CHAPTER 8

An Act to provide a new charter for the town of Kilmarnock in Lancaster
County, and to repeal all former charters of the town. $14
[

Approved December 16, 1952

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. The inhabitants of the territory comprised within the present
limits of the Town of Kilmarnock, as such limitations 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
Kilmarnock, 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 Commonwealth of Virginia, as fully and com-
pletely as though such powers were specifically enumerated herein, and no
enumeration of particular powers by this charter shall be held to be ex-
clusive, and shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities,
powers and privileges and be subject to all the duties and obligations now
appertaining to and incumbent on the town as a municipal corporation,
and the Town of Kilmarnock, as such shall have perpetual succession, may
sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted
with, and may have a corporate seal which it may alter, renew, or amend
at its pleasure by proper ordinance.

§ 2. The present boundaries of the Town are as set forth in an
order of the Circuit Court of Lancaster County, Virginia, entered Decem-
ber 8, 1930, and of record in the Clerk’s Office of said Court in Common
Law Order Book 1927, at page 248, and a plat recorded therewith at page
252; and as further set forth by an order of the Circuit Court of Lancaster
County, Virginia, entered February 2, 1942, which is of record in the
Clerk’s Office of said Court in Common Law Order Book 1935, at page
434, and a plat recorded therewith at page 436.

§ 3. The administration and government of the Town is vested in
the Council composed of a mayor and six councilmen, all of whom shall
be electors of the Town.

(a) The said Council shall be elected in the manner provided by law,
as follows: At the regular municipal election to be held on the second
Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred fifty-four, the Mayor and six Council-
men shall be elected. The Mayor shall be elected for a term of four years.
The three members, each of whom has received more votes in said election
than either of the other members, shall serve as members of the council
for terms of four years each. The remaining three members shall serve
for a term of two years each. At the regular municipal election to be held
on the second Tuesday, June, nineteen hundred fifty-six, and every two
years thereafter, three councilmen shall be elected for a term of four years.
Terms of office shall begin on the first day of September next following
their election. Each councilman and the mayor elected as hereinabove
provided shall serve for the term stated or until his successor has been
elected and qualified. The council shall be a continuing body, and no
measure pending before such body shall abate or be discontinued by reason
of expiration of term of office or removal of any of its members.

(b) Vacancy in the council shall be filled within thirty days, for
the unexpired term, by a majority vote of the remaining members; pro-
vided, that if the term of office to be filled does not expire for two years
or more after the next regular election for councilmen, following such
vacancy and such vacancy occurs in time to permit it, then the council
shall fill such vacancy only for the period then remaining until such elec-
tion, and a qualified person shall then be elected by the qualified voters and
shall from and after the date of his election and qualification succeed such
appointee and serve the unexpired term. The number of candidates for
council equal to the number of vacancies to be filled for full terms re-
ceiving the highest number of votes shall be entitled to such full terms
and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be en-
titled to the unexpired term caused by such vacancy.

§ 4. The electors of the Town of Kilmarnock shall be the actual
residents of the Town, who are otherwise qualified to vote for members
of the General Assembly.

§ 5. The municipal officers of said town shall, in addition to the
mayor, consist of a treasurer, sergeant, clerk of the council, and such
other officers as may be provided for by the town council; and the council
may appoint such committees of the council and create such boards and
departments of town government and administration with such powers
and duties and subject to such regulations as it may see fit, consistent
with the provisions of this act and the general laws of this State. The said
Treasurer and Clerk may be one and the same person if the council may
deem it more expedient.

§ 6. The Council of the Town of Kilmarnock may, in its discretion,
elect a town manager who may also serve as town engineer. Upon the
election of a town manager by the council he shall be vested with the ad-
ministrative and executive powers of the town and shall hold office during
the pleasure of the council. He shall receive such compensation as shall be
fixed by the council. The town manager shall see that within the town
the laws, ordinances, resolutions and by-laws of the council are faithfully
executed. He shall attend all meetings of the council and recommend for
adoption such measures as he shall deem expedient. He shall make reports
to the council from time to time upon the affairs of the town, keep the
council fully advised of the town’s financial condition and its future
financial needs. He shall prepare and submit to the council a tentative
budget for each fiscal year. He shall perform such other duties as may
be prescribed by the council and shall be bonded in such amount as the
council may deem necessary.

§ 7. All officers and employees appointed may be removed by the
town council at its pleasure, and where the appointment is by a committee
or board, or where such appointment is by the mayor, or head of a depart-
ment, such removal may be by order of the mayor or head of department.

§ 8. The council shall by ordinance or resolution fix the salaries of all
officers and employees of the town elected or appointed by it, or appointed
by its authority and may so far as is not inconsistent with the provisions
of this charter, define the powers and prescribe the duties of all such
officers and employees. To effectuate the powers conferred by general law
as well as the powers herein specifically granted, the council may employ
all such persons as may be necessary.

§ 9. It shall be lawful for any officer appointed by the council, any
committee, municipal board, or the head of any department to fill two or
more of the offices whose incumbents are appointed by the council or by
any appointing power designated by the council, subject to the same
penalties, liabilities and requirements as to each of said offices as would
apply to the incumbents thereof if held by different persons.

§ 10. No member of the Town council during his tenure of office as
such shall be eligible to election to any remunerative office to be filled by the
council; provided, however, that this provision shall not be construed to
prohibit the compensation by the Council of one or more of its members
for services as secretary or clerk of the council or the compensation of any
of its members for professional services for the benefit of the Town.

§ 11. The mayor, councilmen and all municipal officers of said town
shall, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, be sworn
in accordance with the laws of the State of Virginia by anyone authorized
to administer oaths under the laws of the State.

§ 12. When the mayor, councilmen, treasurer and cler’: take the
oaths required of them, duplicate certificates of the court or person ad-
ministering the same, stating the fact of their having been taken, shall be
obtained by the person taking the same and be by him delivered for record
as follows: one to the clerk of the circuit court of Lancaster County and
one to the clerk of the town council. When any other municipal officer
takes the oath required of him, a certificate as aforesaid, shall be secured
by him and delivered to the clerk of the town council.

§ 13. If any person elected or appointed to any office in said town
shall neglect to take such oath on or before the day on which he is to enter
upon the discharge of the duties of his office, or shall, for twenty days
after the beginning of his term of office, fail to give such bond with such
security as may be required of him by the council of said town, he shall be
considered as having declined said office, and the same shall be deemed
vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled as prescribed in this act or by
the general laws of this State.

§ 14. If any person, having been an officer of said town, shall not
within ten days after he shall have vacated or been removed from office,
and upon notification or request of the council within such time as it may
allow, deliver to his successor in office all property, books and papers
belonging to the town or appertaining to such office, in his possession or
under his control, he shall forfeit and pay to the town a sum not exceeding
five hundred dollars, to be sued for and recovered with costs; and all
books, records and documents used in any office by virtue of any pro-
vision of this act, or of any ordinances or order of the town council, or
any superior officer of said town, shall be deemed the property of said
town and appertaining to said office, and the chief officer thereof shall
be held responsible therefor.

§ 15. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified electors of the town
for the term of four years. His salary shall be fixed by the town council,
and shall not be diminished during his term of office.

§ 16. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the town and
it shall be his duty to see that the by-laws and ordinances thereof are
fully executed, and he shall preside over the meetings of the town council,
voting only in case of a tie.

The mayor shall see that the duties of the various city officers, mem-
bers of the police and fire departments, whether elected or appoifted, are
faithfully performed. He shall have power to investigate their acts, have
access to all books and documents in their office, and may examine them
or their subordinates on oath, but the evidence given by persons so
examined shall not be used against them in any criminal proceedings.

§ 17. The mayor shall communicate to the town council annually at
the beginning of each fiscal year, or oftener, if he be required by the council,
a general statement of the condition of the town in relation to its govern-
ment, finances and improvements, with such recommendations as he may
deem proper; and may from time to time communicate to the council such
suggestions and recommendations as he shall deem proper.

§ 18. In case of the absence or inability of the mayor to act, the
president pro tempore of the council, to be chosen by a majority of the
council present at a legal meeting, or in his absence or inability to act,
some other member of the council selected in the same manner, shall
possess the same power and discharge the municipal duties of the mayor
during such absence or inability.

§ 19. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of the mayor, the
vacancy shall be filled by the method provided in paragraph 3 (b) for
filling vacancies in council. —

§ 20. The town council, composed of the mayor and six councilmen
ee be elected at large by the popular vote of the qualified electors of

e town.

§ 21. The town council is hereby authorized and empowered, by ordi-
nance or resolution, passed by the affirmative recorded vote of two-thirds
of the full membership thereof, to be determined by yeas and nays, to
provide and fix salaries for its members, at such sums or in such amounts
not exceeding the sum or amount of one hundred and twenty dollars per
annum for each member, as it may determine, to be payable in such
amounts and at such time or times as it may direct.

The council may provide and fix the salaries for its members, on the
basis of stated amounts or sums, not exceeding the limits herein provided,
for each regular meeting of council attended by members, and may pre-
scribe that no member shall receive any compensation for any meeting of
said council not attended by such member. oo,

And in the event said salaries shall be provided and fixed within nine
months from the date of the commencement of the terms of office of said
members, the said council is hereby further authorized and empowered to
make said salaries relate back to and become payable from the commence-
ment of the terms of said members.

Said salaries, when provided and fixed, shall be payable out of the
general funds of said town when approved for payment by said council.
Said salaries shall not be increased or diminished during term of office.

§ 22. The council shall by ordinance adopt such rules as it might
deem proper for the regulation of its proceedings and shall meet at such
times as may be prescribed by ordinance, provided, however, that it shall
hold at least one regular meeting each month. A majority of the council
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but no ordinance
or resolution shall be adopted having for its object the levying of taxes
or contracting a debt except by a recorded, affirmative vote of two-thirds
of the members elected to the council. The mayor, or any other two
members of the council, may call a special meeting of the council upon at
least twelve hours written notice of the time, place and purpose to each
member served personally or left at his usual place of business or residence
by the town sergeant, and no business shall be transacted by the council
in such special meeting which has not been stated in the notice, provided,
however, that these regulations shall not apply when all members of the
council attend such meeting or waive notice thereof, nor shall it apply to an
adjourned session from a regular meeting. No ordinance or resolution
appropriating money exceeding the sum of five hundred dollars, imposing
taxes, or authorizing the borrowing of money, shall be passed by the
council on the same day on which it is introduced, nor shall any such
ordinance or resolution be valid until at least three days intervene between
its introduction and the date of passage. No ordinance or resolution
appropriating money exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars shall be
passed except by the recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all
members elected to the council. The meetings of the council shall be
public, unless the council by a recorded affirmative vote of two-thirds of
its members shall declare that the public welfare demands an executive
session of the council; and citizens may have access to the minutes and
records of the council at any reasonable time.

§ 23. The mayor and four councilmen, or in the absence of the mayor,
four councilmen shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,
except as herein or by the general statutes of this State otherwise provided.
But no vote shall be reconsidered or rescinded at any special meeting, unless
at such special meeting there be present as large a number of members of
the council as were present when such a vote was taken.

§ 24. A journal shall be kept of the proceedings of the town council,
and at the request of any member present the yeas and nays shall be
recorded on any question. At the next meeting the proceedings shall be
read and signed by the person who was presiding when the previous
meeting adjourned, or if he be not then present, by the person presiding
when they were read.

§ 25. The clerk of the council shall keep said journal and shall record
the proceedings of the council at large thereon, and keep the same properly
indexed.

§ 26. The town council shall be judge of the election, qualifications
and returns of its members; may compel the attendance of absent members,
and fine them for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-
thirds, expel a member for malfeasance or misfeasance while in office.

-§ 27. If any person returned as a member of the council shall be
adjudged by the council disqualified or be expelled, a new election to fill
the vacancy shall be held at the same place, on such day as the council
may prescribe.

§ 28. Any vacancy in the town council occuring otherwise than as
mentioned in paragraph 27 above, during the term for which a member
of the said council has been elected, shall be filled by the council, by the
appointment of any one eligible to such office.

§ 29. If any member of said council be voluntarily absent from its
meetings consecutively for three months, his seat may be declared vacant
by the council, and the unexpired term filled by appointment as provided
in paragraph 3 (b).

§ 30. The town council shall have, subject to the provisions of this
act and the general laws of this State, the management and control of the
fiscal and municipal affairs of the town, and of all property, real and
personal, belonging to the town.

§ 31. The town council shall have all power and authority that is
now or may hereafter be granted to the councils of towns by the Con-
stitution and general laws of this State; and the recital of special powers
and authorities herein shall not be taken to exclude the exercise of any
power and authority granted by the general laws of the State to town
councils, but not herein specified.

§ 32. For carrying into effect the powers granted by this act and the
general laws of this State, the town council may make ordinances and
by-laws, and prescribe fines and other punishments for violation thereof,
lay taxes and levies, keep a town guard, appoint a collector of taxes and
levies, and such other officers as they may deem proper, define their powers,
prescribe their duties and compensation, and take from any of them a
bond, with surety, in such penalty as to the council may seem fit, payable
to the town by its corporate name, and with condition for the faithful dis-
charge of the said duties.

§ 33. To raise annually by levy of taxes and assessments in the town
on all property, real and personal, as is now or may be subject to taxation
by towns by the laws of this Commonwealth, such sums of money as the
council shall deem necessary for the purposes of the town, in the manner
as the council shall deem expedient in accordance with the Constitution
of this State and of the United States.

§ 34. To require the owner of every motor vehicle kept or habitually
used in the town, on a date to be designated by the council, to annually
register such motor vehicle and to obtain a license to operate the same by
making application to the town treasurer, or such other person as may
be designated by the council to issue said license, and to require the vehicle
owner to pay an annual license fee therefor to be fixed by the council
provided that the license shall not exceed the amount charged by the State
on the said vehicle.

§ 35. To establish, levy, and collect, except when prohibited by
general law, a tax or a license on any person, firm, or corporation pursuing
or conducting any trade, business, profession, occupation, employment or
calling whatsoever within the boundaries of the town, whether a license
may be required therefor by the State or not, and may exceed the State
license, if any be required and may provide penalties for nonpayment
thereof.

§ 36. Where not otherwise provided for by the laws of this State
the town council shall by ordinance provide for any irregular elections
not herein or by the State laws provided for, and appoint the necessary
officers to conduct the same.

§ 37. The town council shall have the power and authority to protect
the persons and property of the inhabitants of the town and others within
the town, restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and street beggars;
to prevent vice and immorality; to preserve the public peace and good
order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and disorderly assemblages;
to suppress houses of ill fame and gambling houses; to prevent and punish
lewd or indecent conduct or exhibitions in the town, and to expel there-
from persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided therein as much
as one year; and for any violation of such ordinances may impose fines
and other punishments in addition to those prescribed by the laws of the

tate.

§ 38. The town council shall have the power and authority to prevent
the coming in town of persons having no ostensible means of support,
and of persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety of the town.

§ 39. The town council shall have the power and authority, where
any crime has been committed or attempted to be committed in the town,
in their discretion, to offer such reward as they think right to any person
or persons for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any such
criminal.

§ 40. The town council shall have the power and authority to establish
a market or markets in and for said town, and appoint proper officers
therefor; to provide suitable buildings and grounds therefor; to prescribe
the time for holding markets and to regulate the same, and to make and
enforce such regulations as may be necessary and proper.

§ 41. The town council shall have the power and authority to provide
for the weighing or measuring of oil, coal, or any other article for sale,
and regulate the transportation thereof through the streets.

§ 42. The town council shall have the power and authority to lay
off public grounds and provide, erect and keep in order all buildings proper
for the use of the town; to provide a prison house and workhouse, and
employ managers, physicians, nurses and servants for the same, and pre-
scribe regulations for their government and discipline, and persons therein.

§ 43. The town council shall have the power and authority to prevent
injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy, to
provide by general ordinances what are nuisances, to cause the abatement
of any nuisance so declared to be by the general laws of this State or by
the general ordinances of the town, and to require and compel the abate-
ment and removal of such nuisances within said town by or at the expense
of the owners of the ground whereon the same may be or of other persons
responsible therefor.

§ 44. The town council shall have the power and authority to appoint
a chief of police and such additional police officers and privates as it may
deem necessary or proper, to prescribe rules and regulations for the gov-
ernment thereof, to prescribe uniforms and badges of officers therefor,
and to prescribe their rate of pay; and in addition thereto the mayor,
or in his absence, the president pro tempore of the council, or in the
absence of both, any councilman, shall have the power and authority
whenever the regular police force of the town is inadequate to meet the
needs of the occasion, to appoint and swear in such additional or special
policemen as he may deem requisite for a term of service not to exceed
ten days, and at such compensation as the council may fix for special
policemen. The duties and powers of such special policemen shall be the
same as that of private of the regular police force. Until the town council
shall appoint a chief of police the town sergeant shall perform the duties
of such office.

§ 45. The police force shall be under the control of the mayor for
the purpose of enforcing peace and order and executing the laws of the
State and ordinances of the town. They shall also perform such other
duties as the council may prescribe. For the purpose of enabling them to
execute their duties, each policeman is hereby invested with all the power
and authority which belongs to the office of constable at common law in
criminal cases. Their pay, uniforms, and the rules and regulations for
said police force shall be prescribed by the council.

§ 46. The policemen of the town have no power or authority in civil
matters, but they shall in all other cases execute such warrants or sum-
monses as may be placed in their hands by the mayor or any councilman
of said town, or any other properly constituted authority, and shall make
due return thereof. The criminal jurisdiction of the policemen of the town
shall extend one mile beyond the corporate limits of the town.

§ 47. The town council shall have the power and authority to estab-
lish and maintain a fire department for the town, and all powers necessary
for the government, management, maintenance, equipment and direction of
such fire department and the premises, property and equipment thereof ;
or the Council may contract with other persons, firms, corporations or
organizations to furnish for the Town such services as are normally pro-
vided by a fire department and to provide such regulations as it may
determine to be appropriate to govern such persons, firms, corporations
or organizations in the performance of its functions under such contracts.
The council may make ordinances as it may deem proper for the prevention
and extinguishment of fires, for the regulation of the conduct of persons
in attendance at fires, in relation to the powers and duties of the officers
and men of the fire department, to require citizens to render assistance
to the fire department in case of need, and in relation to the acquisition,
use, maintenance and preservation of real estate, personal property, fire
apparatus and equipment necessary or proper for the use of the fire de-
partment.

§ 48. The town council shall have the power and authority to regu-
late the keeping or storage of gunpowder or other combustibles within the
town, and to provide magazines for the same, and direct the location of all
buildings for the storage thereof; to regulate the sale and use of gun-
powder and other combustibles, and firecrackers or fireworks manufac-
tured therefrom, kerosene oil, nitroglycerine, camphene, burning fluid, or
other combustible material; to regulate the exhibition of fireworks and
the discharge of firearms, and to restrict the making of bonfires in streets,
alleys and yards.

§ 49. The town council shall have power and authority to acquire or
otherwise obtain control of or establish, maintain, operate, extend and en-
large waterworks, gasworks, electric plants, and other public utilities with-
in or without the limits of the town; and to acquire within or without the
limits of the town by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, whatever land
may be necessary for acquiring, location, establishing, maintaining, operat-
ing, extending and enlarging said waterworks, electric plants and other
utilities, and the rights of way, rails, pipes, poles, conduits and wires con-
nected therewith or any of the fixtures or appurtenances thereof; promul-
gate and enforce reasonable rates, rules and regulations for use of the same,
any or all of which rates, rules and regulations the council may alter at
any time without notice.

The council may discontinue serving water to any consumer who de-
faults in payment for such service within the time prescribed by the
council for the payment thereof, for so long as such default continues.

§ 50. The town council shall have the power and authority to re-
quire the owners or occupiers of the real estate within the corporate
limits of the town which may front or abut on the line of any sewer or
water pipe line or conduit to make connections therewith, and to use such
sewer pipes and conduits and water furnished by the town under such
ordinances and regulations as the council may deem necessary to secure
the proper sewerage thereof and to improve and secure good sanitary con-
ditions; and shall have the power to enforce the observance of all such
ordinances and regulations by the imposition and collection of fines and
penalties, to be collected as other fines and penalties under the provisions
of this act.

§ 51. The town is empowered 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 two miles of its corporate limits
into streets, alleys, roads and lots or tracts shall be submitted to and
approved by the council within such limitations as they may prescribe
before such plats or re-plats are filed for record or recorded in the Clerk’s
Office of the Circuit Court of the county in which the land so subdivided is

§ 52. The town council shall have the authority to open, close, alter,
improve, widen or narrow streets, avenues, alleys and walkways; to have
them kept in good condition and properly lighted, to prevent the cumber-
ing of streets, sidewalks, alleys, lanes or bridges of the town in any
manner whatever; to prevent the building of any structure, obstruction or
encroachment over, under or in any street, sidewalk or alley in said town.

§ 53. The town council shall have the power and authority to adopt
ordinances authorizing owners or occupants of property abutting upon
any street or alley in the town, within such limitation as they may
prescribe, to construct and maintain in, upon and over such street or
alley, awnings, fire escapes, shutters, signs, cornices, gutters, down spouts
and bay windows and other appendages to buildings; but such permission
so granted shall be held and deemed to be a license merely and shall be
revocable at the pleasure of the town, and said permission shall not be
construed to relieve the said owners of any negligence on their part.

§ 54. The town council shall have the power and authority in their
discretion to establish and maintain parks, playgrounds and boulevards
and cause the same to be laid out, equipped and beautified.

§ 55. For the promotion of health, safety, morals, comfort, property
and general welfare, the town is empowered to provide by ordinance, for
the adoption of a master plan, divide the area of the town into one or more
districts, establish set back building lines, regulate and restrict the loca-
tion, construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair or use of buildings
and other structures and their height, area and bulk and percentage of
lot to be occupied by buildings or other structures and the trade, industry
and other specific uses of the premises in such districts and adopt building,
plumbing, electrical and other codes to carry these purposes into effect.

§ 56. The town council shall have the power and authority to make
and enforce ordinances to secure the safe and expeditious use of the streets
and alleys of the town, to regulate traffic thereon, and for the protection
of persons and property thereon or near thereto.

§ 57. To provide, in or near the town, lands to be used as burial
places for the dead; to improve and care for the same and the approaches
thereto, and to charge for and regulate the use of the ground therein, to
cooperate with any nonprofit corporation in the improvement 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 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 shall have been made.

§ 58. The town clerk shall be appointed by the council, and shall
attend the meetings of the council and shall keep permanent records of
its proceedings; he shall be custodian of the town seal and shall affix it to
all documents and instruments requiring the seal, and shall attest the
same; he shall keep all papers, documents, and records pertaining to the
town, the custody of which is not otherwise provided for in this charter;
he shall give notice to all parties, presenting petitions or communications;
he shall give to the proper department or officials ample notice of the
expiration or termination of any franchise, contract or agreements; he
shall publish such records and ordinances as the council is required to
publish, and such other records and ordinances as it may direct; he shall
upon final passage transmit to the proper departments or officials copies
of all ordinances or resolutions of the council relating in any way to such
departments or to the duties of such officials, and he shall perform such
other acts and duties as the council may, from time to time, allow or require.

§ 59. There shall be appointed by the council a town treasurer, who
shall hold office during the pleasure of the council; but the present treas-
urer of the town shall continue to discharge the duties of the office until
removed by the council or until his successor shall have qualified. Any
vacancy in this office shall be promptly filled by the council. The said
treasurer shall be the disbursing agent of the town and have the custody
of all money and all evidences of value belonging to the town or held in
trust by the town. He shall receive all money belonging to and received
by the town and keep correct accounts of all receipts from all sources and
of all expenditures of all departments. He shall collect all taxes and
assessments, water rents, and other charges belonging to and payable
to the town, and for that purpose he is hereby vested with powers similar
to those which are now or may hereafter be vested in county and town
treasurers for the collection of county, town, and State taxes under the
general law; he shall keep, disburse and deposit all money or funds in
such manner and in such places as may be determined by ordinance or the
provisions of the law applicable thereto; he shall pay no money out of the
treasury, except in the manner prescribed by this charter or by ordinance
or the general law; he shall perform such duties as are usually incident to
the office of commissioner of revenue in relation to the assessment of
property for town taxation and town license taxes and shall have power
to administer oaths in the performance of his official duties; and shall
make such reports and perform such other duties not inconsistent with
the office as may be required by this charter or by ordinance or resolution
of the council. The treasurer shall not be entitled to any commission for
handling the funds of the town but shall be paid such salary as may be
provided by the council, and before entering upon the duties of his office
shall execute a bond in such amount and with such security as the council
by ordinance may prescribe. The council may, in its discretion, and if it
deems it necessary or convenient, appoint some person or persons from the
electors of the town to assist the town treasurer in the collection of all
taxes and assessments, water rents, and other charges belonging to and
payable to the town, which person may be the town sergeant, or superin-
tendent of water works, but before entering upon the discharge of his
duties, such person shall execute a bond in such amount and with such
security as the council by ordinance, may prescribe. The treasurer shall
be subject to the supervision of the council of the Town of Kilmarnock
and shall perform such other duties not inconsistent with his office as may
be required of him by the town council; and he shall make all such reports
as may be required of him by the town council. The said treasurer and
clerk may be one and the same person if the council may deem it more
expedient.

§ 60. There shall be appointed by the council a town sergeant who
shall qualify and give bond in such amount as the council may require. He
shall be vested with powers of a conservator of the peace, and shall have
the same powers and discharge the same duties as a constable within the
corporate limits of the town and to a distance of one mile beyond the same,
and shall perform such other duties as may be from time to time prescribed
by the council.

§ 61. The town council, within the limits of the Constitution of this
State and in accordance with the provisions of the general laws thereof,
may, in the name of, and for the use of the town, contract loans or cause
to be issued certificates of debts, notes or bonds.

§ 62. The council shall have the power to negotiate temporary loans,
in anticipation of taxes, for the purpose of paying current expenses of the
town; such loans to be evidenced by bonds or notes bearing interest at
not exceeding six per centum per annum; such bonds or notes shall be
payable within one year from date of issue out of the current revenue of
the year in which same are issued.

§ 63. Sinking Fund Provision. (a) There shall be set apart annually
from the revenues of the town a sinking fund sufficient in amount to pay
the outstanding indebtedness of the town, which by its terms, is payable
in not less than one year as it matures, and the council may, in its
discretion annually from time to time, set aside such additional sinking
fund as may be deemed proper, and invest all of the sinking fund as
hereinafter set forth.

(b) All sinking funds shall be used exclusively in the payment or
purchase and redemption of the outstanding bonds of the town, and
when such sinking funds are not required or may not within a reasonable
time be required for payment of any bond of the town, or cannot be used
to advantage in the purchase and redemption of any bonds of the town,
which may be outstanding, the same shall be securely invested in interest
bearing municipal, State or government bonds or loaned upon otherwise
unencumbered real estate, within the town of Kilmarnock upon the basis
hereinbefore provided, or invested in any securities approved by the
general laws of the State for the investment of such funds, or deposited
in a bank on a reasonable rate of interest. Such sinking fund may be used
in the payment or purchase and redemption of all bonds of the town at the
discretion of the council. .
§ 64. All bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness of the town
shall be signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the clerk of the
council, and to all bonds the clerk of the council shall affix the corporate
seal of the town and attest the same.

§ 65. No member of the council shall be interested directly or in-
directly in the profits of any contract or work or be financially interested
directly or indirectly in the sale to the town of any land, materials, supplies
or services, other than official services. Any member of the council
offending against the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction
thereof, be fined not more than $500.00 or be imprisoned not more than
ninety days, or both in the discretion of the court, and shall forfeit his
office. The prohibitions of this section shall not apply if the council shall
declare by unanimous vote of the members thereof that the best interests
of the town are to be served despite the personal interest direct or indirect.

§ 66. The town is empowered to levy and collect taxes, on all subjects
of taxation except as restrained by the Constitution or by general law
heretofore or hereafter adopted, provided that it shall impose no taxes on
the bonds of the said town.

§ 68. The assessment of real and personal property in the town for
the purpose of municipal taxation shall be the same as the assessment for
the purpose of county taxation, but where the commissioner of revenue
for the town knows of property that has been omitted by the commissioner
of revenue of the county from his books, the commissioner of revenue of
the town may by the same proceedings as are provided for county com-
missioners of revenue in similar cases assess such omitted property, real
or personal, for taxation.

§ 69. The town is empowered to collect and dispose of sewage, offal,
ashes, garbage, carcasses of dead animals and other refuse, and make rea-
sonable charges therefor; to acquire and operate reduction or any other
plants for the utilization or destruction of such materials, or any of them;
to contract or regulate the collection and disposal thereof and to require
and regulate the collection and disposal thereof.

§ 70. The council is empowered to inspect, test, measure and weigh
any commodity or commodities or articles of consumption for use within
the town; and to establish, regulate, license, and inspect weights, meters,
measures, and scales. |

§ 71. To regulate the holding and location of shows, circuses, public
exhibitions, carnivals, and other similar shows or fairs, or prohibit the
holding of same, or any of them, within the town or within one mile thereof.

§ 72. The town is empowered to require every owner of motor ve-
hicles 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 the treasurer of the said town, or such
other person as may be designated by the council of the 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 within the limits permitted by State law.

§ 738. The council may grant or refuse license to owners or keepers
of wagons, drays, carts, hacks, automobiles, motorcycles and other wheeled
carriages kept or employed in the town for hire, and may require the
owners or keepers of wagons, drays and carts, automobiles, and other
wheeled vehicles using them in the town, to take out license therefor, and
may assess and require taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the same
to such regulations as they may deem proper, and may prescribe their
fees and compensation.

§ 74. The Town Council is empowered to establish a local board of
health to consist of three persons, at least one of whom shall be a physician,
to be elected by the Council and to serve at its pleasure, and to employ
such health officers and other employees as it may in its discretion deter-
mine to be proper. Such board of health, if established, shall have the
powers and perform the duties provided by general law for boards of
health in towns and shall, in addition, perform such other services as the
Council may direct.

§ 75. The town council is empowered to fix rates for water, lights,
gas, and for use of sewer and other utilities supplied by the town from
its works, or works operated by it.

§ 77. All ordinances now in force in the town of Kilmarnock, not in-
consistent with this act, shall be and remain in force until altered, amended
or repealed by the town council.

§ 78. The present officers of the town shall be and remain in office
until expiration of their several terms, and until their successors have
been duly elected and qualified.

§ 79. All former charters and amendments thereto for the town of
Kilmarnock, Virginia, are hereby repealed.

§ 80. This act may for all purposes be referred to or cited as the
Kilmarnock Charter of nineteen hundred and fifty-two.

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