Chap. 322.—-An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 1 of Chapter 10, of an act
entitled “An act to incorporate the city of Danville’, approved February
17, 1890, as heretofore amended, so as to authorize the council of the
said city to create and fill the office of director of public safety and to
prescribe certain of the powers and duties of such director; to impose cer-
tain powers and duties upon such director when appointed; to abolish the
board of police commissioners; and to provide for a referendum to determine
whether the amendment and re-enactment of said Section 1 of Chapter 10
of the said act shall become effective. | [fH B 547]

Approved March 29, 1938

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That section
one of chapter ten of an act entitled an act to incorporate the city of
Danville, approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and ninety,
as heretofore amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as
follows: ,

Section 1. The council of the city of Danville may, in its discre-
tion, create the office of director of public safety for the city of Dan-
ville. Upon the creation of such office the council shall have the power
to fill it with any person it may select, and such person may or may not
be a resident of the city of Danville. The council may fix the salary
and term of office of such director.

The director of public safety shall have the power and authority
to employ, determine the rank, and discharge all members of the police
force of the city of Danville, and all members of the fire department
of the said city, but the number and the compensation of the members
of the police force and members of the fire department shall be pro-
vided for by the council. The director of public safety may prescribe
the duties of the police and fire departments, subject to the provisions
of general law. The director of public safety shall have the sole power
and authority to employ and discharge such special police as may be
required.
The term of office of the director of public safety shall commence
at such time as may be prescribed by the council. The members of
the police and fire departments holding office on the day the said director
takes office shall continue in office for the period for which they have
been appointed or until sooner removed. Upon the creation of the
office of director of public safety and the filling of such office by the
council, the said director shall have the same powers to hear complaints
against members of the police department and to take appropriate action
that the board of police commissioners formerly had, and shall have
the same powers as to members of the fire department as were formerly
imposed upon the city council or any of its committees. The council
may prescribe such other powers and duties as may be imposed upon
such director, including the regulation of traffic, as it may deem
proper, not inconsistent with this act and with general law.

Upon the creation and filling by council of the office of director of
public safety and the taking of office of such director the terms of office
of the members of the board of police commissioners shall terminate,
and the said board of police commissioners shall be abolished.

2. Be it further enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That
the foregoing provisions of this act amending and re-enacting section one
of chapter ten of an act entitled an act to incorporate the city of
Danville, approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and ninety,
as heretofore amended, all of which provisions are hereinafter in this
act referred to as section one, shall not become effective unless and
until a majority of the qualified voters of tle city of Danville voting
in an election called and held as hereinafter provided in this act shall
vote in favor of the charter of the said city being amended as herein-
above provided so as to authorize the creation of the office of director
of public safety. The city council of the city of Danville shall by
resolution require the regular election official: on the day fixed in such
resolution, to open a poll and take the sense of the qualified voters of
the city on the question submitted as herein provided. Such election
may be called at any time after the effective date of this act and shall
be called at least thirty days prior to the dae fixed for such election,
but such election shall not be held at any tim» within ninety days from
the date this act becomes effective.

The ballots shall be prepared by the elect ral board and distributed
to the various election precincts and such election shall be superintended,
held and conducted in the manner prescribed by law for other elec-
tions, in so far as the same are applicable. The ballots used shall be
printed to read as follows:

Question: Shall the charter of the city of Danville be amended
so as to authorize the creation of the office of director of public safety?

[] For charter amendment
[_] Against charter amendment

The squares to be printed in such ballots shall not be less than one-
quarter nor more than one-half inch in siz:. Any person voting at
such election shall place a check (\/) or a cross mark (XX or +) or
a line (—) in the square before the words “For charter amendment”
if he wishes to vote in favor of section one of this act becoming
effective, or a similar check or cross mark or line in the square before
the words “Against charter amendment” if he wishes to vote against
section one of this act becoming effective.

The ballots shall be counted and returns made and canvassed as in
other elections, and the results certified by the commissioners of elec-
tion to the corporation court of the city of Danville or the judge thereof
in vacation and the said court or the judge thereof in vacation shall
enter of record the results of the said election. If it shall appear from
such results so entered of record in the said court that a majority
of the qualified voters voting in the said election voted in favor of the
charter of the city of Danville being amended so as to authorize the
creation of the office of director of public safety, then section one of
this act shall be in force and effective on and after the date of such
entry of record.