Chap. 296.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act passed on the 2d of April,
1573, entitled an act to incorporate the town of Manassas, as amended by an
act approved 18th of March, 1884.

Approved February 19, 18H,

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
esent boundary of said town as established by an act of the gene-
1 assembly, passed April second, eighteen hundred and seventy-
ree, and amended and approved March eighteenth, eighteen hun-
‘ed and eighty-four, are hereby declared to be in full force.

41 (qQoole
2. The government of the said town shal] be vested in a mayor, 8
council of nine members, clerk and sergeant. The mayor and coun-
cil shall be chosen by the qualified voters residing within the cor-
porate limits of the said town, at an election to be held on the fourth
Saturday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and on the
fourth Saturday in May in every year thereafter; and shall hold
office for the term of one year, and until their successors are elected
and qualified. The said election shall be held by the clerk and two
councilmen designated by the mayor, who shall be sworn to faith-
fully discharge their duties.

The polls shall be opened at such place and between such hours
as the council may prescribe; and in case of a tie, the persons con-
ducting the election shall proceed publicly to determine by lot which
of the candidates shall be elected. The returns of the election shall
be made to the mayor, who shall issue certificates to those elected,
countersigned by the clerk. All contests shall be tried and finally
determined by the council.

There shall be a meeting of the council on the first Monday in
July succeeding the election, at which meeting the mayor and coun-
cilmen shall qualify by taking the oath of office before the clerk or
a justice of the peace; and the council at the said meeting, or as
soon thereafter as may be expedient, shall appoint a clerk and ser-
geant, who shall hold office until the first day of July succeeding
their appointment, and until their successors are appointed and
qualified.

The sergeant shall execute bond before the mayor, with approved
sureties, payable to the said town, and in such penalty as the coun-
cil may prescribe, and conditioned for the faithful discharge of his
duties. ;

If any person elected or appointed to any office shall fail to qual-
ify on or before the day on which he is to enter upon the duties of
his office, or shall fail to execute the bond required of him for ten
days thereafter, the said office shall be declared vacant, and the va-
cancy shall be filled by the council.

3. The mayor shall preside over the meetings of the council, voting
only in case of a tie, and shall have the jurisdiction and exercise al!
the power in civil and criminal cases of a justice of the peace, in
addition to the powers conferred on him by this act, and he shal)
receive the like fees for his services asa justiceof the peace. It shall be
his duty tocommunicate to the council, at the end of each fiscal year
or oftener if required by the council, a statement of the government
of the said town and its financial condition, with such recommenda.
tions as he may deem proper. He shall exercise supervision ove:
the conduct of subordinate officers, have power to investigate thei:
acts, have access to their official books and documents, and shal
have power to suspend or remove such officers for misconduct ir
office or neglect of duty upon giving him five days’ notice in writing
and shall report his action to the council at the next meeting; bu
in no case shall it be final unless sustained by a majority of th.
whole council.
4. In the absence or inability of the mayor, the council shall elect
one of its members at a stated meeting as president pro tempore,
who shall possess the same power and discharge the duties of the
mayor and receive the same fees during such absence or inability.

5. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor, the
council shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

6. The mayor or any three members of the council may call a
special meeting of the council.

7. The council shall by ordinance fix the time of its stated meet-
ings, and no business shall be transacted at a special meeting ex-
cept that for which it shall be called. The council shall audit the
accounts of the town, and shall have authority to appoint policemen
and adopt rules for their government, and to appoint such commit-
tees as they may deem proper for the transaction of business; to
compel the attendance of members; tu punish them for disorderly
conduct, and, by a vote of two-thirds of the whole council, to expel a
member for malfeasance or misfeasance In office. A majority of the
members shall constitute a quorum, but ro ordinance or resolution
shall be passed appropriating money except by the concurrence of
five members on a recorded vote.

The council may use the Prince William county jail, and the
jailer is authorized to receive into the said jail all persons committed
to his custody by lawful authority; and the jailer shall receive the
same fees and be paid the same board for such prisoners by the cor-
poration of Manassas as are now allowed by law to be paid out of
the treasury of the state.

The council shall have control and management of the fiscal and
municipal affairs of the said town and of all property belonging to
the town; and may make such ordinances and by-laws relating to
the same as they shall deem proper; and they shall have power to
make such ordinances and by-laws as they may deem proper and
necessary to carry out the following powers which are hereby vested
in the said council—to-wit: To erect and keep in order all public
buildings necessary for the said town; to establish water works
within or without the limits of the town; to open and improve
streets, avenues or alleys, and have them kept in good order and
properly lighted; to prevent the cumbering of streets, sidewalks or
alleys, lanes or bridges in-the said town in any manner whatever;
to regulate and restrain the rate of speed of locomotive engines and
cars within the said town; to secure the inhabitants from conta-
gious, infectious or other dangerous diseases; to establish, erect and
regulate hospitals; to provide for and enforce the removal of
patients to said hospitals; to abate nuisances within the said town
at the expense of the person causing the same, or the owner of the
ground whereon the same shall be; to prevent and regulate
slaughter-houses or the exercise of any dangerous, offensive
or unhealthy business or trade therein. If any ground in said
town shall be subject to be covered with stagnant water, or if
any ground which has been or shall be dug out or dammed up
for ice-ponds, fish-ponds or ponds of any kind whatsoever and the
water therein allowed to become stagnant, or if the owner or occu-
pier thereof shall permit any offensive or unwholesome substance to
accumulate and remain thereon, the council may cause such ponds
to be filled up or properly drained and such substance to be covered
or removed, and may collect the expense therefor from the said
owner or occupier, by distress and gale, in the same manner in
which taxes are collected: provided reasonable notice shall be given
to the owner or his agents, and in case of non-residents, who have no
agents, such notice shall be by publication for two weeks in some
newspaper published in the said town: and provided further, that in
cases when such nuisance is caused by the action of the town au-
thorities the town shall pay the expense of abating the same: to
regulate the exhibition of fireworks, the discharge of firearms and
explosives, the use of lights in barns, stables and other buildings,
and to restrict the making of bonfires in streets or yards; to prevent
hogs, dogs and other animals from running at large in said town,
and subject the same to such regulations and taxes as they may
deem proper; to prevent the riding or driving of horses or other
animals at an improper speed, throwing stones, hooting, yelling and
playing ball in the streets, or engaging in any employment or sport
in the streets, sidewalks or public alleys dangerous or annoying to
persons, and to punish the abuse or cruel treatment of horses or other
animals in the said town; to restrain and punish drunkenness,
vagrancy and street begging; to prevent vice and immorality; to
preserve the public peace and good order; to prevent and quell riots,
disturbances and disorderly assemblages; to suppress houses of
ill-fame and gambling-houses; to prevent and punish lewd and in-
decent conduct or exhibitions in said town, and for any violation
of any such ordinances may impose fines in addition to those pre-
scribed by the laws of the state.

8. Any member of the council who shall voluntarily absent him-
self from its meetings consecutively for three months, the office shall
be declared vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled by the council.

9. The police force shall be under the control of the mayor for the
purpose of enforcing peace and order, and each policeman shall have
the same power as a constable in criminal cases. The pay and regu-
lations of said police shall be prescribed by the council.

10. When by the provisions of this act the council have authority
to pass ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe any penalty
not exceeding one hundred dollars, and may imprison offenders in
the county jail for a term not exceeding ninety days, which fines
and costs shall be prosecuted in the name of the town of Manassas,
or the offenders may be compelled to work on the streets or other
public improvements of the town until the said fine and costs shall be
paid.

11. The council shall not take or use any private proverty without
making to the owner thereof just compensation for the same; and
whenever the council cannot obtain title thereto the council shal]
apply to the circuit or county court of Prince William county for
authority to condemn the same, which shall be proceeded with ac-
cording to law.
12. In every case where a street or alley in said town shall here-
ifter be encroached upon by any fence, building or otherwise, the
-ouncil may require the owner or occupier of the premises to remove
he same, and if such removal js not made within the time pre-
scribed by the council, the council may cause the encroachment to
ne removed and collect the expenses thereof, with costs, from the
ywher, in the same manner as taxes are collected. No encroach-
nent hereafter made upon any street or alley, however long contin-
1ed, shall constitute any adverse possession or confer any right upon
he person claiming thereunder as against the said town.

13. If any person, having been an officer of the said town, shall
1ot, within ten days after he shall have vacated the office, and upon
the request of the clerk, or within such time thereafter as the coun-
cil may allow, deliver over to his successor all property, moneys,
o900ks and papers belonging to the town or appertaining to such
fice in his possession or under his control, he shall forfeit to the
flown a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, to be sued for and
recovered, with costs; and all books, records and documents used in
and pertaining to such office shall be deemed the property of the said
town.

14. No license shall be granted to any person, club or corporation
to sell ardent spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture thereof, or bitters
containing alcohol, either by wholesale, retail or to be drunk at the
place where sold, within the corporate limits of the said town, unless
the applicant shall produce before the court authorized to grant such
license the writen consent of the council and recommendation from
the said council that the applicant is a corporation under the laws of
the state, or that the person is sober, discreet and of good moral
character, and that the place is suitable and convenient; and if the
applicant desires a retail license, that the sum of fifty dollars has
been paid into the town treasury; or, if the said applicant de-
sires a bar-room license, that the sum of fifty dollars has been
paid into the town treasury; or, if the applicant desires a re-
tail and bar-room license, that the sum of seventy-five dollars has
been paid into the town treasury; or, if the applicant desires a
wholesale license, that the sum of seventy-five dollars has been
paid into the town treasury; and in no case shall it be lawful
for the said court to grant any such license outside of the corpora-
tion, and within one mile of the corporate limits. Any person who
shall, without first procuring a license as aforesaid, sell wine, ardent
spirits, malt liquors, or any mixture thereof, or alcoholic bitters
within the corporate limits of the said town, or within one mile of
the same, shall be fined twenty dollars for each offence; and if such
fine and costs be not paid at once, the offender shall be forthwith
committed to the county jail until the said fine and costs be paid. The
wayor shall have jurisdiction to try all violations under this section ;
and all fines imposed by him shall be for the benefit of the said town,
and the mayor shall require any person violating the provisions of
this section to give bond, with good security, in a reasonable sum, to
be of good behavior during the twelve months next succeeding; and
in default of such bond the mayor shall commit the person to the
county jail until ke shall] give such bond.
15. The sergeant shall have and exercise the power of a constable
and shall receive the like fee for his services as a constable, and
shall collect the town taxes, levies and assessments and all fines im-
posed by the mayor, and the mayor, sergeant and policemen in
criminal and police matters shall have jurisdiction for one mile
from the corporate limits of the town. The sergeant shall keep his
books and accounts in such manner as the council may prescribe,
and such books and accounts shall always be subject to the inspec-
tion of the mayor, the council or any committee thereof, or any tax-
payer of the saidtown. He shall pay no money except on a warrant
signed by the clerk and countersigned by the mayor, and shall keep
a separate account of such fund and appropriation. He shall report
to the council at the end of each fiscal year, and oftener if required
by the council, a detailed account of all receipts and expenditures,
and publish the same in any newspaper published in the said town.
He shall receive as his compensation for collecting and disbursing
the revenue five per centum on the amount collected, and such addi-
tional compensation as will not exceed one hundred and fifty dol-
lars per annum: provided said commissions do not amount to one
hundred and fifty dollars exclusive of his fees. He shall hold all
special assessments as a special fund to be applied to the payment
of the indebtedness for which the assessment was made, and for no
other purpose.

16. No person shall be allowed to qualify as sergeant until he shal]
have satisfactorily settled his accounts for the preceding year, and
if such settlement be not made, the office shall be declared vacant,
and the vacancy shall be filled by the council.

17. The clerk of the council shall attend the meetings of the coun-
cil and keep a record of the proceedings properly indexed, and shall
have the custody of the corporate seal of said town. He shall have
the custody of all papers and books belonging to the said town. He
shall furnish the mayor a copy of every ordinance, resolution or
order which he may require. He shall make out warrants for all
claims allowed by the council. He shall publish such reports and
ordinances as the council are by this act required to publish, and
such other reports and ordinances as the council may direct. He
shall make out a list of the tax-payers and of the real and personal
property in the said town, based on the assessments made by the
commissioner of the revenue of the county of Prince William, and
shall place on the said list any tax-payer and any real and personal
property omitted by the said commissioner of the revenue, with a
fair valuation of the said property, and shall issue tickets for the
taxes imposed by the council and deliver the same to the sergeant
for collection and take his receipt therefor, and the clerk shall issue
a license to every person engaged in any business for which a license
shall be required within the said town, under such regulations as the
council may prescribe, and shall furnish a list of such licenses to
the sergeant, and the clerk shall receive such compensation as the
council may allow, not exceeding seventy-five dollars per annum.

18. The council may, in the name of and for the use of said town,
contract loans and issue bonds for such improvements as are herein
authorized: provided no such loans shall be contracted except by a
two-thirds vote of the council, and which shall be endorsed by a ma-
jority of the freehold voters voting on the question, and no bonds shall
be issued for a greater period than ten years: and provided, further,
that in no case shall the aggregate indebtedness of the town exceed
at any time fifteen per centum of the assessed value of the real and
personal property within the said town. All contracts for the erec-
tion of public buildings and improvements shall be let to the lowest
responsible bidder, after advertisement for thirty days in any news-
paper published in the said town, and the party to whom such con-
tract shall be let shall give such bond as the council may require;
but no member of the council or officer of the town shall have any
interest in such contract.

19. The council may raise taxes annually by assessments on the male
inhabitants of the said town over the age of twenty-one years, and on
all real and personal property in the said town liable to taxation, and
on all subjects taxable by the state such sums of money as shall be
necessary to defray the expenses of the town: provided that the
taxes on real and personal property shall not exceed one dollar upon
one hundred dollars of the assessed value thereof: and provided,
further, that the tax on each male inhabitant of the said town over
twenty-one years shall not exceed fifty cents: and provided, further,
that the said tax-payers shall be exempt from the county road tax
and the county capitation tax; and the council shall have power to
require labor from al] male inhabitants of the said town between the
ages of sixteen and sixty years, for two days in each year, to aid in
keeping the streets in order, or the said inhabitants may, in lieu of
the said two days’ work, pay seventy-five cents for each day, and the
mayor shall have power to enforce such labor by fine.

20. All taxes shall be due and payable on the first day of Decem-
ber; and a penalty of five per centum shall be added on all taxes
that remain unpaid on the first day of March following, and on the
thirtieth of June following the sergeant shall return a statement of
the delinquents and make his annual settlement with the council.

21. Any payment of taxes by tenant shall be a credit against his
landlord.

All goods and chattels wheresoever found may be distrained and
sold for taxes assessed thereon, and no deed of trust or mortgage
thereon shall prevent the same from being distrained and sold for
taxes assessed against the grantor in such deed.

22. There shall bea lien on real estate for the taxes assessed thereon
from the commencement of the fiscal year for which they were as-
sessed. The council may require real estate in the town delinquent
for the non-payment of the taxes to be sold for said taxes, with interest
at the rate of six per centum per annum, and such per centum as
the council may prescribe for charges. Such realestate may be sold
and may be redeemed in the manner provided by law.

23. The council may organize a volunteer fire department for the
town, and make rules and regulations for the government of the same,
and may make such ordinances as they may deem proper to extin-
guish and prevent f fire, to prevent property from being stolen and to
require citizens to render assistance to the fire department in case of
need.

24. The council shall by ordinance provide for any elections not
herein provided for, and shall appoint the necessary officers to con-
duct the same.

25. The present officers of the town shall be clothed with al! the
powers herein granted until the qualification of the officers as herein
provided for.

26. No penalty shall be imposed under any ordinance passed by
the council by virtue of this act until said ordinance has been pub-
lished in some newspaper in said town or by handbills posted in pub-
lic places within the said town.

27. And be it further enacted, That all fines heretofore imposed
and which may hereafter be imposed by the mayor shall be for the
benefit of the said town.

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