} ; u-q
I cu
^ u P
Demote
S r °RAG£
Amendments to the G?tyCharter
1912
('>**» (w i f;i (I nil
9 fjj ' J t»S IcMUM'ib l < i Mi
Iifjii r viiiili(f j iift»** Mii t lo h! if i t __
f IO* * >; i'T ' _
f yin yd j ’)o r'.'i i j; Hi? li{<(i*>j(inni I i r; lupdl Mill lo
To amend and re-enact sections 19, 19d, 26, 28 29, 30, concerning the
procedure necessary to recover and the liability on bonds given by
municipal officers for the faithful discharge of their duties,
and creating an Administrative Board and defining their
duties, and to amend and re-enact sections 31, 37, 47,
65, 63 and 64 of an act approved March 24, 1870,
•‘An act providing a charter for the City of
Richmond,” as heretofore amended.
ttefiol )n *iol fti /Imionniln >'>d bud
(Approved February 9, 1912.)
9/lH/Jl O) '197/00 ■> r . . ,(fOI ;!•>«•*: •<: .'
’IJ59V
[107/ )
urdbio d*
Acts of Assembly, 1912, pp. 43-51.
.modi hi boh.97 ydo’iod oik doidy/
joo'io oT b(H“
mi n
; ) ii duel btifi i n yiio him. -
Printed for the use of the Council of the City of Richmond, the Committees
thereof, the Heads of Departments, and the Administrative Board.
8 i 9 noahq Hu lo oonunoiniuni him igiiiqooyl-o'i hm oil) aol v/i um^omou
'IO bOlOblO Ur!
ill 10X17/ .III O'i o(I
oi i ruii
>) booiioinoa io boioboo
Chap. 24.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 19, 19-d, 26, 28, 29,
30, concerning the procedure necessary to recover and the liability on
bonds given by municipal officers for the faithful discharge of their
■ ? {j i] * j [{-- 1 (I j f 7 /
duties and creating an administrative board and defining their duties,
and to amend and re-enact sections 31, 37, 47, 62, 63 and 64 of an act
approved March 24, 1870, entitled an act providing a charter for the
city of Richmond, as heretofore amended.
Approved February 9, 1912.
boibod-ohJi; [|p yjirjji rj bun loipnoo oi .11 linM P ] il’>i /I to yir>
4 f Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
sections nineteen, nineteen-d, twenty-six, twenty-eight, twenty-
nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-seven, forty-seven, sixty-two, sixty-
three and sixty-four of an act approved March twenty-fourth,
eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled an act providing a charter
for the city of Richmond be amended and re-enacted so as to read
as follows:
§19. The Council of the city of Richmond shall have power
to enact suitable ordinances to secure and promote the general wel¬
fare of the inhabitants of the city, by them deemed proper for the
safety, health, peace, good order and morals of the community, and
to make and adopt ordinances and resolutions concerning the con¬
trol and management of the fiscal and municipal affairs of the city,
and of all property, real and personal, belonging thereto, deemed
proper to secure the selection of honest and competent officers and
to promote efficiency and integrity in the discharge of official duties,
and may, in their discretion, create and maintain a special fund to
be known as the “City Employees Fund," the profits of which shall,
under rules and regulations to be established by them, be appropri¬
ated to aid in the maintenance of persons incapacitated for work
by reason of age or infirmity, ayIio, at the time of such incapacity,
had been continuously in the employment of the city for at least
twenty years. They shall, in addition, likewise have power to make
such ordinances, resolutions and regulations as they may deem de-
sirable and suitable to carry out the following specified powers
which are hereby vested in them.
§19d To erect within said city a prison and public jail, the
same to be of such size, compartments and equipment as may be
necessary for the safe-keeping and maintenance of all prisoners
ordered or sentenced to be confined therein, whether so ordered or
sentenced under the laws of the Commonwealth, or under the ordi¬
nances of the city of Richmond, and to erect and maintain in con¬
nection with such prison, if the council shall so determine, or on
some other site, within or without the city of Richmond, a suitable
workhouse or workhouses and a house or houses of correction or
reformation for such prisoners, and when authorized by the hust¬
ings court of the city of Richmond, or the hustings court of the
city of Richmond, Part II, to compel and require all able-bodied
adult prisoners confined as aforesaid to perform manual labor in
such workhouse or houses, and all youthful prisoners so confined,
as far as practical, employed in such house or houses of correction
and reformation, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by
the council of the city of Richmond, and approved by the said
courts.
§26. The city council shall fix the pay of all officers, but when
3
such pay has been fixed the same shall not be increased by the city
council until the propriety of such increase has been referred to
the administrative board, considered by them and reported upon
to the council: provided, however, that the council may delegate to
the administrative board the power to fix the pay of all officers
(whom they are now or may be hereafter authorized to appoint),
and provided further that the pay of all employees of the city shall
be fixed by the administrative board, and may, from time to time,
be increased or diminished by said board.
§28. There shall be elected by the people one city treasurer, one
commissioner of the revenue, and five members of a board to be
known as the administrative board, the terms of all of whom shall
be four years from the first day of January succeeding their elec¬
tion, and there shall be appointed by the council in joint session one
city clerk, one clerk of council committees, one sergeant at arms of
the city council, one city attorney, one auditor, one police justice,
one clerk to the police justice, one substitute police justice, five
members of the board of health, nine members of the city school
board, one clerk to the city treasurer, one clerk to the city auditor
and one collector of delinquent taxes, and the council may, or may
not, in their discretion, elect one city collector,’ and each branch of
the council shall be authorized to appoint such officers and clerks as
may be deemed proper for the regulation of its proceedings and for
the convenient transaction of their business, the terms of which ofli-
*
cers and clerks so to be appointed shall be two years from the first
day of July succeeding their appointment, except the term of po¬
lice justice, whose term shall be four years.
§20. The council may create such officers and clerkships as they
may deem proper, in addition to those herein provided for, and
define their powers and prescribe their duties, and require bonds
with sureties in proper penalties, payable to the city by its corpo¬
rate name, with condition for the faithful performance of said du¬
ties, but no officer or clerkship shall be created except on the recom¬
mendation of the administrative board, or until the propriety of
such appointment has been referred to said board, considered by
them and reported upon to the council, unless such report has not
been made within thirty days after they have been notified of a
reference to them by the council. Any municipal officer appointed
4
by the council may be removed from office at their pleasure. In
case of vacancies occurring in any municipal office filled by the
council, they shall elect a qualified person to fill such office during
the unexpired term.
§30. The parties to bonds taken in pursuance of any section of
this charter, their heirs, devisees, executors and administrators,
shall be subject to the same proceedings on the said bonds for en¬
forcing the conditions and terms thereof, by motion or otherwise,
before the circuit court of the citv of Richmond, or any other
courts held in the citv which may succeed to the civil common-
law jurisdiction of said court, that collectors of the county levy
and their securities are or shall be subject to on their bonds, for
enforcing payment of the county levies.
30-a. That at the general election to be held on Tuesday after
the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred and twelve, an.
election shall be had by the qualified voters of the city of Richmond
of five persons qualified to hold office under the Constitution and
laws of this State, to constitute an administrative board for the city
of Richmond, the term of office of whom shall be four (1) years,
except that those first elected to office shall be elected to serve as
follows: Two for a period of two years, two for a period of three
years, and one for a period of four years. The respective length of
the terms of each of the five members so elected shall be determined
by lot by the commissioners of election, who shall, in pursuance of
law, in the presence of the candidates or some representative, should
they make known their desire to be present, canvass the vote of such
election, and thereafter at the general election on Tuesday after
the first Monday in November preceding the expiration of the
terms of said officers an election shall be held to fill the said terms
as aforesaid. Each member of said board shall qualify in the
mode prescribed bv law before the city clerk, and shall execute a
bond with some trust company as surety, satisfactory to the city
attorney, in the penalty of five thousand dollars, conditioned for
the faithful discharge of his duties as a member of said board;
they shall devote all of their time to the discharge of their duties,
and shall receive out of the .city treasury an annual salary of not
less than four thousand dollars, to be fixed bv the citv council,
payable as the salaries of other city officers are paid. But should
5
any member of the administrative board become a candidate for
any office, Federal, State or municipal, it shall ipso facto, vacate his
office as a member of said board, and whenever any member of said
board is named as an applicant or candidate, or as proper to be
supported as a candidate for any office, or a proper person to re¬
ceive such office, the mayor or chairman of said board shall, or any
members of said board may, notify him that his name is mentioned
hi connection with such office, and if said member does not, within
ten days after the receipt of such notice, hie with the board his
statement in writing that he is neither a candidate nor an appli¬
cant for such office, and likewise certifying that he will not accept
nor serve if elected or appointed to such office, the said board shall
declare his place vacant. All vacancies in membership upon said
board shall be filled in the manner prescribed by law for the
filling of other vacancies in municipal offices elective bv the people.
30-b. The terms of office of the said members of the said ad¬
ministrative board shall commence on the first day of January,
nineteen hundred and thirteen, and the members elected at the
preceding election as hereinbefore provided shall meet and proceed
to organize by electing one of their number as chairman and an¬
other as sub-chairman, and in like manner organize after every
election of new members to the board for a full term, and appoint
such clerk or clerks and other employees as may be necessary in
their judgment for the careful keeping of the records and accounts
.concerning the performance of their duties, and for the preserva¬
tion of the books and papers in the office or offices kept by them,
and fix the compensation of such clerks and employees. Three
members of the said board shall constitute a quorum for the trans¬
action of business. Each member shall be entitled to one vote, and
all votes on all questions considered by the board shall be re¬
corded in their proceedings.
The said board shall keep an accurate and careful record of
all of their proceedings. In the absence of the chairman of the
board the sub-chairman shall serve in his place.
30-c. That all of the duties of an executive or administrative
character now exercised by any of the several committees of the
council of the city of Richmond under any law or ordinance now
in force are hereby expressly conferred upon and required to be
6
exclusively exercised by the said administrative board; and the
management and control of all streets and alleys, including side-
walks and public ways whatsoever; all public bridges, with their
foundations, approaches and abuttments; all public squares and
parks; all public buildings; all sewers, drains and waterways; all
water works, gas works, electric works of plants now owned by the
city or which may hereafter be acquired or constructed, together
with all mains, pipes, wires, poles, conduits and other works,
structures and buildings of any nature whatsoever connected there¬
with; all public cemeteries, markets, almshouses, crematories and all
property, both real and personal, used in connection with the said
several works of public improvement or ownership, and generally
the control, management and jurisdiction over any and all de¬
partments of the city government, other than the police, fire, and
health departments, and over all other public utilities, works and
improvements belonging to or controlled by the city not herein
specially enumerated, and such as may hereafter be acquired by
the city, and also the gauging, inspection, measuring, weighing and
metering of all articles of commerce or traffic are hereby expressly
placed under the management and control of the said administra¬
tive board, and concerning such 'management and control the said
board may make and promulgate rules and regulations for the gov¬
ernment of all officers and employees in charge of the departments
under their control, and enforce a compliance with the same by
the imposition of penalty.
30-cl. Appropriations, as far as practicable, to the extent of the
fairly anticipated revenues for each ensuing year, shall be made
in lump sums in the annual budget ordinance, for the maintenance
of each department, but the council may, from time to time, make
additional appropriations, upon the recommendation of the admin¬
istrative board, or, without such recommendation, after the pro¬
posed ordinance or resolution making the appropriation shall have
been referred to the board for their consideration and report in
the premises, and after the return of such report, or they shall have
failed to report thereon to the next regular meeting of either branch
of the council, but the council may, in any case of emergency, make
an appropriation without such reference: provided, however, that
nothing herein shall be so construed as to curtail or impair the
7
powers and authority of the council of the city of Richmond, of a
legislative character, under the Constitution, charter of the city
of Richmond, or other statutes of the State of Virginia.
30-e. The said administrative board shall annually, on or be¬
fore the fifteenth day of February, in the year nineteen hundred
and thirteen, and thereafter annually on the fifteenth day of Feb¬
ruary of each year, forward to the mayor a report of the business
transacted by them during the preceding calendar year, together
with such recommendations as they deem desirable for the better
management and improvement of the business methods in any of
the several departments of the city government, and for the better
performance of the duties imposed on them as an administrative
board, and they shall from time to time make such reports and
recommendations to the mayor of the city of Richmond as they may
deem desirable, which report so made, the mayor shall, together
with his recommendations concerning such report, send to the next
regular meeting of either branch of the council of the city of Rich¬
mond, or, where he deems it necessary, to a called meeting of either
branch, which he is hereby expressly authorized to call. And the
said administrative board shall, from time to time, make such re¬
ports, and furnish-such data, to the council of the city of Rich¬
mond, or to either branch thereof, as may be required of them by
said council or by either branch thereof.
30-f. The said board shall have the exclusive control of the
letting to contract, the doing of all work for the city, and the
furnishings of all supplies and materials for the use of any de¬
partment of the city under their control, in accordance with the
ordinances and resolutions of the city, but all purchases for any
* department shall always be made by the said board under proper-
requisitions therefor, by the head of the department, under rules
and regulations established bv the said board and only after an
ordinance or resolution making the appropriation therefor, except
in cases of emergency, where great loss or damage to the city
would ensue, and in such cases the head of the department in which
such emergency exists shall file with the board a certificate, show¬
ing the nature of such emergency and the necessity for the expendi¬
ture. All contracts for work or material shall only be let after
due advertisement and bidding, where practicable, and the said
8
board shall have the power to reject any and all bids, and order
new bidding, or, in their discretion, let the contract without fur¬
ther bidding. And the said board is hereby authorized and re¬
quired to make and promulgate rules and regulations as to the
advertisement, bidding and letting to contract of work to be done
or materials to be furnished for the city.
30-g. The said board shall audit all bills against the city for
work done for the citv and for all materials furnished under any
contract for the city which they are authorized to make, and no
bill for such work or supplies shall be paid by the auditor, unless
the same has been so audited and certified by the board as correct.
* 30-h. The said board is hereby vested with authority to ap¬
point all officers, other than those whose appointment is expressly
provided for by the charter of the city of Richmond, and also all
other officers now authorized to be appointed, and all employees
and subordinates now employed by any committee of the council or
authorized to be employed under any ordinance or resolution now
in force or hereafter passed, other than those appointed by the
board of police commissioners, board of fire commissioners, city
school board, board of health, city attorney and the committee on
finance. The terms of office of any person appointed by said ad¬
ministrative board shall be two years, and until his successor is
duly chosen and qualified, unless sooner removed by the said board,
and any person employed shall continue in such employment dur¬
ing the pleasure of said board. And the power is hereby expressly
conferred on the administrative board to abolish any office which
they are authorized to fill, or combine the duties appertaining to
two or more offices in one officer, and designate the officer to exe¬
cute the Combined duties, and the person whose office is abolished',
and who has not been elected to perform the duties that are dis¬
continued, shall have no right to demand or receive anv salary or
compensation thereafter.
30-i. The said board shall have power to prefer charges against
any city officer not appointed by them, and forward the same to
the mayor, who shall take such action thereon as provided for by
law, and the said board may suspend any other officer for a period
sufficient for charges to be preferred against him and heard by
them, and in the meantime direct the first assistant of the depart-
9
ment to discharge the duties of the officer so suspended, and after
hearing of charges, which shall be reduced to writing and served
on the officers so suspended at least ten days before the hearing,
remove such officer and appoint some other.
30-j. The city attorney shall act as counsel and attorney for
the administrative board.
§31. The city auditor shall be elected by the council of the
cit}^ of Richmond. He shall hold his office for the term of two
years, and until his successor be elected and qualify, unless sooner
removed. He shall hold his office in such place as may be desig¬
nated and prescribed by the city council. He shall give bond with
sureties to the amount of not less than thirty thousand dollars,
which shall be determined by the city council before he enters upon
the duties of his office; said bond to be approved by the city attor¬
ney and filed in the office of the citv clerk. The said auditor shall
open and keep in a neat and methodical manner a complete set of
books, in accordance with such system as the council may adopt on
the recommendation of the mayor, wherein shall be stated, among
other things, the appropriations of the year for each distinct ob¬
ject and branch of expenditures, and also the receipts from each
and every source of revenue, so far as he can ascertain the same.
Said books and all papers, vouchers, contracts, bonds, receipts and
other things kept in said office shall be subject to the examination
of the mayor, the members of the citv council, or any committees
thereof.
>
§37. The auditor shall, annually, submit to the administrative
board during the month of January, a report of the estimates nec¬
essary, as nearly as may be, to defray the expenses of the city
government during the succeeding fiscal year. He shall in said re¬
port, class the different objects and branches of said city expendi¬
ture, giving, as nearly as may be, the amount required for each;
and for this purpose he is authorized to require of all city officers
and heads of departments their statements of the condition and
expense of their respective departments and offices, with any pro¬
posed improvement and the probable expense thereof, of contracts
already made and unfinished, and the amount of unexpended ap¬
propriations of the preceding year. He shall also in such report
show the aggregate income of the current fiscal year from all
10
sources, the amount of liabilities outstanding upon which interest is
to be paid, and of bonds and city debts payable during the year,
when due and where payable, so that the said board may fully
understand the money exigencies for the succeeding fiscal year, a
copy of which report and estimates shall be forwarded to each
branch of the city council, and by the council shall be referred to
the committee on finance of the council.
§47. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city
of Richmond one collector of the city taxes, who shall hold his office
for the period of two years, and until his successor shall be elected
and qualify, unless sooner removed from office. He shall give bond,
with sureties, to the amount of not less than fifty thousand dollars,
said bond to be approved by the city attorney and filed in the
office of the city clerk: provided, however, that the council of the
city of Richmond may, if they deem it proper so to do, abolish said
office of collector of cit}^ taxes and confer the powers and duties
imposed upon said collector upon the treasurer of the city of Rich¬
mond, under such restrictions, regulations and conditions by them
deemed suitable as to compensation of the treasurer for the powers
and duties so imposed, and suitable to secure the faithful and effi¬
cient discharge of such powers and duties.
§G2. There shall be appointed by the administrative board one
engineer for the city, who shall hold his office for a period of two
years, and until his successor shall be appointed and qualify, unless
sooner removed from office. He shall give bond with sureties to the
amount of not less than ten thousand dollars, said bond to be *
approved b}^ the city attorney and filed in the office of the city clerk.
§63. The said engineer shall have power to appoint, with the
approval of the administrative board, such number of assistants
and clerks as may be authorized by ordinance, with power in the
administrative board to reduce the number; but such assistants or
clerks may be removed at any time by said engineer or by said
board.
§64. The said engineer shall, subject to the control of the ad¬
ministrative board, be the general superintendent of the streets, cul¬
verts, public buildings and all public improvements. He shall
make such surveys, reports, drawings, plans, specifications and esti¬
mates needed in any department of the city government, and per-
11
form such other duties as the administrative board may require of
him, and do, in relation thereto, whatever else they may direct
concerning the same. All surveys or other acts, which may be
made or done by said engineer, shall be as valid and effectual as
if the same were done by a surveyor of a county, and any map or
plan of the city, or a part thereof hoav on file in his office, or here¬
after made and filed therein, made in pursuance of any ordinance
of the city or statute of the State, and especially the map ap¬
proved by resolution of the council of June twenty-fourth, eighteen
hundred and seventy-two (1872) or a copy of such map, shall
be prima facie evidence in the courts of the Commonwealth of the
boundaries and lines of the streets, alleys and other public places of
the city shown thereon. He shall keep his office in such place as
the city council may direct, and shall keep therein all maps, draw¬
ings and papers pertaining to his office. He shall keep a record of
all his proceedings, and a set of books in which shall be entered,
under appropriate heads, the receipts and expenditures of his de¬
partment; and all books and papers of-his office shall be open at
all times to the inspection of the mayor, the administrative board,
to tlie members of the city council, or to any committee or com¬
mittees thereof: provided, however, that the administrative board
may assign the powers and duties of said engineer as general su¬
perintendent of public buildings, or any of them, and the supervi¬
sion and control of the same to some other officer, under such regu¬
lations as they may prescribe.
A A 2. There being an emergency by reason of the need of the
proposed amendments to the charter of the city of Richmond
creating certain offices for the city of Richmond and providing for
^the election by the people of qualified persons to fill the same, this
act shall be in force from its passage.
3 0112 09843
551
IX
In vmip'ri yum bfxxod i rr \hnbdxnxnbB oxl) «b 8ei)iib r iod)o don?* xmo
toooib 7«ni vod) 'tdo oovolxnlv/ .olo’io/l) xiobfibn ni .ob I>n k .mi
od tr.ni doidv/ . 8 ) 91 ; *i'id)o *io wvsviua HA .oxxiBg oxl) imi/nooxiol
8# Ixmioollo bin; biluy 8<; od limbi /mufi^rj birw yd oxiob *io obm
lo qnxii yxiB bxiB ,ylnuo9 b lo *ioy9ViiJ3 x; yd onob 9 'iow ox iib* yd) j
-ojoxI *i<> 8id ni old no v/oxi io9i9xli )ix;q xs *io .vji*> oxl) lo nul
ooxiBnilrio viifi lo oonxmg’iuq ni obfirn t nio'i9d) bold bn« obxmt *iotl
-([n qxjxxx yd) yllxdooq^o bxi« ,o)b)8 9ili lo aUjiate *io y)io oxl) 1
nool/'ido .xbn/ol-ylnowl enrrL lo liommo exfi lo noilidoaoi yd bo70*i
v_> V » -»
Ilfiilg .qBxxr dons lo yqoo j>* io (L'781) ov/i-yinovo* bus boibitu
odi lo xld/m/mommo") odl lo gbiuoo oil) ni 90ii9biy9 oxoxii Riuiiq s
lo e.oo/dq oilduq ’lodlo bxi/j gyollii < 8 ) 99 * 1)8 odl lo hsxixI bxifi goimbano
oo/dq xloiJ8 xii soHto gixl qood Ilxxdg oil .no9'i9xl) nwoilg ylio ox
-ft i;ib r gqiim lb; nio-ioxl) qood Ilfldg join <lo9*iib ymn Iiomjod ylio ox
lo b'1009'i n q99>l llfida oil .ooifto gid ol gniiiifili9q a*i9q«q bxiB g^x
r b9*i9)fi9 sd IlBdK xloid/y xii 8/lood lo log xj bxiB ? 3^nil)99oo‘iq aid l
-of) gid lo go'xntiimoqxo bn« glqioooo oxl) <gbfi9d oixdMqoiqqxi 'lybi
)b noqo od Hud?. 99ifto, grd*lo ai9q«q bins edood 11 b bnu *< ixi9xnl*iB|
J .biBod DvilBilsininibB odt <ioyGfn odl lo noilosqaxii od) o) g9inil 1
-moo io 90 Dim moo ya« oi io Jioxiuoo ylio 9d) lo gisdmom od)
biBod o/ibijjcdmndm od) )Bd) ziovoyyod doobivoiq ilooiod) -oo))i
-i)-: fBionog 8B looni^no bi«3 lo uoilub bnu giov/oq oxi) n^i^ i; yr,
-ivi9qiJ8 od) ban jfioxl) lo yiiB io f y^/iibiind oildnq lo jiiobnoinn
-u^oi doi /3 lobxifj (loodio ioxl)o ofxiog ol oaixw oil) lo loilnoo bn« no
.oxliiogoiq ymu yod) 8B xnoil
oxl) lo boon 9 xll lo fiogBO'i yd yono^-iomo xi« ^fiiod 9 ioxlT .S: Jc l
ImomdoiH lo ylio od! io •lohxwio od) of sUienihiwmn bo^oqo'
•*iol gxiibivoiq bxu! bnorndoiH io ylio oxl) -n)l sooifto ninhoo i»xii)xx9!
8ixl) ,9friB8 oil! Hi) o) saoHMoq bodilBiip lo olqooq oxl) vd xioiloolo ox
.9gKB8Bq «ii moil ooiol ni od limbi )