Springfield's First City Charter
From Directory of the City of Springfield
John W. Kees & Co., Springfield. 1852
Sec. 19. That the City Council shall organize and establish all such fire companies, and provide them with proper engines and other apparatus that shall be necessary to extingusih fires and preserve the property of the inhabitants of said city from conflagration; and they shall provide such by-laws and regulations for the government of the same, as they shall think fit and expedient; and for the purpose of more effectually securing said city from the ravages of fire, the said City Council shall have power and authority, on the application of three-fourths of the whole number of owners and proprietors of any square or fractional block in said city, to prohibit, in the most effectual manner, the erection of any building, or the addition to any building previously erected, of a height greater than ten feet in any such square, unelss the outer walls thereof shall be entirely composed of brick or stone laid in mortar, and to provide for the prompt removal of any building or addition as aforesaid which may be erected contrary to the true intent and meaning of this section.
Sec. 20. That said City Council shall have power to compel the proprietors of lots in said city to curb and gravel or pave with brick or stone the sidewalks in front of the same, as the said City Council may direct; and whenever the said City Council shall receive a written notification signed by the proprietors of more than one-half of the ground fronting upon any street or alley along any block or square in said city, setting forth their willingness to curb, grade and pave the gutters in front of such block or square, or to grade and pave the alley in the rear of such block or square, the said City Council may order and direct the gutter or gutters as aforesaid to be curbed, graded and paved, and the alley or alleys in the rear of said block or square to be graded and paved, and shall assess the expense of the same upon the lot or lots fronting upon such gutter or gutters in proportion to the respective number of feet which each lot shall front upon such gutter or gutters, and shall place such assessment in the hands of the Marshal of the city, who shall proceed to collect the same by sale of those lots on which such assessment shall not be paid, in the same manner and under the same regulations as are prescribed in the sixteenth section of this act.
Sec. 21. That the said City Council, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, shall be authorized to borrow money for the prosecution of the improvements of the city, at an annual interest of not more than seven per centum; provided, that the amount so borrowed, together with all of the other debts and liabilities of said city, shall not make the whole debt of the said city more than ten thousand dollars in the aggregate.
Sec. 22. That said City Council shall have exclusive and full power and authority to license tavern keepers within said city, and to regulate the same by ordinance; provided, that in no case shall any tavern keeper be licensed to retail any spirituous or intoxicating liquor; and said City Council shall have full power and authority to prohibit the sale of ardent spirits, vinous and fermented liquors, by a less quantity than one quart, or to be drank at the place where sold within said city, and to fix the fines, forfeitures and penalties for violating said ordinance as may be passed. That said City Council shall also have the power to license and regulate all auctioneers, draymen, cartmen and hackmen within said city; provided, the amount received for auction license be paid into the county treasury of Clark county for use of the State, as is now provided for by law.
Sec. 23. That the said City Council, to defray the current expenses of said city, shall have power to levy and collect taxes on the real and personal property within the said city which shall be liable to taxation for State and county purposes, as the same shall be assessed, appraised and returned upon the grand levy of the State; provided, that such city tax so levied shall not exceed one-half of the per centum upon the assessed valuation of such property, returned as aforesaid; which said city tax shall be levied and collected in the manner following, to wit: the said City Council shall, on or before the first Monday in May in each year, determine the per centum to be levied upon the said taxable property within said city, for city purposes, not exceeding one-half of one per centum as aforesaid, and cause the same to be certified to the auditor for the county of Clark, and the said auditor is hereby authorized and directed to place the same in additional columns upon the duplicate of taxes of said county, in the manner in which township taxes are now placed upon said duplicate; which city taxes shall be collected by the county treasurer of the said county, and paid into the city treasury in the same manner, with the same power and restrictions and under the same regulations in all respects as to the sale of real or personal property therefor as may be provided and required by law for the collection of State and county taxes; and the said county auditor shall be entitled to receive from said city the sum of twenty dollars annually, for the services performed by him under this section, and the said county treasurer shall be entitled to receive reasonable fees on all moneys collected by him and paid into the city treasury of the city taxes as aforesaid, as may be allowed by the City Council. The said City Council shall also have the power to levy a tax upon all dogs within the said city, whenever they may think proper, and to have the same collected by the City Marshal or a special collector, under such regulations and provisions as they may prescribe by ordinance.
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