Chap. 671.—An ACT to amend the charter of the town of Manassas.

Approved March 2, 1900.

-1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
two and eighteen of the charter of the town of Manassas, amended by
an act approved February nineteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-
four, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

§ 2. The government of the said town shal] be vested in a mayor,
a council of nine members, clerk, and sergeant. The mayor and council
shall be chosen by the qualified voters, residing within the corporate
limits of the said town, at an election to be held on the fourth Thursday
in May, nineteen hundred, and on the fourth Thursday 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 faithfully 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 conducting
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 council shall
qualify by taking the oath of office, before a clerk or justice of the

eace; and the council at the said meeting, or as soon thereafter as may
be expedient, shall appoint a clerk and sergeant, who shall hold office
until the first of July succeeding their appointment, and until their
successors are appointed and qualified.

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

If any person elected or appointed to any office, shall fail to qualify
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 vacancy
shall be filled by the council.

$ 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 majority
of the freehold voters voting on the question, and no bonds shall be
issued for a greater period than twenty years: and provided, further,
that in no case shall the aggregate indebtedness of the town exceeding
at any time fifteen per centum of the assessed value of the real and
personal property within the said town. All contracts for the erection
of public buildings and improvements shall be let to the lowest respon-
sible bidder, after advertisement for thirty days in any newspaper pub-
lished in said town, and the party to whom such contract 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 said contract.

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