Chap. 558.—An ACT to amend the charter of the city of Lynchburg, and to add
another chapter to the charter of said city creating the office of police jus-
tice.

Approved March 2, 1894.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That chapter
four of an act approved on the third of March, eighteen hundred
and eighty, and amended on the eighteenth day of May, eighteen
hundred and eighty-seven, entitled an act to amend and re-enact the
charter of the city of Lynchburg, be amended and re-enacted so as
to read as follows:

CuHaPrer IV.

Corporation court; mayor—his duties, and so forth.

§ 1. The jurisdiction of the corporation court shall extend to the
corporate limits of the city and to a space of one mile without and
around said limits, except that the same shall not extend further
into the county of Amherst than the corporate line.

§ 2. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city
for the term of two years; his salary shall be fixed by the ordinances
of the city, and paid as therein directed. The salary of the mayor
shall not be diminished during his term of office.
§ 3. The mayor shall be executive head of the city government,
and as such shal! have the supervision over the conduct of muni-
cipal officers and the control over the general affairs of the city
granted and prescribed by the constitution and laws of the state of
Virginia. He shall further discharge all other executive duties and
functions properly pertaining to bis office, or which may be imposed
thereon by the ordinances of the city, and whenever in the discharge
of any duty prescribed or power granted by the constitution and laws
of the state he shall remove or suspend any officer of the city, he
shall report the fact, with his reasons therefor, to the next regular
meeting of the council of the city thereafter held.

§ 4. It shall be his duty to give a general supervision over the
rights, franchises, property and affairs of the city of Lynchburg,
and to carefully inspect and supervise the different departments and
offices connected with its government, and to see that, as to such de-
partments and offices, the ordinances, orders and resolutions of the
citv council are duly executed.

§ 5. The mayor shall annually furnish the council, at its Febru-
ary session, a report of his transactions during the past twelve
mouths, together with such recommendations in regard to the man-
agement and control of the different departments of the municipal
government as he may deem to the best interests of the city; and
he shall, at any other time when called upon so to do by the coun-
cil, or when he may deem it advisable, carefully investigate and
fully report to the council all requisite information in regard to any
matter connected with the government of the city or the welfare of
the community, and any recommendation in regard thereto which
he may think proper.

§ 6. Every general ordinance and every ordinance, resolution, mo-
tion or other proceeding looking to the appropriation of money (ex-
cept for the payment of salaried officers), the imposition of taxes
or assessments shall be presented to the mayor for his approval or
disapproval. If he approve the same, he shall sign it and forthwith
return it; if he shall disapprove it, he shall, within three days (Sun-
davs excepted), return it to the council, with his objections in writ-
ing, and the clerk of the council shall immediately endorse on it
the exact date of such return. If the mayor shal! fail so to return
within three days any such act, ordinance, resolution or proceeding,
with his approval or his objections, the same shall take effect as if
it had been approved and returned as aforesaid.

§ 7. The corporation court of the city may remove the mayor from
office for malfeasance, misfeasance and gross neglect of official duty,
and such removal shall be deemed a vacation of the office. All pro-
ceedings under this section shall be by order of or motion before said
court, upon reasonable notice to the party to be affected thereby.

; 8. In case a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor, the same shall
be filled by the council until such vacancy is filled by an election
by the people, according to law.

2. Be it further enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
an additional chapter shall be added to the said charter of the oity
of Lynchburg, to be known as chapter five, and that all other chap-
ters of the said charter subsquent to the same shal! be altered in their
enumerations so as to conform hereto. The said chapter shall read
as follows:

CHAPTER V.
Police justice—his duties, and so forth.

81. The council of the city of Lynchburg shall, at its regular
meeting in the month of June, eighteen hundred and ninety-four,
elect an officer who shall be called the police justice of the city, who
shall hold his office until the first of August, eighteen hundred and
ninety-five, or until his successor is elected. The successor to the
police justice to be elected in June, eighteen hundred and ninety-
four, shal] be elected by the said council in the month of July, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-five, at the time at which it elects the other
officers of the city which are elected by it, and the justice so elected
shall hold his office from the first of the succeeding August for two
years, and thereafter said police justice shall be elected by the said
council every two years, at the time it elects the other officers of the
city which are elected by it.

The salary of said justice shall be fixed by the said council before
his election, and shall not be diminished during the term of his
office.

§ 2. The said justice shall have all the powers and duties of a
justice of the peace of the state of Virginia in both civil and crim-
inal cases, and in addition to the said powers and duties it shall be
his duty to enforce the penal laws and ordinances of the city and
all like orders and resolutions of the council; his jurisdiction shall
extend to the same territory as that of the corporation court for the
city of Lynchburg. In enforcing the laws and ordinances of the city
he shall have authority to impose and collect all fines and penalties
and inflict such other punishments as by said laws and ordinances
are ordained as a penalty for any breach thereof.

§ 3. In civil suits within his jurisdiction his power shall be the
game witha justice of the peace, except that the maximum limit of
such jurisdiction shall be one hundred dollars, and when the mat-
ter in controversy does not exceed twenty dollars his judgment shall
be final.

§ 4. An appeal may be taken from the judgment of the police jus-
tice in imposing penalties for infraction of the city ordinances to
the corporation court of the city, except in cases where the penalty
imposed is a fine not exceeding twenty dollars, in which case it shall
be final.

§ 5. He shall have power to enforce the payment of any fine or
penalty imposed by him for any infraction of a city ordinance by
imprisonment in the city jail.

§ 6. He shall hold a court every day, except Sunday, to take cogni-
zance of such cases as may be brought before him under the laws of
the state or the ordinances of the city.

§ 7. The said justice shall perform any other duties and have any
other jurisdiction which may be assigned him by the city council,
not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the state: pro-
vided his civil jurisdiction shall not exceed the limits as to terri-
tory and amount hereinbefore set forth.

§ 8. In case of the absence from the city, or inability to act, on
the part of the police justice, the council may designate some per-
son to act in his place, who, when acting, shall possess the same
powers and discharge the same duties as said justice.

§ 9. Any vacancy occurring in the office of police justice may be
filled by the council; and said police justice may be removed by the
mayor for malfeasance, misfeasance and gross neglect of official duty;
and such a removal shall be deemed a vacation of the office, but all
proceedings under this section shall be by order of or motion be-
fore the said mayor, upon reasonable notice to the party to be affected
thereby.

§ 10. The said police justice before entering upon the duties of
his office shall give a bond, payable to the city of Lynchburg, in the
penalty of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful per-
formance of his duties, and with security to be approved by the
council of said city.

2. This act shall take effect from June first, eighteen hundred and
ninety-four; and all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this are
hereby repealed.