Chapter 8, Chapter 8

The purpose of this chapter is to effect a recodification of the basic municipal law of this state and of various statutory provisions relating to certain intergovernmental relations involving municipalities, counties and other units of government, to provide as much uniformity a…

(a) For the purpose of this chapter: (1) “Municipality” is a word of art and shall mean and include any Class I, Class II, and Class III city, and any Class IV town or village, heretofore or hereafter incorporated as a municipal corporation under the laws of this state; (2) “City…

Pursuant to the mandate of the "Municipal Home Rule Amendment" to the Constitution of this state, all municipal corporations are hereby classified by population into four classes, as follows: (1) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of fifty thousand shall be a…

For any purpose pertinent to the provisions of this chapter, population shall be determined by reference to the last preceding census taken under the authority of the United States or of the Legislature of West Virginia or by the municipality pursuant to an ordinance adopted ther…

The corporate being of every municipality now existing is hereby confirmed and validated. Except as otherwise provided in section six of this article, any municipality shall have all of the powers, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred by law upon a municipality of the…

(a) — The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) The initial Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program brought innovative results, including novel municipal ideas that became municipal ordinances which later resulted in new statewide statutes; (2) The initial Municipal Home Rule Pilot …

In furtherance of the purpose of this chapter as set forth in section one of this article, each municipality is subject to the provisions contained in this chapter and may exercise the power and authority conferred by this chapter. In this regard, it is recognized that when the p…

(a) The enumeration of powers and authority granted in this chapter shall not operate to exclude the exercise of other powers and authority fairly incidental thereto or reasonably implied and within the purposes of this chapter or in accordance with the provisions of the Municipa…

Any reference in this chapter to another provision of this code and any reference elsewhere in this code or other law to a provision in this chapter shall be construed to mean the present provision or such provision as the same may be hereafter amended from time to time. Where ad…

(a) Whenever a governing body for a municipality, or any of a municipality’s boards, committees, or any other entities of any kind or nature authorized in this chapter, obtains information that an employee, officer, or member of the municipality, or any of a municipality’s boards…

(a) Any part of a county or counties may be incorporated as a city, depending upon the population, either as a Class I, Class II or Class III city, or as a Class IV town or village, as classified in section three, article one of this chapter if the area proposed for incorporation…

A proceeding to incorporate any such city, town or village shall be initiated upon petition addressed to and filed with the county court of the county in which the territory is located, or if in more than one county in which the major portion of the territory is located, indicati…

Upon the filing of such petition, the county court shall set the same for hearing not sooner than ten days and not later than thirty days thereafter, and the petitioners shall cause notice of the filing of said petition and of the date, time and place of hearing thereon to be pub…

If the court shall determine after hearing that the requirements of sections one and two of this article have been met, the petitioners shall provide bond in penalty prescribed by the court, with good and sufficient surety thereon, conditioned to pay all costs of taking a census,…

Upon receiving such a report from said enumerators, the county commission shall forthwith fix a date for a special incorporation election, to be held concurrently with the next regularly scheduled primary or general election if there are more than 90 days preceding such election,…

Class I, II, or III city (a) On the date named in the notice for the taking of the vote, each qualified elector of the territory sought to be incorporated as a Class I, II, or III city, may cast his or her vote for or against such incorporation at the precinct in which he or she …

(a) Class I, II, or III city. -- If the proceeding be for the incorporation of a city, and it appears to the county commission, upon the returns being canvassed, that a majority of the legal votes cast on the question of incorporation were in favor of the incorporation and the co…

A writ of error shall lie to the circuit court in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-eight of this code from any order of a county court determining that the requirements of sections one and two of this article have been met and ordering a census or en…

In the absence of any charter or official declaration to the contrary, a Class IV town or village shall be the mayor-council form of government, as set out in section two, article three of this chapter. The Class IV town or village form of government may be changed pursuant to th…

At every election on the question of incorporation of a city, under article two of this chapter, each qualified voter entitled to vote shall also be entitled to vote for a charter board consisting of eleven members if it is to be a Class I or Class II city, and of seven members i…

The first governing body of any municipality incorporated under the provisions of article two of this chapter shall provide for reimbursement to the county court of all costs of incorporation, including, but not limited to, the cost of publishing notices, of taking the enumeratio…

(a) A Class IV town or village may change its form of government upon the submission of a petition containing the signatures of twenty-five percent of the qualified voters. (b) After receipt and verification of the petition, the question shall be submitted to the voters of the Cl…

If on the returns being canvassed on the question of incorporation of a city, such canvassing to be done by the county commission, a majority of the legal votes cast be in favor of such incorporation, then the legal votes cast for members of the charter board shall be counted and…

The draft of said charter shall, upon completion, be certified by the secretary of said charter board to the Attorney General of the state. It shall be his duty to examine the draft and advise whether it is consistent in all respects with the Constitution and general law of this …

When it shall have completed its draft of a charter, the charter board shall conduct a public hearing thereon. The county court shall cause notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing to be given by publication thereof at least ten days prior to the date set for th…

A charter board shall have thirty days after the conclusion of the hearing required by section four of this article or receipt of the certificate of the Attorney General required by section three of this article, whichever shall occur later, to make any changes it may consider ne…

The proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the incorporated territory for approval or rejection at a special election ordered by the county commission to be held concurrently with the next regularly scheduled primary or general election if there are more t…

If the proposed charter shall be approved by a majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon, the charter shall take effect on July 1, next after the date of the election, if the interim exceeds sixty days; otherwise on July 1 of the second fiscal year after its approv…

If the proposed charter shall be rejected by a majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon, the election of officers shall be void, except that the candidate who shall receive the highest number of legal votes cast for the office of mayor, if a mayor is to be elected…

The members of the charter board of a city elected under the provisions of this article whose draft of a charter is approved by the qualified voters of the city shall hold office for a term of six years following the approval of such charter. Any vacancy occurring during that per…

(a) The governing body of a city may provide by ordinance for the submission to the qualified voters of the city at a general election or at a regular municipal election, or at a special municipal election if the governing body by the affirmative vote of two thirds of its members…

The governing body of a city shall canvass the returns within relatively the same time with reference to an election held under the provisions of this article and in the same manner as county commissions are required to do with respect to general elections, and shall declare the …

In any special election upon the question of the approval or rejection of a proposed charter to be held under the provisions of article three of this chapter and in any special municipal election to be held under the provisions of this article four, the proponents and opponents o…

The governing body of a city shall make full provision for all expenses incurred in advertising, holding and conducting any election or voting under the provisions of this article and all other proper expenses incurred in complying with the provisions of this article, including t…

The ordinance providing for submission to the qualified voters of the city of the question of whether a charter shall be framed shall make provision for voting for a charter board concurrently with the voting on the question of whether a charter shall be framed. A charter board s…

All of the pertinent provisions of article three of this chapter pertaining to the charter drafting and adoption process for a newly incorporated city shall be as fully applicable to proceedings under this article four as if such provisions were set forth in extensor herein, exce…

The proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the city in like fashion and with like notice as provided for a proposed charter of a newly incorporated city as set forth in article three of this chapter, except that the proposed charter shall be submitted at t…

If the proposed charter shall be approved by a majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon, the charter shall take effect on July 1 next after the date of the election. If approved as aforesaid, one of the signed copies of the charter on file with the recorder of the…

A new charter shall entirely supersede the prior charter of a city. All ordinances and administrative acts or rules theretofore adopted by the governing body or administrative agencies of a city which are in conflict with or are inconsistent with a new charter shall continue in f…

A special legislative charter or a charter framed and adopted or revised as a whole under the provisions of former §8A-1-1 et seq., §8-3-1 et seq., or §8-4-1 et seq. of this code, as the case may be, may be revised as a whole in like manner as a charter may be framed and adopted …

Whenever the governing body of any city shall deem it expedient to amend the charter of any such city (whether such charter be a special legislative charter or a charter framed and adopted or revised as a whole under the provisions of former §8A-1-1 et seq. of this code, under §8…

A charter revision as a whole or a charter amendment or amendments may be proposed with alternative provisions for submission to the qualified voters and the same may be voted upon separately without prejudice to the primary question of whether the proposed charter revision as a …

The first election of officers of a city shall be held, conducted, superintended, returned, certified and canvassed in such manner as is provided in article three of this chapter for the first charter election of such city. All officers elected at such first charter election, whi…

Unless otherwise provided by charter provision or ordinance, when a vacancy shall occur from any cause in any municipal elective office, the vacancy, until the next succeeding regular municipal election and until the qualification of an elected successor, shall be filled by appoi…

Subject to the provisions of the Constitution of this state, the provisions of this article, and other applicable provisions of this chapter, any city may by charter provision, and the governing body of any municipality, consistent with the provisions of its charter, if any, may …

(a) Notwithstanding any charter provision to the contrary, the governing body of every municipality shall by ordinance fix or cause to be fixed the salary or compensation of every municipal officer and employee: Provided, That the salary of any officer shall not be increased or d…

Any municipal officer or employee may, or may not, in the discretion of the city manager, mayor or the governing body, be furnished with the use of publicly provided carriage to travel from his residence to his workplace and return: Provided, That such usage is subject to the sup…

Notwithstanding any charter provision to the contrary, it is the duty of each city by charter provision or each municipality by ordinance to make provision for integrating the conduct of all municipal elections with the system of "permanent registration of voters" as provided in …

Except as otherwise provided by charter provision or ordinance or this code, municipal executive committees shall exercise similar functions and be governed by the same laws in regard to municipal primary elections and regular municipal elections as county executive committees in…

Whenever two or more individuals shall receive an equal number of legal votes for the same office, if such number be the highest cast for such office, the individuals under whose supervision the election is held shall decide by lot which of them shall be returned as elected, and …