Chap. 576.—An ACT entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act, approved
July 9, 1870, and to amend and re-enact an act, approved March 21, 1877, and
to amend and re-enact an act, approved February 17, 1890, and to re-enact
an act, approved January 29, 1894, relating to the charter of the town of
Harrisonburg.

Approved March 8, 1896.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act to
amend and re-enact an act, approved July ninth, eighteen hundred
and seventy, and to amend and re-enact an act, approved March
twenty-one, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and to amend and
re-enact an act, approved February seventeen, eighteen hundred and
ninety, and to re-enact an act, approved January twenty-nine, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-four, relating to the charter of the town of
Harrisonburg, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

The corporate limits of the town of Harrisonburg, in the county
of Rockingham, as heretofore established by law, are hereby ex-
tended, re-arranged, and established as by a plat and survey of said
town reported to the council thereof, as made by John H. Rolston,
surveyor of Rockingham county, on the fourteenth day of February,
eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, with the following metes and
bounds, namely:

Beginning at a fence-post in Sullivan’s and Liskey’s line north
four degrees, east four and one-half poles from the northeast corner
of Thomas Swanson’s house; thence north twelve and one-half de-
grees, east two hundred and twenty-eight poles, passing through
Hilltop farm, east of the buildings, to a cherry tree on the line be-
tween Hilltop and P. Liggett’s land; thence north fifty-five and one-
quarter degrees, west one hundred and eighty-five poles, crossing the
Valley turnpike to a large white oak, M. Harvey Effinger’s corner,
northwest of Yeakle’s house; thence with Effinger’s line north forty-
five degrees, west fifty-five poles to the corner of the stone fence on
the east side of the Kratzer road; thence with the said stone fence
south twenty-seven degrees, west eighty-three and three-quarter
poles, crossing the railroad and the Kratzer road to a sycamore tree
by D. S. Jones’ fence on the west side of the road; thence south sev-
enty-five degrees, west two hundred and eleven poles, crossing the
Harrison road and passing north of the Waternam house to two
rocks in the hollow (note eighty-five degrees, west from the west
corner of said house); thence south twenty degrees, west three hun-
dred and eighty poles, passing west of J. Miller’s to a spring and
four white oaks in Kyle’s field, west of the brick house; thence
south thirty-seven and one-quarter degrees, east one hundred and
sixty-one poles, crossing the Warm Springs and Valley turnpikes to
the end of the stone fence at the west corner of Dr. Newman’s field
and at the toll-gate; thence with the fence on the east side of the
Port Republic road south thirty degrees, east eighty-one poles to a
white oak on top of the hill; thence north fifty-three degrees, east
three hundred and forty-seven poles, passing through the lands of
Dr. Newman and Isaac Paul to a walnut in Paul’s field, about one
pole from the line-fence between said Paul and Henry Ott; thence
north sixty-two degrees, east two hundred and thirty poles, crossing
the Rockingham turnpike to the beginning, embracing one thou-
sand four hundred and fifty acres.

2. The municipal authorities of said town shall be a mayor, a
recorder, and nine councilmen, who together shall form a common
council.

3. The mayor, recorder and councilmen, as soon as they ‘shall be
elected and qualified as hereinafter provided, shall be a body politic
and corporate by the name of the town of Harrisonburg, and shall
have perpetual succession and a common seal, and by that name
may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, may purchase and
hold real estate, and sell and convey the bame, needful for the pub-
lic good, and may exercise all the powers of said corporation except
where otherwise provided: provided that at each biennial election
held under this act there shall be elected a town sergeant, town
treasurer and assessor, who shal] kold their offices for the term of
two years and until their successors are elected and qualified.

4. The mayor, recorder and councilmen shall be elected by the
citizens of said corporation who are by the laws of this state enti-
tled to vote for members of the general assembly and who shall
have resided in the said town for three months next preceding the
election.

5. Their term of office shall be for two years (except when to fill
vacancies) and until their sUCCessOTS have been elected and quali-

8

6. The mayor, recorder and councilmen must be citizens of the
town entitled to vote for members of the common council.

7. The first election under this act shall be on the fourth Thursday
in July, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, in the town of Harrison-
burg, at the court-house; and biennially thereafter there shall be an
election of the officers of said town, on the fourth Thursday in July,
at such place and under rules and regulations and subject to such
provisions as the council may prescribe.

8. All vacancies occurring from any cause in the offices of common
councilmen shall be filled by appointment by the council.

9. The manner of conducting all elections under this act shall, so
far as the same are not in conflict herewith, be the same as pre-
scribed by the general election law of the state for the election of
county officers; and in case of a tie the council shall decide between
the candidates, and shall also hear and decide all contested elections.

10. A majority of the whole number of officers mentioned in the
second section of this act shall be necessary to the transaction of
any business whatever.

11. The officers herein mentioned shall each, within ten days after
receiving the certificate of his election, take and subscribe an oath
that he will truly, faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of
his said office so long as he shall continue therein. The recorder
shall take such oath before some person authorized to administer the
same, and shall thereupon be authorized to administer the same to
other officers, and shall keep a record thereof in the the journal of
the council. And if any of these officers shall fail within ten days
so to qualify his office shall be vacant; and whenever a majority of
the members of the common council shall have qualified they shall
enter upon their said offices and shall supersede the former council
of said town.

12. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town
of Harrisonburg for the term of two years and until his successor
shall be elected and qualified, and no person shall be qualified to
hold the office of mayor except such as shall be qualified to hold
office under the constitution of this state. His salary shall be fixed
by the town council, payable at stated periods, and no regulation
increasing or diminishing such compensation after it has been once
fixed shall be made to take effect until after the expiration of the
term for which the mayor then in office shall have been elected.
The salary of the mayor when fixed shall so continue until changed
by the town council as aforesaid.

13. It shall be his duty to communicate to the council annually,
as soon as may be after the fiscal year, and oftener if he shall deem
it expedient or be required by said council, a general statement of
the situation and condition of the town in relation to its government,
finances and improvements, with such recommendations as he may
deem proper.

14, He shall exercise a constant supervision over the conduct of
all subordinate officers, have power and authority to investigate
their acts, have access to all books and documents in their offices,
and may examine said officers and their subordinates on oath. He
shall also have power to suspend all officers elected by the council
until the next regular meeting of the council for misconduct in
office or neglect of duty, to be specified in the order of suspension,
and of the suspension of such officer or officers the mayor shall re-
port the same, with his reasons therefor, to the council at their next
regular meeting.

15. In case of the absence or inability of the mayor the recorder
shall possess the same powers and discharge the municipal duties of
the mayor during such absence or inability.

16. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor the coun-
cil shall elect a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the first
general election which may be held in the town thereafter, when the
vacancy shall be filled by election.

17. He shall have jurisdiction to try all violations of the town
ordinances, and inflict such punishments and impose such fines as
may be prescribed for a violation of the same, and in all criminal
cases occurring within the town he shall exercise aJl the powers and
authority of a justice of the peace of the county of Rockingham
and be entitled to the fees in such cases by law allowed to justices
of the peace.

18. The council of the town shall be composed of nine members,
who shall be residents of the town and qualified to hold office. They
shall be elected and hold their office for two years.

19. In case of any vacancy happening in the town council by
death, resignation, removal or otherwise the council shall elect by
ballot a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the next election
which may be held in the town.

20. When from any cause the mayor shall be absent the council
shall elect a president pro tempore, who shall preside over the coun-
cil during the absence of the mayor. The minutes and record of
the proceedings of the council shall be signed by the mayor. The
mayor shall have power to call a meeting of the council whenever
he deems it necessary, and in case of his absence or inability or re-
fusal the council may be convened by the order, in writing, of any
three members of the council.

21. The council shall, by ordinance or resolution, fix the time for
their stated meetings; and no business shall be transacted at a
special meeting but that for which it shall be called.

22. The council shall have authority to adopt such rules and ap-
point such officers or committees as they shall deem proper for the
regulation of their proceedings and for the convenient transaction
of business; to compel the attendance of absent members; to pun-
ish its members for disorderly behavior; and, by a vote of three-
fourths of the whole council, to expel a member for malfeasance in
office. They shall keep a minute book in which the recorder shall,
in a brief manner, note the proceedings of the council, and shall
record said proceedings at large on the record book, and keep the
same properly indexed. The meetings of the council shall be open
except when the public welfare shall require secrecy.

23. A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business; but no ordinance shall be
passed nor resolution adopted, having for its object the appropriation
or borrowing of money, except by the concurrence of at least eight
members; and upon the demand of any member, on the passage of
any ordinance or resolution, the yeas and nays shall be taken and
entered on the record. No vote or question decided at a stated
meeting shall be reconsidered or rescinded at a special meeting
unless there be at least nine members present, and seven of them
shall concur.

24. The town council shall have, subject to the provisions of this
act, the control and management of the fiscal and municipal affairs
of the town, and of all property, real and personal, belonging to said
town, and may make such ordinances, orders and by-laws relating
to the same as they shall deem proper and necessary; and they shall
likewise have power to make such ordinances, orders, by-laws and
regulations as they may deem necessary and proper to carry out the
following powers which are hereby vested in them:

First. To establish a market, or markets, in and for said town and
appoint proper officers therefor; prescribe the time and places for
holding the same, provide suitable buildings and grounds therefor,
and to enforce such regulations as shall be necessary and proper to
prevent huckstering, forestalling or regrating.

Second. To erect and provide, in or near said town, suitable work-
houses, houses of correction and reformation, and houses for the
reception and maintenance of the poor and destitute; and they
shall possess and exercise authority over all persons within the
limits of the town receiving or entitled to the benefit of the poo:
laws; appoint necessary officers and other persons proper to be con-
nected with the aforesaid institutions, and regulate pauperism
within the limits of the town; and the council, through the agency
they shall appoint for the direction and management of the poor of
the town, shall exercise the powers ‘and perform the duties vested by
law in overseers of the poor.

Third. To erect and keep in order all public buildings necessary
and proper for said town; to erect within the town a town prison;
and said prison shall contain such apartments as shall be necessary
for the safe-keeping and employment of all persons confined therein.

Fourth. To establish, enlarge or operate a system of sewerage,
water-works, gas-works, telephone-works and electric-light works
within or without the limits of the town; to contract or agree with
the owners of any land for the use and purchase thereof, or to have
the same condemned according to law, within or without the town, for
the location, extension and enlargement of their said works, the
pipes or wires connected therewith, or any of the appurtenances or
fixtures thereof; and shall have power to protect from injury, by
ordinances prescribing adequate penalties, the works, pipes, fixtures
and land, or anything connected therewith, whether within or with-
out the limits of the said town.

Fifth. To close or extend, widen or narrow, lay out, graduate, curb
and pave, and otherwise improve streets, sidewalks, and public alleys
in the town, and have them kept in good order and properly lighted ;
and over any street or alley in the town which has been or may be
ceded to the town, or conveyed to the town, by proper deed they shall
have like power and authority as over other streeta and alleys; they
may build bridges in and culverts under said streets, and may pre-
vent or remove any structure, obstruction, or encroachment over or
under or in any street, sidewalk, or alley in said town; and may
permit shade-trees to be planted along said streets; but no com-
pany shall occupy with its works or appurtenances thereof the
streets, sidewalks, or alleys of the town without the consent of the
council, duly entered of record; and wherever, in the construction
of any sewer or duc}, it is necessary that the same should pass
through or under private property, the said council shall have au-
thority to contract and agree with the owners thereof for the use and
purchase of the right of way through or under the same, or have the
same condemned according to law, and in the meantime no order
shall be made and no injunction shall be awarded by any court or
judge to stay the proceedings of the town in the prosecution of its
work, unless it be manifest that they, their officers, agents, or ser-
vants are transcending the authority given them by this act, and
that the interposition of the court is necessary to prevent injury
that cannot be adequately compensated for in damages. The said
council shall also have power to authorize the laying down of rail-
way tracks and the running of cars thereon by horse power, elec-
tricity, or other motive power, in the streets of the town, under such
regulations as the council may prescribe.

Sixth. To prevent the cumbering of streets, sidewalks, alleys,
lanes, or bridges in the town in any manner whatever, and to have
full and complete control of the same.

Seventh. To determine and designate the route and grade of any
railroad to be laid in said town, and to restrain and regulate the
speed of bicycles, traction engines, locomotives, engines and cars
upon the railroads within said town, and may wholly exclude such
engines or cars, if they please, provided that no contract be hereby
violated.

Eighth. To make provision for and regulate the weighing of hay,
fodder, oats, shucks, or other long forage; they may also provide for
measuring corn, oats, grain, coal, stone, wood, lumber, boards, pota-
toes, and other articles for sale or barter.

Ninth. To require every merchant, retailer, trader and dealer in
merchandise, or property of any description which is sold by
measure or weight, to cause their weights and measures to be sealed
by the town sealer and to be subject to his inspection, and may im-
pose penalties for any violation of any such ordinance.

Tenth. To secure the inhabitants from contagious, infectious or
other dangerous diseases; to establish, erect and regulate hospitals;
to provide for and enforce the removal of patients to said hospitals ;
to appoint and organize a board of health for said town, with the
authority necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of its

uties.

Eleventh. To require and compel the abatement and removal of all
nuisances within said town at the expense of the person or persons
causing the same, or the owner or owners of the ground whereon the
same shall be; to prevent and regulate slaughter-houses and soap and
candle factories and tanneries within said town, or the exercise of any
dangerous, offensive or unhealthy business, trade or employment
therein, and to regulate the transportation of coal and other articles
through the streets of said town.

Twelfth. If any ground in the said town shall be subject to be
covered with stagnant water, or if the owner or owners, or occupiers
or occupiers, thereof shall permit any offensive or unwholesome sub-
stance to remain or accumulate therein, the council may cause such
grounds to be filled up, raised or drained, pr may cause such sub-
stance to be covered, or to be removed therefrom, and may collect
the expense of so doing from the said owner or owners, occupier or
occupiers, or any of them, by distress and sale, in the same manner
in which taxes levied upon real estate for the benefit of said town
are authorized to be collected; provided, that reasonable notice shall
first be given to said owners or their agents. In case of non-resi-
dent owners who have no agent in said town, such notice may be
given by publication for not less than four weeks in any newspaper
printed in said town.

Thirteenth. To direct the location of all buildings for storing
gunpowder, fire-crackers or other fire-works manufactured or prepared
therefrom, kerosene oil, nitro-glycerine, camphene, burning fluid or
other combustible material; to regulate the exhibition of fire-works,
the discharge of fire-arms, the use of candles and lights in barns,
stables and other buildings, and to regulate or restrain the making
of bonfires in streets and yards.

Fourteenth. To prevent horses, cattle, hogs, dogs and all other
animals from running at large in said town, and may subject the
same to such confiscations, regulations and taxes as they may deem
proper; and the council may prohibit the raising and keeping of
hogs in the town or any part thereof.

Fifteenth. To prevent the riding or driving of horses or animals
at an improper speed, throwing stones, or the engaging in any em-
ployment or sport on the streets, sidewalks or public alleys danger-
ous or annoying to passengers, and to prohibit and punish the abuse
or cruel treatment of horses or other animals in said town.

Sixteenth. To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and street
beggars; to prevent vice and immorality, obscenity and profanity ;
to preserve peace and good order; to prevent and quell riots, dis-
turbances and disorderly assemblages; to suppress houses of ill-
fame and gambling houses; to prevent and punish lewd, indecent
and disorderly conduct or exhibitions in said town, and to expel
therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided
therein as much as one year.

Seventeenth. To prevent, forbid and punish the selling or giving
of liquors and intoxicating drinks to be drunk in any place not duly
licensed, and the selling or giving to be drunk any intoxicating
liquor to any child or minor, and the selling or giving of cigarettes
to any minor under sixteen years of age, without the consent
in writing of his or her parents or guardian; and for any vio-
lation of any such ordinance may impose fines in addition to those
prescribed by the Jaw of the state.

Eighteenth. To prevent the coming into the town of persons
having no ostensible means of support and of persons who may be
dangerous to the peace and safety of the town, and for this may
require any railroad company, or stage company, or any person or
persons, bringing such persons to said town to enter into bond, with
satisfactory security, that said persons shall not become chargeable
to the town for the period of one year thereafter, or may require and
compel said company or persons to take them back from whence
they brought them, and compel said persons to leave the town, pro-
vided that such order to leave be issued within thirty days after
their arrival.

25. Where, by the provisions of this act, the council have author-
ity to pass ordinances on any subject, they may prescribe any pen-
alty, not exceeding five hundred dollars, for violation thereof, and
may provide that the offender, on failing to pay the penalty recov:
ered, shall be imprisoned in the jail of the town, or in the jail o!
Rockingham county, for any term not exceeding ninety days, whick
penalty may be prosecuted and recovered, with costs, in the name of
the town of Harrisonburg; and the town council may subject the
parent or guardian of any minor, or the mistress or master of any
apprentice, to any such penalty for any such offence committed by
any such minor or apprentice.

26.. No ordinance hereafter passed by said council, for the viola:
tion of which any penalty is imposed, shall take effect until the
same shall have been published either in one or more of the town
newspapers or by handbills, or as the council may order; such band-
bills shall be posted in at least ten public places in different locali-
ties in said town. A certificate of such posting shall be filed by the
chief of police in the office of said council; and all Jaws regulating
and ordinances of said council, certified by the clerk, may he read
in evidence in all courts of justice, and all proceedings before any
officer, body or board in which it shall be necessary to refer thereto,
but after the expiration of six months from the date of such ordi-
nance its publication shall not be questioned or its validity affected
by any failure to publish the same.

27. The town council shall not take or use any private property
for streets or other public purposes without making to the owner
thereof just compensation for the same; but in cases where the
council shall fail, by agreement, to obtain title to the ground for
such purposes, it shall be lawful for said council to apply to and
obtain from the circuit or county court of Rockingham county for
authority to condemn the same, which shall be applied for and pro-
ceeded with according to law.

28. In every case where a street in said town has been or shall be
encroached upon by any fence, building, or otherwise, the council
may require the owner, if known, or, if unknown, the occupant of
the premises encroaching, to remove the same; and if such removal
be not made within the time prescribed by the council they may
impose a penalty of five dollars for each and every day it is allowed
to continue thereafter, and may cause the encroachment to be re-
moved, and collect from the owner all reasonable charges therefor,
with costs, by the same process that they are hereinafter empowered
to collect taxes. No encroachments upon any street, however long
continued, shall constitute an adverse possession to or confer any
right upon the person claiming thereunder or against the said town.

29. Whenever any street, alley, or lane in said town shall be
opened to and used as such by the public for the period of five years,
unless notice of a contrary intention on the part of the land-owner
be given to the mayor of the town, the same shall hereby become a
street, alley, or lane for public purposes, and the council shall have
the same authority and jurisdiction over and rights and interest
therein as they have by law over the other streets, alleys, and lanes
laid out by them; and any street or alley reserved in the division of
subdivision into lots of any portion of the territory withi: the cor-
porate limits of said town by a plat or plan of record shall be deemed
and held to be dedicated to public use, unless it appears by said re-
cord that the street or alley so reserved is designed for private use;
but upon a petition of a majority of the persons interested therein
the council shall have the power to open the same for the use of the
public.

30. Whenever any new street shall be laid out, a street graded or
paved, a culvert built, or any other public improvement whatsoever
made, the council shall determine what portion, if any, of the ex-
pense thereof shall be paid out of the town treasury and what por-
tion by the owner of the real estate benefited thereby, and may
order and direct that the whole expense be assessed upon: the
owners of real estate benefited thereby. But no such public
improvement shall be made, to be defrayed in whole or in part
by local assessments until first requested by a petition signed
by the owners of at least three-fourths in value of property to be
assessed for such improvements, or unless three-fourths of all the
council shall concur in voting any improvements to be expedient, or
in determining to make the same, in which case no petition or re-
quest shall be necessary. The council shall have the same power to
collect such local assessments for improvements as are hereby
vested in them for the collection of taxes, except that said assess-
ment shall not be a personal debt of the owner of the property, but
only a lien on the real estate hereinafter provided. Whenever such
local assessments are levied by the council the recorder shall enter
in a book, to be provided by the town and kept in his office, the
name of the owner of said property, a description of the property,
the amount of such assessment, the date of the assessment and the
time when the same is payable, and such entry, when so made and
properly indexed in the name of the owner, shall be notice to all
parties, and especially to purchasers from said owner, of the lien of
the town upon said property for the amount of such assessment
from the time said list is recorded by the county clerk in a book
kept for the purpose in the clerk’s office of the county court of
Rockingham county, which book, and the fees for recording the
list in the same, shall be paid for by the town of Harrisonburg,
which lien may be enforced by bill in equity in the circuit court of
the county of Rockingham.

31. The council shall grant and pay to all town officers elected
under or appointed in pursuance of this act such salaries or com-
pensation as the said council may from time to time deem just and
proper.

32. If any person, having been an officer of said town, shall not
within ten days after he shall have vacated or been removed from
office, and upon notification and request of the mayor, or within such
time thereafter as the council shall allow, deliver over to his succes-
sor in office all property, books, and papers belonging to the town,
or appertaining to such office, in his possession or under his control,
he shall forfeit and pay to the town the sum of five hundred dollars,
to be sued for and recovered, with costs; and all books, records, and
documents used in any such office by virtue of any provision of this
act, or of any ordinance or order of the town council, or any supe-
rior officer of said town, shall be deemed the property of the said
town and appertain to said office, and the chief officer thereof shall
be responsible therefor.

33. There shall be one town treasurer, one assessor, and one ser-
geant for the town.

34. The town council may appoint, in addition to those herein pro-
vided for, such officers and clerks as they may deem proper and neces-
sary, and define their powers and prescribe their duties and fix their
compensation, and may take from any officer so appointed a bond, with
sureties to be approved by the council, in such penalty as they may
deem ‘proper, payable to the town by its corporate name, with con-
dition for the faithful discharge of said duties. All officers ap-
pointed by the council may be removed from office at their pleasure.
In case of any vacancies occurring in any municipal office, where it
is not herein otherwise provided, the town council shall elect a quali-
fied person to fill such office during the unexpired term; but two-
thirds of the council shall concur in creating any such office, or in
afterwards abolishing it.

35. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town of
Harrisonburg on the fourth Thursday in July next, and on the fourth
Thursday in July in every second year thereafter, one treasurer, who
shall hold office for the term of two years and until his successor be
elected and qualified, unless sooner removed from office. He shall
qualify before the council and give bond, with surety approved by
it, in a penalty to be determined by the council, but not less in any
case than double the amount that will probably be in the hands of
said treasurer as treasurer of the town at any one time.

36. The said treasurer shall receive all money belonging to the
town, and shall keep his office in some convenient place in the town.
He shall keep his books and accounts in such manner as the town
council may prescribe, and such books and accounts shall always be
subject to the inspection of the mayor and any member of the town
council, or any committee or committees thereof.

37. No money shall be paid out by the treasurer except upon a
warrant of the recorder of the council, countersigned by the mayor
of the council; and ‘he shall keep a separate account of each fund
on appropriation, and the debits and credits belonging thereto.

38. All moneys to be paid into the treasury of the town except
taxes and such other assessments as the town council may so or-
dain, shall be paid by the person liable to pay the same, or his
agent, to the treasurer in the following manner: A warrant shall
first be obtained from the recorder of the council directing the trea-
surer to receive the sum to be paid, specifying on what account the
payment is to be made; upon the payment of the money to the
treasurer he shall give a receipt for the same, which shall be carried
to the recorder, and his receipt therefor shall be the acquittance of
the party making the payment.

39. The treasurer shall also report to the town council at the end
of each fiscal year, and oftener if required, a full and detailed ac-
count of all receipts and expenditures during the preceding year,
and the state of the treasury. He shall also keep a register of ali
warrants—their dates, amount, number, the fund from which paid,
and the person to whom paid, specifying also the time of payment;
and all such warrants shall be examined at the time of making
such report to the town council by the finance committee thereof,
who shall examine and compare the same with the books of the re-
corder and report discrepancies, if any, to the town council.

40. The treasurer shall collect all taxes and assessments which
may be levied by said town, and for that purpose shall be invested
with the power and be subject to the liabilities and penalties now
prescribed by law in regard to county treasurers. He shall also per-
form such other duties as may be herein prescribed or ordained by
the town council. He may appoint one or more deputies-to aid him
in the duties of his office, who shall qualify in the manner now
prescribed for the qualification of sergeants, who may perform all
the duties devolved on the treasurer by law, and shall be subject to
removal by him or by the town council. The treasurer may take
from any person so appointed such bonded security as he shall deem
mecessary for his indemnity; the treasurer and his surety shall
nevertheless be responsible for the performance of the duties of any
such deputy.

41. All moneys received on any special assessment shall be held
by the treasurer as a special fund to be applied to the payment for
which the assessment was made, and said money shall be used for
no other purpose whatever.

42. The treasurer shall be required to keep all moneys in his
hands belonging to the town in such place or places of deposit as the
town council may by ordinance provide, order, establish or direct ;
such moneys shall be kept separate and distinct from all moneys,
and he is hereby expressly prohibited from using, either directly or
indirectly, the corporation money or warrants in his custody or
keeping for his own use and benefit or that of any person or persons
whomeoever, and any violation of this provision shall subject him
to immediate removal from office. In case of his removal the town
council shall elect a qualified person to fill said office until the next
general election which may be held in the town. The compensation
of the treasurer shall be fixed by the council. |

43. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town of
Harrisonburg on the fourth Thursday in July next, and on the
fourth Thursday in July of every second year thereafter, one recorder,
who shall attend the meetings of the town council and keep a
record of its proceedings. He shall have the custody of the corpo-
rate seal. He shall keep all papers that, by the provision of this
act or the direction of the town council, are required to be filed with
or kept by him. It shall also be his duty immediately after the
close of each session of the town council to make and present to the
mayor a transcript of every ordinance, resolution or order concern-
ing any public improvement or for the payment of any money, and
every ordinance, resolution, order and act of a legislative character
passed by the town council at such session. Hoe shall, in like man-
ner, transmit to the treasurer a transcript of all ordinances, resolu-
tions or orders appropriating money or authorizing the payment of
money, the issue of bonds or notes. He shall, in like manner, give
notice to all parties presenting communications or petitions to the
town council of the final action of the council on such communi-
cation or petition. He shall publish such reports and ordinances as
the town council is required by this act to publish, and such other
reports and ordinances as it may direct, and shall in general perform
such other acts and duties as the town council may from time to time
require of him.

44, There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town of
Harrisonburg, on the fourth Thursday in July next, and on the
fourth Thursday in July in every second year thereafter, one assessor,
who shall hold office for the period of two years, and until his
successor shall be elected and qualified, unless sooner removed from
office. He shall give bond with surety, in such amount as the coun-
cil may determine, said bond to be approved by the town council,
entered on their record and filed in the office of the town recorder.

In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of the assessor the town
council shall elect a qualified person to fill said office until the next
general election which may be held for the town.

45. The said assessor shall perform all the duties in relation to
the assessment of property for the purpose of levying the town
taxes that may be ordered by the town council. He shall keep his
office in some convenient place in said town, and shall keep therein
such books, schedules, records and other papers, and in such manner
as the mayor and town council may direct and prescribe, which
books, schedules, records and other papers shall be subject to the
inspection and examination of the mayor, the members of the town
council, or any committee or committees thereof, and of the collector
of the town taxes. His compensation shall be fixed by the town
council.

46. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town of
Harrisonburg on the fourth Thursday in July next, and on the
fourth Thursday in July in every second year thereafter, one town
sergeant, who shall collect all fines and penalties imposed by the
town council, the mayor, or other officer of the town, unless other-
wise ordered by the council, and shall within the town and for two
miles outside of the corporate limits thereof, exercise all the powers
and perform all the duties that a constable can legally exercise and
is required to perform, in regard to making arrest, the collection of
claims, and executing and levying process. He shall be entitled to
the same compensation therefor, and shall, together with his sure-
ties, be liable to all the fines and forfeitures to which a constable is
now or shall hereafter be liable, to be recovered in the same manner
and before the same tribunals as such fines and forfeitures are now
or shall hereafter be made recoverable against constables.

47. The council of the town may elect a collector of taxes, who
shall collect all taxes and claims of all kinds due to said town of
Harrisonburg placed in his hands by the town treasurer, and for
that purpose shall have all the powers and authority and be subject
to the same liabilities and penalties as are prescribed for county
treasurers in the collection of state and county taxes and claims, and
may be proceeded against in the same manner so far as is applicable
and not inconsistent with this act. The treasurer, when so ordered
by the council, shall place in the hands of the said collector for col-
lection all town taxes required by the order and all other claims at
such time as directed by the town council, and take his receipt
therefor. The said collector shall proceed at once to collect said
taxes and claims, and shall pay over to the treasurer of the town (or
into the treasury of the town, as may be prescribed by the council)
weekly, or oftener if he thinks proper, all moneys which may come
into his hands for taxes or otherwise belonging to the said town.
He shall make full and complete quarterly settlements on the fif-
teenth days of October, January, April and July of each year with
the town treasurer, under the supervision of the finance committee
of the council, for all taxes and claims that may come into his
hands. He shall report to the council in writing at each stated
meeting the amount of all moneys collected by him for the town and
paid over as herein directed. Said collector’s receipts to the town
treasurer for all taxes and claims thus paid in his bands for collec-
tion shall be a voucher for eaid treasurer in his settlement with the
town council, and he (the said treasurer) shall receive no compensa-
tion for any taxes or claims thus collected by the said tax collector.
Before entering upon the duties of his office as collector of the town
taxes and other claims, as above set forth, he (the said collector)
shall furnish a bond, to be approved by the council, in such sum as
the council may direct, said bond to be payable to the town of Har-
risonburg and conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of
said officer; and said bond shall be entered on the records of the
council and the original shall be filed with the recorder of said
town. And the council for said town shall by ordinance prescribe
the compensation to be allowed said collector for the performance of
his duties under this act.

48. The finances.—The council may, within the limits in taxation
hereinafter set out, in the name of and for the use of the town, con-
tract loans, or caused to be issued certificates of debt or bonds, but
such loans, certificates or bonds shall not be irredeemable for a
period greater than thirty years; provided, however, that said coun-
cil shall not contract such loans or issue such certificates of debt or
bonds for the purpose of subscribing to the stock of any company
incorporated for internal improvement or other purposes; and pro-
vided, further, that the said council] shall not indorse the bonds of
any company whatsoever, nor shall the bonded indebtness of the
town at any time exceed twelve per centum of the aggregate assess-
ment of real and personal property.

49. Whenever hereafter there shall be contracted by the council
any debt not payable within one year thereafter, there shall be set
apart annually for thirty years, or until the debt is paid, a sum of
not less than one per centum of the amount of such debt, in addi-
tion to the annual interest agreed to be paid thereon, which sum
shall be applied and invested towards the payment of such debt.

50. The town council may levy a tax on water and gas, on licenses
to agents of insurance companies whose principal office is not locat-
ed in said town, on telegraph, telephone, and electric-light works, to
auctioneers, to public theatricals or other performances or shows, to
keepers of billiard tables, and ten-pin alleys, to hawkers and peddlers,
to agents for the renting of real estate, to commission merchants and
any other business for which a license could be required by the state,
within the limits of the constitution.

51. Any payment of taxes made by the tenant, unless under an
express contract contained in his lease, shall be a credit against the
person to whom he owes the rent; and where any tax is paid by a
fiduciary on the interest or profit of money of an estate invested un-
der an order of court or otherwise, the tax shall be refunded out of
such 4state.

52. The council may grant or refuse licenses to owners or keepers
of wagons, drays, carts, hacks and other wheeled carriages kept or
employed in the town for hire; and may require the owners or
keepers of wagons, drays or carts using them in the town, to take
out a license therefor, and may assess and require taxes to be paid
thereon, and subject the same to such regulations as they may deem
proper; and may prescribe the fees and compensation.

53. All goods and chattels, wheresoever found, may be distrained
and sold for taxes assessed and due thereon; and no deed of trust
or mortgage upon goods and chattels shall prevent the same from
being distrained and sold for taxes assessed against the grantor in
such deed while such goods and chattels remain in the grantor’s
possession.

54. There shall be a lien on real estate for the town taxes as as-
sessed thereon from the commencement of the year for which they
were assessed ; and there shall also be a lien on real estate, on which
local assessments for improvements may be made for the amount of
such assessments from the time the same is levied by the council.
The council may require real estate in the town delinquent for the
non-payment of taxes or assessments, to be sold for the said taxes or
assessments, with interest thereon from the time the same is delin-
quent, at the rate of six per centum per annum, and ten per centum
of the amount of the tax to cover cost and charges, exclusive of
costs attending the redemption thereof, as hereinafter provided, and
cause a good and sufficient deed to be made to the purchaser.

55. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the town to make and
deliver to the council at their regular meeting in July in each year
a list of all real estate whereon delinquent taxes or assessments are
due; and thereupon the treasurer of the town under the direction of
the town council, and when so ordered by it, shall cause a notice of
the time and place of such sale to be published in one or more of
the newspapers published in the said town at least ten days previous
to the sale; and he shall also cause to be published in one or more
of said papers on some day not more than twenty days nor less than
ten days previous to the sale a list of the several parcels of real es-
tate in the same manner as the same is described in the asssesment
rolls in which the said tax or assessment is imposed thereon, together
with the name of the person to whom each parcel is assessed, and
the amount of the tax or assessment due thereon.

56. If such tax or assessment and the six per centum interest, and
the ten per centum costs and charges aforesaid, be not paid previous
to the day for which said sale was advertised, or on some day imme-
diately thereafter to which said sale may be adjourned, the treasurer
shall proceed to make sale accordingly of the said parcels of real es-
tate, or 80 much thereof as shall be necessary to satisfy the interest,
taxes and charges aforesaid, to the highest bidder; and the sale may
be adjourned from day to day until it shall be completed. On such
sale the treasurer shall execute to the purchaser a certificate of sale
in which the property purchased shal] be described and the aggre-
gate amount of taxes or assessments, with the interests and costs,
specified; but the treasurer shall not for himself, either directly or
indirectly, purchase any real estate so sold.

57. If at any sale no bid shall be made for any such parcel of land,
or such bid shall not be equal to the tax or assessment, with interest
and costs thereon, then the same shall be struck off to the town. On
such sale the treasurer shall execute to the town a certificate of sale,
in which the property purchased shall be described and the aggre-
gate amount of tax or assessment, with interest and costs specified,
and shall deposit such certificates with the recorder of the town.

58. The owner of any real estate so sold, his heirs or assigns, or
any person having the right to charge such real estate for a debt, or
otherwise interested therein, may redeem the same by paying to the
purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two years from the sale thereof,
the whole amount paid by said purchaser, and such additional taxes
thereon as may have been paid by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns,
with interest thereon at the rate of six per centum per annum; or,
if purchased by the town, with such additional sum as would have
accrued for taxes thereon if the same had not been purchased by the
town, with interest on the said purchase money and taxes at the rate
of twelve per centum per annum from the time that the same may have
been so paid; or the same may be paid within the said two years to
the said town treasurer in any case in which the purchaser, his heirs
or assigns, may refuse to receive the same, or may not reside or can-
not be found in the town of Harrisonburg. And the said town may
sell and convey any such real estate so purchased.

59. Any infant, insane person, or persons in prison, whose real
estate may have been so sold, or his heirs, may redeem the same by
paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within two years from
the removal of the disability, the amount for which the same was 80
sold, with the interest and costs as aforesaid, and such additional
taxes on the estate as may have been paid by the purchaser, his
heirs or assigns, and the appraised value of any improvement that
may have been made thereon, with interest on the said items at the
rate of six per centum per annum from the time they may have
been paid. Upon such payment, and the payment of such addi-
tional sum as may have been incurred by the purchaser in obtaining
a deed, within two years after the removal of such disability, the
purchaser, his heirs or assigns, shall, at the cost of the original
owner, his heirs or assigns, convey to him or them, by deed with
special warranty, the real estate so sold.

60. If any real estate so sold be not redeemed within the time
allowed for redemption, the purchaser of such real estate, or his
assigns, may thereupon petition the mayor and council that the
property shall be conveyed to him; and thereupon, after due notice
to the party or parties for whose delinquent taxes said real estate was
sold, either by personal service, or, in the event personal service
cannot be had by reasons of non-residency or disability of an}
kind, by publication for four successive weeks in some newspape!
published in the town of Harrisonburg, the said council shall deter
mine whether or not the requirements as to the assessment, the sale,
the purchase, and the period of redemption ehall have been com-
plied with; and if upon such inquiry it be ascertained that the
same have been regularly complied with, and that the purchaser, or
his assigns, is entitled to a conveyance of said real estate, the coun-
cil shall direct the same to be conveyed by the recorder of the town.
Where the purchaser has assigned the benefit of his purchase, the
deed may be, with his consent evidenced by his joining therein, or
by writing annexed thereto, executed to his assignee. And if the
purchaser shall have died, his heirs or assigns may move the council
to order the recorder of said town to execute a deed conveying the
property to such heirs or assignee; such inquiry shall be deemed
conclusive as to regularity of all proceedings connected therewith.

61. When the purchaser of any real estate sold for taxes, his heirs
or assigns, shall have obtained a deed therefor, aud within sixty
days from the date of such deed shall have caused the same to be
recorded, such estate shall stand vested in the grantee in such deed
as was vested in the party assessed with the taxes (on account
whereof the sale was made), or any party claiming under or through
him at the commencement of the year for which the eaid taxes were
assessed, notwithstanding any irregularity in the proceedings in
which the grantee claims title, unless such irregularity appears upon
the face of the proceedings. And if it be alleged that the taxes for
the non-payment of which the same was made were not in arrears,
the party making such allegation must establish the truth thereof
by proving that the taxes were paid.

62. The council may organize and maintain a fire department for
the town, and appoint a chief engineer, assistant, and other officers,
with any and all of the powers which may have been or may be
vested by law in such officers; and may make rules and regulations
for the government of the officers and men of said department, may
prescribe their respective duties in case of fire or alarms of fire, may
fix their pay, and may impose reasonable fines for the breach of such
regulations, and may make such ordinances as they may deem
proper to extinguish and prevent fires, to prevent oroperty from
being stolen, and to require citizens to render assistance to the fire
department in case of need.

63. All property, real and personal, within said town shall be sub-
ject to taxation by said town except in cases where there are exemp-
tions by the constitution and general laws of this commonwealth;
but the rate of taxation for all purposes in said town, together with
the levy authorized by the act approved January twenty-ninth,
eighteen hundred and ninety-four, for the purpose of paying the in-
terest upon the bonded indebtedness of the town, sball not exceed
the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents upon the one hundred
dollars of assessed value of real and personal property of said town,
and out of each annual levy there shall be laid aside by the council
a sufficient amount for the semi-annual interest on the bonds autho-
rized by and issued under the act of January twenty-fourth, eighteen
hundred and ninety-four, before any portion thereof is appropriated
to any other purpose; and in the event there is created by the town
any additional bonded indebtedness at any time, as authorized by
the provisions of this charter, there shall be first laid aside out of
the entire revenue of the town, except the school tax, after making
due provision for the interest on said bonds issued under the act of
January twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, a sum
sufficient to meet the semi-annual interest on said bonds before any
portion of said revenue except the school tax is appropriated to any
other purpose; but the council, by a three-fourths vote, may exempt
from taxation by the town any bonds hereafter issued under the
provisions of this charter, subject to the exemption in taxation al-
lowed by the constitution and general laws of this state. No species
of property, real or personal, shall be exempt from taxation by said
town except that the council, by a three-fourths vote, may for a pe-
riod not exceeding five years, in order to induce the location within
the town of new industrial enterprises, exempt the improvements
made and the capital invested in the same from all taxes except the
school tax, but such exemption shall not continue for a longer pe-
riod than said five years.

64. For the purpose of guarding against the calamities of fire the
town council may from time to time designate such portions and
parts of the town as they may deem proper within which no build-
ings of wood shall be erected; they may prohibit the erection of
wooden buildings in any portion of the town without their permis-
sion, and shall, on the petition of the owner or owners of at least
one-fourth of the ground included in any square of the said town,
prohibit their erection on such square of any building, or addition
to any building, unless the outer walls thereof be made of brick and
mortar or stone and mortar, and may provide for the removal of any
such building or addition which shal] be erected contrary to such
prohibition at the expense of the builder or owner thereof; and if
any such building shall have been commenced before said petition
can be acted upon by the council, or if any building in progress of
erection appears clearly to be unsafe, the council may cause such
building to be taken down.

65. All ordinances now in force in said town, not inconsistent
with this act, the laws of this state and of the United States, shall
be and remain in force until altered, amended or repealed by said
council.

66. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby
repealed.

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