1897. Town scrip receivable for taxes. Repeal. gations of said town shall continue unimpaired. And the scrip issued by the present town government shall be receivable for taxes and redeemed by the town created hereby. SEC. 52. That the municipal corporation of the town of Milton, in the county of Santa Rosa, except so far as is consistent with this act, is hereby abolished, and all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act so far as they effect the town of Milton, are hereby repealed. SEC. 53. That this act shall take effect from its approval by the Governor. Approved June 2, 1897. Creation of corporation. Boundary of corporate limits. Powers granted municipality. Corporate authority, who vested in. First election of officers CHAPTER 4657.—[No. 143.] AN ACT to Incorporate the Town of Williston, in the County of Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: SECTION 1. That a municipal corporation is hereby created in the county of Levy under corporate name of the town of Williston, and that the corporate bounds or limits thereof shall comprise the following described territory, to wit: The south half of section thirty-one (31) in township twelve (12) south of range nineteen (19) east; also the north half of section six (6) in township thirteen (13) south of range nineteen (19) east. SEC. 2. That said municipality is hereby granted all the powers given to such corporations under the general laws of this State; also the power to fix a valuation upon the property within its limits, both real and personal, for the purpose of taxation independent of such valuation as fixed by the State. That all moneys collected under the provisions of Section two (2) of this act shall be applied to the defraying the expenses of the town government. SEC. 3. That the corporate authority of said town shall be vested in a Mayor, Clerk, Marshal, Treasurer, an Assessor and Collector of Taxes, and a Town Council consisting of five members, together with such other officers as may from time to time be provided for, either by law or by the ordi dances of said town. SEC. 4. That the first election for municipal officers under this act shall be held on the first Tuesday in July, A. D. 1897, and said election shall be held thereafter on the first Monday 1897. Inspectors and Election. Registration in July of each and every year, and at the first election afore officers. SEC. 5. That the term of office of all city officers, except Term of city members of the Town Council, shall be one year from the 'date of their election, or until their successors are elected and qualified; but the term of office of the Town Council shall be two years from the date of their election. The Town Council Compensation shall fix the salary or compensation of all town officers of of town officers. said town; Provided, That said councilmen shall themselves receive no pay, and no councilman shall be eligible to any Proviso. other town office during the time he is such councilman. SEC. 6. That the powers and duties of all the officers of said town shall be the same of those prescribed by the Constitution and Laws of Florida for the officers of municipalities, and the several officers of said town of Williston are hereby vested with all such powers and duties. SEC. 7. That the council of said town shall provide by ordinance the mode of conducting all town elections, for the proper registration of voters and for the certifying of the returns of any election held in said town; Provided, That every person shall be entitled to register who will be entitled to vote by virtue of length of residence at the time of the next election, and that the non-payment of poll tax shall not disqualify persons from voting at said town election. SEC. 8. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after the time of its approval by the Governor. Approved June 2, 1897. Powers and officers. duties of town Mode of con ducting town election. Proviso. 1897. Charter abolished. Limits of corporation. Powers. Town officers. Proviso. CHAPTER 4658.-[No. 144.] AN ACT to Abolish the Present Corporation of the Town of Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: SECTION 1. That the existing charter of the town of Clear Water Harbor, in the county of Hillsborough and State of Florida, be and the same is hereby abolished. SEC. 2. That all the inhabitants comprehended within the following limits, that is to say, all of fractional sections 9 and 16 and the west one-fourth of sections 10 and 15 all in township No. 29 south of range 15 east, shall be and they are hereby constituted a body corporate and politic, under and by the name of the town of Clear Water, and by that name may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, and may purchase and hold real estate, personal and mixed property, and dispose of the same for the benefit of the said town, and may do all other acts for that purpose, as material persons. SEC. 3. That the government of the said town shall be vested in a Mayor and seven councilmen, to be called the Town Council of Clear Water, who shall be legal voters of the Term of Mayor. said town; that the term of office of the Mayor shall be for one year, and the councilmen for two years; Provided, That at the first meeting of the councilmen elected under this charter they shall divide themselves by lot so that three of them shall hold office for one year, and four of them shall hold office for two years; and at every annual election thereafter successors of the retiring councilmen shall be elected. No councilman shall be eligible to any other town office during the time that he is a councilman. Time first election to be held for Mayor and Councilmen. Term of officers. Election of other town officers, and term of office. SEC. 4. That the first election for Mayor and councilmen under this charter shall be held in the same manner as elections are now held in the said town of Clear Water, on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in January, A. D. 1898, and on the second Tuesday in January of every year thereafter; and the officers so elected shall hold their office until their successors are elected and qualified. SEC. 5. That at the same time and place there shall be elected a Marshal, City Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Assessor and Tax Collector; that the term of office of Marshal and Tax Collector shall be for one year, and the term of office of Clerk, Tax Assessor and Treasurer shall be for two years, but all of whom shall be subject to removal from office by a two-thirds 1897. vote of the council upon charges preferred for incompetency or non-performance of their respective duties, or malfeasance Removal of in office, at the hearing and determination of which charges officer. they shall have the right to appear in person, or by counsel. The said officers shall receive such compensation for their services, and give such bond for the faithful discharge of their respective duties as the said Town Couucil shall prescribe; Provided, That one person may be elected to fill the office of Marshal and Tax Collector; And provided further, That one person may be elected to fill the office of Clerk and Tax Assessor. SEC. 6. That the said Town Council shall have power to make, ordain, establish and execute for the government of said town such ordinances in writing, and such by-laws, not inconsistent with the Constitution or laws of the State of Florida or the United States, as they may deem necessary; Provided, A majority of the council shall assent thereto; to define, prevent or abate nuisances; to restrain and punish gambling and other disorderly conduct; to prevent the running at large of cattle, horses, dogs, sheep and goats in the streets of the town, or in the town limits; to regulate the speed at which horses may be ridden or driven through the streets; to regulate the speed at which street or other railways shall run in the town limits; to license public shows, restaurants, hotels, saloons, billiard or pool tables, bowling alleys, hawkers and pedlers, or any other legitimate business within the town; to establish and regulate markets and the assize of bread; to have exclusive charge and control of public buildings when erected; to provide for the establishment of waterworks, electric or other lights; to keep open and repair streets, alleys, commons, parks, groves and grounds, and to close the same when necessary; to prescribe and maintain a system of drainage and sewerage; to construct and keep in repair sidewalks and paving, requiring owners of adjacent property to pay such proportion of expenses of such drainage, sewerage, sidewalks and paving as may be provided by ordinance; to license wharves and landing places, and fix and establish a uniform system of wharfage; to establish quarantine and health regulations for the town; to establish and regulate a town watch and police, and organize and provide a fire department, and to regulate the same so as to protect the town from fire; to license drays and fix the numbers thereof and the rate of drayage; to establish a hospital, and in conjunction with the Board of County Commissioners to establish rules and regulations respecting the poor, indigent, infirm and insane, and provide for their support, and fix the conditions upon which such persons coming into said town shall be allowed to remain; to provide for Proviso. General powers of Town Council. Ibid. 1897. Power to issue bonds, etc. Right to hold and own property, etc. and punish all persons who may at any time disturb the peace of the town or violate any of its ordinances or any of the rules and regulations of the County or State Board of Health; to fix and and regulate from time to time the salaries of the officers and employes of the town; to do and regulate any. other matter or thing that may tend to promote the peace, health, welfare, prosperity and morals of the town, and for carrying into effect the aforesaid powers. The Town Council. shall have the right to impose penalties for breach of its ordinances by fine and imprisonment in the town jail, and enforce the same by attachment summarily against the person and property of the delinquent, if the same can be found; Provided, That the penalty enforced shall in no case exceed imprisonment for ninety days, or fine for two hundred dollars, and in addition to the powers herein before enumerated, the Town Council shall have all the powers and perform all the duties imposed upon them by the Laws of Florida now in force, or which may be hereafter enacted providing for the government of cities and towns not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, and the Mayor, Marshal, Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Assessor, Tax Collector and other officers of the town, shall have all the powers, perform all the duties conferred and iшposed upon them by such general laws. The Town Council shall have the power to fix and establish a fire limit in said town, and to prescribe rules and regulations for the erection and repair of buildings in said fire limit. SEC. 7. The Town Council shall have the power to negotiate loans and issue bonds therefor, with the approval: of a majority of the registered voters of the said town who own real estate therein and have paid their taxes for the year last due thereon and actually voting; to issue bonds bearing. such rate of interest as may be deemed best by the council, not exceeding the legal rate of interest of this State, whenever it may be necessary for the purpose of building or repairing the public works of the town, the widening and extension of streets or parks, payment of existing indebtedness of the town or any other municipal purpose, provided said bonded indebtedness shall never exceed ten per cent. of the assessed valuation of the real and personal property within the limits of said town. SEC. 8. The town of Clear Water shall have the right to own and hold property, both real, personal and mixed outside the limits of the said town to be used for the purpose of the burial of the dead, the erection of waterworks, for the establishment of a poor house, public parks and promenades, and for any other public purpose that the Town Council may deem necessary, and may sell or otherwise dispose of such |