CHAPTER 709

An Act to provide a charter for the town of Monterey in Highland
County, and to repeal Chapter 261 of the Acts of Assembly of 1914,
approved March 25, 1914, as amended, which provided a charter for
the town of Monterey.

(H 352]

Approved April 8, 1952

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. That the town of Monterey, in the county of Highland, as the
same has heretofore been, or may hereafter be laid off into lots, streets
and alleys, and as its limits are, or may hereafter be established by law,
is, and shall continue to be, a body politic and corporate by the name of
Monterey, 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 the laws of the State of Virginia, as fully and completely
as though said powers were specifically enumerated herein, and no enu-
meration of particular powers by this charter shall be held to be exclusive
and shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities and obliga-
tions now appertaining to and incumbent on said town as a municipal
corporation, and the said town of Monterey, 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.

The boundaries of the said town are, and shall continue to be
as follows:

“Beginning at a locust post at the southeast corner of Monterey
Cemetery, south sixty-four degrees east, one hundred thirty-two and
six-tenths poles to a point in the meadow now or formerly owned by
OQ. Wilson crossing the Monterey and Franklin road (now U. S. Route No.
220) at seventy-four poles; thence south thirty-six degrees and fifteen
minutes west, one hundred forty-seven and twenty-five hundredths poles
to a point in the meadow, now or formerly owned by Fleisher crossing
High (Main) Street (U. S. Route No. 250) at fifty-five poles; thence north
sixty-four degrees west, one hundred ninety-two poles to a point on Doctor
K. H. Trimble’s land (now J. Seybert Hansel), crossing Spruce Street at
one hundred twenty-one poles; thence north thirty-six degrees and fifteen
minutes east one hundred forty-seven and twenty-five hundredths poles to
a point on the L. H. Stephenson Estate land hill, crossing High (Main)
Street (U. S. Route No. 250) at one hundred twenty poles; thence south
fifty-four degrees east, fifty-nine and four-tenths poles to the beginning.”

. There shall be elected on the second Tuesday of June, nineteen
hundred and fifty-three, and every two years thereafter, from the qualified
voters of said town, one elector of the said town, who shall be denominated
the mayor, and six electors, who shall be denominated the councilmen of
said town, who shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by law before,
and enter upon the duties of their offices on the first day of September
next succeeding their election, and shall hold said offices for the term of
two years, and thereafter until their successors are elected, and qualified,
unless sooner removed. The mayor and councilmen now holding office
an am in office until the expiration of their terms as _ herein
specified.

§ 4. _The mayor and the said councilmen shall, together, constitute
the council of said town; and in the council so composed (four of whom
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business) shall be vested
the corporate powers of the town.

§ 5. The municipal officers of said town shall, in addition to the
mayor, consist of a treasurer, sergeant, clerk of the council, and such
officers as may be provided by the town council; and the council may
appoint such committees of the council and create such boards and depart-
ments of town government 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 Commonwealth. The
time of appointment of all officers may be prescribed by the council and
they may be appointed for such term, not exceeding two years, as the
council shall provide, but ail municipal: officers shall serve until their
successors shall have qualified unless otherwise provided by the council.

§ 6. The duties and compensation of all municipal officers, except
as herein or by the general laws of the State defined or provided for, shall
be defined and prescribed by the town council.

§ 7. The council may appoint policemen and such other officers and
agents for the proper conduct and business of the town as they deem
necessary, prescribe their duties and fix their compensation and require
and take from them such bond or bonds with good security and in such
penalty as they may deem proper, with condition for the faithful discharge
of the duties of their offices. The sergeant of the town shall be ex officio
chief of police.

§ 8. The council shall have, subject to the provisions of the general
laws of the Commonwealth applicable to towns, the control and manage-
ments of the fiscal and municipal affairs of the town, and all property,
real and personal, belonging to it, and may make such ordinances, orders
and by-laws and regulations as they may deem necessary to enforce and
carry out the powers vested in the council, provided that no ordinance
hereafter passed by the council, as now constituted or as hereinafter
elected, for the violation of which any penalty is imposed, shall take effect
until the same shall have been published one time in a newspaper published
in the town, or by handbills, for one week, as the council may order. If
such publication be by handbills the same shall be posted in at least three
public places in the town, and a certificate of such posting shall be filed
by the sergeant in the office of the clerk of the council; provided, however,
that after the expiration of six months from the date of passage of any
ordinance its publication shall not be questioned, or its validity affected
by any failure to publish the same, nor shall this section apply to the
ordinances of whatever kind now in force in the town of Monterey so as
to require republication thereof. In addition thereto the council shall have
the following powers which are hereby vested in them:

First: To lay off streets, walks, or alleys; to open, extend, widen,
grade, curb, pave, and otherwise improve and light the same; and it may
prevent and remove any structure, encroachment, or obstruction in any
sidewalk, street or alley.

Second: To acquire, establish, maintain, operate, lease, extend, or
enlarge any public utility within or without the limits of said town; to
contract or agree with the owners of any land for the use and purchase
thereof, or to have the same condemned according to law within or without

e town.
Third: To secure the inhabitants from contagious, infectious or other
dangerous disease.

Fourth: To regulate the operation of motor vehicles within the town
and to adopt ordinances for said purpose not in conflict with the State
law regulating the use, ownership and operation of motor vehicles, and
to prescribe punishment for the violation of such ordinances. To require
every owner of motor vehicles residing in said town to annually register
such motor vehicles and to obtain a license to operate the same and to
require the said owner to pay an annual license fee to be fixed by the
council.

Fifth: To prescribe and enforce quarantine regulations; to appoint
and organize a board of health for said town, with authority necessary
for the prompt and efficient performance of its duties and to establish,
erect and regulate hospitals. .

Sixth: To regulate the building of stables, privies and hog pens, to
require and compel the abatement and removal of all nuisances, including
the removal of snow or ice from the sidewalks in front of private proper-
ties, or anything which, in the opinion of a majority of the council or in
the opinion of the mayor, under any ordinance vesting in him such discre-
tion, is a nuisance, within the said town, at the expense of the person or
persons causing the same, or the owner or owners of the ground whereon
the same may be, the collection of which said expense may be enforced
in the same manner as fines due in the town; to provide for the drainage
of lots by proper drains or ditches; to prevent or regulate slaughter houses
or the exercise of any dangerous, offensive or unhealthy business, trade
or employment within the town.

Seventh: To regulate or prohibit the sale and use of fireworks within
said town; to require and compel the owners of houses in the town to
connect their toilets or drains with the sewer of the town, or with the
sewers of any corporation or company within said town.

Eighth: To prevent hogs, dogs, cows or other animals from running
at large in the town and trespassing upon public property and may subject
the same and the owners thereof to such levies, taxes and regulations as
they may think proper.

Ninth: To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants, and street beg-
gars; to prevent vice and immorality; to preserve public peace and good
order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and disorderly conduct and
assemblages; to suppress houses resorted to for the purpose of immorality
and houses used for gambling purposes; to prevent and punish lewd,
indecent and disorderly conduct or exhibitions within the town, and to
expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct; to punish for the use of
abusive language; to protect houses of divine worship and the public
buildings in said town; to prevent the carrying of concealed weapons in
said town and to preserve the peace and good order of the town.

Tenth: To purchase, hold, sell and convey all real and personal
property for the purposes of the corporation, and within the limits of the
Constitution 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 indebtedness, notes or
bonds. The council shall not contract any loan or issue bonds therefor
unless the same be approved or authorized by a two-thirds vote of the
council, endorsed by a majority of those voting of the qualified voters.
All proceedings for the purpose of authorizing the issuance of bonds or
other evidence of indebtedness by the town shall conform to the provisions
of the general laws of the State of Virginia with respect to the issuance
of bonds by towns, so far as the same are applicable, provided, further,
that in no case shall the aggregate debt of the town at any one time exceed
twenty-five per centum of the assessed valuation of the taxable real estate
within the town limits.

Eleventh: To acquire land by condemnation or otherwise without the
corporate limits of the town for public purposes. |

Twelfth: To adopt any rule, regulation or ordinance authorized by
general laws of the Commonwealth to be adopted by towns.

9. Where, by the provisions of law, the council have authority to
pass ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe punishment by fine
or imprisonment, or both, for all violations thereof, the fine not exceeding
one hundred dollars and the punishment not exceeding twelve months in
jail, either or both. Fines may be recovered, with costs, upon warrants
issued in the name of the town. Whenever judgment is rendered against
any person for a fine, the officer trying the offender may require immediate
payment thereof, and in default of such payment may commit the party
so in default to jail until such fine and cost are paid. All fines for the
violation of the ordinances of the town shall be paid into the treasury of
the town and be appropriated as the council shall determine. There is
reserved to the person convicted the right of appeal to the Circuit Court
of Highland County in all cases, except where a fine only is imposed and
such fine does not exceed $10.00.

§ 10. The mayor of the town of Monterey shall be clothed with full
authority to enforce the laws and the ordinances of the town and he shall
be clothed with all powers and authority of a trial justice in civil matters
within the corporate limits of the town and in criminal matters within
said limits and within one mile beyond such limits; and he shall have
power to issue process, hear and determine all prosecutions, cases and
controversies which may arise under the by-laws and ordinances of the
town. The council shall have power to name one or more of the members
of the council as vice-mayor with full power to exercise the authority of
the mayor in the event of his absence or disability.

§ 11. All criminal and civil warrants, writs and process issued by
the mayor or any member of the council under the general laws of the
State of Virginia shall run in the name of the “Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia”, and all criminal or civil writs or process issued by the mayor or
any member of the council for violation of an ordinance of the town shall
run in the name of the “Town of Monterey’, and all process and writs
issued in the name of the town shall conform as nearly as may be to the
form for similar writs and process issued under general State laws. The
mayor or member of the council trying the case shall have power to issue
subpoenas for witnesses, and to compel their attendance, and in the event
of the failure of the witness to appear to punish such offender for contempt
by fine not exceeding ten dollars.

§ 12. The town sergeant shall perform the duties and be subject
to the liabilities prescribed by this charter and by the general law and by
the ordinances, by-laws and regulations of the town council. He shall
have authority to execute criminal process issued under authority of this
charter and to make arrests for violation of the laws and ordinances of
the town and shall have general police powers. It shall be the duty of
the sergeant or any police officers to swear out warrants of arrest for
any person or persons where they have reason to believe that any violation
of the ordinances, by-laws, rules and regulations of the town have been
committed.

§ 18. To meet the expenditures that may be lawfully chargeable to
the said town, the council may annually levy a town tax of so much as in
its opinion may be necessary, upon all taxable persons and property,
resident or situate within the said town, including the licensing of dogs,
not exempted from taxation by the laws of the State; provided that a
capitation tax not greater than one dollar per head on the inhabitants of
the said town over the age of twenty-one years may be levied in any one
year; and provided further, that the tax so to be levied on the real and
personal property, fiduciaries and merchants’ capital within the said town
does not exceed two dollars on the one hundred dollars of assessed valuation
thereof for any one year.

§ 14. The town council, in addition to the State taxes on licenses,
may, subject to § 58-500 of the Code of Virginia, when anything for
which a license is so required is to be done within the town, impose a
tax for the privilege of doing the same and require a license to be
obtained therefor, said licenses to be for such time and cover such
period as the council of the said town shall prescribe; and in any case
in which they see fit may require from the person licensed, bond with
surety, in such penalty and with such condition as they may deem proper,
or make other regulations concerning the same and within the limits of
the Constitution of the State and of the United States, may levy a license
tax on any other business carried on in the town, whether a license tax is
required therefor by the State or not. The council shall also have the right
to impose a tax upon paid admissions to moving picture theaters or to
any other show, entertainment, sporting event or place of amusement, and
to require the management in charge of such theatre, show, entertainment,
sporting event or place of amusement to collect and remit such tax to the
town gp emeUree. The rate of such admission tax shall be fixed by the
council.

§ 15. The town council shall, by ordinance, fix the time of their
stated meetings, and no business shall be transacted at a special meeting
unless all members of the council be present, but that for which it shall he
called. The mayor or any two members of the council may call a special
meeting, and reasonable notice of such meeting, in writing, shall be
given to all members of the council. Any action taken at a special
meeting, whether notice thereof be given or not, shall be valid if all
members of the council are present.

§ 16. The treasurer shall receive all money belonging to the town and
shall perform such other duties as are, or may be, prescribed by the
council. He shall keep-his books of accounts in such manner as the
council may prescribe, and such books and accounts shall always be
subject to inspection of the mayor and the council.

§ 17. The treasurer, or by order of the council of the town, the
town sergeant, or any other person appointed by the council, shall
collect all taxes, licenses and assessments which may be levied by the
council, and for this purpose the said treasurer, or other person appointed
by the council as aforesaid, shall be vested with power and be subject to
the liabilities and penalties now prescribed by law in regard to the county
treasurer, in the levying and collection of taxes, and the said treasurer
or person appointed as aforesaid to collect taxes, shall have full power
to levy on property and sell the same for the payment of taxes as the
county treasurer is given by law. All sales shall be made upon the
notice and in such manner as now prescribed by law in sales of personal
property for State taxes or county taxes. The treasurer shall be required
to keep all funds in his hands belonging to the town in such place or
places of deposit as the town council, by ordinance, shall provide or
direct.

§ 18. No money shall be paid out by the town treasurer except by
order of the council, and upon a warrant or check of the clerk of the
council, signed by the mayor, or in such other manner as may be prescribed
by ordinance.

§ 19. The clerk of the council shall attend the meetings of the
council and keep the records of its proceedings. He shall have custody
of the corporate seal, and he shall keep all papers that, by the provisions,
or the direction of the council, are required to be filed with or kept by
him; and he shall perform such other acts and duties as the council may
require.

§ 20. The fiscal year for the town shall be from the first day of
July to the thirtieth day of June of each year.

§ 21. All bonds, contracts, deeds, and other papers made on the part
of said town, shall be executed by the mayor under the direction of the
council, and the seal of the corporation shall be affixed and attested by the
clerk of the council.

§ 22. -All the rights, privileges, and properties of the town of
Monterey heretofore acquired and possessed, owned and enjoyed by any
act or acts now in force, and not in conflict with this act, shall continue
undiminished and remain vested in said town under this act; and all laws,
ordinances and resolutions of said town now in force and not inconsistent
with this act, shall remain in force until repealed by the council of said

own.

§ 23. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the council by death,
resignation, removal or otherwise, the council shall appoint a qualified
person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

§ 24. If any person be sentenced to jail for violation of a town
ordinance, he may be confined in the jail of Highland County, the consent
to use the said jail for said purpose being first obtained from proper
authorities of the county.

§ 25. If any section, or provision, of this act shall for any reason
be adjudged in any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this act.
2. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed,
insofar as they affect the provisions of this act, and Chapter 261 of the
Acts of Assembly nineteen hundred and fourteen approved March twenty-
five, nineteen hundred fourteen, and acts amendatory thereof, providing
a charter for the town of Monterey is hereby repealed.