Agenda 02/28/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 26, 2006 WHEREAS, House Bill 861 provides for legislation requiring the City of Martinsville to conduct a binding referendum upon the issue of proposed reversion by the City of Martinsville, to be approved by a majority of "those qualified to vote," and WHEREAS, House Bill 1497 provides for legislation requiring Henry County to conduct a referendum, binding upon the City of Martinsville, upon the issue of proposed reversion by the City of Martinsville, to be approved by a majority of "those qualified to vote," and WHEREAS, both House Bill 861 and House Bill 1497 are special legislation introduced in response to Martinsville's current consideration of the issue of reversion, the underlying factors of which are subject to change with the passage of time, and WHEREAS, nowhere else in the sections of the Code of Virginia calling for various referenda does there appear a requirement for approval by a majority of those qualified to vote, but rather a majority of those actually voting, and WHEREAS, the cities of Virginia should be treated equally in the requirements established by the Commonwealth for altering their form of government, unless an individual city itself undertakes to establish additional requirements, including referendum, for that city alone, and WHEREAS, the citizens of Martinsville should have a voice in the form of their local government and its organization, particularly the ultimate form Martinsville assumes as a political subdivision within the Commonwealth of Virginia, in accordance with the principles of self- determination upon which this Commonwealth and the United States were founded, and WHEREAS, those persons voting to determine their form of government should be only those citizens who shall live under that form of government, and WHEREAS, the form of government for Martinsville should therefore be decided solely by those living in Martinsville, and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Martinsville believes the issue of the reversion of the city to a town should be submitted to the voters of Martinsville to determine public opinion upon the issue and the Council shall seek appropriate enabling legislation to effect its ability to conduct such a referendum and to determine the timing and manner of such referendum, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia that the General Assembly be requested to reject absolutely both House Bill 861 and House Bill 1497 in their entirety. Mayor Cobbe recognized former Mayor L. D. Oakes, who stated his support of a Resolution asking that both Bills be killed, that the city will request a referendum if it decides to move ahead with the reversion process