Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 125

FORMERLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 166

AS AMENDED BY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend Chapter 272, Volume 63, Laws of Delaware, as amended, by striking said Chapter in its entirety and replacing thereto as follows:

“CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF CAMDEN

INCORPORATION

Section 1. The inhabitants of the Town of Camden within the corporate limits as hereinafter defined in this Charter or as extended as hereinafter provided are hereby declared to be a body politic incorporated in law and equity and shall be able and capable to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended in all courts of judicature whatsoever by the corporation name of the Town of Camden.

TERRITORIAL LIMITS

Section 2. The present boundaries and limits of the Town of Camden are hereby established and declared as follows:

BEGINNING at a point formed by the intersection of the centerline of Camden-Wyoming Avenue (formerly Commerce Street), with the centerline of Caesar Rodney Avenue, said point being on the Easterly line of the limits of the Town of Wyoming and being distant thirty feet from the Southwest corner of the Caesar Rodney School District lands; thence running,

(1) leaving said Camden-Wyoming Avenue and running by and with said limits of the Town of Wyoming for the following six courses and by and with said centerline of Caesar Rodney Avenue in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 650 feet to a point on the centerline of Center Street; thence running,

(2) leaving said Caesar Rodney Avenue and running by and with said centerline of Center Street in a Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 800 feet to a point; thence running,

(3) in a Northeasterly direction for a distance of approximately 851 feet to a point on the centerline of Old North Road, said point being approximately 250 feet West of the intersection of the centerlines of Old North Road and Weeks Drive; thence running,

(4) in a Northwesterly direction, said course running parallel to and approximately 250 feet West of Weeks Drive for a distance of approximately 937 feet to a point in the center of Isaacs Branch; thence running,

(5) leaving said Town of Wyoming and continuing by and with said meanderings of the centerline of Isaac’s Branch in an Easterly direction to a point on the centerline of U.S. Route 13; thence running,

(6) leaving said Isaac’s Branch and running by and with said centerline of U.S. Route 13 in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 3429 feet to a point, thence running,

(7) in an Easterly direction crossing over U.S. Route 13 and running by and with the Northerly line of the lands, now or formerly, of Delaware Industrial Enterprises, Inc., as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds in Deed Book A, Volume 55, Page 210 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.12-01-01.00-000), for a distance of approximately 130 feet to a point on the Easterly line of said Delaware Industrial Enterprises, Inc., thence running,

(8) by and with said Easterly line of said lands of Delaware Industrial Enterprises, Inc., and running by and with the Easterly line of lands, now or formerly, of Harman Oil Co, Inc., recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds Deed Book 383, Page 338 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.12-01-03.00-000), and with the Easterly line of the lands, now or formerly, of Harman Brothers, LLC., recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds Deed Book A, Volume 24, Page 414 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.12-01-04.00-000), in a Southerly direction a distance of approximately 503 feet to a point on the Southerly right-of-way line of Camden-Wyoming Avenue, thence running,

(9) in an Easterly direction by and with said Southerly right-of-way line of Camden-Wyoming Avenue for a distance of approximately 540 feet to a point on the Easterly line of the lands, now or formerly, of The State of Delaware, as recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in Deed Book 45, Page 294 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.12-01-20.00-000), thence running,

(10) leaving said Camden-Wyoming Avenue and running by and with said Easterly line of The State of Delaware in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 172 feet to a point on the Northerly line of other lands, now or formerly, The State of Delaware, as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds Deed Book D Volume 45, Page 301 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.12-01-12.00-000), thence running,

(11) by and with said Northerly line of other lands of The State of Delaware in an Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 143 feet to a point on the existing Westerly right-of-way line of Cataldi Drive (30 feet wide), thence running,

(12) by and with said Westerly right-of-way line of 30 foot wide road and running by and with said lands of aforementioned State of Delaware in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 900 feet to a point on the Southeasterly line of the lands, now or formerly, The State of Delaware, as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds, Deed Book H, Volume 45, Page 45 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.12-01-16.00-000), thence running,

(13) by and with said Southeasterly line of lands of The State of Delaware in a Southwesterly direction for a distance of approximately 225 feet to a point on the Southerly line of said State of Delaware lands to a point, thence running,

(14) by and with said Southerly line of said lands of The State of Delaware in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 806 feet to a point on the centerline of U.S. Route 13, thence running,

(15) by and with said centerline of U.S. Route 13 in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 1635 feet to a point on the centerline of County Road #105, Voshells Mill Road; thence running,

(16) leaving said U. S. Route 13 and running by and with said centerline of Voshells Mill Road in a Northwesterly direction for a distance of approximately 2125 feet to a point on the centerline of U.S. Route 13-A, thence running,

(17) leaving said Voshells Mill Road and running by and with said centerline of U. S. Route 13-A in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 120 feet to a point, thence running,

(18) leaving said centerline and running across said U. S. Route 13-A and by and with the Southerly line of Lot 1 of the Subdivision of Briar Park, as recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in Plat Book 3, Page 121 (said Subdivision of Briar Park being used as reference of, but not included in, the boundary line of the Town of Camden), in an Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 200 feet to a point on the Westerly perimeter line of said subdivision plot of Briar Park, thence running,

(19) by and with said Westerly perimeter line of said Briar Park in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 1092 feet to a point on the Southerly perimeter line of said Subdivision of Briar Park, thence running,

(20) by and with said Southerly perimeter line of said Subdivision of Briar Park and with the Southerly line of lands, now or formerly, of Tidewater Utilities, Inc., as recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deed Book P Volume 45 Page 272 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-094.15-04-33.00-000) in an Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 2122 feet the Westerly right-of-way line of the aforementioned U.S. Route 13, thence running,

(22) leaving said lands of Tidewater Utilities Inc. and running by and with said Westerly right-of-way line of U. S. Route 13 in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 1790 feet to a point on the Southerly line of the lands, now or formerly, of EJ Electronics, Inc., as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds in Deed Book B, Volume 32, Page 38 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.00-01-27.00-000), thence running,

(23) by and with said southerly line of EJ Electronics, Inc., in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 165 feet to a point on the Westerly line of said EJ Electronics, Inc. lands, thence running,

(24) by and with said Westerly line of EJ Electronics, Inc., lands in a Northerly direction for a distance approximately 100 feet to a point on the Southerly perimeter line of the subdivision Camden Town Center as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds, Plat Book 61 Page 51, thence running,

(25) by and with said Southerly perimeter line of Camden Town Center and the Southerly perimeter line of Newells Branch Subdivision as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds, Plat Book 62 Page 83 and, the Southerly line of the lands, now or formerly, of Caesar Rodney School District as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds in Deed Book 102, Page 90 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.00-01-24.00-000), and the Southerly line of the lands, now or formerly, of Camden-Wyoming Sewer and Water Authority in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 2585 feet to a point on the Easterly right-of-way line of the aforementioned U.S. Route 13-A, thence running,

(26) leaving said Camden-Wyoming Sewer and Water Authority and running across said U.S. Route 13-A in a Westerly direction to a point of intersection of the Westerly right-of-way line of said U.S. Route 13-A and the Northerly line of Tamarac Subdivision as recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds, Plat Book 25, Page 87, thence running,

(27) by and with said Tamarac Subdivision and the Westerly right-of-way line of said U.S. Route 13-A in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 445 feet to a point on the Southerly line of Lot 1 of said Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(28) leaving said U.S. Route 13-A and running by and with said Southerly line of Lot 1 in a Westerly direction to the Easterly line of Lot 2 of the said Tamarac Subdivision for a distance of approximately 221 feet, thence running,

(29) leaving said Lot 1 and running by and with said Easterly line Lot 2, and with the Easterly line of Lot 3, Lot 4, Lot 5, Lot 6, Lot 7 and Lot 8 of the said Tamarac Subdivision in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 1011 feet to a point on the Southerly line of said Lot 8, thence running,

(30) by and with said Southerly line of Lot 8 and with the Southerly line of Lot 9 and Lot 10 of the said Tamarac Subdivision in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 427 feet to a point on the Easterly line of Lot 12 of said Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(31) leaving said Lot 10 and running by and with said Easterly line of Lot 12 and the Easterly line of Lot 13, Lot 14, Lot 15 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 621 feet to a point on the Southerly line of said Lot 15, thence running,

(32) by and with said Southerly line of Lot 15 in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 150 feet to a point on the Easterly right-of-way line of East Darby Circle of said Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(33) leaving said Lot 15 and running by and with said Easterly right-of-way line of East Darby Circle in a Southwesterly direction for a distance of approximately 239 feet to a point on the Easterly line of Lot 16 of said Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(34) leaving said East Darby Circle and running by and with said Lot 16 in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 211 feet to a point on the Southerly line of said Lot 16, thence running,

(35) by and with said Southerly line of Lot 16 and with the Southerly line of Lot 17 and Lot 18 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 573 feet to a point on the Westerly line of said Lot 18, thence running,

(36) by and with said Westerly line of Lot 18 and the Westerly line of Lot 19 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 350 feet to a point on the Westerly line of Lot 110 of the subdivision of Burwood Farms, Section 1, Revised, as recorded in the aforesaid Office of the Recorder of Deeds in Plat Book 18, Page 4, thence running,

(37) leaving said Lot 19 of Tamarac Subdivision and running by a with said Westerly line of Lot 110 of Burwood Farms in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 150 feet to a point on the Southerly right-of-way line of Inner Circle Road of said Burwood Farms, thence running,

(38) leaving said Lot 110 and running across said Inner Circle Road in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 50 feet to a point on the Southerly line of Lot 142 of said Burwood Farms, thence running,

(39) by and with said Southerly line of Lot 142 in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 115 feet to a point on the Westerly line of said Lot 142, thence running,

(40) by and with said Westerly line of said Lot 142 in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 144 feet to a point on the Southerly line of a Neighborhood Open Space of said Burwood Farms, thence running,

(41) leaving said Lot 142 and running by and with said Southerly line of a Neighborhood Open Space in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 311 feet to a point on the Westerly line of said Neighborhood Open Space, thence running,

(42) by and with said Westerly line of said Neighborhood Open Space in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 448 feet to a point on the Westerly line of Lot 150 of said Burwood Farms, thence running,

(43) leaving said Neighborhood Open Space and running by and with said Westerly line of Lot 150 in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 150 feet to a point on the Southerly right-of-way line of aforesaid Inner Circle Road, thence running,

(44) leaving said Lot 150 and running across said Inner Circle Road in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 50 feet to a point on the Westerly line of Lot 123 of said Burwood Farms, thence running,

(45) by and with said Westerly line of Lot 123 in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 154 feet to a point on the Southerly line of Lot 37 of the aforesaid Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(46) leaving said Lot 123 of said Burwood Farms and running by and with said Southerly line of Lot 37 and the Southerly line of Lot 38 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 188 feet to a point on the Easterly line of Lot 39 of said Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(47) leaving said Lot 38 and running by and with said Easterly line of Lot 39 and with the Easterly line of Lot 40, Lot 41, Lot 42, Lot 43 and Lot 44 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 843 feet to a point on the Northeasterly line of Lot 135 of the aforesaid Burwood Farms, thence running,

(48) leaving said Lot 44 of Tamarac Subdivision and running by and with said Northeasterly line of Lot 135 and with the Northeasterly line of Lot 136 of said Burwood Farms in a Southeasterly direction for a distance of approximately 350 feet to a point on the Northerly line of Lot 49 of said Tamarac Subdivision, thence running,

(49) leaving said Lot 136 of said Burwood Farms and running by and with said Northerly line of Lot 49 and with the Northerly line of Lot 50 and Lot 51 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 340 feet to a point on the Easterly line of said Lot 51, thence running,

(50) by and with said Easterly line of Lot 51 and with the Easterly line of Lot 52 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 350 feet to a point on the Southerly line of said Lot 52, thence running,

(51) by and with said Southerly line of Lot 52 and with the Southerly line of Lot 53, Lot 54, Lot 55, Lot 56, Lot 57 and Lot 58 of said Tamarac Subdivision in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 1118 feet to a point on the Easterly right-of-way line of Penn Central Railroad, thence running,

(52) leaving said Lot 58 of Tamarac Subdivision and running across said Penn Central Railroad in a Westerly direction to a point on the Easterly line of the lands, now or formerly, of The Oblate Apostles of the Two Hearts, Inc., as recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in Deed Book 405, Page 45 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-103.05-03-01.00-000), thence running,

(53) by and with said Easterly line of The Oblate Apostles of the Two Hearts, Inc in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 267 feet to a point on the Northerly right-of-way line of Bison Road, thence running,

(54) by and with said Northerly right-of-way line of said Bison Road in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 348 feet to a point at the centerline of Red House Branch, thence running,

(55) leaving said Bison Road and running by and with said centerline of Red House Branch in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 2192 feet to a point on the Northerly line of the aforesaid lands of The Oblate Apostles of the Two Hearts, Inc., thence running,

(56) by and with said line of the aforesaid lands of The Oblate Apostles of the Two Hearts, Inc., in an Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 1324 feet to a point on the aforesaid Westerly right-of-way line of Penn Central Railroad, thence running,

(57) by and with said Westerly right-of-way line of the Penn Central Railroad in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 1780 feet to a point of intersection with the Northerly right-of-way line of Willow Grove Road (Route 10), thence running,

(58) leaving said Penn Central Railroad and running by and with said Northerly right-of-way line of Willow Grove Road in a Southwesterly direction for a distance of approximately 181 feet to a point on the Southerly line of the lands of Savannah Farms, Inc., as recorded in the aforesaid Office of the Recorder of Deeds in Deed Book W, Volume 35, Page 246 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.00-01-21.00-000), thence running,

(59) by and with said Southerly line of Savannah Farms, Inc., in a Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 513 feet to a point on the Westerly line of said Savannah Farms, Inc., thence running,

(60) by and with said Westerly line of said Savannah Farms, Inc., in a Northerly direction for a distance approximately 2711 feet to a point on the Northerly line of said Savannah Farms, Inc., said point also being the Southerly line of the aforesaid town limits of the Town of Wyoming, thence running,

(61) by and with said town limits of the Town of Wyoming for the following three courses and with Northerly line of said Savannah Farms, Inc., in a Easterly direction for a distance approximately 1122 feet to a point on the Easterly right-of-way line of the aforesaid Penn Central Railroad, thence running,

(62) by and with said Easterly right-of-way line of said Penn Central Railroad in a Northerly direction for a distance approximately 1147 feet to a point on the Northerly line of the lands, now or formerly, of E & D Holdings, LLC., recorded at the Office of Recorder of Deeds, Deed Book 282, Page 212 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.00-01-17.00-000), thence running,

(63) by and with said Northerly line of E & D Holdings, LLC., and the Northerly line of lands, now or formerly, of Camden-Wyoming Little League, Inc., recorded at the Office of Recorded of Deeds, Deed Book 135, Page 263 (Tax Map ID# NM-02-094.00-01-17.01-000) in a Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 1105 feet to a point on the Easterly line of the said Camden-Wyoming Little League property, thence running,

(64) by and with said Easterly line of said Camden-Wyoming Little League lands in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 630 feet to a point on the Southerly line of said Camden-Wyoming Little League lands, thence running,

(65) by and with said Southerly line of said Camden-Wyoming Little League lands Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 630 feet to a point on the Easterly line of the aforesaid E&D Holdings, LLC., thence running,

(66) by and with said Easterly line of E & D Holdings, LLC., in a Southerly direction for a distance of approximately 484 feet to a point on the Easterly line of said E & D Holdings, LLC., thence running,

(67) by and with said Northerly line of E & D Holdings, LLC., in an Easterly direction for a distance of approximately 1044 feet to a point on the centerline of the aforesaid Route 10, thence running,

(68) by and with said centerline of Route 10 in a Northerly direction for a distance of approximately 3618 feet to the intersection of Camden-Wyoming Avenue and the point and place of beginning. Let the contains be what they may.

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 1.0 acre of ground heretofore conveyed to Sipple Used Car Co., by Deed of Record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book 131 Page 7 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-094.14-01-06.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 28,200 square feet of ground heretofore conveyed to William J. Sr. & Shirley M. Smith, by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book L, Volume 40 Page 324 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-094.14-01-05.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 0.889 acres of ground heretofore conveyed to Sipple Used Car Co., by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book 232, Page 315 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-094.14-01-03.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 15,400 square feet of ground heretofore conveyed to Andrew J. & Gabrielle W. Greenwood, by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book IS Volume 22, Page 326 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-094.14-01-02.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 9500 square feet of ground heretofore conveyed to Nathan W. Sipple, Jr., by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book B, Volume 47, Page 179 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-094.14-01-01.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 18,000 square feet of ground heretofore conveyed to Maurice L. & Teresa Faulkner, Jr., by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book W, Volume 44, Page 323 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-103.05-01-22.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 18,000 square feet of ground heretofore conveyed to Allison Marie Johnson., by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed 461, Page 28 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-103.05-01-23.00-000).

EXCEPTING therefrom, however, 18,000 square feet of ground heretofore conveyed to Rodney W. Moore., by Deed of record in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County in Deed Book 235, Page 206 (Tax Map ID# NM-00-103.05-01-24.00-000).

ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY

Section 3. In the event it becomes feasible and necessary in the future for the Town of Camden to enlarge its then existing limits and territory, such annexation accomplished pursuant to the following procedures shall be lawful:

(a) If all of the property owners of the territory contiguous to the then existing corporate limits and territory of the Town of Camden, by written Petition with the signature of each such Petitioner duly acknowledged, shall request the Town Council to annex that certain territory in which they own property, the Mayor of the Town of Camden shall appoint a Committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council to investigate the possibility of annexation. Territory which is otherwise contiguous except for its separation from the corporate limits and territory of the Town of Camden by public roadway, street, thoroughfare, easement or right-of-way shall be deemed contiguous for purposes of annexation under this Charter. The Petition presented to the Town Council shall include a description of the territory requested to be annexed and the reasons for the requested annexation. Not later than ninety (90) days following its appointment by the Mayor, as aforesaid, the Committee shall submit a written report containing its finding and conclusions to the Mayor and Town Council of Camden. The report so submitted shall include the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed annexation both to the Town of Camden and to the territory proposed to be annexed and shall contain the recommendation of the Committee whether or not to proceed with the proposed annexation and the reasons therefor. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is advantageous both to the Town and to the territory proposed to be annexed, the Town Council of Camden may then pass a second Resolution annexing such territory to the Town of Camden. Such Resolution shall be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the elected members of the Town Council. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is disadvantageous either to the Town or to the territory proposed to be annexed, the procedure to be following shall be the same as hereinafter provided as if the annexation were proposed by five (5) or more property owners but less than all the property owners of a territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of the Town of Camden.

(b) If five (5) or more property owners, but less than all of the property owners of a territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of the Town of Camden by written Petition with the signature of each such Petitioner duly acknowledged, shall request the Town Council to annex that certain territory in which they own property, the Mayor of the Town of Camden shall appoint a Committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council to investigate the possibility of annexation. The Petition presented to the Town Council shall include a description of the territory requested to be annexed and the reasons for the requested annexation; or the Town Council, by majority vote of the elected members thereof may, by resolution; propose that a committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council be appointed by the Mayor to investigate the possibility of annexing any certain territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of the Town of Camden.

(c) Not later than ninety (90) days following its appointment by the Mayor, as aforesaid, the Committee shall submit a written report containing its findings and conclusions to the Mayor and the Town Council of Camden. The report so submitted shall include the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed annexation both to the Town of Camden and to the territory proposed to be annexed and shall contain the recommendation of the Committee whether or not to proceed with the proposed annexation and the reasons therefor. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is advantageous both to the Town and to the territory proposed to be annexed, within thirty (30) days after receiving the report, a second Resolution shall then be passed by the Town Council proposed to the property owners and residents of both the Town of Camden and the territory proposed to be annexed that the Town proposes to annex certain territory contiguous to its then limits and territory. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is disadvantageous either to the Town or to the territory proposed to be annexed, within thirty (30) days after receiving the report of the Committee, the Resolution proposing annexation to the property owners and residents of both the Town and the territory proposed to be annexed shall be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the elected members of the Town Council. If the Resolution shall fail to receive the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the elected members of the Town Council, the territory proposed to be annexed shall not again be considered for annexation for a period of one (1) year from the date that the Resolution failed to receive the required affirmative vote. The second Resolution shall contain a description of the territory proposed to be annexed and shall fix a time and place for a public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. The Resolution adopted by the Town Council setting forth the above information shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Camden at least one (1) week prior to the date set for the public hearing, or, at the discretion of the Town Council, the said Resolution shall be posted in four (4) public places both in the Town of Camden and in the territory proposed to be annexed.

(d) Following the public hearing, but in no event later than thirty (30) days thereafter, a Resolution shall then be passed by a majority of the Town Council ordering a Special Election to be held not less than thirty (30) nor more than sixty (60) days after the said public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. Passage of this Resolution shall ipso facto be considered the determination of the Town Council to proceed with the matter of the proposed annexation.

(e) The notice of the time and place of the said Special Election shall be printed within thirty (30) days immediately proceeding the date of this Special Election in at least two (2) issues of a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Camden, or, in the discretion of the Town Council the said notice may be posted in public places, both in the Town of Camden and in the territory proposed to be annexed at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date set for the said Special Election.

(f) At the Special Election, every citizen of either the Town of Camden or of the territory proposed to be annexed over the age of eighteen (18) years shall have one (1) vote. Every owner of property within either the Town of Camden or in the territory proposed to be annexed who is not a citizen therein; whether an individual partnership or a corporation, shall have one (1) vote. In cases of jointly owned property the votes of the owners of shares therein shall be in accordance with their respective shares or, if all owners appear at the polls and so consent, all of the votes may be cast by the owner of any share. Life tenants shall have the entire vote as to the property so held and holders of remainder interest only shall have no vote by reason thereof. In no event shall any person be entitled to more than one (1) vote. Property owners whose property is exempt from taxation or is not assessed for taxation shall not be entitled to vote. The books and records of the Town of Camden in the case of property owners and citizens of the Town and the books and records of the Board of Assessment of Kent County, in the case of property owners and residents of the territory to be annexed, shall be conclusive evidence of the right of such property owners and citizens to vote at the Special Election.

(g) In the event that an individual holds a Power of Attorney duly executed and acknowledged specifically authorizing the said individual to vote at the said Special Election, a duly authenticated Power of Attorney shall be filed with the Town Council of the Town of Camden. Said Power of Attorney so filed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the right of said person to vote in the Special Election.

(h) The Town Council of the Town of Camden shall cause voting machines to be used in the Special Election, the form of ballot to be printed as follows:

For the proposed annexation ______

Against the proposed annexation ______

(i) The Mayor of the Town of Camden shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Elections, at least one (1) of whom shall own property in the Town of Camden and at least one (1) of whom shall own property in the property proposed to be annexed. One (1) of the said persons so appointed shall be designated the Presiding Officer. Voting shall be conducted in a public place as designated by the Resolution calling the Special Election. The Board of Special Elections shall have available, clearly marked, two (2) voting machines. All votes cast by those persons, partnerships or corporations authorized to vote as residents or property owners in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be accomplished on one such voting machine and all ballots cast by those persons, partnerships or corporation who are authorized to vote as residents or property owners of the Town of Camden shall be accomplished on the other such voting machine. The polling place shall be open from one o'clock in the afternoon, prevailing time, until six o'clock in the evening of the event, prevailing time, on the date set for the Special Election. All persons in the polling place at the time of the closing of the polls shall be permitted to vote, even though such votes are not cast until after the time for closing of the polls.

(j) Immediately upon the closing of the polling place, the Board of Special Election shall count the ballots for and against the proposed annexation and shall announce the result thereof. The Board of Special Election shall make a Certificate under their Hands of the votes cast for and against the proposed annexation and the number of void votes and shall deliver the same to the Town Council of the Town of Camden. Said Certificate shall be filed with the papers of the Town Council.

(k) In order for the territory proposed to be annexed to be considered annexed, a majority of the votes cast both from the Town of Camden, and from the territory proposed to be annexed must have been cast in favor of the proposed annexation. In the event that the Special Election results in an unfavorable vote for annexation, no part of the territory considered at the Special Election for annexation shall again be considered for annexation for a period of at least one (1) year from the date of the said Special Election. If a favorable vote for annexation shall have been cast, the Town Council of the Town of Camden shall cause a description and a plot of the territory so annexed to be recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, in and for Kent County, but in no event shall said recordation be completed more than ninety (90) days following the date of the said Special Election. The territory considered for annexation shall be considered to be a part of the Town of Camden from the time of recordation. The failure to record the description of the plot within the specified time shall not make the annexation invalid, but such annexation shall be deemed to be effective at the expiration of the ninety (90) day period from the date of the favorable Special Election.

(1) If the territory proposed to be annexed includes only territory which is exempt from taxation or which is not assessed on the books on the Board of Assessment of Kent County, no election shall be necessary and the Town Council of the Town of Camden may proceed to annex such territory by receiving a certified copy of a Resolution requesting such annexation, if such property is owned by a corporation, or by a written Petition with the signature of each such Petitioner duly acknowledged, if such property is owned by an individual, requesting the Town Council to annex that certain territory in which they own property. The certified copy of the Resolution or the Petition shall include a description of the territory requested to be annexed and the reasons for the requested annexation. Upon receipt of the certified copy of the Resolution or the Petition, the Mayor of the Town of Camden shall appoint a committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council to investigate the possibility of annexation. No later than ninety (90) days following its appointment by the Mayor, as aforesaid, the committee shall submit a written report containing its findings and conclusions to the Mayor and Town Council of Camden. The report so submitted shall include the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed annexation both to the Town of Camden and to the territory proposed to be annexed and shall contain the recommendation of the committee whether or not to proceed with the proposed annexation and the reasons therefor. In the event that the committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is advantageous both to the Town and to the territory proposed to be annexed, the Town Council of Camden may then pass a second Resolution annexing such territory to the Town of Camden. Such Resolution shall be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the elected members of the Town Council. In the event that the committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is disadvantageous either to the Town or to the territory proposed to be annexed, the Resolution shall be passed by three fourths (3/4) of all the elected members of the Town Council. If the Resolution fails to receive the required number of votes, no part of the territory proposed for annexation shall again be proposed for annexation for a period of one (1) year from the date that the Resolution failed to receive the required votes. If the Resolution receives the required number of votes, the Town Council of the Town of Camden shall cause a description and a plot of the territory so annexed to be recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County, and in no event shall such recordation be completed more than ninety (90) days following the passage of the Resolution. The territory considered for annexation shall be considered to be a part of the Town of Camden from the time of recordation. The failure of the Town Council to record the description and plot within the time hereinbefore specified shall not make the annexation invalid, but such annexation shall be deemed to be effective at the expiration of the ninety (90) day period from the date of the passage of the Resolution.

STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT

Section 4. The government of the Town and the exercise of all powers conferred by this Charter except as otherwise provided herein, shall be vested in a town council composed of a Mayor, whose term shall be for a period of two (2) years, and four Council members each of whose terms shall be for a period of three (3) years, commencing at the Annual Meeting of the Town Council following his or her election and continuing until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified. A member of Town Council must resign his or her Council seat if he or she files to run for the office of Mayor and the terms overlap.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MAYOR OR TOWN COUNCIL MEMBER

Section 5. The qualifications for Town Council member at the time of his or her election shall be as follows:

(a) A bona fide citizen of the United States and of the State of Delaware and a resident of the Town of Camden for at least one (1) year next preceding the Annual Municipal Election;

(b) At least eighteen (18) years of age;

(c) Be non-delinquent in his or her Town taxes; and

(d) Each of the qualifications for Town Council member shall be continuing qualifications to hold office and the failure of any of the Town Council members to have any of the qualifications required by this Section during his or her term of office shall create a vacancy in the office.

CANDIDACY FOR MAYOR OR TOWN COUNCIL

Section 6. Each candidate for Mayor or Town Council shall be nominated as follows:

(a) Each candidate shall notify the Town Council in writing of his or her candidacy for the office of Mayor or Town Council.

(b) All such notifications of candidacy shall be filed in person at the Town Hall during regular business hours, not earlier than the opening of business on the first Monday of December and prior to the close of business on the last Friday of January. Town Hall will be open until 8:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of January for candidates to file. All notifications of candidacy shall be publicly presented to the Town Council at the regularly scheduled meeting of Council in February of each year.

METHOD OF ELECTING CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR OR TOWN COUNCIL

Section 7. The procedure for holding the Annual Municipal Election shall be as follows:

(a) The Annual Municipal Election shall be held at a place designated by the Town Council within the corporate limits of the Town of Camden on the last Saturday in February of each and every year from twelve o'clock in the afternoon, prevailing time, until eight o'clock in the evening, prevailing time, the first said Annual Municipal Election to be held pursuant to this Charter to be held on the last Saturday in February, A.D. 1989.

(b) The present members of the Town Council shall by this Act be appointed to serve and shall continue to act as Council Members of said Town from and after the passage hereof until Council Members are duly elected; and that at the Annual Election held on the last Saturday in February, A.D. 1989, after the passage of this Act as provided for in Section 6 of this Act, five (5) Council Members shall be elected, two (2) of whom shall be elected for the term of one (1) year, or until their successors shall be duly qualified, and two (2) for the term of two (2) years, or until their successors shall be duly qualified, and one shall be elected for the term of three (3) years, or until his or her successors shall be duly qualified, and thereafter at every subsequent Annual Election the successors to the Council Members whose terms shall have expired shall be chosen to serve for the term of three (3) years, or until their successors shall be duly qualified; and if any vacancy or vacancies shall occur among them by death, resignation, refusal to serve, or otherwise, the remaining Council members and Mayor may elect another qualified person to fill that vacant seat until the next ensuing Regular Municipal Election. At such election, the qualified voters of the Town shall elect a qualified candidate to fill the seat for the remainder of the original term.

(c) Town Council shall make provisions for voting machines to be used and shall also cause to be printed sufficient absentee ballots in order for each citizen of the Town to vote at the Annual Municipal Election. Such ballot shall contain the names of all persons nominated and shall designate the office for which each is a candidate. Absentee ballots shall be made available for completion beginning the 2nd Monday of February through the close of business on the day immediately preceding the Annual Municipal Election.

(d) The Annual Municipal Election shall be conducted by a Board of Elections consisting of an Inspector and two (2) judges appointed by the Mayor of the Town of Camden, with the concurrence of a majority of the members of the Town Council, not later than the last regular meeting of the Town Council prior to the date of the Annual Municipal Election. The Board of Elections shall determine who is and who is not lawfully entitled to vote thereat, take reasonable steps to see that the law pertaining to the Annual Municipal Election receives compliance and shall take reasonable steps for the purpose of counting the votes and certifying the result to the Town Council. If any of the officers so chosen and designated to conduct the Annual Municipal Election shall not be present at the polling place at the time designated for the holding of the Annual Municipal Election, it shall be lawful for the qualified voters present at the polling place at the time of holding such Annual Municipal Election to elect from among their own number a person to fill each vacancy and such Board of Election caused by the absence of any member of the Board of Elections. The Board of Electionsshall keep a list of all persons who voted at such Annual Municipal Election.

(e) At such Annual Municipal Election or special election of the Town, every person shall have one (1) vote, provided that he or she: (1) has attained the age of eighteen (18) years on the date of Annual Municipal Election; and (2) is domiciled in the Town of Camden; and (3) has properly registered to vote in the Town of Camden. For purposes of this Section, a person is ‘domiciled’ in the Town when he or she physically resides within the corporate limits of the Town with the actual intent to make that residence his or her fixed and permanent home; however, any person who is enlisted or engaged in any government service of the United States or any military organization of this State or of the United States, which service requires him or her to reside outside the limits of the Town, shall be considered to be domiciled in the Town during the period of his or her service, so long as it remains his or her actual intention to retain his or her Camden residence as his or her fixed and permanent home. The Town of Camden shall maintain a Voter Registration Book at Town Hall that shall contain the following information for each registrant:

(1) the names of the registered voters arranged in alphabetical order;

(2) the address of each registered voters;

(3) the birth date of each registered voter; and

(4) the date that the registrant became domiciled in the Town of Camden.

No person shall be registered upon the Voter Registration Books unless he or she has acquired the qualifications to vote in the Annual Municipal Election for the year in which he or she registers. A person shall be required to register only one (1) time, provided, however, that if a registered voter fails to vote in five (5) consecutive Annual Municipal Elections in which there is a contest for any office, his or her name shall be removed from the Voter Registration Books effective with the legal adoption of this Charter revision of 2003. At such time, the Town Council shall send notice to the person at his or her last known address by registered mail, return receipt requested, advising that his or her name has been removed from the Voter Registration Book and that it will be necessary to register again in order to vote in the Annual Municipal Election. A person may register at the Town Hall during regular business hours of such office until the close of business of such office eight (8) days prior to the date of the Annual Municipal Election by completing such forms as may be provided by the Town. The Town Hall will be open with at least one (1) employee of the Town present on the last Saturday during the month of January preceding the date of the Annual Municipal Election from 1 o’clock p.m. until 3 o’clock p.m. for the purpose of permitting persons to register to vote in such Annual Municipal Election.

(f) The Town of Camden may, by ordinance, provide for any qualified registered voter to cast an absentee ballot if such person is unable to appear and to cast a ballot on the date of any Annual Municipal Election or special election. Absentee ballots may be requested by mail up until the Wednesday preceding the date of the Annual Election. Requests for absentee ballots in person may be received at Town Hall until the close of business on the day preceding the Annual Election. All absentee ballots must be received in the Town Hall no later than the close of business on the day preceding the Annual Election without regard to postmark.

(g) All votes offered at the Annual Municipal Election shall be offered in person and/or by absentee ballot. Write-in candidates will be allowed in a contested election.

(h) Upon the close of the election the votes shall be read and counted publicly. The persons having the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared duly elected and continue in office for the term stated or until his or her successors are duly elected and qualified. In case of a tie there shall be a run-off election between the candidates so tied.

(i) The Election Board shall enter in a Book to be provided for that purpose, minutes of the election, containing the names of the persons chosen, shall subscribe the same, and shall give to the persons elected certificates of the Election, which Book consisting of such minutes, shall be preserved by the Council, and shall be evidence in any Court of Law and Equity. All ballots cast, all tabulations of votes from voting machines and the records of the Elections shall be preserved in the custody of the Election Board for a period of ten (10) days.

ORGANIZATION AND ANNUAL MEETING OF COUNCIL

Section 8. (a) Before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the Council member Elect shall be sworn by a Notary Public, a Justice of the Peace or by a hold-over member of the Council to perform faithfully and impartially the duties of their respective offices with fidelity. At seven o'clock in the evening, prevailing time, at the first regular meeting following the Annual Municipal Election, the Town Council shall meet at the Council Chamber and the newly elected officers shall assume the duties of office, being first duly sworn or affirmed to perform their duties with fidelity as aforesaid.

(b) At the annual meeting, held on the first regular meeting following the Annual Municipal Election, the Mayor shall organize and appoint a Vice Mayor who shall hold office for the term of one (1) year or until his or her successor shall be duly elected. The Town Council shall likewise select a Secretary, who may or may not be from among his or her own number, to serve until the first regular meeting after the next Annual Municipal Election. The Town Council may also select an Assistant Secretary to serve as aforesaid, who may or may not be from among their own number, and such other officers or employees and as may be determined to be necessary.

REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS

Section 9. The Town Council of the Town of Camden shall hold one (1) meeting in each month on the first Monday of the month. If the first Monday of the month shall be a legal holiday, the monthly meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Camden shall be held on the next succeeding Monday. Special meetings shall be called by the Secretary upon the written or verbal request of the Mayor of the Town of Camden, or upon the written request of any two (2) members of the Town Council of the Town of Camden stating the day, hour and place of the special meeting requested, and the subject or subjects proposed to be considered thereat. The Secretary shall thereon give written notice to the Mayor and to each member of the Town Council of the day, hour and place of such special meeting and the subject or subjects to be considered thereat. Such notice of the Secretary shall be deposited in the United States mail in the main post office of the Town of Camden at least forty-eight (48) hours before the time of said special meeting, provided, however, that a written waiver of such notice signed by the Mayor of the Town of Camden and by all members of the Town Council prior to or immediately upon convening of the said such special meeting shall make such written notice unnecessary and shall authorize and make valid the holding of a special meeting at any time named in the waiver and the transaction of any business considered at the meeting if the waiver so states.

QUORUM

Section 10. A majority of the members elected to the Town Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting, but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by Ordinance. Administrative meetings/workshops shall be permissible with or without a quorum. All meetings/workshop where a quorum is required and/or present shall be appropriately posted and open to the public

RULES AND MINUTES OF COUNCIL

Section 11. The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings and the yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of every ordinance and resolution and shall be entered in the journal with the text of the ordinance or resolution.

VACANCIES

Section 12. If any vacancy shall occur in the office of Council Member by death, resignation, loss of residence in the Town of Camden, refusal to serve, or otherwise, the same may be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Town Council. The person or persons so chosen to fill such vacancy shall be qualified as in the case of newly-elected members and shall hold office until the next ensuing Regular Municipal Election.

DISQUALIFICATIONS

Section 13. If any Council Member, during his or her term of office, shall be found guilty of any crime or misdemeanor and sentenced to imprisonment for any term whatever, or violates (a), (b), or (c) of Section 5, or shall for any reason cease to be a resident of the Town, he or she shall forthwith be disqualified to act as a member of Council and his or her office shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled by the Town Council as aforesaid. A resignation may or may not be requested by the Town Council.

CONTRACTS

Section 14. (a) It shall be unlawful for the Town Council to make or enter into any contract in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for materials, supplies, services, work or labor, for the benefit and use of the Town of Camden with any member of the Town Council or with any partnership in which any member of the Town Council is a General Partner, or with any corporation of which any member of the Town Council is a Director or controlling stockholder or any firm or company which any member of the Town Council is pecuniarily interested; provided, that if all the elected members of the Town Council shall vote to enter into such contract, then the Town may enter into such a contract. Any such contract executed without such unanimous vote shall be absolutely null and void.

(b) All contracts for the purchase of materials or for the furnishing of services authorized or permitted by this Charter shall be accomplished by competitive bidding and the awarding of contracts to the lowest responsible bidder who submits a responsive bid; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that competitive bidding shall not be required in any of the following circumstances:

(1) The aggregate amount involved is not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00);

(2) The purchase or contract is for personal or professional services;

(3) The purchase or contract is for any service rendered by a university, college or other educational institution;

(4) The purchase or contract is for any services to be rendered by the State of Delaware or any political subdivision;

(5) The purchase or contract is for property or services for which it is impracticable to obtain competition;

(6) The public exigency, as determined by the Town Council, will not permit the delay incident to advertising;

(7) The purchase or contract is for property or services for which the Town Council determines the prices received after competitive bidding are unreasonable as to all or part of the requirement or not independently reached in open competition; or

(8) A public emergency as determined by the Town Council exists.

DUTIES OF THE MAYOR

Section 15. (a) The Mayor shall preside at all meetings thereat, and shall vote on all matters brought before the Town Council for a vote. He or she shall appoint all committees, receive complaints of nuisances, and other complaints of citizens concerning violations of law and ordinances. He or she shall present a report of complaints and nuisances and violations of law and ordinances to the Town Council at the first regular meeting after receiving such complaints. He or she may require the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman, as hereinafter provided for in this Act, to proceed upon such infractions or violations of law and ordinances immediately in the event that he or she deems such action to be required. The Mayor shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Town Council shall determine not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter.

(b) The Mayor, within thirty (30) days following his or her election, may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the Town Council, two (2) suitable persons who shall be qualified voters of the Town of Camden to act as Alderman and Assistant Alderman. Both the Alderman and the Assistant Alderman shall hold office until each successor shall be duly appointed and chosen.

(c) The Mayor may, for any reasonable cause, by and with the consent and upon the address of a majority of all the members of the Town Council, remove from office any person appointed by him or her or any of his or her predecessors. The person against whom the Council may be about to proceed shall receive five (5) days' written notice thereof, accompanied by a statement of the cause alleged for the removal and shall be accorded a full and fair hearing, if such a request is received by the Mayor by certified mail with return receipt requested within ten (10) days following the date that notice of removal is received by such person.

(d) The Mayor may appoint such other committees as he or she deems necessary for the proper administration of the Town of Camden or the Council may, by resolution, authorize the Mayor to appoint certain committees which are deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

(e) It shall be the duty of the Vice Mayor, in the absence of the Mayor, to preside at all meetings of the Town Council in the event of absence of the Mayor and perform such other duties and to have such other powers of the Mayor as are prescribed by the Charter of the Town of Camden or by any ordinance of the Town Council.

TOWN MANAGER OR DESIGNEE

Section 16. (a) The Town Manager or designee shall have charge and custody of books, journals, records, papers and other effects of the Town and shall keep the same in a safe and secure place. They shall keep a full and complete record of all the transactions in the Town of Camden. The Town Manager or designee shall keep a record of the transactions and proceedings of the same, together with such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or by Ordinance or rule of the Town Council of the Town of Camden. He or she shall file and keep in a safe place, as may be determined by the Town Council, the seal of the Town of Camden and all papers and documents arising out the proceedings of the Town Council of the Town of Camden relative to the affairs of the Town. He or she shall deliver the same to his or her successor in office. He or she shall attest the seal of the Town of Camden which authorized by the Town Council and shall perform such other duties and have such other papers as may be prescribed by Ordinance.

(b) All books, records and journals of the Town of Camden in the custody of the Town Manager or designee may, in the presence of the Mayor, Secretary, Assistant Secretary or any member of the Town Council of the Town of Camden, be inspected by any registered voter of the Town desiring legitimate information at any time, or times, as may be convenient and will not interfere with the regular routine of the business of the Town.

(c) All books, records, papers and documents in the custody of the Town Manager or designee shall be open for inspection by members of the Town Council of the Town of Camden.

(d) Compensation of the Town Manager or designee for his or her duties, shall be determined by the Town Council.

SENIOR TOWN CLERK

Section 17. The duties and powers of the Town Manager or designee as hereinbefore prescribed shall devolve upon the Senior Town Clerk or designee in the absence or inability of the Town Manager or designee. The Senior Town Clerk or designee shall likewise perform such other duties and have such other powers as may be prescribed by Resolution to the Town Council of the Town of Camden and shall receive such compensation as the Town Council by Resolution shall determine.

TREASURER/ACCOUNTANT

Section 18. The Treasurer/Accountant shall be above the age of twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of his or her appointment.

The Town Treasurer/Accountant, before entering upon the duties of his or her office, shall be sworn or affirmed to faithfully and honestly perform the duties of his or her office, which oath or affirmation shall be administered by the Mayor.

The Town Treasurer/Accountant, before entering upon the duties of his or her office, shall also give bond to the Town of Camden, with sufficient surety to be approved by Council, in the penal sum of the amount in the municipal aid account or in the amount of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), whichever is greater, conditioned for the faithful discharge of duties of his or her office and for the payment of his or her successor in office of all sums of money belonging to said Town, which remain in his or her hands upon the settlement of his or her accounts, to which bond and petition shall be annexed a warrant of attorney for the confession of judgment for said penalty.

The Treasurer/Accountant shall pay all orders drawn on him or her by order of said Council and be signed by the Mayor and Secretary thereof, out of any monies in his or her hands belonging to said Town. He or she shall settle his or her accounts with said Council annually by the end of the fiscal year, or at such other times as Council may require.

COLLECTOR OF TAXES

Section 19. The Collector of Taxes shall be a citizen and resident of the said Town above the age of twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of his or her appointment.

It shall be the duty of the Town Collector to collect all Town Taxes, water and sewer rents, charges for electric current, and all other kinds of Town revenue, and to pay the same to the Town Treasurer as herein otherwise provided.

The Town Collector, before entering upon the duties of his or her offices, shall give bond to the Town of Camden with sufficient surety to be approved by Council, in the sum of the amount of the municipal aid account, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his or her office, and the payment to the Treasurer of said Town of all monies collected by him or her belonging to said Town from taxes, sewer and water rents, electric current accounts and all other Town revenue, and for the settlement of his or her accounts with the Treasurer of the Town at the end of each fiscal year, and oftener and at such other times as Council may require, to which bond and condition there shall be annexed the usual full warrant of attorney for confession of judgment for said penalty.

TOWN SOLICITOR

Section 20. The Mayor of the Town of Camden with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the Town Council, shall select and appoint a Town Solicitor for an indefinite term who shall be removable at the pleasure of the Town Council of the Town of Camden either with or without due cause stated. The Town Solicitor shall be a member in good standing of the Bar of the State of Delaware, with offices in Kent County. It shall be his or her duty to give legal advice to the Town Council and other officers of the Town and to perform other legal services as may be required of him or her by the Town Council.

BOARD OF HEALTH

Section 21. (a) The Board of Health duties shall be administered by the State of Delaware, Division of Public Health. The Board shall be appointed by the Mayor of the Town of Camden with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the Town Council at the Annual Meeting.

POLICE FORCE

Section 22. (a) The Town Council shall, from time to time, adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the organization, government and control of the police force. The police shall preserve peace and order and shall compel obedience within the Town limits to the Ordinances of the Town and the laws of the State of Delaware. The police force shall have such other duties as the Town Council shall, from time to time, prescribe. The Chief of Police and the members of the police force shall be subject to the direction of the Mayor and Town Council.

(b) Each member of the police force shall have police powers similar to those of constables within the Town limits and within one (1) mile outside said limits and shall be conservators of the peace throughout the Town of Camden, and they shall suppress all acts of violence and enforce all laws relating to the safety of persons and property. They shall compel the enforcement of all laws enacted by the Town Council of the Town of Camden. In the case of a pursuit of an offender, the power and authority of the police force shall extend outside the territorial limitations of the Town of Camden to all parts of the State of Delaware.

(c) Every person sentenced to imprisonment by the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman or a Justice of the Peace, as the case may be, shall be delivered by a member of the police force to the correctional institution located in Kent County to be there imprisoned for the term of his or her sentence.

(d) In the case of an arrest at any time when the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman of the Town of Camden shall not be available, or if no such Alderman or Assistant Alderman has been appointed, the person arrested may be taken before the nearest Justice of the Peace with offices in Kent County who shall hear and determine the charge, and who, in such case, is vested with all the authority and powers granted by this Charter under the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman. In the case of an arrest at a time when the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman or the Justice of the Peace shall not be available to hear and determine the charge, the person arrested may be transferred to the correctional institution located in Kent County for imprisonment until such reasonable time thereafter as shall enable the Alderman or Assistant Alderman or the Justice of the Peace to hear and determine the charge against such person.

(e) It shall be the duty of the police force to suppress riotous, disorderly or turbulent assemblages of persons in the streets of the Town or the noisy conduct of any person in the same and upon the view of the above or upon view of the violation of any Ordinance of the Town relating to peace and good order thereof, the police force shall have the right and power to arrest without warrant.

ANNUAL AUDIT

Section 23. At the Annual Meeting hereinbefore provided, the Mayor, with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the Town Council, shall appoint an Accountant to be the Auditor of Accounts of the Town of Camden. It shall be the duty of the auditor to audit the accounts of the Town and all its officers whose duty involves the collection, custody and payment of monies to the Town. The Auditor shall audit the books of the Alderman and the Assistant Alderman of the Town of Camden, the record of all fines, penalties, costs imposed or collected pursuant to any judgment, order or decree made. The Auditor shall annually make and deliver a detailed report of any and all accounts, records, and books by them examined and audited which report, under his or her hand and seal, shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town in the issue immediately preceding the annual report. The Auditor, in the performance of his or her duties, shall have access to all records and accounts of the offices of the Town Council and he or she is hereby authorized and empowered to employ such clerks as in his or her judgment may be necessary in the proper performance of his or her duties.

BOARD OF ASSESSMENT

Section 24. (a) The Board of Assessment shall be appointed by the Mayor of the Town of Camden with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the Town Council for an indefinite term. The Board of Assessment’s duties will be performed by the Kent County Board of Assessment.

(b) It shall be their duty to make a fair and impartial assessment of property and persons subject to taxation situate within the corporate limits of the Town and to perform such other duties and reference thereto as shall be prescribed from time to time by the Town Council of the Town of Camden. Compensation to be received by them for the performance of their duties in the hiring of employees to assist them in the performance of their duties shall be fixed by and subject to the approval of the Town Council of the Town of Camden.

(c) In making such assessment, the rules and exemptions now applicable by law to the making of the assessment for Kent County of persons and property shall be applicable insofar as consistent with the provision of this Charter.

ASSESSMENT OF TAXES

Section 25. The Board of Assessment shall, within ninety (90) days prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year, make a just, true and impartial annual valuation or assessment of all real estate and improvements located thereon located within the Town of Camden. All real estate shall be described with sufficient particularity to be identified. Real estate shall be assessed to the owner or owners if he or she or they be known. If the owner or owners of real estate cannot be found or ascertained, it may be assessed to Owner Unknown. A mistake in the name of the owner or owners or a wrong name or an assessment to Owner Unknown, shall not affect the validity of the assessment of any municipal tax or assessment based thereon; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, the assessment shall specify the last record owner or owners thereof as the same shall appear from the records in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County. The Board of Assessment shall also make a personal assessment of all male and female citizens of the Town above the age of eighteen (18) years, whether an owner of real estate or not, said personal assessment shall be determined by the Town Council and certified to the Board of Assessment. Said personal assessment or per capita tax shall be in addition to the assessment levied on real estate owned or assessed by any person or persons whomsoever.

(a) The Board of Assessment, after making such annual assessment, shall, at least ninety (90) days prior to the end of the fiscal year, deliver to the Town Council of the Town of Camden a list containing the names of all persons assessed and the amount of assessment against each. They shall also deliver at such time as many copies of said list as the Town Council shall direct.

(b) The annual assessment shall distinguish the real and personal assessment of each person and shall also be arranged so that the land, the improvements thereon, and the per capita assessment shall appear in separate columns or spaces. In making this assessment the Board shall make its valuation accordingly.

(c) Immediately upon receiving the annual assessment list from the Board of Assessment, the Town Council of the Town of Camden shall cause a full and complete copy of the same, containing the amount assessed to each taxable to be hung in a public place in the Town of Camden and there it shall remain for a period of at least ten (10) days for the information of and examination by all concerned. Appended thereto and also in public places in said Town shall be posted notices advertising to all concerned that, upon a certain day mentioned therein and not earlier than ten (10) days after the date of posting of the true and correct copy of the annual assessment list and notices that at the next regular meeting of the Town Council, the Town Council may hold a Court of Appeals at which time and place they shall hear appeals from the said annual assessment. The decision of the Town Council sitting as the Board of Appeals shall be final and conclusive and said Town Council may revise and complete said assessment at this sitting. No member of the Town Council shall sit upon his or her own appeal but the same shall be heard and determined by the other Council members.

(d) All the members of the Board of Assessment shall be present on the day fixed for hearing appeals and shall furnish to the Town Council such information and answer such questions as the Town Council may require in respect to any assessment for which an appeal has been taken.. The Town Council shall have the authority to enforce the attendance of the Board of Assessment by appropriate process.

LEVY OF ANNUAL TAXES

Section 26. (a) At the last regular meeting in the fiscal year, after having revised and completed the assessment, the Town Council shall determine, in it best judgment and knowledge, the total amount necessary to be raised by the Town to meet the fixed and anticipated expenses and obligation of the Town, including reasonable and appropriate reserves, for the then current fiscal year as set forth in the Town Budget for such year plus a reasonable amount to cover unanticipated expenses and emergencies.

(b) The Town Council should then proceed to determine, in its sole discretion, from which sources of the authorized revenues of the Town the amount so determined by them shall be raised and, within the limits prescribed by this Charter with respect to any such source, the amount to be raised from each such source. They shall then proceed to determine, assess, fix and/or levy as follows:

(1) The rate of tax on real estate including improvements thereon per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of the assessed value; and/or

(2) The amount of personal or per capita tax upon each citizen of the Town over the age of eighteen (18) years; and/or

(3) The rate of tax upon all poles, construction, erections, wires and appliances more particularly mentioned, or intended so to be in Section 30 of this Charter as amended; and/or

(4) The several rates to be charged for furnishing water service, sewer service, electric service, gas service, front footage assessment, trash assessment; and/or

(5) The fees or rates to be charged in respect to any other authorized source of revenue sufficient in their judgment and estimation to itemize the amount to be raised from each such source determined by them to be used as aforesaid; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that sources (4) and (5) aforementioned may be determined, fixed, assessed, levied and/or altered or changed upon other than a fiscal year basis and that any regular or special meeting of the Town Council as the Town Council, in its own proper discretion, shall determine.

(c) Immediately after the last regular meeting prior to the end of the fiscal year of each and every year the Town Council shall make, or cause to be made, a full, true and correct Annual Tax List showing the amount of tax levied against each taxable thereon from sources (1), (2) and (3) abovementioned. This list shall be known as the Annual Tax List of the Town of Camden. In addition to the information contained in the assessment list, it shall also contain information as to the rate of tax upon real estate for each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of assessed valuation thereof.

(d) The Town Council shall cause to be delivered to the Town Tax Collector a duplicate of said Annual Tax List and the Town Tax Collector shall immediately proceed to collect the same as hereinafter provided.

(e) Nothing contained in this Charter shall be construed to affect or impair in any way the validity of any tax, fee, assessment or other charge lawfully levied, assessed or due the Town of Camden, under existing laws in reference to said Town and the same are hereby declared to be valid, binding and vested in the Town of Camden created hereby.

COLLECTION OF ANNUAL TAXES

Section 27. (a) The Tax Collector, as soon as the Town Council shall have placed in his or her hands a duplicate Annual Tax List, shall proceed at once to collect the taxes on said duplicate list.

(b) All taxes so laid or imposed by the Town of Camden in such Annual Tax List shall be and constitute a lien upon all the real estate of the taxable for a period of ten (10) years against or upon whom such taxes are laid or imposed, of which such taxable was seized or possessed at any time after such taxes shall have been levied and imposed that is situate within the Town of Camden. Such lien shall have preference and priority to all other liens on the real estate, as aforesaid, created or suffered by the said taxable, although such lien or liens be of a time and date prior to the time of the attaching of such lien for taxes.

(c) All taxes, when and as collected by the Tax Collector, shall be due and payable at and from the time of the delivery of the Annual Tax List to the Tax Collector.

(d) In the Collection of said taxes, there shall be an abatement of three percent (3%) of any taxes paid on or after the first day of July and prior to the last day of August. On all taxes paid after September 30 there shall be added for each month or part thereof interest in an amount computed on a monthly rate based upon an annual rate of five percent (5%) over the Federal Reserve Discount Rate in effect on September 1 in the fiscal year when the taxes are due and payable, and said interest shall be collected in the same manner as the original amount of the tax. The Town Council shall have the power to make just allowances for delinquencies in the collection of taxes. All taxes unpaid after the 30th of September shall be considered delinquent. In effecting a collection of any delinquent tax, the Town Council may impose a collection charge not to exceed eighteen percent (18%) of the amount of the tax and any interest or penalty imposed thereon.

(e) The Town Council may, by ordinance, establish a tax exemption of any town resident who has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years and who meets such other qualifications as the Town Council may establish which will exempt said resident from town property tax for assessments up to $10,000.00.

(f) The Town Council of said Town shall have power by an ordinance, or by a resolution, to relieve, release, exonerate and exempt the real property of any person, firm, association or corporation engaged in any manufacturing business within the limits of said Town and employing no less than six (6) persons.

No property shall be exempt from taxation aforesaid until such an ordinance is enacted or such a special resolution adopted and the period of such exemption shall be only such as is set forth in said ordinance or resolution, and shall not be in excess of ten (10) years, and shall only be revocable upon a breach of a condition contained in such ordinance or resolution.

(g) The Town Tax Collector, when any tax has become delinquent, may, in the name of the Town of Camden, institute suit before any Justice of the Peace or in the Court of Common Pleas of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County, or in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County, for the recovery of the unpaid tax in an action of debt, and upon judgment obtained, may sue out writs of execution as in case of other judgments recovered before a Justice of the Peace or in the Court of Common Pleas, or in the Superior Court as the case may be.

(h) However, should the Town Tax Collector so elect, he or she is empowered to sell the lands and tenements of the delinquent taxpayer or the lands and tenements of a delinquent tax payer alienated subsequent to the levy of the tax by the following procedure:

(1) The Town Tax Collector shall present in the name of the Town of Camden to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County, a petition in which shall be stated:

(2) At least ten (10) days prior to the filing of any such petition as described herein, the Town Tax Collector shall deposit in the mail in a sealed and stamped envelope and addressed to the taxable at his or her last known address requiring a registered receipt returnable, an itemized statement of the tax due, together with all interest, penalties, collection charges, and costs then as thereon together with a notice to the delinquent taxpayer that he or she shall proceed to sell the lands and tenements of the taxpayer for the payment of the tax. The Town Tax Collector shall exhibit the return registry receipt to the Court by filing the same with the petition; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if the taxpayer cannot be found, it shall be sufficient for the Town Tax Collector to file with said petition the evidence that such statement has been mailed in accordance with this Subsection and has been returned.

(3) Upon the filing of the petition, the Prothonotary shall record the same in a properly indexed record of the Superior Court, in and for Kent County, and shall endorse upon the said record of said petition the following: This petition, filed the ______ day of ______ A. D. ______ , and the Town Tax Collector of the Town of Camden is hereby authorized to proceed to sell the lands and tenements herein mentioned or a sufficient part thereof as may be necessary for the payment of the amount due. This endorsement shall be signed by the Prothonotary.

(4) Any sales of lands and tenements of a delinquent taxpayer shall be advertised in public places in the Town of Camden and by printing the notice of said sale at least one (1) time in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town. The notice shall contain the day, hour, place of sale and a short description of the premises sufficient to identify the same. The handbills shall be posted at least ten (10) days before the day fixed for the sale and the newspaper advertisement shall be published at least one (1) week before the day of the sale.

(5) Each sale of lands and tenements shall be returned to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County, at the next term thereof following the sale, and the Court shall inquire into the circumstances and either approve or set aside the sale. If the sale be approved, the Town Tax Collector making the sale shall make a deed to the purchaser which shall convey the right, title and interest of the delinquent taxpayer or his or her alienee; if the sale be set aside, the Superior Court may order another sale and so on until the tax be collected. The petition, return and deed shall be presumptive evidence of the regularity of the proceeding.

(6) No sale shall be approved by the Superior Court if the owner be ready at court to pay the taxes, penalty, collection fees and costs, no deed shall be made until the expiration of one (1) year from the date of the sale within which time the owner, his or her heirs, executors, or assigns, shall have the power to redeem the lands on payment to the purchaser, his or her personal representative or assigns, the costs, the amount of the purchase price, and twenty percent (20%) interest thereon and the expense of having the deed prepared.

(7) After satisfying the tax due and the costs of expense of sale from the proceeds of sale, the amount remaining shall be paid to the owner of the land, upon the refusal of the said owner to accept said residue, or if the owner is unknown or cannot be found, the amount remaining shall be deposited by the Town of Camden either to the credit of the owner or in a manner in which the fund may be identified.

(8) In the sale of lands for the payment of delinquent taxes, costs shall be allowed to be deducted from the proceeds of the sale or chargeable against the owner, as the case may be:

The costs of the deed shall not be chargeable as costs, but shall be paid by the purchaser of the property of the delinquent taxpayer. The total of any Delaware transfer tax shall be paid by the purchaser of said lands at the tax sale.

(9) If the owner of any lands and tenements against which a tax shall be levied and assessed shall be unknown, this fact shall be stated in the advertisement of the sale.

(10) If any person is assessed for several parcels of land and tenements in the same assessment in the Town of Camden, the total of said taxes may be collected from the sale of any part or portion of said lands and tenements, provided that the land alienated by the delinquent taxpayer shall not be sold until other property of the taxpayer shall have been disposed of and there still remains a delinquency.

(11) In the event of death, resignation or removal from office of the Town Tax Collector of the Town of Camden before the proceedings for the sale of lands shall have been completed, his or her successor in office shall succeed to all of his or her powers, rights, and duties in respect to said sale. In the event of the death of the purchaser of said sale prior to his or her receiving a deed for the property purchased thereat, the person having right under him or her by consent, devise, assignment, or otherwise, may refer to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County, a petition representing the facts and praying for an order authorizing and requiring the Town Tax Collector to execute and acknowledge a deed conveying to the petitioner the premises so sold or a just portion thereof; and thereupon the court may make such order touching the conveyance of the premises as shall be according to justice and equity.

(12) The Town Tax Collector shall have the right to require the aid or assistance of any person or persons in the performance of his or her duty of sale which the Sheriff of Kent County now has by law or may hereafter have.

TOWN BUDGET

Section 28. (a) The fiscal year for the Town of Camden shall be as determined by Resolution of the Town Council.

(b) Annually each year and not later than sixty (60) days prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year, the Town Council shall prepare a rough draft of the Town Budget. From this rough draft, the Town Council shall not later than the Regular Meeting following the presentation of the rough draft prepared of the Town Budget, prepare the budget containing the financial plan for conducting the affairs of the Town for the ensuing fiscal year.

(c) The budget shall contain the following information:

(d) The Town Council shall, so far as possible, adhere to the budget so adopted in the making of appropriations.

(e) The budget shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town in an issue within one week following its adoption.

ENUMERATION OF POWERS

Section 39. (a) Not by way of limitation upon the power vested in the Town Council of the Town of Camden to exercise all powers delegated by this Charter to the municipal corporation or to the Town Council except as may expressly appear herein to the contrary, but rather by way of enumeration and for purposes of clarity, the Town Council is vested by this Charter with the following powers, to be exercised by the Town Council in the interest of good government and the safety, health, and public welfare of the Town, its inhabitants and affairs, that is to say:

(1) To prevent vice, drunkenness and immorality;

(2) To provide for and preserve the health, peace, safety, cleanliness, ornament, good order and public welfare of the Town and its inhabitants;

(3) To prohibit all gaming and fraudulent devices;

(4) To prohibit, restrain, license or regulate all public sports, exhibitions, shows, parades, productions, circuses or other public performances, amusements and games;

(5) To ascertain, locate, lay out, establish, open, change, alter, widen, abandon, regulate the use and enjoyment of, prevent or remove any obstruction of, level, grade, flag, dress, macadamize, pave, gravel, shall improve, dredge, erect, remove, repair or replace any new or present street, highway, lane, alley, water course, park, lake, crosswalk, wharf, dock, sewer, drain, aqueduct, or pipeline or portion thereof, or any new or present sidewalk, curb, or gutter or portion thereof in the Town; to specify the grade thereof, the materials to be used in the doing thereof and the manner in which the same shall be done; to enter into contracts or agreements for the doing thereof, including contracts or agreements with the State of Delaware for the permanent maintenance, repair and upkeep of any street, lane, alley, roadway or other public thoroughfare within the Town;

(6) To establish and regulate pounds and to restrain, prohibit and impound any domestic or wild animal, beast, bird or fowl running at large, and to authorize the destruction of the same;

(7) To locate, regulate, license, restrain or require the removal of slaughterhouses, wash houses, laundries, canning establishments, phosphate, fish, fertilizer and manure plants or establishments, swine pens, privies, water closets in any businesses or buildings or conditions detrimental to the public health or constituting a public nuisance or of an offensive or a noxious nature;

(8) To enforce the removal of ice, snow or dirt or other foreign substance from sidewalks and gutters by owners or abutting owners;

(9) To prohibit, remove or regulate the erection of any stoop, step, platform, bay window, cellar, gate, area, descent, sign, post or any other erection or projection in, over, upon or under any street, highway, alley, lane, water course, park, lake, strand, sidewalk, crosswalk, wharf, dock, sewer, drain, aqueduct or pipeline of the Town;

(10) To define, prevent, abate or remove nuisances, obstructions or any other conditions detrimental to the public safety, health or welfare;

(11) To provide an ample supply of pure water for the Town and its inhabitants and to this end to acquire, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, control and dispose of wells, reservoirs, pumps, machines, stations, tanks, standpipes, water mains, fire hydrants and all other equipment, property or rights used in or about the collection, storage, purification, conveyance, or distribution or sale of water; to regulate and prescribe for what public or private purposes the water furnished by the Town of Camden may be used, the manner of its use, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury, or damage to or interference with the water system or the equipment, property or rights of the Town; to furnish or refuse to furnish water from the Town system to places and properties outside the Town limits; and to contract for and purchase water and distribute the same to users within or without the Town with the same full powers as though such water had been initially reduced to usefulness by the municipality itself;

(12) To provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a sewer system and/or a sewage treatment and disposal plant and facilities for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the Town; to regulate and prescribe for what private or public uses or purposes the system may be used, the manner of its use, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to, or interference with the said system, plan or facilities. To furnish or refuse to furnish sewer disposal service from the Town system to places and properties outside the Town limits. In the interest of the public’s health, to compel any and all properties in the Town to be connected to the sewer system of the town; and to contract for and purchase sewer disposal service and to resell the same to users within or without the Town with the same full powers as though such service had been initially provided by the facilities therefor of the Town itself;

(13) To provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control the plant and system, or plants and systems, for the generating, manufacturing and distributing of electric current or gas, or both, to the inhabitants of the Town and for lighting the streets, highways, lanes, alleys, water courses, parks, lakes, strands, sidewalks, crosswalks, wharfs, docks, public buildings or other public places in the Town, and to this end to acquire, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, control and dispose of transmission and distribution lines, pipes, mains and other conveyances for any such current or gas as may be necessarily proper to light the Town, and to furnish proper connections for electric current and gas to the properties of the inhabitants of the Town who may desire the same; to regulate and prescribe for what private or public purpose the current or gas furnished by the Town may be used, the manner of its use, the amount to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts are to be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the electric or gas system or systems of the Town; to furnish or refuse to furnish electric current or gas from the Town’s system or systems, to places and properties outside the Town limits; and to contract for and purchase electric current or gas and distribute the same to users within or without the Town with the same full powers as though such current or gas had been initially reduced to usefulness by the Town itself;

(14) To fully control within the Town the drainage of all water and to that end to alter or change the course and direction of any natural water course, runs or rivulet within the Town, to regulate, maintain, clean and keep the same open, clean and unobstructed, and to provide, construct, extend and maintain, manage and control a surface water drainage system and facilities for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the Town;

(15) To provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control jetties, bulkheads, embankments, flood gates, piers, or fills for the preservation of any strand or high land within the limits of the Town and contiguous thereto to the end that the same may be preserved, property protected that the general public might enjoy the use thereof;

(16) To grant franchises or licenses to any responsible persons, firm, association or corporation for such period of time, upon such terms, restrictions, stipulations and conditions and for such considerations as the Town Council shall deem in the best interest of the municipality, to use the present and future streets, highways, lanes, alleys, water courses, parks, lakes, strands, sidewalks, crosswalks, wharfs, docks and other public places of the Town for the purpose of furnishing heat, light, power, gas, water, sewer, drainage, electric current, telephone, telegraph, television, railroad excepting railroads or railways engaged in interstate commerce, bus, taxi or other transportation, carrier or public service to the Town, unto the persons, firms or corporation residing or located therein and for the purpose of transmitting the same from or through the Town to points outside the limits thereof, and for the purpose of erecting wharfs and piers and for the purpose of vending any article or merchandise upon or from any vehicle upon any present and future street, highway, lane, alley, etc.; provided that no exclusive franchise or license shall be granted for any such purpose to any person, firm, association or corporation except that an exclusive license for sewer and/or water services maybe granted to The Camden-Wyoming Sewer and Water Authority, a body politic existing under Chapter 14 of Title 16 of the Delaware Code;

(17) To regulate and control the exercise of any license or franchise mentioned in Section 30 of this Charter, or intended so to be;

(18) To direct, regulate and control the planning, rearing, treating and preserving of ornamental shade trees in the streets, avenues, highways, parks and grounds of the Town and to authorize or prohibit the removal or destruction of said trees;

(19) To direct the digging down, draining, filling up, cleaning, cutting or fencing of lots, tracts, pieces or parcels of ground in the Town which maybe deemed dangerous or unwholesome or necessary to carry out any improvements authorized by this Charter;

(20) To provide for or regulate the numbering of houses and lots on the streets and the naming of streets and avenues;

(21) To regulate, control or prevent the use or storage of gun powder, fireworks, tar, pitch, resin, and all other combustible materials and the use of candles, lamps and other lights in stores, shops, stables and other places; to suppress, remove or resecure any fireplace, stove, chimney, oven, broiler, or other apparatus which may be dangerous in causing fires;

(22) For the prevention of fire and the preservation of the beauty of the Town, to regulate and control the manner of building or removal of dwelling houses and other buildings; to establish a Code for the same and to provide for the granting of permits for the same; to establish a building line for buildings to be erected; to zone or district the Town and make particular provisions for particular zones or districts with regard to building or building material; and generally to exercise all powers and authorities vested in the legislative body of cities and incorporated towns under any by virtue of Chapter 3, Title 22, Del. C. of 1974, and all amendments heretofore or hereafter adopted;

(23) To acquire, build, erect and maintain a suitable place as a lock-up or jail for the Town which shall be used as a place of detention for persons convicted of violation of law or Ordinance, or for detention of persons accused of violation of law or Ordinances for a reasonable time in cases of necessity prior to hearing and trial; and to provide for the restraint, support and employment of paupers, beggars, and vagrants; provided that any correctional institution located in Kent County may be used for any such purpose;

(24) To acquire, build, erect and maintain buildings and facilities necessary or required for housing and equipping the offices of the Town;

(25) To regulate or prevent the use of guns, air guns, spring guns, pistols, sling shots, bean shooters, and any other devices for discharging missiles which may cause bodily injury or injury or harm to property; and to regulate or prevent the use of fireworks, bombs and detonating works of all kinds;

(26) To provide for the punishment of a violation of any Ordinance of the Town by fine or imprisonment, or both, not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or sixty (60) days, or both;

(27) To provide for the organization of a fire department and the control and government thereof; to establish fire limits and to do all things necessary for the prevention or extinguishment of fires; and at the discretion of the Town Council to contribute, donate or give an amount unto any volunteer fire company or companies incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, or any volunteer fire association or associations maintaining and operating fire fighting equipment and service to the Town; provided that any such contribution, donation or gift may be made subject to such conditions and stipulations as to the use thereof as the Town Council shall deem advisable;

(28) To purchase, take and hold real and personal property when sold for any delinquent tax, assessment, water rent, electric bill, gas bill, license fee, tapping fee, charge growing out of the abatement of nuisances and the like, laying out and repairing sidewalks, curbs or gutters, or other charges due the town and to sell the same;

(29) To levy and collect taxes for any and all municipal purposes upon all real estate and improvements located thereon; provided, however, that the amount to be raised from the course shall not exceed in any one year the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00); and provided further that there shall be no limitation upon the amount which may be raised from the taxation of real estate for the payment of interest on and principal of any bonded indebtedness whether hereinbefore or hereafter incurred;

(30) To levy and collect a personal or per capita tax upon all persons resident within the corporate limits of the Town of Camden to be used for any and all municipal purposes;

(31) To levy and collect taxes upon all telephone, telegraph, power poles, pipelines, rail lines, or other constructions or erections of a like character, erected within the limits of the Town, together with the wire or other appliances thereto or thereon attached; expressly excepting all telephone, telegraph, power lines or poles and rail lines owned or operated by any railroad or railway company engaged in interstate commerce for any and all purposes and to this end may at any time direct the same to be included in or added to the Town assessment. In case the owner or lessee of such construction or erection wires or other appliances shall refuse or neglect to pay the taxes levied thereon, in addition to the remedies provided for the collection thereof set forth in Section 27 of this Charter, the Town Council shall have the authority to cause the same to be removed;

(32) To license, tax and collect fees annually for any and all municipal purposes (including the cost and expense of advertising the Town) of such various amounts as the Town Council from time to time shall fix from any individual, firm, association or corporation carrying on or practicing any business, profession or occupation within the limits of the Town; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall be so construed as to make it mandatory upon any resident of the State to apply for a license in order to sell in the Town any farm produce or products grown upon a farm owned by the vendor or any member of his or her family with whom he or she resides;

(33) The Town Council may, by ordinance, establish and collect a realty transfer tax not to exceed the rate of one and one-half percent (1.5%) of the value of property in conformance with the definitions and exceptions from the realty transfer tax as contained within Chapter 54, Title 30, Del. C. of 1974, and all amendments heretofore or hereafter adopted;

(34) To determine from which authorized source and in what proportion taxes shall be levied and used each year to raise the revenue or funds required to meet the general expenses of the Town and all funding, amortization and interest requirements on its outstanding bonds or other indebtedness;

(35) To provide for the collection of and disbursements of all monies to which the Town may become entitled by law, including licenses and fines where no provision for the collection and disbursement thereof is otherwise provided in this Charter;

(36) To borrow money in the name of the Town for any proper municipal purpose and in order to secure the payment of the same to issue bonds or other forms or kinds of certificate or certificates of indebtedness, pledging the full faith and credit of the Town or such other security or securities as the Town Council shall select for the payment of the principal thereof and the interest due thereon, all of which bonds or other kinds or forms of certificates of indebtedness issued by the Town shall be exempt from all State, county or municipal taxes; provided, however, that in no event shall the indebtedness of the Town for any and all purposes at any one time exceed in the aggregate twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed value of all real estate in the Town subject to the assessment for the purpose of levying the annual tax hereinbefore mentioned;

(37) To acquire, and/or to vacate the use of land tenements, personalty, property, easements, rights of way, or any interest in property, either within or without the limits of the Town, by way of condemnation and eminent domain for any proper and lawful municipal purpose or whenever required properly to carry out, exercise or fulfill any power conferred upon or delegated to the Town of Camden by this Charter. Proceedings by way of condemnation in any case shall be as prescribed in Chapter 61, Title 10, Del. C. of 1974, as heretofore or hereafter amended;

(38) To appropriate money to pay the debts, liabilities and expenditures of the Town, or any part or item thereof, from any fund applicable thereto, and to transfer temporarily money from one fund to another fund of the Town in case of emergency;

(39) To provide for the payment of any tax, fine, penalty, license, forfeiture, assessment, fee charge, or other amount due the Town by the performance of labor or service for the Town by any person owing the same;

(40) To inquire into and investigate the conduct of any officer, agent or employee of the Town or any municipal affair and for such purpose or purposes may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths or affirmations, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, or other evidence by subpoena;

(41) To establish by Ordinance duly adopted pursuant to this Charter a Pension Plan or a Health and Welfare Plan, or both, for the employees of the Town under such terms and conditions as the Town Council, in its discretion, may deem most appropriate; provided, however, that any annual appropriation which is made by the Town Council under any such Pension Plan or any Health and Welfare Plan, or both, shall not exceed a maximum of fifteen percent (15%) of the total annual payroll of the Town; and provided further, that the method of funding may, if deemed desirable by the Town Council, be accomplished through an insurance company licensed by the State of Delaware or authorized to do business in the State and approved by a majority of the elected members of the Town Council;

(42) To borrow money in anticipation of revenues on the full faith and credit of the Town of Camden, sum or sums not exceeding One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) in any one year when, in the opinion of a majority of the Town Council of the Town of Camden, the needs of the Town require it. Any sum so borrowed shall be secured by promissory notes of the Town of Camden, duly authorized by Resolution adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Camden and signed by the Mayor of the Town of Camden, and attested by the Secretary of the Town Council with the corporate seal affixed, and no officer or member of the Town Council shall be liable for the payments of such notes because it is signed by them as officers of the Town and is authorized by the resolution of Town Council; provided, however, that the total sum outstanding at any one time shall not exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), and provided further, that any sum of money so borrowed, as aforesaid, in any fiscal year, shall be paid from the General Fund of the Town and shall be completely repaid at any time, but must be completely paid at the end of ten (10) fiscal years following the first fiscal year when said sum or sums were borrowed with interest thereon; and provided that such ad valorem taxes shall be levied as are necessary to pay the principal or the interest on said bonds as is required without regard to any other limitation concerning the maximum rate of taxation and such notes and the interest thereon shall be exempt from all taxation by the State of Delaware or by any political subdivision, agency or subdivision thereof;

(43) To contract with any municipality, county, the State or any agency or instrumentality thereof, for cooperation in the maintenance and operation of police, trash collection or other municipal services which under this Charter which the Town of Camden individually may perform and to participate in such commissions as the Town Council may deem necessary to carry into effect such cooperative arrangements; and

(44) To make, adopt and establish all such Ordinances, regulations, rules and bylaws not contrary to the laws of this State and the United States as the Town Council may deem necessary to carry into effect any of the provisions of this Charter or any other law of the State relating generally to municipal corporations or which they may deem proper and necessary for the good government of the Town, the protection and preservation of persons and property, and of the public health and introduction or spread of infectious or contagious diseases or to prevent nuisances affecting the same shall apply not only within the corporate limits of the Town but as well to all areas and persons outside the Town within one (1) mile from said limits.

STREETS

Section 31. (a) The Town Council shall have the power and authority to lay out, locate and open new streets or to widen and alter existing streets or parts thereof and to vacate or abandon streets or parts thereof, whenever the Town Council shall deem it for the best interest of the Town.

(b) The procedure to be used for any of those things heretofore listed in this Section shall be as follows:

CURBING AND PAVING

Section 32. (a) Whenever the Town Council shall have determined that any paving, graveling, curbing or any or all of them shall be done, it shall cause a notice to be sent to the owner or owners along or in front of whose premises the same is to be done, particularly designating the nature and character thereof, and thereupon it shall be the duty of such owner or owners to cause such paving, graveling, and/or curbing, or any of them, to be done in conformity with said notice. In the event any owner or owners neglect to comply with said notice for the space of thirty (30) days, the said Town Council may proceed to have the same done and when done, the Town Council shall, as soon as convenient thereafter, present to the owner or owners of such lands a bill sharing expenses of such paving, graveling and curbing, or any of them. If such owner or owners be not resident in the Town of Camden, such bills shall be sent by certified mail with postage prepaid or to such owner or owners directed to him, her or them at the last known address. If such bill be not paid by the owner or owners of such lands within sixty (60) days after the presentation thereof, as aforesaid, the Town Tax Collector shall proceed to collect the same in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as are provided for the collection of delinquent taxes.

(b) Any notice sent to one co-owner shall be notice to all owners and in the case no owners shall reside in said Town, notice serviced as set forth herein or posted upon the premises shall be sufficient.

(c) The provisions contained herein shall apply to any order made by the Town Council in respect to any pavement, sidewalk or curb heretofore made or done which the said Town Council may deem insufficient or need repairing.

COLLECTION OF CHARGES DUE THE TOWN

Section 33. (a) In the collection of any charges due the Town for water rentals, sewer service charges, electric bills, gas bills, license fees, tapping fees, trash assessment from foot assessment, charges growing out of the abatement of nuisances, laying out and repairing paving, graveling, curbing, or any of them, such charges shall become a first lien against all real estate of the delinquent property owners and/or taxpayers situate within the Town, and such charges shall have preference and priority for a period of ten (10) years from the date the charge became due and owing to all other liens on real estate created or suffered by the taxable and property owner, although such other lien or liens be of a date prior to the time for the attaching of such liens for such charges.

(b) The remedies available to the Town Tax Collector for the collection of such charges shall be the same as those set forth in this Charter for the collection of delinquent taxes.

POWER TO BORROW MONEY AND ISSUE BONDS

Section 34. (a) The Town Council may borrow money and issue bonds or certificates of indebtedness to secure the repayment thereof on the faith and credit of the Town of Camden to provide funds for the erection, extension, enlargement, purchase or the repair of any plant, machinery, appliances, or equipment for the supply or the manufacture and distribution of electricity or gas for light, heat or power purposes for the furnishing of water to the public, for the construction, repair and improvements of highways, streets or lanes or the paving, curbing or erection of gutters and curbs along the same; for the purchase of real estate for any municipal purpose; for the construction or repair of sewage disposal equipment; or to defray the cost or the share of the Town of the costs of any permanent municipal improvements; provided, however, that the borrowing of money therefor shall have been authorized for the Town Council in the manner following:

(1) The Town Council by Resolution shall propose to the residents and property owners of the Town that the Town Council proposes to borrow a certain sum of money for any of the purposes above stated. The Resolution shall state the amount of money desired to be borrowed, the purpose for which it is desired, the manner of securing the same, and all other pertinent facts relating to the loan which are deemed pertinent by the Town Council and in their possession at the time of the passage of the resolution and shall fix a time and place for a hearing on the said Resolution.

(2) Notice of the time and place of the hearing on the Resolution authorizing said loan shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town or distributed in circular form at least one (1) week before the time set for the public hearing.

(3) Following the public hearing, a second Resolution shall then be passed by the Town Council ordering a special election to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days after the said public hearing to borrow the money, the said special election to be for the purpose of voting for or against the proposed loan. The passing of the second Resolution calling a special election shall ipso facto be considered the determination of the Town Council to proceed with the matter in issue.

(4) The notice of the time and place of holding the said special election shall be printed in two (2) issues of a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Camden within thirty (30) days prior to the said special election, or both, at the discretion of the Town Council.

(5) At the said special election every citizen of the Town of Camden shall have one vote, and in addition, every partnership or corporation owning property within the corporate limits of the Town of Camden shall also have one vote, and the said votes may be cast either in person or by proxy.

(6) The Town Council shall cause to be prepared, printed and have available for distribution a sufficient number of ballots not less than five (5) days prior to the said special election. The special election may, at the discretion of the Town Council, be conducted by the use of voting machines or by paper ballot. The Mayor of the Town of Camden by and with the advice and consent of the majority of the Town Council shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Elections. The polling places shall be opened from 12:00 noon prevailing time, until 6:00 o’clock in the evening, prevailing time, on the date set for the special election.

(7) The Board of Special Elections shall count the votes for and against the proposed loan and shall announce the result thereof. The Board of Special Election shall make a certificate under their Hands of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed loan and the number of void votes and shall deliver the same to the Town Council which said certificates shall be retained by the Town Council with the other papers of the Town Council.

(8) The form of the bond or certificate of indebtedness, the interest rate, the time or times of payment of interest, the classes of the bonds, the time or times of maturity, and the provisions as to registration shall be determined by the Town Council after the said special election.

(9) The bonds shall be offered for sale to the best and most responsible bidder therefor after advertisement in a manner to be described by the Town Council for at least one (1) month before offering the same for sale.

(10) The Town Council shall provide in its budget and in the fixing of the rate of tax for the payment of interest on and principal of the said bonds at the maturity thereof.

(11) The faith and credit of the Town of Camden shall be deemed to be pledged for the due payment of the bonds and interest thereon issued pursuant to the provisions thereof when the same had been properly executed and delivered for value.

(b) The bonded indebtedness shall not at any time succeed in the aggregate the total sum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the value of real property situate within the limits of the Town of Camden shown by the last assessment preceding the creation of the said indebtedness.

ACTIONS OR SUITS

Section 35. No action, suit or proceeding shall be brought or maintained against the Town of Camden for damages, either compensatory or punitive on account of any physical injury or injuries, death or injury to property by reason of the negligence, simple, gross, or willful or wanton of the said Town of Camden or any of its departments, officers, agents, servants or employees unless the person by or on behalf of whom such claim or demand is asserted, within ninety (90) days from the happening of said injury or the suffering of such damages, shall notify the Town of Camden in writing of the time, place, cause, character and extent of the injury sustained or damages suffered. Such notice shall be directed to the Mayor of the Town of Camden by certified mail with return receipt requested and postage prepaid.

COMPENDIUM

Section 36. It shall be the duty of the Town Council at reasonable time or times to compile the ordinances, current regulations, orders and rules of the Town of Camden. The Town Council shall have a reasonable number of copies printed for the use of the officials of the Town and for public information. From time to time, upon the enactment of new ordinances, currents, rules and regulations, or upon the enactment of amendments to same, the Town Council shall enroll the same in the minutes of the Town Council and shall keep copies of the same in a book to be provided for that purpose so that the same may be readily examined. It shall furnish the Mayor of the Town of Camden copies thereof as they are enacted and therefrom may cause supplements to be compiled and printed to any compendium thereof heretofore printed as above provided.

REVIVAL OR POWERS AND VALIDATING SECTION

Section 37. (a) All powers conferred upon or vested in the Town Council of the Town of Camden by any act or law of the State of Delaware not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter are hereby expressly conferred upon and vested in the Town of Camden and/or the Town Council of the Town of Camden precisely as of each of said powers was expressly set forth in this Charter.

(b) All ordinances adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Camden and in force at the time of approval, acceptance and going into effect of this Charter are continued in force until the same or any of them shall be repealed, modified or altered by the Town Council of the Town of Camden under the provisions of this Charter.

(c) All of the acts and doings of the Town Council of the Town of Camden or of any official of the Town Council of the Town of Camden which shall have been lawfully done or performed under the provision of any law of this State or of any ordinance of the Town of Camden or under any provision of any prior Charter of the Town Council of the Town of Camden prior to the approval, acceptance and going into effect of this Charter are hereby ratified and confirmed, unless otherwise provided herein.

(d) All taxes, assessments, license fees, penalties, fines, and forfeitures due the Town Council of the Town of Camden or the Town of Camden shall be due the Town of Camden and all debts from the Town or the Town Council of the Town of Camden shall remain unimpaired until paid by the Town of Camden.

(e) All powers granted by this Charter in respect to the collection of taxes, license fees, assessments or other charges shall be deemed to apply and extend to all unpaid taxes, license fees, assessments, or other charges heretofore lawfully imposed by the Town Council of the Town of Camden.

(f) The bonds given by or on account of any official of the Town Council of the Town of Camden shall not be impaired or affected by the provisions of this Charter.

(g) All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with or in conflict with the provisions of this Charter and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of any such inconsistency.

(h) If any part of this Charter shall be unconstitutional or invalid by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not be deemed to invalidate the remaining provisions of this Charter.

(i) This Charter shall be taken as and deemed to be a Public Act of the State of Delaware.”.