CHAPTER 3

An Act to amend and reenact § 15-152.8 of the Code of Virginia, relating
to composition of courts in annexation cases.
[H 33]

Approved February 8, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 15-152.8 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted
as follows:

§ 15-152.8. The court, without a jury, shall be held by three judges,
as follows: The judge of the circuit court of the county in which the
territory sought to be annexed lies or any judge designated as provided by
law to sit in his stead (hereinafter in this article designated as “local
judge’’), and two judges of circuit courts remote from the territory to be
annexed, to be designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Appeals or by any judge, or committee of judges, of the court, designated
by him for such purpose; provided, however, that if the local judge dis-
qualifies himself, three judges of circuit courts remote from such territory
shall be designated to hold such court; provided that when the governing
body of the city or the town and the county by ordinance or resolution
declares that the necessity for an expediency of the annexation of the
territory exists and that such annexation should be decreed, and with the
consent of all intervenors in such proceedings, such court may be com-
posed of the local judge only.

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

CHAPTER 3
Fire Bosses and Foremen

§ 45-32. Employment and qualifications of fire bosses.—(a) Opera-
tors of mines classed as gaseous or gassy are required to employ one or
more certified fire bosses and to have a preshift examination made, prior to
the beginning of a coal-producing shift. The duties of the fire boss are to
examine for dangerous conditions all manways, slopes, and entries used by
men in traveling to and from work, and to examine for gas and other
dangerous conditions all working places, adjoining abandoned places, and
accessible pillar falls for accumulations of gas.

(b) * Each such fire boss shall have such knowledge of fire damp and
other dangerous gases as to be able to detect the same with the use of safety
lamps. He shall also have a practical knowledge of the subject of ventila-
tion of mines, and the machinery and appliances used for that purpose,
shall have at least three years’ experience in mines generating gases, and
shall hold a fire boss certificate from the Division of Mines.

§ 45-33. Authority and duties of fire bosses.—(a) It shall be the duty
of such fire boss, or bosses, where employed in any gaseous mine, or mines,
to prepare a danger signal, with suitable color, at each mine entrance, and
no person except the mine owner or operator, or his agent, and only then
in case of necessity, shall pass beyond this danger signal until the mine has
been examined by the fire boss, and the same, or certain parts thereof, re-
ported by him to be safe.

* * * *

(b) In the performance of the duties on the part of the fire boss, or
bosses, they shall have no superior officer, but all the employees working
inside the mine, or mines, shall be subordinate to the fire boss, or bosses,
in this particular work. *

(c) Except under the directions of the fire boss, or bosses, and then
only for the purpose of assisting in making the mine safe, it shall be unlaw-
ful for any person to enter the mine or mines for any purpose at the be-
ginning of work upon any shift therein, until such signal or warning has
been given by the fire boss, or bosses, * as to the safety thereof, as herein
provided.

(d) The fire boss will ascertain that the air is traveling in its proper
course and that all ventilation appliances are in good condition and work-
ing effectively. The fire boss will indicate his examination of working and
abandoned places, pillar falls and ventilating appliances by marking his
initial and the date conspicuously in or on such places.

(e) Whenever gas is detected, or danger exists to men entering any
place, the fire boss shall leave at each entrance to the place a conspicuous
DANGER sign.

(f) Examination of the first working place in mines classed as gaseous
or gassy shall take place not more than four hours, prior to the beginning
of a coal-producing shift, before the men are permitted to enter the mine or
to pass a designated station underground. In such mines a light or other
signal shall be provided at the mine entrance. When the fire boss or fire
bosses report the mine clear, which they may do by telephone, the signal
shall be changed to clear by the mine foreman or by his designated subordi-
nate. The Chief shall have authority in certain mines in his discretion to
authorize man trips to proceed to a designated station underground, which
they may not pass until the fire boss or fire bosses report the remainder of
the mine clear.

(g) In multiple shift operations certified supervisors may be used to
make the fire boss examination for the next or succeeding shift.

(h) The fire boss shall record the results of his inspection in ink or
indelible pencil in a book kept on the surface for that purpose. Similar
records may be kept at designated stations or offices underground. This
book shall be countersigned daily by the mine foreman.

(t) Idle or abandoned parts of any mine classed as gaseous or gassy
shall be examined by a certified person immediately before other employees
are permitted to enter or work in such areas.

(7) Examination for gas and other dangerous conditions shall be made
by a certified official or approved competent person, in mines classed as
gaseous or gassy, before taking loading or cutting machines in by the open
breakthrough nearest the face or before applying power to machinery that
remains at or near the face; at not more than thirty minute intervals
during cutting, drilling, or mechanical loading; before drilling with electric
drills; before blasting; after blasting, and before other work is resumed;
and at such other times as may be necessary, or designated by the operator
or mine inspector for adequate safety.

(k) In mines classed as gaseous or gassy all persons underground
shall use only permissible electric cap lamps for portable illumination that
1s worn on the person. This does not preclude the use of other types of
permissible electric lamps, permissible flashlights, permissible safety
lamps, or any other portable illumination classed as permissible.

§ 45-33.1. Mine foremen; fire bosses.—(a) Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this title, no person shall act as fire boss in any coal mine in this
State unless he is in possession of a certificate of competency. Any fire
boss in a mine who fails to perform any duty imposed on him by the laws
of this State as fire boss shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Anyone holding a mine foreman’s certificate who has had ex-
perience in coal mines generating explosive gas may serve as fire boss.
Whenever any exigency arises by which it is impossible for any operator,
owner, or lessee to secure the immediate service of a certified mine foreman
or fire boss, he may employ a trustworthy, approved competent person,
concurred in by the Chief or by a mine inspector delegated by the Chief,
4 pide as Lemporary mine foreman or fire boss for a period to be determined
the C

(c) "Ne ‘person shall be employed as mine foreman in any coal mine in
this State unless he 18 in possession of a certificate of competency as pro-
vided for in this title. No person shall be employed as mine foreman or
temporary mine foreman in any coal mine classed as gaseous or gassy
unless he has had experience in coal mines generating explosive gas.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision in this title, any person
who holds a certificate issued by the Board of Examiners, certifying his
competency to act as a fire boss, may perform the duties of a fire boss and
any other duties, statutory or otherwise, for which he is qualified, in the
same mine or section, and on the same day or shift.

§ 45-34. Employment and qualifications of mine foremen. —In every
commercial coal mine where * three or more persons work during, or
during any part of, any period of twenty-four hours, the operator thereof
or the agent of such operator shall employ a competent and practical inside
overseer, to be called mine foreman, who shall be a citizen of the United
States and who, except as otherwise provided in § 45-31, shall hold a
certificate of competency for such position, issued to him by the Board of
Examiners.

Every assistant foreman and section foreman employed to assist the
mine foreman in the immediate supervision of a portion or the whole of a
mine and the persons employed therein shall have had three years of practi-
cal experience in a coal mine and shall hold a certificate of competency for
such position issued to him by the Board of Examiners.

§ 45-35. Duties of mine foreman generally.—The duties of the mine
foreman shall be to keep a careful watch over the ventilating apparatus, the
airways, traveling ways, pumps and drainage. He shall see that, as the
miners advance their excavations, proper break-throughs are made as re-
quired by law to ventilate properly the mine. He shall also see that all
loose coal, slate and rock overhead in the working places and along the haul-
ways are removed or carefully secured so as to prevent danger to persons
employed in such mines, and that sufficient props, caps and timbers, as
nearly as possible of suitable dimensions, are furnished for the places
where they are to be used. Such props, caps and timbers shall be delivered
and placed at such points as the rules for the government of each mine
provide for them to be delivered. The mine foreman shall have all water
drained, pumped or hauled out of the working places, where practicable,
and such working places kept drained as far as practicable while the miners
are at work. It shall be the duty of the mine foreman to see that cross cuts
are made as required by law, and that the ventilation is conducted by means
of such cross cuts through the rooms by means of check doors placed on the
entries, or at other suitable places, and he shall not permit any room to be
opened in advance of the ventilating current. The mine foreman or a
properly qualified person shall measure the air current with an anemometer
at least * once each week at the inlet and outlet and at or near the faces of
the advanced headings, and shall keep a record of such measurements in a
book having a form prescribed by the * Chief. The mine foreman shall see
that sign boards directing the way to escapeways are conspicuously placed
throughout the mine.

§ 45-38. * Approaching abandoned * workings.— * Whenever any
working place in an underground mine approaches within 50 feet of
abandoned workings in such mine, as shown by surveys made and certified
by a competent engineer or surveyor, or within 100 feet of any other
abandoned workings of such mine which cannot be inspected and which
may contain dangerous accumulations of water or gas, or within 200 feet
of any workings of an adjacent mine, a borehole or boreholes shall be
drilled to a distance of at least 20 feet in advance of the face of such work-
ing place. Such boreholes shall be drilled sufficiently close to each other to
insure that the advancing face will not accidentally hole through into such
workings. Boreholes shall also be drilled not more than eight feet apart in
the rib of such working place to a distance of at least 20 feet and at an
angle of 45 degrees. Such rib holes shall be drilled in one or both ribs of
such working place as may be necessary for adequate protection of persons
working in such place.

§ 45-39. Instruction of miners; employment of inexperienced per-
sons.—It shall be the duty of the mine foreman, or assistant mine foreman,
of every * mine in this State to see that every person employed to work in
such mine shall, before beginning work therein, be instructed as to any
unusual or extraordinary danger incident to his work in such mine which
may be known to, or could reasonably be forseen by, mine foreman or assis-
tant mine foreman. It shall * be the duty of such mine foreman to see that
every person employed in such mine shall, upon request, be furnished with
copies of this title and the printed rules pertaining to such mines.

Every inexperienced person so employed shall work under the direc-
tion of the mine foreman, his assistant or some other experienced worker
until he has had reasonable opportunity to become familiar with the ordi-
nary danger incident to his work.

§ 45-42. Filling vacancy caused by death, resignation or removal of
foreman or fire boss.—In case of the death, resignation or removal of a
foreman or fire boss, the superintendent or manager shall appoint a certi-
fied man, if one be available, and if not, he may temporarily appoint any
other competent man, who may serve, with the approval of the * Chief,
until the next examination. He shall, while acting as mine foreman, be
liable to the same penalty as the mine foreman for any violations of this

title.
CHAPTER 3
THE CITY COUNCIL

§ 3.01. Creation and Composition of Council—There shall be a
council of the city, which shall continue to consist of five members, who
shall at the time of filing their notice of candidacy and thereafter
be residents and qualified voters of the city, elected at large by the
qualified voters of the city for the term of four years from the first day
of September next following the date of their election, and until their
successors have been elected and qualified. The councilmen in office at
the effective date of this charter shall constitute the council of the city
and are hereby continued in office for the terms for which they were
elected, and until their successors have been elected and qualified. On the
second Tuesday in June 1955, and on the said day each four years there-
after, there shall be a general city election, at which there shall be elected
two councilmen, each for the four year term aforesaid and on the second
Tuesday in June 1957, and on the said day each four years thereafter,
there shall be a general city election at which there shall be elected three
councilmen, each for the four year term aforesaid. The general laws of
the Commonwealth relating to the conduct of elections, as far as pertinent,
shall apply to the conduct of the general city elections. The council shall
be a continuing body, and no measure pending before such body shall
abate or be discontinued by reason of the expiration of the term of office
or removal of the members of said body, or any of them.

§ 3.02. Vacancies in Office of Councilman.—Vacancies in the Office
of councilman, from whatever cause arising, shall be filled for the un-
expired portion of the term by majority vote of the remaining members
of the council, or, if the council shall fail to act within sixty days of the
occurrence of the vacancy, by appointment of the circuit court of Alle-
ghany County, or the judge thereof in vacation.

§ 3.08. Compensation of Councilmen.—The council may provide
and fix a salary for the Mayor at such sum not exceeding $300.00 per
annum as it may determine, and salaries for each of its other four mem-
bers at such sum not exceeding $150.00 per annum each as it may deter-
mine.

No member of the council shall during the term for which he was
elected or for one year thereafter be appointed to any office of profit under
the government of the city.

§ 3.04. Rules of Procedure.—The council shall have power, subject
to the provisions of this charter, to adopt its own rules of procedure. Such
rules shall provide for the time and place of holding regular meetings of
the council which shall be not less frequently than once in each month.
They shall also provide for the calling of special meetings by the mayor,
the city manager or any two members of the council, and shall prescribe
the method of giving notice thereof, provided that the notice of each
special meeting shall contain a statement of the specific item or items of
business to be transacted and no other business shall be transacted at
such meeting except by unanimous consent of all the members of the
council. A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.

§ 3.05. Voting.—No ordinance, resolution, motion or vote shall be
adopted by the council except at a meeting open to the public and, except
motions to adjourn, to fix the time and place of adjournment, and other
motions of a purely procedural nature, unless it shall have received the
affirmative votes of at least three members. All voting may be by ayes
and noes, except on request by any one member therefor, the voting shall
be by roll call and the ayes and noes shall be recorded in the journal.

§ 3.06. Election of Mayor and Vice-Mayor.—The mayor in office at
the effective date of this charter is hereby continued in office for the
term for which he was elected and until his successor has been elected and
qualified. At the first meeting of the council after September 1, 1955, and
at each succeeding first meeting immediately following the taking of
office of councilmen after a general councilmanic election, the council shall
choose by majority vote of all the members thereof one of their number
to be mayor and one to be vice-mayor for the ensuing term. The mayor
shall preside over the meetings of the ccuncil and shall have the same
right to vote and speak therein as other members. He shall have no veto
power. He shall be recognized as the head of the city government for all
ceremonial purposes, the purposes of military law, and the service of civil
process. The vice-mayor, in the absence or disability of the mayor, shall
perform the duties of mayor, and if a vacancy shall occur in the office of
mayor, the vice mayor shall become mayor for the unexpired portion of
the term. In the absence or disability of both the mayor and the vice-
mayor, the council shall by majority vote of those present choose one of
their number to perform the duties of mayor.

There being no vice-mayor now in office, at the first meeting of the
council after this charter becomes effective, the council shall choose by
majority vote of all the members thereof one of their number to be vice-
mayor for the remainder of the present term, and until his successor has
been elected and qualified.

§ 8.07. Clerk to the Council.—The council shall appoint a clerk to
the council to serve at the pleasure of the council. He shall keep the jour-
nal of the council’s proceedings and shall record all ordinances in a book
kept for the purpose. He shall be the custodian of the corporate seal of
the city and shall be the officer authorized to use and authenticate it. He
shall receive such compensation as clerk to the council as may be deter-
mined by council. .

8.08. Powers of City Council_——All powers of the city of Coving-
ton as a body politic and corporate shall be vested in the council except
as otherwise provided in this charter. The council shall be the policy
determining body of the city and shall be vested with all the rights and
powers conferred on councils in cities, not inconsistent with this charter.
In addition to the foregoing, the council shall have the following powers:

(a) To have full power to inquire into the official conduct of any office
or officer under its control, and to investigate the accounts, receipts, dis-
bursements, and expenses of any city employee; for these purposes it may
subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and require the production of books,
papers, and other evidence; and in case any witness fails or refuses to
obey any such lawful order of the council, he shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor.

(b) To provide for the performance of all the governmental functions
of the city; and to that end to provide for and set up all departments and
agencies of government that shall be necessary. Whenever it is not desig-
nated in this charter what officer or employee of the city shall exercise
any power or perform any duty conferred upon or required of the city,
or any officer thereof, by general law, then any such power shall be exer-
cised or duty performed by that officer or employee of the city so desig-
nated by ordinance or resolution of the council. Any activity which is not
assigned by the provisions of this charter to specific departments or
agencies of the city government shall be assigned by the council to the
appropriate department or agency. The council may further create, abolish,
reassign, transfer, or combine any city functions, activities, or depart-
ments.

(c) After the close of each fiscal year the council shall cause to be
made an independent audit of the accounts, books, records, and financial
transactions of the city by the Auditor of Public Accounts of the Common-
wealth or by a firm of independent certified public accountants to be
selected by the council. The report of such audit shall be filed within such
time as the council shall specify and one copy thereof shall be always
available for public inspection in the office of the clerk to the council
during regular business hours.

Either the council or the city manager with the consent of the council
may at any time order an examination or audit of the accounts of any
officer or department of the city government. Upon the death, resignation,
removal, or expiration of the term of any officer of the city, the council
may cause an audit and investigation of the accounts of such officer to
be made. In case of the death, resignation, or removal of the director of
finance, the council may cause an audit to be made of his accounts. If as
a result of any such audit, an officer be found indebted to the city, the
council shall proceed forthwith to collect such indebtedness.

(d) The council shall fix a schedule of compensation for all city offi-
cers and employees. The council may by ordinance define certain classes
of city employees whose salaries shall be set by the city manager, except
that this provision shall not apply to the constitutional officers, the heads
of city departments, and judges.

(e) To prescribe the amount and condition of surety bonds to be
required of such officers and employees of the city as the council may
designate.

§ 3.09. Limitations on Powers and Disqualifications.

(a) Any member of the council who shall have been convicted of a
felony while in office shall thereby forfeit his office.

(b) Except for the purpose of inquiry, the council and its members
shall so long as the city manager form of government obtains deal with
the administrative service solely through the city manager, and neither
the council nor any member thereof shall have authority to give orders
to any of the subordinates of the city manager, either publicly or privately.

Chapter 3
Taxation and Finances

§ 3.01. Other Powers.—The town council shall have control of
taxation and finances for its municipal purposes. It shall have the powers
set forth in the following sections subject to the general laws of the
Commonwealth.

§ 3.02. To prepare, or cause to be prepared, annually a budget
showing the estimated receipts and proposed expenditures for town
purposes.

§ 3.03. To raise annually, by the levying of taxes and assessments
in the said town, on all such property, real and personal, as is now or
may be subject to taxation by the general laws of the Commonwealth,
such sums of money as the council thereof shall deem necessary, for the
purpose of said town, in such manner as the town council shall deem
expedient in accordance with the Constitution of the State; provided,
however, that it shall impose no taxes on the bonds of said town.

§ 3.04. To impose special or local assessments for local improve-
ments and force payment thereof, subject to such limitations prescribed
by the laws of the State as may be in force at the time of the imposition
of such special and local assessments.

§ 3.05. 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, shall advise the commissioner of the revenue of
the county thereof, and thereafter such omitted property, real or per-
sonal, shall be assessed for taxation in the manner provided by general

§ 3.06. To impose a tax not exceeding one dollar per annum upon
all persons residing in said town above the age of twenty-one, not exempt
from the payment of state capitation tax.

§ 3. To impose licenses by ordinance upon businesses, trades,
professions or callings, and upon persons, firms, associations or corpora-
tions engaged therein or offering to do business within the boundaries
of the town, whose principal offices are or are not located in the town,
except when prohibited by general law, whether or not a license may be
required therefor by the State. The fee for such license may exceed the
State license fee if any be required.

§ 3.08. Licenses may also be imposed upon and a fee therefor col-
lected from persons, firms, or corporations selling and delivering at the
same time at other than a definite place of business, goods, wares or
merchandise, to licensed dealers or retailers in the town.

§ To establish rates, impose and enforce the collection of
water and sewer services, garbage collection services, 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 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 furnish-
ing such service either to owner or tenant. In the default of the payment
by any customer of any such water and/or sewer services rendered by
the town, the service may be discontinued for so long as such default
continues.

§ 3.10. 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 same, or any of them, within the town or within
one mile thereof.

§ 3.11. 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 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.
§ 3.12. To grant or refuse licenses to owners or keepers of wagons,
drays, carts, automobiles, motorcycles, trailers and other wheeled vehicles
kept, used, or employed in the town for hire, or used for the transportation
of persons or property for pay, 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 licenses 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 rates, fees and compensation.

§ 3.13. The authority to grant franchises to public service corpora-
tions, for public transportation facilities and others, and to provide ordi-
nances, rules and rights not contrary to State laws.

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

§ 3.15. The town council shall have the right to prescribe the dates
on which all taxes and licenses shall be payable and to prescribe penalties
and interest rates for nonpayment on such dates, not in conflict with the
general laws of this State. ,

§ 3. 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.

§ 3.17. The town council shall have the authority to issue bonds for
public improvements in accordance with the statutes of the Commonwealth
of Virginia.

§ 3.18. 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. No such temporary loan shall in the
aggregate exceed fifteen per cent of the previous year’s gross income.

. All bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness of the town
shall be signed by the Mayor and countersigned by the clerk of the council,
who shall affix the corporate seal of the town and attest the same.

§ 3.20. Sinking Fund Provision.—(a) There shall be set apart an-
nually 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 unencum-
bered real estate, within the town of Christiansburg upon the basis herein-
before 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.

§ 3.21. The council shall have the financial records of the town
audited by a certified public accountant biannually, as soon after the close
of the fiscal year as is practicable. The fiscal year begins September one of
each year and ends August thirty-one of the following year.

The town council may by resolution change the fiscal year where it
would seem to be to the best interest of the town.

CHAPTER 3
THE COUNCIL

3.01. Composition of Council; Vacancies.

The mayor and councilmen in office at the time of the transition of
the Town of Galax to a City, and as now constituted, shall continue in
office as mayor and councilmen of the City, with the same powers and
duties, until their present terms of office to which they were elected ex-
pire. On and after September 1, 1954, the council shall consist of seven
members. All councilmen shall be residents of the City and qualified to vote,
and shall be elected at large, and each shall serve for a term of four years.
On the second Tuesday in June, 1954, and on said day each four years
thereafter, four councilmen shall be elected, each of whom shall serve for
a term of four years, from the first day of September next following the
date of their election until their successor shall have been elected and quali-
fied. On the second Tuesday in June, 1956, and on said day each four years
thereafter, three councilmen shall be elected, each of whom shall serve for
a term of four years from the first day of September next following the
date of their election until their successor shall have 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 the expiration of
the term of office or removal of the members of said body, or any of them.
Vacancies in the council shall be filled within thirty days, for the unex-
pired term, by a majority vote of the remaining members.

8.02.—Organization; Rules of the Council.

(1) The council shall meet at such times as it may prescribe by ordi-
nance or resolution, except that it shall regularly meet not less than once
each month. The mayor, and any member of the council, or any two mem-
bers of the council, or the city manager and any councilman, may call
special meetings of the council, at any time after at least twelve hours’
written notice, with the purpose of said meeting stated therein, to each
member served personally or left at his usual place of business or residence;
or such meeting may be held at any time without notice, provided all
members of the council attend and vote unanimously on all matters acted
upon. No business other than that mentioned in the call shall be considered
at such meetings.

(2) The council may appoint all such other boards and commissions
as may be deemed proper, and prescribe the powers and duties thereof.
The council may determine its own rules of procedure, may punish its
own members for misconduct in office and may compel attendance of mem-
bers. It shall keep a journal of its proceedings. A majority of all members
of the Council shall constitute a quorum to do business, but no resolution
or ordinance shall be adopted except by affirmative vote of a majority of
all members elected to the council, but a smaller number may adjourn from
time to time and compel the attendance of absentees. All elections by the
council shall be viva voce and the vote recorded in the journal of the
council. No vote or question decided at a regular meeting shall be recon-
sidered at a special meeting unless all members are present and four of
them concur.

3.038.—Compensation of Council.
The compensation to be paid to each council member shall be fixed
by a majority vote of all members elected to the council, provided, however,
that the annual compensation paid to any councilman shall not exceed
the sum of $250.00 for his services as such.

3.04.—Powers.

All powers vested in the city shall be exercised by the council except
as otherwise provided in this charter. In addition to the foregoing, the
council shall have power to provide for the organization, conduct and opera-
tion of all agencies of the City; to create, alter or abolish departments,
bureaus, divisions, boards, commissions, offices and agencies; to provide
for the number, titles, qualifications, powers, duties and compensation of
all officers and employees of the city; to provide for the form of oaths and
the amount and condition of surety bonds to be required of officers and
employees of the City. Upon recommendation of the city manager, to
assign and reassign to departments, all bureaus, divisions, offices, agencies,
departments and functions thereof except the city school board.

3.05.—Mayor.

At its first regular meeting in September 1954, and at its first regular
meeting in September of every second year thereafter, or if such day
shall fall on Sunday then on the following Monday, the council shall pro-
ceed to choose by majority vote of all the members thereof one of their
number to be mayor and one to be vice-mayor for the ensuing two years.
The mayor shall preside over the meetings of the council and shall have
the same right to vote and speak therein as other members, but shall have
no veto power. He shall be recognized as the head of the city government
for all ceremonial purposes, the purposes of military law and the service
of civil process. The vice-mayor shall in the absence or disability of the
mayor, perform the duties of mayor, and if a vacancy shall occur in the
office of mayor the vice-mayor shall become mayor for the unexpired por-
tion of the term. In the absence or disability of both the mayor and vice-
mayor, the council shall, by majority vote of those present, choose one of
their number to perform the duties of mayor. In addition to his salary
as councilman, the major may be paid a further compensation, such addi-
tional compensation not to exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars
per annum.

3.06.—City Clerk.

The council shall elect at its first meeting after this charter becomes
effective a city clerk for a term expiring December 31, 1957, and at its first
regular meeting in September, 1957, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably
convenient, and every four years thereafter, a city clerk, whose term shall
begin January Ist, following his election. He shall be the clerk of the
council, shall keep the journal of its proceedings and shall record all
ordinances in a book kept for the purpose. He shall be the custodian of
the corporate seal of the city and shall be the officer authorized to use
and authenticate it. The said clerk, or his assistant, shall be the registrar
of voters of the city. He may be clerk of the civil and police court, unless
otherwise provided by the council. All records in his office shall be public
records and open to inspection at any time during regular business hours.
He shall receive compensation to be fixed by the council. The said clerk is
authorized to appoint such assistants as the council may authorize who
shall be authorized to act as city clerk in the absence or disability of the
city clerk.

3.07.—Ordinances.

Except in dealing with questions of parliamentary procedure, the
council shall act only by ordinance or resolution, and all ordinances, except
ordinances making appropriations, or authorizing the contracting of in-
debtedness or issuance of bonds or other evidence of debt, shall be confined
to one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in the title. Ordinances
making appropriations or other obligations and appropriating the money to
be raised thereby shall be confined to those subjects respectively. The
enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the council shall be: “Be it
ordained by the council of the City of Galax”. No ordinance, unless it be
an emergency measure, shall be passed until it has been read at two regular
meetings not less than seven days apart, unless the requirement of such
reading has been dispensed with by the affirmative vote of four of the
members of the council. No ordinance or section thereof shall be revised
or amended by its title or section only, but the new ordinance shall contain
the entire ordinance or section as revised or amended. The ayes and nays
shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances or resolutions and entered
upon the journal of the proceedings of the council and every ordinance or
resolution shall require, on final passage, the affirmative vote of at least
four of its members. All ordinances and resolutions passed by the council
shall be in effect from and after thirty days from the date of their passage,
except that the council may, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its
members present, pass emergency measures to take effect at the time
indicated therein. Ordinances appropriating money for any emergency
may be passed as emergency measures, but no measure providing for the
sale or lease of city property, or making a grant, renewal, or extension
of a franchise or other special privilege or regulating the rate to be charged
for its services by any public utility, shall be so passed as an emergency
measure. Every ordinance or resolution upon its final passage shall be
recorded in a book kept for the purpose, and shall be authenticated by the
signature of the presiding officer and the clerk of the council. Every
member, when present, when a question is put, shall vote unless excused
by the council. But no member who has any personal or financial interest
in the result of any ordinance or resolution before the council shall vote
thereon. All ordinances and resolutions of the council may be read in
evidence in all courts and in all other proceedings in which it may be
necessary to refer thereto, either from a copy thereof certified by the
clerk or from the volume of ordinances printed by authority of the council.
The council may, at any time, have a codification or revision of all ordi-
nances in force at the time, which codification can be passed by the council
as a single ordinance and without prior publication, which codification shall

be known and cited officially as the City code.