CHAPTER 127

An Act to provide a new charter for the town of Blacksburg in the county
of Montgomery, and to repeal certain Acts of Assembly, including all
former charters and amendments thereto for the said town.

, [H 131]
Approved March 2, 1964

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. ARTICLE I.
INCORPORATION AND BOUNDARIES

§ 1. Body politic and corporate name.

The inhabitants of the territory comprised within the present limits
of the town of Blacksburg, 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 Blacksburg,
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 Con-
stitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as fully and
completely as though such powers were specifically enumerated herein,
and no enumeration of particular powers by this charter shall be held to
be exclusive, and shall have, 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 Blacksburg, 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. Corporate Boundaries.

The present boundaries of the town are as recorded in the Clerk’s
Office of the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Chancery Order Book

25, Page 320.
ARTICLE II.

ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNMENT

§ 3. Vested in mayor and council; members to be electors.

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 council shall be elected as follows: The process of electing
three councilmen on the second Tuesday in June in each even-numbered
year having been established, each councilman so elected to serve for a term
of four years, the process is to continue. A councilman may succeed him-
self as often as the electors may choose. The council shall be a continuing
body, and no measure pending before such body shall abate or be dis-
continued by reason of expiration of term of office or removal of any of its
members. The mayor shall be elected for a term of four years, the next
election to be on the second Tuesday in June, 1966. Should a vacancy in
the office of mayor occur, it shall be filled by the same general method
provided in the next paragraph for vacancies in the council.

(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
election, 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
receiving the highest number of votes shall be entitled to such full terms,
and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be
entitled to the unexpired term caused by such vacancy.

§ 4. Who may vote.

The electors of the town of Blacksburg shall be the actual residents
of the town who are qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly.

§ 5. What officers town shall have; committees of council and boards
and departments of town government.

The municipal officers of the town shall, in addition to the mayor,
consist of a treasurer; chief of police, who may also serve as sergeant;
clerk of council, and such 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 administra-
tion 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 treasurer and clerk may be one and the same person
if the council may deem it more expedient. To effectuate the powers con-
ferred by general law as well as the powers herein specifically granted,
the council may employ all such persons as may be necessary.

Town Manager.
The council of the town of Blacksburg 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 administrative
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. Should the town be without a manager, council shall
assign the several duties of the manager to other specified personnel of
the town in such manner as to assure the proper conduct of town affairs.

§ 7. Removal of officers or employees.

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, such removal may be by vote of such committee or board, or where
such appointment i is by the mayor, or head of a department, such removal
may be by order of the mayor or head of department.

8. Compensation and duties of officers and employees.

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.

9. When occupation of two or more municipal positions permitted.

It shall be lawful for any officer appointed by the council, any com-
mittee, 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. Councilman ineligible to hold other office.

No member of the town council during his tenure of office as such
shall be eligible to any remunerative office, position, or employment to be
filled by the council by election or appointment.

§ 11. Mayor, councilmen, and officers to take oath.

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. Where certificate of person administering oath recorded.

When the mayor, councilmen, treasurer and clerk take the oaths
required of them, duplicate certificates of the court or person administer-
ing 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 Montgomery County and
one to the clerk of the town council.

_ § 13. Failure to take oath or give bond construed as vacancy in
ce.

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. Delivery of property, books and papers to successor in office;
books, records, and documents as property of town; responsibility therefor.

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, 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 provision 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.

ARTICLE III.

THE MAYOR

§ 15. Presiding officer; voting; salary.

The mayor shall preside over the council, and shall vote on matters
before council only in the case of a tie vote among members of council.

He shall receive a salary, to be fixed by council, payable as the council
may direct. In the event of the absence of the mayor, the council may
appoint a president pro tempore. The mayor shall not receive any compen-
sation for his services in trying violations of town ordinances or for other
services rendered the town except the salary fixed by the council, and all
is _ such services rendered by him shall be paid into the treasury of

e town.

Se 16. Chief executive officer, execution of bylaws and ordinances;
reports.

The mayor shall be chief executive officer of the town and it shall be
his duty to see that bylaws and ordinances thereof are fully executed. He
shall preside over the municipal court of the town. He may make such
reports and recommendations to council as he may deem practical.

§ 17. President pro tempore.

To provide for the possible absence of the mayor, or his inability to
serve in office, council shall elect a president pro tempore of the council,
to be chosen by a majority of the council present at a legal meeting, who
shall possess the same powers and discharge the municipal duties of the
mayor during such absence or inability.

ARTICLE IV.

THE COUNCIL GENERALLY

§ 18. Composed of mayor and six councilmen.

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

§ 19. Salary of councilmen.

The town council is hereby authorized and empowered, by ordinance
passed by the affirmative recorded vote of two-thirds of the full member-
ship thereof, to provide and fix salaries for its members, not exceeding the
sum of three hundred dollars per annum for each member, 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, not
exceeding the limits herein provided, for each regular meeting of council
attended by members, and may prescribe that no member shall receive any
compensation for any meeting of said council not attended by such
member.
And in the event said salaries shall be provided and fixed within three
months from the date of the commencement of the terms of office of said
members, the council is further empowered to make salaries relate back
to and become payable from the commencement of the terms of its
members.

Salaries, when provided and fixed, shall be payable out of the general
funds of the town when approved for payment by council.

§ 20. The meetings of the council.

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 the affirmative recorded vote of two-thirds of
council. The mayor, or any other three 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 intro-
duced, 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, imposing taxes or authorizing the borrowing of money,
shall be passed except by the recorded affirmative vote of two-thirds of
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 citi-
zens may have access to the minutes and records of the council at any
reasonable time.

§ 21. What constitutes a quorum; reconsideration or rescission of
vote at special meetings.

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 by 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.

§ 22. Journal of proceedings; recordation of yea and nay vote there-
in; minutes of proceedings to be read and signed at next meeting.

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.

§ 23. Duties of clerk of council as to journal.

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.

§ 24. Council as judge of election, etc., of members; may punish or
expel members; vacancies.

The council shall be judge of the election, qualification, and returns of
its members, may fine them for disorderly behavior and, with the concur-
rence of two-thirds, expel a member. If any person returned be adjudged
disqualified or expelled, a new election to fill the vacancy shall be held at
the same place, on such day as the council may prescribe, except that when
there shall be vacancies in the majority of the council the circuit court or
the judge thereof in vacation, shall fill such vacancies. Any vacancy occur-
ring otherwise during the term for which any of such persons have been
elected may be filled by the council from the electors of the town.

§ 25. Suspension and removal of other town officers.

The council shall have power to suspend or remove all town officers
other than the mayor, whether they be elected or appointed, for misconduct
in office or neglect of duty, to be specified in the order of suspension or
removal; but no such removal shall be made without reasonable notice to
the officer complained of and an opportunity afforded him to be heard in
his defense.

§ 26. Effect of absence of member from meeting for three consecu-
tive months.

If any member of council be 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 § 8 (b).

§ 27. Control of fiscal and municipal affairs and town property.

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.

§ 28. Power and authority granted by general law.

The town of Blacksburg shall have and may exercise all powers which
are now or may hereafter be conferred upon or delegated to towns under
the Constitution and laws of this State, and all other powers pertinent to
the conduct of municipal government, the exercise of which is not prohib-
ited by the Constitution and laws of this State, and which in the opinion
of the council are necessary to promote the general welfare of the inhabi-
tants of the town. It is intended that the town shall possess all powers
which, under the Constitution, it would be competent for this charter to
enumerate specifically, and no enumeration of particular powers shall be
held to be exclusive, but in addition to this general grant. The powers which
are now or may hereafter be conferred upon or delegated to the town
under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth and this charter
shall be construed liberally when such powers are exercised by the town,
and in case of doubt as to the existence of a power, such doubt shall be
resolved in favor of the town.

ARTICLE V.

POLICE FORCE

§ 29. Appointment of Police generally. Emergency appointments.

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 oc-
casion 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.

§ 30. Control by town manager; other duties; powers as conserva-
tors of peace and constable; powers under state law.

The police force shall be under the control of the town manager 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 au-
thority 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.

§ 31. No authority in civil matters; execution of warrants and sum-
monses; territorial extent of criminal jurisdiction.

The policemen of the town have no power or authority in civil mat-
ters, but they shall in all other cases execute such warrants or summonses
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.

ARTICLE VI.
FIRE DEPARTMENT AND PREVENTION OF FIRES

§ 32. Fire department generally; ordinances relative to fire, fire con-
trol and property for use of fire department.

The town council shall have the power and authority to establish 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. 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 at-
tendance 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 appara-
tus and equipment necessary or proper for the use of the fire department.

§ 33. Explosives, inflammables, fissionable materials, ete.

The town council shall have the power and authority to regulate the
keeping, storage, and transportation of explosives and other combustible
or dangerous materials within the town, and to provide magazines or
containers for the same, and direct the location of the storage thereof; to
regulate the sale and use of gunpowder, nitroglycerine, and manufactured
explosives of all kinds, of fissionable and radio-active materials, of kero-
sene, gasoline, camphene, burning fluid, or other combustible material; to
regulate the exhibition of fireworks and the discharge of fire arms; and to
restrict the making of fires in streets, alleys, and yards in the town and
without the town for a distance of two miles beyond the limits of the town.

§ 34. Life saving facilities.

The town is empowered to establish and equip, and to regulate the
activities of a life saving organization.

ARTICLE VII.

WATER, SEWERS, AND OTHER PUBLIC UTILITIES

§ 35. Establishment and maintenance of public utilities.

The town council shall have power and authority to acquire or other-
wise obtain control of or establish, maintain, operate, extend and enlarge
waterworks, sewage disposal systems, gasworks, electric plants, and other
public utilities within 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, locating, estab-
lishing, maintaining, operating, extending and enlarging said waterworks,
sewage disposal systems, electric plants and other utilities, and the rights
of way, rails, pipes, poles, conduits and wires connected therewith or any
of the fixtures or appurtenances thereof; promulgate and enforce reason-
able 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 coun-
cil for the payment thereof, for so long as such default continues.

§ 36. Connection with town sewer system or town water system.

The town council shall have the power and authority to require 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 sew-
erage thereof and to improve and secure good sanitary conditions; 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.

ARTICLE VIII.

STREETS, ALLEYS, AND OTHER PUBLIC WAYS,
PLACES AND PROPERTY

§ 37. Powers conferred.

In order to secure, preserve, and promote safety, welfare, comfort,
convenience, trade, commerce, and industry in the municipality, and among
the inhabitants thereof, the town council shall exercise the following
powers.

§ 38. Subdivision of land.

‘The town council is empowered to make or have made 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 sub-
mitted to and approved by the council within such limitations as it may
prescribe before such plats or re-plats are filed for record or recorded in
the office of the clerk of the circuit court of Montgomery County, Virginia.

-§ 89. Planning, zoning, building code.

The council shall 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 location, construction, altera-
tion, 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.

§ 40. Streets, sidewalks, and public ways generally.

The town may lay out, open, extend, widen, narrow, establish or
change the grade of, close, construct, pave, curb, gutter, plant and main-
tain shade trees on, improve, maintain, repair, clean and light streets,
including limited access or express highways, roads, alleys, bridges, via-
ducts, subways and underpasses, and make and improve sidewalks and
walkways upon streets and improve and pave alleys within the town. The
town shall have the same power and authority over any street, alley or
other public way or place dedicated or conveyed to the town or dedicated
or devoted to public use as over other streets, alleys and other public ways
and places.
§ 41. Streets, highways, etc., without the municipal corporation.

The town may construct, improve, and maintain, or aid in the con-
struction, improvement and maintenance of streets, roads, highways,
bridges and underpasses without the town in order ‘to facilitate public
travel and traffic into and out of the town or any property owned by the
town situated without the town limits.

§ 42. Regulation of traffic.

The town may regulate and control the operation of motor and other
vehicles and the movement of vehicular and pedestrian travel and traffic
on streets, highways, roads, alleys, bridges, viaducts, subways, under-
passes and other public ways and places, provided such regulations shall
not be inconsistent with the provisions of Article 2 (§ 46.1-180 et seq.) of
Chapter 4 of Title 46.1 of the Code of Virginia, or any amendment or revi-
sion thereof or provisions of law which are successor thereto.

§ 43. Parking or storage of vehicles.

The town may provide and operate places for, and limited to, the
parking or storage of vehicles by the public, which shall include but shall
not be limited to parking lots, garages, buildings and other land, struc-
tures, equipment and facilities; provide for their management and opera-
tion by an agency of the municipality; contract with others for the opera-
tion and management thereof upon such terms and conditions as shall be
prescribed by the town; and charge or authorize the charging of compen-
sation for the parking or storage of vehicles.

§ 44. Airports and facilities.

The town may provide and operate airports and lands, structures,
equipment and facilities appurtenant thereto; provide for their manage-
ment and operation by an agency of the municipality; contract with others
for the operation and management thereof upon such terms and conditions
as shall be prescribed by the town; and charge or authorize the charging
of compensation fo for the use of the ‘airport or any of its appurtenances or

acilities

§ 45. Obstructions or encroachments.

The town may prevent any unlawful obstruction of or encroachment
over, under or in any street, highway, road, alley, bridge, viaduct, subway,
underpass or other public way or place; may provide penalties for main-
taining any such unlawful obstruction or encroachment; may remove the
same and charge the cost thereof to the owner or owners, occupant or
occupants of the property so obstructing or encroaching, and collect the
cost in any manner provided by law for the collection of State or local
taxes; may require the owner or owners, occupant or occupants of the
property so obstructing or encroaching to remove the same; pending such
removal, may charge the owner or owners of the property so obstructing
or encroaching compensation for the use of such portion of the street,
highway, road, alley, bridge, viaduct, subway, underpass or other public
way or place obstructed or encroached upon the equivalent of what would
be the tax upon the land so occupied if it were owned by the owner or
owners of the property so obstructing or encroaching, and, if such removal
shall not be made within the time ordered, impose penalties for each and
every day that such obstruction or encroachment is allowed to continue
thereafter; may authorize encroachments upon such public ways and
places subject to such terms and conditions as the town may prescribe,
but the owner or owners, occupant or occupants shall be liable for negli-
gence on account of such encroachment; and may institute and prosecute
a suit or action in ejectment or other appropriate proceedings to recover
possession of any such public way or place or any other property of the
town unlawfully occupied or encroached upon.

§ 46. Establishment, equipment and beautification of parks, play-
grounds, and boulevards.
The town council shall have the power and authority in its discretion
to establish and maintain parks, playgrounds and boulevards, and cause
the same to be laid out, equipped and beautified.

§ 47. Cemeteries.

The town may provide 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 such 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 said lot or plot, for which the said donation, gift, or bequest shall have
been made. Burials except in public cemeteries shall be prohibited.

§ 48. Libraries, armories and markets.

The town may provide and operate public libraries, armories and
markets, or may contract with others for supplying such facilities.

§ 49. Hospitals, sanatoria, homes, clinics, etc.

The town may provide and operate hospitals, sanatoria, homes, clinics,
institutions and facilities for the care, treatment and maintenance of the
sick, of children, the aged, destitute and indigent; may contract with
others for supplying such services; and may charge and collect compen-
sation for such care, treatment and maintenance.

ARTICLE IX.

CLERK OF THE COUNCIL, TREASURER, SERGEANT

§ 50. Town clerk.

The town clerk shall be appointed by the council, and shall attend the
meetings of the council and shall keep permanent records of its proceed-
ings; he shall be custodian of the town seal and shall affix it to all docu-
ments 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.

§ 51. Town treasurer.

There shall be appointed by the council a town treasurer who shall
hold office during the pleasure of the council. Any vacancy in this office
shall be promptly filled by the council. The said treasurer shall be the dis-
bursing agent of the town and have the custody of all money and all evi-
dences 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, dis-
burse 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 per-
formance 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
treasurer shall be subject to the supervision of the council of the Town of
Blacksburg 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 by the council. The treasurer and clerk
may be one and the same person if the council may deem it more expedient.

§ 52. Town sergeant.

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 cor-
porate 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 pre-
scribed by the council. The chief of police and the town sergeant may be
one and the same if the council so desires.

§ 53. Judge and Issuing Justices.

The town council may by resolution of a majority of its members
invest in the mayor or some other person who shall be known as Judge,
the right and authority to issue warrants, summon witnesses, and try cases
involving violations of town ordinances, the collection of town taxes or
assessments, or any other debts due and owing to the town of Blacksburg.
If such person be other than the mayor, he shall be appointed by the council
for a term of four years, and vacancies shall be filled by the council for
the unexpired term.

The town council may by resolution of a majority of its members
appoint some other person or persons who shall be known as issuing
justices, and invest in them the authority to issue warrants and summon
witnesses involving violations of town ordinances and code. The issuing
justices shall be appointed for a term of one year and may be removed by
council in its sole discretion.

ARTICLE X.
FINANCES, ASSESSMENTS AND COLLECTION OF REVENUE

§ 54. General power to contract loans and issue certificates of debts,
notes, or bonds.

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.

§ 55. Obligations issued in anticipation of collection of revenue for
current year.

_ 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 income.
§ 56. Sinking fund.

(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 Federal bonds, or loaned upon otherwise
unencumbered real estate within the town of Blacksburg 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 of purchase and redemption of all bonds of the town at
the discretion of the council.

§ 57. Issuance of evidences of indebtedness.

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.

§ 58. Contracts. —

All contracts for the erection of public improvements and buildings
within the jurisdiction of the town where the estimated cost thereof ex-
ceeds three hundred dollars, and in all cases where practicable, shall be
let to the lowest responsible bidder, all things considered. Notice shall
be given, at least twenty days before the work is finally let, by advertise-
ment in one or more newspapers published in the county; and the party to
whom any contract is let shall give bond as the council may require, but in
no event shall any contract be let to any member of the town council, nor
shall any member, officer or employee of the town have any interest in
such contract.

§ 59. Annual tax levy—generally.

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

§ 60. Municipal assessment same as county assessment; property
omitted from county list.

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.

§ 61. Collection and disposal of garbage.

The town is empowered to collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes,
garbage, carcasses of dead animals and other refuse, and make reasonable
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.

§ 62. Weights and measures.
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.

§ 63. Licenses and regulations on shows, etc.

The council is empowered to license and regulate the holding and loca.
tion 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 two miles thereof.

§ 64. Motor vehicles licenses.

The town is empowered to require every owner of motor vehicles
residing in the town, on a date to be designated by the council, to register
annually such motor vehicles and to obtain a license to operate the same by
making application to the treasurer of the town, or such other person as
may be designated by council to issue said license, and to require the
owner to pay an annual license fee therefor to be fixed by the council
within the limits permitted by State law.

§ 65. Licenses for for-hire vehicles; licenses and taxes on wagons,
automobiles, etc.

The council may grant or refuse license to owners or keepers of auto-
mobiles, motorcycles, and other wheeled carriages kept or employed in the
town for hire, and may require the owners or keepers of automobiles and
other wheeled vehicles in use 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.

§ 66. Rate for water, light, sewer service, etc.

The town council is empowered to fix rates for water, electricity, and
use of sewer and other utilities supplied by the town.

ARTICLE XI.
TOWN PRISONERS

§ 67. County jailor authorized to receive and retain town prisoners.

The jailor of Montgomery County, or the person in charge of the
prison of the town, is authorized to receive into said jail or prison, with-
out mittimus or warrant, all persons apprehended by the sergeant or any
police officer of the town for violation of the rules, regulations, by-laws or
ordinances, or disturbing the peace of the town, and shall be authorized to
retain such person in custody until the morning of the second day, at which
time they shall be discharged, unless regularly committed to his custody
by a mittimus or warrant.

ARTICLE XII.
EFFECT OF ADOPTION OF CHARTER

§ 68. Ordinances in force at time of adoption of charter.

All ordinances now in force in the town of Blacksburg, not inconsist-
ent with this act, shall be and remain in force until altered, amended or
repealed by the town council.
ha § 69. Term of municipal office holders in office at time of adoption of

rter.

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
alected and qualified.

§ 70. Citation of act.

This act may for all purposes be referred to or cited as the Charter for
the town of Blacksburg of Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-four.

2. Chapter 372 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950 is repealed.
3. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.