FREDERICKSBURG, VA.:
PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL
1899
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An Act entitled "An Act for Incorporating the Town of Fredericksburg, in the County of Spotsylvania."--Passed Session, 1781.
Be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the freeholders and housekeepers, who shall have been resident in the said town three months next preceding such election, to meet in some convenient place, in the said town, annually. on the third Monday in March, and then and there nominate and elect, by ballot, twelve fit and able men, being freeholders and inhabitants of the town, to serve as Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen for the same, and the persons so elected shall within one week after their election, proceed to choose, by ballot, out of their own body, one Mayor, one Recorder, and four Aldermen, and the remaining six shall be Common Councilmen, whose several authorities as Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen, shall continue until the third Monday in March, in the year succeeding, and until others shall be qualified in their stead and no longer, unless where elected. That the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Councilmen, so elected, and their successors, shall and are hereby made a body corporate and politic, by the name of Mayor and Commonalty of the Town of Fredericksburg, and by that name to have perpetual succession, with capacity to purchase, receive and possess lands and tenements, goods and chattels, either in fee or any lesser estate therein, and the same to rive, grant, let, sell or assign again, and to plea and be impleaded, prosecute and defend all causes and complaints, actions, real and personal and mixt, to have one common seal and perpetual succession. That the person who shall be first elected Mayor of the said town shall, within one week after his election, take an oath or make solemn affirmation before a justice of the quorum in the commission of the peace for the
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said County of Spotsylvania, for the due and faithful execution of his office; and every succeeding Mayor shall be qualified to his office before the Mayor for the time being; and every Recorder, Alderman and Common Councilman shall take the like oath, or make the like affirmation, with respect to their office, before the Mayor for the time being; but no person shall hold the office of Mayor for more than one year in any two years: Provided, nevertheless, Where a vacancy shall have happened in the office of Mayor within the year. the person elected for the remainder of that year, may be elected again at the next general election, and until another shall be elected and qualified in his stead.
And be it enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen for the time being, are hereby declared and constituted Justices of the Peace within the limits of the said town; which limits shall extend to low-water mark on the northwest side of Rappahannock river, and half a mile without and around the other limits of the said town, and have the like jurisdiction in all cases whatsoever originating within the limits aforesaid, as the Justices of the County Courts now have. That the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen, or any four of them, (the Mayor or Recorder being one), shall have power to hold a Court of Hustings on the third Monday in every month, and hold pleas in all cases whatsoever originating within the limits before described, in the same manner as the County Courts may do; to have the sole power of licensing tavern-keepers, and settling their rates; to appoint a sergeant, who shall have the power of a sheriff, constable, and other necessary officers of Court, and Surveyors of the streets and highways, and to settle and allow reasonable fees allowed the like officers in the County Courts: Provided, That the said officers shall take an oath of office before the said Court of Hustings, before they shall be allowed to act; and that the Sergeant shall moreover give bond and security for the due performance of his office, which bond shall be made payable to the Mayor for the time being, and his successors, and may be put in suit by the party grieved, in like manner as sheriff's bonds; and provided always, that in civil cases the Court of Hustings shall not have jurisdiction where the demand shall exceed one thousand pounds of crop tobacco, or the value thereof in money at the time of entering the action, unless both parties shall be inhabitants of the town at the time of suing out the first process in the suit.
And be it further enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen shall have power to erect work-houses, houses of correction, prisons and other public buildings for the benefit of the town, and to make by-laws and ordinances for the regulation and good government of the said town, and
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to assess the inhabitants and all property within the actual bounds of the said town for the charges of repairing the streets:
Provided, That such by laws and ordinances shall not be repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the laws and Constitution of the Commonwealth; and the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen shall have power to hold, and keep within the said town, two market days, (the one on Wednesday, the other on Saturday), in every week, and, from time to time, appoint a clerk of the market, who shall have assize of bread, wine, wood and other things, and generally to do and perform all things belonging to the office of the clerk of the market within the said town. And every person to be elected to any office as aforedirected, and refusing to undertake and execute the same, shall pay the fines following, that is to say: the Mayor, fifty pounds; Recorder, forty pounds; Aldermen, thirty pounds: Common Councilmen. twenty five pounds; Sergeant, one hundred pounds; Constable, fifty pounds; Clerk of the Hustings Court and Clerk of the Market, each, fifty pounds; Surveyors of the streets or roads, thirty pounds, each, to be imposed by the judgment of the said Court of Hustings for the use of the town, and levied by execution against the goods and chattels of the offender. And in case of misconduct in the office of Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen, or either of them, the others, being seven at least, shall have power to remove the offender; and, as to all other officers, the power first appointing shall or may at pleasure, revoke. And in case of vacancy in the office of Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen, the vacancy shall be filled up in the following manner: the Recorder shall succeed the Mayor; the eldest Alderman the Recorder, and so on, according to priority, to be reckoned by the number of votes at the last election; and if a vacancy shall happen among the Common Councilmen, his place shall be filled from the body of the freeholders within the town, by ballot of the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen.
And be it further enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder, and two of the Aldermen shall have power, so often as they find occasion to summon a council of the said town, which shall consist of the Mayor, Recorder, two Aldermen and four Common Councilmen at least; that no law, order or regulation shall be binding and valid, nor shall the same be revoked or altered, or fine imposed for a breach thereof, unless seven members concur therein.
And be it further enacted, That all the property, real and personal, now held and possessed by the Trustees of the said Town of Fredericksburg, in law or equity, or in trust, for the
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use and benefit of the inhabitants thereof. and particularly the charitable donation of Archibald McPherson, deceased, now vested in the Trustees of the said town, in trust, for the education of poor children, shall be and the same are hereby, transferred and vested in the Mayor and Commonalty of the said town, to and for the same uses, intents and purposes, as the Trustees for the said town now hold the same, any former law, or clause or devise in the said Archibald McPherson's will to the contrary notwithstanding. And in all courts of law and equity, this Act shall be construed, taken and held most beneficially and favorably for the said Corporation.
AN AMENDATORY ACT --Passed Session, 1782.
And be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction of the Court of Hustings, in the town of Fredericksburg shall extend one mile without and around the former limits of the said town, on the south side of Rappahannock river, mid shall have power to hold pleas in all cases originating within the limits before described, in like manner, and under such limitations, as are directed and prescribed by the Act for incorporating the said town. That the Court of Hustings, in the said Town of Fredericksburg, shall be, and is hereby constituted, a Court of Record, and as such, to receive probate of wills and deeds, and grant administrations in as full and ample manner as the county courts, by law, can or may do: Provided always, and be it further enacted, That no will shall be admitted to proof or record in the said court, nor shall the said court grant administration unless the testator or intestate, as the case may be, was resident within the limits of the jurisdiction of the said court at the time of his or her death; nor shall any deed, whereby lands are conveyed, be admitted to proof or record in the said court, unless such lands lie within the limits as aforesaid. The said court shall have power to appoint a person, skilled in the law, to prosecute therein, for the Commonwealth, and to allow him a reasonable salary for his services, to be levied, annually, by the Corporation, on the inhabitants within the limits of the said town, and that the said inhabitants shall hereafter be exempted from contributing towards paying any part of the salary of the attorney for the Commonwealth in the court of the said County of Spotsylvania.
An Act concerning the Election of Members of the Court of Hustings, and Common Hall of Fredericksburg.--Passed December 24, 1806.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That on the day appointed by law for the next annual election of members of
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the Common Hall of the Town of Fredericksburg, the persons qualified to vote by law for the same, shall assemble and elect, by ballot, eight persons to act as Justices of the Peace for the said town, who shall continue in office during good behavior, any three of whom shall have power to hold a Court of Hustings at the same time and under the same regulations as is now prescribed by law, except in cases of courts for the examination or trial of free persons or slaves charged with felonies, in which cases five of the Justices aforesaid shall be requisite to constitute a court. The said court to have the same powers and jurisdiction as heretofore, and the said Justices to have the same rights and powers as were heretofore granted by law to the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of the said town; with this exception, however, that they shall not act as members of the Common Hall, nor be authorized to lay any tax for the support of a watch.
And be it further enacted, That on the day aforesaid, and on the same day in every year thereafter, the persons qualified To vote as before mentioned, shall elect, in manner aforesaid, twelve persons to act as Common Councilmen of the said town, who may continue in office until the next annual election of Common Councilmen, and until others shall be qualified in their stead, and shall have and exercise all the powers and duties heretofore granted to, and exercised by, the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Common Councilmen of the said town, in Common Hall assembled.
The Common Council of the said town, in Common Hall assembled, shall elect one of its members to act as Mayor and another as Recorder. The Mayor shall preside at its meetings, and sign the proceedings thereof; and when from any cause he shall be absent, the Recorder shall preside in his stead.
The Mayor, or in his absence, the Recorder, or any two members of the Common Hall, shall have power, so often as they find occasion, to summon a Common Hall of the said town. In future, seven members shall be sufficient to hold a meeting of the Common Hall.
Vacancies which may happen in the court of the said town shall be supplied in the same manner that such vacancies in the county courts are supplied; and vacancies which may happen in the Common Hall shall be supplied as heretofore. The qualifications which entitle persons to vote for, or be elected members of, the Court of Hustings or Common Hall, shall remain unaltered by this Act.
This Act shall be in force from and after the first day of March next.
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An Act to amend the Charter of the Corporation of Fredericksburg.--Passed March 5, 1821.
WHEREAS, it appears there are great defects and imperfections in the original Act, incorporating the Town of Fredericksburg, and the several Acts amendatory thereof, for remedy whereof-
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the Mayor of the said town shall annually be appointed in the mode now prescribed by law, except that he may be chosen either from the Council, or from the, body of the citizens; and when he shall be taken from the Council, the vacancy occasioned thereby shall be filled by the Council. The said Mayor shall be re-eligible from year to year without limitation, and shall keep an office in the said town for the transaction of business, and shall be the keeper of the Seal of the Corporation; he shall, at all times, when the Hustings Court shall not be in session, perform the duties of Justice of the Peace; those duties may, nevertheless, be discharged by any other justice of the said Corporation. The said Mayor shall, moreover, have the superintendence and control of the officers of police and the night watch, according to the laws and ordinances now in force, or which may hereafter be enacted by the Council.
Be it further enacted, That if the person who may be appointed Mayor, pursuant to the foregoing section, shall omit or fail, from any cause, to qualify to his appointment for the space of ten days after his election; or if, after his election, he shall die or resign, them, and in all such events, the said Council may, and it is hereby declared to be their duty, as soon thereafter as they may see fit, to elect some other person in his stead, and may proceed to make a new election from time to time, whenever, for the causes aforesaid, or any of them, it shall become necessary.
And be it further enacted, That when, from sickness or other cause, the said Mayor shall be unable to perform the duties of his office, or in case of his unavoidable absence front town, his duties shall devolve upon, and be discharged by, the Recorder, who shall, in such cases, possess and exercise all the powers and the authority of the Mayor.
And be it further enacted, That the Mayor shall henceforth receive for his services a compensation, to be fixed by the Common Council, which shall not be increased or diminished during the time for which he shall be elected to office, which shall be paid out of the funds of the Corporation, in aid of which a tax may be imposed on his official acts.
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Be it further enacted, That the Court of Hustings of the said Corporation shall remain as it is now constituted by law, except that the said Mayor shall preside in the said Court, and in his absence, the Recorder. The said court shall have complete jurisdiction to high-water mark on the opposite side of the Rappahannock river; and in all respects the jurisdiction shall remain as heretofore.
And be it further enacted, That the citizens of the said town shall hereafter be exempted from the payment of levies to the County of Spotsylvania.
And be it farther enacted, That the Mayor, Recorder and Common Council shall have full power, and they are hereby authorized, to assess a tax on the inhabitants and property within the actual limits of the said town, for the purpose of repairing streets, and such other expenses and charges as to them may seem necessary and proper, and for the improvement, convenience and well-being of the town.
And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said Mayor, Recorder and Common Council, and they are hereby authorized and empowered, to provide a sufficient night-watch for the protection and safety of the said town; and for the better execution of this duty, the power and authority now exercised by field officers of the militia, concerning patrols, shall hereafter be vested in, and exercised by, the said Mayor, Recorder and Common Council, over the militia of the said town, who shall hereafter be exempt from patrol duty beyond the limits of the Corporation. And,
WHEREAS, the true location of the streets of the said town has become uncertain, from want of the permanent marks ascertaining the boundary thereof-
Be it therefore enacted, That John W. Green, John Mundell, George Cox, Silas Wood and David Briggs be appointed commissioners, any three of whom may act, for the purpose of surveying and locating the streets of the said town, according existing laws, and such authentic ancient surveys as may have been made pursuant to law.
It shall be the duty of said commissioners to ascertain and locate the said streets by metes and bounds, making such alterations therein as they may find expedient, with the assent of the proprietors of lots and lands, which may be affected by such alteration, but not otherwise: and to mark the boundaries or the streets by stones, or other permanent limits; and to report a plan thereof, and of the town, with the lots properly numbered, with explanatory notes, to the Mayor, Recorder and Common Council of the said town; which, if approved by them, shall forever thenceforth be taken as the authentic plan of the said town, and be binding on all persons whatsoever;
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but if, in making such survey, it shall be found that any house has been built, wholly or in part, on any street, such house shall not be considered as a nuisance or illegal obstruction of such street; but if such house shall, at any time, perish or be destroyed, it shall not be again rebuilt so as to encroach upon or obstruct such street.
And be it further enacted, That all Acts, and parts of Acts, coming within the purview of this Act, shall be, and the same are hereby, repealed,
This Act shall commence and be in force from and after the passage thereof.
An Act concerning the Corporation of Fredericksburg.--Passed February 11, 1829.
Be it enacted, That hereafter it shall be lawful for the Mayor and Recorder of the said town to take the oath of office before any Judge of the General Court, or Justice of the Peace, who shall certify the same to the Hustings Court of Fredericksburg, to be entered upon the proceedings thereof.
This Act shall be in force from and after the passing thereof,
An Act extending the Corporate Limits of the Town of Fredericksburg.-Passed March 28, 1851.
1. The corporate limits of the Town of Fredericksburg, in the County of Spotsylvania, as heretofore established by law, shall be, and the same are hereby, extended and enlarged, so as to include, within the same, so much land as lies within the boundary line, described and proposed by the report of Joseph Sanford, John Minor and John Pritchard, a committee appointed by the Common Council of the Corporation of Fredericksburg, to inquire into the expediency of extending the limits of said town, which report was adopted by said Council, but, for greater certainty, more particularly set out and described by metes and bounds, bearings and distances, in a survey and plat made by William Slaughter, dated the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and fifty, and returned with said report, By the said plat the said town, as enlarged by the Act of seventeen hundred and fifty-nine, is described by the letters E, F, G, H. The line hereby adopted and made the boundary of said town by this Act, is described by the letters A, B, C, D. The said plat is to be filed in the Clerk's Office of the Corporation Court of Fredericksburg, and shall be held as evidence of the boundary of said town
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as hereby extended and enlarged. And the said land so taken into the limits, and included within the boundaries of said town, shall be, and the same is hereby, made a part of the Town of Fredericksburg, and subject to the same by-laws, rules and regulations, as if the same had been included within the original limits thereof, and shall be subject to the provisions and enactments of all such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia as have, from time to time, been passed for or concerning the said town and its inhabitants since the same was established as a town.
2. That the proprietors of the lands and lots hereby added to the Town of Fredericksburg, and the persons now or after residing upon or occupying the same, and all persons now or hereafter living within the limits hereby established, shall be entitled to and enjoy all the rights and privileges, and be subject to the same by-laws, rules and regulations, and to the same or like fines, penalties and forfeitures and taxes in relation to the aforesaid lands and lots, and also in relation to their persons and personal property, as persons residing upon or owning or occupying lauds and lots, and other property, or residing within the original or former limits of said town of Fredericksburg: Provided, however, That such liability shall not extend to slaves or other personal property usually employed in farming operations without the limits of said town, though found within the same.
3. That so soon after the taking effect of the above section of this Act as practical, Hugh S. Scott, William S. Barton, John James Chew, Joseph Sanford and John Pritchard, who are hereby appointed commissioners for the purpose, any three or more of whom may act, shall locate and lay out streets as they may deem proper, through and around the land hereby annexed to the original limits of the Town of Fredericksburg, determining the width thereof; and the said commissioners shall return a report of their said action; together with a plat or plats of the streets so located and laid out by them, to the Common Council of the Town of Fredericksburg, which report and plat or plats, together with a copy of the survey of the limits of the Town of Fredericksburg hereby established, shall be delivered by the Common Council of said town, attested by the Recorder, to the Clerk of the Corporation Court of Fredericksburg, to be, by him, preserved and kept among the records of his office; Provided, nevertheless, That none of the streets so laid out shall be actually opened unless the Common Council of said Town of Fredericksburg shall judge it expedient that they should be opened. In, the event of its being considered expedient by the said Common Council to open any of the said streets so located, unless the owner or owners
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of the land through which said street or streets pass shall relinquish his or her or their claim for damages, the Common Council of said town shall pay to such owner or owners such damages as may be adjudged to him or her or them, by three disinterested freeholders of the County of Spotsylvania, thereto appointed and commissioned by the County Court of Spotsylvania, who shall be first duly sworn faithfully to execute the duty required of them: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the owners of land within the corporate limits of said town from opening such streets as they may deem proper upon their own lands,
Be it further enacted, That hereafter it shall not be necessary that either the Mayor or Recorder of the Corporation of Fredericksburg shall preside in the Corporation Court thereof, in order to form a Court, but that it shall be lawful for any three of the Justices to hold a Court for said Corporation, except in cases of Courts for the examination of a trial of free persons or slaves, charged with felonies, in which case any five of the Justices of said Corporation shall be requisite to constitute a court.
This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act amending an Act, entitled "An Act extending the Corporate Limits of the Town of Fredericksburg," passed March 28th, 1851, so as to Define with more Certainty the Extended Boundaries thereof.--Passed May 7, 1852.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the first section of the Act, entitled "An Act extending the corporate limits of the Town of Fredericksburg," passed March the twenty eighth, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed, and the following substituted therefore:
2. The corporate limits of the Town of Fredericksburg, in the County of Spotsylvania, as heretofore established by law shall be, and the same are hereby, extended and enlarged, as to include within the same so much land as lies within the boundary line particularly set out and described by metes and bounds, bearings and distances, in a survey and plat made by William Slaughter, dated the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and fifty, and heretofore deposited in the Clerk's Office of the Corporation Court of said town. By the same plat the said town, as enlarged by the Act of seventeen hundred and fifty-nine, is described by the letters E, F, G, H, the line hereby adopted and made the boundary line of said town by this Act, is described by the letters A, B, C, D. The said plat is to be filed in the Clerk's Office of the Corporation
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Court of Fredericksburg, and shall be held as evidence of the boundary of said town as hereby extended and enlarged. And the said land, so taken into the limits, and included within the boundaries of said town, shall be, and the same is hereby, made a part of the Town of Fredericksburg, and subject to the same laws, rules and regulations, as if the same had been included within the original limits thereof, and shall be subject to the provisions and enactments of all such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, as have, from time to time been passed for and concerning the said town and its inhabitants since the same was established as a town.
3. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act authorizing the Collection of Corporation Taxes on Real Estate, in the Town of Fredericksburg. --Passed January 30, 1858.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the Council of the Town of Fredericksburg shall have authority to require to be sold all real estate, within the Corporation, returned delinquent, for the non-payment of taxes and interest, on which shall not have been paid before the day of sale, and may make such regulations for effecting such sale, and collecting such taxes, interest and charges of sale, as to them may seen expedient. If, however, no such sale be authorized or required, the taxes assessed upon such real estate, for the benefit of said city, shall remain a lien thereon, bearing interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum, from and after the expiration of thirty days from the time when the same shall have been collectable until the same be fully paid.
In all cases in which any tax assessed upon real estate for the benefit of said city, shall be paid, in whole or in part, by the tenant, or out of his or her property, he or she shall be entitled to deduct the same out of the accruing rent, or to recover the amount, so paid, from the owner of real estate, unless it shall otherwise be specially agreed.
In every case of non-residents, where the real property, subject to the tax levied, shall be vacant, and the proprietor thereof shall have no property within the Corporation subject to distress, and sufficient to raise the tax due, it shall be lawful for the officer appointed to collect such tax, in the name of the Corporation, to recover the amount of the tax due from such person or persons, by motion, in a summary way, before any court within this Commonwealth, ten days' notice of such motion being given to the person or persons chargeable with the amount of such tax.
This Act shall be in force from its passage.
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An Act extending the Corporate Limits of the Town of Fredericksburg. --Passed March 15, 1861.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the corporate limits of the Town of Fredericksburg, in the County of Spotsylvania, as heretofore established by law, shall be, and they are hereby, extended and enlarged, so as to include within the same so much land belonging to the Fredericksburg Water Power Company, as lies within the following boundaries, viz-
Beginning at a point 67 feet N.64½°E. from the northeast corner-stone of the present boundary of said town; and running thence up the Rappahannock river 1250 feet to a stone; thence S.58½°W. 466 feet to a stone; thence S.13¼°W. 377 feet to a stone; thence S.35½°E. 608 feet to a stone; thence S.38¾°W. 285 feet to a stone; thence S.25½°E. 144 feet to a stone in a line with the present corporation line; thence with said line N. 64½°E. 680 feet to the point of beginning, and particularly set out and described in a survey and plat made by Carter M. Braxton, dated the twenty third day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and deposited in the Clerk's Office of the Corporation Court of said town. And the said land so taken into the limits of said town shall be, and the same is hereby, made a part of the Town of Fredericksburg, and subject to the same by-laws, rules and regulations as if the same had been included within the original limits thereof; and shall be subject to the provisions and enactments of all such Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia as have from time to time been passed for and concerning the said town and its inhabitants, since the same was established as a town.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act amending the Charter of the Town of Fredericksburg. Passed January 8, 1862.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That the police officers of the Town of Fredericksburg shall be conservators or the peace in said town; and in all criminal cases shall have the same powers, perform the same duties, be entitled to the same fees, and be subject to the same penalties that are prescribed by law to constables.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
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An Act to amend the Charter of the Town of Fredericksburg. Approved March 23, 1871.
l. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That for the better government and well-ordering of the Town of Fredericksburg, it shall be lawful for the residents thereof, qualified to vote for all officers, elective by the people, under the Constitution of this Commonwealth, to elect by ballot, on the fourth Thursday in May, preceding the expiration of their term of office, the following officers: that is to say, one Mayor, who shall hold his office for two years, twelve Councilmen, who shall hold their offices for one year; one City Sergeant, who shall hold his office for two years; one Commissioner of the Revenue, who shall hold his office for two years, and one City Treasurer, who shall hold his office for three years, from the first day of July succeeding their election. Each of the said officers shall have the qualifications required by the Constitution of this State for any elective office therein, and shall, when elected and qualified, as hereinafter provided, have the powers, perform the duties, and be subject to the liabilities and responsibilities prescribed by the general laws of this State, by this Act, and the by-laws and ordinances of said town.
2. The persons so elected shall, before they enter upon the duties of their offices, respectively, take an oath, or make solemn affirmation, as prescribed by law, before some one Authorized to administer oaths, well and truly, faithfully and impartially to do, execute and perform the duties of their several offices, according to the best of their skill and judgment and file a certificate thereof with the Clerk of the Council: Provided, That said oath may be taken, and the fact recorded, before the Council at any meeting, and may be administered by the Mayor or other officer then presiding.
3. That should it so happen that an election of officers as above named, be not made at the time prescribed for an election, then such an election may be ordered by the Corporation Court, upon the petition of fifteen or more of the qualified voters of said town, ten days' public notice of the time and place of election being given: and, provided, the list of registered voters, residing within the said town, shall be previously revised, as prescribed by law. All officers elected or appointed, under the provisions of this Act, shall hold and perform the duties of their respective offices until their successors, or a legal quorum thereof, are elected and qualified.
4. The Mayor shall preside at the meetings of the Council or in his absence, the Recorder, or, in the absence of both,
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one of the Councilmen chosen by a majority of the Councilmen then present. The Mayor shall, in case of tie, give the casting vote upon all questions to be determined by the Council. He shall be the chief executive officer of the town; shall be clothed with all the powers and authority of a justice of the peace in civil as well as criminal matters arising within the corporate limits; shall take care that the by-laws and ordinances of the town are faithfully executed, and shall exercise all the powers and duties now vested, or which may be hereafter vested, in Mayors of towns of five thousand inhabitants or less. He shall have control of the police of the town, and may appoint special police officers whenever he deems it necessary; shall have power to issue process, hear and determine all prosecutions, cases and controversies arising under any by-laws and ordinances of the town; to impose fines when authorized by said by-laws and ordinances, and issue executions for their collection, saving to the parties the right to appeal to the Corporation Court, which appeal, if the fine or other matter or thing shall exceed the sum of ten dollars, shall be taken in the same time and manner, and upon the same terms, that appeals are now taken by law from judgments of a single Justice of the Peace.
5. The Council shall have power and authority, within the said town, to establish markets, and regulate the same; to alter or improve streets, alleys, walks and bridges, and keep the same in order; to provide for the lighting of the streets, and the protection and repair of street lamps and lamp posts; to provide against and prevent accidents by fire; and for this purpose, to establish and organize fire companies, purchase engines, and provide such wells or cisterns as may be necessary, to supply the same with water for the purpose of extinguishing fires, to prevent and punish, by reasonable fines, the practice of discharging firearms, and running horses in said town; to license and regulate shows and other exhibitions, and the same to tax, in such reasonable extent and manner, as may be expedient and lawful; to lay off public grounds, and provide and take care of public buildings, grounds and cemeteries, and to establish proper regulations for the management of such cemeteries, and charges for the use or sale of lots therein, for the purpose of providing for the decent maintenance of the same; to conduct and distribute water into and through said town; to adopt rules for its own government, and the transaction of its business; to define the powers, prescribe the duties, and fix the term of service and compensation of its appointees, necessary for conducting the affairs of said town, not otherwise provided for by this Act; to fix the salary
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of the Mayor, and all other officers, but no compensation shall be allowed to any member of the Council, except he be acting as Clerk for the Council; and, finally, to make all such by-laws and regulations (not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the State or of the United States,) as they may deem necessary and proper for the good government of said town, and the same to enforce, by reasonable fines and penalties not exceeding, for any one offence, the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered, with costs, in the name of the Corporation of Fredericksburg, under the judgment and order of the Mayor, saving appeal, as herein provided, to the Corporation Court, or in default of payment of such fines, the offender may be imprisoned in the town jail not more than thirty days.
6. The Council shall have power to provide a revenue for the town, and appropriate the same, and for that purpose the Commissioner of the Revenue shall make an annual assessment of taxable persons and property within the town, such as is, or may hereafter be, subject to taxation by the revenue laws of this Commonwealth; and also on dogs and other animals running at large.
7. Whenever anything for which a State license is required, is to be done in said town, the Council may require a town license therefor, and may impose a tax thereon for the use of the town. The Council may require, from the person so licensed, a bond, with sureties, payable to said town, in such penalties, and with such conditions as it may think proper and reasonable, and may revoke such license at any time if the condition of said bond be broken.
8. All fines, penalties and amercements, and other money received and raised by virtue of this Act, and not otherwise directed to be applied, shall be at the disposal of the Council, for the use and benefit of said town.
9. That in all suits or prosecutions arising under any by-law, rule or regulation, made by the Council of the said town in manner aforesaid, when the constitutionality or validity of such by-law, rule or regulation shall be contested, appeals shall be from the judgment of the Corporation Court of said town to the Supreme Court of Appeals.
10. That anything in the existing Act for incorporating the Town of Fredericksburg, and the Acts amendatory thereof, in conflict with this Act, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.
11. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
(2)
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An Act to amend and re-enact Section Six of an Act, approved March 23, 1871, to amend the Charter of Fredericksburg. Approved March 15, 1872.
SEC. 6. The Council shall have power to provide a revenue for the town, and appropriate the same and for that purpose the Commissioner of the Revenue shall make an annual assessment of taxable persons and property within the town, such as is or may hereafter be subject to taxation by the revenue laws of this Commonwealth, and, also, on dogs and other animals.
An Act to authorize the City of Fredericksburg to provide for supplying the city with Water.--Approved March, 28, 1879.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That notwithstanding any prohibition against the increase of the debt of the City of Fredericksburg contained in the charter of said city, which is to be voted upon at the election in May next, or in any other Act of Assembly, it shall be lawful for said City of Fredericksburg to provide for supplying said city, or the inhabitants thereof, with a suitable and adequate supply of water, by leasing, or the purchase and enlargement or improvement of suitable water-works, or the erection of the same; and to that end to borrow money and issue and negotiate the bonds of said city for the same to the extent of thirty thousand dollars.
2. Said bonds shall be known and designated as Fredericksburg water bonds; they shall be registered, or coupon bonds, as may be determined by the City Council of said city; shall be issued in such denominations, and bear such rate of interest, not exceeding seven per centum per annum, as may be determined by said Council. The principal of said bonds shall be payable thirty years after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, or upon the call of said city at any time after ten years from said date, and the interest shall be, payable semi-annually; they shall bear the corporate seal of said city, shall be signed by the Mayor thereof and countersigned by the Clerk of said Council, and shall have printed on the face or back thereof the statement that they are issued
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 19
pursuant to the provisions of this Act and the ratification of the voters of said city as prescribed herein. Said bonds shall be negotiated or sold in such manner as may be prescribed by said Council, and they may be so negotiated or sold at less than par: Provided, That only so much money shall be borrowed hereunder, and such amount of said bonds issued therefor, as may be necessary for the purposes herein declared; and no money shall be borrowed, nor any of said bonds issued therefor, unless and until a plan or scheme for supplying said city with water shall be agreed upon and adopted by the Council thereof and ratified by the vote of the qualified voters of said city as hereinafter provided.
3. The control and management of such water-works shall be under the direction of said Council, to be exercised by itself or through such committees or agencies as it may adopt. And said Council shall prescribe and regulate the rates of rents to be paid for the use of water furnished by the city; may impose fines and penalties for the injury or abuse of said works or property connected therewith, or for the misuse or abuse of the water privileges furnished by said city; and may enforce and collect such fines and penalties and the water rents, by distress or otherwise, as said Council may determine.
4. The revenues derived from the water rents, and the fines and penalties collected pursuant to the third section hereof shall, after paying the running expenses of said water-works, be appropriated towards the payment, first, of the interest on the bonds herein authorized to be issued, next to providing a sinking fund for the liquidation of said bonds, and then to such objects as said Council may determine. But to provide for keeping up and running said works, and the payment of the interest and principal of said bonds, said Council shall, in aid and supplement to said revenues, levy and collect taxes on any or all subjects which it is now or may hereafter be authorized to tax; and said Council may also secure the payment of the principal and interest of said bonds by a mortgage or deed of trust upon all the works, rights and properties which may be erected, built, or acquired under this Act. The sinking fund to be provided for the liquidation of said bonds shall not be less that one per centum per annum upon the amount of said bonds outstanding.
5. For the purpose of erecting, building, enlarging or improving water-works as aforesaid, and laying the pipes there-from, said city may acquire by purchase or otherwise, and hold such real or personal property within or without said city as may be necessary therefor; and may have such lands within or without the said city necessary for such purposes condemned by proceeding before the proper tribunal having jurisdiction
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over the same, in the manner prescribed by the general laws of the State for condemning lands for other works of internal improvement.
6. After said Council shall have matured and adopted a scheme or plan for supplying said city with water as aforesaid it shall submit such scheme or plan to the qualified voters of said city, at such time and in such manner as said Council may prescribe, for their ratification or rejection. At least ten days' notice of the time and manner of such election shall be given by publication in newspapers published in said city, and handbills posted therein; and the result thereof shall be ascertained and declared in the manner to be prescribed by saw Council, and shall be proclaimed by the Mayor by publication. If at such election, three-fifths of the qualified voters of said city, who shall vote on said scheme or plan, embracing a majority of the freeholders of said city so voting thereon, shall appear to be in favor of such scheme or plan, it shall be declared ratified, otherwise it shall be declared rejected, and this Act shall be void; and such vote shall be taken within twelve months from the date of the approval of this Act, and not thereafter.
7. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to amend and re-enact the Sixth Section of an Act entitled "An Act to authorize the City of Fredericksburg to provide for supplying the city with Water, approved March 28, 1879." --Approved March 3, 1880.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the sixth section of an Act, approved March twenty-eight eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, entitled An Act to authorize the City of Fredericksburg to provide for supplying the city with water, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:
§6. After the said Council shall have matured and adopted a scheme or plan for supplying said city with water aforesaid, it shall submit such scheme or plan to the qualified voters of said city at such time, and in such manner, as said Council may prescribe for their satisfaction or rejection. At least ten days' notice of the time and manner of such election shall be given by publication in newspapers published in said city, and handbills posted therein; and the result thereof shall be ascertained and declared in the manner to be prescribed by said Council, and shall be proclaimed by the Mayor by publication. If at such election a majority of the freeholders of said city so voting thereon shall appear to be in favor of such
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 21
scheme or plan, it shall be declared ratified, otherwise it shall be declared rejected, and this Act shall be void; and such vote shall be taken within two years from the date of the approval of this Act.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to authorize the City of Fredericksburg to Issue and Negotiate Bonds to the extent of $60,000, for the purpose of supplying said city with a suitable and adequate supply of Water. --Approved February 25, 1884.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Act of Assembly, approved March twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, as amended by an Act approved March third, eighteen hundred and eighty, and by an Act approved April twenty-second, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, the City of Fredericksburg was authorized and empowered to provide for supplying said city with a suitable and adequate supply of water, and to that end to borrow money and issue and negotiate the bonds of said city for the same, to the extent of thirty thousand dollars; Provided, That a majority of the qualified voters, freeholders of said city, voting upon the scheme or plan submitted by the Council of said city, at an election submitting the question to them, should ratify and approve the same; and
WHEREAS, it appears that on the twenty-fourth day of May, eighteen hundred and eighty-three, at an election duly held in said city, upon the question of such scheme or plan proposed by said Council, and the appropriation and borrowing of a sum not exceeding sixty thousand dollars, and issuing the bonds of said city for the purpose to such an extent was duly submitted to, voted upon, and ratified by a majority of the freeholders of said city voting thereon; therefore,
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the said City of Fredericksburg be, and it is hereby, authorized and empowered to borrow money, and issue and negotiate the bonds of said city to the extent of sixty thousand dollars for the purposes, and in the manner prescribed, and set forth in said Act of Assembly, approved March twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, from the sections one to five, inclusive.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
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An Act to amend and re-enact an Act approved March 3, 1882, entitled "An Act to authorize the Corporation of Fredericksburg to establish a Poor-House and Grounds outside of the corporation limits." --Approved January 16, 1886.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the Act approved March three, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, entitled An Act to authorize the Corporation of Fredericksburg to establish a Poor-House and Ground outside of its corporate limits, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:
§1. That the Corporation of Fredericksburg be, and is hereby, authorized and empowered to establish a poor-house and grounds outside of its corporate limits, in the County of Spotsylvania, and to acquire from time to time, and hold for this purpose, such quantity of land (not exceeding fifty acres) as may be needful.
§2. Offenses committed upon said land may be prosecuted, tried and punished before the courts, justices and officials of and within said corporation as if committed within the limits of the same.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to amend the Charter of the City of Fredericksburg. Approved March 1, 1886.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the City of Fredericksburg be, and it is hereby, for all election purposes, divided into two wards as follows, to-wit: All of said city lying to the northwest of George street shall constitute and be known as the upper ward, and all of said city lying to the southeast of said George street shall constitute and be known as the lower ward.
2. There shall be elected, on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and every two years there after, six Councilmen from each ward, who shall hold their office for the term of two years from the first day of July next ensuing their election, unless sooner removed by death, resignation or other cause.
3. Vacancies in the office of Councilmen shall be filled by appointment of the Council of said city, from the qualified residents of the wards in which such vacancies occur; and the
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 23
appointees to such vacancies shall hold office for the unexpired term of the parties whose terms they fill, unless sooner removed by death, resignation, or other cause.
4. All Acts or parts of Acts in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
5. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to extend and declare the criminal and police jurisdiction of the Corporation Court and the Authorities of the City of Fredericksburg. --Approved March 1, 1886.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the Corporation Court of the City of Fredericksburg shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the County Courts of the Counties of Spotsylvania and Stafford, of all offences against the Commonwealth, committed within one mile of the corporate limits of said city, as now declared or hereafter established in said respective counties.
2. The State and municipal authorities and officers of and for said city, shall have jurisdiction and authority to arrest and punish those violating the laws of the State, or ordinances of the corporation within the limits aforesaid, in like manner as if such violations occurred within the corporate limits of said city.
3. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to amend the Charter of the City of Fredericksburg. Approved March 31, 1887.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That section two of chapter two hundred and ninety, Session Acts of eighteen hundred and eighty-five-six, entitled An Act to amend the Charter of the City of Fredericksburg, approved March the first, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, be amended and re-enacted, so as to read as follows:
§2. There shall be elected on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, and every two years there after, six Councilmen and four Magistrates from each of said wards, who shall hold their office for the term of two years from the first day of July next ensuing their election, unless sooner removed by death, resignation or other cause, and the Magistrates now in office shall hold their office until their successors, who shall be elected at such general election so to be held in May, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, shall assume their duties on July first, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
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An Act to authorize the City of Fredericksburg to build and operate a Bridge across the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg. --Approved January 10, 1890.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That it shall be the duty of the Mayor and Common Council of Fredericksburg, when petitioned by fifty voters of the city, one half of whom shall be freeholders, to cause a vote of said city to be taken at the next election for any of the city officers, or upon notice not to exceed thirty days, advertised by hand-bills and by publication once a week in the Fredericksburg Star and the Free Lance, upon the question of authorizing the Common Council of said city to build a bridge across the Rappahannock river at some point between Fauquier and Prussia streets of said city, with authority to condemn or purchase any rights and sites necessary therefor on either side of said river, the entire cost of building said bridge not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars; such vote to be taken at the usual voting places in the upper and lower wards of Fredericksburg, pursuant to section twelve hundred and forty-four of the code of Virginia of eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, except that on the ballots used shall be printed or written "For the Bridge" or "Against the Bridge," instead of "For the Subscription," and "Against the Subscription," as provided by said section. If it shall appear that a majority of the qualified voters voting at the election, which shall include a majority of the freeholders so voting, are in favor of building the said bridge, then the Common Council of Fredericksburg is authorized to proceed at once to the completion of the work, and to the purchase or condemnation of the rights and sites aforesaid in the manner provided for by chapter forty-three, code of eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, for establishing roads and landings.
2. The Mayor and Common Council of Fredericksburg are authorized to issue coupon and registered bonds, and to execute a deed of trust to secure the same, and to create a loan in the name of and binding the city of Fredericksburg, for the purposes mentioned in the first section of this Act, to an amount not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, bearing interest at a rate not to exceed six per centum per annum, redeemable in ten years and payable in thirty years, and to negotiate said bonds at a rate not lower than par and face value, said bonds to be secured by a deed of trust on said bridge and all the rights pertaining thereto; and said Common Council is hereby directed to levy an annual tax on the real and personal property of said city of Fredericksburg, not to exceed fifteen cents
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 25
on the one hundred dollars, to pay interest on the said bonds, to provide for the expense incident to operating said bridge, and to create a special sinking fund of five hundred dollars per annum to pay said bonds at maturity.
3. Said Mayor and Common Council are authorized to operate said bridge; to make said bridge a free bridge, or to charge toll at a rate not to exceed two cents each way for one foot passenger, four cents each way for every man on horseback, and two cents a wheel each way for every carriage, cart, wagon or vehicle; two cents for each horse and one cent for each head of cattle, and one and one-half cents per head for each head of sheep and hogs; or it may be made free to the citizens of Fredericksburg only; or to any portions of Stafford or King George counties upon the payment of a specific sum of money annually to the Treasurer of Fredericksburg, said sum to be agreed upon by said Common Council and by authorized parties of said portions of said counties; and said Mayor and Common Council are authorized to condemn or purchase all necessary landings on either side of said Rappahannock river rights of way over any lands or lots to any street or public road.
4. The title to said bridge and all rights in this Act mentioned shall be in the City Of Fredericksburg.
5. This Act shall be in force from its passage, and all Acts inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed.
An Act to allow the City of Fredericksburg to supply Gas for the use of said city, and to issue Bonds of the city to effect said purpose.-- Approved March 4, 1890.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That it shall be lawful for the City of Fredericksburg to provide for supplying said city and the inhabitants thereof with a suitable and adequate supply of gas, by leasing or by the purchase and enlargement or improvement of suitable gas works, or the erection of new gas works, for supplying the city and its inhabitants with gas, and to that end to borrow money and to issue and negotiate bonds of said city for the same to the extent of twenty-five thousand dollars.
2. Said bonds shall be known and designated as Fredericksburg gas bonds; they shall be registered or coupon bonds, as may be determined by the Common Council of said city; shall be issued in such denominations and bear such rate of interest not exceeding six per centum per annum, as may be determined by said Council. The principal of said bonds shall be payable thirty years after the first day of January, eighteen
26 ACTS OF INCORPORATION OF THE
hundred and ninety, or upon the call of said Council at any time after ten years from said date; said bonds shall bear the corporate seal of said city, shall be signed by the Mayor thereof, and countersigned by the Clerk of said Council, and shall have printed on the face or back thereof the statement that they were issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act, and the ratification by the voters of said city as prescribed herein. They shall be negotiated or sold in such manner as may be prescribed by said Council, and they may be so negotiated or sold at not less than par: Provided, That only so much money shall be borrowed hereunder, and such amount of said bonds issued therefor as may be necessary for the purposes herein declared; and no money shall be borrowed, nor any of said bonds issued therefor unless and until a plan or scheme for supplying said city with gas shall be agreed upon and adopted by the Council thereof, and ratified by the vote of the qualified voters of said city, as hereinafter provided.
3. The control and management of said gas works shall be under the direction of said Council, to be exercised by itself or through such committees or agencies as it may adopt; and said Council shall prescribe and regulate the rates of charges to be paid for the use of gas furnished by the city; may impose fines and penalties for the injury or abuse of said works, or property connected therewith, or for the abuse or waste of the gas or lights furnished by the city, and may enforce and collect such fines and penalties and the charge for gas by distress or otherwise, as said Council may determine.
4. The revenues derived from the charges for gas and the fines and penalties collected pursuant to the third section thereof, shall, after paying the running expenses of said works, be appropriated towards the payment--first, of interest on the bonds herein authorized to be issued; next, to provide a sinking fund for the liquidation of said bonds, and then to such objects as the Council may determine. But to provide for keeping up and running said works, and the payment of the interest and principal of said bonds, said Council shall, in aid and supplement of said revenues, levy and collect taxes on any or all subjects which it is now or may hereafter be authorized to tax; and said Council may also secure the payment of the principal and interest of said bonds by a mortgage or deed of trust upon all the works, rights, and properties which may be erected, built, or acquired under this Act. The sinking fund to be provided for the liquidation of said bonds shall not be less than one per centum per annum upon the amount of bonds outstanding.
5. For the purpose of erecting, building, enlarging, or improving gas works as aforesaid, and laying pipes there from,
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 27
said city may acquire, by purchase or otherwise, and hold such real and personal property within or without said city as may be necessary therefor, and may have such lands within or without said city necessary for such purposes condemned by proceedings before the proper tribunal having jurisdiction over the same in the manner prescribed by the general laws of the State for condemning lands for other works of internal improvement.
6. After said Council shall have matured and adopted a plan or scheme for supplying said city with gas as aforesaid, it shall submit such plan or scheme to the qualified voters of said city at such time and in such manner as said Council may prescribe, consistent with this Act, for their ratification or rejection; at least ten days' notice of the time and manner of such election shall be given by publication in newspapers published in said city and by hand bills posted therein; and the result thereof shall be ascertained and declared in the manner prescribed by said Council, and shall be proclaimed by the Mayor by publication. If at such election one-half of the qualified voters of said city, who shall vote on said plan or scheme embracing a majority of the freeholders of said city so voting thereon, shall appear to be in favor of said plan or scheme it shall be declared ratified, or otherwise it shall be declared rejected and this Act shall be void, and such vote shall be taken within three years from the date of the approval of this Act and not thereafter.
7. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to authorize the City Council of Fredericksburg to issue its Coupon or Registered Bonds for the purpose of constructing and improving Streets and for other purposes of Internal Improvements and benefit to the city.-- Approved February 1, 1896.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That it shall be lawful for the Council of the City of Fredericksburg, in order to establish a system of sewerage for the said city, and for the purpose of grading, paving, curbing, macadamizing, blocking, or otherwise improving the streets of said city, and for other internal improvements, and for the purpose of assisting such enterprises within the city of a public and beneficial nature to the city as the citizens may approve, or for any one or more of said purposes, to issue coupon or registered
28 ACTS OF INCORPORATION OF THE
bonds in sums not less than one hundred dollars, to an amount not to exceed the par value of fifty thousand dollars to bear interest at a rate not to exceed five per centum per annum, payable semiannually, said bonds payable thirty years after the date of their issue, and any, or all, of said bonds shall be redeemable at the option of the City Council at any time after ten years from the date of their issue. The said bonds shall be signed by the Mayor and the City Treasurer, and attested by the Clerk of the Council, with the corporate seal of the city affixed thereto, and the coupons shall each bear the name of the City Treasurer signed thereto. The said bonds shall be exempt from any and all taxation by the said City of Fredericksburg or the City Council, and shall not be sold for less than their par value.
2. That the City Council shall not issue any bonds provided for in this Act until said Council shall have taken the sense of the qualified voters of said city as hereinafter provided for: and said Council shall not order any election under this Act until a majority of the Council have voted in favor of some definite measure or subscription, as the case may be, for the improvement of said city as contemplated by this Act, and has ascertained the proximate cost thereof, and, if the same shall relate to sewerage or street improvement, they shall also ascertain and designate the streets and squares of said city to which such improvements are to apply, and shall publish all such information, at least once a week for two weeks, before any election held under this Act, in one or more newspaper of said city for the information of the voters; and said Council may hold such election in relation to any of the object stated in the first section of this Act, as often as a majority thereof may deem the same advisable, and until the issue of the bonds herein authorized has been exhausted; provided that no improvement subscription or measure proposed by the Council which has once been rejected, at an election held under this Act, shall again be submitted to the voters of the city for their approval or rejection.
3. That when the Council has complied with the second section of this Act and made a record of the same upon its minutes, it is authorized to make an order requiring the Sergeant and the Judges of Election at such time, not less than thirty days from the date of said order, which time shall be designated therein, to open a poll and take the sense of the qualified voters of said city, whether the said Council shall make such improvement or subscription, as the case may be, as has received the approval of a majority of said Council as aforesaid. The Judges of Election, after taking an oath to faithfully perform the duties assigned them, shall open polls at the
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 29
voting places in said city, and shall conduct said election and close said polls as required by law in other elections. At said election each qualified voter, who shall approve said improvement or subscription, as the case may be, shall deposit a ballot on which is written or printed "For improvement" or "For subscription." And each voter opposed to said improvement or subscription shall deposit a ballot on which is written or printed "Against improvement" or "Against subscription," and each ballot shall be endorsed with the name of the voter, or the same shall not be valid. The Judges of Election, at the several voting places, shall immediately after the closing of the polls at each of said places count the ballots deposited, and shall, within two days after said election, make return to the Mayor or other presiding officer of said Council of the number of votes cast for the said improvement or subscription and the number of votes cast against the said improvement or subscription, as the case may be, and shall return to and deposit with the Clerk of the Corporation Court of Fredericksburg in separate sealed packages the ballots for and against the improvement or subscription; and the Council shall appoint four citizens of said city, two from each ward, who, with the Clerk of the Corporation Court, shall constitute a Board of Commissioners whose duty it shall be, within two days thereafter, to meet and, after taking an oath to faithfully perform their duty, open said packages of ballots, count the same; correct the returns, if necessary, and ascertain and report to the Council how many of said ballots were cast by freeholders, and how many by non-freeholders for and against said improvement or subscription, respectively, which said report, signed by a majority of said board, shall be entered upon the minute book of said Council,
4. If it appear by the report of the Board of Commissioners that three-fifths of the qualified voters of said city, voting upon the question, are in favor of said improvement or subscription, as the case maybe, and that said three-fifths includes a majority of the votes cast by freeholders at such election, and a majority of the registered voters of said city, the City Council of Fredericksburg is hereby authorized to enact such ordinances as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate the provisions, and the full intent and meaning of this Act; and to issue and dispose of so many of said bonds, as may be authorized by the vote taken and reported as herein before provided.
5. That the City Council be authorized annually to levy and collect taxes sufficient to pay the interest on all bonds issued under this Act; and said Council shall provide for the payment of the principal of said bonds when the same shall
30 ACTS OF INCORPORATION OF THE
mature or become payable, and in their discretion may create a sinking fund to be applied to the redemption and payment of said bonds.
6. The funds derived from the sale of any bonds issued under this Act shall be deposited in the city treasury as a separate and special fund, and no part of the same shall be used or applied to any other purpose than that for which the same was authorized by the voters of said city as herein provided.
7. That should a system of sewerage, whether general or partial, be authorized at an election under the provisions of this Act, then the Council shall have power within the limit of the money voted for such purpose to introduce such system in the city and in the streets and alleys of said city, and to establish, build, construct and own sewers for the drainage of said city; to adopt and establish such rules and ordinances regulating the drainage and sewerage of said city, its streets and alleys, and as to the use of the same, as the City Council may deem necessary and expedient, and to enforce such rules or ordinances by the imposition of reasonable fines and penalties to be collected as other fines and penalties are collected under its charter; to make and collect reasonable charge against all persons for tapping or opening any sewer or sewers owned or controlled by said Council; and to collect and enforce the payment thereof as taxes and levies are collected and enforced by said city. and when the carrying out of the provisions of this section shall, in the judgment of the Council, require the use of any lot or part thereof, the Council is authorized to institute condemnation proceedings in the event that they shall fail to agree with the owner as to the proper compensation therefor.
8. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to authorize the Collector of City Taxes and Levies for the City of Fredericksburg to furnish a List of Real Estate delinquent for the non-payment of such taxes to the City Treasurer for sale for such taxes, and to authorize such Collector to otherwise enforce the collection of city taxes and levies in the same manner as the collection of State taxes is enforced by the Treasurer of said city. --Approved February 11, 1896.
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Fredericksburg was authorized by an Act of the General Assembly of Virginia entitled "An Act to authorize the collection of corporation taxes on real estate in the Town of Fredericksburg," passed January thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight, to require
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 31
the sale of all real estate within the said corporation returned delinquent for the non-payment of taxes and interest thereon, which shall not have been paid before the day of sale, and said Council was thereby authorized to make such regulations for effecting such sale and collecting such taxes, interest, and charges of sale as to them may seem expedient; and said Act declared further that if no such sale be authorized or required by said Council, the taxes assessed upon such real estate for the benefit of said city shall remain a lien thereon, bearing interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum from and after the expiration of thirty days from the time when the same shall have been collectible, until the same be fully paid; and
WHEREAS, a considerable amount of real estate within the corporation of Fredericksburg has been delinquent for the non-payment of city taxes ever since eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and no sale has been authorized or required by the Council of said city since the war; and the said taxes assessed upon said real estate for the benefit of said city still constituting a lien upon said real estate, under and by virtue of the before-mentioned Act of January thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty-eight:
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the City Collector of Fredericksburg, after ascertaining which of the city taxes and levies assessed on real estate in his city cannot be collected, shall, as soon as practicable in each year after the fifteenth day of June, make out a list of all real estate which is delinquent for the non-payment of the city taxes and levies thereon, and in the first list made out under this Act such City Collector shall embrace and include all real estate in the city upon which there are any unpaid taxes or levies since January first, eighteen hundred and seventy-six.
2. That such City Collector in making out the list, mentioned in the preceding section, shall conform to the requirements of section six hundred and six of the code of eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and shall make and subscribe the Oath which the Treasurer is required to subscribe under that section.
3. That such City Collector shall deliver such list to the Treasurer of said city so soon as the same is made out and verified as required by the preceding sections of this Act, who shall receipt to said collector for such list.
4. That so soon as said list is received by the City Treasurer all the provisions of law applicable to the "second" list required by section six hundred and five of the code to be made out by the said Treasurer of said city shall apply to said list, except section six hundred and nine of the code.
32 ACTS OF INCORPORATION OF THE
5. That said list shall be embraced in the list, a copy of which is required by section six hundred and thirty-seven of the code to be delivered by the Clerk of the Corporation Court to the Treasurer of said city, for sale for the non-payment of taxes and levies thereon.
6. That for the enforcement of the collection of the city taxes and levies of said city, otherwise than by sale of real estate, the city collector is clothed with all the powers which pertain to the City Treasurer for the collection of State taxes.
7. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to add independent sections to an Act entitled "An Act to amend the Charter of the Town of Fredericksburg, approved March 23, 1871." -Approved March 3, 1896.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the following independent sections be, and the same are, added to and made a part of an Act entitled "An Act to amend the charter of the Town of Fredericksburg, approved March twenty third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one."
(a.) The Common Council of the City of Fredericksburg shall have power to forbid any merchant, tradesman or the keeper of an inn, ordinary, bar-room or saloon, within the corporate limits of said city, from selling, bartering, giving or furnishing by themselves, or by any persons, in their employment or at their request, any spirituous or intoxicating or malt liquors to a minor without first obtaining the written authority therefor of his parent or guardian, and to impose fines and imprisonments in the city jail for the violations of such ordinances as may be made by said Council in relation thereto, additional to those prescribed by the State laws for such offences, such fines to be not less than twenty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, and such imprisonment to be for not less than ten days nor over two months for each offence: and to require the offender upon conviction of such offence to enter into a recognizance with surety in a penalty of three hundred dollars to be of good behavior for one year.
(b.) The said Council shall have the power to forbid the opening of any bar-room, saloon, or other place for the sale of intoxicating or malt liquors, within the corporate limits of said city, and to forbid the selling, bartering, giving or furnishing any intoxicating or malt liquors in any bar-room, saloon or other place within said corporate limits, between twelve o'clock on any Saturday night and sunrise of the succeeding Monday morning, and to impose fines and imprisonment in the city jail for the violation of such ordinances as
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 33
may be made by said Council in relation thereto, additional to those prescribed by the State laws for such offences, such fines to be not less than twenty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, and such imprisonment to be not less than ten days nor over two months for each offence, and to require the offender upon conviction of such offence to enter into a recognizance with surety in the penalty of three hundred dollars to be of good behavior for one year.
(c) The right of appeal to the Corporation Court of said city is given to any person convicted by the judgment of the Mayor of said city of offences under the provisions of the above sections a and b.
(d.) In every case of conviction under the ordinances of said Common Council made in relation to the offences mentioned the above sections a and b, the Mayor shall certify the said convictions to the Judge of said Corporation Court with the names of the witnesses who testified in each case.
(e.) This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act authorizing the City of Fredericksburg to issue Bonds to redeem what are known as her Gas and Bridge Bonds. Approved February 18, 1898.
WHEREAS the City of Fredericksburg did, under and by virtue of an Act entitled "An Act entitled an Act to allow the City of Fredericksburg to supply gas for the use of said city, and to issue bonds of the city to effect said purpose, approved March fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety," issue bonds to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars, known as "gas bonds;" and
WHEREAS said city did, under and by virtue of an Act entitled "An Act to authorize the City of Fredericksburg to build and operate a bridge across the Rappahannock river at Fredericksburg, approved January tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety," issue bonds to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars, known as "bridge bonds;" and
WHEREAS the aforesaid Acts authorized said city to redeem said bonds in ten years, and the time is approaching for the exercise of said power of redemption; therefore,
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Fredericksburg shall be, and they are hereby, clothed with the power to issue bonds of said city to an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars, bearing interest not exceeding six per centum per annum, and payable at such periods as the said Council may elect, said bonds to be registered or coupon bonds, convertible
(3)
34 ACTS OF INCORPORATION OF THE
as said Council may elect. The said Council shall use the bonds so issued for the purpose of redeeming the aforesaid gas and bridge bonds of said city, and for no other purpose, and may negotiate said bonds at a price not lower than their par value.
2. The Mayor and Common Council of said city may secure the payment of the principal and interest of said bonds issued to redeem the gas bonds by a mortgage or deed of trust upon all the works, rights and properties acquired under the aforesaid Act, approved March fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety: and they may secure the payment of the principal and interest of said bonds issued to redeem the bridge bonds by a mortgage or deed of trust upon all said bridge property and rights.
3. All the provisions in the aforesaid Acts, approved March fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety, and January tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety, respectively, in relation to taxation and the creation of a sinking fund for the payment the bonds therein authorized, shall apply to the bonds issued under this Act for their redemption.
4. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to protect the Public Health of the City of Fredericksburg. --Approved February 18, 1898.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the City Council of Fredericksburg shall have power to make such ordinances, by-laws and regulations as they may deem proper to promote and protect the health of the city; and to that end, if any ground in the said city or within one mile of its corporate limits, shall be subject to be covered by stagnant water, or if the owner or owners, occupier or occupiers, thereof shall permit any offensive or unwholesome or stagnant water or substances to remain or accumulate therein or thereon, the Council may cause such ground to be filled up, raised or drained, or may cause such substance to be covered or to be removed therefrom, and may collect the expense of so doing from the said owner or owners, occupier or occupiers, or any of them by distress and sale in the same manner in which taxes levied upon real estate for the benefit of said city are authorized to be collected: provided, that reasonable notice shall be first given to the said owners or their agents or the occupiers of said ground. In case of non-resident: owners who have no agents in the said city or on the said land, or in case the owners are unknown, such notice may be given by publication for not less than four weeks in any newspaper printed in said city.
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 35
And the aforesaid expense incurred under this Act may also be recovered by suit or by motion, in the manner provided in section three thousand two hundred and eleven of the code, against the owners and occupiers of said ground or any one or more of them.
2. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to amend the Charter of the City of Fredericksburg, in relation to Justices of the Peace, Police Justice, Constables, and the Police of said city, and in relation to the office of Mayor. --Approved February 18, 1898.
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That there shall be elected on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and every two years thereafter, eight Justices of the Peace for the City of Fredericksburg, four of such Justices from each of the two wards of said city, by the qualified voters of their respective wards: said Justices shall be residents of the ward for which they are chosen, and shall hold their office for the term of two years from the first day of July next ensuing their election, unless sooner removed by death, resignation, or other cause; and any vacancies in said office shall be filled for the unexpired term by the Council from residents of the ward in which such vacancies occur.
2. There may be elected by the Council of said city, if at any time the Council shall deem the same expedient, a Police Justice whose term of office shall not exceed four years, and said Council may fix his compensation, and he may be removed from office at the pleasure of the Council.
3. The Justices of the Peace, and the Police Justice, if the Council shall appoint one, shall, in addition to the powers conferred on Justices of the Peace and on Police Justices of cities by the law, have power to issue process, hear and determine all prosecutions, cases, and controversies arising under ordinances and by-laws of the city; to impose fines when authorized by said ordinances and by-laws, and issue execution for their collection, saving to the parties the right of appeal to the Corporation Court, which appeal, if the fine or other matter or thing shall exceed the sum of ten dollars, shall be taken in the same time and manner and upon the same terms that appeals are now taken by law from the judgments of a single Justice of the Peace.
4. The said Council of said city may from time to time appoint one or more Constables; and said Council may also appoint as many Police Officers as it may deem necessary,
36 ACTS OF INCORPORATION OF THE
prescribe the duties and fix compensation of said Police Officers, and any of said officers maybe removed from office at the pleasure of the Council.
5. The said Policemen shall generally have power to do whatever may be necessary to preserve the good order and peace of the said city, and to secure its inhabitants from personal violence and their property from loss and injury, and they shall in criminal cases have the same powers and duties, and be subject to the same penalties that are prescribed by law as to Constables; and that are prescribed by section three thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven of the code as to Police.
6. The Mayor of said city shall enter upon the duties of his office on the first day of July next, ensuing the May election at which he is elected; and if said Mayor shall fail to qualify before said last-mentioned date, or if after his election he shall die or resign or become otherwise disqualified to discharge the duties of said office, then in all such events the Council of said city may, and is hereby, declared to be their duty as soon thereafter as they may see fit, to elect some other person in his stead to fill the unexpired term of such Mayor.
7. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
An Act to provide the method of electing the Council of the City of Fredericksburg, and to confirm the Elections of said Council heretofore had, and their acts and doings. --Approved February 18, 1898.
WHEREAS by an Act entitled "An Act to amend the charter of the Town of Fredericksburg, approved March the twenty-third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one," it was provided that "it shall be lawful for the residents of said town qualified to vote for all officers elective by the people under the Constitution of this Commonwealth to elect by ballot" twelve councilmen; and
WHEREAS by an Act entitled "An Act to amend the charter of the City of Fredericksburg, approved March the first eighteen hundred and eighty-six," it was provided that the City of Fredericksburg be, and is hereby, for all election purposes divided into two wards, and that there shall be elected on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and eighty six, and every two years thereafter, six Councilmen from each of said wards, who shall hold their office for the term of two years from the first day of July next ensuing their election, unless sooner removed by death, resignation, or other cause, but said Act did not alter the provision of the aforesaid Act of March twenty third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, in
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 37
relation to its requirement that all twelve Councilmen should be elected by the qualified voters of said city; and
WHEREAS by Section one thousand and Sixteen of the code eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, chapter forty-four, it as provided that the Councilmen and Justices of each ward a city Shall be chosen by the qualified voters of Such ward; but
WHEREAS by Section one thousand and forty-eight of said code, chapter forty-four, it is provided that "nothing contained in this chapter in conflict with any provision of the charter of any city or town, except sections one thousand and forty and one thousand and forty-one, shall be construed to repeal such provision"; and hence said section one thousand and Sixteen of the code did not repeal the provision of the charter of the City of Fredericksburg requiring the election of the twelve Councilmen by the qualified voters of the city and not of each ward; and
WHEREAS ever since the enactment of the aforesaid Act of March first, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, the Councilmen each ward have been chosen by the qualified voters of their respective wards and not by the qualified voters of said city, and thereupon, believing said elections to be legal and governed by section one thousand and sixteen of the code, the Councils thus elected have done all acts which legally elected Councils were by the charter of said city authorized to do: therefore,
l. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the present Council of said City of Fredericksburg and all Councils elected since the Act of March first, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, aforesaid by the qualified voters of the respective wards, and not by the qualified voters of said city as aforesaid are hereby declared legal Councils of said city, and that all the acts and doings of said respective Councils, in so far as the validity of the same is affected by the aforesaid method adopted of choosing said Councilmen be declared legal and of full force and virtue.
2. There Shall be elected on the fourth Thursday in May, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and every two years thereafter six Councilmen from each of the two wards of the City of Fredericksburg, who shall be chosen by the qualified voters of their respective wards, and who shall hold their office for the term of two years from the first day of July next ensuing their election, unless sooner removed by death, resignation or other cause.
The Councilmen chosen shall at the time of their election and during their continuance in office be residents of the ward for which they are chosen.
38 ACTS OF INCORPORATION CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA.
3. Vacancies in the office of Councilman shall be filled by appointment of the Council of said city from the qualified residents of the ward in which such vacancies occur, and the appointees to such vacancies shall hold office for the unexpired term of the parties whose vacancies they fill, unless sooner removed by death, resignation or other cause.
4. All Acts or parts of Acts in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
5. This Act shall be in force from its passage.
WHEREAS, It is expedient that the Ordinances of the Corporation of the City of Fredericksburg should be reduced to system and order for the convenience of its citizens and the guidance of its officers, and that the whole should be compressed in one General Ordinance, arranged in appropriate chapters and sections; therefore
Be it ordained by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Fredericksburg, in the manner following, that is to say:
1. Time of meeting and quorum.
2. Resolutions shall be in writing.
3. Special business to have priority.
4. Limit of debate.
5. Previous question.
6. Division of the question.
7. Yeas and nays shall be entered.
8. Appointments to be by ballot.
9. Committees.
10. Notice to members to attend
11. Debate to be pertinent to question.
12. Appeals from presiding officer
13. Applications shall be in writing.
14. Duty of the clerk.
15. Spectators remain without the bar.
16. Amending ordinances.
17. Ordinances embrace but one object.
18. Members must vote.
19. Members remain until adjournment.
20. Reading of minutes.
21. Reconsideration of lost motions.
22. Ordinances in force from passage.
23. Unfinished business.
24. Suspending the rules.
25. Repealed ordinances.
26. Order of business.
27. Amendments lie over.
28. Special meetings for special action.
1. The Council shall meet on the third Thursday in every month, at 8 o'clock in the evening, except when otherwise ordered, and also meet at any other time to which it may adjourn, or be regularly called or convened. If seven members fail to attend within half an hour after the time appointed for a meeting, the Clerk shall enter on the journal the names of those attending, and the adjournment for want of a quorum.
2. Every resolution or proposition moved shall be in writing, and shall be seconded before the question is taken; and, if carried, the name of the mover shall be entered on the journal.
40 GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE
3. If the Council direct any matter to be the special business of a future meeting, the Mayor or presiding officer shall, at such future meeting, so soon as the proceedings are read and signed, announce such special business, and it shall have priority over all other business.
4. A member shall rise and address himself to the Mayor or presiding officer, and be recognized by him as entitled to speak before he proceeds. After being so recognized, the member (except when called to order by the presiding officer or
other member) shall not be interrupted during the time allowed him. No member shall speak more than ten minutes at any one time without permission of the Council, unless he be a Chairman of a Committee, in explanation of a report or ordinance, when, he shall be allowed, if he desires it, fifteen minutes; nor shall any member speak more than twice upon the same question, without such permission.
5. Every question, first made and seconded, shall be decided before a second is received, unless disposed of by the previous question; the previous question may be called at any time three members concurring.
6. Any member may call for a division of the question when the same will admit thereof.
7. On the decision of any question, the yeas and nays shall be entered on the journal, if required by any member.
8. All appointments to places of profit or trust, to which any compensation or salary is annexed, shall be made by ballot, the persons intending to be ballotted for being first put in nomination.
9. The officer presiding at the Council shall have the nomination of the members of all committees; and his nomination shall be conclusive, unless objection is made by some member present, in which case the Council, if it so determine by vote shall make said nomination.
10. All notices to members to attend Council, either by adjournment or regular call, shall be delivered to the member himself, or be left in writing at his dwelling-house or place business by the police officers.
11. All debate shall be regular, decent, and without altercation or personal invective; it must also be pertinent to the question.
12. The presiding officer shall not allow any one to speak longer or more frequently than these rules permit. He shall in this and all other matters, preserve order, and decide an question raised concerning it; but any member may appeal from his decision to the Council, which may affirm or reverse such decision.
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 41
13. All applications to the Council shall be in writing, except where otherwise allowed, and be delivered to the Mayor previous to the time of meeting, or communicated through one the members.
14. It shall be the duty of the Clerk, at each meeting of the Council to lay before the Council a list of the unfinished business; and it shall be the duty of the person presiding to call over the same before any new business is entered upon.
15. All spectators are to remain without the bar, where they are to conduct themselves in a quiet and orderly manner.
16. No ordinance shall be amended, suspended or repealed, except by ordinance regularly introduced and passed.
17. No ordinance shall embrace more than one object; nor shall any ordinance be revised or amended by reference to its title or object, but in all cases the ordinance revised or the sections amended shall be re-enacted and published at length.
18. Every member present when a question is put to the vote shall, unless interested, or excused from voting by the Council, vote on one side or the other of such question.
19. After a member has, at any meeting, been entered as present, he shall not, without leave of the Council, absent himself from such meeting until its adjournment.
20. The proceedings of the last meeting of the Council shall be read at the opening of the next session; and after the errors appearing therein (if any) are corrected, the same shall be signed by the person presiding at such meeting.
21. No question, decided by the Council, shall be again brought forward during the year for which the Council was elected, unless on a motion for reconsideration, there be in favor of such reconsideration votes equal to or greater than the majority of the members present when the question was before decided. No motion for the reconsideration of an ordinance which has taken effect prior to such motion shall be considered.
22. Every ordinance shall be in force from the day of its passage, unless otherwise specially provided.
23. All business unfinished at the expiration of the term for which the Council was elected, shall be considered as laid on the table, and may be acted on thereafter, at the pleasure of the Council.
24. Any rule herein adopted may, at any particular time, be suspended for a special purpose, by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at that time.
25. When an ordinance which may have repealed another shall itself be repealed, the previous ordinance shall not be revived.
42 GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE
26. The order of business at its regular meeting shall be as follows:
(1) Reading the minutes of the last meeting.
(2) Reports of committees.
(3) Unfinished business.
(4) New business.
27. No new ordinance or amendment to an existing ordinance shall be considered until the next regular meeting, after such
ordinance or amendment may have been introduced.
28. No business shall be transacted at any special meeting of the Council, except such as is designated in the summons convening the Council in said special meeting.
1. Of the officers.
2. Which and when appointed.
3. Council to fix salaries.
4. Not to act before qualification.
5. Penalty.
1. There shall be for the Corporation of Fredericksburg the following officers, viz.: a Clerk of the Council, a Treasurer, a Commissioner of the Revenue, a Collector of Taxes, a Surveyor, a Clerk of the Market, a Weigher and Measurer of Coal, Salt and Grain, who shall also be Measurer and Inspector of Lumber, a Superintendent of Alms-house, a Superintendent of Water-Works, a Superintendent of Gas-Works, two City Scavengers, and, at least, four Police Officers.
2. Such officers, except Treasurer and Commissioner of the Revenue, who are elected under the Constitution and laws of the State of Virginia, shall be appointed by the Council, in the month of July in every year, and oftener, if the Council deem proper, and shall hold their offices at the pleasure of the Council, except that the Collector of Taxes may be elected in the month of July or August, and the Superintendents of the Water-Works and Gas-Works shall be elected in December of each year who shall go into office on the first of January following, and shall hold their offices for one year or until their successors are elected and qualified.
3. Their compensation shall be fixed by the Council, and shall not be diminished during their continuance in office; but the Police Officers shall not be entitled to any compensation for their services, until the Mayor by his warrant shall, at the
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 43
end of each month, order the same to be paid by the Treasurer; and the Mayor and Council hereby reserve the right to withhold all compensation from the Police Officers for neglect of duty.
4. No person, except the Treasurer and the Commissioner of the Revenue, shall act as an officer of this Corporation, under the Mayor and Council, until he shall take an oath, or make affirmation before the Mayor or Recorder, that he will faithfully perform his duty to the best of his knowledge and judgment. And in addition to such oath, the Collector of Taxes shall give a bond to the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Fredericksburg, for the sum of ten thousand dollars, with sureties, to be approved by the Council, with condition for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office; which bond shall be delivered to the Mayor, and be, by him, deposited in one of the banks of the city for safe keeping. If such bond is not given within thirty days from the time of the appointment of Collector such appointment shall be void.
5. If any person or officer, except the Treasurer and Commissioner of the Revenue, shall act in any of the offices mentioned in the first section of this chapter, before he shall take an oath, or make affirmation as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay to the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Fredericksburg fifty dollars.
1. Shall attend all meetings of Council.
2. To index minutes of proceedings
3. Duties in respect of committees.
4. Duties in respect to appropriations.
5. General duties.
1. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Council to attend the meetings of the Common Council, enter correctly all its proceedings and countersign the same, draft all ordinances, attend to the publication thereof, and, in a book to be kept for the purpose, record all ordinances of the Corporation. The books of such proceedings, and the Book of Ordinances, shall, at all times, be open to the inspection of the public.
2. He shall index the minutes of the proceedings and the ordinances as soon as they are adopted; and file and preserve all books, documents, and papers which may come into his bands as Clerk, and at the expiration of his term of office he shall turn them over to his successor; also, to make copies of, or extracts from, anything in said books when and as often as
44 GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE
he may be requested so to do by the Mayor or Councilman, or chairman of a committee thereof.
3. Whenever any petition, communication, or other paper, is referred to any committee of the Council, it shall be the duty of the Clerk, immediately on adjournment, to deliver a copy of such paper, with the names of the committee, to the chairman of the committee.
4. He shall, after each meeting, furnish to the City Treasurer a statement of all allowances made by the Council on account of the expenses of the city, and upon whose order the same shall be paid out.
5. He shall, after each meeting of the Council, furnish a Police Officer, to be designated by the Mayor, with twenty-five printed copies of all ordinances passed at such meeting; and shall do and perform all such other duties as properly appertain to his office.
1. His bond.
2. Amount of money retained in hand.
3. To deposit and how drawn.
4. When to report.
5. To report expenses of ensuing year
6. How moneys are disbursed
7. Wages; money when withheld.
8. General duties.
1. The Treasurer of the City of Fredericksburg shall, at the June term of the Corporation Court succeeding his election, or if appointed by the Judge to fill the vacancy, at the time of his qualification before such Judge or said Court, give bond with approved security, payable to the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Fredericksburg, and conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as City Treasurer, and especially those duties provided by the Charter and Ordinances the City of Fredericksburg, said bond to be in the penalty of ten thousand dollars.
2. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to receive all moneys payable to the Corporation for public uses, and he shall demand and receive, from the Collector of Taxes, all moneys collected or received for its use. All moneys so received by the Treasurer shall be deposited in one or more of the banks of the city aforesaid, to the credit of the Corporation of Fredericksburg, except that for the payment of demands against the Corporation of small amounts he may keep in his office a sum not exceeding two hundred dollars at any one time.
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 45
3. All moneys to be paid by the Corporation shall be paid by the Treasurer out of what is kept in his office, or deposited in bank. What is deposited in bank shall only be drawn there from by the check of the Treasurer, or by check of some other person thereto authorized by the Council.
4. He shall keep in a book, to he provided for that purpose by the Council, a true and faithful account of all moneys received by him for the use of the Corporation, and of the manner in which the same shall have been applied; and shall, on or before the Saturday preceding the first day of July, in every year, or oftener if thereto required, lay before the Council, or before their Committee of Finance, an account of all his receipts and disbursements, with vouchers to support the same.
5. The fiscal year of the Corporation of Fredericksburg shall begin on the first day of July, and end on the thirtieth day of June ensuing; and annually on or before the thirtieth day of June, the Treasurer shall render to the Council, or to its Committee on Finance, a statement of the probable expenditures for the year, and a statement of the debt of the Corporation.
6. He shall pay out the funds of the Corporation, which shall have been appropriated by the Council, upon orders as follows:
For repairs to public property. and gas used in public buildings and in the park, on an order of a majority of the Committee on Public Property.
For repairing and improving streets, and other expenses incurred by the Street Committee, upon an order of a majority of the Street Committee.
For repairs to pumps, reservoirs, etc., and expenses incurred by the Water Committee, on an order of a majority of the Water Committee.
For light, and expenses connected therewith, not otherwise provided for, on an order of a majority of the Committee on Light.
For the expenses of the alms-house, and the city's poor, upon orders signed by a majority of tile Committee on Alms and Alms-House.
For appropriations to public free schools, on an order of the Board of School Trustees.
The salaries of the Judge of the Corporation Court, of the Mayor, Commonwealth's Attorney, and Clerk of Council, quarterly, upon their own receipts.
The salary of the Clerk of the Corporation Court, and the salary and compensation of the Sergeant and Jailor, upon order of the Corporation Court; and the compensation of the Grand Jurors and Petit Jurors, upon orders of the Corporation
46 GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE
Court, or a certificate of the Clerk's thereof of their services.
The interest and principal of the debt of this Corporation as it may become due and payable.
All other expenses of the Corporation, upon orders of the Council.
His own salary, as Treasurer, he shall be allowed to draw quarterly, upon filing a receipt among his vouchers for the same.
All claims against the Corporation, not authorized by the different committees, shall be referred to the Finance Committee for approval before being submitted to the Council.
7. The Treasurer shall not pay the wages to any officer of the city, or any money to any other person, who may be indebted to the city, unless the amount of indebtedness shall be less than the amount of wages or money due, in which case he may pay over the excess.
8. He shall do and perform all such other things and duties required of him by the city Charter, or Acts amendatory thereof, or as may be required of him by the Council.
1. Enforces laws and ordinances.
2. Reports negligence of officers.
3. Quarterly reports regarding police
4. Convenes Council.
5. Presides; signs minutes.
6. Suggests alteration in ordinances
7. Reviews streets and police officers
8. Office hours.
9. Monthly statements.
10. Receives all fines.
It shall be the duty of the Mayor:
1. To see that the Laws, and Ordinances of the Corporation. be faithfully executed.
2. To report to the Council the negligence or misconduct of any of the officers of the Corporation.
3. To report, quarterly, in writing, to the Council, the manner in which the several Police Officers, in his opinion, have discharged their duties for the preceding three months.
4. To convene the Common Council whenever, in his opinion it is necessary or expedient to do so.
5. To preside and preserve order in the meetings of the Council, and sign the minutes of the proceedings.
6. To lay before the Council, from time to time, in writing, such alterations in the Ordinances of the Corporation as he shall deem necessary and proper.
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 47
7. To review the streets of the city, at least, once in every month, as well as to see that the Police Officers do their duty, as to suggest such improvements or alterations as may, in his opinion, be necessary for the comfort and the preservation of the health of the citizens of the city.
8. To remain in the Mayor's office of the city every day Sundays excepted), from nine o'clock until ten o'clock A.M., and as much longer as the business brought before him may require for its transaction, and to perform, as a Justice of the Peace, such duties as may lawfully be required of him by the Council; and, also, to keep the Seal of the Corporation, and render annually, to the Council a just account of the fees received for affixing the same.
9. He shall render, each month to the Council, a written statement of the amount of every fine imposed by him for violations of the city's ordinances; the time when, and the name of the person against whom it was assessed, together with the and whether the same have been paid. And, in all cases where a fine has been imposed by him for violation of the city's ordinances, he may, in his discretion, take approved security for the payment of such fine and the costs, such payment to be made within thirty days from the date of trial. And the statement of fines thus rendered to the Council by
the Mayor shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the Council to the City Treasurer.
10. The Mayor shall receive all fines paid on account of violations of the city's ordinances, and shall, monthly, pay the same, and all other city's money collected by him, to the Treasurer, and shall take the Treasurer's receipt therefor.
1. When to begin-contents of book.
2. To note land sold for taxes.
3. Clerk to furnish list of transfers.
4. When tax year begins.
5 What he shall assess, and how.
6. Penalty for refusing to furnish lists.
7. When he shall make lists.
8. Personal property book-contents.
9. Affidavit to books.
10. When books to be delivered.
11. Omissions; how supplied.
12. Fee for transferring license.
13. To report unlicensed business.
1. The Commissioner of the Revenue shall begin, annually, as soon as the tax bill is laid, and proceed, without delay, to make out a correct list of all the improved lots and parts of lots in the city, with the names of the several owners thereof, opposite thereto, and enter the same in a book to be called the
48 GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE
Land Book, in which he shall set forth, opposite the names of the owners, in as many columns as may be necessary, the number of each lot, agreeable to the plan of the city, the value of each lot, with its improvements, and the amount of tax, a the legal rate, and a note of the source of title, in case of transfer. In ascertaining the value, he shall be governed generally by the value as it appears on his Land Book of the next preceding year. But he shall add the value of any addition to, or improvement on, an old building, and of any new building whenever there is such upon any lot, in his book, and shall, in respect to any land or building, supply any omission in his Land Book.
2. When real estate is sold for taxes, if it be purchased by an individual, the said Commissioner shall note on his Land Book the quantity of land sold, and to whom, but shall continue the land or lot upon his said book in the name of the former owner, until the purchaser obtains a deed therefor.
3. The Clerk of the Corporation Court of Fredericksburg shall, annually, be allowed a reasonable compensation for furnishing the Commissioner of the Revenue with such a list as is mentioned in the four hundred and sixty-first section of the Code of Virginia, so far as may relate to lands in the Corporation.
4. The year, for which taxes on real estate are assessed or imposed by the Mayor and Common Council of this Corporation, shall be deemed to commence on the first day of February and there shall, from that day, be a lien on real estate for the taxes assessed thereon within the year so commencing.
5. The Commissioner shall begin, annually, as soon as may be, after his appointment, and proceed, without delay, to ascertain the persons and personal property, and other subject liable to taxation by the Corporation. To ascertain the same he shall call upon every person in the city having such property in his possession or care, for a list thereof, and upon every person therein chargeable with taxes, for a list of the subjects on account of which he is chargeable, or which is liable to taxation, and he shall endeavor, by asking proper questions to have in such lists a correct and true statement of the persons, personal property, and other subjects liable to taxation, which were in the possession or care of each person on the first day of February preceding. The answers to the Commissioner's questions shall always be on oath.
6. If any person shall, when applied to by the Commissioner of the Revenue, refuse to furnish a list, or the means of making out a list, or refuse to swear, or answer untrully, any question lawfully asked of him by the Commissioner in relation to his property or subjects of taxation in his possession
CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 49
care, such person shall, for every such offence, pay a fine of not less than ten dollars.
7. When the Commissioner, in consequence of the absence refusal of any person to do what is required of him, is unable to obtain such list, the Commissioner shall proceed to make it out from the best information he can obtain.
8. The Commissioner of the Revenue shall, annually, make a book, (to be called the Book of Personal Property), in which shall be entered the names of the owners of property, or other subjects liable to taxation, and the names of all the males residing in the town, above twenty one years of age, the number of horses, carriages, buggies, or other vehicles owned by such person, and their value, and, in all other respects, it shall conform to the book prescribed by the First Auditor of the State for the Commissioners of the Revenue for this Commonwealth so far as the same may be applicable to this Corporation. Opposite the name of each person shall be extended the whole amount of Corporation tax due from him or her,
9. The Commissioner, after completing this Land Book, and Book of Personal Property, shall make two fair copies. At the foot of each copy he shall make and subscribe the follow oath: " I, A. B., Commissioner of the Revenue for the Corporation of Fredericksburg, do swear that, in making out the foregoing book, I have, to the best of my skill and judgment, faithfully pursued the Ordinances of the Corporation prescribing the duties of the Commissioner of the Revenue." And the Justice, before whom the oath is taken, shall annex thereto a certificate in the following form: "Sworn to before me, C. D,, a Justice of the Peace for the Corporation of Fredericksburg, on the _____ day of_____;" which certificate shall be subscribed by the Justice. The original of each book shall be retained by the Commissioner so long as he continues in office, and then to be delivered to his successor.
10. The two copies of each book, sworn to as aforesaid, shall be delivered by the Commissioner, on or before the fifteenth day of September in each year, to the Treasurer, who shall keep a copy of each book in his office, and deliver the others immediately to the Collector of Corporation Taxes, and, upon the Commissioner producing the receipt of the Treasurer therefor, the Council may order the whole stipend or compensation of such Commissioner to be paid by the Treasurer.
11. If, after the delivery of the books aforesaid, the Commissioner ascertain that any merchant or other person, by reason of his beginning business after the usual period of assessment, or from any other cause, is liable for Corporation taxes or licenses, which could not be, or were not, entered on the books, he shall furnish the Treasurer and Collector with a
(4)
50 GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE
statement showing the name of the person liable for such taxes or licenses, the amount thereof, on what account.
12. Any person having a license issued or transferred shall pay the same