CHAPTER 165

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 2,4, 5, 8, 18, 18, 27, 28, 29, 80, 31, 32,
83, 84, 35, 36, 87, 88, 39, 40, 43, 44, 51, 58, 55, 87, 95 and 96 of
Chapter 321 of the Acts of Assembly of 1932, approved March 25,
1932, which provided a charter for the town of Lexington in Rock-
bridge County, and to amend said Chapter by adding a section num-
bered 40.1, the amended and new sections relating, respectively, to
territorial limits, administration and government of the town, election
of officials, jurisdiction of the town, discharge of officials, provisions
for emergency, the various administrative officials and their duties,
powers and terms of employment, the Municipal Court Judge, his
appointment and powers, the appointment and powers of Justices of
the Peace, the borrowing of money, public works and contracts there-
for, the fiscal year, councilmanic investigations regarding municipal
affairs, the laying out of streets, alleys and subdivisions and rights
therein, and to the power of the Council to pass ordinances; and to
repeal §§ 7, 28, 25, 26, 41 and 41 (there being two sections so num-
bered), 45, 46, 52, 88, 92 and 93 of said Chapter, relating to the same

matters.
[TH 196]
Approved March 1, 1962

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 2, 4, 5, 8, 18, 18, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37,
88, 39, 40, 48, 44, 51, 53, 55, 87, 95 and 96 of Chapter 321 of the Acts of
Assembly of 1932, approved March 25, 1932, be amended and reenacted
and that said chapter be amended by adding a section numbered 40.1 as
ollows:

§ 2. Territorial Limits.—* The corporate boundaries of the town are
set forth in the Annexation Order recorded in Book 251, pages 489-501 in
the Rockbridge County Court House.

Administration and Government

§ 4. The administration and government of the town shall be vested
in * the mayor, one body composed of six (6) persons to be called the
council of the town of Lexington and in one administrative officer to be
styled the town manager and in other such departments, boards and other
officers as are hereinafter provided for, or as are permitted, or required
by law or appointed by the council.

The mayor and members of the council shall be qualified electors of
the town.

Vacancies in either the office of mayor or in the council shall be
filled within thirty (80) days by a recorded, majority vote of the council
for the unexpired term.

In the absence or in the case of disability of both the mayor and vice-
mayor, one of the other councilmen elected by a majority vote of the
council, shall have all the powers heretofore conferred upon the mayor and
vice-mayor.

§ 5. * The mayor and council in office at the time of the passage of
this amendment shall continue in office until their successors are duly
elected and qualified.

The council shall consist of six (6) members whose terms of office,
except as hereinafter provided, shall be for a term of four (4) years. The
term of office for mayor shall be two (2) years.

On the second Tuesday in June, 1963, there shall be elected, by the
duly qualified voters of the town at a general municipal election, a mayor
and six electors of the town who shall compose the council. Those three
members who shall receive the most number of votes shall serve for a term
of four (4) years from September 1, 1968, and thereafter until their suc-
cessors shall have been duly elected and shall have qualified; and the
remaining three members shall serve for a term of two (2) years from
September 1, 1968, and thereafter until their successors shall have been
duly elected and shall have qualified.

On the second Tuesday in June, 1965, and every two years thereafter,
a mayor and three councilmen shall be elected who shall serve for terms
of two and four years respectively from the following September one and
eed until their successors shall have been elected and shall have
qualified.
§ 8. * The jurisdiction of the said mayor and council and municipa
court judge shall extend one mile beyond and outside the limits of the town
for the better maintenance of the police power of said town, and for th
abatement of nuisances within the said extended territory; and to requir
property owners to connect with the town sewer lines when and as th
same are constructed within such extended territory, and pay such reason
able connection costs and service charges as may be assessed by said coun
cil, after the town shall have constructed its sewer line to the property
line of such property.

§ * Any officer or employee of the town may be discharged foi
good cause.

§ 18. * At the organizational meeting, council shall appoint a com
missioner of the revenue, a treasurer, a town attorney, a clerk of the
council, a municipal court judge and a recreation director for terms of twe
years each or until their respective successors shall have been appointed
The council shall fix the salaries of these officers annually in accordance
with the budget for that fiscal year.

§ 27. * In the event of an emergency or a disaster the administra
tion and control of all town affairs shall be under the authority of the fol-
lowing officers in the order named: mayor, vice-mayor, town manager. I7
the absence or disability of the above named officers the remaining mem-
bers of council shall appoint a mayor pro tem.

§ 28. * Chief Executive—The mayor, by virtue of his office, shall
be the chief executive officer of the town. He shall receive such annual
compensation as may be fixed by the council in accordance with the laws
of the State.

29. * Vice-mayor—Immediately upon assuming office the mayor
shall designate a councilman who shall be known as the vice-mayor and
who, in the event of the mayor’s death, or during his absence or disability
shall become or perform the duties of the mayor.

§ 30. * Duties and Powers of the Mayor—The mayor shall preside
at the meetings of council.

The duties of the mayor shall be as are prescribed by the Constitution
and laws of the State and by ordinances enacted by the council, but the
mayor shall have no power to remove any town officer or employee.

He shall have no vote in the proceedings of the council except in case
of a tie. He shall authenticate, by his signature, such instruments as the
councu, this charter or the laws of the State shall require.

§ 31. * Committee Appointments—The mayor shall appoint the fol-
lowing committees and any others as hereafter directed by council:

Finance Committee Recreation Committee
Street and Building Committee Sign and Light Committee
Police Committee Health and Sanitation Committee

Water and Sewer Committee
The Town Manager

§ 32. * Appointment—The council shall appoint an officer of the
town who shall have the title of town manager and shall have the powers
and perform the duties as council shall specify by ordinance. He shall be
appointed for an indefinite term and shall hold office at the pleasure of
fhe council.

§ 33. * Qualifications—The town manager shall be chosen by the
council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative ability and
experience. At the time of his appointment he need not be a resident of
the town or State, but during his tenure of office he shall reside within the

§ 34. * Absence or Disability—During the absence or disability of
the town manager or in case of a vacancy, the council may designate some
properly qualified person to perform the duties of the office during such
absence, disability or vacancy.

_ § 85. * Council-Manager Relationship—Except for the purpose of
inquiry, the council and its members shall deal with the administrative
service solely through the town manager and neither the council nor any
member thereof shall give orders to any subordinates of the town manager,
either publicly or privately. .

§ 36. * Councilman not to succeed—No councilman shall be appointed
as town manager during the term for which he shall have been elected nor
within one year after the expiration of his term.

__ § 37. * Rights at Council Meetings—The town manager shall be en-
titled to a seat in the council, but have no vote therein. The manager shall
have the right to take part in the discussion.

Police Department

§ 88. * Composition, Direction and Control—The police department
shall be composed of a chief of police and of other officers, patrolmen and
employees as council may determine. The chief of police shall have tm-
mediate direction and control of the police department, subject to the su-
pervision of the town manager, who in turn, shall be subject to the direc-
tion and control of the police committee and/or council.

39. * Appointment of Chief—The town manager and police com-
mittee shall appoint the chief of police, subject to the approval of council.
The chief of police shall appoint and/or remove all other police department
personnel, subject to confirmation of the town manager and police com-
mittee. The chief of police shall also be town sergeant.

§ 40. * Powers and Duties Generally—The officers and patrolmen of
the police department are hereby vested with all the power and authority
which pertains to the office of constable at common law in taking cogniz-
ance of, and in enforcing criminal laws of the State and the ordinances of
the town. It shall be the duty of each such officer and patrolman to use
his best endeavors to prevent the commission within the town of offenses
against the laws of the State and against the ordinances and regulations
of the town; to observe and enforce all such laws, ordinances and regula-
tions; to detect and arrest offenders against the same; to preserve the good
order of the town and to secure the inhabitants thereof from violence and
the property therein from injury.

§ 40.1. Authority Limited to Criminal Matters—Such policeman
shall have no power or authority in civil matters, but shall execute any
criminal warrant or warrant of arrest and summons in criminal cases that
may be placed in his hands, by any duly constituted authority and shall
make due return thereof.

§ 43. * Municipal Court Judge—The municipal court judge shall also
be a conservator of the peace within the corporate limits of the town and
for a distance of one mile beyond the same. He shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction to try all offenses against ordinances of the town, issue crimi-
nal process and to grant bail. Appeals from his decisions shall be to the
Circuit Court of Rockbridge County.

§ 44, * Justices of the Peace and Issuing Justices—The justices of
the peace shall have the power and authority to issue criminal warrants
for offenses committed against the ordinances of the town of Lexington,
Virginia, the warrants being returnable to the Municipal Court of the town,
and said justices shall have the power and authority to fix and accept bail
bonds. The mayor and council may appoint issuing justices who shall have
the powers aforesaid.

§ 51. * Borrowing Money—The borrowing of money and the issu-
ance of obligations evidencing the same shall be in strict conformity with
the Code of Virginia in such cases made and provided.
§ 53. * Public Works and Contracts—Under the direction of the
town manager the town forces may construct water, sewerage or storm
water mains, sidewalks, curb and gutters, streets or any other project
appropriated for in any current town budget. In the event that council
elects to have any work performed by contract then the town manager shall
properly advertise such work, noting that the council reserves the right to
accept or reject any bid or to waive formalities. Such bids shall then be
presented to council for approval. Council may require whatever bond 18
deemed necessary on any contract.

§ 55. * Fiscal Year—The fiscal year for the town shall be established
by ordinance.

§ 87. Investigations as to Town Affairs—* The council shall have
the right to make such investigations relating to municipal affairs as it
may deem necessary. It may summon and enforce the attendance of wit-
nesses and the production of books and papers, and may administer oaths.

Laying out streets—rights therein—subdivisions and plats.

(1) Whenever any street, alley or lane shall have been opened to and
used by the public for a period of five years, as such, the same shall
thereby become a street, alley or lane for all purposes; provided, that the
mayor and council in each instance so declare by ordinance, and after such
declaration the town shall have the same authority and jurisdiction over
and rights and interests therein as it has by law over streets, alleys and
lanes laid out by it. Any street or alley, park or lane reserved for other
public purposes, in the division or subdivision into lots of any portion of
the territory within the corporate limits of the town by a plat or plan of
record shall be deemed and held to be a dedication to the public use, and the
council shall have authority, upon a petition of any person interested there-
in or upon its own initiative, to open such street or alley, park or lane
reserved for other public purposes, or any portion of the same. No agree-
ment between, or release of interest by the person owning the lands im-
mediately contiguous to any such street, alley or park or lane reserved for
other public purposes, whether the same has been opened and used by the
public or not, shall avail or operate to abolish said street, alley, park or
lane, reserved for other purposes, so as to divest the interest of the public
therein, or the authority of the mayor and council over the same. Notwith-
standing anything in this section contained, the said town shall not be
liable for any accidents which may occur upon any street, alley, boule-
vard or way, whether heretofore or hereafter laid out, until the street,
alley, boulevard or way shall have been accepted and declared by the
mayor and council.

(2) The said town shall have the use and control of all streets,
avenues, alleys, boulevards, ways, or lanes, both above and below the
ground.

(3) No plat of any subdivision of lots within the town, contiguous
thereto, or within one mile of the corporate limits thereof, such as is men-
tioned in * Article 2 of Chapter 23 of Title 15 of the Code of Virginia,
shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Rock-
bridge County, as provided by the said * Article, until the same shall have
been submitted to and approved by the mayor and council by ordinance
or resolution, a copy of which shall be certified thereon by the mayor and
clerk of the council, and recorded with such plat.

(4) Before approving such plat, and thereby accepting the dedication
of the streets, alleys, parks and public places thereon, the mayor and
council shall require that the streets and alleys thereon shall be properly
laid out and located with reference to the topography of the land so
platted and the relation thereof to the streets and alleys contiguous
thereto and the adjoining lands both as to connections and widths, which
widths of such streets and alleys shall be marked plainly in figures or
written on such plat, and which streets and alleys shall be laid out in
harmony with the general plan of the town. ;

_ (5) And before approving such plat, and thereby accepting the dedi-
cation of the streets and alleys thereon, the mayor and council shall
require the owner to execute and deliver to the town of Lexington a
release and waiver of any claim or claims for damages which the owner,
his heirs, successors or assigns may have or acquire against the said town
of Lexington, by reason of establishing proper grade lines on and along
such streets and alleys and by reason of doing necessary grading or filling
for the purpose of placing such streets and alleys upon the proper grade
and releasing the town of Lexington from building any retaining wall or
walls along the streets and alleys and property lines; and the mayor and
council may require such release and waiver to be written and executed
on said plat and recorded in the clerk’s office of the Circuit Court of Rock-
bridge County.

(6) And the mayor and council may, in its discretion, require the
owner of such platted lands to submit profiles of such streets and alleys
showing the contours thereof, together with the proper grade lines laid
thereon, and if and when the mayor and council is satisfied that the
proper grade lines are laid on such profiles, the profiles shall be approved
by the mayor and council and recorded by the owner, or at his expense in
the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Rockbridge County; and the
mayor and council may, in their discretion, require such release and waiver
to be made with reference thereto.

(7) Before approving any such plat of such subdivision of lots or
land the mayor and council may, in its discretion, require the owner
thereof to lay out and establish proper building lines thereon, and to show
on such plat that all conveyances of lots shown on the plat are to be made
with reference thereto for the benefit of the respective lot owners and the
town of Lexington.

(8) Before approving any such plat of any subdivision of lots or lands,
the mayor and council may, in its discretion, require the owner of such
lots or lands to grade the streets and alleys therein, according to the grade
lines established and approved by the mayor and council.

General Provisions

§ 96. The mayor and council of the town of Lexington shall have the
power to pass all ordinances, regulations, resolutions, or orders not con-
trary to the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of this State,
which the said mayor and council may deem necessary for the welfare of
the town, or any of its citizens, and such powers as are now or may here-
after be vested in it by the laws of this State, or to amend or repeal the
same at its pleasure, and to enforce the observance of such ordinances,
resolutions, orders and regulations under penalties not exceeding five hun-
dred dollars or imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or both. *
2. §§ 7, 23, 25, 26, 41 and 41 (there being two sections so numbered),
45, 46, 52, 88, 92 and 93 of Chapter 321 of the Acts of Assembly of 1932,
approved March 25, 1932, are repealed.
3. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.