Chap. 94.—An ACT to amend and reenact Sections 3, and 3-a as amended, of
Chapter 161 of the Acts of Assembly of 1926, approved March 17, 1926, the
chapter and sections relating respectively, to sanitary districts and powers
of governing body. (S 117]

Approved March 4, 1948

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That sections three, and three-a, as amended of chapter
one hundred sixty-one of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred
twenty-six, approved March seventeen, nineteen hundred twenty-
six, be amended and reenacted as follows:

Section 3. After the entry of such order creating a sanitary
district of such county, the board of supervisors thereof shall have
the following powers and duties, subject to the conditions and
limitations hereinafter prescribed:

(a) To construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add
to and to operate water supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage dis-
posal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalks and firefighting systems,
for the use and benefit of the public in such sanitary district.

(a-1) To acquire, maintain and operate, within such sanitary
district, such community buildings and other recreational facilities
as the board may deem expedient or advisable, and to make such
charges for the use of such facilities as may be prescribed by the
board.

(b) To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease, or
otherwise, and to maintain and operate any such water supply,
drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat, light and power and
gas and sidewalks and fire-fighting systems in such district.

(c) To contract with any person, firm, corporation, muni-
cipality or the federal government or any agency thereof to
acquire, construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to
and operate any such water supply, drainage, sewage, garbage
removal and disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalk and fire-
fighting systems in such district, and to accept the funds of, or
to reimburse from any available source, such person, firm, corpora-
tion, municipality or the federal government or any agency thereof
for either the whole or any part of the costs, expenses and charges
incident to the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, mainte-
nance, alteration, improvement, addition to and operation of any
such system or systems.

(d) To require owners or tenants of any property in the
district to connect with any such system or systems, and to contract
with the owners or tenants for such connections. In order to
require owners or tenants of any property in the district to
connect with any such system or systems, the board of super-
visors shall have power and authority to adopt ordinances so
requiring owners or tenants to connect with such systems, and
to use the same, and the board of supervisors shall have power
to provide for a punishment in the ordinance of not exceeding
1 fifty dollar fine for each failure and refusal to so connect with
such systems, or to use the same. Before adopting any such
ordinance the board of supervisors shall give public notice of
he intention to propose the same for passage by posting hand
ill notices of such proposal in three or more public places in
he sanitary district at least ten days prior to the time the ordi-
nance shall be proposed for passage. The ordinance shall not be-
come effective after its passage until ten days like notice has been
riven by posting copies of such ordinance in three or more public
places in the district. Violations of such ordinances shall be tried
before the trial justice court of the county as is provided for trial
yt misdemeanors, and with like right of appeal.

(e) To fix and prescribe the rates of charge for the use of
anv such system or systems and to provide for the collection of
such charges. And to enable the board to enforce the collection of
charges for the use of any such systems against the person or
persons, firm or corporation using the same, the charges when
made for the use of any such system shall be collectible by distress,
levy, garnishment, attachment or otherwise without recourse to
court procedure, except so far as the selected procedure may re-
quire the same. And the board shall have power to designate as
its agent for the purpose of collection such officer or officers,
person or persons as it may determine, and the officer or officers,
person or persons shall be vested with the same power and au-
thority as a sheriff or constable may have in like procedure.

(i) To employ and fix the compensation of any technical,
clerical, or other force and help which from time to time, in their
judgment, may be deemed necessary for the construction, operation
of maintenance of any such system or systems.

(g) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corpora-
ion, or municipality with regard to the connection of any system
r systems with any other system or systems, now in operation
or hereafter to be established, and with regard to any other matter
necessary and proper for the construction or operation and main-
tenance of any such system within the sanitary district.

(h) To contract for the extension of any such system into
territory outside of the district, and for the use thereof, upon such
terms and conditions as the board may from time to time determine
upon.

P Section 3-a. In addition to the powers and duties conferred
and imposed upon the board of supervisors by section three, such
board shall have the following powers and duties, subject to the
conditions and limitations hereinafter prescribed:

(a) To employ and fix the compensation of counsel for such
legal advice or services as the board deems necessary ;

(b) To levy and collect an annual tax upon all the property
in such sanitary district subject to local taxation to pay, either
in whole or in part, the costs, expenses and charges incident to
acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, maintaining, altering, im-
proving, adding to, and operating water supply, drainage, sewage,
garbage removal and disposal, heat, lights, fire-fighting equipment
and power and gas systems and sidewalks, and incident to the
acquisition and maintenance of such community buildings and
recreational facilities, for the use and benefit of the public in
such sanitary district ;

(c) To exercise the same power and authority for the abate-
ment of nuisances in such sanitary district as is vested by law in
councils of cities and towns for the abatement of nuisances therein,
and it shall be the duty of the board to exercise such power when
any such nuisance shall be shown to exist.

(d) This section three-a and the preceding section are subject
to the proviso that if the utility or system was acquired at no more
than nominal cost no use charge or tax imposed by authority of
such sections shall exceed the amount estimated to be necessary
for the operation and maintenance of the utility, or system nor
shall any part of such charge or tax be for capital re-imbursement
or amortization.

2. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.