Chap. 136.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the town of Vinton, in the
county of Roanoke, and repeal all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the

same.
Approved March 12, 1904.

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That so much
land, together with the improvements thereon, as is included in the pres-
ent boundary of the town of Vinton, in Roanoke county, as prescribed in
the act approved March fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety, shall con-
stitute the town of Vinton, in the county of Roanoke, and by that name
shall have perpetual succession, may sue and be sued in and by that
name, and the said town and the inhabitants thereof, in addition to the
powers conferred upon towns of less than five thousand inhabitants by
the general laws of the State of Virginia, shall have and exercise the fol-
lowing powers and privileges:

1. The administration and government of said town shall be vested in
one principal officer, to be styled the mayor, and one board, to be styled
the council of the town, and the municipal officers of said town, whose
qualifications shall be the same as the persons who are entitled to vote
and hold offices under the Constitution and laws of the State, shall con-
sist of one mayor, six councilmen, a treasurer, and sergeant. »

2. All persons in office at the time of the passage of this act shall con-
tinue in office until the first day of September, succeeding the first elec-
tion had under this act, or until their successors are elected and qualified.
The election for mayor and councilmen shall be held on the second Tues-
day in June, nineteen hundred and four, and every second year there-
after. And the said mayor and councilmen elected under this act shall
enter upon the duties of their respective offices the first day of Septem-
ber succeeding their election. ate council shall elect the treasurer and
sergeant, whose term of office two years, or until their successors
are elected and qualified. ,
3. The mayor and other municipal officers of said town, before enter-
ing upon the duties of their respective offices, shall be sworn in according
to the laws of the State by any one authorized to administer oaths.

4. The council shall fix the salary and fees of the mayor, treasurer, and
sergeant, which shall not be increased or diminished during their term
of office.

5. The council may, in its discretion, appoint a board of health for
the town and invest it with authority for the prompt and efficient per-
formance of its duties.

6. The council shall by ordinance fix the time of its meetings. It shall
have authority to adopt such rules as it may deem proper for the regula-
tion of its proceedings, and compel the attendance of its members, and
to punish its members for misconduct, and by a vote of three-fourths of
the whole council expel a member.

?. A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum for the trans-
action of business; but no ordinance or resolution shall be adopted having
for its object the levying of taxes or appropriation of moneys, except by
a vote of two-thirds of the council. The mayor shall preside at all meet-
ings of the council, and in the absence or inability of the mayor, the
members of council present shall select one of their body to preside over
said meetings; but the mayor or presiding officer over said: meetings shall
not be entitled to vote except in case of a tie.

8. The council shall have, subject to the provisions of this act, the con-
trol and management of the fiscal and municipal affairs of the town, of
all property, real and personal, belonging to said town, and may make
such ordinances, orders, by-laws, and regulations as it may deem neces-
sary to carry out the following powers, which are hereby conferred
upon it:

To close or extend, widen, narrow, grade, curb and pave, and otherwise
improve the streets and alleys and sidewalks, to macadamize its streets,
and to have them kept in good order, and if may prevent and remove any
structure, encroachment, or obstruction in any sidewalk, street, or alley,
and may permit shade trees to be planted along said streets or alleys in
said town.

To acquire and compel the abatement of all nuisances within said town
at the expense of persons causing the same, or the owner or owners of the
ground whereon the same shall be; to prevent and regulate slaughter
houses, hog pens, privies, stables, or the exercise of any dangerous, offen-
sive, or unhealthy business, trade, or employment, andi to prohibit the

sale and use of fireworks within said town.

To prevent hogs, dogs, and other animals running at large in said
town, and to subject the same to such regulations and taxes as it may
deem proper.

To prevent riding and driving of horses or other animals al an im-
proper or dangerous speed, throwing stones, or engaging in any employ-
ment or sport on the streets or alleys dangerous or annoying to the citi-
zens, and to prohibit and punish the abuse andi cruel treatment of horses
or other animals in said town, and to regulate the running of trains
through the corporate limits of said town.
To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants, and street-beggars; to
preserve the peace and good order of the town; to prevent and quell
riots, disturbances, and disorderly conduct; to suppress gambling-
houses ; to prevent and punish indecent and lewd conduct on the streets.

To punish for releasing or attempting to release a prisoner, or inter-
fering in any manner with an officer in the exercise of his official duties.

9. To meet the expenditures that may be lawfully chargeable to the
said town, the council may annually levy a town levy of so much as in
its opinion may be necessary upon all taxable persons and property
resident or situate within the said town not exempted from taxation by
the laws of the State: provided, that a corporation tax not greater than
fifty cents per head on the male inhabitants of the said town over the
age of twenty-one years, may be levied in any one year: and provided
further, that the tax so levied on the real and personal property within
the said town, does not exceed twenty-five cents on the one hundred dol-
lars on the assessed value thereof for any one year; in the event that
the above rate of taxation is not sufficient to meet the expenditures of
the town, the same may be increased not to exceed fifty cents on the one
hundred dollars on the assessed value thereof for any one year by a vote
of the qualified voters of the said town.

The said council shall have the right to levy a license tax on dogs,
wagons, dravs, hacks, and other wheel vehicles, and on shooting galleries,
theatrical performances, circuses, and other places of amusements or
performances for amusements.

10. There shall be a lien on all goods, chattels, and real estate for the
taxes assessed thereon from the beginning of the year for which they
are assessed. The council may require real estate returned delinquent
for the non-payment of taxes and assessments to be sold for such taxes
and assessments, with interest at the rate of six per centum per annum
from the time when such taxes and assessments become due and payable,
and such per centum for charges as it may prescribe, not to exceed five
per centum of such taxes; such sales to be made in accordance with the
State laws.

11. The sergeant or any one selected by council shall collect the town
taxes, fines, and levies for the said town, and in the manner prescribed
by the State law. The said sergeant shall at such times as the council
may fix, pay over to the treasurer, the taxes, fines, and levies collected
by him. The treasurer shall not pay out any money or funds belonging
to the said town, except as he may be ordered to do so by the council.
The council shall require sufficient bonds of the sergeant and treasurer
for the faithful and proper discharge of their respective duties, and
shall have the power and authority to prescribe the powers and duties
of the sergeant and treasurer, respectively.

12. In the taxation of real estate provided for by this charter, all lots,
tracts, or parcels of land, which lie partly within and partly without the
incorporated limits, that part of the same lying within the incorporate
limits shall be properly taxable by said incorporation.

13. a sergeant shall have the same powers and discharge the same
duties as constable of Roanoke county, within the corporate limits of
said town, and to the distance of one mile beyond corporate limits.

14. Where, by the provisions of this act, the council has the authority
to pass ordinances upon any subject, it may prescribe any penalty not
exceeding twenty dollars’ fine, and may provide that, upon the failure
to pay the said fine and costs the offender may be imprisoned and
worked on the streets and alleys of the-town until such fine and costs are
paid, reserving to the person convicted the right to appeal to the circuit
court of Roanoke county, in all cases wherein the fine exceeds the sum
of ten dollars.

15. The general laws for the government of cities and towns in the
State of Virginia shall continue in force in said town of Vinton, except
in so far as the same are modified or repealed by this act.

16. All ordinances now in force in said town not in conflict with this
act shall remain in force until repealed by said council.

17. Whereas, the election of town officers under this charter will
occur on the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and four, this
is an emergency act, and shall be in force from its passage.