There may be a department of finance which shall be under the
supervision of a director of finance, who may be the city manager
or a person appointed by the city manager with the approval of the
council, and which shall include the city treasurer and the city commissioner
of the revenue and their respective offices.
The director of finance shall be the administrative head of
the department of finance and as such shall have a charge of the financial
affairs of the city, including such powers and duties as may be assigned
to the director of finance, or department of finance, by ordinance
or resolution of the council not inconsistent with this Charter or
with the constitution and general laws of this commonwealth.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury of the city, nor shall
any obligation for the expenditure of money be incurred, except in
pursuance of the annual appropriation ordinance or legally enacted
supplement thereto, or subsequent resolution enacted by the council.
Accounts shall be kept for each item of appropriation made by the
council. Each such account shall show in detail the appropriations
made thereto, the amount drawn thereon, and the unencumbered balance
in the appropriation account sufficient to meet the obligation entailed
by contract, agreement, or order.
(a)
The council of the City of Franklin shall have the power, in lieu
of the means and methods prescribed by law, to provide by ordinance
for the annual, biennial or triennial assessment and reassessment
and equalization of assessments of real estate for local taxation
and to that end shall appoint, as city assessor or assessors, one
(1) or more persons to assess or reassess for taxation the real estate
within the City of Franklin, and to prescribe the duties and term
of office of said assessor or assessors.
(b)
Such assessor or assessors shall make such assessment and reassessments
on the same basis as real estate is required to be assessed under
the provisions of the Code of Virginia and as of the first day of
January of each year in which such assessment and reassessment and
equalization of assessments in made, shall have the same authority
as the assessors appointed under the provisions of the Code, and shall
be charged with duties similar to those thereby imposed upon such
assessors, except that such assessments and reassessments so made
shall have the same effect as if they have been made by assessors
appointed under the provisions of the said Code.
(c)
The term of such assessor or assessors shall be fixed by the council,
and any vacancy or vacancies, however occurring, shall be filled by
the council. The council shall likewise fix the compensation of any
such assessor or assessors, provide such clerical or other assistance
as may be necessary, and provide for the payment of such salaries
and other expenses as may be properly incident to the work involved.
And all such salaries, expenses and other costs incurred in connection
with such assessment or reassessment shall be paid out of the treasury
of the city.
(d)
The Circuit Court of Southampton County or the judge thereof in vacation
shall annually appoint for said City of Franklin, a board of review
of real estate assessments to be composed of three (3) members, who
shall be freeholders of the City of Franklin. The terms of such members
shall commence on their appointment and shall expire on the thirtieth
day of November of the year in which they are appointed, unless such
terms are extended. The said court or the judge thereof in vacation
may extend the terms of the members of the said board of review and
shall fill any vacancy therein for the unexpired term. The members
of the said board shall receive per diem compensation for the time
actually engaged in the duties of the board to be fixed by the city
council, and to be paid out of the treasury of the city, and the city
council may limit the per diem compensation to such number of days,
as, in its judgment, is sufficient for the completion of the work
of the board.
(e)
Such board of review shall have and may exercise the powers to revise,
correct, and amend any assessment of real estate made by said assessor
in the year in which they serve, and to that end shall have all powers
conferred upon boards of equalization by general law. The provisions
of general law notwithstanding, however, the board of review may adopt
any regulations providing for the oral presentation, with formal petitions
or other pleadings of requests for review, and looking to the further
facilitation and simplification of proceedings before the board.
(f)
Any person or the city, if aggrieved by any assessment made by said
board of review, may apply for relief in the manner provided by general
law.
(g)
This section shall not apply to the assessment of any real estate
assessable under the law by the state corporation commission.
(h)
All acts and parts of acts relating to the assessment of real estate
in cities not in conflict with the provisions of this section shall
apply to the assessments made pursuant to this section.
All moneys received or collected for the use of the city from
any source shall be paid over, held, and disbursed as the council
may order or resolve, and in such depository or depositories as may
be prescribed by the council, either by ordinance or resolution. Such
depository or depositories may be required to furnish such security,
and under such conditions, as the council may prescribe, not inconsistent
with general laws of the commonwealth.
At the general election to be held on the first Tuesday following
the first Monday in November in the year 1965, and on the said date
every four (4) years thereafter, there shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the city a commissioner of revenue and a city treasurer.
In case of a vacancy in the office of commissioner of revenue or city
treasurer, the council, by a majority vote, shall select a qualified
person, who must be an elector of the city, to fill the office in
which such vacancy occurs for the unexpired term. The treasurer and
commissioner of revenue shall have such powers and perform such duties
and receive such compensation as are provided by the constitution
of the commonwealth, and, except as are otherwise provided in this
Charter, as are provided by the provision of general law for cities.
The commissioner of revenue shall perform such duties not inconsistent
with the laws of the commonwealth in relation to the assessment of
property and licenses as may be required by the council for the purpose
of levying city taxes and licenses. He shall have power to administer
such oaths as may be required by the council in the assessment of
license taxes or other taxes for the city. He shall make such reports
in regard to the assessment of both property and licenses, or either,
as may be required by the council or by the director of finance. He
shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the council.
The city treasurer shall collect and receive all money due the
city by the state and all taxes and levies due the state and collected
within the city, and disburse same as provided by the general laws
of the commonwealth relating to city treasurers, and may be authorized
by the council also to collect and receive all money, taxes and levies
due the city and disburse the same according to this Charter and the
ordinances enacted by the city.
The director of finance shall audit all claims against the city
for goods or services. It shall also be his duty to ascertain that
such claims are in accordance with the purchase orders or contracts
of employment from which the same arise, to present such claims for
approval to the council, or such person as the council may designate;
to keep a record of the revenues and expenditures of the city in a
manner which will permit reporting of those revenues and expenditures
in such form as the council may prescribe; and at the end of each
month to prepare and submit to the council and to the city manager
statements showing the progress and status of the affairs of the city
in such form as the council may prescribe.
The director of finance shall act as purchasing agent for the
city and all the departments, offices, boards, commissions, and other
agencies thereof, unless the city manager with the approval of the
council shall designate some other officer or employee of the city
for such purpose. The director of finance or the person designated
as purchasing agent shall have such powers and duties relative to
city purchasing activities as shall be prescribed by the council,
including, if the council so prescribes, the custody and distribution
of city supplies, materials, and equipment, the establishment and
enforcement of specifications, and the solicitation and acceptance
of competitive bids for city purchases.
The director of finance shall perform such other duties as may
be imposed upon him by the city manager.
The fiscal year of the city shall begin on the first day of
July annually and end on the thirtieth day of June of the succeeding
year; provided, however, that the council may by ordinance designate
a different fiscal year.
Annually, not later than one (1) month prior to the first day
of the fiscal year, the city manager shall prepare and submit to the
council a budget presenting a financial plan for conducting the affairs
of the city for the ensuing fiscal year. Such budget shall be set
up in the manner provided by law, and shall include such information
as the council by ordinance or resolution may require. Hearings on
the budget shall be held and notice thereof given and the budget adopted
in accordance with general laws of the commonwealth.
The council may, in the name and for the use of the city, incur
indebtedness by issuing its negotiable bonds or notes for the purposes,
in the manner, and to the extent provided for in the following sections
of this chapter.
Bonds, and notes in anticipation of bonds, when the issuance
of bonds has been authorized as hereinafter provided, may be issued
for any purpose for which cities are authorized to issue bonds by
the constitution or general laws of this state.
Notes in anticipation of collection of revenue may be issued,
when authorized by the council, at any time during the fiscal year,
provided that said notes shall mature not later than twelve (12) months
after date of issue, and the amount thereof shall not exceed the revenues
anticipated.
Bonds and notes of the city may be issued in any manner provided
by general law.
