15.2-3534 - Optional provisions of consolidation agreement.
§ 15.2-3534. Optional provisions of consolidation agreement.
Any such consolidation agreement may contain any of the following provisions:
1. In any territory that will be a part of the consolidated city there shallbe no increase in assessments, except for permanent improvements made afterthe consolidation, for a period not exceeding five years.
2. The rate of tax on real property in any such territory shall be lower thanin other territory of the consolidated unit for a period of five years,provided that any difference between such rates of taxation shall bear areasonable relationship to differences in nonrevenue-producing governmentalservices giving land urban character which are furnished in such territories.
3. In any area specified in such agreement, for the purpose of repayingexisting indebtedness chargeable to such area prior to consolidation, theremay be levied a special tax on real property for a period not exceedingtwenty years, which may be different from and in addition to the general taxrate throughout the entire consolidated county or counties, city or cities,or tier-city, as the case may be.
4. Geographical subdivisions of the consolidated city, to be known asboroughs, may be established, which may be the same as the existing (i)cities, (ii) counties, or (iii) portions of such counties, which are includedin the consolidated city, and may be the same as the temporary special debtdistricts referred to in subdivision 3 of this section; the names of suchboroughs shall be set forth in the consolidation agreement.
5. Geographical subdivisions of the consolidated county or counties, to beknown as shires, may be established, which shall be the same as and bear thenames of the existing counties, towns, communities, or portions of counties,which are included in the consolidated county or counties, and may be thesame as the temporary special debt districts referred to in subdivision 3 ofthis section.
6. In the event of consolidation of such counties and cities into a singlecounty, there may be established geographical subdivisions of such county, tobe known as shires, which shall be the same as and bear the names of theexisting cities and counties.
7. In the event of consolidation of such counties and cities into a singlecounty incorporating a tier-city therein, there shall be establishedgeographical and political subdivisions of such county, to be known as"tier-cities"; such tier-cities shall apply for and may receive a charterfrom the General Assembly in the same manner as may any municipality and whenissued shall thereafter qualify in general law, mutatis mutandis, as a townwith respect to its rights, powers and obligations, and shall have such otherrights, powers and obligations as may be given it by law, general or special.
8. In the event of the establishment of such shires or boroughs, it shall bethe duty of the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner and the Director ofthe Department of Historic Resources to have suitable monuments or markerserected indicating the limits of such geographical subdivisions and settingforth the history of each.
9. a. In the event of establishment of a consolidated city, there shall be anew election of officers therefor whose election and qualification shallterminate the terms of office of their predecessors; provision may be madefor the exclusion from such new election of such elective officers as isdeemed desirable.
b. In the event of the establishment of a consolidated city, theconstitutional officers of the consolidating jurisdictions may continue inoffice at not less than their salaries in effect at the effective date ofconsolidation; the selection of each constitutional officer for theconsolidated city shall be made by agreement between those persons holdingsuch respective offices, and the other or others, as the case may be, shallbecome assistants or chief deputies, upon filing of a certification of suchagreement in a circuit court and approval by the court; in the event noagreement is reached or no certification is filed on or before a date statedin the consolidation agreement, the circuit court shall designate one officeras principal and the other or others, as the case may be, as assistants orchief deputies; and in the event of a vacancy in the office of assistant orchief deputy thereby created during such term, the position shall beabolished. Each such officer shall continue in office, whether as theprincipal officer or as chief deputy or assistant, until January 1 followingthe next regularly scheduled election pursuant to § 24.2-217, whether or notthe term to which such officer was elected may have expired prior to thatdate. When the effective date of the consolidation plan is the same as theend of the term of one or more existing constitutional officers for theconsolidating jurisdictions, an election shall be held to elect suchconstitutional officers for the consolidating jurisdictions for a new term tobegin on the effective date of consolidation. Such newly elected officers mayor may not become the principal constitutional officers of the consolidatedcity under this provision.
c. In the event of the establishment of a consolidated city, the personsholding office as the superintendents of the school divisions within theconsolidating jurisdictions may continue in office at no less than theirsalaries in effect at the effective date of consolidation, for the terms towhich they were appointed; the consolidated city school board shall designateone of such persons as division superintendent and the other as associatesuperintendent; in the event no designation is made on or before a datestated in the consolidation agreement, the designation shall be made by thecircuit court for the consolidated city; and in the event of a vacancy in theposition of superintendent or associate superintendent during the term towhich appointed, the remaining incumbent shall be the superintendent and theposition of associate superintendent shall be abolished.
10. In the event of the establishment of a consolidated city, the tax rate onall property of the same class within the city shall be uniform. However, thecouncil shall have power to levy a higher tax in such areas of the city whichdesire additional or more complete services of government than are desired inthe city as a whole, and, in such case, the proceeds therefrom shall be sosegregated as to enable the same to be expended in the areas in which raised;such higher tax rate shall not be levied for school, police or generalgovernment services but only for those services which prior to consolidationwere not offered in the whole of all of the consolidated localities.
11. The agreement, when proposing the creation of a consolidated city, mayincorporate in a proposed charter, subject to the subsequent approval of theGeneral Assembly, any provisions of any charter heretofore granted by theGeneral Assembly for any of the localities proposing to consolidate. It isthe intention of this subsection to permit the drafting by the governingbodies, or the committees acting for and in lieu of the governing bodiesunder § 15.2-3531, of a charter to be adopted as a part of the consolidationagreement for the proposed consolidated city. In such charter the name of theconsolidated city, if agreed upon, shall be inserted in lieu of the name ofthe city which may be specified in the original charters from which theprovisions are taken, or if the name of the consolidated city is left tosubsequent referendum, then the phrase "the consolidated city" shall besubstituted. Any such charter shall be published as provided in § 15.2-3537as a part of the consolidation agreement.
Any agreement between any localities to form a consolidated city when adoptedand approved as provided herein, together with the charter, shall be the formof the consolidated city. The governing body of the consolidated city shallhave the power to make amendments to the consolidation agreement not contraryto general law. No such amendments shall become effective until suchamendments have been approved by the General Assembly in accordance with theprocedures established by Chapter 2 (§ 15.2-200 et seq.).
12. Any agreement between any localities to form a consolidated county maylikewise incorporate provisions of any charter of any such localitiesproposing to consolidate and also may include the provisions of any of theoptional forms of county government set forth in this title. In any form ofgovernment approved by the voters hereunder, irrespective of any otherprovisions of law, the initial membership of the governing body shall be asset forth in such consolidation agreement. Such agreement when adopted andapproved as provided herein shall be the form of the consolidated county, andthe provisions of the first paragraph of subdivision 11 above shall beapplicable, mutatis mutandis. The governing body of the consolidated countyshall have the power to make amendments to the consolidation agreement notcontrary to general law. No such amendments, excluding membership of thegoverning body, shall become effective until such amendments have beenapproved by the General Assembly in accordance with the proceduresestablished by Chapter 2 (§ 15.2-200 et seq.).
13. In any consolidation by a county and all the towns therein into aconsolidated county, or in any consolidation of a county and a city into aconsolidated county, the area of any of such town or towns, city or citiesmay be designated as a special service district, and the delivery of water,sewer and similar type services may be continued. The consolidated countyshall have the same powers, rights and duties with respect to the publicrights-of-way, streets and alleys within such district and receive StateHighway Fund allocations as did such town or towns, city or cities prior toconsolidation. The roads in the area formerly located solely within thecounty shall continue to be maintained as they were prior to theconsolidation, and this subdivision shall not be construed to authorize anyallocation from highway funds not previously authorized. The boundaries ofsuch special service district or districts may be altered from time to timeby ordinance of the governing body duly adopted after public hearing.
14. Any consolidation agreement may provide for offering to the voters theoption of adopting a city or county form of government as well as the optionbetween forms of county governments.
15. The agreement between a county and the incorporated towns locatedentirely therein consolidated pursuant to this article may contain provisionsfor the establishment of special service tax districts wherein a tax may belevied on all classes of property within those shires, where, upon theeffective date of the consolidation agreement, there exists, or theconsolidation agreement provides for, additional or more completegovernmental services than the level of services which are being provided orwill, under the agreement, be provided in other shires, or in theconsolidated county as a whole. Additional or more complete governmentalservices include, but are not limited to, water supply, sewerage, garbageremoval and disposal, heat, lighting, streets, sidewalks and storm drains,fire-fighting equipment and services, and additional law-enforcement servicesbut shall not include separate police forces, additional schools or otherbasic governmental services to which all citizens are entitled. Anyadditional revenue produced from any such tax shall be segregated into aseparate fund and expended by such consolidated county solely in the shire orspecial service tax district wherein such additional tax is assessed. Theconsolidation agreement shall establish the initial boundary lines of theshires and the tax rates within each shire. Future adjustments in theboundaries of the shires or special service tax districts shall be made inaccordance with § 15.2-2401, which shall apply to the consolidated county asit does to the consolidated cities described therein. The governing body ofthe consolidated county shall have the same power as the city councilreferred to in such section. Such governing body also shall have the power totax all sources of revenue which the previous county or incorporated townstherein had prior to such consolidation.
16. In the event of consolidation of a county and a city into a single countyincorporating a tier-city therein, any rights provided to counties, citiesand towns in Chapters 32 (§ 15.2-3200 et seq.), 33 (§ 15.2-3300 et seq.), 36(§ 15.2-3600 et seq.), 38 (§ 15.2-3800 et seq.), and 39 (§ 15.2-3900 et seq.)may be modified or waived in whole or in part, as set forth in theconsolidation agreement, provided that the modification or waiver does notconflict with the Constitution of Virginia and provided that such provisionin the consolidation agreement is approved pursuant to the provisions ofChapter 34 (§ 15.2-3400 et seq.) prior to the effective date of consolidation.
17. The agreement may provide for a subsequent referendum of the voters ofall or part of one or more of the consolidating localities to be held after afavorable referendum on the initial question of consolidating. Thissubsequent referendum shall take the sense of the voters of an area or areasof the consolidating localities, as determined in the discretion of thegoverning bodies of the consolidating localities, on the question of dividingthat area or portion from the newly consolidated locality and consolidatingthat area or portion with an adjoining locality not a part of the newlyconsolidated locality. The terms and conditions of this division andconsolidation may be included in the agreement or may be determined by theCommission on Local Government if the affected localities are unable toagree. The nonagreeing locality shall have the right to reject therecommendations of the Commission, and not accept such area or portion.
18. In the event of consolidation of counties and cities into a single citywhich completely surrounds another city, the agreement may provide for thesubsequent unilateral consolidation of the surrounded city into theconsolidated city at any time. The agreement shall provide that a referendumtake the sense of the voters of the surrounded city on the question ofwhether the surrounded city and the surrounding consolidated city shallconsolidate.
19. In the event of consolidation of such counties and cities into a single
city which completely surrounds another city, the agreement may provide for
the subsequent unilateral consolidation and conversion of the surrounded city
to a township within the surrounding consolidated city at any time. The
agreement shall provide that a referendum take the sense of the voters of the
surrounded city on the question of whether such city shall convert to a
township. The township may, in the discretion of its council, continue to be
called a city and may formally be referred to as .......... city, a Virginia
township. Such township shall have no right to become an independent city, nor
to annex or exercise any extraterritorial jurisdiction within the
consolidated city but otherwise shall have the rights, powers and immunities
granted towns. The consolidated city's legal relationship with such township
shall be governed by the same laws that govern county-town relationships,
except as modified herein.
(Code 1950, § 15-222.3; 1950, p. 1607; 1956, c. 554; 1962, c. 623, §15.1-1135; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 36; 1975, c. 214; 1979, c. 85; 1983, c. 4;1984, c. 695; 1986, c. 312; 1989, c. 656; 1990, c. 424; 1991, c. 189; 1995,c. 728; 1997, c. 587.)