Counties of Greensville and Sussex
Incorporated by Order of the Circuit Court of Sussex County, June 20, 1938 (Common Law Order Book 10, p 339)
This day came J. H. Batte, R.E. Jarratt, T.F. Jarratt, W.B. Owen, Susie F. Jarratt, Elvira Miller, J,H, Velvin, T.W. Parson, O.O. Reaman, J. M. Browder, T.E. Reese, C.C. Ivey, H.D. Harrup, Mrs W.E. Lemon, C.P. Brown, H.L. Wheeler, J.D. Brown, W.A. Grigg, Mrs. B.K. Spiers, J.F. Batte, M.E. Brown, W.T. Harrison, Kathleen S. Harrison, R.L. Burrus and H.F. Hamilton, Jr., and presented, in open Coirth their petition, praying for the incorporation of the unincorporated Town, or thickly settled community of Jarratt, which is situated partly in the County of Sussex, Virginia and partly in the County of Greensville, Virginia, by and under the name of the Town of Jarratt, as provided by, and under and in pursuance of, Section 2881 of Michie's Virginia Code of 1936; praying that the metes and bounds of said town he designated and declared to be a body politic and corporate, and vested with all the powers, priviledges and duties conferred upon and appertaining to towns under the general law of the State of Virginia, and for general relief.
And, it appearing to the Court from an inspection of said peition, that the same is signed by more than twenty (20) qualified voters of the said unincorporated town, or thickly settled community, who reside within the limits of the said proposed incorporated town, as described by the said metes and bounds, as set out in said petition, and hereinafter again set forth, and it being legally shown to the Court, by proof satisfactory to the Court, that the said peition, with like oticed attached, has been posted at the front door of the Court House of the saud County of Sussex for four weeks; the said County of Sussex, Virginia, being in the County in which the greater part of said proposed incorporated town is situated;
And it being made further to appear to the Court, by proof satisfactory to the Court, and the Court being satisfied that it will be to the interest of the inhabitants of said proposed Town; that the prayer of the said petition is reasonable; that the general good of the community will be promoted; that the number of the inhabitants of the said town exceeds two hundred and does not exceed five thousand (5000), and that the area of land designed to be embraced within the town in (is) not excessive, the Court doth order and decree and here enter upon the law order book of said Court;
First: That the unincorporated Town of Jarratt, situated in the Counties of Sussex and Greensville Virginia, be the same is hereby, incorporated by and in pursuance of Sectoin 2881 of Michie's Virginia Code of 1936.
The General Assembly has passed HB818 – New Freedom of Information Act requirements – effective date July 01, 2016
These requirements are for towns that have a population of more than 250.
The following must be in place on or prior to July 01, 2016:
A. Must make available the following information to the public upon request and shall post a link to such information on the homepage of the government website.
1. An explanation of the rights of the requester, the procedures to obtain the records, and the responsibilities of the public body in complying with the FOIA, in plain English. Plain English means written in nontechnical, readily understandable language using words of common everyday usage and avoiding legal terms and phrases.
2. Contact information for the FOIA officer designated by the public body pursuant to 2.2-3704 to (a) assist a requester in making a request for records or (b) respond to requests for public records.
3. A general description, summary, list or index of the records maintained by the public body
4. A general description, summary, list or index of any exemptions in law that permit or require such public records to be withheld from release
5. Any policy the public body has concerning the type of public records it routinely withholds from release as permitted by this chapter or other law; and
6. The following statement: “A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of 2.2-3702 of the Code of Virginia.”
B. The Freedom of Information Advisory Council, created pursuant to 30-178 shall assist in the development and implementation of the provisions of subsection A, upon request.
2.2-3704.2 – Public bodies to designate FOIA officer.
A. All public bodies shall designate and publicly identify a Freedom of Information Act officers (FOIA officer) whose responsibility is to serve as a point of contact for members of the public in requesting public records and to coordinate the public body’s compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
B. For local public bodies, the name and contact information of the public body’s FOIA officer to whom members of the public may direct requests for public records and who will oversee the public body’s compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be made available to the public upon request and be posted on the respective public body’s website at the time of designation and maintained thereafter on such website for the duration of the designation. This information can also be posted at the public body’s place of business, and included in its publications.
C. For the purpose of this section, local public bodies shall include constitutional officers.
D. Any such FOIA officer shall possess specific knowledge of the provisions of this chapter and be trained at least annually by legal counsel for the public body or the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council.