise all power and authority conferred by general
law on mayors of towns not inconsistent with this charter; he shall be
ex-officio a conservator of the peace within the town and within one
mile of the corporate limits thereof, and shall, unless otherwise provided
by the council, have jurisdiction to try all violations of the town ordi-
nances, subject to an appeal to the circuit court of Scott County, and
inflict such punishment and impose such fines as may be prescribed for
a violation of the same and he shall have power to issue executions for all
fines and costs imposed by him, or he may require an immediate payment
thereof, and in default of such payments he may commit the party in
default to the town jail or the jail of Scott County until the fine and cost
shall be paid, but the time of imprisonment in such case shall not exceed
twelve months; he shall possess all the jurisdiction and exercise all
power and authority of a justice of the peace in civil and criminal cases
within the said limits; he shall see that peace and order are preserved
and that persons and property within the town are protected; he shall
authenticate by his signature such documents and instruments as the
council, this charter, or the laws of this Commonwealth require; and
he shall from time to time recommend to the council such measures as
he may deem needful for the welfare of the town; provided, however,
that the council may appoint a police justice for the town, who shall
be a qualified voter of the town, and shall serve during the pleasure of
the council. He shall, during such time as he shall serve, have exclusive
jurisdiction to try all violations of town ordinances, and the same juris-
diction in criminal cases as is conferred by law on police justices of
cities, and shall, before entering upon the discharge of his duties,
qualify as such police justices are required to qualify, and he shall
receive such compensation as may be provided by the council.
Section 6. The Powers of the Council—The council hereinbefore
created shall have full power and authority, except as herein otherwise
specifically provided, to exercise herein all the powers conferred upon
the town, and pass all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal
affairs, subject to the Constitution and general laws of the State and
of this charter, and shall have full and complete control of this charter,
and shall have full and complete control of all fiscal and municipal
affairs of the said town and all of its real and personal properties, and
may from time to time amend, re-amend and/or repeal any or all of the
said ordinances, for the proper regulation, management and government
of the said town and may impose fines and penalties for the violation or
non-observance thereof.
Section 7. Composition of the Council; Vacancies.—The said five
(5) councilmen shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the
town, and shall hold office until their successors shall have been elected
and qualified. The members who now constitute the said council, as
well as all other elected officers, shall continue in office until the first day
of September, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and thereafter until
their successors have been elected and qualified. The council shall be a
continuing body, and no measure pending before such body shall abate or
be discontinued by reason of expiration of the term of office or removal
of the members of said body or any of them, Vacancies in the council
shall be filled within thirty days after any such vacancy occurs for the
unexpired term by a majority vote of the remaining members, except
where otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this charter.
Section 8. Salaries——The salary of the mayor of the town, as now
constituted or hereafter elected, if any be allowed by the council, shall
be fixed by the council but in no event to exceed five hundred dollars
per annum. The councilmen, as. now constituted or hereafter elected may
receive a salary to be fixed by the said council, not to exceed three hun-
dred dollars per annum for each councilman. The salary of the mayor
and councilmen, if any, when fixed shall so continue until changed by
the council, and shall be payable out of the treasury of the town in
semiannual installments. The council shall fix the salary of its recorder,
and such other officers, agents and employees as it may deem appropriate ;
provided, no salary shall be fixed for a period to exceed one year.
Section 9. The meetings of the Council—The council shall by
ordinance adopt such rules as it may deem proper for the regulation
of its proceedings and shall meet at such times as may be prescribed
by ordinance, provided, however, that it shall hold at least one regular
meeting each month. A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business, but no ordinance or resolution shall be
adopted having for its object the levying of taxes or contracting a debt
except by a vote of three-fifths of the council. The mayor, or any other
two members of the council, may call a special meeting of the council
upon at least twelve hours written notice of the time, place and purpose
to each member, served personally or left at his usual place of business
or residence by the town sergeant, and no business shall be transacted
by the council in such special meeting which has not been stated in
the notice, provided, however, that these regulations shall not apply
when all members of the council attend such meeting or waive notice
thereof, nor shall it apply to an adjourned session from a regular meeting.
The meetings of the council shall be public unless the council by a
recorded affirmative vote of three-fifths of its members shall declare that
the public welfare demands an executive session of the council; and
citizens may have access to the minutes and records of the council at
any reasonable time.
Section 10. Council; Chairman Pro Tem.—The council shall, as
soon as this act takes effect, elect from its membership a chairman pro
tem who shall in the absence or inability of the mayor to act, have all
the powers and duties of the mayor, and shall perform all of his func-
tions ; and at the first meeting of each new and succeeding council elected
hereunder such chairman pro-tem shall be elected.
Section 11. Elections—The time of holding and the method of
conducting municipal elections shall conform to the general laws of the
State of Virginia. The next election is to be held on the second Tuesday
of June, nineteen hundred and forty-nine, and every two years thereafter.
Section 12. All officers, elected or appointed under the provisions
of this charter, shall, unless otherwise provided under general law or
by this charter, or by ordinance of the council, execute such bond, with
such approved corporate security as may be required by general law, by
this charter, or by ordinance or resolution of the council, and file the
same with the town clerk before entering upon the discharge of their
duties; and in event of default on the part of any bonded municipal
officer, the town shall have the same remedies against him and his sureties
as are provided for the State in enforcing the penalty of any official
bond given to it.
Section 13. Oaths.—All officers elected or appointed under the
provisions of this charter shall take the oath of office required by general
law before entering upon the discharge of his duties, and if these require-
ments have not been complied with within thirty days after the term
of office shall have begun or after his appointment to fill a vacancy, then
such office shall be considered vacant.
Section 14. The Town Recorder.—The town recorder shall be
appointed by the council, and shall attend the meetings of the council
and shall keep permanent records of its proceedings ; he shall be custodian
of the town seal and shall affix it to all documents and instruments
requiring the seal, and shall attest the same; he shall keep all papers,
documents, and records pertaining to the town, the custody of which
is not otherwise provided for in this charter; he shall give notice to
all parties, presenting petitions or communications to the council of
the final action of the council on such communications or petitions; he
shall give to the proper department or officials ample notice of the expira-
tion or termination of any franchise, contract or agreements; he shall
publish such reports and ordinances as the council is required to publish,
and such other records and ordinances as it may direct; he shall upon
final passage transmit to the proper departments or officials copies of
all ordinances or resolutions of the council relating in any way to such
departments or to the duties of such officials, and he shall perform such
other acts and duties as the council may, from time to time, allow or
require.
Section 15. The Town Treasurer—There shall be appointed by
the council one town treasurer who shall hold office during the pleasure
of the council; but the present treasurer of the town shall continue to
discharge the duties of the office until removed by the council or until
his successor shall have qualified. Any vacancy in this office shall be
promptly filled by the council. The said treasurer shall be the disbursing
agent of the town and have the custody of all money and all evidences
of value belonging to the town or held in trust by the town. He shall
receive all money belonging to and received by the town and keep correct
accounts of all receipts from all sources and of all expenditures of all
departments. He shall collect all taxes and assessments, water rents,
and other charges belonging to and payable to the town, and for that
purpose he is hereby vested with powers similar to those which are now
or may hereafter be vested in county and city treasurers for the collec-
tion of county, city and State taxes under the general law; he shall keep,
disburse and deposit all money or funds in such manner and in such
places as may be determined by ordinance or the provision of the law
applicable thereto; he shall pay no money out of the treasury, except in
the manner prescribed by this charter or by ordinance or the general
law; he shall perform such duties as are usually incident to the office
of commissioner of revenue in relation to the assessment of property
for town taxation and town license taxes and shall have power to
administer oaths in the performance of his official duties; and shall
make such reports and perform such other duties not inconsistent with
the office as may be required by this charter or by ordinance or resolu-
tion of the council. The treasurer shall be entitled to commission for
handling the funds of the town, or may be paid such salary as may be
provided by the council, and before entering upon the duties of his office
shall execute a bond in such amount and with such security as the
council by ordinance may prescribe. The council may, in its discretion,
and if it deems it necessary or convenient, appoint some person or per-
sons to assist the town treasurer in the collection of all taxes and
assessments, water rents, and other charges belonging to and payable to
the town, which person may be the town sergeant, or superintendent of
water works, but before entering upon the discharge of his duties, such
person shall execute a bond in such amount and with such security as
the council by ordinance, may prescribe. The treasurer shall be subject
to the supervision of the council of the town of Gate City and shall per-
form such other duties not inconsistent with his office as may be required
of him by the council; and he shall make all such reports as may be
required by the council. The said treasurer or town manager, if one be
appointed, may be one and the same person if the council may deem it
more expedient.
Section 16. Town Sergeant—There shall be appointed by the
council a town sergeant who shall qualify and give bond in such amount
as the council may require. He shall be vested with powers of a conserva-
tor of the peace, and shall have the same powers and discharge the
same duties as a constable within the corporate limits of the town and
to the distance of one mile beyond the same, and shall perform such
other duties as may be from time to time prescribed by the council or
town manager.
Section 16-A. Who Shall be Eligible to Appointment as Town
Treasurer, Town Sergeant, Town Clerk and Town Manager.—No
member of the town council, or one who is elected to such office of
town council, shall be eligible to appointment or election to the office
of town treasurer, town sergeant, town recorder or town manager,
during the period for which he has been elected.
Section 17. Tax Lien on Real Estate—A lien shall exist on all
real estate within the corporate limits for taxes, levies and assessments
in favor of the town, assessed thereon from the commencement of the
year for which the same were assessed and the procedure for collecting
the said taxes, for selling real estate for town taxes and for the redemp-
tion of real estate sold for town taxes shall be the same as provided in
the general law of the State to the same extent as if the provisions of said
general law were herein set out at length. The said town and its treasurer
shall have the benefit of all other and additional remedies for the collec-
tion of town taxes which are now or hereafter may be granted or per-
mitted under the general law.
Section 18. Tax Remedies; Personal Property—All goods and
chattels wheresoever found may be distrained and sold for town taxes
and licenses assessed and due thereon; and no deed of trust or mortgage
upon goods and chattels shall prevent the same from being distrained
and sold for town taxes and licenses assessed against the grantor in such
deed while such goods and chattels remain in the grantor’s possession.
Section 19. License Taxes.—License taxes may be imposed by
ordinance on business, trades, professions, or callings and upon the per-
son, firms, associations, and corporations engaged therein, and the
agents thereof, except in cases where taxation by the localities is or
shall be prohibited by the general law of the State, and nothing herein
shall be construed to repeal or amend any general law with respect to
taxation. The council may subject any person, who, without having
obtained a license therefor, shall do any act or follow any business, oc-
cupation, vocation, pursuit, or calling in the town for which a license
may be required by ordinance, to such fine or penalty as it has authority
to impose for any violation of its laws.
Section 20. Audit of Accounts—Upon the death, resignation,
removal or expiration of the term of any officer of the town, the council
shall order an audit and investigation to be made of the accounts of
such officer and a report to be made to the council as soon as practicable.
After the close of each fiscal year an annual audit shall be made by a
qualified accountant selected by the council, who shall have no personal
interest, direct or indirect, in the financial affairs of the town or any of
its officers or employees. The council may at any time provide for an
examination or audit of the accounts of any officer or department of the
town government.
Section 21. Subdividing Lands, Dedication of Streets, Recording
Plats.—Every owner or proprietor of any tract of land within this town
who may hereafter subdivide the same into three or more parts for
the purpose of creating a subdivision shall conform to the general laws
of the ‘tate of Virginia, in the preparation of the plat, laying out and
dedication of streets, alleys, and lanes, and recordation thereof, except
as herein otherwise provided, but in no event shall the town of Gate
City be held responsible for the upkeep of any street, alley or lane, or
be held liable for any accidents which may occur upon such streets,
alleys, or lanes until after the dedication of such streets, alleys, or lanes
shall have been accepted by or declared by ordinance of the town council.
Section 22, Municipal Securities——Bonds, notes, and other evi-
dences of indebtedness may be issued by the town for such purposes and
in such manner as are prescribed by chapter one hundred and twenty-
two of the Code of Virginia, the Constitution, or any other general
statute on the subject of bond issues by towns or the issue of other
municipal securities.
Section 23. Sinking Fund Provision—(a) There shall be set
apart annually from the revenues of the town a sinking fund sufficient
in amount, to be invested as hereinafter set forth, to pay the outstanding
indebtedness of the town as it matures and which by its terms is not
payable in one year, and the council may in its discretion annually from
time to time, set aside such additional sinking funds as may be deemed
proper. (b) When taxes on real and personal property, and water rents,
are collected for the year the town treasurer shall take therefrom the
necessary amount and any additional sum, if any, so set apart, and
deposit the same in a separate account to the credit of the sinking fund in
such bank or banks as the council may designate; and the council may,
if it shall so elect, cause its sinking fund to be loaned on improved real
estate situated in the town of Gate City, secured by first mortgage liens
thereon, provided such funds shall not be loaned to a greater amount than
fifty per centum of the fair market value of the property, and fire insur-
ance shall be carried on the property during the loan in an amount at least
equal to the face amount of the loan, which money shall be loaned at
the rate of six per centum per annum, payable semiannually and for
no longer than five years at any one time. (c) All sinking funds shall be
used exclusively in the payment or purchase and redemption of the
outstanding bonds of the town, and when such sinking funds are not
required or may not within a reasonable time be required for payment
of any bond of the town, or cannot be used to advantage in the purchase
and redemption of any bonds of the town, which may be outstanding,
the same shall be securely invested in interest bearing municipal, State
or government bonds or loaned upon otherwise unencumbered real estate,
within the town of Gate City upon the basis hereinbefore provided, or
invested in any securities approved by the general laws of the State
for the investment of such bonds, or deposited in a bank on a reasonable
rate of interest. Such sinking fund may be used in the payment or pur-
chase and redemption of all bonds of the town at the discretion of the
council. (d) The town council shall act as the sinking fund commission
and shall provide for the investment, deposit and application of the
funds in conformity to the provisions of this charter; and it may require
‘of any bank or banks receiving on deposit its revenues or any of its
sinking fund a fidelity bond.
Section 24. Acquisition of Property; Condemnation—The town
shall not take or use any private property for streets, highways or any
other public purposes without making just compensation for the same,
but where the town cannot obtain the title to property necessary for
such purposes, it may proceed to condemn the same in the mode pre-
scribed by the Constitution and general laws of the State.
Section 25. Actions Against Town; Damages.—(a) No action
shall be maintained against the town for damages for any injury to any
person or property alleged to have been sustained by reason of the
negligence of the town or any officer, agent, or employee thereof, unless
a written statement, verified by the oath of the claimant, his agent or
attorney, or the personal representative of any decedent whose death is
the result of the alleged negligence of the town, 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 an attorney appointed by the council for this purpose,
or with the mayor of the town, within sixty days after such cause of
action shall have accrued, except where the claimant is an infant or non
compos mentis, or the injured party dies within such sixty days, such
statement may be filed within one hundred and twenty days. And no
officers, agents or employees of the town shall have authority to waive
such conditions precedent or any of them. (b) In any action against the
town to recover damages against it for any negligence in the construction
or maintenance of its streets, alleys, lanes, parks, public places, sewers,
reservoirs or water mains, where any person or corporation is liable
with the town for such negligence, every such person or corporation shall
be joined as defendant with the town in any action brought to recover
damages for such negligence, and where there is judgment or verdict
against the town, as well as the other defendant, it shall be ascertained
by the court or jury which of the defendants is primarily liable for the
damages assessed. (c) If it be ascertained by the judgment of the court
that some person or corporation other than the town is primarily liable,
there shall be a stay of execution against the town until execution against
such person or persons or other corporation or corporations, shall have
been returned without realizing the full amount of such judgment. (d) If
the town, not being primarily liable, shall pay the said judgment in whole
or in part, the plaintiff shall, to the extent that said judgment is paid
by the town, assign the said judgment to the town without recourse on
the plaintiff, and the town shall be entitled to have execution issued for
its benefit against the other defendant or defendants who have been
ascertained to be primarily liable, or may institute any suit in equity
to enforce the said judgment, or an action at law, or scire facias to revive
or enforce said judgment. (e) No order shall be made, and no injunc-
tion shall be awarded, by any court or judge, to stay the proceedings of
the town in the prosecution of their works, unless it be manifest that
they, their officers, agents or servants are transcending the authority
given them by this act, and that the interposition of the court is necessary
to prevent injury that cannot be adequately compensated in damages.
Section 26. Investigations—The council, mayor, and officers,
board or commission authorized by them or either of them, shall have
the power to make investigations within their respective powers and
duties, and for that purpose to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and
compel the production of books and papers, and any person refusing
or failing to attend, or to testify or to produce such books and papers,
may by summons issued by such board or officer be summoned before
the mayor of said town, and upon failure to give satisfactory explanation
of such failure or refusal may be fined by the mayor for contempt, and
any person giving false testimony may be proceeded against for perjury.
Section 27. Books, Records, Et Cetera.—All books, records, and
documents used by any town officer in his office or pertaining to his
duties shall be deemed the property of said town, and the chief officer
in charge of such office shall be responsible therefor. Any such officer
or person made by this section responsible for the keeping of such
books, records, documents, shall, within five days after the date of his
resignation or removal from office, as the case may be, deliver to the
town Recorder all records and documents. Any such officer or person
failing to deliver such books, records, or documents, as required by this
section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction
thereof shall be punished as the council may have by ordinance provided.
Section 28. Validation of Contracts.—All contracts and obligations
heretofore or hereafter made by the council of the town of Gate City,
while in office, not inconsistent with this charter, or the Constitution, or
the general laws of this State shall be, and are hereby declared to be
valid and legal.
Section 29. Ordinances to Continue in Force.—All ordinances now
in force in the town of Gate City, not inconsistent with this charter shall
be and remain in force until altered, amended or repealed by the council
of the said town.
Section 30. Partial Invalidity—If any clause, sentence, paragraph,
or part of this act, shall for any reason be adjudged by any court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
impair or invalidate the remainder of the said act, but shall be confined
in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph or part thereof directly
involved in the controversy in which said judgment shall have been
rendered.
Section 31. Repealing Clause——All acts or parts of acts in conflict
with this charter, in so far as they affect the provisions of this charter,
and all former charters and amendments thereto for the town of Gate
City, Virginia, are hereby repealed.
Section 32. Citation of Act.——This act may for all purposes be
referred to or cited as the Gate City charter of nineteen hundred and
forty-eight.
Section 33. Nothing herein contained shall in any way affect the
respective terms of office to which the present mayor, members of the
town council, treasurer, sergeant and recorder have been elected or
appointed. The said officers shall continue in office to the end of their
present terms to which they have already been elected at the election
held on the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and forty-seven,
or appointed, or until their successors have been elected and qualified.
2. The provisions of this act providing a new charter for the town of
Gate City and repealing the fermer charter shall not become or be
effective unless and until the same be approved and adopted by a
majority of the qualified voters of the town, voting on the question ; and
the regular election officers of the said town are hereby directed to
open a poll on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, nine-
teen hundred and forty-eight, and take the sense of the qualified voters
of the town, on the question whether or not the said new charter shall be
approved and adopted. The ballots for said election shall be prepared,
distributed and voted, and the result thereof ascertained and certified
in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred ninety-seven-a
of the Code of Virginia. If the result of the said election be in favor of the
approval and adoption of the said new charter for the town of Gate
City, this act shall thereupon become and be in full force and effect.