CHAP. 224.—An ACT to amend the charter of the town of Potomac.

Approved Manch 8, 1880.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
an act to incorporate the town of Potomac, in Prince William
county, in force January twenty-first, eighteen hundred and
seventy-three, as amended by an act approved April ninth,
eighteen hundred and seventy-four, be amended and re-enacted
as follows:

§1. That so much of the land as lies and is contained with-
in the following boundaries, namely: beginning at a point mid-
way between North Point and the island in Chappawansic
creek ; thence up the south bank or shore of said creek to the
Telegraph road ; thence along said Telegraph road to the waters
of Little creek; thence down the centre of said creek to the
line dividing the lands of Messieurs Groves and Ennis; thence
northerly along said line to the channel of Quantico bay;
thence to the north bank of said Quantico; thence along said
north bank to the middle of Potomac river; thence along said
line to a point opposite the place of beginning; thence west-
erly to the initial point, shall be and is hereby made a town
corporate by the name and style of The Town of Potomac;
and by that name may sue and be sued, and by that name and
style shall have and exercise the powers hereinafter granted or
conferred upon towns by the fifty-fourth chapter of the Code of
Virginia of eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and of all laws
now in force or that may hereafter be enacted for the govern-
ment of towns containing less than five thousand inhabitants,
not in conflict or incompatible with the grants, powers and
duties conferred on the board of control, as provided in the act
incorporating the Potomac land and improvement company, as
amended and re-enacted and now in force.

§ 2. The municipal authorities of said town shall consist of »
one mayor and four councilmen, who shall be chosen annually °
by ballot on the first Tuesday in May. Any qualified voter of ¥
the county of Prince William, and residing within the corpo- “
rate limits of the town of Potomac, shall be entitled to vote at
all elections under this act of incorporation. The clerk of said V
council shall hold said election between the hours of two and °
six o’clock post meridian, and shall call in two members of said
council to aid him in deciding any contest in reference to the
right to vote of any individual, and to witness the counting of
the ballots. In case it is impossible to decide the persons p
elected councilmen by reason of a tie, the said clerk shall de- i
termine, in the presence of two councilmen of said town by lot,
every case of the kind arising. A contest between two per- 1
sons voted for as mayor, on the ground of each having received °
the same number of votes, shall likewise be decided by lot by
the said clerk in the presence of two councilmen. The said c
clerk shall, immediately thereafter and after each election, ¢
make out and deliver to the mayor and each one of the council- a
men-elect, a certificate of his election, and shall administer to °
said mayor and councilmen the oaths of office required by the
constitution and laws of Virginia. The term of office of said 1
mayor and councilmen shall commence on the first day of July
succeeding their election, and continue for the space of one
year and until their successors are elected and qualified. Onc
the first Monday in July of each year the said councilmen, or a &
majority of them, shall elect, by ballot, a clerk and sergeant
from among the residents of the comporate limits ; which officers T
shall hold their terms of office for the space of one year, or
until their successors have been elected and qualified. The o
said clerk and sergeant shall qualify by taking the oath of
office before the clerk or other person authorized to administer

oaths, and may be removed from office by a unanimous vote of
the council. All the officers of the corporation shall serve “
without compensation, except as hereinafter provided. The 7
said council shall appoint its own time of meeting ; a quorum !
to consist of a majority of the councilmen qualified ; in no case,
however, to be less than two to constitute aquorum. Vacancies v
in the offices of clerk and sergeant, from any cause, shall be
filled by the council of said town. ‘The mayor shall be the pre- F
siding officer of the council, but shall have no vote except in a ©
case of atie. He shall be ex-officio a justice of the peace of y
Prince William county, and shall be charged specially with the ©
power and jurisdiction to enforce the ordinances and by-laws P
of said town, and shall receive as compensation therefor the c
fees now allowed by law for such services, and no other or
further compensation whatever. He may call special meetings p
of the council by giving notice to each member thereof. The r
clerk of said council shall keep a correct record of the procecd-
ings of the council, shall provide the books and stationery or-
dered by the council, make out a list of all property, real and
personal, within the corporate limits for assessment, taking as
a basis of valuation of the property, both real and personal,
and conforming in every respect thereto, the assessors’ and
commissioners’ books in district number two of Prince William
county, and shall issue tickets for the taxes levied by the coun-
cil, and shall deliver said tickets to the sergeant for collection,
shall draw warrants on the sergeant ordered by the council,
shall have power to administer any oath required under this
act, or under any ordinance of the council, and he shall be paid
annually such sum as the council may determine and direct,
not, however, to exceed the sum of fifty dollars for any one
year. The sergeant shall collect the taxes voted by the coun-
cil, and for collecting and paying out the same shall be allowed
two and one-half per centum. He shall have the same power
and authority of any constable or collector of Prince William
county, and shall be entitled to the same fees, except as herein
provided. He shall pay out the money of the corporation in
his hands on the warrant of the mayor, and clerk certifying
that it is drawn by the order of the council. He shall perform
all the duties of overseer of roads or streets within the corpo-
rate limits in accordance with the laws of Virginia and the or-
dinances of the town.

§ 3. The corporate limits of said town of Potomac is hereby
created and declared to be a separate and distinct road district
of Prince William county, and no road tax shall be levied on
any property within said limits except by the council of Poto-
mac, to be expended within said limits on the streets and roads
therein by the sergeant of the town, under the direction and
supervision of the council. For his services as overseer of
roads and streets, the sergeant shal] be entitled to the same
compensation allowed by law to overseers of roads under the
general road law of Virginia. The council shall have control
of all streets and roads within the corporate limits of the town.

§ 4. The town sergeant shall, before entering upon the dis-
charge of the duties of his office, execute a bond in the penalty
of one thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful perform-
ance of all his duties. The sureties of said sergeant shall
justify as to their sufficiency before the mayor, and said bond
shall receive the written approval of the mayor, certifying as to
its validity and sufficiency, and then be filed with the clerk.

§5. The council shall have the power to regulate and pro-
hibit the running at large of animals, to prohibit the obstruc-
tion of streets and sidewalks, to provide for order and quiet
and the observance of the Sabbath within the corporation, to
regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors, to pass ordinances
carrying into effect the objects of incorporation, the said ordi-
nances not to be in contravention of any laws of the state, and
to punish the violation of said ordinances by fine and imprison-
ment: provided, that any fine imposed upon a minor shall be
paid by his parent or guardian. The officers of said town and
the council thereof shall have all the powers granted to officers
and to the councils of towns corporate under existing general
laws not inconsistent with this act.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage.