Chap. 377.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the Town of Chase City, in the
County of Mecklenburg, and to repeal the existing charter of the town, and
-all other acts inconsistent with this act. [H B 413]

Approved March 28, 1946

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. Section 1. The Town Corporate.—The inhabitants of the ter-
ritory comprised within the present limits of the Town of Chase City,
as such limits are now or may be hereafter altered and established by
law, shall constitute and continue a body, politic and corporate, to be
known and designated as the Town of Chase City, and as such shall have
and may exercise all powers which are now or hereafter may be conferred
upon or delegated to towns under the Constitution and laws of the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, as fully and completely as though such powers
were specifically enumerated herein, and no enumeration of particular
powers by this charter shall be held to be exclusive, and shall have, ex-
ercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and privileges and
be subject to all the duties and obligations now appertaining to and in-
cumbent on said town as a municipal corporation, and shall have per-
petual succession, may sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, con-
tract and be contracted with, and may have a corporate seal which it may
alter, renew, or amend at its pleasure by proper ordinance.

Section 2. Corporate Limits.—The corporate limits of the Town
of Chase City, as heretofore established, are hereby re-established and are
as follows—beginning at a concrete monument, marking the north-west
corner of said town, on land formerly belonging to C. C. Reddick, thence
due south seven thousand one hundred and twenty feet to a concrete
monument; thence due east one thousand three hundred and ninety-six
feet to a concrete monument; thence north nine degrees east four hun-
dred and ninety feet to concrete monument; thence south eighty-one de-
grees forty-five minutes east two hundred and six feet to a concrete
monument; thence north twelve degrees east, seven hundred and one
feet to an electric light pole; thence south eighty-two degrees thirty min-
utes east four hundred and twelve feet to a point eighteen feet west of the
center of the main line of Southern, formerly R. & M. Railway; thence
south nine degrees five minutes west six hundred and forty-five feet to
point; thence at a right angle westerly thirty-two feet to a monument;
thence south nine degrees five minutes west nine hundred and forty-five
feet to a monument; thence due east five hundred and twenty feet to a
monument; thence north thirty-two degrees fifteen minutes east one
thousand and ninety feet to a monument; thence north sixty-three de-
grees thirty minutes east one thousand six hundred and thirty feet to an
iron in the center of a street; thence due north five thousand nine hun-
dred and fifty feet to a monument on Spaulding Farms; thence due west
four thousand five hundred feet to point of beginning ; as per survey and
plat made by E. Douglas Gregory, C. L. S., in May, nineteen hundred
thirty-eight.

Section 3. Powers of the Town of Chase City.—In addition to the
powers elsewhere mentioned in this charter and the powers conferred by
general law and the Constitution, the town shall have the following pow-
ers:

(1) To raise revenue by the levying and collection of taxes on
property in accordance with this charter and the Constitution and laws of
the Commonwealth.

(2) To impose special local assessments for local improvements and
to enforce payment thereof, subject to such limitations prescribed by the
Constitution and general laws as may be in force at the time of the im-
position of such special or local assessments.

(3) To impose a tax not exceeding one dollar per annum upon all
persons residing in said town above the age of twenty-one years, not ex-
empt from the payment of State capitation tax.

(4) To contract debts, borrow money, and make and issue evidences
of indebtedness.

(5) To expend the money of the town for all lawful purposes.

(6) To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation, or other-
wise, property, real or personal, or any estate therein within or without
the town, for any purpose of the town, and to hold, improve, sell, lease,
mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of the same or any part thereof,
including any property now owned by the town.

(7) To establish markets in the town and regulate the same and
to enforce such regulations in regard to the keeping and sale of fresh
meats, vegetables, eggs, and other green groceries, and the trade of
hucksters and junk dealers as may be deemed advisable.

(8S) To own, operate and maintain water works and to acquire in
any lawful manner in any county of the State, such water, lands, property
rights, and riparian rights as the council of the said town may deem nec-
essary for the purpose of providing an adequate water supply to the said
town and piping and conducting the same; to lay, erect and maintain all
necessary mains and sewer lines, either within or without the corporate
limits of the said town, for the distribution of water to its customers and
consumers, both within and without the corporate limits of the said town,
and to charge and collect water rents therefor; to erect and maintain all
necessary ‘dams, pumping stations and other works in connection there-
with; to make reasonable rules and regulations promoting the purity of
its water supply and for protecting the same from pollution; and for this
purpose to exercise full police powers and sanitary patrol over all land
comprised within the limits of the watershed, tributary to any such wa-
ter supply wherever such lands may be located in this State; to impose
and enforce adequate penalties for the violation of any such rules and reg-
ulations; and to prevent by injunction any pollution or threatened pollu-
tion of such water supply, and any and all acts likely to impair the purity
thereof; and to carry out the powers herein granted, the said town may
exercise within the State all powers of eminent domain provided by the
laws of this State.

(9) To acquire by gift, purchase, exchange or by the exercise of
the power of eminent domain within this State lands; or any interest or
estate in lands, rock quarries, gravelpits, sandpits, water and water rights,
and the necessary roadways thereto, either within or without the town,
and to acquire and install machinery and equipment and build the neces-
sary roads or trainways thereto, and to operate the same for producing
material required for any and all purposes of the town.

(10) To provide in or near the town land to be used as burial places
for the dead; to improve and care for the same and the approaches there-
to, and to charge for and regulate the use of the ground therein, to co-
operate with any non-profit corporation or association in the improve-
ment and care of burial places and approaches thereto; and to provide
for the perpetual upkeep and care of any plot or burial lot therein, the
town is authorized to take and receive sums of money by gift, bequest,
or otherwise, to be kept and invested, and the income thereof used in and
about the perpetual upkeep and care of the said lot or plot for which the
said donation, gift, or bequest has been made. And all acts of the said
town in accepting from any cemetery company, society or corporation
such land to be used as a burial place for the dead, whether said land had
been heretofore used or not, as well as all contracts and agreements made
with any person or persons for perpetual care and maintenance, are here-
by declared valid.

(11) To collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes, garbage, car-
casses of dead animals, and other refuse, and make reasonable charges
therefor; to acquire and operate reduction or any other plants for utiliza-
tion and disposal of such material; to contract for or regulate the collec-
tion and disposal thereof, and to require the collection and disposal there-
of, and to acquire land within or without the town for said purpose.

(12) To inspect, test, measure and weigh any commodity or com-
modities or articles of consumption for use within the town; and to es-
tablish, regulate, license and inspect weights, meters, measures and scales.

(13) To license and regulate the holding and location of shows,
circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals, and other similar shows or fairs, or
prohibit the holding of the same, or any of them within the limits of the
town or within one mile thereof.

(14) To construct, purchase, maintain, regulate and operate pub-
lic improvements of all kinds, including municipal and other buildings,
armories, markets, and all buildings and structures necessary orappropri-
ate for the use and proper operations of the various departments of the
town; and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise all lands; riparian
and other rights and easements necessary for such improvements, or any
of them.
(15) To establish, alter, enter, open, widen, extend, grade, improve.
construct, maintain, and clean public highways, streets, sidewalks, boule-
vards, parkways, and alleys; to establish and maintain parks, play
grounds, and public grounds; to keep them lighted and in good order ; to
construct, maintain, and operate bridges, viaducts, subways, tunnels,
sewers and drains, and to regulate the use of all such highways, streets,
alleys, public grounds, and works; to plant and remove shade trees along
the streets and upon such public grounds; to prevent the obstruction of
such streets, alleys, and highways, abolish and prevent grade crossings
over the same by railroads in the manner provided by the general law for
the elimination of grade crossings; to require any railroad company op-
erating a railroad at a place where any highway or street is crossed with-
in the limits of the town to erect and maintain at such crossing proper
gates and keep a person in charge thereof, or keep a flagman at such
crossings during such hours as the council may require in accordance
with general laws, and to regulate the length of time such crossing may be
closed due to any railroad operations within the town and to do all other
things whatsoever adapted to make said streets and highways safe, con-
venient, and attractive.

(16) In addition to the parks and play grounds above provided for,
the said town may also acquire and operate parks, playgrounds, and pub-
lic grounds without the corporate limits of the town, and may place on
the same either within or without the town stadia, swimming pools, recre-
ation and amusement buildings, structures or enclosures of every charac-
ter, and charge admission thereto, and may rent out or lease the privileges
of the same.

(17) To establish, impose and enforce the collection of water and

ewage rates, and rates and charges for public utilities, or other services,
products, or conveniences, operated, rented, or furnished by the town;
and to assess, or cause to be assessed, after reasonable notice to the own-
er or owners, water and sewage rates and charges directly against the
owner or owners of the building, or against the proper tenant or tenants ;
and may by ordinance require a deposit of such reasonable amount as it
may prescribe before furnishing such service either to owner or tenant.

(18) To establish, construct, and maintain sanitary sewers, sewer
lines and systems, and to require abutting property owners to connect
therewith ; to establish, construct, maintain, and operate sewage disposal
plants, and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise, within or without
the town limits, all land, rights-of-way, riparian and other rights and
easements necessary for said purpose, and to charge and assess and col-
lect reasonable fees, rentals, assessments or costs of service for connecting
with and using the same.

(19) To require every owner of motor vehicles residing in the said
town, on a date to be designated by the council, to annually register such
motor vehicles and to obtain a license to operate the same by making
application to such person as may be designated by the council of said
town to issue said license, and to require the said owner to pay an annual
license fee therefor to be fixed by the council; provided that such license
fee shall not exceed that charged by the State on such machines.
(20) In so far as not prohibited by the general law of the State, to
control, regulate, limit and restrict the operations of motor vehicles carry-
ing passengers for hire.upon the streets and alleys of the town; to regulate
the operation of motor vehicles upon the streets; to regulate the routes in
and through the town to be used by motor vehicle carriers operating in
and through said town and to prescribe different routes for different car-
riers ; to prohibit the use of certain streets by motor trucks; and general-
ly to prescribe such regulations respecting motor traffic and parking there-
in as may be necessary for the general welfare and safety.

(21) To prevent the riding or driving of horses or other animals
at an improper speed ; to prevent the throwing of stones, the setting off of
fireworks, or engaging in any sort of employment in the public streets
which is dangerous or annoying to passersby ; and to prohibit and punish
the abuse of animals. |

(22) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and general laws
and this charter, to grant franchises for public utilities.

(23) To charge and collect fees for permits to use public facilities
and for public services and privileges; and to have the right and power
to charge for any service rendered or convenience furnished to those re-
siding without the corporate limits different from the rates charged for
similar services or conveniences to those residing within the corporate
limits. .

(24) To compel the abatement and removal of all nuisances within
the town or upon property owned by the town without its limits at the
expense of the person or persons causing the same or of the owner or o¢-
cupant of the ground or premises wherein the same may be, and to collect
said expense by suit or motion or by distress and sale; to require all
lands, lots and other premises within the town to be kept clean and sant-
tary and free from stagnant water, weeds, filth, and unsightly deposits, or
to make them so at the expense of the owners or occupants thereof, and
to collect said expense by suit or motion or by distress and sale; to regu-
late or prevent slaughter houses or other noisome or offensive business
within the said town, or the exercise of any dangerous or unwholesome
business, trade, or employment therein; to regulate the transportation ©
all articles through the streets of said town; to compel the abatement of
smoke and dust, and prevent unnecessary noise; to regulate the location
of stables and the manner in which the same shall be constructed and
kept; to regulate the location, construction, operation, and maintenance
of billboard and signs; and generally to define, prohibit, abate, suppress.
and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, aesthetics, salety.
convenience, and welfare of the inhabitants of the town; and to require
all owners or occupants of property having public sidewalks adjacent
thereto to keep the same clean and sanitary, free from weeds, filth, un-
sightly deposits, ice, and snow.

(25) To extinguish and prevent fires, and to establish, regulate, and
control a fire department or division; to regulate the size, height, ma-
terial, and construction of buildings, fences, walls, retaining walls and
other structures hereafter erected in such manner as the public safety and
convenience may require; to remove or require to be removed or recon-
structed any building, structure, or addition thereto which by reason of
dilapidation, defect of structure, or other causes may have become dan-
gerous to life or property, or which may be erected contrary to law; to
enact stringent and efficient laws for securing the safety of persons from
fires in halls and buildings used for public assemblies, entertainments,
amusements, or school gatherings.

(26) To direct the location and construction of all buildings for
storing explosives or combustible substances ; to regulate the sale and use
of gunpowder, nitroglycerin, fireworks, kerosene, gasoline, and other
like material; to regulate or prevent the exhibition of fireworks, the dis-
charge of firearms, and the making of bonfires within the corporate limits
of said town.

(27) To provide for the preservation of the general health of the in-
habitants of said town, make regulations to secure the same, inspect all
foodstuffs and prevent the introduction and sale in said town of any
articles or thing intended for human consumption which is adulterated,
impure, or otherwise dangerous to health, and to condemn, seize, and
destroy or otherwise dispose of any such article or thing without liability
to the owner thereof; to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious
or infectious diseases, and prevent and suppress disease generally ; to pro-
vide and regulate hospitals within or without the town limits, and if
necessary to the suppression of disease, to enforce the removal of persons
affected with contagious or infectious diseases to hospitals provided for
them ; to provide for the organization of a department or bureau of health,
to have the powers of a board of health for said town, with authority
necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of its duties, with the

wer to invest any or all of the officials or employees of such depart-
ment of health with such powers as the police officers of the town have,
to establish quarantine ground within or without the town, and establish
and enforce such quarantine regulations against contagious and infectious
diseases as the council may see fit, subject to the laws of the State and the
United States.

(28) To provide for the care, support and maintenance of children
and of sick, aged, insane, or poor persons and paupers.

(29) To acquire in any lawful manner, for the purpose of encourag-
ing commerce and manufacture, lands within or without the town, not ex-
ceeding at any one time five hundred acres in the aggregate, and from
time to time sell or lease the same or any part thereof for industrial or
commercial use and purposes, irrespective of the consideration paid for
such lease or sale.

(30) To prevent any person having no visible means of support,
paupers, and persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety of
the town from coming to the town from without the same; and to expel
therefrom any such person who has been in said town less than twelve
months.

(31) To exercise full police powers and establish and maintain a de-
partment or division of police.

(32) To restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants, and street beg-
gars ; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages ;
to suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling houses and punish the opera-
tors and inmates of the same; to prohibit and punish the carrying of con-
cealed weapons within the said town; to prevent and punish lewd, in-
decent, and disorderly exhibitions in said town. To prohibit and punish
gambling and betting, disturbances of the peace, disorderly conduct, and
public swearing and cursing, within the said town.

(33) To prohibit and punish mischievous, wanton or malicious
damage to school, church, and public property, as well as to private prop-

(34) To prohibit minors from and punish them for frequenting,
playing, or loitering in any public poolroom, billiard parlor, or bowling
alley, and to punish any proprietor or agent thereof for permitting same.

(35) To make and enforce ordinances, not inconsistent with the
laws of this State.

(36) To offer and pay rewards for the apprehension of criminals.

(37) To compel persons sentenced to confinement in the jail of the
town for any violation of the laws or ordinances of the town to work on
the public streets, parks, or other public works of the town; and on the
requisition of the mayor it shall be the duty of the sergeant of the town
to deliver such persons to the duly authorized agent of the town for such
purposes from day to day as they may be required. For the purpose of
carrying into effect the police regulations of the town, the town shall
have the use of the county jail of Mecklenburg County for the safe keep-
ing and confinement of all persons who shall be sentenced to imprison-
ment under the ordinances of said town. :

(38) To enforce, and restrain the violation of any town ordinance
or ordinances, although a penalty is provided upon conviction thereof.

(39) To pass and enforce all by-laws, rules, regulations, and ordi-
nances which it may deem necessary for the good order and government
of the town, the management of its property, the conduct of its affairs, the
peace, comfort, convenience, order, morals, health and protection of its
citizens and their property, and to do such other things and pass such
other laws as may be necessary or proper to carry into full effect all pow-
ers, authority, capacity or jurisdiction, which is or shall be granted to or
vested in said town, or in the council, court or offices thereof, or which
may be necessarily incident to a municipal corporation.

(40) To do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient and lawful
to be done for promoting or maintaining the general welfare, comfort.
education, morals, peace, government, health, trade, commerce, or 1n-
dustries of the town, or its inhabitants.

(41) To prescribe any reasonable penalties for the violation of any
town ordinance, rule, or regulation, or of any provision of this charter.
not exceeding penalties for similar offenses prescribed by the general laws
of the State of Virginia. ,

(42) To give names to or alter the names of streets.

(43) To make and adopt a comprehensive plan for the town, and to
that end all plats and re-plats hereafter made subdividing any land within
the town or a mile of its corporate limits into streets, alleys, roads, and
lots or tracts shall be submitted to and approved by the council betore
such plats or re-plats are filed for record or recorded in the office of the
Clerk of Mecklenburg County.
(44) To own, operate and maintain electric light and gas works,
either within or without the corporate limits of the town and to supply
electricity and gas, whether the same be generated or purchased by said
town, to its customers and consumers both within and without the cor-
porate limits of the said town, at such price and upon such terms as it
may prescribe, and to that end it may contract for and purchase electricity
and gas from the owners thereof upon such terms as it may deem ex-
pedient.

(45) To regulate, permit or prohibit poles and wires for electric,
telephone, and telegraph purposes erected or to be erected and gas pipes
to be laid in the streets and alleys of the town; to require the owner or
lessee of an electric light, telephone, or telegraph-pole, or poles, or wires,
now in use or hereafter erected, to change the location of or move the
same.

(46) To provide by ordinance for a system of meat and milk in-
spection, and appoint milk and meat inspectors, agents, or officers to
carry the same into effect; to license, regulate, control, and locate
slaughter houses within or without the corporate limits of the town; and
for such services of inspection to make reasonable charges thereof; and
to provide reasonable penalties for the violation of such ordinances.

(47) To establish, organize, administer, or contribute to the sup-
port of public schools and libraries, subject to the general laws establish-
ing a standard of education for the State.

(48) The enumeration of particular powers by this charter shall
not be deemed to be exclusive, and in addition to the powers enumerated
herein or implied hereby, or appropriate to the exercise of such powers,
It is intended that the town council shall have and may exercise all pow-
ers which, under the constitution and laws of this State, it would be com-
petent for this charter specifically to enumerate.

Section 4. Administration and Government —(1) The present
mayor and councilmen of the Town of Chase City shall continue in office
and exercise all the powers conferred by this charter and the general laws
of this State until the expiration of the term for which they were elected,
or until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this charter, all powers of the
town and the administration and government thereof shall be vested in
the council and such boards or officers as are hereafter mentioned, or may
be by law otherwise provided.

(3) On the second Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred and forty-
seven, and every two years thereafter, there shall be elected by the quali-
fied voters of the town, one elector of the town, who shall be denominated
mayor, and six other electors, who shall be denominated councilmen, and
the mayor and councilmen shall constitute the town council. They shall
enter upon the duties of their offices on the first day of September next
succeeding their election, and shall continue in office until their successors
are duly elected and qualified. Every person so elected shall take an oath
faithfully to execute and discharge the duties of his office to the best of his
judgment, and the mayor shall take the oath prescribed by law for State
officers. The failure of any person elected or appointed under the pro-
702 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY [va., 1946

vision of this charter to qualify or to take the oath required, within the
time prescribed for entering upon the discharge of the duties of the office
to which he is elected or appointed, shall vacate the said office, and the
council shall proceed and is hereby vested with power to fill such vacancy
in the manner herein prescribed.

(4) There shall be appointed for the town a registrar and officers
of election in the manner provided for by general law of Virginia, and
all elections held in said town shall be conducted in accordance with said
general law; the electorate shall be that prescribed by general law.

(5) The council shall judge of the election, qualification, and re-
turns of its members; may fine them for disorderly conduct, and, with
the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. If any person returned
be adjudged disqualified, or be expelled, a new election to fill the vacancy
shall be held on such day as the council may prescribe. Any vacancy oc-
curring otherwise during the term for which such person was elected
shall be filled by the council by the appointment of any one eligible to such
office. A vacancy in the office of mayor shall be filled by the council from
the electors of the town, and any member of the council may be eligible
to fill such vacancy.

(6) A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.

(7) Each member of the council may receive a salary to be fixed
by the council, payable at such times, and in such manner as the council
may direct, but the salary paid to any one member during any year shall
not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per annum. The
mayor may receive a salary to be fixed by the council, payable in such
manner and at such times as the council may direct, not to exceed the
sum of nine hundred dollars ($900.00) per annum; and such salary shall
be in lieu of any fees he is entitled to enter up as part of the costs and re-
ceive in the trial of cases for violation of the ordinances of the town as
hereinafter provided for.

(8) The mayor shall preside at the meetings of the council and
perform such other duties as are prescribed by this charter and by general
law, and such as may be imposed by the council consistent with his office.
The mayor shall have no right to vote in the council, except in case of a
tie he shall have the right to break the same by his vote; but he shall have
no right of veto. He shall take care and see that the by-laws, ordinances,
acts, and resolutions of the council are faithfully executed and obeyed, and
shall have and exercise all power and authority conferred by general law
on mayors of towns not inconsistent with this charter. He shall be ex-
officio a conservator of the peace within the town and within one mile of
its corporate limits; and shall have jurisdiction to issue process for and
try all cases for the violation of the town ordinances, subject to an appeal
to the Circuit Court of Mecklenburg County, and impose such punish-
ment and/or fines as may be prescribed for violation of the same, and he
shall have power to issue executions for all fines and costs imposed by
him, or he may require an immediate payment thereof, and in default of
such payment he may commit the defaulting party to the town jail or the
Mecklenburg County jail until such fine and costs shall be paid, such
commitment, however, not to be for more than twelve months. He may
release persons accused or convicted of the violation of a town ordinance
upon the giving of sufficient bail to be fixed by him. He shall see that
peace and good order are preserved and that persons and property within
the town are protected. He shall authenticate by his signature such docu-
ments and instruments as the council, this charter, or the laws of this
Commonwealth require. He shall from time to time recommend to the
council such measures as he may deem needful for the welfare of the
town.

(9) The council shall, as soon as practicable after qualification, ap-
point one of its members as vice-mayor. The vice-mayor, during the
absence or disability of the mayor, shall perform the duties and be vested
with all the powers, authority, and jurisdiction, of the mayor; and in the
event of a vacancy for any reason in the office of mayor, he shall act as
mayor until a mayor is duly appointed by the council or is elected.

(10) The council shall, by ordinance, fix the time for their regular
meetings, which shall be held at least once a month. Special meetings
may be called by the clerk at the instance of the mayor or any two mem-
bers of the council in writing; and no other business shall be transacted
at a special meeting except that stated in the call, unless all members be
present and consent to the transaction of such other business.
The meetings of the council shall be open to the public except when in the
judgment of the council the public welfare shall require executive meet-
ings.

(11) The council shall keep a minute book, in which the clerk shall
note the proceedings of the council, and shall record proceedings at large
on the minute book and keep the same properly indexed.

(12) The council may adopt rules for regulating its proceedings,
but no tax shall be levied, corporate debt contracted, or appropriation of
money exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars be made, except by a
recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all the members elected to the
council.

(13) There shall be appointed by the council at its first meeting in
September, or as soon as practicable thereafter, a treasurer, who shall
hold office for a term of two years. The council may provide a salary
for the treasurer. He shall give such bond, with surety and in such
penalty as the council prescribes. He shall receive all money belonging
to the town, and keep correct accounts of all receipts from all sources and
of all expenditures of all departments. He shall be responsible for the
collection of all taxes, license fees, levies and charges due to the town, and
shall disburse the moneys of the town in the manner prescribed by the
council as it may by ordinance direct.

(14) The treasurer shall make such reports and at such time as the
council may prescribe. The books and accounts of the treasurer shall
be examined and audited at least once a year by a competent accountant
selected by the council, such examination and audit to be reported to the
council.

(15) The council may in its discretion designate the place of deposit
of all town funds, which shall be kept by the treasurer separate and apart
from his personal funds.
(16) There shall be appointed by the council, at its first regular
meeting in September after its election, a clerk of the council, who shall
hold office for a term of two years. He shall attend the meetings of the
council and keep its minutes and records and have charge of the corporate
seal. He shall keep all papers required to be kept by the council, shall
publish such reports and ordinances as are required to be published, and
shall perform such other duties as the council may from time to time re-
quire. His compensation shall be fixed by the council. Any vacancy in
this office shall be filled by the council.

(17) There shall be ‘appointed by the council at its first regular
meeting in September or as soon as practicable thereafter, a town ser-
geant, who shall also be chief of police, and shall hold office for two years.
His duties shall be such as the council prescribes. He shall be vested with
the powers of a conservator of the peace. His compensation shall be fixed
by the council.

(18) The council may appoint or elect such other officers as may be
necessary, including a business manager for the town, and fix their sal-
aries and define their duties.

Section 5. Actions against Town.—No actions shall be maintained
against the town for damages for any injury to any person or property
alleged to have been sustained by reason of the negligence of the town
or any officer, agent, or employee thereof, unless a written statement,
verified by the oath of the claimant, his agent or attorney, or the personal
representative of any decedent whose death is a result of the alleged negli-
gence of the town, its officers, agents, or employees, of the nature of the
claim and the time and place at which the injury 1s alleged to have oc-
curred or to have been received, shall have been filed with the mayor or
any attorney appointed by the council for this purpose within sixty days
after such cause of action shall have occurred, except where the claimant
is an infant or non compos mentis, or the injured party dies within such
sixty days, such statement may be filed within one hundred and twenty
days. And no officers, agents, or employees of the town shall have au-
thority to waive such conditions precedent or any of them.

Section 6. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this act
shall for any reason be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to
be invalid, said judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the re-
mainder of said act, but shall be confined in its operation to the part of
the act directly involved in the controversy in which said judgment shall
have been rendered.

Section 7. This act may be referred to or cited as the Chase City
Charter of nineteen hundred and forty-six.

2. Chapter one hundred seventy-one of the Acts of Assembly of
nineteen hundred sixteen, which provided a new charter for the town of
Chase City, and all acts amendatory thereof are hereby repealed: and
all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with any of the provisions
of this act are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistencies.

3. An emergency exists and this act 1s in force from its passage.