Ordinances of the City of Greenville

6 Charter of the City of Greenville

[typed in margin]: Oath of Mayor and Aldermen. as above directed, before entering upon the duties of their office, shall respectively, in addition to the oath prescribed in Section 30 of Article II of the Constitution, take the following oath, to-wit: "As Mayor (or Alderman) of the City of Greenville, I will faithfully and impartially, to the best of my ability, exercise and discharge the trust reposed in me, and will use my best endeavors to preserve the peace, and to carry into effect according to law the purposes for which I have been elected. So help me God."

[typed in margin]: Vacancies. SEC. 9. That in case a vacancy should occur in the office of Mayor, or of any Alderman, by death, resignation, or otherwise, an election to fill such vacancy shall be held by direction of the City Council of said city, such election to be conducted in the same manner as hereinbefore provided, save that it shall not be necessary to register anew the voters of the city, but every person shall be entitled to vote at any such last mentioned election who is legally qualified and had registered at the last preceding election for Mayor and Aldermen; and in case of a vacancy in the office of Mayor, until an election can be held, the Aldermen of said City Council are hereby empowered to elect one of their number to act as Mayor for the time being, and in case of the sickness or temporary absence of the Mayor he is authorized to appoint some one of the Aldermen to act as Mayor for the time being; but if the Mayor fails or neglects to appoint some member of the City Council to act as Mayor during his sickness or temporary absence, the City Council shall be empowered to elect one of their number to act as Mayor during the sickness or temporary absence of the Mayor.

[typed in margin]: Refusal to serve. SEC. 10. That if any person who has been legally elected Mayor or Alderman shall refuse to act, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty-five dollars for the use of the said city, unless the said person shall have attained the age of sixty years, or shall have served a term in either of said offices within three years next preceding such election.

Charter of the City of Greenville 7

[typed in margin] Powers of Trial Justices. Sec. 11. The Mayor and Aldermen of said city are hereby, severally and respectively, vested with all the powers of Trial Justices in the the State, within the limits of said city, to try and punish all persons charged with the violation of the ordinances of said city.

[typed in margin] Council meetings. Sec. 12. That the Mayor of said city shall, as often as may be necessary, summon the Aldermen to meet in Council; and the Mayor and any eight Aldermen, or any nine Aldermen without the Mayor, shall constitute a quorum to do business. The Mayor and Aldermen of said city shall be known and designated by the name of "The City Council of Greenville," and they and their successors shall have a common seal, which shall be [typed in margin] Powers affixed to all their ordinances; may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any Court of this State having jurisdiction; and may purchase, hold, possess, and enjoy, to them and theirs successors, in perpetuity or for any term of years, any estate, real, personal, or mixed, and sell, lease, alien, and convey the same: Provided, That the same shall not at any time exceed [typed in margin] Property not to exceed $100,000. sum of one hundred thousand dollars. And the said City Council shall have full power and authority to make and establish all such rules, by-laws, and ordinances respecting the roads, streets, market, and police [typed in margin] By-laws and ordinances. department of said city, and the government thereof, as shall appear to them necessary and requisite for the security, welfare, and convenience of the said city, for preserving health, life, and property therein, and securing the peace and good government of the same, and may fix and impose fines and penalties for the violation thereof: Provided, nevertheless, That all such ordinances, by-laws, rules, and regulations so made be duly promulgated, and that no fine shall exceed the sum of [typed in margin] Fines and imprisonment. fifty dollars, or imprisonment extend for a period longer than thirty days, or either, or both, for the same offense.

[typed in margin] Fire district. Sec. 13. That said City Council shall have full power to prohibit the erection of any wooden building or buildings, or any wooden roof building or buildings, in any

8 Charter of the City of Greenville

portion of said city that they may by ordinance define as the limits of fire district, and to prescribe of what material buildings or structures within said limits shall be constructed.

[typed in margin] Nuisances. Sec. 14. That said City Council shall have full power and authority to abate all nuisances within the corporate [typed in margin] Board of Health limits of the said city, and also to appoint a Board of Health, [typed in margin] Fire Masters. and a Board of Fire Masters for said city, and to pass such ordinances in regard thereto as may be necessary. [typed in margin] Parks and cemeteries. The parks, cemeteries, and public graveyards are also placed under the jurisdiction of the City Council.

[typed in margin] Fire department. Sec. 15. The said City Council shall have power to organize, equip, and control a fire department for the protection of said city in such way as they may deem necessary and expedient.

[typed in margin] Wards. Section 16. That the said City Council shall have power and authority to divide the said city into six or more wards; if they deem it necessary for the convenience and better government of the same, and in the election of [typed in margin] Aldermen. Aldermen for said city each of the said wards shall be represented by two Aldermen who shall be a resident of said ward.

[typed in margin] Clerk and Treasurer, and Policemen. Sec. 17. That the said City Council shall have power to elect and have a Clerk and Treasurer, and to appoint a Chief of Police, and such number of policemen as from time to time they may deem necessary for the safety and good order of said city, and to establish the salaries and fees, and to prescribe the duties of said officers, and the said officers shall give bonds with sufficient sureties in such amount as shall be deemed proper for the faithful discharge of their respective offices. The said Policemen shall be sworn in, and take in addition [typed in margin] Their powers. the oath prescribed by the laws for State Constables, and thereupon be invested with all the powers, and be subject to all the duties and liabilities, of State Constables, within the corporate limits of said city, in addition to the duties and liabilities specially conferred and im-[posed]

Charter of the City of Greenville. 9

[imposed] posed upon them by the said City Council; and the said policemen, when required by an ordinance of the city, or by the direction of the Mayor or any Alderman of [typed in margin] May arrest and imprison. the said city, shall arrest and may hold in custody by imprisonment in the guard house or jail not exceeding forty-eight hours before being brought before the Mayor or acting Mayor any person or persons who within the corporate limits of said city shall be guilty of or shall be engaged in any breach of the peace, riotous or disorderly conduct, open obscenity, public drunkenness, theft, or any other conduct which may be disorderly, or calculated to produce disorder, or indecent, or dangerous to the good order of said city, and they shall have power [typed in margin] Posse comitatus to call their assistance the "posse comitatus," if neccessary.

Sec. 18. The said City Council are hereby authorized [typed in margin] Street Duty and empowered to require all male inhabitants of said city between the age of eighteen and fifty years, (the Mayor and Aldermen, active firemen, and persons exempt by law from road duty excepted,) to work upon the roads, streets or ways of said city, not exceeding four days in each and every year, or in lieu of such work the City Council may compound with the persons so [typed in margin] Right to compound. liable to work in any amount not exceeding two dollars per annum, to be applied to the use of said city; and any person failing or refusing to perform such work, or to compound as above provided, upon conviction thereof before the Mayor (who may bring any such person before him by warrant) be fined not exceeding ten [typed in margin] Penalty. dollars, or be imprisoned in the jail or guard house for a period not exceeding thirty days.

[typed in margin] Licenses. Sec. 19. The said City Council, in addition to all such fines and penalties as may be procured and recovered, and all licenses for sale at auction, public shows, and for wholesale and retail dealers in liquors in said city, all of which the said City Council, or a majority of them, shall have the right to grant in their discretion, shall annually levey on the assessed property of the city (except

10 Charter of the City of Greenville

[typed in margin] Taxes. such property as may be exempt from taxation by the Constitution and laws of this State) a tax sufficient to discharge and defray all expenses of carrying into effect the ordinances, rule, regulations and laws made and established as above provided: Provided, Said tax does [typed in margin] Limit. not exceed seventy-five cents every one hundred dollars of real and personal property as assessed and equalized.

[typed in margin] Other license taxes. Sec.20. That the said City Council shall have power to impose a tax upon the keepers of all billiard tables, bowling alleys, or other places of amusement kept for profit within the city, and upon all itinerant auctioneers, traders and peddlers within said city, and to grant or refuse licenses for the same upon such terms and conditions, and subject to such regulations as Council may by ordinance establish; and the City Council shall also have power to impose a tax upon all drays, wagons, carriages, omnibuses and other vehicles kept for hire, and upon the owners or proprietors of all dogs permitted to go at large within the limits of said city.

[typed in margin] Auction sales. Sec. 21. That the said City Council shall be, and are hereby, authorized to regulate the sales at aution within the limits of said city: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall extend to sales by Sheriffs, executors or administrators, or by any other person under the order of any Court.

[typed in margin] Shows. Sec. 22. That the said City Council shall have the power to regulate and fix the prices of licenses upon all shows and public exhibitions for gain in said city, and to apply the same to public uses of the said city.

[typed in margin] Payment of taxes. Sec 23. The said City Council shall have power to enforce the payment of all taxes levied under the authority of this Act against the property of defaulters to the same extent and in the same manner as is now or may hereafter be provided by law for the collection of [typed in margin] Executions. State and County taxes, except that executions to enforce the payment of the taxes due the said city shall be issued