CHAPTER 372

AN ACT to provide a new charter for the Town of Blacksburg
in the County of Montgomery, and to repeal the existing
charter of the Town, and all former charters and amend-
ments thereto. |

[ H 385 ]

Approved April 5, 1950

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. §1. The inhabitants of the territory comprised within
the present limits of the Town of Blacksburg, as such limita-
tions are now or may be hereafter altered and established by
law, shall constitute and continue a body, politic and corporate,
to be known and designated as the Town of Blacksburg, 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, exer-
cise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and privileges
and be subject to all the duties and obligations now appertain-
ing to and incumbent on the town as a municipal corporation,
and the Town of Blacksburg, as such shall have perpetual suc-
cession, May sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, con-
tract and be contracted with, and may have a corporate seal
which it may alter, renew, or amend at its pleasure by proper
ordinance.

§ 2. The present boundaries of the town are as follows:
Beginning at a point in the center of Clay Street a corner to
Virginia Polytechnic Institute Farm and with a line of same
south nineteen degrees forty-eight minutes east two hundred
thirteen and six-tenths feet to an iron-hub corner to the Houston
land where a WO was called for; thence still with Virginia
Polytechnic Institute Line south four degrees sixteen minutes
east six hundred and eighty-nine and six-tenths feet to the
center of an alley; thence with a line of an alley crossing Center
Street north fifty degrees twenty-seven minutes east seven
hundred sixty-four and nine-tenths feet to the center of an alley
parallel to Railroad Street; thence with same south twelve
degrees forty-eight minutes east two hundred ninety-seven and
six-tenths feet to the center of an alley; thence leaving the alley
and crossing Railroad Avenue the N & W at M. P eight-twenty
seven hundred and sixty feet; north eighty-one degrees seven
minutes east three hundred eighty-six and five-tenths feet to
Eakin Street prolonged; thence on a line parallel to Preston
Avenue south thirty-nine degrees fifteen minutes east sixteen
hundred seventy-seven and five-tenths feet to a stake standing
on the west side of Route eight at the P. C of a twelve degree
curve to the left; thence with this curve south five degrees and
thirty minutes west one hundred nineteen feet to the PT; thence
with this tangent south no degrees fifty-five minutes east two
hundred fifty and eight-tenths feet to stake on the west side
of Route eight; thence north fifty degrees forty-five minutes
east sixteen hundred ninety-five and three tenths feet to a
concrete marker standing two hundred eighty-nine feet east
of Main Street; thence on a line parallel to Main Street but
two hundred eighty-nine feet east of same north thirty-nine
degrees fifteen minutes west twenty-six hundred seventy-five
to the old corporation line; thence with the old corporation line
north forty degrees twenty-five minutes east nine hundred
forty-nine feet to the center of Palmer Lane; thence north
thirty-eight degrees thirty minutes west one hundred eighty-six
feet to the center of Clay Street; thence with a line of same
north sixty-six degrees five minutes east one hundred ninety-two
feet; thence north fifty degrees ten minutes east fifteen hundred
thirty-two and five-tenths feet to P. I. Clay and Houston
Streets; thence north thirty-nine degrees thirty-five minutes
west eleven hundred ten and three-tenths feet to north side of
Roanoke Street opposite east corner of cemetery; thence south
fifty degrees twenty-five minutes west six hundred forty-eight
and six-tenths feet to southeast corner of cemetery; thence
north seventy-two degrees two minutes west twenty-two hun-
dred ten feet to iron hub, corner Turner and McConkey Streets;
thence north forty-five degrees no minutes west, nine hundred
twelve feet to center Route twenty-three; thence north eighty
degrees no minutes west twelve hundred feet to stake on south
bank of Stroubles Creek; thence south twenty-eight degrees
twenty-five minutes west fifteen hundred fourteen feet to an
iron hub ten feet south of Stanger Bridge; thence south twenty-
seven degrees thirty minutes west eleven hundred five feet to
center branch in Virginia Polytechnic Institute line; thence
south fifty-six degrees forty-three minutes west six hundred
ninety feet to Center College Alley; thence north fifty degrees
thirty-five minutes east fourteen hundred feet to center Pepper
Street; thence south fifty-six degrees fifty-three minutes east
three hundred twenty-seven and eight-tenths feet to center
Turner Street; thence north fifty-two degrees fifteen minutes
east two hundred forty-five feet to center Keister Street; thence
south forty-eight degrees five minutes east four hundred ninety
feet to center Faculty Street; thence north fifty-two degrees
fifteen minutes east two hundred twenty feet to center Route
Number eight; thence south thirty-seven degrees fifty-five min-
utes east five hundred eighty-three feet to center College Street;
thence south fifty-five degrees fifteen minutes west nine hundred
nineteen feet to center Otey Street; thence south thirty-two
degrees forty-eight minutes east eight hundred twenty-seven
feet to center Wall Street; thence south fifty-seven degrees five
minutes west three hundred forty-nine feet to center Kent
Street; thence south thirty-one degrees twenty-five minutes east
four hundred eighty-three feet to center Washington Street;
thence south fifty-eight degrees twenty-five minutes west three
hundred five feet to center Virginia Polytechnic Institute Farm
Road; thence south eleven degrees thirty-five minutes east three
hundred forty-four feet to beginning Clay Street.

§ 3. The administration and government of the Town is
vested in the Council composed of a mayor and six councilmen,
all of whom shall be electors of the Town.

(a) The said Council shall be elected in the manner pro-
vided by law, as follows: At the regular municipal election to be
held on the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred fifty, the
Mayor and six Councilmen shall be elected. The Mayor shall be
elected for a term of four years. The three members, each of
whom has received more votes in said election than either of the
other members, shall serve as members of the council for terms
of four years each. The remaining three members shall serve for
a term of two years each. At the regular municipal election to
be held on the second Tuesday, June, nineteen hundred fifty-two,
and every two years thereafter, three councilmen shall be
elected for a term of four years. Terms of office shall begin on
the first day of September next following their election. Each
councilman and the mayor elected as hereinabove provided shall
serve for the term stated or until his successor has been elected
and qualified. The council shall be a continuing body, and no
measure pending before such body shall abate or be discon-
tinued by reason of expiration of term of office or removal of any
of its members.

(b) Vacancy in the council shall be filled: within thirty
days, for the unexpired term, by a majority vote of the remain-
ing members; provided, that if the term of office to be filled
does not expire for two years or more after the next regular
election for councilmen, following such vacancy and _ such
vacancy occurs in time to permit it, then the council shall fill
such vacancy only for the period then remaining until such
election, and a qualified person shall then be elected by the
qualified voters and shall from and after the date of his election
and qualification succeed such appointee and serve the unex-
pired term. The number of candidates for council equal to the
number of vacancies to be filled for full terms receiving the
highest number of votes shall be entitled to such full terms and
the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall
be entitled to the unexpired term caused by such vacancy.

§ 4. The electors of the Town of Blacksburg shall be the
actual residents of the Town, who are otherwise qualified to
vote for members of the General Assembly.

§ 5. The municipal officers of said town shall, in addition
to the mayor, consist of a treasurer, sergeant, clerk of the
council, and such other officers as may be provided for by the
town council; and the council may appoint such committees of the
council and create such boards and departments of town govern-
ment and administration with such powers and duties and
subject to such regulations as it may see fit, consistent with the
provisions of this act and the general laws of this state. The
said Treasurer and Clerk may be one and the same person if
the council may deem it more expedient.

§ 6. The council of the town of Blacksburg may, in its
discretion, elect a town manager who may also serve as town
engineer. Upon the election of a town manager by the council
he shall be vested with the administrative and executive powers
of the town and shall hold office during the pleasure of the
council. He shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed
by the council. The town manager shall see that within. the
town the laws, ordinances, resolutions and by-laws of the
council are faithfully executed. He shall attend all meetings
of the council and recommend for adoption such measures as
he shall deem expedient. He shall make reports to the council
from time to time upon the affairs of the town, keep the council
fully advised of the town’s financial condition and its future
financial needs. He shall prepare and submit to the council a
tentative budget for each fiscal year. He shall perform such
other duties as may be prescribed by the council and shall be
bonded in such amount as the council may deem necessary.

§ 7. All officers and employees appointed may be removed
by the town council at its pleasure, and where the appointment
is by a committee or board, such removal may be by a vote of
such committee or board, or where such appointment is by the
mayor, or head of a department, such removal may be by order
of the mayor or head of department. :

. The council shall by ordinance or resolution fix the
salaries of all officers and employees of the town elected or
appointed by it, or appointed by its authority and may so far
as is not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter, define
the powers and prescribe the duties of all such officers and
employees. To effectuate the powers conferred by general law
as well as the powers herein specifically granted, the council
may employ all such persons as may be necessary.

§ 9. It shall be lawful for any officer appointed by the
council, any committee, municipal board, or the head of any
department to fill two or more of the offices whose incumbents
are appointed by the council or by any appointing power desig-
nated by the council, subject to the same penalties, liabilities
and requirements as to each of said offices as would apply to
the incumbents thereof if held by different persons.

§ 10. No member of the Town council during his tenure
of office as such shall be eligible to any remunerative office,
position, or employment to be filled by the council by election
or appointment.

§ 11. The mayor, councilmen and all municipal officers of
said town shall, before entering upon the duties of their respec-
tive offices, be sworn in accordance with the laws of the State
of Virginia by anyone authorized to administer oaths under
the laws of the state.

§ 12. When the mayor, councilmen, treasurer and clerk
take the oaths required of them, duplicate certificates of the
court or person administering the same, stating the fact of their
having been taken, shall be obtained by the person taking the
same and be by him delivered for record as follows: one to the
clerk of the circuit court of Montgomery County and one to
the clerk of the town council. When any other municipal officer
takes the oath required of him, a certificate as aforesaid, shall
be secured by him and delivered to the clerk of the town council.

§ 13. If any person elected or appointed to any office in
said town shall neglect to take such oath on or before the day
on which he is to enter upon the discharge of the duties of his
office, or shall, for twenty days after the beginning of his term
of office, fail to give such bond with such security as may be
required of him by the council of said town, he shall be con-
sidered as having declined said office, and the same shall be
deemed vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled as prescribed
in this act or by the general laws of this state.

§ 14. If any person, having been an officer of said town,
shall not within ten days after he shall have vacated or been
removed from office, and upon notification or request of the
council within such time as it may allow, deliver to his successor
in office all property, books and papers belonging to the town
or appertaining to such office, in his possession or under his
control, he shall forfeit and pay to the town a sum not exceed-
ing five hundred dollars, to be sued for and recovered with
costs: and all books, records and documents used in any office
by virtue of any provision of this act, or of any ordinances
or order of the town council, or any superior officer of said
town, shall be deemed the property of said town and apper-
taining to said office, and the chief officer thereof shall be
held responsible therefor.

§ 15. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified electors
of the town for the term of four years. His salary shall be
fixed by the town council, and shall not be diminished during
his term of office.

§ 16. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the
town and it shall be his duty to see that the by-laws and
ordinances thereof are fully executed, and he shall preside over
the meetings of the town council, voting only in case of a tie.

The mayor shall see that the duties of the various city
officers, members of the police and fire departments, whether
elected or appointed, are faithfully performed. He shall have
power to investigate their acts, have access to all books and
documents in their office, and may examine them or their
subordinates on oath, but the evidence given by persons so
examined shall not be used against them in any criminal
proceedings.

§ 17. The mayor shall communicate to the town council
annually at the beginning of each fiscal year, or oftener, if he
be required by the council, a general statement of the condition
of the town in relation to its government, finances and improve-
ments, with such recommendations as he may deem proper;
and may from time to time communicate to the council such
suggestions and recommendations as he shall deem proper.

§ 18. In case of the absence or inability of the mayor to
act, the president pro tempore of the council, to be chosen by
a majority of the council present at a legal meeting, or in his
absence or inability to act, some other member of the council
selected in the same manner, shall possess the same power and
discharge the municipal duties of the mayor during such
absence or inability.

§ 19. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of the
mayor, the vacancy shall be filled by the method provided in
§ 3 (b) for filling vacancies in council.

§ 20. The town council, composed of the mayor and six
councilmen shall be elected at large by the popular vote of the
qualified electors of the town.

§ 21. The town council is hereby authorized and empow-
ered, by ordinance or resolution, passed by the affirmative
recorded vote of two-thirds of the full membership thereof, to
be determined by yeas and nays, to provide and fix salaries for
its members, at such sums or in such amounts not exceeding the
sum or amount of one hundred and twenty dollars per annum
for each member, as it may determine, to be payable in such
amounts and at such time or times as it may direct.

The council may provide and fix the salaries for its mem-
bers, on the basis of stated amounts or sums, not exceeding the
limits herein provided, for each regular meeting of council
attended by members, and may prescribe that no member shall
receive any compensation for any meeting of said council not
attended by such member.

And in the event said salaries shall be provided and fixed
within nine months from the date of the commencement of the
terms of office of said members, the said council is hereby
further authorized and empowered to make said salaries relate
back to and become payable from the commencement of the
terms of said members.

Said salaries, when provided and fixed, shall be payable out
of the general funds of said town when approved for payment
by said council. Said salaries shall not be increased or dimin-
ished during term of office.

§ 22. The council shall by ordinance adopt such rules as
it might 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 meet-
ing 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 by a vote of two-thirds 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 regula-
tions 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. No ordinance or
resolution appropriating money exceeding the sum of five
hundred dollars, imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrowing
of money, shall be passed by the council on the same day on
which it is introduced, nor shall any such ordinance or resolu-
tion be valid until at least three days intervene between its
introduction and the date of passage. No ordinance or resolu-
tion appropriating money exceeding the sum of one hundred
dollars, imposing taxes or authorizing the borrowing of money,
shall be passed except by the recorded affirmative vote of a
majority of all members elected to the council. The meetings
of the council shall be public, unless the council by a recorded
affirmative vote of two-thirds 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.

§ 23. The mayor and four councilmen, or in the absence
of the mayor, four councilmen shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business, except as herein or by the general
statutes of this state otherwise provided. But no vote shall be
reconsidered or rescinded at any special meeting, unless at such
special meeting there be present as large a number of members
of ne council present as were present when such a vote was
taken.

§ 24. A journal shall be kept of the proceedings of the
town council, and at the request of any member present the
yeas and nays shall be recorded on any question. At the next
meeting the proceedings shall be read and signed by the person
who was presiding when the previous meeting adjourned, or if
he be not then present, by the person presiding when they were
read.

§ 25. The clerk of the council shall keep said journal and
shall record the proceedings of the council at large thereon, and
keep the same properly indexed.

§ 26. The town council shall be judge of the election,
qualifications and returns of its members; may compel the
attendance of absent members, and fine them for disorderly
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a
member for malfeasance or misfeasance while in office.

§ 27. If any person returned as a member of the council
shall he adjudged by the council disqualified or be expelled, a
new election to fill the vacancy shall be held at the same place,
on such day as the council may prescribe.

§ 28. Any vacancy in the town council occuring other-
wise than as mentioned in § 27 ahove, during the term for
which a member of the said council has been elected, shall be
filled by the council, by the appointment of anyone eligible to
such office.

§ 29. If any member of said council be voluntarily absent
from its meetings consecutively for three months, his seat may
he declared vacant by the council, and the unexpired term filled
by appointment as provided in § 3 (b).

§ 30. The town council shall have, subject to the provi-
vions of this act and the general laws of this state, the manage-
ment and control of the fiscal and municipal affairs of the town,
and of all property, real and personal, belonging to the town.

The town council shall have all power and authority
that is now or may hereafter be granted to the councils of towns
by the Constitution and general laws of this state; and the
recital of special powers and authorities herein shall not be
taken to exclude the exercise of any power and authority granted
by the general laws of the state to town councils, but not herein
specified.

§ 32. For carrying into effect the powers granted by this
act and the general laws of this state, the town council may
make ordinances and by-laws, and prescribe fines and other
punishments for violation thereof, lay taxes and levies, keep a
town guard, appoint a collector of taxes and levies, and such
other officers as they may deem proper, define their powers, pre-
scribe their duties and compensation, and take from any of them
a bond, with surety, in such penalty as to the council may seem
fit, payable to the town by its corporate name, and with condi-
tion for the faithful discharge of the said duties.

§ 33. Where not otherwise provided for by the laws of
this state the town council shall by ordinance provide for any
irregular elections not herein or by the state laws provided for,
and appoint the necessary officers to conduct the same.

§ 34. The town council shall have the power and authority
to protect the persons and property of the inhabitants of the
town and others within the town, restrain and punish drunk-
ards, vagrants and street beggars; to prevent vice and immoral-
ity; to preserve the public peace and good order; to prevent and
quell riots, disturbances and disorderly assemblages; to sup-
press houses of il] fame and gambling houses; to prevent and
punish lewd or indecent conduct or exhibitions in the town, and
to expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not
resided therein as much as one year; and for any violation of
such ordinances may impose fines and other punishments in
addition to those prescribed by the laws of the state.

§ 35. The town council shall have the power and authority
to prevent the coming into town of persons having no ostensible
means of support, and of persons who may be dangerous to the
peace and safety of the town.

§ 36. The town council shall have the power and author-
ity, where any crime has been committed or attempted to be
committed in the town, in their discretion, to offer such reward
as they think right to any person or persons for information
leading to the arrest or conviction of any such criminal.

37. The town council shall have the power and authority
to establish a market or markets in and for said town, and
appoint proper officers therefor; to provide suitable buildings
and grounds therefor; to prescribe the time for holding markets
and to regulate the same, and to make and enforce such regula-
tions as may be necessary and proper.
§ 38. The town council shall have the power and authority
to provide for the weighing or measuring of oil, coal, or any
other article for sale, and regulate the transportation thereof
through the streets.

§ 39. The town council shall have the power and authority
to lay off public grounds and provide, erect and keep in order
all buildings proper for the use of the town; to provide a prison
house and workhouse, and employ managers, physicians, nurses
and servants for the same, and prescribe regulations for their
government and discipline, and persons therein.

§ 40. The town council shall have the power and authority
to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offen-
sive, or unhealthy, to provide by general ordinances what are
nuisances, to cause the abatement of any nuisance so declared
to be by the general laws of this state or by the general ordi-
nances of the town, and to require and compel the abatement
and removal of such nuisances within said town by or at the
expense of the owners of the ground whereon the same may be
or of other persons responsible therefor.

§ The town council shall have the power and authority
to appoint a chief of police and such additional police officers
and privates as it may deem necessary or proper, to prescribe
rules and regulations for the government thereof, to prescribe
uniforms and badges of officers therefor, and to prescribe their
rate of pay; and in addition thereto the mayor, or in his absence,
the president protempore of the council, or in the absence of
both, any councilman, shall have the power and authority when-
ever the regular police force of the town is inadequate to meet
the needs of the occasion, to appoint and swear in such addi-
tional or special policemen as he may deem requisite for a term
of service not to exceed ten days, and at such compensation as
the council may fix for special policemen. The duties and powers
of such special policemen shall be the same as that of private
of the regular police force. Until the town council shall appoint
a chief of police the town sergeant shall perform the duties of
such office.

§ 42. The police force shall be under the control of the
mayor for the purpose of enforcing peace and order and execut-
ing the laws of the state and ordinances of the town. They shall
also perform such other duties as the council may prescribe.
For the purpose of enabling them to execute their duties, each
policeman is hereby invested with all the power and authority
which belongs to the office of constable at common law in crim-
inal cases. Their pay, uniforms, and the rules and regulations
for said police force shall be prescribed by the council.

§ 48. The policemen of the town have no power or
authority in civil matters, but they shall in all other cases exe-
cute such warrants or summonses as may be placed in their
hands by the mayor or any councilman of said town, or any
other properly constituted authority, and shall make due return
thereof. The criminal jurisdiction of the policemen of the town
shall extend one mile beyond the corporate limits of the town.

§ 44. The town council shall have the power and authority
to establish and maintain a fire department for the town, and
all powers necessary for the government, management, mainte-
nance, equipment and direction of such fire department and the
premises, property and equipment thereof. The council may
make ordinances as it may deem proper for the prevention and
extinguishment of fires, for the regulation of the conduct of
persons in attendance at fires, in relation to the powers and
duties of the officers and men of the fire department, to require
citizens to render assistance to the fire department in case of
need, and in relation to the acquisition, use, maintenance and
preservation of real estate, personal property, fire apparatus
and equipment necessary or proper for the use of the fire
department.

§ 45. The town council shall have the power and authority
to regulate the keeping or storage of gunpowder or other com-
bustibles within the town, and to provide magazines for the
same, and direct the location of all buildings for the storage
thereof; to regulate the sale and use of gunpowder and other
combustibles, and firecrackers or fireworks manufactured there-
from, kerosene oil, nitroglycerine, camphene, burning fluid, or
other combustible material; to regulate the exhibition of fire-
works and the discharge of firearms, and to restrict the making
of bonfires in streets, alleys and yards.

§ 46. The town council shall have power and authority
to acquire or otherwise obtain control of or establish, maintain,
operate, extend and enlarge waterworks, gasworks, electric
plants, and other public utilities within or without the limits of
the town; and to acquire within or without the limits of the
town by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, whatever land
may be necessary for acquiring, locating, establishing, maintain-
ing, operating, extending and enlarging said waterworks, elec-
tric plants and other utilities, and the rights of way, rails, pipes,
poles, conduits and wires connected therewith or any of the fix-
tures or appurtenances thereof; promulgate and enforce reason-
able rates, rules and regulations for use of the same, any or all
of which rates, rules and regulations the council may alter at
any time without notice.

The council may discontinue serving water to any consumer
who defaults in payment for such service within the time pre-
scribed by the council for the payment thereof, for so long as
such default continues.
§ 47. The town council shall have the power and authority
to require the owners or occupiers of the real estate within the
corporate limits of the town which may front or abut on the
line of any sewer or water pipe line or conduit to make connec-
tions therewith, and to use such sewer pipes and conduits and
water furnished by the town under such ordinances and regula-
tions as the council may deem necessary to secure the proper
sewerage thereof and to improve and secure good sanitary con-
ditions; and shall have the power to enforce the observance of
all such ordinances and regulations by the imposition and col-
lection of fines and penalties, to be collected as other fines and
penalties under the provisions of this act.

§ 48. The town is empowered to make and adopt a com-
prehensive plan for the town, and to that end all plats and
re-plats hereafter made subdividing any land within the town
or two miles of its corporate limits into streets, alleys, roads
and lots or tracts shall be submitted to and approved by the
council within such limitations as they may prescribe before
such plats or re-plats are filed for record or recorded in the
office of the clerk of the circuit court of Montgomery County,
Virginia.

§ 49. The town council shall have the authority to open,
close, alter, improve, widen or narrow streets, avenues, alleys
and walkways; to have them kept in good condition and properly
lighted, to prevent the cumbering of streets, sidewalks, alleys,
lanes or bridges of the town in any manner whatever ; to prevent
the building of any structure, obstruction or encroachment over,
under or in any street, sidewalk or alley in said town.

§ 50. The town council shall have the power and authority
to adopt ordinances authorizing owners or occupants of prop-
erty abutting upon any street or alley in the town, within such
limitation as they may prescribe, to construct and maintain in,
upon and over such street or alley, awnings, fire escapes, shut-
ters, signs, cornices, gutters, down spouts and bay windows and
other appendages to buildings; but such permission so granted
shall be held and deemed to be a license merely and shall be
revocable at the pleasure of the town, and said permission shall
not be construed to relieve the said owners of any negligence
on their part. .

§ 51. The town council shall have the power and authority
in their discretion to establish and maintain parks, playgrounds
and boulevards and cause the same to be laid out, equipped and
beautified.

§ 52. For the promotion of health, safety, morals, com-
fort, property and general welfare, the town is empowered to
provide by ordinance, for the adoption of a master plan, divide
the area of the town into one or more districts, establish set
back building lines, regulate and restrict the location, con-
struction, reconstruction, alteration and repair or use of build-
ings and other structures and their height, area and bulk and
percentage of lot to be occupied by buildings or other structures
and the trade, industry and other specific uses of the premises
in such districts and adopt building, plumbing, electrical and
other codes to carry these purposes into effect.

§ 58. The town council shall have the power and authority
to make and enforce ordinances to secure the safe and expedi-
tious use of the streets and alleys of the town, to regulate
traffic thereon, and for the protection of persons and property
thereon or near thereto.

§ 54. 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, to cooperate with any -non-profit
corporation in the improvement 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.

§ 55. The town clerk 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 com-
munications; he shall give to the proper department or officials
ample notice of the expiration or termination of any franchise,
contract or agreements; he shall publish such records 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.

§ 56. There shall be appointed by the council a 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 belong-
ing 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
town treasurers for the collection of county, town, 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 provisions of the law appli-
cable 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 assess-
ment 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 resolution of the council.
The treasurer shall not be entitled to any commission for
handling the funds of the town but shall 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 persons from the electors
of the town 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 Blacksburg and
shall perform such other duties not inconsistent with his office
as may be required of him by the town council; and he shall
make all such reports as may be required by the council. The
said treasurer and clerk may be one and the same person if the
council may deem it more expedient.

§ 57. 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
conservator 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 a distance of one mile beyond the
same, and shall perform such other duties as may be from time
to time prescribed by the council.

§ 58. The town council, within the limits of the constitu-
tion of this state and in accordance with the provisions of the
general laws thereof, may, in the name of, and for the use of the
town, contract loans or cause to be issued certificates of debts,
notes or bonds.

§ 59. The council shall have the power to negotiate tem-
porary loans, in anticipation of taxes, for the purpose of paying
current expenses of the town; such loans to be evidenced by
bonds or notes bearing interest at not exceeding six per centum
per annum; such bonds or notes shall be payable within one
year from date of issue out of the current revenue of the year in
which same are issued. No such temporary loan shall in the ag.
gregate exceed fifteen per cent of the previous year’s income.

§ 60. Sinking Fund Provision.—(a) There shall be set
apart annually from the revenues of the town a sinking fund
sufficient in amount to pay the outstanding indebtedness of the
town, which by its terms; is payable in not less than one year
as it matures, and the council may, in its discretion annually
from time to time, set aside such additional sinking fund as
may be deemed proper, and invest all of the sinking fund as
hereinafter set forth.

(b) All sinking funds shall be used exclusively in the pay-
ment 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
hond of the town, or cannot be used to advantage in the purchase
and redemption of any bonds of the town, which may be outstand-
ing, the same shall be securely invested in interest bearing muni-
cipal, State or government bonds or loaned upon otherwise unen-
cumbered real estate, within the town of Blacksburg upon the
basis hereinbefore provided, or invested in any securities ap-
proved by the general laws of the State for the investment of
such funds, or deposited in a bank on a reasonable rate of
interest. Such sinking fund may be used in the payment or
purchase and redemption of all bonds of the town at the dis-
cretion of the council.

§ 61. All bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness of
the town shall be signed by the Mayor and countersigned
by the clerk of the council, and to all bonds the clerk of the
council shall affix the corporate seal of the town and attest the
same.
§ 62. All contracts for the erection of public improvements
and buildings within the jurisdiction of the town where the es-
timated cost thereof exceeds three hundred dollars, and in all
cases where practicable, shall be let to the lowest responsible
bidder, all things considered, and notice shall be given, at least
twenty days before the work is finally let, by advertisement
in one or more newspapers published in the county; and the
party to whom any contract is let shall give bond as the council
may require, but in no event shall any contract be let to any
member of the town council, nor shall any member have any in-
terest in such contract.

§ 638. The town is empowered to levy and collect taxes,
on all subjects of taxation except as restrained by the constitu-
tion or by general law heretofore or hereafter adopted, provided
that it shall impose no taxes on the bonds of the said town; and
provided further that such levy shall not be increased beyond
the rate of one dollar on the one hundred dollar assessed valua-
tion of real and personal property (except as permitted by State
law for increases beyond charter limitations) without the affirm-
ative vote of the majority of citizens voting, as determined by a
referendum held for this purpose.

§ 64. The assessment of real and personal property in the
town for the purpose of municipal taxation shall be the same as
the assessment for the purpose of county taxation, but where
the commissioner of revenue for the town knows of property
that has been omitted by the commissioner of revenue of the
county from his hooks, the commissioner of revenue of the
town may by the same proceedings as are provided for county
commissioners of revenue in similar cases assess such omitted
property, real or personal, for taxation.

§ 65. The town is empowered to collect and dispose of
sewage, offal, ashes, garbage, carcasses 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.

§ 66. The council is empowered to inspect, test, measure
and weigh any commodity or commodities or articles of con-
sumption for use within the town; and to establish, regulate,
license, and inspect weights, meters, measures, and scales.

§ 67. 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 same, or any of them,
within the town or within one mile thereof.

§ 68. The town is empowered to require every owner of
motor vehicles residing in the said town, on a date to be desig-
nated by the council, to annually register such motor vehicles
and to obtain a license to operate the same by making applica-
tion 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 within the limits per-
mitted by state law.

§ 69. The council may grant or refuse license to owners
or keepers of wagons, drays, carts, hacks, automobiles, motor-
cycles and other wheeled carriages kept or employed i in the town
for hire, and may require the owners or keepers of wagons,
drays and carts, automobiles, and other wheeled vehicles using
them in the town, to take out license therefor, and may assess
and require taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the same to
such regulations as they may deem proper, and may prescribe
their fees and compensation.

The town council is empowered to fix rates for
water, lights, gas, and for use of sewer and other utilities sup-
plied by the town from its works, or works operated by it.

§ 71. The jailor of Montgomery County, or the person in
charge of the prison of said town, is authorized to receive into
the said jail or prison, without mittimus or warrant, all per-
sons apprehended by the sergeant or any police officer of said
town for violation of the rules, regulations, by-laws or ordi-
nances, or disturbing the peace of said town, and shall be au-
thorized to retain such person in custody until the morning of
the second day, at which time they shall be discharged, unless
regularly committed to his custody by a mittimus or warrant.

§ 72. All ordinances now in force in the town of Blacks-
burg, not inconsistent with this act, shall be and remain in force
until altered, amended or repealed by the town council.

§ 73. The present officers of the town shall be and remain
in office until expiration of their several terms, and until their
successors have been duly elected and qualified.

§ 74. All former charters and amendments thereto for the
town of Blacksburg, Virginia, are hereby repealed.

§ 75. This act may for all purposes be referred to or cited
as the Blacksburg Charter of nineteen hundred and fifty.

2. Anemergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.