Chap. 226.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the town of Occoquan and
to repeal all other acts inconsistent with this act. [S B 382]

Approved March 22, 1930

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of. Virginia, That the
town of Occoquan, in the county of Prince William, shall continue to
be a town corporate, in the name and style of the town of Occoquan
and as such shall have and exercise all the powers conferred upon
towns in this Commonwealth by the general laws of this State con-
cerning towns now in force, or that may hereafter be enacted for the
government of towns.

2. The following are hereby declared to be the bounds of said
town: Beginning at a prominent stone, marked X on the south bank
of Occoquan river, one hundred and fifty feet above the northwest
corner of the old cotton factory building, and running thence, in a
direct line through Janney’s land, in a southwest direction, to a forked
white oak and stone marked X, on Janney’s land and on the north side
of a small branch; running thence in a direct line, southeasterly, to the
corner of Janney and Selecman, on the west side of the Deep Hole
road; thence running with Janney and Selecman’s lines to Occoquan
river ; and thence with Occoquan river to the place of beginning. The
corporation shall embrace all of Occoquan river opposite to the bounds
above named.

3. The government of the said town shall be vested in a town
council which shall be composed of the mayor and five councilmen,
each of whom shall be a qualified voter within said town.

4. A mayor and five councilmen shall be elected on the second
Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and thirty-one and every two years
thereafter, and shall hold office for two years from the first day of
September next succeeding their election.

The council shall appoint a clerk and town sergeant, and if
they deem it advisable a deputy town sergeant, a town treasurer and
such other officers as the council may deem necessary and proper, all of
whom shall hold office at and during the pleasure of the council, and
said officers shall qualify and execute bonds in the manner prescribed
by resolution of the council; and the council shall have power to fill
vacancies in any of these offices created by death, resignation, removal
or otherwise. The council shall not elect any officer for a term ex-
tending beyond the thirty-first day of August next succeeding each
regular quadrennial municipal election for members of the council.

6. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the town and
shall have the jurisdiction and authority of a justice of the peace for
Prince William county within and one mile beyond the corporate limits
of said town, and he shall have exclusive jurisdiction for the trial of
offenses arising under the ordinances of the said town. In the absence
of the mayor or during vacancy in his office the members of the council
shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction and authority.

7. The mayor shall preside over the meetings of the council but
will have no vote. He shall be entitied to receive the same fees for
the issuance of warrants and the trial of causes as are allowed under
general laws to justices of the peace.

8. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of mayor the same
shall be filled by appointment of the council of any one ehgible to such
office.
9. If the mayor be absent during any meeting of the council it
shall elect one of its members as president pro tempore to preside at
such meeting. ,

10. If at any time the mayor shall believe that an emergency exists
or that it is necessary for the good order and preservation of the laws
that additional police be provided, he shall have the power to furnish
and qualify such additional police, their compensation to be fixed by
the council.

11. All ordinances of the town must, before becoming effective, be
enacted by a majority vote of the council and be approved by the
mayor; and if disapproved by the mayor shall become effective only
upon the affirmative vote of the council by at least three members
thereof entered of record. No penalty shall be imposed under any
ordinance enacted by the council until such ordinance shall have been
posted for a period of thirty days in one or more conspicuous places
in the said town.

12. It shall be the duty of the town clerk to keep a correct and
proper record of the proceedings of the council and to publish in such
manner as the council may indicate the by-laws, ordinances and reso-
lutions that may from time to time be adopted. He shall issue licenses
to all persons engaged in a pursuit, business, occupation, or profession
for which a license shall be required, shall prepare the tax tickets and
shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the coun-
cil and by the provisions of this act, for which services he shall receive
such compensation as the council may determine, not exceeding fifty
dollars per annum.

13. The treasurer of the town shall be the disbursing agent of the
town and have the custody of all moneys and securities belonging there-
to; he shall collect all taxes and assessments, light bills, water bills, and
other charges payable to the town, and for that purpose he is hereby
vested with all powers which are now or may hereafter be vested in
county and city treasurers for the collection of county, city and State
taxes under general law. The treasurer shall keep an accurate account
of all receipts from all sources and of expenditures of all departments
of the town government.

a. No money shall be paid out by the treasurer except by order
of the council and upon a warrant of the clerk of the council counter-
signed by the mayor.

b. He shall annually at the end of each fiscal year publish, either
in a newspaper published in Prince William county or by posting in
front of his office, a statement showing all receipts and income of the
town and from what source derived, and all disbursements made and
for what purpose.

c. He shall make such other reports from time to time as may
be required by ordinance or by resolution of the council.

d. The treasurer’s compensation shall be fixed by the council,
but in no case shall it exceed five per centum of all moneys collected
by him from all sources; provided he shall receive no commission or
compensation on bonds issued or money borrowed by the town.
14. The town sergeant shall be a conservator of the peace and in
civil cases that may arise within the corporate limits of the town he
shall be invested with all the powers which the general laws of this
State confer upon constables; his jurisdiction as a police officer shall
extend one mile beyond the corporate limits of the town. ‘The ser-
geant shall possess the like right of distress and power in collecting
municipal taxes possessed by sheriffs and constables in the collection of
State and county taxes. He shall receive the same fees as a constable,
and such other compensation as may be prescribed by the council, not
exceeding, however, one hundred dollars per month.

15. The clerk, treasurer and sergeant shall be under direct con-
trol of the council and in addition to the duties required of them under
this act they shall perform such other duties as may be required by the
council. They shall be subject to removal by a majority vote of the
council for incompetence, misconduct or negligence of duty. If re-
quired by the council, they shall execute bond in such penalty as may
be prescribed by the council, surety to be approved by the mayor.
The town council shall have the right to pay the premiums on the of-
ficial bonds of its officers.

16. The council shall hold regular or stated meetings once a month
at such time as shall be fixed by their body. Extra or special meet-
ings may be called by the mayor or by three members of the council;
but the purpose for which a special meeting is called shall be stated
in writing. Three members of the council shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business.

The council shall be the sole judge of the election and qualification
of its members, and it shall have the power to fill all vacancies in its
own body and in any other office of the town. It may elect such com-
mittees for the various departments of the town as it may desire from
its own members. Such committees shall be appointed at the regular
meeting in September, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, and vacancies
shall be filled by the council as they occur.

17. The town council may make ordinances and by-laws for carry-
ing into effect the provisions of this act; may prescribe fines and other
punishment for the violation of any of the ordinances of the town;
may levy and collect privilege and other kinds of taxes not prohibited
by general law; may prevent animals and fowls from running at large
on the streets of the town; may prohibit cruelty to animals; may re-
strain and punish beggars, peddlers and vagrants; may prevent and
disperse riots, disturbances and unlawful or disorderly assemblages ;
may suppress houses of ill-fame and bawdy houses; may abate as a
nuisance any house or other place upon evidence of general reputation
that the same is being used for the purpose of lewdness; may prohibit
and punish gaming and betting, regardless of the amount won or lost;
may prevent indecent or lewd conduct, pictures and exhibitions; may
prevent and prohibit immoral and lewd picture shows, or motion pic-
tures calculated to injure the morals of the town; may prohibit the
coming into town of persons having no ostensible means of support and
of persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety of the town;
may offer rewards for the apprehension of persons committing felonies
in the town, provided a reward offered in any case shall not exceed
the sum of one hundred dollars; may prescribe rules and regulations
for the orderly building of blacksmith shops, garages and other shops
and structures; may control or prevent the storage of fire crackers,
gun powder and other works manufactured or prepared therefrom,
kerosene oil, gasoline or other combustible materials.

The council may compel the abatement and removal of nuisances
within the town, at the expense of the person or persons causing the
same, or at the expense of the owner or occupant of the ground or
premises wherein the same may be found; may require all lands and
lots and other premises within the town to be kept clean and sanitary
and free from stagnant water, weeds, filthy and unsightly deposits ; may
regulate or prevent slaughter-houses or other noisome and offensive
business within the town, and may generally prohibit, abate and sup-
press and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, safety,
convenience and welfare of the inhabitants of the said town.

18. The council may impose a capitation tax of fifty cents per
annum upon the residents of the town, male and female, who have at-
tained the age of twenty-one years; may lay a levy of not exceeding
one dollar and fifty cents, upon the one hundred dollars of the as-
sessed value of all real estate and personal property within the town;
may require a license tax for anything for which a State license tax
is required, and for which under the general laws of the State a license
tax may be required by a town, and in addition thereto may impose a
license tax on any business or thing carried on or done in the town, for
which under the general laws of the State a license tax may be re-
quired by a town, whether a license tax is required therefor by the
State or not. The council shall also have the right to license and regu-
late the holding and location of shows, circuses, public exhibitions.
carnivals and similar shows or fairs and to prohibit the holding of
the same, or any of them, within the town.

19. The council shall have the power, whenever they deem it
expedient, to lay sewers and to have the sidewalks, footways and
gutters along any street or alley in the said town paved or otherwise
suitably improved, altered or repaired; and for such purpose may
lay, levy and collect a special tax from the abutting property owners.
The town council shall bear one-half of the expense of constructing
new sidewalks and other improvements and conveniences above speci-
fied, and the abutting property owners shall be assessed to pay the
other one-half, which said assessment shall be proportioned to the
number of feet that such property fronts the said improvements or
conveniences. Such special tax shall be collected as other taxes are
collected; and in all cases where a lessee or tenant pays such special
tax such payment shall be an offset against a like amount of rent then
due or that may thereafter accrue.

20. The council shall have the right to require the owners of real
estate abutting upon paved or other improved sidewalks to remove
the snow therefrom, and shall also have the right to prohibit skating
and riding of bicycles thereon and of all other improper uses thereof,
and to enforce the regulations and ordinances with reference thereto
by fine.

21. The council may prohibit the erection of frame buildings in
any part of the said town designated by it as the fire area; may pre-
scribe and locate building lines and regulate the height and construction
of buildings; may require building permits and may make reasonable
rules and regulations regarding the building and construction of houses
in the town.

22. The council shall have the right to make and enforce ordi-
nances similar to the prohibition laws of the State of Virginia.

23. The town council shall have all powers and authority that
are now or may hereafter be granted to councils of towns by the general
laws of this State, and the recital of special powers and authority
herein shall not be taken to exclude the exercise of any power granted
by the general laws of the State of Virginia to town councils, but not
herein specified.

24. All ordinances now in force in the town of Occoquan not 1n-
consistent with this act shall be and remain in force until altered,
amended or repealed by the town council.

25. If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this act shall
for any reason be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
be invalid such judgment shall not affect. impair or invalidate the re-
mainder of the act, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph or part thereof directly involved in the controversy
in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

26. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this
act are hereby repealed; provided however that the officers of the town
of Occoquan shall continue in office until the first day of September,
nineteen hundred and thirty-one or until their successors have been
elected and qualified.