CHAPTER 229

An Act to repeal § 23(1), Chapter 8; §§ 35-a and 58, Chapter 4; 8§ 8, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 24, 25 and 26,
Chapter 9; and § 1, Chapter 11, of Chapter 157 of the Acts of As-
sembly, 1908, approved March 10, 1908, as amended, which provided
a charter for the city of Portsmouth; to amend such chapter by
amending § 2, Chapter 1; §§8 16, 18, 23-f, 26 and $1-a, Chapter 8;
§ 46-a, Chapter 4; § 75, Chapter 7; §§ 1, 1-a, 2, 4, 5, and 6, Chapter 9;
and 88 1, 2, 8 and 4, Chapter 10; relating to, respectively, abolition
of wards, election and duties of vice mayor, powers of the council
and boards, eminent domain, sale of city rights, actions against the
city, tax collection, election of justices of the peace, election and duties
of judge of municipal court, divisions of municipal court, qualifications
for judge, salary of such judge, holding of court and substitute judges,
duties of clerk, initiative petitions, referendum petitions, distribution
of proposed ordinance and recall petitions; and to amend such chapter
by adding §§ 21, and 28-b, Chapter 8; § 60, Chapter 5; § 72, Chapter 7;
§ 27, Chapter 9; 8 5, Chapter 10; §8 1, 2 and 8, Chapter 15; and 3 1,
Chapter 16; relating to, respectively, legislative powers of counctl,
waterworks, deputy chief of police, duties of constitutional officers,
authorizing civil court, restriction on referendum, creating depart-
ment of law, qualifications of city attorney, duties of city attorney,
and election of school board. rH 194]

Approved March 31, 1966

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 23(1) of Chapter 3; §§ 35-a and 53 of Chapter 4; §§ 3, 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of Chapter
9 and § 1 of Chapter 11 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of Assembly of 1908,
approved March 10, 1908, as amended, are repealed.

2. That § 2 of Chapter 1; §§ 16, 18, 23-f, 26 and 3l-a of Chapter 8;
§ 46-a of Chapter 4; § 75 of Chapter 7; §§ 1, 1-a, 2, 4, 5 and 6 of Chapter 9;
and §§ 1, 2, 8 and 4 of Chapter 10 of Chapter 157 of the Acts of Assembly
of 1908, approved March 10, 1908, as amended, be amended and reenacted
and that such chapter be amended by adding thereto §§ 21 and 23-b to
Chapter 3; § 60 to Chapter 5; § 72 to Chapter 7; § 27 to Chapter 9; § 5
to Chapter 10, Chapter 15, consisting of sections numbered 1 through 8;
and Chapter 16, consisting of one section, such amended and new sections
to read as follows:

CHAP. 1

§ 2. The number of wards of the city shall be not less than ten nor
more than fifteen and their boundaries shall be as prescribed by the council
by ordinance and the provisions of general law relating to establishing
wards, redistricting the city into wards, and changing the boundaries of
wards, shall be applicable, except that the number of wards shall be not
less than ten nor more than fifteen; provided, however, that from and after
January 1, 1967, the wards heretofore established shall stand abolished,
and thereafter the city shall not be divided into wards.

CHAP. 8

§ 16. The council shall elect one of its members to be * vice mayor,
who shall preside at meetings of the council in the absence of the mayor,
and who, when the mayor shall be absent from the city or unable to per-
form the duties of the office by reason of sickness or other cause, shall
perform any and all duties required of or entrusted to the mayor under
any provision of the city charter.

When from any cause both the mayor and the * vice mayor shall be
absent from a meeting, a president pro tempore shall be elected by the
council, who shall preside during the absence of the mayor and * vice
mayor.

The mayor, * vice mayor of the council or president pro tempore who
shall preside when the proceedings of a previous meeting are read, shall
sign the same. The mayor, or the * vice mayor of the council, when author-
ized as above stated to act for the mayor, shall have power at any time
to call a meeting of the council. In case of absence, sickness, disability or
refusal to act of both the mayor and * vice mayor, the council may be con-
vened by an order in writing of any three members thereof.

§ 18. The council shall have authority to adopt such rules and to
appoint such officers and clerks as it may deem proper for the regulation
of its proceedings and for the convenient transaction of business, to compel
the attendance of absent members, to punish its members for disorderly
behavior, and, by a vote of two-thirds of its members to expel a member
for malfeasance or misfeasance in office. The council shall keep a journal
of its proceedings, and its meetings shall be open, except when, by a re-
corded vote of two-thirds of those present, the council shall declare that
the public welfare requires secrecy. The council, any of its committees
when authorized by the council, and any other board created by this charter
or ordinance under this charter, may, in any investigation held by them,
within their respective powers and duties, order the attendance of any
person as a witness and the production of any person or all proper books
and papers. Any person refusing or failing to attend or to testify or to
produce such books and papers may be summoned by such investigating
body before the * municipal court and upon failure to give a satisfactory
excuse, may be fined * not exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars or
imprisonment not exceeding thirty days. Such person shall have the right
of appeal, as in case of misdemeanor, to the court of hustings for the city.
Such witness may be sworn by the officer presiding at such investigation,
and shall be liable to prosecution for a perjury for any false testimony
given at such investigation.

§ 21. (a) All ordinances passed by the council shall be in effect thirty
days from and after the date of their passage unless otherwise indicated

erein.

(b) All laws, resolutions and ordinances of the city council may be
CH. 229) ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 898

read in evidence in all courts of justice, and in all proceedings before any
officer, body or board in which it shall be necessary to refer thereto, either
from a copy thereof, certified by the city clerk, or from the volume of
ordinances printed by authority of the city council.

(ce) The provisions of Chapter 10 of this charter shall not apply to
administrative, appropriation, financial or revenue ordinances. |

23-b. The said city shall also have the power to contract with any
other city in this State for the use of its own water supply, or the water
supply of such other city, in whole or in part, upon any terms, as may be
agreed upon; and may contract for the sale of water, either within or
without the city limits, and collect such rates or charges for the use there-
of as tt may deem proper, or as may be agreed upon with any other city
sender the provisions hereof, or any other law of this State. The city may
establish or enlarge tts water works, within or without the limits of the

ity, contract and agree with the owners, whether the same be individuals,
private corporations, or public service corporations, of any land, water,
water rights or easements, for the use or purchase thereof, or may have
the same condemned for the location, extension and enlargement of the
said works, the pipes connected therewith, or any fixtures or appurtenances
thereof. The city shall have power to protect from injury by adequate
penalties, the said works, pipes, fixtures and land, or anything connected
therewith, within or without the limits of the city, and to prevent the
pollution of the water, by prohibiting the throwing of filth or offensive
matter therein, or its pollution in any other way, or in any other place
where the water may be affected thereby; and such prohibition may be
enforced by proper penalties.

§ 23-f. In addition to the other powers conferred by law the city may,
in exercising the right of eminent domain, * make use of the procedure
prescribed by the general law or may elect to proceed as hereinafter pro-
vided. In the latter event the * resolution directing acquisition of any prop-
erty shall provide therein for each parcel the funds necessary to compen-
sate the owners thereof for the property to be acquired or damaged. Upon
the adoption of such * resolution the city may file a petition for condem-
nation in the clerk’s office of a court having jurisdiction. ;

Upon the filing of the petition and the funds provided by the council
for the purpose having been duly deposited to the credit of court, if the
court is of the opinion that the property or interest or estate therein to
be acquired is for the uses and purposes of the city as provided by law,
it may order that the interest or estate of the owner of such property
shall terminate and the title to such property or the interest or estate to
be taken in such property shall be vested absolutely in the city and such
owner shall have such interest or estate in the funds so deposited as he
had in the property taken or damaged and all liens by deed of trust, judg-
ment or otherwise upon said property or estate shall be transferred to
such funds and the city shall have the right to enter upon and take posses-
sion of such property for its uses and purposes and to construct its works
or improvements. The clerk of the court in which such proceeding is in-
stituted shall make and certify a copy of the order and deliver or transmit
the same to the clerk of the court in which deeds are admitted to record,
who shall record the same in his deed book and index it in the name of
the record title owner of such property and in the name of the city.

All other proceedings under this section shall be had in accordance
with the provisions of the Virginia General Condemnation Act in so far
as they are then applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this
section. Provided, however, that the provisions of Section 25-233 of the
Code of Virginia, as now or hereafter in effect, shall apply to any property
belonging to any corporation possessing the power of eminent domain
that may be taken hereunder; and provided, further, that nothing herein
contained shall give the said city the authority to acquire by condemna-
tion property belonging to another city or county. a

§ 26. (a) The rights of the city of Portsmouth in and to its water
front, wharf property, public landings, wharves, docks, streets, avenues,
parks, bridges and other public places, and its gas, water and electric
works, shall not be sold, except by a * resolution passed by a recorded
affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members elected to the council. *

(b) Before selling any such property, and before granting any fran-
chise, privilege, lease, or right of any kind to use any public property or
easement of any description, except in the case of and for a trunk ratl-
way, the city shall first, after due advertisement, receive bids therefor
publicly. Such advertisement shall be published for at least three days in
a newspaper published in, or having a general circulation in, the city of
Portsmouth. Such bids may be upon such terms and may be received in
such manner as the city manager may determine, unless the council shall
direct otherwise.

(c) The city may sell or convey any of its property to the Common-
wealth of Virginia, any political subdivision thereof, or to the federal
government without advertisement and without receiving bids.

§ 3l-a. * In any action against the city to recover damages against
it for any negligence, where any person is liable with the city for such
negligence every such person shall be joined as defendant with the city in
any action brought to recover damages for such negligence, and when there
is a verdict and judgment against the city, as well as the other defendant,
it shall be ascertained by either the court or the jury which of the de-
fendants is primarily liable for the damages assessed.

CHAP. 4

§ 46-a. The payment of any taxes to the city of Portsmouth, both
those which have been assessed and those which ought to have been
assessed, may in addition to any remedies otherwise allowed by law, be
enforced by warrant, motion, action of debt or assumpsit, bill in chancery,
or by attachment * in courts not of record and courts of record within
this State in the same manner, to the same extent and with the same rights
of appeal, as now exist or may hereafter be provided by law for the
enforcement of demands between individuals.

Such proceedings shall be instituted and conducted in the name of the
city of Portsmouth at the request of the city council or the city treasurer.
Any bill in chancery for the enforcement of a lien of taxes against land
may be brought in the corporation or circuit court of the city and in such
proceedings the property may be sold for the payment of the taxes due
thereon, and such lien shall be superior to any other lien or encumbrance
upon the property or to any claim of dower or curtesy, and it shall not be
necessary to allege or prove any equitable grounds of jurisdiction.

The remedies provided in this section shall be in addition to any other
remedies provided by law for the collection of taxes, and this section shall
not be construed to repeal any other provisions of law.

CHAP. 5

§ 60. The city manager may appoint, without examination of any
kind, one of the members of the police force to the position of deputy chief
of police at such rank and such salary as may be fixed by ordinance. No
one may be appointed deputy chief of police who has not been a member
of the police force for at least ten years and held the rank of captain
therein for at least one year. The person who is appointed deputy chief
of police shall remain subject to the civil service provisions of this charter
and to the rules and regulations of the civil service commission, except
that he may be removed as deputy chief of police by the city manager at
any time with or without, cause and demoted to the rank of captain at
such step or grade within the rank of captain as he would have been
entitled to at the time of such demotion had he not been appointed deputy
chief of police. Nothing herein shall be construed as restricting or pro-
hibiting the city manager from taking disciplinary action agatnst the
person holding the position of deputy chief in accordance with the provt-
stons of 8§ 6 and 7 of Chapter 12 of this charter.

CHAP. 7

§ 72. The attorney for the Commonwealth, the commissioner of the
revenue, the city treasurer and the city sergeant for the city of Ports-
mouth shall have such duties as shall be imposed upon them by general
law and by this charter. The attorney for the Commonwealth shall prose-
cute the violations of all city ordinances in the courts not of record of the
city of Portsmouth, when requested by the judges of such courts, and upon
appeal in the court of hustings, and shall notify the city attorney of all
such prosecutions in which the validity of a city ordinance is attacked.

§ 75. There shall be elected by the city council * ten justices of the
peace for the city at large who shall hold office for a term of four years
and until their successors are elected and qualified. Their terms of office
shall begin on the first day of January immediately succeeding their elec-
tion. * Any justice of the peace who shall cease to be a resident of the city
shall thereby vacate * his office.

CHAP. 9

§ 1. * There shall be a municipal court for the city of Portsmouth.
Such court shall have both civil and criminal jurisdiction and such other
judicial powers as are conferred by general law on municipal courts of
cities of the first class. There shall be a judge of the municipal court who
shall be elected by the council for a four year term. During the month of
July, Nineteen Hundred and * Sixty-eight and every four years thereafter,
* the council shall elect a judge of the municipal court who shall hold office
for a term of four years, and whose term of office shall begin on the first day
of September nezt succeeding. * The judge of the municipal court in office
on the effective date of this act shall continue in office for his present term.

The judge of the municipal court shall also serve as the associate
judge of the juvenile and domestic relations court whenever necessary by
reason of sickness, absence, vacation, interest in the claim, proceedings, or
parties before his court, or at such times as designated by the judge of the
municipal court in order to equalize the work load of such judges. The
judge of the juvenile and domestic relations court shall be and serve as
associate judge of the municipal court presiding over such diviston and
divisions thereof and at such times as may be designated by the judge of
the municipal court in order to equalize the work load of the two judges.

§ l-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of * law, the city council
may provide by ordinance for the division of the jurisdiction and functions
of the * municipal court herein mentioned so that provision may be made
for two or more judges, clerks and court rooms. Such ordinance shall
either divide between the said judges the jurisdiction and functions men-
tioned in this chapter or provide that any or all of such jurisdiction and
functions shall devolve upon one or more courts conforming to the provi-
sions of Title 16.1 of the Code of Virginia; provided, however, that when-
ever the provisions of this section shall become operative, the judge, *
associate Judge and substitute judge of the juvenile and domestic relations
abet of the city shall be appointed by the senior judge of the court of

ngs.

§ 2. Such * judge of the municipal court at the time of his election
shall be a practicing attorney in this State, and shall during his term of
office reside in the city of Portsmouth, and shall not during said term hold
any other office of public trust.
8 4. Such judge of the municipal court shall receive such salary as
the city council shall determine and he shall receive no other compensa-
tion, bail fees, or other emoluments whatsoever.

§ 5. The municipal court * shall be * held at such place or places
as may be designated by the council of the city of Portsmouth and shall
be open for the transaction of business every day in the year, except Sun-
days and such legal holidays as the council of the city of Portsmouth may
authorize it to close; provided, however, nothing herein contained shall be
construed to take away the jurisdiction of the court on legal holidays. The
senior judge of the court of hustings for said city shall, by proper order
of record, appoint as substitute * judge of such court a suitable person
with like qualifications as the * judge thereof, and may at any time revoke
such appointment, and may make a new appointment in like manner in the
event of such revocation, or of the death, absence or disability of such
substitute * judge. In the event of the inability of the * judge to perform
the duties of his office by reason of sickness, absence, vacation, interest in
the claim, proceeding, or parties before his court, or otherwise, such sub-
stitute * judge shall perform the duties of his office during such absence
or disability, and shall receive for his services a per diem compensation at
the rate received by the * judge and the council shall determine whether
such compensation shall be deducted from the salary of the * judge.

Any judge, associate judge, or substitute judge of any court not of
record located within the city of Portsmouth may act as the judge of any
other court not of record located within the city of Portsmouth and while
so acting, he shall perform the same duties, exercise the same power and
authority, and be subject to the same obligations as prescribed by law for
the judge of such court.

§ 6. * There shall be a clerk of the municipal court and such deputy
clerks as * the council may deem necessary, * and he or they shall receive
such compensation as the council may fix, to be paid out of the treasury of
the city, and shall give such bond as the said council shall direct.

_ The clerk and the deputy clerk may each issue any of the criminal or
civil processes of the * municipal court, whether original, mesne, or final
and may also issue warrants of arrest and search warrants in criminal
cases as well as in criminal or civil writ or process, which a justice of
the peace may issue, and such clerk and deputy clerk shall likewise have
the same power, authority and jurisdiction conferred by law upon a justice
of the peace in the city *; provided that the deputy clerk shall exercise
such power and authority only when directed or allowed so to do by the
rules of the court as the same may be promulgated by the * judge thereof.
The clerk shall in addition thereto have charge of the * courtroom and
office and the furniture and other property contained therein and be held
responsible for the safekeeping and protection of the same. The clerk or
deputy clerk shall attend all * sessions of the court and shall perform such
other services as may be required of them.

§ 27. The city council may by ordinance establish a civil court. Such
court when so established shall exercise such civil jurisdiction as may be
conferred upon courts not of record by the general laws of the Common-
wealth of Virginia. Upon the establishment of such civil court, the munic-
tpal court shall be divested of all civil jurisdiction, and the judge thereof
shall forthwith transfer all civil matters then pending in the municipal
court to such civil court. The judge of the civil court shall be appointed
by the senior judge of the court of hustings for a four year term to run
concurrently with the term of the judge of the municipal court; provided,
however, that the initial term of appointment may be for less than four
years in order that subsequent terms may run concurrently with the term
of the judge of the municipal court.
§ 1. Any proposed ordinance or the question of the repeal of an
isting ordinance, may be submitted to the council of said city by peti-
tion signed by the qualified electors of the city equal in number to the
percentage hereinafter required. The signatures, verification and authen-
tication upon such petition, presentation to the council, presumption of
sufficiency and regularity, the summary review by the judge of the *
errcurt or hustings court shall be as follows:
“The petition shall be presented by filing the same with the city clerk,”
and shall be substantially in the following form:
Form of Petition:
To the council of the city of Portsmouth.
We, the undersigned, qualified electors of this city, respectfully
petition your honorable body to cause to be submitted to a vote,
the following question:
(Signature of elector) (Residence by street and number.)

The execution of the petition by an elector shall be acknowledged by
him, or it may be proved by the oath of a witness who shall swear that he
knows the elector and that the petition was signed by the elector in the
presence of the witness. The petition may be in the form of separate
sheets, each sheet containing at the top thereof the petition as above set
forth, and when bound together and offered for filing, shall be deemed
to constitute one petition.

Summary proceedings to review sufficiency of petition.—

Such a petition, which complies with the requirements of this * section,
both as to form and number of signers and manner of execution shall be
accepted as prima facie sufficient. The circuit or hustings court of the
city shall have summary jurisdiction upon complaint of an elector to deter-
mine the sufficiency of the petition and the genuineness of the signatures
thereon, and the qualifications of the electors signing the same, and
may make such order in the premises as justice may require; but such
summary proceedings shall be instituted within ten days after presenta-
tion of the petition, and the burden of proof shall be on the complainant.

No individual signature upon such petition shall be valid unless the
same shall have been placed thereon within three months prior to the
presentation of such petition to the council. The petition presenting the
proposed ordinance, or proposed repeal, shall contain a statement in not
more than two hundred words, giving the petitioners’ reasons for the adop-
tion of the repeal of such ordinances; and if it be signed by electors equal
in number to at least * twenty-five per centum of electors voting for gov-
ernor in the last preceding gubernatorial election and contains a request
that the said ordinance be submitted to a vote of the people, the council
shall either (a) pass such proposed ordinance without alteration, or repeal
such existing ordinance within ten days after determining the sufficiency
of the petition, or (b) * call a special election at least thirty but not more
than ninety days thereafter (unless a general election is to be held at least
thirty and within ninety days thereafter), and at such special or succeed-
ing general election such proposed ordinance, or the repeal of such exist-
ing ordinance, shall be submitted without alteration to the vote of the
electors of the city. The council may, in its discretion, propose an ordi-
nance for substitution, or may submit the same to the electors at the same
election. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed ordi-
nance shall vote in favor thereof, it shall thereupon become a valid and
binding ordinance of the city, and the same shall not be repealed or
amended, except by a vote of the electors within two years thereafter.
If the majority of the qualified electors voting on the repeal of an exis
ing ordinance shall vote in favor of its repeat it shall thereupon becon
of no force and effect.

When there are two or more ordinances proposed to accomplish tl
same purpose, the council shall cause a statement to this effect to |
printed upon the ballot, and the ballot shall be so arranged that the vote:
may (first) vote for or against the adoption of any and all ordinance
for the same purpose, and (second) may express a preference for ar
one of such ordinances. If a majority of the voters on the first questic
is affirmative, then the ordinance receiving the highest number of vot
shall become law, and the others shall fail of passage. In case two or mo:
ordinances of the same tenor are tied for the highest vote, they shall |
resubmitted at the next general municipal election.

The council may submit the repeal or modification of any ordinan
adopted hereunder, to be voted upon at any general election succeedir
its adoption.

§ 2. * If at any time * within thirty days following adoption of «
ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, a petition signed by electo
equal in number to at least * twenty-five per centum of the electors votir
for governor at the last preceding gubernatorial election, protestir
against the enactment of such ordinance and requesting its repeal, «
requesting its adoption in a proposed amended form, be presented to tl
council, such ordinance shall thereupon be suspended from going in
effect, * it shall be the duty of the council to reconsider such ordinanc
If upon reconsideration thereof, said ordinance is not entirely repealed,
so requested, or adopted in the amended form, as proposed, the counc
shall submit the question of the repeal, or the adoption of the ordinan
in its proposed amended form, in the manner provided by * section 01
of this * chapter; if the repeal of such ordinance was requested, such orc
nance shall not go into effect unless * a majority of the electors votir
thereon at such election shall vote * against its repeal; if the amendme!
of said ordinance was proposed, the ordinance shall become effective in 1
proposed amended form if such majority vote is cast in favor thereof, b'
if not such ordinance shall * become effective in the form as enacted |
the council. *

Petitions hereunder shall conform substantially to the requiremen
of * section one hereof as to signatures, verification and authenticatio
and the presentation, presumption of sufficiency, and summary revie
thereof, shall be as provided in said * section.

§ 3. Whenever an ordinance is required under sections one or two |
this * chapter to be submitted for adoption, modification or repeal, to t
electors of the city at any election, the council shall cause the ordinance
be printed, and it shall be the duty of the city clerk to enclose a print
copy thereof in an envelope with a sample ballot, and mail the same
each qualified voter five (5) days prior to the election. The failure on tl
part of any voter to receive or to be sent such copy and ballot shall n
affect the validity of the election. The person filing such petition sh:
have the right to present to the city clerk at any time twenty-five da
prior to said election, printed copies of an argument favoring such orc
nances, and the members of the council shall have the right to preser
or permit to be presented to the city clerk, within the same limit of tim
an argument opposing such ordinance. Neither of such arguments sh:
exceed two thousand words in length and shall be printed in such a for
suitable for mailing, as the city council shall prescribe. The clerk sh
enclose one copy of such arguments with _the sample ballot and copy.
shall constitute authority for the council to expend any money belonging
to the city for the formulation or printing of any argument. Any number
of proposed ordinances under the initiative or referendum may be voted
upon at the same election.

§ 4. Any elective officer * of the city may be removed from office at
any time after one year from the beginning of his term of office by the
electors qualified to vote for a successor for such incumbent. The pro-
cedure to effect such removal shall be as herein provided:

(1) A petition signed by * twenty-five per centum of the qualified
electors of the city, * demanding the election of a successor of the officer
sought to be removed, * shall be filed with the clerk of the court of hustings,
which petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds upon which
the election of a successor is sought. Such petition may be filed at any time
after one year has elapsed since the beginning of the term of the official
sought to be removed. Each signer shall add to his signature his place of
residence, giving street and number, if any. Such petition may be in the
form of separate papers, but each separate paper to which signatures are
appended shall contain at the top thereof the original petition or duplicate
statement thereof, and when bound together and offered for filing, such
separate papers shall be deemed to constitute one petition with respect to
the election of the successor of the officer or officers named therein. One
of the signers of such petition shall make oath before a proper official that
the statements made therein are true, as he believes, and upon such separate
paper, the circulator of the petition to which signatures are appended shall
make oath that each signature to such paper is the genuine signature of
the person whose name it purports to be, and that it was signed in his

nce.

(2) If it appears that the petition is signed by the requisite percentage
of electors, the same shall be accepted as prima facie regular and sufficient,
but it shall be subject to summary review in the same manner as provided
in section one of this * chapter.

(3) If the petition shall be sufficient, and if the officer or officers whose
removal is sought shall not resign within five days after the sufficiency
of the petition has been determined by the judge of the court of hustings,
the judge thereof shall thereupon order and fix a day for holding an election
for the selection of a successor to each officer named in said petition, which
election shall be held not less than thirty nor more than forty days from the
presentation of the petition, or from the making of any court order thereon.
The judge of the court of hustings shall cause publication of notice and all
arrangements to be made for holding such election, and the same shall be
conducted and the result thereof returned and declared in all respects as in
other special elections so far as possible.

(4) A nomination of a candidate to succeed each officer sought to be
removed shall be made without the intervention of a primary election, by
filing with the clerk of the court of hustings at least ten days prior to such
special election, a petition proposing a person for such office, signed by the
electors equal in number to twenty-five per centum of the entire vote cast
in the city for * governor in the last preceding gubernatorial election.

(5) The ballots at such election shall conform to the following require-
ments: With respect to each officer whose removal is sought the question
shall be submitted: Shall (name of officer) be removed from the office
(name of office) by recall? Under the same question may be placed, at the
request of the elector, whose signature appears first on the petition, a
statement, not over two hundred words in length, of the grounds upon
which the removal is sought. Following such statement the incumbent
officer may cause to be placed a statement not over two hundred words in
length of reasons why he should not be removed from office. Beneath the
aforesaid statements shall be placed the names of candidates to fill the
vacancy. The name of the officer whose removal is sought shall not appear
on the ballot as a candidate to succeed himself.

(6) In any such election, if a majority of the votes cast on the ques-
tion of removal be affirmative, the candidate receiving the highest number
of the votes cast shall be declared elected, and if more than one councilman
is removed at such election the candidates receiving the highest number
of votes, equal in number to the number of councilmen removed, shall be
declared elected. The officer whose removal is sought shall thereupon be
deemed removed from office upon the announcement of the official canvass
of the election. The successor of any officer so removed shall hold office
during the unexpired term of his predecessor. In case the person or persons
receiving the highest number of votes shall fail to qualify within ten days
after receiving notification of his election, the office shall be deemed vacant.
The question of the removal of any officer shall not be submitted to the
electors a second time during the same term of office, until after the
expiration of one year from the determination of the first application for
his removal. The method of removal herein provided is cumulative and
additional to such other methods as may be provided by law. All frauds
and irregularities, or attempts to commit same, in initiative, referendum
and recall elections shall be punished in the manner and to the extent pro-
vided for similar offenses under the general election laws of the State, and
all such initiative, referendum and recall elections shall be conducted as
far as practicable under the laws governing general elections.

§ 56. Where an election has been held upon the question of the adop-
tion or repeal of any ordinance in accordance with section one or two of
this chapter, then no election may be held on a substantially similar ques-
tion for two years following such election, except that the council may
submit the repeal or modification of any ordinance adopted under section
one of thts chapter to be voted upon at any general election succeeding ite

CHAP. 15

. $1. There shall be a department of law which shall consist of the
city attorney and such deputy and assistant city attorneys and other
employees as may be provided by the council.

§ 2. The head of the department of law shall be the city attorney.
He shall be an attorney at law licensed to practice law in the Common-
wealth. He shall be appointed by the council and shall serve at tts pleasure.

§ 8. The city attorney shall:

(a) Be the chief legal advisor of the council, the city manager and of
all departments, boards, commissions and agencies of the city in all mat-
ters affecting the interests of the city and shall upon request furnish a
written opinion on any question of law involving their respective official
powers and duties;

(b) At the request of the city manager or any member of the council
prepare ordinances for introduction and at the request of the council or
any member thereof shall examine any ordinance after introduction and
render his opinion as to the form and legality thereof;

(c) Draw or approve all bonds, deeds, leases, contracts, or other
instruments to which the city is a party or in which it has an interest;

_ (d) Have the management and control of all the law business of the
city and the departments, boards, commissions, and agencies thereof or in
which the city has an interest, and represent the city as counsel in any
ew case in which it is interested and, together with the attorney for the
Commonwealth, in criminal cases in which the constitutionality or validity
of any ordinance is brought in issue;

(e) Institute and prosecute all legal proceedings he shall deem neces-
sary or proper to protect the interests of the city;
(f) Attend in person or assign one of his assistants to attend all meet-
mgs of the council;

(g) Appoint and remove such deputy and assistant city attorneys and
other employees as shall be authorized by the council, all of whom shall
not be subject to the civil service system established by this charter;

(h) Authorize the deputy or assistant city attorneys or any of them
or special counsel to perform any of the duties imposed upon him; and

(i) Have such other powers and duties as may be assigned to him
by the council.

CHAP. 16

$1. The school board of the city of Portsmouth shall consist of nine
trustees who shall be elected by the council from the city at large. Every
school trustee shall, at the time of his appointment, be a resident of the
city of Portsmouth, and if he shall cease to be a resident of the city, his
office shall be deemed vacant. The school trustees in office on the effective
date of this act shall continue in office for the terms for which they were
elected, and their successors shall be elected in accordance with the provi-
stons of this section for three-year terms.
8. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.