defend and be defended in any court having competent jurisdiction; and when any suit shall be commenced against said corporation, the first process shall be by summons, an attested copy of which shall be left with the recorder, but in case of his absence, such copy shall be left with the mayor or one of the trustees of said corporation. Sec. 7. That the jurisdiction of the officers of said corporation shall not extend beyond the limits of said town; that the mayor shall be a conservator of the peace throughout said town; and shall, within the same, have all the powers and jurisdiction of a justice of the peace in all matters, either civil or criminal, arising under the laws of this State; and the said mayor shall perform all the duties required of him by the by-laws and ordinances of said corporation; and appeals may be taken from the decisions of said mayor in all cases where appeals are authorized by law to be taken from the decisions of a justice of the peace, and in the same manner. Sec. 8. That the officers elected by virtue of this act shall each, before entering upon the duties of his office, take an oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States and of the State of Ohio, and also faithfully to discharge the duties of his office. Sec. 9. That the town council shall have power to ordain and establish by-laws, rules, and regulations for the government of said town, and the same to alter, repeal, or re-ordain at pleasure; and to provide by said by-laws for the election of a treasurer, town marshal, and all other subordinate officers which may be thought necessary for the good government and wellbeing of said town; to prescribe their duties, and determine the period of their appointment fix the amount of fees they shall be entitled to receive for their services, and require of them to take an oath or affirmation faithfully and impartially to discharge the duties of their respective offices; and may require of them such security for the performance thereof as shall be thought proper or expedient; said town council shall also have power to affix to the violation of the by-laws and ordinances of the corporation such reasonable fine or fines, penalty or penalties, as they may deem proper, and to provide for the disposition of the same; Provided, always, Such by-laws and ordinances are consistent with the constitution and laws of this State and of the United States: And provided, also, That no by-laws or ordinances shall have any effect until the same shall have been published three weeks, by having the same posted up in three of the most public places in said town. Sec. 10. That the town council shall, at the expiration of each and every year, cause to be made out and published, in the manner prescribed in the preceding section, the receipts and expenditures of the preceding year. Sec. 11. That the said town council shall have power to regulate the streets, lanes, and alleys, and to lay out new streets, lanes, and alleys, to determine the width of side-walks; they shall have power to remove all nuisances and obstructions from the streets, side-walks, and commons of said town, or provide for the removal of the same, and for the security of the health, property, and prosperity of the inhabitants of said town. Sec. 12. That the marshal shall be the principal ministerial officer of said town, and shall have the same powers as constables have by law, and his jurisdiction in criminal cases, shall be co-extensive with the county of Franklin; and he shall serve the process of the mayor, and receive the same fees for his services that constables are allowed in similar cases for like services. Sec. 13. That the mayor shall receive the same fees that justices of the peace are entitled to in like cases; and the recorder such fees for his services as the by-laws and ordinances of said corporation shall prescribe. Sec. 14. That for the purpose of enabling the town council to carry into effect the provisions of this act, they are hereby authorized to levy a tax on all the real and personal property within the bounds of said corporation as the same has been, or shall be, appraised on the grand levy of the State: Provided, That said tax shall not exceed, in any one year, more than three-fourths of one per centum of the aggregate amount of taxable property within the limits of said town; and the said town council shall, between the first Monday in May and the first day of July in each year determine the amount to be assessed and collected the current year. Sec. 15. That it shall be the duty of the town council to make out a duplicate of taxes, charging each individual therein an amount of taxes in proportion to the value of the property of such individual within said town; which duplicate shall be signed by the mayor and recorder, and delivered to the marshal, or to such other person as shall be appointed collector; whose duty it shall be to collect the same within such time, and in such manner, as the by-laws shall direct. Sec. 16. That the collector shall have power to sell real and personal estate for the non-payment of taxes in the same way as the county treasurers do, or may sell, under the laws of this State; and the collector may make deeds on the sale of real estate, which shall have the same effect as deeds made by the county treasurer or auditor in similar cases. Sec. 17. That said town shall be allowed the use of the common jail of the county of Franklin, for the confinement of any person liable to imprisonment under the ordinances of said town; and all persons committed to said jail shall be under the charge of the sheriff as in other cases. Sec. 18. That this act shall be construed and received in all courts of justice as a public act, and copies thereof printed by and under the authority of the General Assembly, and shall be received as evidence without further proof. C. ANTHONY, March 16, 1838. AN ACT Speaker of the Senate. To incorporate the town of Vermillion, in the county of Huron. Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That so much of the township of Vermillion, in the county of Huron, as is contained in the recorded plat of the town of Vermillion in the recorder's of fice in said county, and to extend the eastern line of said town to low wa ter-mark on the east shore of Vermillion river, from the south line of said plat to the lake shore, be, and the same is hereby created into and constituted a town corporate, by the name of the "Town of Vermillion." Sec. 2. That the qualified electors for members of the General Assembly, residing within the limits of said corporation, shall meet at some convenient place within the bounds of said corporation on the first Saturday in April, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, and on the first Saturday in April annually thereafter, at such place as the town council may direct, and then and there proceed, by a plurality of votes, to elect a mayor, recorder, and five trustees, who shall have the qualification of electors, and shall reside within the limits of said corporation; and the persons so elected shall hold their offices one year, and until their successors are elected and qualified: Provided, That a failure to elect on said day shall not forfeit the charter of said corporation. Sec. 3. That at the first election to be holden under this act, two judges and a clerk shall be chosen, viva voce, by the electors present, and shall take an oath or affirmation faithfully to discharge the duties required of them by this act; and at all subsequent elections, the mayor and any two of the electors shall sit as judges, and the recorder shall sit as clerk, if present; and if the recorder is absent, the judges shall proceed to appoint a clerk of the election; and at all such elections, the polls shall be opened between the hours of one and two in the afternoon, and close by the hour of four the same afternoon; and at the close of the polls, the votes shall be counted, and a true statement thereof proclaimed by one of the judges to the electors present; and the persons elected shall, within ten days af ter their election, take an oath or affirmation to support the constitution of the United States and of this State, and an oath of office, a certificate of which shall be deposited with the recorder, and by him preserved. Sec. 4. That the mayor, recorder, and trustees of said town shall be a body politic and corporate, with perpetual succession, to be known and distinguished by the name of the "Town Council of Vermillion;" and shall be capable in law to acquire, receive, and hold any estate, real or personal, for the use of said town; and may have a common seal, and alter the same at their discretion; and may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, in any court of law or equity in this State; and when any suit shall be commenced against said corporation, the first process shall be a summons, an attested copy of which shall be left with the recorder at least ten days before the return day thereof. Sec. 5. That the mayor, recorder, and trustees, or a majority of them, shall have authority to make, ordain, and publish all such by-laws and or dinances, consistent with the constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, as they may deem necessary for the regulation, interest, safety, health, cleanliness, and convenience of said town and the inhabitants thereof; they shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen by resignation, death, or removal, in any of the different offices herein named; they shall also have power to appoint a treasurer, town marshal, and such subordinate officers as they may deem necessary; to prescribe their duties, and to require of them such securities as they may deem necessary to secure the faithful performance of their several duties; to remove them at pleasure; to fix and establish the fees of the officers of said corporation not established by this act; to impose such fines, not exceeding two dollars, as they may deem just for refusing to accept any office in said corporation, or for neglect or misconduct therein; they shall have power to audit and settle the accounts of the town; to appropriate and draw the money in the hands of the treasurer; to establish and regulate the markets; to grade and improve the streets, make side-walks, to remove and prohibit all nuisances prejudicial to the health, cleanliness, and comfort of said town; they shall have power to convey water into said town in pipes or aqueducts, sufficient to supply the inhabitants thereof, from any spring or fountain of water adjacent thereto, having first obtained the consent of the owner of such spring or fountain; and may do all such acts as will be needful and necessary to accomplish the same, and to secure and protect the same from injury. Sec. 6. That for the purpose of more effectually preserving the peace and good order of said town of Vermillion, the town council of said town shall have the power and authority, by ordinance or by-law, to prevent the keeping any grocery or house of entertainment, other than taverns, in said town, to prevent the retailing of spirituous liquors by less quantity than one gallon; and the mayor of said corporation shall have cognizance of any of the aforesaid offences, and on complaint, made under oath, shall issue his warrant, and proceed as in other cases; and, on conviction, may fine the delinquent in any sum not exceeding fifty dollars; may enforce the payment of said fine and costs in the same manner that justices of the peace may enforce the collection of fines by them assessed; and the money so collected, shall be paid into the treasury of said corporation for the use of the same; they may also regulate the exhibition of all shows or plays of whatever kind, by granting license, or fining persons for exhibiting such shows or plays without license in any sum not exceeding fifty dollars for every such offence. Sec. 7. That the mayor shall be a conservator of the peace within the limits of said corporation, and shall have all the powers of a justice of the peace therein, both in civil and criminal cases; shall give bond as required of justices of the peace; and in all his acts he shall be governed by the laws defining the duties of justices of the peace, and shall be entitled to receive the same fees for similar services; and an appeal may be had from any final decisions or judgments of the said mayor of said corporation to the court of common pleas of the county of Huron, in the same manner as from that of a justice of the peace. Sec. 8. That it shall be the duty of the recorder to make and keep an accurate record of all the laws and ordinances made and ordained by the town council of said town, and of all proceedings in their corporate capacity; which record shall be open at all times to the inspection of the electors of said town; and the mayor, and, in his absence, the recorder, shall preside at all meetings of the corporation and of the town council. Sec. 9. That all process issued by the mayor shall be delivered to the marshal, and in the service and execution thereof, the marshal shall have the same power as is, or may be, given to constables, and shall be entitled to receive the same fees as are, or may be, allowed to constables for similar services; and his jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases shall be co-extensive with the county of Huron. Sec. 10. That the town council shall have power to assess, for corporation purposes, an annual tax on all property in said town made subject to taxation by the laws of the State, for State and county purposes, not exceeding, in any one year, one per centum on the value thereof; which value shall be ascertained by an assessor, to be appointed by the town council for that purpose, a duplicate of which shall be made out and signed by the recorder, and delivered to the collector; they shall have the power of equalizing any injudicious assessment thus made, on complaint of the person or persons aggrieved. Sec. 11. That the town marshal shall be collector of any tax assessed; and he is hereby authorized and required, by distress and sale of property as constables on executions, to collect and pay over said tax to the treasurer within three months of the time of receiving the duplicate thereof, and the treasurer's receipt shall be his voucher; the town marshal shall make personal demand of every resident charged with tax, and shall give ten days' notice, by advertisement in two of the most public places in said corporation, of any tax; and if the tax on any lot, or part of a lot, on which no personal property can be found, shall remain unpaid three months after the expiration of the time by this act allowed the collector for the collection of the tax, then the said town marshal shall give notice, by written or printed handbills, stating the amount of such tax, and the number of lot on which it is due, and that the same will be sold to discharge such tax, unless the payment thereof be made within three months from the date of such adver tisement; and if such tax be not paid within that time, the town marshal, after giving thirty days' notice of the time and place of sale, at three of the most public places in said town, shall proceed to sell at public auction such lot or parcel of lot as will discharge said tax: Provided, That if the owner or owners of said lots, who shall appear at any time within two years after such sale, and pay the purchase money, with interest, and ten per centum penalty thereon, shall be entitled to the right of redemption: And provided, also, That nothing in this section shall affect the rights of others, in law or equity, to the benefit of the right of redemption when they shall arrive at full age. Sec. 12. That said corporation shall be allowed the use of the county jail of said county, for the confinement of such persons as may be liable to imprisonment under the laws and ordinances of said corporation, and also for the confinement of such persons as may be arrested or be in custody, either in civil or criminal cases; and all persons so imprisoned shall be under the charge of the sheriff of said county, as in other cases. Sec. 13. That any future Legislature may alter or amend this act. C. ANTHONY, Speaker of the House of Representatives. GEORGE J. SMITH, Speaker of the Senate. March 16, 1838. |