CHAPTER 115

AN ACT to amend and reenact §§ 14, 71, and 74, as amended, and 80 of
Chapter 84 of the Acts of Assembly of 1918, approved February 7,
1918, which chapter provided a charter and special form of govern-
ment for the city of Norfolk, and which sections, respectively, relate
to legislative procedure, payment of claims, city treasurer and public
improvements.

{S 67]

Approved February 25, 1958

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 14, 71, and 74, as amended, and 80 of Chapter 34 of the Acts
of Assembly of 1918, approved February 7, 1918, be amended and re-
enacted as follows:

§ 14. Except in dealing with questions of parliamentary procedure
the Council shall act only by ordinance or resolution which shall be in-
troduced in writing and all ordinances except ordinances making appro-
priations, or authorizing the contracting of indebtedness or issuance of
bonds or other evidences of debt, shall be confined to one subject, which
shall be clearly expressed in the title. Ordinances making appropriations
or authorizing the contracting of indebtedness or the issuance of bonds or
other obligations and appropriating the money to be raised thereby shall
be confined to those subjects respectively. Nothing herein shall be con-
strued to prevent the Council from authorizing in and by the same ordi-
nance the making of any one public improvement and the issue of bonds
therefor.

The enacting clause of all ordinances passed by the Council shall be,
“Be it ordained by the Council of the city of Norfolk”; the enacting
clause of all ordinances submitted to popular election by the initiative shall
be, “Be it ordained by the people of the city of Norfolk”. No ordinance,
unless it be an emergency measure, shall be passed until it has been read
at two regular meetings not less than one week apart, or the requirement
of such reading has been dispensed with by the affirmative vote of five of
the members of the Council. No ordinance, * section or subsection there-
of, shall be revised or amended by its title, * section number or subsection
number only, but the new ordinance shall contain the entire ordinance, *
section or subsection, as revised or amended. The ayes and noes 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 re-
solution shall require, on final passage, the affirmative vote of at least
four of the members. No member shall be excused from voting except on
matters involving the consideration of his own official conduct, or where
his financial interests are involved.

In authorizing the making of any public improvement, or the ac-
quisition of real estate or any interest therein; or authorizing the contract-
ing of indebtedness or the issuance of bonds or other evidences of in-
debtedness, (except temporary loans in anticipation of taxes or revenues
or of the sale of bonds lawfully authorized) ; or authorizing the sale of
any property or rights in property of the city of Norfolk, or granting any
public utility franchise, privilege, lease or right of any kind to use any
public property or easement of any description or any renewal, amend-
ment or extension thereof, the Council shall act only by ordinance; pro-
vided, however, that after any such ordinance shall have taken effect, all
subsequent proceedings incidental thereto and providing for the carrying
out of the purposes of such ordinance may, except as otherwise provided
in this charter, be taken by resolution of the Council.

§ 71. Payments by the City shall be made only upon vouchers
certified * in such manner as the council, by ordinance, may prescribe, and
by means of warrants on the city treasurer, issued by the director of
finance and countersigned by the city treasurer. During such time as the
city manager shall act as director of finance such warrants shall be issued
by the city auditor and countersigned by the city treasurer. The director
of finance, or, if the city manager be acting as director of finance, then the
city auditor shall examine all payrolls, bills and other claims and demands
against the city; and shall issue no warrant for payment unless he finds
that the claim is in proper form, correctly computed and duly certified;
that it is justly and legally due and payable; that an appropriation has
been made therefor which has not been exhausted, or that the payment
has been otherwise legally authorized; and that there is money in the city
treasury to make payment. The city manager, or the city auditor, as the
case may be, may require any claimant to make oath to the validity of
a claim; may investigate any claim, and for such purposes may examine
any witnesses under oath; and if such claim be found fraudulent, errone-
ous or otherwise invalid, shall not issue a warrant therefor.

§ 74. The City Treasurer shall be elected at the time, in the manner
and for the term provided in § 23 of this Charter. He shall give bond in
such sum not less than one hundred thousand dollars, as the Council may
prescribe, with surety to be approved by the Council, conditioned for the
faithful discharge of his official duties in relation to the revenue of the
City, and of such other official duties as may be imposed upon him by this
Charter and the ordinances of the City. Subject to the supervision of
the Director of Finance, he shall collect and receive all City taxes, levies,
assessments, license taxes, rents, water rents, fees and all other revenues
or moneys accruing to the City, and for that purpose shall be vested with
any and all powers which are now or may hereafter be vested in such City
Treasurer as collector of State taxes. He shall be the custodian of all
public money of the City, and of all other money coming into his hands as
City Treasurer. The City Treasurer shall keep and preserve such moneys
in such banks or trust companies as may be determined by ordinance or by
the provisions of any law applicable thereto. When City moneys have been
deposited in such banks or trust companies as designated by ordinance, the
City Treasurer shall not be liable for any loss sustained as to funds of the
City so deposited. The aggregate deposit of City funds with any one bank
or trust company shall not, at any one time, exceed fifty percent of the
capital, surplus and undivided profits of any such institution. It shall be
the duty of said City Treasuer to conduct all of the proceedings and render
all services necessary to perfect the sale and transfer of real estate in said
City where the same shall be sold or advertised for sale for the nonpay-
ment of any taxes or assessments imposed by the Council. He shall per-
form such other duties, have such powers and be liable to such penalties as
are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law or ordinance.

§ 80. Any public work or improvement costing more than one
* thousand dollars, except as provided in the next succeeding section, shall
be executed by written contract. All contracts for more than one *
thousand dollars shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after
public advertisement and competition, as may be prescribed by ordinance.
No contract may be split or divided to avoid the requirement of com-
petition. But the city manager shall have the power to reject any and all
bids and all advertisements shall contain a reservation of this right.

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