Chap. 487.—An ACT amending and re-enacting section 7 of
chapter 10 of the charter of the city of Lynchburg.

Approved February 29, 1892.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That section seven of chapter ten of the charter of the
city of Lynchburg be, and the same is hereby, so amended
and re-enacted that the same shall hereafter read as fol-
lows:

§ 7. Whenever any new street shall be opened, any ex-
isting street graded or paved, or any culvert or other
public improvement made, the city council may determine
what portion of the expense incurred in making such im-
provement shall be paid by the city and what portion by
the owners of real estate especially benefited thereby;
and the council may order that the whole of such expense
be assessed against the owners of such real estate. The
assessment made against the owners of such real estate

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in such cases shall be a lien on said property, and may
be collected by the same officer and in the same manner
as other city taxes and levies. But no such improvement
shall be made, the cost of which shall be paid in whole
or in part, by the owners of real estate to be benefited
thereby, unless such improvement be first requested by a
majority of the property-owners against whom said assess-
ment will be made, or unless the order for such improve-
ment be made by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of
all the members of the council elected. When the whole
or any part of the cost of such improvement is assessed
against the owners of property specially benefited there-
by, the council may, at its option, cause said assessment
to be all paid in cash, or it may divide the same into as
many annual instalments as it may deem proper, which
instalments shall include interest, cost of collecting, and
all necessary cost of the arrangement, and shall be a lien
on said property and be collected by the same officer and
in the same manner as other taxes and assessments. But
any person owning property upon which such assessment
is made, shall have the right to pay such assessment in
cash instead of paying the same in such instalments.
When such improvements are made and such assessment
is so divided into instalments the council may cause cou-
pon bonds of the city to be issued and sold for the
purpose of raising the money to pay so much of the
cost of such improvement as is assessed against the
property of benefited owners. Said bonds may be made
payable at such times and with such interest as the
council may designate. The council shall have power by
proper ordinance to provide that the instalments of such
assessments made against said benefited owners for their
part of the cost of such improvement shall be specially
dedicated to the payment of the principal and interest of
the bonds issued as aforesaid for the purpose of paying
the prime cost thereof, and when such srrangement is
made the fact of said special dedication shal! be set forth
upon the face of such bonds. For the purpose of giving
effect to this scheme and of making said assessments
specially meet the payment of said bonds and coupons
thereto attached, the council shall have power to establish
a proper sinking fund or put into operation by ordinance
any other machinery requisite tothat end. The bonds is-
sued under this provision, and for the payment of which
such assessments are specially dedicated, shall not be es-
timated in ascertaining the limit of indebtedness of the
city as fixed in the first section of chapter ninth of the
present charter of the city.

2. That section first of chapter eleven of the charter of
the city of Lynchburg be, and the same is hereby, amend-
ed and re-enacted so as to read as follows:
§ 1. The city of Lynchburg and its inhabitants shall be
exempt from all assessments for levies in the way of taxes
imposed by the authorities of Campbell or Amherst coun-
ties for any purpose whatever, except upon property in
said counties owned by the inhabitants of said city, nor
shall said inhabitants be liable to serve upon juries in
said counties. Thecity of Lynchburg shall, however, have
the right to own or lease land outside its corporate limits
to be used for any public purpose for the benefit of its
citizens; and when it is necessary for the city to acquire
property for such purposes and cannot agree with the owner
thereof for purchasing the same, it shall have the right to
condemn the same, as is provided in such cases under
chapter forty-six of the code of Virginia.

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