CHAPTER 586

An Act to create the Richmond-Henrico Metropolitan Area Commission;
to provide for its composition, organization and functioning and how
it shall be financed; to require it to consider certain matters and to
report thereon; and to provide for a referendum on certain Tet 668

Approved March 31, 1960

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. There is hereby created the Richmond-Henrico Metropolitan
Area Commission.

The Commission shall consist of eleven members, who shall be
chosen in the following manner:

(a) Four members appointed by the board of supervisors of the
county, of whom two shall be members of the board and two shall be
citizens of the county not members of the board.

Four members appointed by the city council, of whom two mem-
bers shall be members of the council, and two members shall be citizens of
the city not members of the council.

(c) Three members to be chosen by unanimous vote of the eight
members provided under subsections (a) and (b). Such members may
have residence either in the county or the city. If the eight members chosen
under subsections (a) and (b) cannot agree on the three additional mem-
bers of the Commission, this fact shall be reported to the judge of the
Circuit Court of the City of Richmond who shall appoint three persons, res1-
dents of the county or city to complete the membership of the Commission.

(d) Vacancies in the membership of the Commission shall be filled
by the original appointing authority.

§ 3. (a) On or before October one, nineteen hundred sixty, the
Commission shall meet for the purpose of organization. The Commission
shall elect from among its members a Chairman and such other officers
as it may deem necessary; may adopt such rules and regulations not in-
consistent with this Act as it may deem necessary for the proper discharge
of its duties; and may establish such committees as the work of the Com-
mission may require. .

(b) The Commission shall have the power to employ technically
trained and clerical personnel to assist it or to contract with persons,
firms or corporations for special and technical services or studies.

(c) As soon as possible after its organization, the Commission shall
estimate the funds which will be necessary for it to carry out its functions,
and shall request appropriations from the city of Richmond and from the
county of Henrico. It is the intent of this Act that the work of the Com-
mission shall be supported two-thirds by the city of Richmond and one-
third by the county of Henrico to the extent that public funds are used,
and any appropriation by either governing body may be conditioned on
the appropriation by the other of its prorata share. The Commission is
also authorized to accept gifts from persons, firms and corporations if
such gifts are made available to the Commission to be used in its absolute
discretion for the purposes of this Act. ;

(d) The city of Richmond and the county of Henrico shall make
available to the Commission any information requested by the Commission,
and they are hereby authorized to assist the Commission through gifts
of necessary supplies and equipment, and temporary loans of personnel.

(e) The Commission shall select one of its members as Treasurer
with authority to collect, deposit, and disburse funds made available to
the Commission from any source whatsoever. The Treasurer of the Com-
mission shall, before entering upon his duties, post a surety bond condi-
tioned upon the faithful discharge of his duties in an amount and form
fixed by the Commission. All moneys received for the Commission shall
be deposited in a separate bank account, shall be earmarked for the use
of the Commission, and shall be paid out on warrants signed by the
Treasurer and countersigned by the Chairman of the Commission.

§ 4. The Commission shall make a thorough study of the govern-
mental operations of the city and the county, and as a result of their study
shall, on or before December one, nineteen hundred sixty-one, submit to
the respective governing bodies of the city and the county, a report setting
forth its findings and recommendations concerning the several plans here-
inafter set forth; to wit:

(1) Annexation by the city of all or a part of the county. The Com-
mission shall determine the potential overall savings in the cost of gov-
ernment through the elimination of offices and the consolidation of func-
tions, and the benefits to the annexed area in additional or improved
services, as compared with the increased tax burdens which might result
in the annexed area; it shall also determine how the outstanding indebted-
ness of the city, the county, and districts in the county could be equitably
liquidated.

(2) Merger of the city and the county. The Commission shall in-
vestigate the advantages and disadvantages of such a plan, as compared
with annexation, and how the same could be accomplished, and if it deems
such plan to be desirable, it shall recommend any changes in the statute
law of the Commonwealth necessary to permit the execution of such a plan.
(3) Consolidation of governmental functions. The Commission snall
determine whether more efficient government would result from the per-
formance of one or more specified functions by one governmental unit
instead of by both the city and county, what functions could best be
combined to promote the health, safety and welfare of the people of the
metropolitan area and the more effective coordination of its growth and
development, and whether the same could be best accomplished by agree-
ment or contract between the city and county, the creation of an agency
or agencies supported jointly by the city and the county with power to
perform such functions, or other means. If the Commission determines
that a plan of functional consolidation is desirable, it shall recommend
any changes in the statute law of the Commonwealth necessary to permit
the execution of such a plan.

. If the respective governing bodies of the city and county deem

it desirable to ascertain the sentiment of the qualified voters of the metro-
politan area as to any plan recommended by the Commission, they may by
agreement call for an advisory referendum on the adoption of such plan.
Such referendum shall be held at a general election, and the procedure
shall conform, mutatis mutandis, to § 24-141 of the Code of Virginia;
but the results of such election shall not be binding on the respective gov-
erning bodies.
2. This act shall become effective upon the adoption by the respective
governing bodies of the city of Richmond and the county of Henrico, of
resolutions stating the necessity and desirability of the creation of the
Commission.