Chap. 104.—An ACT to amend sections 4, 5, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36 and
38 of an act entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to
incorporate the town of South Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk, approved
September 11, 1919, as heretofore amended, which town has since become the
city of South Norfolk and to provide a charter for the city of South Norfolk,
approved March 20, 1924, and to further amend said act by adding thereto
two new sections numbered ll-a and 24-a. [S B 232]

Became law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor, March 10, 1934

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That sections
four, five, eleven, fourteen, seventeen, twenty, twenty-seven, thirty-
three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six and thirty-eight of an act en-
titled an act to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to incorporate
the town of South Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk, approved Sep-
tember eleventh, nineteen hundred and nineteen, as heretofore amended,
which town has since become the city of South Norfolk; and to pro-
vide a charter for the city of South Norfolk, approved March twentieth
nineteen hundred and twenty-four, be amended and re-enacted, and
that said act be further amended by adding thereto two new sections
numbered eleven-a, and twenty-four-a, which amended sections and
new sections shall read as follows:

Section 4. The administration and government of the said city shall
be vested in a mayor and five councilmen, all of whom shall be electors
of the said city.

Section 5. The councilmen, treasurer, commissioner of the revenue
and city sergeant, shall be elected for terms of four years, except as
hereinafter provided, and each shall serve until his successor shall have
qualified. On the second Tuesday in June immediately preceding the
expiration of the terms of office of the councilmen in office when this
section as hereby amended, takes effect there shall be elected from the
city at large three councilmen for a term of four years, and two council-
men for a term of two years and thereafter for a term of four years,
all of whom shall take office on the first day of September, next suc-
ceeding their election. ‘The treasurer, commissioner of the revenue
and city sergeant shall be elected at the general election held for the
election of members of the House of Delegates in November and im-
mediately preceding the expiration of the terms of office of their prede-
cessors, and shall take office on the first day of January next succeeding
their election.

The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city for a
term of four years. His salary, which, on and after September first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-five, shall not exceed nine hundred dol-
lars per annum, shall be fixed by the common council and shall not be
diminished during his term of office.

Section 11. The common council shall have sole power to remove,
for good cause shown, any officer or employee appointed by it.

Section 1l-a. The common council shall not appoint or employ any
person who has failed to pay any and all city taxes of every kind as-
sessed against him.

Section 14. The common council shall, on or before September first,
nineteen hundred and thirty-five, and every two years thereafter, ap-
point a trial justice and a substitute trial justice for the city, who shall
take office on September first of the year of appointment and shall
serve for a term of two years. Such trial justice shall receive such
salary not to exceed nine hundred dollars per annum, as may be fixed
by the common council, and he shall receive no other compensation for
his services as trial justice. The substitute trial justice shall act as trial
justice during the absence or inability of the trial justice, and his com-
pensation shall be the same as that of the trial justice for the time
served by him as such substitute trial justice, and shall be paid out of
the salary of the trial justice. Before entering upon the discharge of
their duties the trial justice and the substitute trial justice shall take the
oaths required by law and enter into bond in such penalty and with such
surety as the common council may determine. The common council
shall have authority to appoint a clerk who shall be known as clerk of
the trial justice court, and who shall receive such compensation as
may be fixed by the common council, not in excess of five hundred
dollars per annum. Such trial justice shall possess all jurisdiction and
exercise all powers and authority of a justice of the peace of the State
of Virginia in civil and criminal matters within the corporate limits
of the said city and shall have the jurisdiction and authority of a justice
of the peace to issue process and to try and determine all civil and
criminal cases arising in the said city, and shall have the power to issue
process, hear and determine all prosecutions, cases and controversies
which may arise under the by-laws and ordinances of the city; impose
fines and inflict punishment when and wherever they are authorized
by the said by-laws and ordinances and to issue execution for the col-
lection of the said fines and to impose such fines and penalties for the
violation of such by-laws and ordinances as to him shall seem just,
where the amount of the penalty or fine for such violation of such laws
and ordinances and not fixed by the same; and may, upon the failure of
the offender to pay the fine or penalty recovered and the costs, order the
offender to be confined in the county jail of Norfolk county or the
prison of the city for a term not exceeding ninety days. All fees al-
lowed the trial justice under the general laws of this State for the
issuance of warrants, trials of cases, et cetera, shall be collected as their
costs are collected and turned into the city treasury; and said trial
justice shall have the powers of police justice of the cities of the first
class for the purpose of admitting persons to bail.

Section 17. Except as hereinafter provided, any vacancy occurring
in the office of the mayor shall be filled by appointment by the com-
mon council.

Section 20. All vacancies occurring from any cause in any office

elective by the people of the city shall be filled for the unexpired
term by the common council, if such vacancy shall occur less than
one year before the date of the expiration of such term of office. If
such vacancy shall occur one year or more before such expiration of
such term of office, such vacancy shall be filled by the qualified voters
of the city at an election held for the purpose, which election shall
be called by the common council.

Section 24-a. If any officer or employee of the city shall be in ar-
rears in payment of any city taxes of any nature, it shall be the duty
of the treasurer to deduct from the amount due any such officer or
employee as salary, wages or other compensation, the amount due the
city in taxes before making such payment.

Section 27. The common council of the city of South Norfolk shall
not hereafter issue any bonds for any purpose unless and until such
issue shall be ratified by a majority of the votes cast at an election held
for the purpose. The common council, whenever four-fifths of its
members by a recorded vote shall decide that it is to the interest of
the city so to do, shall provide by ordinance for a bond issue election.

In anticipation of the receipt of taxes and revenues of the cur-
rent fiscal year, it shall be lawful for the city of South Norfolk to
borrow money temporarily in any fiscal year and to issue notes or other
evidences of the indebtedness therefor, and from time to time to re-
new such temporary loans, including all renewals thereof, shall not
be made for a greater period than one year and shall not exceed in
the aggregate at any one time the uncollected portion of the estimated
revenue for the year in which they are made. All such temporary
loans shall be evidenced by instruments upon the face of which there
shall be plainly written “temporary loan.” Such temporary loans may
be made and notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued therefor
pursuant to a resolution or ordinance of the common council of the
city of South Norfolk, and no election shall be necessary to authorize
such temporary loans or the issuance of notes or other evidences of
indebtedness therefor. Such notes or other evidences of indebtedness
issued in anticipation of the receipt of taxes and revenues of the current
fiscal year shall be general obligations of the city of South Norfolk, for
the payment of which the full faith and credit of said city shall be
deemed to be pledged.

Section 33. Appeals may be taken to the circuit court of Norfolk
county from the decision of the trial justice on both civil and criminal
matters in the same terms, and be tried in the same way as appeals
from the decision of a justice are taken, and tried in like cases, except
that no appeal shall be granted from the decision of the trial justice
imposing a fine for violation of any of the ordinances or by-laws of
said city for offenses not made criminal by the common law of the
statutes of the State of Virginia until and after bond be given by the
person so fined, with security approved by the trial justice conditioned
to pay all fines, costs and damages that may be awarded by the said
court on appeal, the penalty of said bond to be double the sum sufficient
to pay all such fines, costs and damages.
Section 34. In any case in which a judgment 1s rendered by tne
trial justice for a fine, going in whole or in part to the Commonwealth,
or for a fine going, in whole or in part, to the city of South Norfolk
the trial justice may, on his motion, or at the instance of the attorney
for the Commonweath, commit the defendant to jail until the fine and
costs are paid, or until the costs are paid where there is no fine; or
the trial justice may issue a capias pro fine before or after the return
of a writ of fiert facias.

Section 35. In any case in which a judgment is rendered by the
trial justice upon a trial for a misdemeanor under the general laws of
the State of Virginia, or upon any trial for the violation of the city
ordinance, in which a fine is imposed upon the defendant, or in which
defendant is required to pay the costs, and the same are not paid, the
trial justice may in his discretion take security for the payment of
such fine and costs or for the costs alone, where there is no fine, such
payment is to be made within thirty days from the day of trial.

It shall be sufficient to bind such surety that the trial justice en-
dorse on the warrant the name of the surety, amount for which he
is bound, and the date of the endorsement; but, if no security is given,
the defendant will be committed to jail until such fine and costs, or
such costs alone are paid, but said commitment to jail shall not exceed
ninety days.

Section 36. All criminal and civil writs and process issued by the
trial justice under the general laws of the State of Virginia shall run
in the name of “the Commonwealth of Virginia,” and all criminal and
civil writs or process issued by the trial justice for the violation of
or under ordinances of the said city shall run in the name of “the city
of South Norfolk,” and writs and processes issued in the name of the
city of South Norfolk shall conform as near as may be to the form
for similar writs and processes issued under general State laws.

Section 38. The jailor of the county of Norfolk is hereby authorized
to receive into his jail, and there keep until released in accordance with
law, any person regularly committed to his jail for the violation of
any city ordinance, regulation or by law; and unless otherwise pro-
vided by city ordinances any sentence or imprisonment imposed or
order for confinement in prison for non-payment of any fine, penalty
or costs imposed by the trial justice for the violation of a city ordi-
nance, regulation or by-law, may be either in the city prison or in
the county jail of Norfolk county as said mayor imposing such sen-
tence or making such order shall designate.