Town of Elkton
Town Charter
 |
 |
Elkton Charter of 1954
(Repealed July 1, 2006)
THE CHARTER
[Derived from Acts of Assembly, Chapter 580, 1954, as amended by Chapter 220, Acts of Assembly, 1960 and by Chapter 37, Acts of Assembly, 1974. The previous charter of the town was contained in Chapter 347 of the Acts of Assembly, 1908, as amended.]
§1. Body politic and corporate; designation; powers, privileges, etc., of town generally.
§2. Boundaries of town.
§3. Vesting of town administration and government; composition of council generally; election and term of mayor and councilmen generally; vacancies in council generally.
§4. Electors of town.
§5. Treasurer, clerk of the council, town attorney, town sergeant generally; authority of council to appoint council committees and create boards and departments; authority to provide that treasurer and clerk may be same person.
§6. Town manager.
§7. Removal of officers and employees.
§8. Power of council as to salaries, powers and duties of officers and employees; employment of persons necessary to effectuate powers conferred under general law, etc.
§9. Officers, etc., generally filling two or more offices.
§10. Eligibility of council member for election by council to remunerative office.
§11. Oaths of office generally.
§12. Recordation of certificates of oaths of office.
§13. Effect of failure to take oath of office or to give bond.
§14. Delivery of books, papers, etc., to successor in office; title of town to books, papers, etc., used in office.
§15. Further provisions as to election and term of mayor; limitation on reduction of mayor's salary.
§16. Mayor's duties generally.
§17. Communication by mayor to council of statements.
§18. Devolution of mayor's powers and duties.
§19. Further provisions as to vacancy in office of mayor.
§20. Further provisions as to composition and election of council.
§21. Powers of council as to salaries of members of council.
Sec. 22. Procedural rules of council; quorum generally; required vote upon levy of taxes; special meetings; procedure as to ordinances appropriating more than $500, etc.; required vote upon appropriation of more than $100; access of public to council meetings, etc.
§23. Further provisions as to quorum; limitation on reconsideration, etc., at special meeting, of votes.
§24. Journal of council proceedings generally.
§25. Duty of clerk of the council as to journal of council proceedings.
§26. Council as judge of election, etc., of members; power as to absent members; expulsion of members.
§27. Election to fill vacancy when council member is expelled, etc.
§28. Further provisions as to filling vacancies in council.
§29. Effect of council member's voluntary absence from meetings for three (3) months.
§30. Management and control by council of town's affairs and property.
§31. Powers and authority of council generally.
§32. Power generally of council to make ordinances, etc., impose punishments, lay taxes and appoint tax collector and other officers.
§33. Raising money annually by levy of taxes and assessments on property generally.
§34. Requiring motor vehicle owners to register and license motor vehicles.
§35. Establishing, levying and collecting taxes or licenses on persons conducting trades, businesses, etc.
§36. Irregular elections not otherwise provided for.
§37. Protecting persons and property in town; restraining drunkards, etc.; preventing vice, etc.; preserving peace, etc.; preventing, etc., riots, etc.; houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; lewd or indecent conduct or exhibitions.
§38. Preventing the entrance into town of certain persons.
§39. Offering reward for information to arrest, etc., of criminal.
§40. Establishing, etc., market
§41. Weighing and measuring articles for sale.
§42. Public grounds and buildings for use of town; prison houses and workhouses.
§43. Preventing injury, etc., from anything dangerous, etc.; abatement of nuisances.
§44. Police generally.
§45. Further provisions as to police.
§46. Limitation on authority of police in civil matters; execution of warrants, etc., territorial extent of criminal jurisdiction of police.
§47. Fire department and contracts for fire protection; regulations as to fires, etc.
§48. Storage, sale and use of gunpowder, etc., fireworks and other combustibles; discharge of firearms; bonfires.
§49. Establishing, operating, etc., waterworks, gasworks, electric plants, etc.; discontinuance by town of water and electric service upon failure to pay therefor.
§50. Connections with town water and sewer lines; use of town sewer pipes and water.
§51. Comprehensive town plan generally; plats and replats subdividing land.
§52. Streets and sidewalks generally.
§53. Construction, etc., of awnings, fire escapes, shutters, signs, cornices, etc., in, upon or over streets and alleys.
§54. Establishing, etc., parks, playgrounds and boulevards.
§55. Adoption of master plan; building and zoning regulations; building, plumbing and electrical, etc., codes.
§56. Safe and expeditious use of streets.
§57. Burial places for the dead.
§58. Appointment, duties, etc., of the clerk of the council.
§59. Appointment, duties, etc., of town treasurer; assistance in collection of taxes, charges for water and electricity, etc.
§60. Appointment, duties, etc., of town sergeant.
§61. Contracting loans; issuing certificates of debts, etc.
§62. Temporary loans in anticipation of taxes.
§63. Sinking fund.
§64. Execution of bonds, etc.
§65. Financial interest of council members in contracts.
§66. Further provisions as to levy and collection of taxes, etc.
§67. Assessment of real and personal property for municipal taxation.
§68. Collection and disposal of sewage, garbage, dead animals, etc.
§69. Further provisions as to weights and measures.
§70. Holding, etc., of shows, circuses, etc
§71. (Omitted).
§72. Further provisions as to licensing, etc., of vehicles.
§73. Board of health, health officers, etc.
§74. Further provisions as to rates for utilities supplied by town.
§75. Continuation of ordinances.
§76. Compelling prisoners to work on streets.
§77. Police justice.
§78. Warrant justices; issuance, etc., of warrants; bail.
§79. Continuance of officers in office.
§80. How act cited.
Sec. 1. Body politic and corporate; designation; powers, privileges, etc., of town generally.
The inhabitants of the present territory comprising the Town of Elkton, 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 Elkton, and as such shall have and may exercise all powers which are now or hereafter may be conferred upon or delegated to towns under the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as fully and 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 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 Elkton, 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.
Sec. 2. Boundaries of town.
The present territory comprising the Town of Elkton is described by metes and bounds as follows:
Beginning at the intersection of the west line of First Street and the north line of Spottswood Avenue (U.S. Route 33); thence north 15 degrees 30 minutes east 455 feet to a post, a comer to Dr. E.B. Miller; thence south 74 degrees 30 minutes east 813 feet to a post, a comer to Dr. E.B. Miller, thence with his line and W.H. Miller's line north 25 degrees east 1138 feet to a stake in Herbert L. Miller's and C.L. Kite's line, 242 feet from center of Shenandoah Avenue; thence north 20 degrees 25 minutes east 880 feet to a stake in C.L. Kite's north yard fence (formerly M.M. Jarman), and with same to Shenandoah Avenue south 75 degrees 10 minutes east 183 feet to a stake in the east line of Shenandoah Avenue, and with said east line north 15 degrees 50 minutes east 979-6/10 feet; thence north 24 degrees east 220 feet to the west line of the Norfolk and Western Railway right-of-way; thence north 55 degrees 45 minutes east 82-5/10 feet to the east line of said Norfolk and Western Railway right-of-way; thence with south side of Public Road No. 633 south 86 degrees 30 minutes east 1300 feet, crossing Route No. 340, to west line of Elk Run Public Road (now North Street); thence south 48 degrees 10 minutes east 3505 feet to old northeast corner of the Elk Run Cemetery, and with east line of same south 35 degrees east 514 feet to center of Furnace Public Road No. 759; thence south 43 degrees west 742 feet to center of Rockingham Street (Road No. 623); thence continuing same line with W.E. Kite, 627 feet to Elk Run Creek, and with same thence north 80 degrees 30 minutes west 656 feet; thence north 87 degrees 50 minutes west 787 feet; thence south 70 degrees 30 minutes west 331 feet; thence south 69 degrees 15 minutes, west 465 feet in W.E. Kiteland line; and the line of the Elkton Improvement Company; thence with said line south 21 degrees 45 minutes east 380 feet to a comer in Route No. 33; thence south seven (7) degrees west 125 feet to a hub; thence south 36 degrees 45 minutes west 323 feet, crossing Route 340, to a stake; thence south seven (7) degrees west 160 feet to a stake in south line of Marshall Avenue; thence with said south line north 83 degrees west 440 feet to a hub, comer to the east line of Seventh Street, and with the east line thereof south seven (7) degrees west 1050 feet to a stake in south line of Fairfax Avenue; thence, with the south line of Fairfax Avenue, north .83 degrees west 660 feet to a post on east line of Sixth Street; thence, with the east line of Sixth Street, south seven (7) degrees west 921 feet to a hub, comer of the lands of Lam and J. Dean, and with their lines; thence a continuation of above line south seven (7) degrees west 532-6/10 feet to a hub on south side of a spring branch; thence crossing said branch south 71 degrees east 151 feet to a post; thence south seven (7) degrees west 474-5/10 feet, with Dean, to a post on north side of public road (No. 633); thence with north side of said road, crossing Norfolk and Western Railway and Shenandoah River, and with Laurie Wine, north 78 degrees west 806 feet to a stake on west bank of said river; thence with the west bank thereof north 11 degrees 30 minutes west 476 feet; thence north 15 degrees 15 minutes west 347 feet; thence north 29 degrees west 290 feet; thence north 40 degrees 30 minutes west 518 feet to Chesapeake Western Railway; thence north 29 degrees 45 minutes west 208 feet; thence north 36 degrees 30 minutes west 706-6/10 feet; thence north 44 degrees 45 minutes west 214 feet; thence north 55 degrees west 475 feet; thence north 71 degrees 45 minutes west 1120 feet near the W.H. Marshall and Joseph Taylor line on a bluff on west side of Shenandoah River; thence recrossing the river, north 69 degrees 15 minutes east 1465 feet to a point in the middle of Elk Run, Herman Zetty's comer; thence with Zetty and the west line of First Street, north 15 degrees 30 minutes east 1092 feet to the beginning.
Sec. 3. Vesting of town administration and government; composition of council generally; election and term of mayor and councilmen generally; vacancies in council generally.2
The administration and government of the town is vested in the council composed of a mayor and six (6) councilmen, all of whom shall be electors of the town.
(a) The said council shall be elected in the manner provided by law, as follows: At the regular municipal election to be held on the second Tuesday in June, 1954, the mayor and six (6) councilmen shall be elected. The mayor shall be elected for a term of two (2) years. The three (3) members, each of whom has received more votes in said election than each of the other members, shall serve as members of the council for terms of four (4) years each. The remaining three (3) members shall serve for a term of two (2) years each. At the regular municipal election to be held on the second Tuesday, June, 1956, and every two (2) years thereafter, three (3) councilmen shall be elected for terms of four (4) years each. Terms of office shall begin on the first day of September next following their election. Each councilman and the mayor elected as hereinabove provided shall serve for the term stated or until his successor has been elected and qualified. The council shall be a continuing body, and no measure pending before such body shall abate or be discontinued by reason of expiration of term of office or removal of any of its members.
Subsequent to January 1, 1974, all regular municipal elections shall be held on the first Tuesday in May. All persons elected thereby shall commence their terms of office on the first day of July, next following.
(b) Any vacancy in the council shall be filled within 30 days, for the unexpired term, by a majority vote of the remaining members; provided, that if the term of office to be filled does not expire for two (2) 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. (Acts 1954, ch. 580, Sec. 3; Acts 1974, ch. 37)
Sec. 4. Electors of town.
The electors of the Town of Elkton shall be the actual residents of the town, who are otherwise qualified to vote for members of the general assembly.
Sec. 5. Treasurer, clerk of the council, town attorney, town sergeant generally; authority of council to appoint council committees and create boards and departments; authority to provide that treasurer and clerk may be same person.
The municipal officers of said town shall, in addition to the mayor, consist of a treasurer, clerk of the council, a town attorney and such other officers, including a town sergeant, as may be provided for by the town council; and the council may appoint such committees of the council and create such boards and departments of town government and administration with such powers and duties and subject to such regulations as it may see fit, consistent with the provisions of this Act and the general laws of this state. The council may provide by ordinance that said treasurer and clerk may be one and the same person.
Sec. 6. Town manager.
The council of the Town of Elkton 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 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. 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.
Sec. 7. Removal of officers and 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, or where such appointment is by the mayor, or head of a department, such removal may be by order of the mayor or head of department.
Sec. 8. Power of council as to salaries, powers and duties of officers and employees; employment of persons necessary to effectuate powers conferred under general law, etc.
The council shall by ordinance or resolution fix the salaries of all officers and employees of the town elected or appointed by it, or appointed by its authority and may so far as is not inconsistent with the provisions of this charter, define the powers and prescribe the duties of all such officers and employees. To effectuate the powers conferred by general law as well as the powers herein specifically granted, the council may employ all such persons as may be necessary.
Sec. 9. Officers, etc., generally filling two (2) or more offices.
It shall be lawful for any officer appointed by the council, any committee, municipal board, or the head of any department to fill two (2) 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.
Sec. 10. Eligibility of council member for election by council to remunerative office.
No member of the town council during his tenure of office as such shall be eligible for election to any remunerative office to be filled by the council.
Sec. 11. Oaths of office generally.
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.
Sec. 12. Recordation of certificates of oaths of office.
When the mayor, councilmen, treasurer and clerk take the oaths required of them, duplicate certificates of the court or person administering 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 (1) to the clerk of the circuit court of Rockingham County and one (1) to the clerk of the town council. When any other municipal officer takes the oath required of him, a certificate as aforesaid, shall be secured by him and delivered to the clerk of the town council.
Sec. 13. Effect of failure to take oath of office or to give bond.
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 20 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.
Sec. 14. Delivery of books, papers, etc., to successor in office; title of town to books, papers, etc., used in office.
If any person, having been an officer of said town, shall not within 10 days after he shall have vacated or been removed from office, and upon notification or request of the council within such time as it may allow, deliver to his successor in office all property, books and papers belonging to the town or appertaining to such office, in his possession or under his control, he shall forfeit and pay to the town a sum not exceeding $500, to be sued for and recovered with costs; and all books, records and documents used in any office by virtue of any provisions 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.
Sec. 15. Further provisions as to election and term of mayor; limitation on reduction of mayor's salary.
The mayor shall be elected by the qualified electors of the town for the term of two (2) years. His salary shall be fixed by the town council, and shall not be diminished during his term of office.
Sec. 16. Mayor's duties generally.
The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the town and it shall be his duty to see that the bylaws and ordinances thereof are fully executed, and he shall preside over the meetings of the town council, voting only in case of a tie.
Sec. 17. Communication by mayor to council of statements.
The mayor shall communicate to the town council annually at the beginning of each fiscal year, or oftener, if he be required by the council, a general statement of the condition of the town in relation to its government, finances and improvements, with such recommendations as he may deem proper; and may from time to time communicate to the council such suggestions and recommendations as he shall deem proper.
Sec. 18. Devolution of mayor's powers and duties.
In case of the absence or inability of the mayor to act, the president pro tempore of the council, to be chosen by a majority of the council present at a legal meeting or in his absence or inability to act, some other member of the council selected in the same manner, shall possess the same power and discharge the municipal duties of the mayor during such absence or inability.
Sec. 19. Further provisions as to vacancy in office of mayor.
In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of the mayor, the vacancy shall be filled by the method provided in paragraph 3(b) for filling vacancies in council.4
Sec. 20. Further provisions as to composition and election of council.
The town council, composed of the mayor and six (6) councilmen, shall be elected at large by the popular vote of the qualified electors of the town.
Sec. 21. Powers of council as to salaries of members of council.
The town council is hereby authorized and empowered, by ordinance or resolution, passed by the affirmative recorded vote of two-thirds (%) of the full membership thereof, to be determined by yeas and nays, to provide and fix salaries for its members, at such sums or in such amounts not exceeding the sum or amount of $240 per annum for each member, as it may determine, to be payable in such amounts and at such time or times as it may direct.
The council may provide and fix the salaries for its members, on the basis of stated amounts or sums, not exceeding the limits herein provided, for each regular meeting of council attended by members, and may 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 nine (9) months from the date of the commencement of the terms of office of said members, the said council is hereby further authorized and empowered to make said salaries relate back to and become payable from the commencement of the terms of said members.
Said salaries, when provided and fixed, shall be payable out of the general funds, of said town when approved for payment by said council. Said salaries shall not be increased or diminished during term of office.
Sec. 22. Procedural rules of council; quorum generally; required vote upon levy of taxes; special meetings; procedure as to ordinances appropriating more than $500, etc.; required vote upon appropriation of more than $100; access of public to council meetings, etc.
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 (1) regular meeting each month. A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but no ordinance or resolution shall be adopted having for its object the levying of taxes or contracting a debt except by a recorded, affirmative vote of two-thirds (?3) of the members elected to the council. The mayor, or any other two (2) members of the council, may call a special meeting of the council upon at least 12 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 $500, imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrowing of money, shall be passed by the council on the same day on which it is introduced, nor shall any such ordinance or resolution be valid until at least three (3) days intervene between its introduction and the date of passage. No ordinance or resolution appropriating money exceeding the sum of $100 shall be passed except by the recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all members elected to the council. The meetings of the council shall be public, unless the council by a recorded affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of its members shall declare that the public welfare demands an executive session of the council; and citizens may have access to the minutes and records of the council at any reasonable tune.
Sec. 23. Further provisions as to quorum; limitation on reconsideration, etc., at special meeting, of votes.
The mayor and four (4) councilmen, or, in the absence of the mayor, four (4) councilmen, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except as herein or by the general statutes of this state otherwise provided. But no vote shall be reconsidered or rescinded at any special meeting, unless at such special meeting there be present as large a number of members of the council as were present when such a vote was taken.
Sec. 24. Journal of council proceedings generally.
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.
Sec. 25. Duty of clerk of the council as to journal of council proceedings.
The clerk of the council shall keep said journal and shall record the proceedings of the council at large thereon, and keep same properly indexed.
Sec. 26. Council as judge of election, etc., of members; power as to absent members; expulsion of members.
The town council shall be judge of the election, qualifications and returns of its members; may compel the attendance of absent members, and fine them for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds (2/3), expel a member for malfeasance or misfeasance while in office.
Sec. 27. Election to fill vacancy when council member is expelled, etc.
If any person returned as a member of the council shall be adjudged by the council disqualified or be expelled, a new election to fill the vacancy shall be held at the same place, on such day as the council may prescribe.
Sec. 28. Further provisions as to filling vacancies in council.
Any vacancy in the town council occurring otherwise than as mentioned in section 27 above, during the term for which a member of the said council has been elected, shall be filled by the council, by the appointment of any one eligible to such office.
Sec. 29. Effect of council member's voluntary absence from meetings for three (3) months.
If any member of said council be voluntarily absent from its meetings consecutively for three (3) months, his seat may be declared vacant by the council, and the unexpired term filled by appointment as provided in paragraph 3(b).
Sec. 30. Management and control by council of town's affairs and 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.
Sec. 31. Powers and authority of council generally.
The town council shall have all power and authority that is now or may hereafter be granted to the councils of towns by the Constitution and general laws of this state; and the recital of special powers and authorities herein shall not be taken to exclude the exercise of any power and authority granted by the general laws of the state to town councils, but not herein specified.
Sec. 32. Power generally of council to make ordinances, etc., impose punishments, lay taxes and appoint tax collector and other officers.
For carrying into effect the powers granted by this Act and the general laws of this state, the town council may make ordinances and bylaws, and prescribe fines and other punishments for violation thereof, lay taxes and levies, appoint a collector of taxes and levies, and such other officers as they may deem proper, define their powers, prescribe their duties and compensation, and take from any of them a bond, with surety, in such penalty as to the council may seem fit, payable to the town by its corporate name, and with condition for the faithful discharge of the said duties.
Sec. 33. Raising money annually by levy of taxes and assessments on property generally.
To raise annually by levy of taxes and assessments in the town on all property, real and personal, as is now or may be subject to taxation by towns by the laws of this commonwealth, such sums of money as the council shall deem necessary for the purposes of the town, in the manner as the council shall deem expedient in accordance with the Constitution of this state and of the United States.
Sec. 34. Requiring motor vehicle owners to register and license motor vehicles.
To require the owner of every motor vehicle kept or habitually used in the town, on a date to be designated by the council, to annually register such motor vehicle and to obtain a license to operate the same by making application to the town treasurer, or such other person as may be designated by the council to issue said license, and to require the vehicle owner to pay an annual license fee therefor to be fixed by the council provided that the license shall not exceed the amount charged by the state on the said vehicle.
Sec. 35. Establishing, levying and collecting taxes or licenses on persons conducting trades, businesses, etc.
To establish, levy and collect, except when prohibited by general law, a tax or license on any person, firm or corporation pursuing or conducting any trade, business, profession, occupation, employment or calling whatsoever within the boundaries of the town, whether a license may be required therefor by the state or not, and may exceed the state license, if any be required and may provide penalties for nonpayment thereof.
Sec. 36. Irregular elections not otherwise provided for.
Where not otherwise provided for by the laws of this state the town council shall by ordinance provide for any irregular elections not herein or by the state laws provided for, and appoint the necessary officers to conduct the same.
Sec. 37. Protecting persons and property in town; restraining drunkards, etc.; preventing vice, etc.; preserving peace, etc.; preventing, etc., riots, etc.; houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; lewd or indecent conduct or exhibitions.
The town council shall have the power and authority to protect the persons and property of the inhabitants of the town and others within the town, restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and street beggars; to prevent vice and immorality; to preserve the public peace and good order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances and disorderly assemblages; to suppress houses of ill-fame and gambling houses; to prevent and punish lewd or indecent conduct or exhibitions in the town, and to expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided therein as much as one (1) year; and for any violation of such ordinances may impose fines and other punishments in addition to those prescribed by the laws of the state.
Sec. 38. Preventing the entrance into town of certain persons.
The town council shall have the power and authority to prevent the coming into the town of persons having no ostensible means of support, and of persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety of the town.
Sec. 39. Offering reward for information to arrest, etc., of criminal.
The town council shall have the power and authority, where any crime has been committed or attempted to be committed in the town, in their discretion, to offer such reward as they think right to any person or persons for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any such criminal.
Sec. 40. Establishing, etc., market.
The town council shall have the power and authority to establish a market or markets in and for said town, and appoint proper officers therefor; to provide suitable buildings and grounds therefor; to prescribe the time for holding markets and to regulate the same, and to make and enforce such regulations as may be necessary and proper.
Sec. 41. Weighing and measuring articles for sale.
The town council shall have the power and authority to provide for the weighing or measuring of oil, coal or any other article for sale, and regulate the transportation thereof through the streets.
Sec. 42. Public grounds and buildings for use of town; prison houses and workhouses.
The town council shall have the power and authority to lay off public grounds and to provide, erect and keep in order all buildings proper for the use of the town; to provide a prison house and workhouse, and employ managers, physicians, nurses and servants for the same, and prescribe regulations for their government and discipline, and persons therein.
Sec. 43. Preventing injury, etc., from anything dangerous, etc.; abatement of nuisances.
The town council shall have the power and authority to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy, to provide by general ordinances what are nuisances, to cause the abatement of any nuisance so declared to be by the general laws of this state or by the general ordinances of the town, and to require and compel the abatement and removal of such nuisances within said town by or at the expense of the owners of the ground whereon the same may be or of other persons responsible therefor.
Sec. 44. Police generally.
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 government thereof, to prescribe uniforms and badges of officers therefor, and to prescribe their rate of pay; and in addition thereto the mayor, or in his absence, the president pro tempore of the council, or in the absence of both, any councilman, shall have the power and authority whenever the regular police force of the town is inadequate to meet the needs of the occasion, to appoint and swear in such additional or special policemen as he may deem requisite for a term of service not to exceed 10 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.
Sec. 45. Further provisions as to police.
The police force shall be under the control of the mayor or the [for] the purpose of enforcing peace and order and executing the laws of the state and ordinances of the town. They shall also perform such other duties as the council may prescribe. For the purpose of enabling them to execute their duties, each policeman is hereby invested with all the power and authority which belongs to the office of constable at common law in criminal cases. Their pay, uniforms and the rules and regulations for said police force shall be prescribed by the council.
Sec. 46. Limitation on authority of police in civil matters; execution of warrants, etc.; territorial extent of criminal jurisdiction of police.
The policemen of the town shall have no power or authority in civil matters, 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 (1) mile beyond the corporate limits of the town.
Sec. 47. Fire department and contracts for fire protection; regulations as to fires, etc.
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; or the council may contract with other persons, firms, corporations or organizations to furnish for the town such services as are normally provided by a fire department and to provide such regulations as it may determine to be appropriate to govern such persons, firms, corporations or organizations in the performance of its functions under such contracts. The council may make ordinances as it may deem proper for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, for the regulation of the conduct of persons in attendance at fires, in relation to the powers and duties of the officers and men of the fire department, to require citizens to render assistance to the fire department in case of public emergency and in relation to the acquisition, use, maintenance and preservation of real estate, personal property, fire apparatus and equipment necessary or proper for the use of the fire department.
Sec. 48. Storage, sale and use of gunpowder, etc., fireworks and other combustibles; discharge of firearms; bonfires.
The town council shall have the power and authority to regulate the keeping or storage of gunpowder or other combustibles within the town, and to provide magazines for the same, and direct the location of all buildings for the storage thereof; to regulate the sale and use of gunpowder and other combustibles, and firecrackers or fireworks manufactured therefrom, kerosene oil, nitroglycerine, camphene, burning fluid, or other combustible material; to regulate the exhibition of fireworks and the discharge of firearms, and to restrict the making of bonfires in streets, alleys and yards.
Sec. 49. Establishing, operating, etc., waterworks, gasworks, electric plants, etc.; discontinuance by town of water and electric service upon failure to pay therefor.
The town council shall have the power and authority to acquire or otherwise obtain control of or establish, maintain, operate, extend and enlarge waterworks, 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, establishing, maintaining, operating, extending and enlarging said waterworks, 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 reasonable rates, rules and regulations for use of the same, any or all of which rates, rules and regulations the council may alter at any time.
The council may discontinue serving water and electricity to any consumer who defaults in payment for such service within the time prescribed by the council for the payment thereof, for so long as such default continues.
Sec. 50. Connections with town water and sewer lines; use of town sewer pipes and water.
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 sewerage 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.
Sec. 51. Comprehensive town plan generally; plats and replats subdividing land.
The town is empowered to make and adopt a comprehensive plan for the town, and to that end all plats and replats hereafter made subdividing any land within the town or two (2) miles of its corporate limits into streets, alleys, roads and lots or tracts shall be submitted to and approved by the council within such limitations as they may prescribe before such plats or replats are filed for record or recorded in the Clerk's Office of the Circuit Court of Rockingham County.
Sec. 52. Streets and sidewalks generally.
The town council shall have the authority to open, close, alter, improve, widen or narrow streets, avenues, alleys and walkways; to have them kept in good condition and properly lighted, to prevent the cumbering of streets, sidewalks, alleys, lanes or bridges of the town in any manner whatever; to prevent the building of any structure, obstruction or encroachment over, under or in any street, sidewalk or alley in said town. And in the construction or improvement or paving of any alley or sidewalk assess the abutting land owner for all or part of the cost of the same.
Sec. 53. Construction, etc., of awnings, fire escapes, shutters, signs, cornices, etc., in, upon or over streets and alleys.
The town council shall have the power and authority to adopt ordinances authorizing owners or occupants of property abutting upon any street or alley in the town, within such limitation as they may prescribe, to construct and maintain in, upon and over such street or alley, awnings, fire escapes, shutters, signs, cornices, gutters, downspouts and bay windows and other appendages to buildings; but such permission so granted shall be held and deemed to be a license merely and shall be revocable at the pleasure of the town, and said permission shall not be construed to relieve the said owners of any negligence on their part.
Sec. 54. Establishing, etc., parks, playgrounds and boulevards.
The town council shall have the power and authority in their discretion to establish and maintain parks, playgrounds and boulevards and cause the same to be laid out, equipped and beautified.
Sec. 55. Adoption of master plan; building and zoning regulations; building, plumbing and electrical, etc., codes.
For the promotion of health, safety, morals, comfort, property and general welfare, the town is empowered to provide by ordinance, for the adoption of a master plan, divide the area of the town into one (1) or more districts, establish setback building lines, regulate and restrict the location, construction, reconstruction, alteration and repair or use of buildings and other structures and their height, area and bulk and percentage of lot to be occupied by buildings or other structures and the trade, industry and other specific uses of the premises in such districts and adopt building, plumbing, electrical and other codes to carry these purposes into effect.
Sec. 56. Safe and expeditious use of streets.
The town council shall have the power and authority to make and enforce ordinances to secure the safe and expeditious use of the streets and alleys of the town, to regulate traffic thereon, and for the protection of persons and property thereon or near thereto.
Sec. 57. Burial places for the dead.
To provide, in or near the town, lands to be used as burial places for the dead; to improve and care for the same and the approaches thereto, and to charge for and regulate the use of the ground therein, to cooperate with any nonprofit corporation in the improvement and care of burial places and approaches thereto; and to provide for the perpetual upkeep and care of any plot or burial lot therein, the town is authorized to take and receive sums of money by gift, bequest or otherwise to be kept invested, and the income thereof used in and about the perpetual upkeep and care of the said lot or plot, for which the said donations, gift or bequest shall have been made.
Sec. 58. Appointment, duties, etc., of the clerk of the council.
The clerk of the council shall be appointed by the council, and shall attend the meetings of the council and shall keep permanent records of its proceedings; he shall be custodian of the town seal and shall affix it to all documents and instruments requiring the seal, and shall attest the same; he shall keep all papers, documents and records pertaining to the town, the custody of which is not otherwise provided for in this charter; he shall give notice to all parties, presenting petitions or communications; he shall give to the proper department or officials ample notice of the expiration or termination of any franchise, contract or agreement; 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.
Sec. 59. Appointment, duties, etc., of town treasurer; assistance in collection of taxes, charges for water and electricity, etc.
There shall be appointed by the council a town treasurer, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the council; but the present treasurer of the town shall continue to discharge the duties of the office until his present term of office expires. Any vacancy in this office shall be promptly filled by the council. The said treasurer shall be the disbursing agent of the town and have the custody of all money and all evidences of value belonging to the town or held in trust by the town. He shall receive all money belonging to and received by the town and keep correct accounts of all receipts from all sources and of all expenditures of all departments. He shall collect all taxes and assessments, water rents, electric bills and other charges belonging to and payable to the town, and for that purpose he is hereby vested with powers similar to those which are now or may hereafter be vested in county and town treasurers for the collection of county, town and state taxes under the general law; he shall keep, disburse and deposit all money or funds in such manner and in such places as may be determined by ordinance or the provisions of the law applicable thereto; he shall pay no money out of the treasury, except in the manner prescribed by this charter or by ordinance or the general law; he shall perform such duties as are usually incident to the office of commissioner of revenue in relation to the assessment of property for town taxation, other than such property as is assessed by the commissioner of revenue of the county, and town license taxes and shall have power to administer oaths in the performance of his official duties; and shall make such reports and perform such other duties not inconsistent with the office as may be required by this charter or by ordinance or resolution of the council. The treasurer shall not be entitled to any commission for handling the funds of the town but shall be paid such salary as may be provided by the council, and before entering upon the duties of his office shall execute a bond in such amount and with such security as the council by ordinance may prescribe. The council may, in its discretion, and if it deems it necessary or convenient, appoint some person or persons from the electors of the town to assist the town treasurer in the collection of all taxes and assessments, water rents, electric bills and other charges belonging to and payable to the town, which person may be the town sergeant, or superintendent of waterworks or electric department, but before entering upon the discharge of his duties, such person shall execute a bond in such amount and with such security as the council by ordinance, may prescribe. The treasurer shall be subject to the supervision of the Council of the Town of Elkton and shall perform such other duties not inconsistent with his office as may be required of him by the town council; and he shall make all such reports as may be required of him before the town council. The said treasurer and clerk may be one and the same person if the council may deem it more expedient.
Sec. 60. Appointment, duties, etc., of town sergeant.
If the council should see fit to appoint a town sergeant he shall qualify and give bond in such amount as the council may require. He shall be vested with powers of a conservator of the peace, and shall have the same powers and discharge the same duties as a constable within the corporate limits of the town and to a distance of one (1) mile beyond the same, and shall perform such other duties as may be from time to time prescribed by the council; this office may be held by the chief of police.
Sec. 61. Contracting loans; issuing certificates of debts, etc.
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.
Sec. 62. Temporary loans in anticipation of taxes.
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 and not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum; such bonds or notes shall be payable within one (1) year from the date of issue out of the current revenue of the year in which same are issued.
Sec. 63. 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 (1) year as it matures, and the council may, in its discretion annually from time to time, set aside such additional sinking funds 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 loaded upon otherwise unencumbered real estate, with the Town of Elkton 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 at 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.
Sec. 64. Execution of bonds, etc.
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.
Sec. 65. Financial interest of council members in contracts.
No member of the council shall be interested directly or indirectly in the profits of any contract or work or be financially interested directly or indirectly in the sale to the town of any land, materials, supplies or services, other than official services. Any member of the council offending against the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $500 or be imprisoned not more than 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court, and shall forfeit his office.
Sec. 66. Further provisions as to levy and collection of taxes, etc.
The town is empowered to levy and collect taxes, on all subjects of taxation except as restrained by the Constitution or by general law heretofore or hereafter adopted, provided that it shall impose no taxes on the bonds of the said town.
Sec. 67. Assessment of real and personal property for municipal taxation.
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 treasurer for the town knows of property, real or personal, that has been omitted by the commissioner of revenue of the county from his books, the treasurer of the town shall advise the commissioner of revenue for the county thereof, and the same shall be assessed for taxation as provided by law.
Sec. 68. Collection and disposal of sewage, garbage, dead animals, etc.
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 and to require and regulate the collection and disposal thereof.
Sec. 69. Further provisions as to 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.
Sec. 70. Holding, etc., of shows, circuses, etc.
To regulate the holding and location of shows, circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals and other similar shows or fairs, or prohibit the holding of same, or any of them, within the town or within one (1) mile thereof.
Sec. 72. Further provisions as to licensing, etc., of vehicles.
The council may grant or refuse license to owners or keepers of wagons, drays, carts, hacks, automobiles, motorcycles and other wheeled carriages kept or employed in the town for hire, and may require the owners or keepers of wagons, drays and carts, automobiles and other wheeled vehicles using them in the town, to take out license therefor, and may assess and require taxes to be paid thereon, and subject the same to such regulations as they may deem proper, and may prescribe their fees and compensation.
Sec. 73. Board of health, health officers, etc.
The town council is empowered to establish a local board of health to consist of three (3) persons, at least one (1) of whom shall be a physician, to be elected by the council and to serve at its pleasure, and to employ such health officers and other employees as it may in its discretion determine to be proper. Such board of health, if established, shall have the powers and perform the duties provided by general laws for boards of health in towns and shall, in addition, perform such other services as the council may direct.
Sec. 74. Further provisions as to rates for utilities supplied by town.
The town council is empowered to fix rates for water, lights, gas and for use of sewer and other utilities supplied by the town from its works, or utilities purchased from others.
Sec. 75. Continuation of ordinances.
All ordinances now in force in the Town of Elkton, not inconsistent with this Act, shall be and remain in force until altered, amended or repealed by the town council.
Sec. 76. Compelling prisoners to work on streets.
The town council is empowered to compel persons sentenced to confinement in jail for misdemeanor or violations of town ordinances to work on the public streets, parks or other public work of the town there to perform such labor as the officer in charge may direct.
Sec. 77. Police justice.
The council may appoint pursuant to the provisions of section 16-129 of the Code of Virginia, a police justice for the town who shall serve for a term of two (2) years or until his successor is appointed by the council and qualifies. The mayor or any qualified voter of the Town of Elkton, the City of Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, or any town in Rockingham County, whom the council deems qualified, may be appointed by it as such police justice. If the mayor is appointed as police justice he shall discharge such duties as the police justice of the town under this charter and not as mayor of the town, in addition to the execution of the duties of the mayor imposed upon him by this charter; and his powers, duties, authority and jurisdiction as such police justice shall be hereinafter provided for the police justice; he may receive the salary of mayor provided by the council for the discharge of his duties as mayor as well as such salary of police justice as may be provided by the council, if any.
The police justice is hereby vested with the right and authority to issue warrants, summon witnesses and try cases involving violations of town ordinances, or the collection of town taxes or assessments, or any other debts due and owing to the town.
Fees and costs shall be assessed by the police justice and shall be collected as provided by the laws of the State of Virginia relating to police justices as the same shall now be or as hereafter amended. All fees and costs collected by the said police justice and all fines collected for violations of all ordinances of the town shall be paid into the town treasury for the use and benefit of the town.
Removals may be taken, and appeals from the decisions of the police justice may be taken, to the circuit court of Rockingham County in the same manner, upon the same terms and shall be tried in the same way as removals, or as appeals from the decision of police justices, as the case may be, are provided to be taken and tried by the laws of the State of Virginia, relating to police justices as the same shall now be or as hereafter amended.
The council may also appoint such clerk or clerks as may in their discretion be necessary, provide for just compensation therefor and provide necessary records.
The council of said town shall provide a salary to compensate such police justice in such amount and payable at such times as the council shall deem proper, and the council may provide also for a vacation period, either with or without pay, and for such duration as in the judgment of the council may be proper.
Like provisions may be made for a substitute justice, and when such substitute acts, he shall receive the compensation which would have been paid him had the principal acted, and which compensation shall be deducted from salary or allowance made to the principal. (Acts 1954, ch. 580, Sec. 77; Acts 1960, ch. 220.)
Sec. 78. Warrant justices; issuance, etc., of warrants; bail.
The council may select one (1) or more special justices of the peace to be known as warrant justices, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the council and shall have such powers as are hereby conferred, and no other. Such warrant justice or justices shall at the time of his or their election, and while holding such office, reside in the town, and no person shall be ineligible to such office by reason of the fact that at the time of his election or while holding such office he is an officer or employee of the state or town unless to be justice of the peace while holding such office or employment is contrary to the general laws and Constitution of the state.
Every warrant justice, before entering upon the performance of his duties, shall take the official oaths required by state law before the clerk of the circuit court of the county.
Every warrant and attachment within the jurisdiction conferred upon the police justice by this charter may be issued by one of such warrant justices, but every warrant so issued shall be made returnable before the police justice and shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be triable only by him, or by the substitute police justice, and every attachment so issued shall be made returnable before the police justice or the circuit court of the county, as the law directs. Any such warrant justice may also issue subpoenas for witnesses in cases to be tried by the police justice.
In the absence of the police justice of the town, each warrant justice shall have the same power to admit to bail persons as the police justice would have under general law of the state if present, shall collect the fees therefor and shall report and pay same to the officer authorized to collect fines imposed by the police justice.
Such warrant justice or justices shall receive such salary or other compensation as the council may from time to time prescribe by ordinance, but no officer or employee in any department of the town government who may be elected warrant justice shall receive any salary or other compensation as such justice while he holds such other office or continues in such other employment, unless and until the council specifically provides for such salary or other compensation by ordinance. (Acts 1954, ch. 580, Sec. 78; Acts 1960, ch. 220)
Sec. 79. Continuance of officers in office.
The present officers of the town shall be and remain in office until expiration of their several terms, and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified.
Sec. 80. How act cited.
This act may for all purposes be referred to or cited as the Elkton Charter of 1954.
|
|