CHAP. 282.—An ACT to incorporate the town of Fairfax, in the
county of Fairfax.

Approved February 16, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That the territory in the county of Fairfax within the fol-
lowing-named boundaries is hereby constituted a body
politic and corporate under the name of the town of Fair-
fax: Beginning on the road from Fairfax court-house to
Fairfax station at the corner of the lands of Robert Hunter
and the late H. W. Thomas; thence with the lines of the
Thomas land so as to include all of that tract to the land
of A. J. Sagar; thence with the lines of the Sagar land so
as to include all of that tract to the land of M. A. Austin;
thence with the lines of the Austin land so as to include
all of that tract; thence crossing the Little river turnpike
road to the land of George R. Brandon; thence with the
lines of the Brandon land so as to include all of that tract
to the land of F. W. Richardson; thence with the lines of
the Richardson land so as to include all of that tract to
the land of R. R. Farr; thence with the lines of the Farr
land so as to include all of that tract; thence crossing the
road from Fairfax court-house to Fall’s church to the Jand
of Sally B. Love; thence with the lines of the Love land
so as to include all of that tract to the land of J. R. Jones;
nence with the lines of the Jones land so as to include
ll of that tract to the land of D. M. Chichester; thence
ith the lines of the Chichester land so as to include all
f that tract to the land of John Ellis; thence with the
ines of the Ellis land so as to include all of that tract to
he land of Alice Bond; thence with the lines of the Bond
and so as to include all of that tract to the land of W. T.
tumsey; thence with the lines of the Rumsey land so as
o include all of that tract to the land of B. Caufield;
hence with the lines of the Caufield land so as to include
ll of that tract; and thence by a line including the lots
yf Henry Neal and Chambers, and crossing the first-men-
ioned road to the place of beginning.

The said territory shall constitute one of the road dis-
ricts and one of the school districts of said county.

The said town shall be subject to the provisions of the

statutes made for the government of towns except in so
‘ar as the same may be in conflict with the provisions of
this act.
- 2. The government of the said town shall be vested in a
souncil composed of seven persons who shall be qualified
voters and freeholders within the town: provided that any
yualified voter whose wife is a freeholder shall be eligible
to the office of councilman.

The members of the council shall be elected on the
fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-
six, and every four years thereafter, and shall hold office
for four years and until their successors are elected and
qualified.

Those entitled to vote shall be qualified voters residing
permanently in the corporation.

Elections shall be conducted by the town clerk and two
members of the council, designated by the mayor. The
polls shall be opened at one o’clock and closed at seven in
the afternoon. Returns shall be made to the mayor, whe
shal] issue certificates countersigned by the clerk, to those
elected. Tie votes shall be decided by lot, and contests
shall be tried and finally determined by the mayor pur.
suant to such regulations as the council may make.

Until the election in eighteen hundred and ninety-si3
the following named persons shall be the council: Jot
Hauxhurst, James M. Love, W. P. Moncure, S. R. Dona
hoe, R. W. Moore, and B. Caufield, who, after taking th
usual oath of office before some person authorized to ad
minister the same, shall organize and perform the dutie
and exercise the powers imposed and conferred by this act
Should any of the said persons fail to qualify within on
week after the passage of this act, those remaining shal
select other persons to fill the vacancies thus occurrin,
and all vacancies in council or in any of the offices sub
sequently occurring shall be filled by the council, whic!
shall also have the power to provide for the discharge of
the duties of any office during the temporary absence of!
the officer. There shall be an annual meeting of the
council on the first Monday in July, at which new mem-
bers shall qualify, and there shall be such other regula
and special meetings as the by-laws may prescribe. Four
members of the council shall be a quorum.

3. The council shall choose one of its members ag
mayor, and shall appoint a clerk and sergeant, who shal]
qualify and execute bonds in the manner prescribed by the
council. All officers shall hold their offices at and during
the pleasure of the council. No member of the council
or other official shall receive any compensation except as
hereinafter designated. Policemen and other necessary
officials shall be appointed by the council.

4. The council shall have power to define and mark the
boundaries of streets; to lay out new streets, alleys and
sidewalks; to provide for order and quiet, and the observ-
ance of the Sabbath; to plant and protect shade trees; to
make regulations in respect to public health; to abate
nuisances, and to this end confer on the mayor and sergeant
all necessary authority and jurisdiction; to regulate and
prohibit the running at Jarge of animals; to license the
ownership of dogs, impose a license tax on the owners of
dogs not exceeding fifty cents for each dog, and to make
provisions for the killing of dogs whose owners fail to pro-
cure license and pay the said taxes; to exercise the powers
of school trustees over the schools of the corporation,
with the right of representation and one vote in the
county school board; to exercise the power of road com-
missioners over the roads and streets of the corporation,
and to pass ordinances to carry into effect the objects of
the incorporation and promote the general good of the town,
and punish their violation by fine and imprisonment.

5. The mayor shall preside over the council, but shall
have no vote except in case of a tie. He shall have au-
thority and jurisdiction of, and receive the same fees as a
justice of the peace, and he shall, for the purpose of con-
demning lands for streets and other corporation pur-
poses, have the same jurisdiction now exercised by the
county court for condemning lands for public roads, and
the council shall make all needful regulations to carry
into effect these provisions.

6. The town clerk shall be the custodian of the books
and records. He shall make and keep an accurate report
of all council proceedings; shall prepare the tax tickets;
shall be registrar of voters and clerk of elections, and
discharge such other duties as the council may assign

im.

7. The town sergeant shall be the executive officer of

the council, and shall, besides discharging such other
duties as the council may assign him, have and exercise
the authority, and receive the fees of a constable, unless
otherwise ordered. He shall be the town treasurer, and
as such collect all taxes and fines and disburse the same
upon the warrant of the council, signed by the mayor and
clerk, and to this end have the same power as the county
treasurer. He shall receive as his compensation for col-
Jecting the revenue, five per centum on the amount col-
lected. Unless otberwise ordered, he shall be the over-
seer of roads and streets, and have the same power as an
overseer of roads under the special road law of said county,
and for his services in this regard he shall receive such
compensation as the council may allow him.

8. No district school tax or district road tax shall be
levied upon the property within the corporation except by
the council. The council may annually levy and collect
upon all real estate within the corporation, and all per-
sonal property owned by persons residing therein (the as-
sessments made for state and county purposes to be taken
as a basis, and not to be departed from), a tax for scheol
purposes not to exceed ten cents on the one hundred dol-
lars’ worth of property, and a tax for road and other cor-
poration purposes not to exceed twenty cents on the one
hundred dollars: provided that the rate in either case
may be increased so as to make the rate equal to but not
in excess of any tax hereafter levied in Providence district
for district school and district road purposes. The levy
for the year eighteen hundred and ninety-two, shall be
upon the assessed valuation made for the year eighteen
hundred and ninety-one; that for eighteen hundred and
ninety-three upon the assessed valuation made for the
vear eighteen hundred and ninety-two, and so on for each
succeeding year. All taxes shall be due and payable May
first, and a penalty of five per centum shall be assessed on
bills that remain unpaid August first. On or before Sep-
tember first the sergeant shal! return a statement of delin-
quents and make his annual settlement with the council.
The council shall make provision and regulations for the
sale before the first of January following the return of any
real estate returned delinquent.

9. The council shall have the right to expend such funds
as it may think proper towards the improvement of roads
outside of the corporation limits.

10. The corporation shall have the use of the county
jail, whose jailor shall receive and keep all persons duly
committed by the proper officers of the corporation, and he
shall be paid for the board of such prisoners from the
state treasury at like rates as other prisoners and in
the same manner. The mayor and council shall have the
use of the county court-house as their town house for
the transaction of official business, when not otherwise
occupied and used by the circuit and county court judges,
board of supervisors, or for other county purposes, which
privilege shall in no manner lessen the authority and con-
trol over said court-house building as by law established
by said court and board.

11. In case the voters of Providence district shall at any
election decide to allow license for the sale of intoxicating
drinks in the district, yet there shall be no such license
granted for such sale within the corporate limits of this
town, or within one mile thereof, unless the applicant shall
first obtain the consent of the council, in writing, and pre-
sent the same to the county court.

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