CHAPTER 322
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 520
AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED AN ACT TO REINCORPORATE THE TOWN OF FELTON", BEING CHAPTER 349, 63 LAWS OF DELAWARE.
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 Section 15 ("Ordinances Defined") Chapter 349, 63 Laws of Delaware by deleting the words "(f) authorize the borrowing of money" and re-designating former subsections "(g) and "(h)" as "(f)" and "(g)" respectively.
Section 2. Add a new Section 58 "Borrowing Powers" to Chapter 349, 63 Laws of Delaware as follows:
"Borrowing Powers.
58(a) Short-Term Borrowings by Town Commissioners Without Voter
Approval. The Commissioners of the Town shall have the power to borrow money on the full faith and credit of the Town, without approval of the voters and without regard to the provisions of Section 58(b) of this Charter, such sum or sums not exceeding in the aggregate One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) for general purposes when, in the opinion of the Commissioners of the Town, the needs of the Town require it; provided, however, that any new borrowings under this Section 58(a) made after the effective date of this act shall, by their terms, be repayable in full within five (5) years of the date of each such borrowing. Any sum or sums so borrowed shall be secured by a promissory note or notes or other evidence of indebtedness of the Town of Felton duly authorized by Resolution of the Commissioners of the Town and signed by the President and attested by the Treasurer of the Town of Felton with the town seal affixed. No Commissioner shall be liable for the payment of any such note or any other evidence of indebtedness because it is signed by him or her as a Commissioner, provided that he is so authorized by Resolution of the Commissioners of the Town. Such notes or evidences of indebtedness and the interest thereon shall be exempt from all taxation by the State of Delaware, its agencies and political subdivisions. Any sum(s) of money borrowed on the full faith and credit of the Town shall be paid from the general funds of the Town. The aggregate amount of outstanding principal from any such borrowing or borrowings under this §58(a) shall at no time exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars (8150,000.00).
58(a) long-Term Borrowings:_Voter Approyal Required. In addition to other borrowing powers granted to the Town under this Charter or by special act, the Commissioners of the Town shall have authority to borrow money for any proper municipal purpose through the issuance of bonds or certificates of indebtedness to secure the repayment thereof, on the full faith and credit of the Town, or such other security or securities as the Commissioners of the Town shall elect, for the payment of principal thereof and interest due thereon.
58(b)(1) Proper Municipal purpose By way of illustration and not in limitation, "any proper municipal purpose" includes, but is not limited to:
(A) refunding any or all outstanding bonds or other indebtedness of the Town at the maturity thereof or in accordance with any callable feature or provision contained therein.
(A) erecting, extending, enlarging, improving, maintaining, or repairing any plant, building, machinery, or equipment for the manufacture, supply, or distribution of gas, water, electricity, sewerage, or drainage system, or any of them, and the condemning or purchasing of any lands, easements, and right-of-ways which may be required therefor.
(C) constructing, paving, laying out, widening, extending, repairing and maintaining streets, lanes, alleys and ways, and the paving, constructing, laying-out, widening, extending, repairing, and maintaining of curbing and gutters, including storm sewers, along the same, and the condemning or purchasing of lands, easements or rights of ways which may be required therefor.
(D) constructing, laying out, widening, extending, repairing and maintaining boardwalks, bulkheads, sidewalks, cross walks, or embankments, or any of them, and the condemning or purchasing of any lands, easements, or rights of way which may be required therefor.
(A) defraying the costs to the Town of any other municipal improvement provided for or authorized or implied by the provisions of this Charter.
(A) paying all expenses deemed necessary by the Commissioners of the Town for the issuance of said bonds or certificates of indebtedness, including bond discount, bond insurance, and legal expenses of bond counsel.
58(b)(2) Exempt From Taxation. All bonds or other kinds or forms of certificate or certificates of indebtedness issued by the Town pursuant to the provisions of this section, and the interest thereon, shall be exempt from all taxation by the State of Delaware, its agencies and political subdivisions.
58(b)(3) Limit of aggregate Long-Term Indebtedness. In no event shall the indebtedness of the Town of Felton, authorized by this Section 58(b), at any time exceed, in the aggregate, fifteen percent OM of the assessed valuation of all taxable real property within the corporate limits of the Town of Felton.
58(b)(4) Procedure: Notice. Hearing. Election. In order to proceed under the power granted in this section, the Commissioners of the Town shall authorize such borrowing in the following manner:
(A) The Commissioners of the Town by resolution shall give notice to the residents and property owners of the Town that the Commissioners of the Town propose to borrow a sum of money, not to exceed a stated amount, for a stated municipal purpose or purposes. The resolution shall state the amount of money desired to be borrowed (which may be stated as a "not to exceed" amount as to each purpose), the purpose(s) for which the amount(s) is/are desired, the manner of securing same, and such other facts relating to the borrowing which are deemed pertinent by the Commissioners of the Town and in their possession at the time of the passage of the Resolution; and they shall fix a time, date and place for a hearing on the said resolution.
(B)(i) Notice of the time, date, and place of the hearing on the resolution authorizing said loan shall be published in two newspapers or general circulation in the Town not less than 10 days, nor more than 60 days, prior to the date set for the public hearing. Such notice shall be in bold print or bordered in black so as to call attention thereto. In addition to the time, date, and place of the public hearing such notices shall contain the same information as required under §58(b)(4)(A) above.
(ii) In addition to publication as herein provided, the Commissioners of the Town shall, not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior to the date set for the hearing, cause a public notice containing the information required above to be posted in at least five public places in the Town. In the event the publications and/or postings do not appear on the same date, date of the last publication or posting shall control.
(C) If, at any time following the public hearing, the Commissioners of the Town determine to proceed with the proposed borrowing, they shall pass a second resolution ordering a special election to be held, upon not less than 10 nor more than 60 days public notice, for the purpose of voting for or against the proposed borrowing. The passage of the second Resolution shall ipso facto be considered a determination by the Commissioners of the Town to proceed with the matter in issue; provided however, that the Commissioners of the Town may, at any time subsequent thereto, and based upon a significant change in the relevant circumstances, act by resolution to cancel the Special Election and abandon the proposed borrowing.
(D)(i) The notice of the time and place of holding the said Special Election shall be printed in two newspapers of general circulation in the Town, not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior to the date set for the Special Election. In addition to the time, date and place of the election, such notice shall contain the same information as required under §5B(b)(4)(A). Such notice shall be in bold print or bordered in black so as to call attention thereto.
(ii) In addition to such publication as herein provided, the
Commissioners of the Town shall, not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days before the date set for the election, cause public notice, containing the information set out in subsection (D)(i) above, to be posted in at least 5 public places in the Town. In the event the publications and/or postings do not appear on the same date, the date of the last publication or posting shall control.
(E) At such special election, any person who is entitled to vote in the annual town election if it were held on that day, shall be entitled to one vote. (For purposes of this section, "entitled to vote" shall include "registered to vote" if voter registration is required for the annual town election.)
Any Special Election held pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be conducted by voting machines, electronic voting systems, or printed ballots as permitted by law which shall have the following designation:
[ I For the proposed borrowing
[ I Against the proposed borrowing
If the borrowing is for more than one project, each separate project, and the not-to-exceed amount proposed to be borrowed for that project, shall be separately stated, and the voter shall be afforded the opportunity to vote "for" or "against" the proposed borrowing for each individual project.
The voter shall be instructed to mark the box(es) for which he casts his vote.
The President of The Town of Felton, by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the Commissioners of the Town shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Election. The polling places shall be opened for a minimum of six hours as specified by resolution of the Commissioners of the Town. Persons in the polling place at the time appointed for closing of the polls shall be entitled to vote.
(F) The Board of Special Election shall be the sole and final judges of the legality of the votes offered at such special
election. It shall keep a true and accurate list of all persons
voting. It shall count the votes for and against the proposed
borrowing(s) 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 borrowing(s) and the number of void votes and shall deliver the same to the Commissioners of the Town which said certificate shall be retained by the Commissioners of the Town with the other papers of the Town.
(G) If a majority of the votes cast at such special election shall be in favor of such borrowing(s), the Commissioners of the Town shall proceed with the issuance of the said bonds or
certificates of indebtedness; provided, however, that the Commissioners of the Town may, at any time prior to entering into a binding agreement for the public or private sale of such bond(s) or evidence(s) of indebtedness, abandon all or any of the proposed borrowing(s).
58(b)(5) Form of Bonds. The form of the bonds or certificates of indebtedness and the thereunto attached coupons, if any, the time or times of payment, the interest rate, the classes, the series, the maturity, the registration, any callable or redeemable feature, the denomination, the name thereof and any other relative or appurtenant matter pertaining thereto shall all be determined by the Commissioners of the Town after said Special Election.
58(b)(6) Public or Private Sale The bonds may be sold at either public or private sale. If the bonds shall be offered for public sale they shall be sold to the best and most responsible bidder(s) therefor after advertisement in a manner to be prescribed by the Commissioners of the Town.
58(b)(7) Provision for Payment: Special Tax. Sinking Fund. The Commissioners of the Town shall provide for the payment of interest on and principal of the said bonds or certificates of indebtedness at the maturity thereof. The said Commissioners of the Town are authorized and empowered, at their discretion, to levy a special tax upon all the real estate within the Town or only upon such real estate as is directly benefited by the improvements paid for by the proceeds of such borrowing to pay interest on said bonds and/or principal; and at their discretion, to establish a sinking fund adequate to the redemption, at or before maturity, of all bonds or certificates of indebtedness which may be issued under the provisions of this Section; provided, that the amount to be raised under any special tax for this purpose shall not in any one year exceed a sum equal to five per centum of the total bonded indebtedness. The special tax provided for in this Section 58(b)(7) shall be collected from the owners of real estate in the same manner as the other taxes levied by the said Commissioners of the Town are collected. Said Commissioners of the Town may also appropriate and set aside for such sinking fund so much of the general funds of said town as they may from time to time think advisable. The sinking fund provided for by this Section 58(b)(7) shall be deposited in federally insured deposits in a bank, trust company, or other banking institution until such time as it may be needed for the redemption of the bonds.
58(b)(8) Full Faith and Credit Unless Otherwise Stated Unless any such bond(s) or certificate(s) of indebtedness shall provide otherwise, the full faith and credit of the Town of Felton shall deemed to be pledged for the due payment of the bonds and the interest thereon issued under the provisions of this section when the same shall have been properly executed and delivered for value notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter.
58(b)(9) Statute of Limitations 60 days No action contesting any proceedings conducted, or action taken, by the Commissioners of the the Town hereunder regarding the authorization of any bonds or certificates of indebtedness issued under this Section 58(b) shall be brought after the expiration of silty days from the publication of a notice in at least two newspapers, one of which shall be of general circulation in the Town of Felton and one of which shall be of general circulation in the State of Delaware, which notice shall announce the following information:
(A) That the Commissioners of the Town have determined to borrow a certain sum of money and to issue bonds or certificates of indebtedness therefore.
(8) That the proposal has been approved by a majority of those casting votes at a special election in the Town called for the purpose of voting for or against the borrowing.
(C) The amount of money to be borrowed.
(D) The purpose(s) for which it is to be borrowed.
(E) That any person desiring to challenge the authorization of such bond(s) or certificate(s) of indebtedness must bring his or her action within 60 days from the date of publication of such notice or forever be barred from doing so.
(F) Such notice shall be in bold print or bordered in black in such manner as to call attention thereto. In addition to publication as herein provided, the Commissioners of the Town shall cause a public notice, containing the information set out in subsections (A) through (E) above to be posted in at least 5 public places in the Town. In the event the publications and/or postings do not appear on the same date, the date of the last publication or posting shall control.
Approved July 8, 1994.