Chap. 235.—An ACT to Provide a New Charter for the Town of Suffolk.

In force March 19, 1872.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
so much of the land as lies and is contained within the follow-
ing boundary: beginning on Nansemond river at the mouth of
the first branch that empties into said river on the west of the
bridge over said river; thence up said branch to the point
where the water from the spring near the old academy lot
empties into said branch; thence running south thirteen degrees,
west twenty-seven and one-half poles to the centre of Pine
street on the Seaboard and Roanoke railroad; thence along
the centre of said railroad north fifty-nine, west one hundred
and twenty and one-half poles; thence south eleven, west
eighty poles to the main road leading to Kilby’s mull; thence
with same course across the lands of Jacob Lawshe sixty-two
poles; thence south sixty-five, east forty-six poles to Wellons
street; thence with same course forty-six poles to the Norfolk
and Petersburg railroad; thence with same course thirty poles
to a persimmon tree ina graveyard; thence south sixty-nine,
east thirty-six poles to pine tree on Joseph P. Hall’s land; and
thence seventy-one poles to the Culloden road; thence north
twenty, east eighty-two poles to the Norfolk and Petersburg
railroad; thence along the centre of said railroad east sixty
poles; thence due north one hundred and fifty eight poles to a
beech tree on the side of a ravine, and on to the centre of the
Seaboard and Roanoke railroad; thence along the centre of
said railroad south seventy-nine, west seventy-five poles to the
old boundary line of the town; thence north five, east down a
small branch to the first cross street; thence east a short
distance to Allen's branch at the dam over the same; thence
down the said branch to Nansemond river; and thence up the
river to the beginning, shall be and is hereby made a town cor-
porate by the name and style of the town of Suffolk, and by
that name may sue and be sued, and shall have and exercise all
the powers and be subject to all the provisions of the Code of
Virginia, except as may be herein otherwise provided.
2. The municipal authorities of said town shall consist of a
mayor and five councilmen, who shall be freeholders in and
residents of the said town, to be elected annually on the first
Thursday in June by the qualified electors of said town.

3. The mayor and councilmen shall constitute the council of
said town, and all the corporate powers of said town shall be
exercised by said council or under its authority, except when
otherwise provided.

t, 4. There shall be- elected annually by the council of said

. town, a town sergeant, clerk, assessor, treasurer, overseer of
the poor, and a street commissioner, all of which offices may be
~ held and exercised by the same person, except that of sergeant,
which last mentioned officer shall hold no other corporate office
during the term for which he was elected. The persons so
elected shall enter upon the duties of their offices on the first
day of July next succeeding their election, and shall continue
in office until their successors are elected and qualified.

5. The election of mayor and councilmen, and the registra-

r tion of voters of said town shall be held and conducted in
the manner provided by the laws of Virginia then existing.

f 6. The mayor and councilmen shall each, before entering
upon the duties of their offices, take the oaths prescribed for

. all other officers by the laws of Virginia; but if any or either
° of them shall fail so to do, on or before the commencement of
the term for which he or they were elected, his or their office
shall be deemed vacant.

7. Whenever, from any cause, a vacancy shall occur in the
office of Mayor or councilman, the same shall be filled by the
council at its next regular meeting, or as soon thereafter as
may be, either from its own body or from the qualified voters
of said town; an entry of said election to be made on the
record book of the corporation.

8. The mayor, when present, shall preside over all meetings

1 of the council; and in his absence the president of the coun-
cil, (who shall be elected by the council at its first annual
meeting in July of each year) shall preside.

9. The mayor and two councilmen, or in the absence of the
mayor, three councilmen shall constitute a quorum of the
council for the transaction of all business.

10. The mayor shall give no vote in the council, except in
the case of a tie, when he shall give the casting vote.

11. The council shall cause to be kept in a journal an accu-
rate record of all its proceedings, by-laws, acts and orders,
which shall be properly indexed and opened to the inspection
of pey one who is entitled to vote for members of the council.

12. At each meeting of the council, the proceedings of the

i last meeting shall be read to the council, and shall thereupon
be corrected if erroneous, and signed by the person presiding
for the time being. Upon the call of any member, the ayes
and noes on any question shall be recorded in the journal.

13. The council, so constituted, shall have power within said
town to lay off, open, curb and pave streets, alleys, walks and
gutters for the public use, and to alter, improve and light the
same, and have them kept in good order and free from obstruc-
tions on or over them; to regulate the width of the sidewalks
on the streets and to order the sidewalks, footways and gutters
to be curbed, paved and kept in good order, free and clean, by
the owners or occupants thereof; to lay off public grounds and
to provide, contract for and take care of all buildings necessary
for the use of the town; to establish and regulate markets; to
prescribe the time for holding the same, and what articles shall
be sold in such markets; to prevent injury or annoyance to the
public or individuals from anything dangerous, offensive or
unwholesome; to protect places of divine worship in or about
the premises where held; to abate or cause to be abated any-
thing which, in the opinion of the majority of the whole coun-
cil, shall be a nuisance; to regulate the keeping of gunpowder
and other combustibles; to provide in and near the town places
for the burial of the dead, and to regulate interments in and
near the town; to provide for the building of houses or other
structures, and for the making of division fences, and for the
drainage of lots by proper drains and ditches; to make regu-
lations for guarding against danger or damage from fires; to ap-
point and publish the places for holding the town elections ;
to provide a revenue for the town and to appropriate the same
to its expenses, and to provide the annual assessment of tax-
able persons and property in the town; to establishrules for
the transaction of business and for the government and regu-
lation of its own body; to promote the general welfare of the
town and to protect the property of persons therein, and to
preserve peace and good order; to keep a town guard; to
appoint and order out a patrol for the town in hke manner and
for like purposes, within the same as the patrol may be ordered
out by the county court or a justice within the county; to
require and take from the sergeant and treasurer, bonds with
such securities and in such penalty as the council may see fit,
which bonds shall be made payable to the town by its corporate
name, and conditioned for the faithful discharge of their duties;
to regulate and provide for the weighing and measuring of hay,
coal, wood or other articles sold or for sale in said town, and
to regulate the transportation thereof through the streets ; and
to enable the authorities of said town more effectually to
enforce the provisions of this section, their jurisdiction is
hereby declared to extend one mile beyond the corporate limits.

14. To carry into effect the powers herein enumerated, and
all other powers conferred upon the said town or its council
by the laws of Virginia, said council shall have power to make
and pass all needful and proper orders, by-laws and ordinances,
not contrary to the constitution and laws of the state, and to
prescribe and impose reasonable fines and penalties, or to im-
pose imprisonments in the county jail for a period not exceeding
thirty days in cases of contempt, or to enforce the collection
of fines, or in such other cases as they may be authorized by
law, which fines, penalties or imprisonments shall be imposed,
recovered or enforced under the judgment of the mayor or any
one of the councilmen of said town. And the authorities of
onl
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of

said town may, with the consent of the county court of Nanse-
mond county, entered of record, use the jail of said county for
any purposes for which the use of a jail may be needed by
them, under the acts of the council or of the state of Virginia:
provided, however, that in all cases where a fine is imposed by
the mayor, any councilman, or by the council, exceeding ten
dollars, the party so fined shall have the right of appeal to the
county court.

15. The mayor and each one of the councilmen of said town,
for the time being, are declared to be and are hereby consti-
tuted conservators of the peace within said town and within
one mile from the corporate limits thereof, and shall have all the
powers and authority in civil as well as criminal cases, includ-
ing the examination of persons suspected of lunacy, now exer-
cised by justices of the peace.

16. The council shall cause to be made up annually, and
entered upon its journal, an accurate estimate of all sums of
money which are or may become lawfully chargeable on said
town, and which ought to be paid within one year; and the
said council shall order a town levy for so much money as in
its discretion shall be sufficient to meet all just demands against
the corporation: provided, however, that such levy shall not,
in any one year, exceed the sum of two thousand dollars. _

17. The levy so made may be laid on all male persons who
are residents of said town and over twenty-one years of age;
upon dogs, and on all personal and real estate within said town,
except such persons, personal and real estate as are exempt
from taxation under the laws of the state; and also upon all
other such subjects within said town as may at the time be
assessed with state taxes: provided, that the tax for persons
shall not exceed fifty cents per annum.

18. In all cases in which the laws of the state require a li-
cense to be taken out by any person enyaved in any business,
trade, occupation or calling, or for any other purpose, the said
council shall have power to require a hcense to be taken out in
al] such cases, for the benefit of said town, before such person
shall be pernutted to pursue such business, trade, occupation
or calling within the corporate limits of said town, or within
one mile from said linits. Said council may also grant or re-
fuse license to owners or keepers of wagons, drays, carts,
hacks, and other wheeled vehicles, kept or employed in said
town for hire or as carners for the public, and may require the
owners of such wagons, drays, carts, and so forth, using them
in the town, to take out a license therefor, and may require
taxes to be paid thereon and subject the same to such regula-
tions as they may deem proper.

19. The revenue from these and other sources shall be col-
lected, paid over and accounted for, at such times and to such
persons as the council shall order.

2U. The council shall require the treasurer of said town to
make out an annual report of the receipts and expenditures of

said town, which report shall state on what account the expen-

ditures were made and from what sources the receipts were
derived; and the council shall cause the said report, within ten
days after the making thereof, to be published each year in one
or more newspapers of the said town.

21. The sergeant shall have power to collect the town taxes,
fines and levies, and shall have power, one month after he shall
have received the books of the assessor of said town, to distrain
and sell therefor, in like manner as the collector of taxes may
sell and distrain for state taxes; and shall have in all other re-
spects the same power as such collector to enforce the payment
and collection thereof; and the said sergeant shall have power
to exercise, within the corporate limits of said town and within
one mile thereof, all the duties that a constable can legally
exercise in regard to the collection of claims, executing and
levying process; and he shall be entitled to the same compen-
sation therefor, and he and his securities shall be subject to the
same liabilities as a constable for any failure or dereliction in
his said office.

22. The mayor shall have power to suspend and the council shall
have power to remove all other town officers, whether they be
elected or appointed, for misconduct in office or neglect of duty,
to be specified in the order of suspension or removal; but no
such removal shall be made without reasonable notice to the
officer complained of and an opportunity afforded him to be
heard in his defence.

23. The council may order and require real estate in the
town delinquent for non-payment of town taxes, to be sold by
the sergeant at public auction, for the arrears, with interest
thereon and with such additional per eentum as the council may
prescribe for charges, and the surplus shall be paid to the
owner; and they may prescribe and regulate the manner and
terms on which the said delinquent real estate shall be sold
and redeemed: provided, a list of said delinquent lands, with
the arrearave of tax thereon, shall be published for at least
four weeks in some newspaper published in the town, and
posted at the front door of the court-house of Nansemond
county: provided, that such lien and sale shall be subject to
the lien of the‘state and county for all taxes and levies due on
such property.

24. The mayor or council may prohibit any theatrical or
other performance, show or exhibition within said town, or
within a mile of its corporate limits, which may be deemed
injurious to the morals or good order of the town or the peo-
ple of the county.

25. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the
town; he shall take care that the by-laws, ordinances, acts and
resolutions of the council are faithfully executed; he shall be
ex-officio, a conservator of the peace within the town and within
a mile of its corporate limits, and shall within the same, exer-
cise all the powers vested in the justices of the peace for the
county ; he shall have control of the police of the town and
may appoint special police officers when he deems it necessary
he shall have authority to issue his warrant for the arrest o!
any person or persons violating any of the ordinances, acts o1
resolutions of said town; it shall be his duty especially to see
that peace and good order are preserved and that persons and
property are protected in the town; he shall have power to
issue executions for all fines and costs imposed by him, or he
-Inay require the immediate payment thereof, and in default of
such payment, he may commit the party in default to the jail of
Nansemond county until the fine and costs shall be paid; but
the term of imprisonment shall not exceed thirty days; he
shall, from time to time, recommend to the council such mea-
sures as he may deem needful for the welfare of the town; he
shall receive a compensation for his services to be fixed by the
council, which shall not be increased nor diminished during the
term for which he shall have been elected.

26. All moneys belonging to the said town shall be paid over
to the treasurer, and no money shall be by him paid out except
as the same shall have been appropriated and ordered to be paid
by the council; and the said treasurer shall pay the same upon
the certificate of the mayor, or in his absence, upon the certifi-
cate of the president of the council.

_ 27. If the said treasurer shall fail to account for and pay
over all or any moneys that shall come into his hands, when
thereto required by the council, it shall be lawful for the coun-
cil, in the corporate name of the town, by motion before any
court of record held in Nansemond county, to recover from
the treasurer and his sureties, or their personal representatives,
any sum that may be due from said treasurer to said town, on
ten days’ notice.

28. And if the sergeant shall fail to collect, account for and
pay over all the taxes, fines and other revenue of the town in
his hands for collection, according to the condition of his bond,
it shall be lawful for the council to recover the same by motion,
in the corporate name of the town, before any court of record
of said county of Nansemond, against the said sergeant and
his sureties, or any or either of them, his or their executors or
administrators, on giving ten days’ notice of the same.

29. The overseer of the poor elected under this act shall
have charge of the poor of said town, and shall be a member
of the board of overseers of the poor of Nansemond county,
and so long as the poor of said town are provided for at the
poor house of the upper parish of Nansemond county, the said
overseer shall have charge of all matters relating to their sup-
port, in like manner and with like powers, duties and liabilities
as the overseers of the several townships, notwithstanding the
‘provisions of section fifty-nine of chapter one hundred and

eighty-eight, acts of assembly eighteen hundred and sixty-nine
and seventy.

30. The council shall have power to make such by-laws, or-
dinances, orders and regulations as they may deem necessary
to prevent dogs, hogs and other animals from running at large
in the limits of the town, and may subject the owners thereof
to such fines, regulations and taxes as the council may deem
proper, and may sell said animals at public auction to enforce
the payment of said fines and taxes.
31. The council shall not take or use any private property
for streets or other public purposes, without making to the
owner or owners thereof just compensation for the same; but
in all cases where the said corporation cannot, by agreement,
obtain title to the ground necessary for such purposes, it shall
be lawful for said corporation to apply to the county or circuit
court of Nansemond county and obtain the authority to con-
demn the same, which shall be applied for and proceeded with
according to law.

32. All the rights, privileges and properties of the corpora-
tion of Suffolk heretofore acquired and possessed, owned and
enjoyed, by any act now in force not in conflict with this act,
shall continue undiminished, and remain vested in said town,
under this act; and all laws, resolutions and ordinances of the
corporation of Suffolk now in force and not inconsistent with
this act, shall be and continue in full force and effect in the
town of Sutfolk until regularly repealed by a council elected
as provided in this act.

33. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are
hereby repealed.

34. That this charter shall be submitted to the people of the
town of Suffolk for ratification or rejection at the next May
election, and if a majority of the legal votes cast shall be for
ratification, then this act shall be in full force. Butif a ma
jority shall vote against the charter, then the present charter
shall remain in full force the same as though this act had not
been passed.

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