Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-01-03
CHARTER CHANGES GO
TO COUNCIL TONIGHT
Members Are Fully Familiar With
What Is Proposed and May
Act mt Once.
LITTLE REASON FOR DELAY
General Assembly Meets One Week
From Wednesday, and Delegates
Regard Ii rs Desirable to Intro.
duce Bill as Soon as Possible.

With one of the lightest dockets
III months 70 engage its attention, the
Common Council may tonight begin
the consideration OF the charter change
ordinance which will be officially re-
ported 10 il from the special commit
tee. The ordinance has been in the
hands of the Ccuncilmen III printed
form for several days
Whether the ordinance will be taken
UP or laid on the table for n special
meeting. depends first on the dispatch
with which the body will dispose of
the few measures that are on the rcEu-
lar docket, and the personal DISPOSE
non OF the members. y measure of
this Importance has seldom in the past
escaped n motion to lay on the table
FOR special meeting. Notwithstanding
the usual experience that such special
meeting diSposcs of the matter with
little or no debate.
In the case of the chartcr-change
ordinance the usual argument in favor
OF special meeting. namely. that the
members are unfamiliar with the pro-
visions of the ordinance and should
have time to give them study, will have
little TO support IT, The printed ordi-
CouncilmcD since Thursday o. Friday,
and the holiday leisure has given every
member full opportunity of familiar
!zinE himself with the details.
ORDINANCE HAS BEEN
WIDELY DISCUSSED
Furthermore. every change proposed
hy the ordinance has been widely pub
iished and repubished and complete
summaries of the proposed reforms
have been printed in The Times Dis
patch. There is hardly change rec
commended by the committee that has
not been fully discussed in City Hall
lobbies. with the result that every
- ff1ll not, TIT,
Us proposed.
The fact that the General Assembly
conrenes one week fro I? next Wednes-
day renders 1t advisable to dispose Of
tAe charter-chanEe ordinance this
week In order that IL may be intro
duced in the form of a bill during the
FIRST few days of the legislative ses-
sion. II special meeting OF the Coun.
81! is determined upon--and the out
look now is that this course " i'll prob
ably be followed-the danger Of delay
ing the introduction of the bill will be
increased.
Among the measures of more than
ordinary interest the Councils
docket tonight. is the ordinance which
proposes to reduce the maximum fine
for speeding. In the case OF first Of
lenses, from 500 to s25 Second Of
lenses are made punishable Is a fine
OF $50. and for the third onensc, the
drivers license is revoked The ordi-
nance was held up by the Common
Council at its last meeting. when sew
cral of the members expressed the fear
that II was defective. The CITY At
torney has since filed an opinion In
which he holds that the ordinance is
In proper shape and, IL passed, can be
enforced.
WILL. RETAIN SUPERNNSJATED
EMPLOYEES on PAY ROLL
Another ordinance on the docket
authorizes the Administrative Board
10 retain on the pay roll employees who
have become superan iuatcd or disabled
In the city's service. The amount of
pay such employees are to receive rs
we'll as the character of the work that
they shall be required to perform are
10 be governed by rules to be framed
by the board.
From the Public Utilities Committee.
the Council will have an ordinance.
recommended by the committee for
passage. extending 10 A. L. Mcclellan
the privilege Of tapping the city's
water main to Richmond College. for
the purpose of supplying with city
water a suburban DEVELOPMENT called
sharon" tract located between Pat
terson Avenue and the Cary Street
Road. east OF the Three Chopt Road,
comprising about Ninety acres