CHAPTER 22

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 4.2 and 5 of Chapter 862 of the Acts of
Assembly of 1958, approved March 29, 1958, which provided a charter
for the town of Dublin, county of Pulaski, Virginia, relating to com-
position of council, qualifications of mayor and councilmen, elections
and other officers. HOT]

Approved February 11, 1964

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 4.2 and 5 of Chapter 362 of the Acts of Assembly of 1958,
approved March 29, 1958, be amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 4.2. Composition of Council, Qualification of Mayor and Council-
men, Elections, Council to be continuing Body, Vacancies in Council,
Insufficient candidates for Council—The Mayor and members of the
Council shall be residents and qualified voters of the Town of Dublin, and
shall be elected for the first time under the provisions of this Charter on
the second Tuesday in June of the year * nineteen hundred sixty-four.

At the first election to be held under this Charter on the second
Tuesday in June, nineteen hundred sixty-four, there shall be a Mayor and
six Councilmen elected at large from the Town of Dublin, three Council-
men thereof to be elected for a term of two years and three Councilmen
to be elected for a term of four years; the three Councilmen receiving the
highest number of votes at such first election shall serve four years and
the three Councilmen receiving the next highest votes shall serve two
years.

After the first election held in June, nineteen hundred sixty-four,
there shall be an election on the second Tuesday in June every two years
thereafter at which time three Councilmen shall be elected at large from
the Town of Dublin for a term of four years. The Mayor shall be elected
for a term of four years as hereinafter provided in § 5.

All elections in the Town of Dublin shall be conducted pursuant to,
and in accordance with, the general laws governing the holding of elec-
tions for towns.

The Council shall be a continuing body, and no measure pending
before such body, contracts, or obligations incurred, 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
unexpired terms, by a majority vote of the remaining members; in the
event of a failure to so fill any such vacancy within the time specified,
oe rod shall be filled by appointment of the Circuit Court of Pulaski

ounty.

The Council may create, appoint, or elect a clerk, treasurer, attorneys,
departments, bodies, committees, boards, or other offices as are provided
for by this Charter, or as permitted or required by general law to be
created, appointed, or elected, or as may, by the Council, be deemed
necessary or proper to carry out and perform the powers and duties of the
gown of Dublin, granted by this Charter or by the general laws of the

All of the aforesaid officers or employees, who shall be appointed or
employed, shall hold office at, and during, the pleasure of the Council, and
said officers and employees shall qualify and take such oath as is pre-
scribed by law, and shall execute such bonds as may be prescribed by
resolution of the Council. Upon the failure of any Council, after being
duly qualified, to appoint such officers and employees, all such officers and
employees then in office shall so continue in office until removed by that,
or a succeeding Council. The same person may be appointed to fill two
Offices at the discretion of the Council.

In the event there are no, or not sufficient, candidates at any regular
municipal election to fill the offices of Councilmen or Mayor, the new
Council is empowered to fill such vacancies in the manner and within the
time hereinabove specified, provided Councilmen elected constitute a
quorum; if no quorum is available within the new Council, vacancies upon
the Council may be filled by the old or retiring Councilmen prior to the
expiration of their term of office. In the event they fail to fill such vacan-
cies, then said vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Circuit Court
of Pulaski County.

The majority of all members of Council, exclusive of the Mayor, shall
constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to
time and compel the attendance of the members absent.

The Councilmen and Mayor shall receive such compensation for their
services as the Council shall, from time to time prescribe, but any raise
in the salaries of Councilmen or Mayor shall not become effective until
the expiration of the term of office of the Council voting the raise in
salary, and no such raise shall be voted on between the first day of April
and the first day of September, during any year in which the municipal
election is held, and the Council shall not have the right to decrease the
salaries of Councilmen or Mayor during said period of time. .

§ 5. Mayor, Vice-Mayor, Councilmen, and other Officers.—The
Mayor shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Town for a
term of * four years, * and shall be elected for the first time under this
Charter at the municipal election held on the second Tuesday in June of
nineteen hundred sixty-four, and each * four years thereafter, and shall
enter upon the discharge of his duties on the first day of September, next
succeeding his election, and shall continue in office until his successor
ualifies.

a Any resident qualified to vote in the town election in which he offers,
shall be eligible for the office of Mayor.

The Mayor shall receive such compensation as the Council shall pro-
vide, but shall not vote on the question of his salary, and shall not preside
or be present when such question is voted upon.

The Mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the Town, and shall
be recognized as the official head of the Town for all purposes; it shall be
his duty to see that the laws and ordinances thereof are fully executed,
and he shall perform such other duties as are prescribed by this Charter
or by general law. He shall preside over the meetings of the Council and
appoint the necessary committees or departments for the dispatch of
business of the Town, subject to the approval of the Council.

The Mayor, as a member of the Council, shall vote only in the case
of a tie. It shall be his duty to see that the various officers, when elected
or appointed, shall perform their duties in a proper and faithful manner.
He shall have the right to investigate their acts, have access to all books
and documents in their office, and may examine them on oath. Such course
of action may be subject to the right of Council to rehear and make final
determination as to the controversy; upon such hearing of the Council,
final action must be by a two-thirds majority of the members present.

The Mayor, with consent of the Council, shall appoint a Chief of Police
and such other police officers or force as he shall deem necessary.

The Council shall, at its first meeting in September after the effective
date of this * Act, choose a Vice-Mayor from its members, and thereafter,
shall, at its first meeting after each election of Council and Mayor, choose
one of its members as Vice-Mayor.

The Vice-Mayor shall perform the duties of the Mayor during or at
the absence or disability of the Mayor. In the event of death, removal, or
resignation of the Mayor, the Councilmen shall appoint a member of the
Council, or some other resident freeholder of the Town of Dublin, to serve
as Mayor for the unexpired term. If a member of Council be chosen for
such unexpired term, such Councilman shall be deemed to have surren-
dered his office of Councilman, and the office shall thereupon be vacant,
and shall be filled as herein provided.

The six Councilmen and Mayor shall be voted on as * herein provided
by all the qualified voters who are residents of the said Town. Every
person elected as Councilman of the Town, shall, on or before the day on
which he enters upon the performance of his duties, qualify by taking
or subscribing an oath faithfully to execute the duties of the office to the
best of his judgment; and the person elected Mayor shall take and sub-
scribe the oath prescribed by law for State officers. Upon the failure of
any person elected as Councilman or Mayor to take the oath of office, and
qualify on, or before the date for beginning of their term, or within ten
days from the time their respective terms of office would have begun,
then such office shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled as herein else-
where provided.

Any such oath of Mayor shall be taken before the Clerk or Deputy
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, and shall, when so taken
and subscribed, be forthwith returned to the Clerk of the Council, who
shall enter the same of record in the minute books of the Council, or may
be filed with the Clerk who administered the oath. Oath of Councilmen
shall be taken before the Mayor and filed with the Clerk.

2. Am emergency exists, and this Act is in force from its passage.