Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia

by Dorothy Margaret Torpey

(1) He may approve the ordinance by signing it; it then becomes operative.

(2) He may disapprove the ordinance by vetoing it; he then returns the ordinance to the clerk of the council with his written objections. The council then enters the detailed objections in its journal and reconsiders the original resolution or ordinance in view of such objections. If, after due consideration, two-thirds of the membership of the council still wishes the original ordinance to pass, it is passed over the Mayor's veto.

(3) He may do nothing about the ordinance; after five days have passed, Sundays excepted, if the Mayor is still in office and the term of office of the members of the city council has not expired, it automatically is passed. If, however, during these five days, either the term of office of the Mayor or the term of office of the members of the city council ends, the ordinance is not passed but is considered "killed."

Like the Governor of the state, the Mayor can veto a particular item or more than one item in an appropriation ordinance or resolution without affecting the rest of the resolution or ordinance. Any ordinance or resolution which concerns the appropriation of money for an amount over one hundred dollars, the levying of taxes or the authorizing of the borrowing of money can be passed only by a recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all council members.

The oldest form of city government in Virginia is the Mayor-Council Form. Under this form, the Council and the Mayor are elected by the qualified voters. The Mayor, therefore, is the chief executive officer of the city and he either appoints solely, or with the consent of the city council in some instances, the city officers not constitutionally required to be elected. He also has the authority to supervise all city departments and to suspend any officer or employee for cause. Under this system, the council is the legislative body only.

Another form is the Commission form of local government. Of the three different types mentioned previously, this form is used in Virginia the least. According to this plan, the city council itself, elected at large, assumes the legislative and administrative or executive powers. A mayor is elected from council membership but he has very limited powers. He is chairman at the council meetings and may suggest recommendations as possible legislative measures as he sees fit. The city itself is divided into various administrative departments by the council and each department is assigned to a different council member who becomes the head executive or administrative official of that department. Thus, each council member acts as an administrator individually and as a legislator collectively. The city council according to this plan carries out the usual functions of the legislative body and of the executive department, including such functions as determining the powers of each department and the rules and regulations of each office holder and employee.

The City Manager form of government was first adopted in the United States by the city of Staunton in 1908. This is the most widely-used plan found in Virginia cities at the present time and in many other large cities throughout the United States. Under this plan, the Council members are elected at large by the voters. The Council is the legislative body which makes the local laws. The City Council selects the City Manager who may or may not be an inhabitant of the town, city or state involved. He not only acts as the chief adviser to the City Council but also becomes the chief executive in this plan. His term of office is at the discretion of the City Council members and he is responsible directly to them. Charles E. Ashburner was the first City Manager in the United States.

The City Council usually elects its own chairman from among its own membership; this chairman automatically becomes the Mayor of the city. He is the official titular head of the city and represents the city upon various public occasions. He presides at Council meetings, has regular Council powers and can vote but cannot veto a proposed law. In contrast, the City Manager has the power to appoint the chief officials of the various city government departments, the responsibility for enforcing city ordinances and resolutions, the obligation of attending City Council meetings and of making suggestions and recommendations to the Council, the duty of keeping the City Council informed of general and specific activities of the city including its financial status, the task of preparing and submitting a proposed budget to the City Council and the duty of carrying out miscellaneous functions assigned to him by the City Council.

These three forms—Mayor-Council, Commission and City Manager—exemplify the variety of local government organization available to cities and towns located in Virginia.