CHAPTER 171
FORMERLY HOUSE BILL NO. 409
AN ACT TO REINCORPORATE THE TOWN OF CHESWOLD.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all of the Members of each House concurring therein):
INCORPORATION; POWERS OF TOWN GENERALLY
Section 1. Incorporation
The inhabitants of the town of Cheswold, within the corporate limits established by Section 2 hereof, and as hereafter amended, shall continue to be a municipal corporation and body politic under the style and name of "The Town of Cheswold", hereinafter referred to as the "town".
Section 2. Town limits
The town of Cheswold shall include all that portion of Kent County included within the town of Cheswold by Chapter 149, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware, as amended by Chapter 119, Volume 54, Laws of Delaware. The town limits shall also include such additional areas as may be from time to time annexed thereto, pursuant to this Act.
Section 3. Powers of the town — generally
The town shall have and exercise all express and implied powers and authority of local self-government and home rule which, under the Delaware Constitution, it would be competent for the General Assembly to grant to the town by a specific enumeration and which are not denied by general statute, and the town shall have complete powers of legislation and administration in relation to its municipal functions, including any additional powers and authority which may hereafter be granted to it. The town shall have the power to enact ordinances and to make rules and regulations necessary and proper for carrying into execution any of its express or implied powers; and such ordinances, rules and regulations may be made enforceable by the imposition of
fines, forfeitures, penalties, and imprisonment. The town may acquire, hold, manage and dispose of property and provide municipal services on such terms as it deems proper within or without its corporate limits for any municipal function. Any enumeration of particular powers in this Act shall not be deemed to be exclusive and the powers of the town under this Act shall be construed liberally in favor of the town.
Section 4. Legislative power
The legislative power of the town, including any such power which may hereafter be conferred on the town by amendment to the Delaware Constitution or by the laws of the State of Delaware, shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by a Council, subject only to the provisions of this Act. The Council elected shall organize and shall function as provided in this Act.
Section 5. Executive and administrative power
(a) The executive and administrative power of the town, as it now exists, shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by a Mayor and such other officers, departments, boards and commissions as are designated and authorized in this Act. The Mayor and other executive or administrative officers shall be elected or appointed as provided in this Act.
(b) Any additional executive and administrative power which may be conferred on the town by amendment of the Delaware Constitution or by the laws of the State of Delaware, or any additional function assumed by the town as within its existing executive and administrative powers, shall be vested in and exercised by the Mayor and, as far as practicable, by the officers, departments, boards and commissions designated in this Act. The Council shall by ordinance distribute among such officers, departments, boards and commissions such new powers, functions, and duties, but to the extent that this is not practicable, it may create additional offices, boards, departments, and commissions for the exercise of such powers and the performance of such duties, and provide for the appointment of new officers or members of the new boards, departments, or commissions. Any such additional offices, boards, departments, and commissions shall in all respects be subject to this Act. In case of new officers whose primary duties are to assist the courts, the appointive power
may be vested in the judges thereof; and if the primary duties of any new board or commission relate to the functions of any department, such board or commissions shall be constituted a departmental board or commission within such department.
Section 6. Intergovernmental relations
The town may exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions and may participate in the financing thereof, jointly or in cooperation, by contract or otherwise, with any one or more states or civil divisions or agencies thereof, including counties, or the United States or any agency thereof.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH,
Section 1. Number and terms of councilmen
Council shall consist of five (5) members, all of whom shall be elected from the town at large for a term of two (2) years. Three (3) members of the Council shall be elected in odd numbered years, and two (2) members of the Council shall be elected in even numbered years.
Section 2. Transitional provision
Each Commissioner of the Town of Cheswold shall serve as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Cheswold until the expiration of his present term as Commissioner. Thereafter, he is eligible for election to the Town Council unless otherwise disqualified.
Section 3. Election; vacancies
Elections for Mayor and members of Town Council shall be held annually on the last Tuesday in March between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. All persons who have resided within the limits of the town of Cheswold for at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of the election shall be eligible to vote. All voters, in order to vote in a town election, shall register with a Board of Registration appointed by the Town Council. Said Board of Registration shall set at some public place within the town on the 30th day before each town election for the purpose of receiving voter registrations between the hours of noon and 8:00 p.m. The
place of registration shall be advertised by the posting of notices at ten (10) public places within the town, and said notices shall be posted fifteen (15) days before the registration day. A voter who was registered to vote in the last town election and who voted in such town election need not re-register.
Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the provisions of the election laws of the State of Delaware shall apply to elections held under this Act. All elections provided for by this Act shall be conducted by the election authorities authorized to hold elections under the election laws of the State of Delaware.
If a vacancy occurring by reason of death, removal from the town, or resignation occurs, the remaining members of the Town Council shall select a voter of the town to fill the vacancy until the next town election, unless the vacancy occurs within thirty (30) days prior to the next town election, in which event the Council shall select a person to fill the vacancy until the next succeeding town election. If the Council divides evenly on the question of the filling of the vacancy, the Mayor shall cast the deciding vote.
Any qualified voter of the town may have his name placed upon the ballot for election as Mayor or member of the Town Council by giving written notice to the Town Clerk not less than thirty (30) days prior to the town election.
Section 4. Organization of Council
Council shall meet for organization at 8:00 p.m. on the Monday next succeeding the town election. The Mayor shall preside at all Council meetings, but shall not have a vote except in case of a tie. At the organization meeting, the Council shall elect a Town Clerk, who shall be secretary of Council. Council shall determine its rules and order of business, provide for such committees as it deems necessary, and define the duties of the City Clerk and employees. It shall employ and fix the salaries of such persons as may be necessary for a proper discharge of its business. The minutes of its proceedings shall be kept and shall be open to public inspection.
Section 5. Introduction, consideration and passage of ordinances
(a) Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption. Any ordinance which repeals or amends an existing ordinance or part of the City Code shall set out in full that part of the ordinance, section or subsection to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate matter to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets or by strike-out type and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or italics. Every ordinance, except annual budget ordinances and general modifications and revisions of town ordinances, shall contain not more than one subject which shall be clearly and adequately expressed in its title.
(b) After an ordinance shall have been introduced and given its first and second readings, it shall be referred to an appropriate committee for report, and the committee or council may hold a public hearing on any ordinance if it desires. No ordinance shall be finally enacted at the same meeting in which it is introduced and given its first and second readings.
(c) Votes on all ordinances on final passage shall be taken by ayes and nays and the vote recorded in the minutes of the proceedings.
(d) No action of the Town Council, except as otherwise provided in this Act, shall be valid or binding unless adopted with the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Town Council.
(e) Except as may be otherwise provided in this Act, every adopted ordinance shall become effective at the expiration of thirty (30) days after adoption unless a different effective date is specified in this ordinance.
Section 6. Submission of ordinances to the Mayor
Every ordinance shall, before it takes effect, be certified to the Mayor for his approval. The Mayor shall sign the ordinance if he approves it, whereupon it shall become law. If he disapproves it, he shall return it to the Council with the reasons for his disapproval with ten (10) days after he receives it. If the Council
shall pass the ordinance by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all of its members within fifteen (15) days after the ordinance has been returned with the Mayor's disapproval, it shall become law without his approval. If the Mayor does not return the ordinance within the time required, it shall become law without his approval.
Section 7. Council meetings
The meetings of the Council shall be open and at all times accessible to the public. Official town business transacted by the Town Council shall be in the public meetings. The Town Council may meet regularly at least twice in each month. The time, place, and date of regular meetings and the places of special meetings shall be established by the Town Council as a part of the rules of procedure adopted for the conduct of its meetings. Special meetings may be held on the call of the Mayor, or of a majority of the members of the Town Council in accordance with rules adopted as a part of the rules of procedure of the Town Council. A majority of all members of the Council shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in the manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of the Town Council.
Section 8. Emergency ordinances
To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, the Town Council may adopt emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not levy taxes, grant, renew or extend a franchise, or authorize the borrowing of money except to issue emergency notes as provided by law. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally, except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced, but the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members shall be required for adoption. It shall become effective upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify. Every emergency ordinance except one made for the issuance of emergency notes shall automatically stand repealed as of the sixty-first day following the date on which
it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of the ordinance in the manner specified in this Section if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this Section for adoption of emergency ordinances.
Section 9. Adoption of codes of technical regulations
The Council may adopt any standard code of technical regulations by reference thereto in an adopting ordinance. The procedure and requirements governing such an adopting ordinance shall be as prescribed for ordinances generally. Copies of any adopted code of technical regulations shall be made available by the Town Clerk or for purchase at a reasonable price.
Section 10. Annual operating budget ordinance
(a) It shall be the duty of the Council, at least thirty (30) days before the end of the fiscal year, to adopt the annual operating budget ordinance for the next fiscal year. The consideration of the operating budget ordinance shall begin forthwith upon the receipt from the Mayor of his annual written operating budget message and the proposed annual operating budget ordinance. The proposed budget ordinance shall be regarded as having been introduced immediately upon its receipt.
(b) The annual operating budget ordinance shall provide for discharging any deficit and shall make appropriations to the Council, the Mayor, and all officers, departments, boards and commissions which form a part of the executive or administrative branch of the town government, and for all other items which are to be met out of the revenue of the town. All appropriations shall be made in lump sum amounts and according to the following classes of expenditures for each office, department, board or commission:
(1) Personal services;
(2) Materials, supplies and equipment;
(3) Debt service;
(4) Such additional classes as the Mayor shall recommend in his proposed annual operating budget ordinance.
Expenditures for the repair of any property and for the acquisition of any property or for any work or project which does not have a probable useful life to the town of at least five (5) years following the time the expenditure is made for it shall be deemed to be ordinary expenses to be provided for in the annual operating budget ordinance. Appropriations for the use of any departmental board or commission shall be made to the department with which it is connected.
(c) The Mayor's estimates of receipts for the ensuing fiscal year and of surplus or deficit, if any, for the current fiscal year may not be altered by the Council.
(d) The annual operating budget ordinance may be amended after its passage to authorize the transfer of items but the aggregate of the appropriations made by it may not be increased and transfer of budget items may not be made during the last four (4) months of any fiscal year, except upon the recommendation of the mayor.
Section 11. Other appropriations
The Council may not make any operating appropriations in addition to those included in the annual operating budget ordinance except:
(a) To meet emergencies which could not be anticipated when the operating budget ordinance was passed.
(b) To pay the expenses of holding special elections and elections on proposals to amend this Act.
Unless paid for out of current revenues, all amounts appropriated under this Section must be included as liabilities of the town in the next succeeding annual operating budget ordinance and except to meet emergencies, operating expenses shall neither be appropriated nor paid out of loan funds.
Section 12. Balancing the budget
Not later than the passage of the annual operating budget ordinance, the Council shall ordain such revenue measures as will, in the opinion of the Mayor, yield sufficient revenue to balance
the budget. For this purpose new sources of revenue or increased rates from existing sources of revenue not proposed by the Mayor shall be deemed to yield in the ensuing fiscal year such amounts as the Mayor shall determine. The annual operating budget ordinance shall not become effective and the Town Treasurer shall not approve any order for any expenditure thereunder until the Council has balanced the budget. In no event shall taxes upon real estate exceed two percent (2%) of the total assessed value of all the real estate subject to taxation.
Section 13. Legislation affecting zoning, physical development plan, land subdivision, or authorizing the purchase or sale of real estate
The Council shall not enact any ordinance which shall in any manner affect any zoning ordinance, the physical development plan of the town, plans of streets and revisions of such plans, and land subdivision plans or any ordinance which would authorize the acquisition or sale of town real estate without first receiving the recommendation thereon through the Mayor or the Town Planning Commission.
Section 14. Leases and contracts for more than one year
The Council may by ordinance authorize the leasing of real estate for more than one (1) year and the contracting for personal property to be supplied or for services to be rendered over a period of more than one (1) year without making appropriations therefor beyond the current year. Such leases and contracts shall be valid and binding upon the town although no appropriations have been made for the ensuing years during which the leases and contracts are to be operative; but it shall be the duty of the Council to make subsequent appropriations from year to year to pay amounts coming due under such leases and contracts. The obligation of the town under such leases and contracts shall not be considered to be part of the indebtedness of the city.
EXECUTIVE AND
ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH — ORGANIZATION
Section I. Executive and administrative officers, and departments
The executive and administrative work of the town shall be performed by:
(a) The Mayor.
(b) The Town Clerk.
(c) The Town Treasurer.
(d) The Water Commissioner.
(e) The heads of other departments as such departments may be created by the Town Council.
Section 2. Election or appointment
The town officers shall be elected or appointed as follows:
(a) The Mayor shall be elected for a term of two (2) years at the town election on the last Tuesday in March, commencing with the town election on the last Tuesday in March, 1972.
(b) The Town Clerk shall be elected by a majority vote of the Town Council at its meeting each year on the first Monday after the town election.
(c) The Town Treasurer shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority vote of the Council, and shall serve until the next succeeding organization meeting of the Council on the Monday after the town election.
(d) The Water Commissioner shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority vote of the Council, and shall serve until the next succeeding organization meeting of the Council on the Monday after the town election.
(e) The Chief of Police shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by a majority vote of the Town Council. He may be removed by the Mayor with or without cause, but may not otherwise be removed.
() The heads of any other departments hereafter created by the Council pursuant to this Act shall be appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by a majority vote of Council and shall serve until removed for cause by the Council.
Section 3. Vacancies
In the event of the death, resignation or removal from the town of the Mayor, the Town Council shall, by a majority vote, elect a new Mayor, who may or may not be a member of the Council. The Mayor thus elected by Council shall serve until the next town election, at which time the voters of the town shall elect a voter of the town to serve the unexpired term, if any. If the death, resignation or removal within thirty (30) days of the next ensuing town election, and the resigning, dying or departing Mayor has a term extending beyond the next ensuing town election, Council shall fill the vacancy by a majority vote for the remainder of his term.
Vacancies in any other offices shall be filled in the same manner as original appointment, for the balance of the unexpired term.
Section 4. Compensation
The Council shall, by ordinance, determine the salary to be paid to the Mayor, Town Treasurer, Town Clerk, and all other town officers and employees.
Section 5. Powers and duties
(a) The Mayor shall preside over meetings of the Town Council, casting a vote in the event of a tie, shall recommend to the Council all measures connected with the affairs of the town, the protection and improvement of its government and finances, and the promotion of the welfare of its people as he shall deem desirable. He shall have the power to call special meetings of the Council when required by public necessity, and to approve or disapprove ordinances as elsewhere provided in this Act. He shall communicate to the Council at least once each year a statement of the finances and general conditions of the affairs of the town and such information on financial matters as the Council may from time to time request. He shall submit to the Council not later than ninety (90) days before the end of the fiscal year his proposed operating budget and his estimate of receipts by the town during the next ensuing fiscal year.
(b) The Town Clerk shall keep minutes of all Council
meetings, attest the signature of the Mayor when required on contracts and other documents, receive filing of candidates for town office, and maintain available for public inspection all of the records of the town.
(c) The Town Treasurer shall sign all checks on public funds, having first determined that the expenditure represented by the check has been duly authorized by the Council.
(d) Anything to the contrary herein notwithstanding, the Chief of Police shall hire and fire all police officers, with or without cause, and shall recommend to the Council the compensation to be paid to each officer.
Section 6. Powers of policemen
Cheswold policemen shall have all the powers conferred by statute and ordinance upon constables, sheriffs and state police of the State of Delaware. They shall have power to make lawful searches, seizures and arrests for violation of any statutes or ordinances in force in the town, in or outside the town limits, to serve subpoenas when ordered to do so by their superior officers, and to do such other acts as may be required of them by statute or ordinance.
Section 7. Emergency police
In case of riot, general conflagration, flood or similar grave emergency, the Mayor may authorize the Chief of Police to appoint emergency police. Such appointment shall be for a period of no more than thirty (30) days. Emergency police shall have such police powers as may be vested in them by the Mayor; shall be subject to the rules and regulations governing the regular police force; and shall receive compensation at a rate not exceeding the rate then prevailing for regular policemen of the rank or ranks to which emergency police are appointed.
Section 8. Additional agencies
Council may, by ordinance, establish a Water Department, a Sewer Department, a Board of Health, a Fire Inspector, a Building Inspector, a Plumbing Inspector, a Public Works Department, a Department of Parks and Recreation, a Zoning Commission, a
Town Charter Commission, a Planning Department, and such other departments or agencies as it may deem necessary from time to time, and such departments or agencies shall have such powers as are conferred by ordinance of the Council.
Section 9. Zoning
The Council shall have and exercise all powers conferred upon municipalities by the applicable state statute with regard to zoning. In addition, and in no way limiting the generality of the foregoing, Council may, by ordinance, adopt a zoning map for the town, designating areas of the town as residential, commercial, or manufacturing; and may force compliance with the zoning ordinance by appropriate action in the appropriate Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware in and for Kent County, which Court is hereby given jurisdiction over any such action. Council shall hear appeals in zoning applications, and may, by ordinance, grant special exceptions. The Council may delegate any or all of its powers under this Section to a Zoning Commission, said commission to be appointed pursuant to the ordinance of the Council creating the commission.
FISCAL AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Section 1. Town Treasurer
The Town Treasurer shall be selected and shall serve in the manner hereinbefore provided. Before commencing his service, he shall provide the Town Clerk with a fidelity bond in such amount as the Council may ordain written by any insurance company licensed to do business in Delaware, and the premium for such bond shall be paid by the town.
He shall receive, for the account of the town, all monies of every sort and description due and owing to the town, shall account to the Council for all funds received at each Town Council meeting, and shall further report to the Town Council all funds disbursed since the last meeting of the Council, in • each instance reporting the cumulative disbursements from the particular appropriation account to which a disbursement is charged since the beginning of the fiscal year.
Section 2. Fiscal year
The fiscal year of the town shall commence on July 1 of each calendar year and end on June 30 of the next succeeding calendar year.
Section 3. Annual statement
The Town Treasurer shall, within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year, issue a statement as of the end of that year showing the balance in all funds of the town, the amounts of the town's known liabilities, receipts and disbursements for the year, and such other information as is necessary to furnish a true picture of the town's financial condition. A copy of this statement shall be available at any meeting of the Town Council to any voter of the town who requests it.
Section 4. Contracts
Before any contract shall be effective, the Town Treasurer shall approve it as to the availability of appropriated funds. He shall designate on every such contract, the appropriation under which it is made and shall give it a number in the order of its date. He shall, in the order in which each contract is numbered, charge the appropriation out of which expenditures thereunder will be made.
Section 5. Collection of funds
The Town Treasurer shall collect all real estate and personal property taxes, penalties and interest due the town. All bills for such taxes shall be prepared in accordance with the assessments certified to the Treasurer by the Board of Assessment and shall be forwarded to the respective taxpayers as soon as possible after the receipt of the certified list. The Treasurer shall collect all income, wage, license or other taxes, and shall collect water and sewer rents if the town operates a water or sewer system.
Section 6. Board of Assessment
The Council shall determine the true market value of all real property within the town once each year, and shall cause to be posted in the town office a copy of the assessment roll for the year. Any taxpayer of the town aggrieved by the assessment on his property shall so notify the Council, in writing, within thirty (30) days after the posting of the assessment roll for the year. Thereafter, the Council shall hear and determine the appeal, and shall thereafter, not later than June 1 in each year, certify the assessment roll to the Town Treasurer. The Council may, by ordinance, delegate any or all of its power under this Section to a Board of Assessment, which shall be chosen in such fashion, serve for such term, and shall have such duties as the Council may ordain.
Section 7. Taxation
Not later than June 10 in each year, the Council shall determine the full amount of money necessary to be raised for the use of the town by taxation for the next ensuing fiscal year, and shall apportion such amount among the several persons and estates assessed upon the town assessment, according to a certain rate in and upon every $100. of the said assessment, but the amount of said tax rate shall not be in excess of two per cent (2%). The Council shall then certify the rate and the assessment list to the Town Treasurer, who shall mail tax bills to all taxables of the town as hereinbefore provided.
Section 8.
When due and payable; penalty for late payment
All the town taxes shall be due and payable during the months of July and August of each year and without any abatement for payment in said months. A penalty of one percent per month shall be added for each month after August thirty-first in which taxes remain unpaid.
Section 9. When delinquent; collection of delinquent taxes; suit generally; penalty for failure to collect
All town taxes shall be due and payable on the first day of July of the year in which the assessment was made, but the same shall not become delinquent until after the first day of May of the next succeeding year. If the same are not paid before the first day of May of the next succeeding year, the Town Treasurer may use whatever he deems to be reasonable means to collect such delinquent taxes without suit. The Town Treasurer may, however,
within the next six (6) months after the taxes become delinquent, begin the legal proceedings hereinafter mentioned, against all delinquent taxables. Such proceedings may be brought in time to reduce the claim for taxes to judgment before the expiration of said six (6) months, except in cases where the trial of the cause is postponed for some reason over which they have no control, but the failure of the Town Treasurer to comply with the provisions of this Section shall not affect the status of said taxes or the right to afterward collect the same; provided, however, that if any Town Treasurer shall fail or refuse to follow out the provisions of this Section, it shall not affect the status of such taxes for town purposes, but shall be deemed a misdemeanor and upon conviction he shall be punished by a fine at the discretion of the court. Conviction for such misdemeanor shall operate to remove the offender from office and render him ineligible to hold any position as an official or employee of the Town for a period of five (5) years from the date of such conviction.
Section 10. Suit — institution; service of process
Proceedings for the collection of delinquent taxes shall be by suit in an action of debt before any Justice of the Peace, in the Court of Common Pleas and in the Superior Court sitting in and for the county; judgments may be obtained in the Superior Court at the term to which the original process is returnable by filing an affidavit of demand together with a copy of the tax bills in the same manner, and under the same conditions as judgments are now obtained under Section 3901 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code and the said suit shall be against the person to whom the land is assessed, or in case the land is owned by any person to whom it is not assessed, then suit may be entered against the owner or owners of said land, or against any other person whose duty it is to pay the said tax. If personal service be had upon any one of several owners of land upon which taxes are so assessed, service need not be had upon the other owner or owners of such land, if a copy of the writ is left with the tenant or any adult person in possession or is posted upon the premises six (6) days before the return of said process.
Section 11. Same — Against guardian or trustee
them shall be binding upon the land of the persons they represent. Any person owning or having any interest in any land upon which town taxes have been assessed, and being under the disability or infancy or incompetency of mind, and not having a guardian or trustee, may be made a defendant in any suit for collection of taxes by a guardian ad litem or trustee ad litem, to be appointed by the court upon the petition of the Town Treasurer.
Section 12. Same — Against nonresidents
In case any owner of real property who is assessed for town taxes is a nonresident, proceedings may be had in the Superior Court of the county by attachment. Said writ of attachment shall be framed, directed, executed and returned and like proceedings had as in other cases of attachment in this state, except that the Town Treasurer shall only be required to make and file with the Prothonotary an affidavit stating that the defendant resides out of state and that he is justly indebted for town taxes, and stating the amount of town taxes owed.
Section 13. Title search prior to suit; fee
The town is authorized to enter suit for the collection of all delinquent taxes and shall cause an examination of the title to be made of the property against which there is unpaid taxes, before advertising for sale said property, in order to ascertain the owner thereof and all the liens upon said property, and the owners of such liens, and there shall be paid to the person making such examination of title a fee not exceeding twenty ($20) dollars which shall be added and collected as costs in the cause.
Section 14. Execution upon tax judgment — generally
Execution may be had upon a judgment for taxes as upon other judgments in the Superior Court; provided, however, that in any case where real property is sold upon execution on a tax judgment it shall not be necessary to issue a writ of inquisition.
Section 15. Same — Title of purchaser
Any real estate sold upon an execution issued upon a judgment for taxes shall vest in the purchaser all the right and title that the defendant or defendants in such judgment had in and to
said land, freed and discharged from any dower or courtesy, in, and to, or against said land.
Section 16. Approval or disapproval of tax sales; disposition of excess funds
Upon the return of any writ of execution for the collection of a judgment for taxes, the Superior Court may inquire into the circumstances and regularity of the proceedings relative to such sale, and either approve the sale or set it aside. If the court approves the sale, the sheriff shall deliver to the purchaser a certificate reciting the judgment and writ, and setting forth the facts relative to the sale, and the purchaser shall have and be possessed of all rights, subject to the right of redemption as herein provided, of the owner of said land, and the said court shall have power to make all necessary orders and rules and to issue all processes which may be necessary to place the said purchaser in possession of said real estate. If the sale be set aside, another sale may be ordered until the judgment is collected. The court shall make such disposal of all proceeds of such sale, in excess of the amount necessary to satisfy such judgment, as it shall deem just. No sale shall be approved if the owner of the property or any person having an interest therein shall be ready at court to pay the said judgment and all costs.
Section
17. Right of owner, etc., to redeem property sold for taxes
The owner of any property sold upon an execution issued upon a tax judgment, or his legal representatives, may redeem the property at any time within one (1) year from the day the sale is approved by the court, and if the owner or his legal representative does not redeem such property within said period, any person having any interest in said property, or lien upon such property, shall be entitled to redeem the same within eighteen (18) months of the date of such approval by the court, by paying to the purchaser or his legal representative the amount of the purchase price, and twenty (20%) percent in addition thereto, or if the purchaser or his legal representative shall refuse to receive the same, by paying said amount into said court.
Section 18. Redeemed property subject to prior liens, etc.
If the owner or his legal representatives shall redeem such property, he may prefer to said court a petition, setting forth the fact and thereupon the court shall cause to be entered upon the judgment a memorandum that the property therein described has been redeemed, and he shall hold such redeemed property subject to the same liens and in the same order of priority as they existed at the time of the sale thereof.
Section 19. Deed for redeemed property
Any person who has a lien upon such property and who shall redeem the same within the time and in the manner prescribed in Section 17; or any purchaser in case the property has not been redeemed, or their respective or representatives, may prefer a petition to the said court setting forth the facts and paying for a deed for said property, and the court shall order the then sheriff to execute and deliver a deed to the person or persons entitled thereto granting and assuring to such person or persons the same estate and title as the said owner was seized of therein at the time of the said sale.
Section 20. Taxes to be prior lien for term of years
All taxes for town purposes which may hereafter be lawfully assessed on real estate in the town shall constitute a prior lien thereon for a period of four (4) years from the first day of July succeeding the assessment of said taxes, but if the said real estate remains the property of the person to whom it is assessed, then the lien shall continue until tax is collected, and may, with all incidental costs and expenses, be levied by sale thereof as herein before provided. The said tax lien shall be fully paid and satisfied before any recognizance, mortgage, judgment, debt, obligation or responsibility which the real estate may become charged with or liable to.
Section 21. Application of proceeds of sale for taxes
In case any property is sold under any of the provisions of this division, the proceeds of such sale shall first be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment and costs under which such property is sold, then to the payment of any unpaid town taxes assessed
against such property before any of the proceeds of such sale shall be applied to any liens of record existing against said property, notwithstanding the fact that such liens may have been entered before such taxes were levied and assessed.
Section 22. Transfer of lien to funds from tax sale
In case of the sale under execution process, of any real estate upon which such tax liens shall exist, such lien shall be transferred to the fund arising from such sale in the hands of the officer making the same, and the real estate so sold shall not be sufficient to pay and discharge the said tax lien by reason of the said real estate having been sold subject to another or other lien or liens created by said taxable, then the unpaid balance of said tax shall remain a lien upon the land so sold.
Section 23. Division cumulative
The provisions of this division, providing for the recovery of taxes, are cumulative, and the Town Treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pursue any or all of said provisions until all town taxes are fully collected, together with costs.
Section 24. Procedure to authorize sale
In addition to all existing methods and authority for the collection of taxes or special assessments due to the town, the following method and authority is hereby established:
The town may file, or cause to be filed, a praecipe in the office of the Prothonotary of the Superior Court, in and for the county, which shall contain the name of the person against whom the taxes or assessments sought to be collected were assessed, and a copy of the bills showing the amount of taxes or assessment due and the property against which the assessment was laid, and a statement of the index numbers of such property as the same appear upon the assessment rolls of the town, shall be sufficient identification and description of the said property. Thereupon the said Prothonotary shall make a record of the same on a special judgment docket of said Superior Court against the property mentioned or described in said praecipe which said record shall consist of the following:
(a) The name of the person in whose name the assessment was made;
(b) The index numbers of said property, as the same shall appear upon the assessment rolls of the town;
(c) The year or years for which said taxes are due and payable;
(d) The date the filing of such praecipe;
(e) The amount of the judgment, the same being the amount set forth in said praecipe.
Such judgment shall be indexed in the judgment docket itself under the index number for said property appearing upon the assessment rolls of the said town, and by referring to the page in said judgment docket whereon the record aforesaid shall appear. Thereafter upon a praecipe for monition filed in the office of the said Prothonotary by the town through any person authorized on its behalf to collect taxes or assessments due to said town, a monition shall be issued by the Prothonotary aforesaid to the Sheriff of the county, which monition shall briefly state the amount of the judgment for the taxes or assessment due and the years thereof, together with a brief description of such property by street and number or by the index number appearing upon the assessment roll of the said town shall be a sufficient description. Said monition shall be in substantially the following form:
(a) The name of the person in whose name the assessment was made;
(b) The index numbers of said property, marked with the appropriate letter identifying the district in which said property is located as herein stated, as the same shall appear upon the assessment rolls of the town;
(c) The year or years for which said taxes are due and payable;
(d) The date of the filing of such praecipe;
(e) The amount of the judgment, the same being the amount set forth in said praecipe.
Such judgment shall be indexed in the judgment docket itself under the index number for said property appearing upon the assessment rolls of the said town, and by referring to the page in said judgment docket whereon the record aforesaid shall appear. Thereafter upon a praecipe for monition filed in the office of the said Prothonotary by the town through any person authorized on its behalf to collect taxes or assessments due to said town, a monition shall be issued by the Prothonotary aforesaid to the Sheriff of the county, which monition shall briefly state the amount of the judgment for the taxes or assessment due and the years thereof, together with a brief description of such property by street and number or by the index number appearing upon the assessment roll of the said town shall be a sufficient description. Said monition shall be insubstantially the following form:
"To all persons having or claiming to have any title, interest or lien upon the within described premises, take warning that unless the judgment for the taxes or assessment stated herein is paid within twenty (20) days after the date hereof or within such period of twenty (20) days, evidence of the payment of taxes herein claimed shall be filed in the office of the Prothonotary, which evidence shall be in the form of a receipted tax bill or duplicate thereof, bearing date prior to the filing of the lien in the office of the Prothonotary for Kent County, the town may proceed to sell the property herein mentioned or described for the purpose of collecting the judgments for the taxes or assessments hereinstated.
Name of person in whose name property is assessed
Said monition, or a copy thereof, shall be posted by the Sheriff upon some prominent place or part of the property against which said judgment for the taxes or assessment is a lien, and the Sheriff shall make due and proper return of his proceedings under said monition to said Prothonotary, within ten (10) days after the posting of said monition as aforesaid.
Alias or pluries monition may issue upon like praecipe. The posting of said notice as herein required shall constitute notice to the owner or owners and all persons having any interest in said property.
At any time after the expiration of twenty (20) days next following the return of the Sheriff upon such monition, unless before the expiration of said twenty (20) days the said judgment and costs on said judgment shall be paid or evidence of the payment of such taxes evidenced by a receipted tax bill or a duplicate thereof bearing date therefor prior to the filing of said lien for record in the office of the Prothonotary as aforesaid, upon application in writing by the town, through the town, or any other person authorized on its behalf to collect taxes or assessments due to the said town, a writ of venditioni exponas shall be issued out of the office of the said Prothonotary directed to the Sheriff commanding the Sheriff to sell the property mentioned or described in said writ and make due return of his proceedings thereunder in the same manner as is now applicable with respect to similar writs of venditioni exponas issued out of the said Superior Court.
Said writ shall be substantially in the following form: "KENT COUNTY, SS.
"The State of Delaware.
"TO THE SHERIFF OF KENT COUNTY, GREETINGS:
"WHEREAS, by a Monition issued out of the Superior Court Dated at Dover, the day of A D
19 IT WAS COMMANDED that you should post the said Monition or copy thereof upon the real estate therein mentioned and described, and make a return to the said Superior Court within ten (I 0) days after said posting.
"That on the day of
A D 19 , you returned that a copy of the said Monition was posted on the real estate therein mentioned and described on the day of A D 19_
"We therefore now command you to expose to public sale, the real estate mentioned and described in said Monition as follows: and that you should cause to be made as well a certain debt of Dollars ($
lawful money of the United States, which to the said Town of
Cheswold, a Municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, is
due and owing, as also the sum of
Dollars ($ ) lawful money as aforesaid, for
its costs, which it has sustained by the detaining of that debt, whereof the said was convicted as it appears of record and against which said property it is a lien:
"And have you that money before the Judges of our Superior Court at Dover, on Monday the day of next, to render to the said Town of Cheswold, a Municipal corporation as aforesaid, for its debt and costs as aforesaid, and this writ:
"WI TNESSETH, the Honorable
at Dover, the day of
A.D. 19
Prothonotary."
Issued: The description contained in such Monition shall be a sufficient description of the real estate to be sold under said writ.
Section 25. Rights acquired upon purchase
Any real estate or interest sold under the provisions hereof shall vest in the purchaser all the right, title and interest of the person in whose name said property was assessed, and/or all right, title and interest of the person or persons who are the owners thereof, and likewise freed and discharged from any dower or curtesy or statutory right, in the nature of a dower or curtest, whether absolute or inchoate, in or to said real estate.
Section 26. Redemption generally; deed
The owner of any such real estate sold under the provisions of this division or his legal representatives may redeem the same at any time within one (1) year from the day the sale thereof is approved by the court, by paying to the purchaser or his legal representatives, successors or assigns, the amount of the purchase
price, the cost of any repairs which the purchaser may be required to make by the town through any of its agencies, and fifteen percent (15%) in addition to such purchase price and cost of such repairs, together with all costs incurred in the cause, or if the purchaser or his legal representatives, successors or assigns shall refuse to receive the same, or do not reside or cannot be found within the town, by paying said amount into said court for the use of said purchaser, his legal representatives or assigns. Provided, however, that the provision relating to the cost of repairs which the purchaser may be required to make by the town through any of its agencies shall not apply in any cases of sales under this Chapter prior to the effective date of this amendment.
In the event that the owner of said property or his legal representatives shall fail to redeem said property as herein provided, the purchases of said property or his legal representatives, successors or assigns may present a petition to the Superior Court setting forth the appropriate facts in conformity with this division and pray that the said Superior Court make an order directing the Sheriff, then in office, to execute, acknowledge and deliver a deed conveying the title to said property to the petitioner, and thereupon the said Superior Court shall have power, after a hearing upon said petition, to issue an order directing the Sheriff to execute, acknowledge and deliver a deed as prayed for in said petition, and a description of said property by the index number for said property upon the assessment roll of the town, together with a description of said property made from a map of the assessed property in the town in the office of the Board of Assessment for the said town shall be a sufficient description in any such deed.
If the owner of any real estate sold under an order of sale or his legal representative shall redeem said real estate, he may prefer to said Superior Court a petition setting forth that fact and thereupon the said Superior Court, after hearing and determining the facts set forth in said petition, the said Superior Court shall have power to cause to be entered upon the record of the judgment, under which said real estate was sold, a memorandum that the real estate described in the proceedings upon which said judgment was entered has been redeemed and thereafter the said owner shall hold such redeemed real estate subject to the same liens and in the same order of priority as they existed at the time of the sale thereof, excepting so far as the said liens have been
discharged or reduced by the application of the proceeds by the said Sheriff from the said sale.
Section 27. Confirmation of sale
Upon the return of the proceedings under said writ of venditioni exponas, the Superior Court may inquire into the regularity of the proceedings thereunder, and either approve the sale or set it aside.
Section 28. Fees and costs
The fees and costs to be taxed in all proceedings under this division where not otherwise provided for, shall be as follows:
The following fees shall be charged by the Prothonotary:
Filing praecipe $5.00
Issuing monition and copy 5.00
Issuing alias or pluries, monition and copy 5.00
Writ of venditioni exponas 5.00
Filing any petition in Superior Court
under this division 1.00
Costs of paying money into Superior Court 1.00
Costs of paying money out of Superior Court
for each check drawn 2.00
All other charges not covered by this division shall be the same as are now provided by law.
Section 29. Proceedings not to be brought unless tax a lien
No proceedings shall be brought under this division unless the tax or assessment sought to be collected hereunder shall at the time of the filing of said praecipe in the office of the Prothonotary be and constitute a lien upon the property against which the tax or assessment was assessed or laid.
Section 30. Certificates of tax liens
It shall be the duty of the said Town Treasurer, on demand and tender of fees, to furnish certificates, under their respective hands and official seals, of all such taxes which are a lien on real
estate in their respective districts. The fee shall be twenty-five cents ($.25) for each certificate. The duties required of the Town Treasurer under this Section shall be one of their obligations covered by the conditions in their official bonds.
Section 31. Forgiveness of taxes prohibited
The Council shall not have power to release or exempt any person or persons who are liable to taxation from their proper share or proportion of the taxes of the city either by commutation for services, by gratuity, or otherwise.
Section 32. Rules of construction
Wherever the Superior Court is mentioned in this division, the same shall be held to embrace the judges or any judge thereof, and any act required or authorized to be done under this division may be done by the said Superior Court or any judge thereof in vacation thereof, as well as in term time.
TOWN DEBT
Section 1. Authority to issue bonds for certain public projects
The town shall have power to issue, from time to time, bonds of the town to finance the cost of any object or purpose for which it has lawful authority to raise or appropriate or expend money and which is not a current expense of the town and which has a period of usefulness of at least five (5) years. Such objects or purposes shall include, but not be limited to, the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, extension, enlargement and equipment of water supply systems, sewage disposal systems, electric systems, fire houses, police stations, libraries, museums, auditoriums, hospitals and all other buildings suitable for the use of the town, highways, streets, curbs, sidewalks, gutters, bridges, boulevards, parks, playgrounds, recreation centers, incinerators, wharfs, docks, harbors, sea walls, storm sewers, culverts and drains, the acquisition of fire fighting and other equipment or mobile property, furnishings, machinery and apparatus. The cost of any object of purpose financed by the issuance of bonds under this article shall include the cost of issuing the bonds and any expenses incident thereto.
Section 2. Article to be construed as additional authority to issue bonds
The powers conferred by this article shall be in addition to and not in lieu of or substitution for the powers conferred by any other law. Bonds may be issued hereunder for any object or purpose notwithstanding that any other law may provide for the issuance of bonds for the same or like purposes and without regard to the requirements, restrictions or other provisions contained in any other law. Bonds may be issued under this article notwithstanding any debt or other limitation prescribed by any other law, and the mode and manner of procedure for the issuance of bonds under this article need not conform to the provisions of any other law.
Section 3. Bond ordinance
Bonds issued by the town pursuant to this article shall be authorized by an ordinance passed by the Council. Each such ordinance shall state in brief and general terms the object or purpose for which the bonds are to be issued, the period of probable usefulness of such object or purpose, the maximum aggregate principal amount of the bonds to be issued under the ordinance, the date upon which each installment of the bonds shall become due and payable and the maximum rate of interest to be borne by the bonds. All matters not required to be determined by such an ordinance may be determined by subsequent resolutions passed by the Council.
Section 4. Term and payment of bonds
The period of probable usefulness stated in any ordinance shall be computed from the date of the bonds thereby authorized and may not exceed thirty (30) years. The bonds authorized by each ordinance shall mature in annual installments, the first of which shall be payable not more than one (1) year after the date of such bonds and the last of which shall be payable not later than the end of the period of probably usefulness determined by the ordinance authorizing the bonds. No annual installment shall be more than fifty (50%) per centum in excess of the smallest prior installment.
Section 5. Form of bonds
Bonds issued pursuant to this article shall be negotiable instruments and shall be bonds payable to bearer with coupons attached for the payment of interest to bearer, but provision may be made for the registration of such bonds as to principal only or as to both principal and interest. The aggregate principal amount of bonds to be issued under the ordinance authorizing such bonds, the rate or rates of interest they shall bear, and the times and place or places of payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds shall be fixed by resolution or resolutions adopted by the Council. Such bonds may be made subject to redemption prior to their respective maturities with or without premium and the bonds may be made payable at such place or places either within or without the state as the Council may by resolution provide. Such bonds, and any interest coupons representing the interest thereon, shall be issued in such form and shall be executed in such manner as the Council may prescribe. The delivery of bonds executed in the manner prescribed by the Council shall be valid notwithstanding any change in the officers or in the seal of the town occurring after the signing and sealing of the bonds.
Section
6. Sale of Bonds
Bonds issued pursuant to this article shall be sold by the Council as the Council may determine, and shall be sold for not less than par and accrued interest at public or private sale, upon such terms, conditions and regulations as the Council may prescribe.
Section 7. Use of proceeds limited to stated purpose
The proceeds of the sale of bonds issued under this article shall be used only for the object or purpose or objects or purposes specified in the ordinance authorizing such bonds or for the payment of the principal of and interest on temporary loans made in anticipation of the sale of such bonds. If for any reason any part of such proceeds are not applied to or are not necessary for such purposes, such unexpended part of such proceeds shall be applied to the payment of the principal of or interest on such bonds.
Section 8. Maximum indebtedness; exclusion of certain issues in computation
Bonds shall not be issued pursuant to this article if their issuance would increase the aggregate principal amount of all bonds of the town, then outstanding, to an amount in excess of fifteen (15%) per centum of the assessed valuation of the real estate taxable by the town. In computing the aggregate principal amount of bonds of the town for such purpose, there shall be excluded all bonds issued by the town for the purpose of providing a supply of water for the town, and all bonds issued which do not pledge the general taxing power of the town, but pledge only revenues from a particular project.
Section 9. Borrowing in anticipation of bond issue
Whenever the Council shall have authorized the issuance of bonds by an ordinance adopted pursuant to this article, the Council may borrow money in anticipation of the issuance of such bonds so authorized and, for such purpose, may issue, and from time to time renew, negotiable bond anticipation notes of the town, of an aggregate principal amount not exceeding the principal amount of such bonds authorized by such ordinance. The Council shall authorize such notes by a resolution or resolutions which shall determine the date on which such notes are to be payable, the maximum principal amount thereof and the rate or maximum rate of interest to be borne thereby and the manner of their signing. The Council in such resolution may delegate to the Town Treasurer authority to sell the notes thereby authorized, either at public or private sale, and to determine within the limitations prescribed by such resolution the rate of interest to be borne by such notes and the principal amount thereof. Moneys raised by the issuance of notes in anticipation of the issuance of bonds shall be used only to finance the object or purpose for which the proceeds of the bonds may be used and such proceeds shall be applied, to the extent necessary, to pay and retire such notes.
Section 10. Full faith and credit of town; tax levy
The full faith of the town shall be deemed to be pledged for the punctual payment of the principal of and interest on every bond and note issued under this article, except such bonds and
notes as shall, on their face, delimit the obligations owed to bondholders to a pledge of revenues from water or other specific town projects. The Council shall annually levy and collect a tax ad volorem upon all taxable property in the town sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on each such bond or note as such principal and interest become due, except as herein otherwise provided.
REVENUE BONDS
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provisions herein contained, the town may issue bonds, notes, mortgages or other evidences of indebtedness for any purpose permitted by Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as now amended or hereafter amended; pledging for the payment thereof such income from specific projects or general revenues of the town as the Town Council may ordain.
Section 2. Powers of town with respect to revenue bonds
In addition to the powers which it may now have, the town shall have power under this article:
(a) To plan, construct, acquire, reconstruct, improve, better or extend any undertaking within or without the territorial boundaries of the town, or partially within or partially without the town, for any purpose authorized for exempt organizations under Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as now amended or hereafter amended, and to acquire lands or rights in land or water rights in connection therewith. No land or rights therein belonging to any public utility and used by it in its service to the public shall be taken by the town under the powers herein conferred. Whenever any portion of a public highway is vacated by the town in order to facilitate any undertaking, the town shall reimburse any public utility affected for the expense incurred by it in relocating its facilities previously constructed in said highway to a new location.
(b) To issue its bonds to finance, either in whole or in part, the cost of the planning, acquisition, purchase, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment or extension of any undertaking.
(c) To pledge to the punctual payment of said bonds and interest thereon an amount of the revenues of such undertaking (including the revenues of the existing facilities, if any, comprising an undertaking which is being improved, bettered or extended, and the revenues to be derived from any improvements, betterments, extensions thereafter constructed or acquired), or any part of such undertaking, sufficient to pay, on either equal or priority basis, said bonds and interest as the same shall become due and to create and maintain reasonable reserves therefor, which amount may consist of all or any part or portion of such revenues; and
(d) To accept from any authorized agency of the state or federal government, or from persons, firms, or corporations, grants or contributions for the planning, construction, acquisition, lease, reconstruction, improvement, betterment or extension of the undertaking and to enter into agreements with such agency respecting such loans and grants. The governing body of the town in determining the cost of acquiring or constructing any undertaking may include all costs and estimated costs of the issuance of said bonds, all planning, engineering, inspection, fiscal and legal expenses, and interest which it is estimated will accrue during the construction period and for six (6) months thereafter of money borrowed or which it is estimated will be borrowed pursuant to this article.
(e) Any buildings, structures or facilities acquired by the town hereunder which are to be utilized in the manufacturing, processing, assembling, storing or handling of any agricultural or manufactured produce or produce of mining or industry, which may be acquired for operation by a corporation, entity or persons other than the town, as distinguished from buildings, structures or facilities acquired by the town for operation by the town as harbor, terminal and allied facilities for the direct use of the public, shall be acquired and financed hereunder only if prior to the issuance of bonds therefor the municipality, shall have entered into a lease or leases thereof or an agreement or agreements for the sale thereof pursuant to the terms of which the lessees or purchasers shall pay to the town such rentals or installment purchase payments, or both, as upon the basis of determinations and findings to be made by the town, will be fully sufficient to pay principal of and interest on the bonds issued for the financing thereof, to build up and maintain any reserves deemed by the town to be advisable in connection therewith, and to pay the cost
of maintaining the buildings, structures and facilities in good repair and keeping them properly insured, unless the leases or agreements obligate the lessees or purchasers to pay for such insurance or maintenance. The town is granted full power and discretion to enter into any such agreements or leases as may in its judgment be desirable for the best interests of the town. Any such agreement or lease may provide that any surplus capacity of the buildings, structures or facilities which are the subject matter thereof may be utilized by and for the benefit of the general public, in which event such surplus capacity may be maintained or operated, or both, by either the Council or by the lessee or purchaser under the lease or agreement, or in part by each, all as may be provided in the lease or agreement. Any undertaking may include in part one or more buildings, structures or facilities or combinations thereof to be leased or sold as provided in this paragraph, and in part other buildings, structures or facilities to be operated by the town, the revenues of the whole being allocated and 'pledged to the financing of the undertaking as a whole, and in such event, the requirements of this paragraph applicable to buildings, structures or facilities to be leased or sold shall be applicable only to the part of the undertaking which consists of the buildings, structures or facilities to be so leased or sold.
Section 3. Authorization of undertaking; form, content, etc., of bonds.
The planning, acquisition, purchase, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment or extension of any undertaking may be undertaken by the Council under this article and bonds may be authorized under this article by ordinance or ordinances of the Council, and such bonds may be issued from time to time as may be determined by such ordinance or ordinances. Said bonds shall bear interest at such rate or rates, may be in one or more series, may bear such date or dates, may mature at such time or times not exceeding forty (40) years from their respective dates, may be payable in such medium of payment, at such place or places, may carry such registration privileges, may be subject to such terms of redemptions, may be executed in such manner, may contain such terms, covenants and conditions, and may be in such form, either coupon or registered, as such ordinance or subsequent ordinances may provide. After such bonds shall have been authorized by ordinances adopted by the Council, the bonds shall be sold by the Council in such manner
and on such terms as the Council may prescribe. Pending the preparation of the definite bonds, interim receipts or certificates in such form and with such provisions as the governing body may determine may be issued to the purchaser or purchasers of bonds sold pursuant to this article.
All powers granted the municipality and all things authorized to be done by the governing body and by the Council under the provisions of this article may be exercised and done without the necessity for approval thereof by any other council, agency, instrumentality, department, or political subdivision of the municipality or of the State of Delaware.
Nothing continued in this article shall be so construed as to prevent the execution of leases and agreements by the Council for the lease or sale of all or any part of any understanding, as long as it is expressly found by the Council that the revenues to be derived from such lease or agreement, together with the other revenues of the undertaking, will be sufficient to carry out the requirements of Sections 8 and 9 of this article. All rentals and payments received by the municipality under the provisions of any such lease or agreement shall be regarded as revenues of the undertaking within the meaning of paragraph (d) of Section 2 of this article.
Section 4. Covenants in ordinance authorizing issuance of bonds
Any ordinance or ordinances authorizing the issuance of bonds under this article may contain covenants as to (a) the purpose or purposes to which the proceeds of sale of said bonds may be applied and the use and disposition thereof, (b) the use and disposition of the revenue of the undertaking for which said bonds are to be issued, including the creation and maintenance of reserves, (c) the issuance of other or additional bonds payable from the revenue of said undertaking, (d) the operation and maintenance of such undertaking, (e) the insurance to be carried thereon and the use and disposition of insurance moneys, (f) books of account and the inspection and audit thereof, and (g) the terms and conditions upon which the holders of said bonds or any proportion of them or any trustee therefor shall be entitled to the appointment of a receiver by the appropriate court, which court shall have jurisdiction in such proceedings, and which receiver may
enter and take possession of said undertaking, operate and maintain the same, prescribe rates, fees, or charges, and collect, receive and apply all revenue thereafter arising therefrom in the same manner as the municipality itself might do. The provisions of this article and any such ordinance or ordinances shall be enforceable by any bondholder, by mandamus or other appropriate suit, action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction.
In the discretion of the governing body, any issue of bonds hereunder may be secured by a trust indenture by the between the municipality and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or outside of the state. Such trust indenture may pledge or assign revenues, earnings and rentals to be received by the municipality from the operation, rental or sale of the undertaking. In addition to the covenants hereinabove in this Section authorized to be contained in any ordinance authorizing bonds hereunder, any such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights and remedies of the bondholders and securing the prompt payment of principal of and interest on the bonds as may be reasonable and proper and not in violation of the law and as may be designed to enhance the marketability of the bonds.
Section 5. Validity of bonds
Said bonds bearing the signature of officers in office on the date of the signing thereof shall be valid and binding obligations, notwithstanding that before the delivery thereof and payment therefor any or all the persons whose signatures appear thereon shall have ceased to be officers of the municipality issuing the same. The validity of said bonds shall not be dependent on nor affected by the validity or regularity of any proceedings relating to the planning, acquisition, purchase, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment, or extension of the undertaking for which said bonds may provide that the bonds shall contain a recital that they are issued pursuant to this article, which recital shall be conclusive evidence of their validity and of the regularity of their issuance.
Section 6. Liens of bonds
All bonds issued hereunder shall enjoy such parity with or
priority over other bonds of the same issue and any bonds which may thereafter be issued payable from the revenues of the same undertaking as may be provided in the ordinances authorizing the issuance of the bonds.
Section 7. Bonds not subject to debt limitation; levy of the taxes, etc., for payment
The municipality may issue bonds, either in whole or in part, of the total amount necessary to finance any undertaking under this article. All bonds issued under this article shall be in addition to and not within the limitations of any limitations on the indebtedness of the municipality which may be in existence at the time of the issuance of such bonds.
Any bonds issued hereunder for any undertaking which is in whole or in part to be rented by the municipality for operation by a corporation, entity or persons other than the municipality for utilization in the manufacturing, processing, assembling, storing or handling of any agricultural or manufactured produce or produce of mining or industry, or which is to be sold for such purpose pursuant to an installment purchase agreement as above authorized shall be payable solely from the revenue of the undertaking and shall not be deemed to constitute an indebtedness of the municipality or a pledge of the faith and credit of the municipality, and such bonds shall not directly or indirectly or contingently obligate the municipality to levy or to pledge any form of taxation whatever therefor, and each such bond shall contain on its face recitals to the foregoing effect.
Any bonds issued hereunder for other purposes may in the discretion of the governing body be made general obligations of the municipality to the payment of which the faith and credit of the municipality are pledged, and as to bonds issued secured by such pledge, the governing body shall have power to levy ad valorem taxes without limitation as to rate or amount upon all property taxable by the municipality to raise any money which may be required to pay such bonds and the interest thereon as the same become due and payable.
It is hereby further determined and declared that the carrying out of the purposes of this article and the powers and duties imposed in the municipality, the governing authority and the Board will constitute the performance of an essential governmental function of the municipality and of the State of Delaware, will promote the natural resources of the state and will benefit the inhabitants of the municipality and the state, and accordingly it is provided and the state covenants with the holders from time to time of the bonds issued hereunder: (1) No taxes or assessments imposed by the state or any of its political subdivisions or taxing districts, including the municipality, shall be imposed upon any property acquired by the municipality under the provisions hereof or upon any property under the jurisdiction, control, possession or supervision of the Council, and no such taxes or assessments shall be imposed upon any of the activities of the Council in the operation or maintenance of any such properties or on any income derived by the municipality, or the Council from such facilities or otherwise; and (2) that all bonds issued hereunder, their transfer and the income therefrom shall always be exempt from taxation within the state. The purposes to be effected by this article are hereby expressly found and declared to be public uses for which public money may be spent and private property may be acquired by the exercise of the power of eminent domain.
Section 8. Undertakings to be self-supporting; establishment of rates, charges, etc.
The Council of the municipality issuing bonds pursuant to this article shall prescribe and collect reasonable rates, fees or charges for the services, facilities and commodities of such undertaking, and shall revise such rates, fees or charges from time to time whenever necessary so that such undertaking shall be and always remain self-supporting. The rates, fees or charges prescribed shall be such as will procure revenue at least sufficient (a) to pay when due all bonds and interest thereon, for the payment of which such revenue is or shall have been pledged, charged or otherwise encumbered, including reserves therefor, and (b) to provide for all expenses of operation and maintenance of such undertaking, including reserves therefor.
Section 9. Use of revenue from undertaking
The municipality issuing revenue bonds pursuant to this article for the planning, acquisition, purchase, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment, or extension of any
undertaking shall have the right to appropriate, apply or expend the revenue of such undertaking for the following purposes:
(a) To pay when due all bonds and interest thereon, for the payment of which such revenue is or shall have been pledged, charged or otherwise encumbered, including reserves therefor.
(b) To provide for all expenses of operation and maintenance of such undertaking, including reserves therefor.
(c) To pay and discharge notes, bonds or other obligations and interest thereon, not issued under this article for the payment of which the revenue of such undertaking is or shall have been pledged, charged or encumbered.
(d) To pay and discharge notes, bonds or other obligations and interest thereon, which do not constitute a lien, charge or encumbrance on the revenue of such undertaking, which shall have been issued for the purpose of financing the planning, acquisition, purchase, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment or extension of such undertaking.
(e) To repay any advance or loan made by the municipality to meet current advance or loan made by the municipality to meet interest on outstanding bonds.
() To provide a reserve for betterments to such undertaking. Unless and until adequate provision has been made for the foregoing purposes, the municipality shall have no right to transfer the revenues of such undertaking to its general funds.
Section 10. Construction of undertaking
Any building, structure or facility to be constructed or acquired hereunder as part of an undertaking may be acquired or constructed pursuant to such contracts and agreements as may be provided by the Council without necessity for compliance with any statutory provision not contained in this article, and the proceeds of any bonds issued hereunder may be held, secured and paid out for the cost thereof in such manner as may be provided by the Council prior to the issuance of such bonds. The expenditure of all such bond proceeds shall be under the jurisdiction of the Board.
Section 11. Limitation of actions
After the authorization, but prior to the issuance, of any bonds hereunder, the governing body may in its discretion cause to be published once in each of two consecutive weeks in at least one newspaper published in Kent County, a notice in substantially the following form:
The Mayor and Council of Cheswold, acting through The
Council, have on the day of
day of (repeat as often as necessary)
provided for the issuance of $ bonds of the
Mayor and Council of Cheswold for the purpose of financing the
acquisition of
which bonds are payable from
Such bonds are further secured by
Any action or proceeding questioning the validity of any of said proceedings or said bonds or the instruments securing such bonds must be commenced within twenty (20) days after the first publication of this notice.
Mayor
Attest:
Town Clerk
Any action or proceeding in any court to set aside any of the aforesaid proceedings or to contest the validity of any such bonds or related documents or instruments, must be commenced within twenty (20) days from the first publication of the above-mentioned notice. After the expiration of such period of limitation, no right of action or defense founded upon the invalidity of such proceedings, documents or instruments or of the bonds, shall be asserted, nor shall the validity thereof be open to question in any court upon any ground whatever except in an action or proceeding commenced within such period.
Section 12. Construction of article
The powers conferred by this article shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other general, special or local law. The undertaking may be planned, acquired, purchased, constructed, reconstructed, improved, bettered, and extended, and bonds may be issued under this article for said purposes, notwithstanding that any general, special or local law may provide for the planning, acquisition, purchase, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment, and extension of a like undertaking, or the issuance of bonds for like purposes, and without regard to the requirements, restrictions, limitations or other provisions contained in any other general, special or local laws, including, but not limited to, any requirement for the approval by the voters of the municipality or any existing debt limitations. Insofar as the provisions of this article are inconsistent with the provisions of any other general, special or local law, the provisions of this article shall be controlling.
Section 13. Severability of article
It is hereby declared that the Sections, clauses, sentences and parts of this article are severable, are not matters of mutual essential inducement, and any of them may be exscinded by any court of competent jurisdiction, and if any provision shall be adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remaining provisions thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the specific provision so held unconstitutional or invalid, and the inapplicability or invalidity of any Section, clause, sentence or part of this article in any one or more instances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice in any way the applicability or invalidity in any other instances.
ANNEXATION
Section 1. Annexation
The Council of the town of Cheswold shall have power to annex, by ordinance, any territory contiguous to the town of Cheswold whenever requested to do so, in writing, by the record owner of the property or properties to be annexed. Upon the adoption of an annexing ordinance, a certified copy of the annexing ordinance, together with the written consent of the
record owner of the property or properties being annexed, should be filed of record, in the office for the recording of deeds, in and for Kent County, and Section 2, "Town limits", of this act shall thereby be deemed to be amended so as to include the annexed territory within the town limits.
Section 2. Annexation by referendum
In the alternative, the Council may annex by referendum, in which event the procedure shall be as follows:
(a) The Council shall adopt an ordinance describing the metes and bounds of the land proposed to be annexed. The ordinance shall list the name and address of each property owner in the area proposed to be annexed, as shown on the records of the Board of Assessment of Kent County. The ordinance shall fix the date of the annexation referendum, which date shall be not less than thirty (30) nor more than sixty (60) days after the adoption of the ordinance.
(b) Within seven (7) days after the adoption of the ordinance, the Town Clerk shall cause a copy of the ordinance to be mailed by registered or certified mail to each person owning the property in the area proposed to be annexed, as shown by the records of the Board of Assessment of Kent County. The Town Clerk shall also cause a copy of the ordinance to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in Kent County in two separate issues of such newspaper, and the second publication shall be not later than fifteen (15) days preceding the date of the annexation referendum.
() The polls in the annexation referendum shall be open in the Cheswold Town Office, or at such other public place within the town as may be designated by the ordinance, from 12:00 noon until 5:00 p.m. Every property owner whether an individual, a partnership, or a corporation, both in the town of Cheswold and in the territory proposed to be annexed, shall have one vote for each $100 assessment as shown by the records of the Board of Assessment of Kent County. Every citizen of either the town of Cheswold or of the territory proposed to be annexed who is not a property owner shall have one vote. In case of property owned by a husband and wife jointly, the husband and wife shall each have one vote for each $200 of assessment. An individual holding a power of attorney duly executed and acknowledged and specifically authorizing the said individual to vote at the annexation referendum shall file a duly authenticated copy of the power of attorney with the Town Clerk, and such power of attorney shall be conclusive evidence of the right of said individual to vote in the annexation referendum.
(d) The Council shall cause to be prepared, printed and have available a sufficient number of ballots not less than five (5) days prior to the date of the annexation referendum, in the following form:
THIS BALLOT CASTS VOTES
For the proposed annexation.
Against the proposed annexation.
(Check one)
() The Mayor shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Election, at least one of whom shall be a resident and property owner in the town of Cheswold, and at least one of whom must be a resident and property owner in the territory proposed to be annexed or be a representative of an individual, partnership or corporation which owns property in the territory proposed to be annexed. The Board of Special Election shall conduct the election, and shall decide, by a majority vote, all questions relating to voter eligibility, validity of ballots and similar matters.
(a) The Council shall provide two (2) separately marked ballot boxes. Voters entitled to vote in the town of Cheswold shall deposit their ballots in one ballot box, and voters entitled to vote in the area proposed to be annexed shall deposit their ballots in the other ballot box. Voters owning property both in the town of Cheswold and in the area proposed to be annexed shall vote the number of votes to which property in the town of Cheswold entitles the voter in the ballot box for votes from within the town, and shall deposit his ballot for the number of votes to which he is entitled because of property in the area proposed to be annexed in the ballot box for the territory proposed to be annexed.
(g) Immediately upon the closing of the polling place at 5:00 p.m., prevailing time, the Board of Special Election shall separately count the ballots for and against the proposed annexation cast by those entitled to vote in the town of Cheswold and in the area proposed to be annexed, and shall announce the result thereof. The Board shall make a certificate of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed annexation in the town of Cheswold and in the territory proposed to be annexed. Such certificate shall be filed with the Council.
(h) If the certificate shows that a majority of votes cast both within the town of Cheswold and in the area proposed to be annexed favor the annexation, the Council shall cause a description and a plot of the territory so annexed to be recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds for Kent County, and such recording shall be perfected within ninety (90) days after the date of the Annexation Referendum. Upon recording as aforesaid, the territory proposed to be annexed, shall be deemed annexed for all purposes.
Section 1. Liability of town with respect to unaccepted, etc., streets
The town shall not be liable for the care, maintenance or upkeep, nor shall it be liable in damages for any injuries or death sustained by reason of the condition of any street, lane or alley in the town, unless the same shall have been accepted by formal action of the Council as a public street of the town, or unless the same shall have been opened, graded or curbed by the town.
Section 2. Laying of pipe, power lines, etc., under, etc., streets
In case of the introduction into, through, under or along the streets of the city, with the consent of the Council, of steam-power or heating pipes, or underground telegraph, telephone or electric-light wires, the Council shall require, before such work shall commence, payment into the treasury of the town as a guarantee, or some other satisfactory security, that the streets shall not be unnecessarily torn up or obstructed, or kept or left out of repair, or travel unwarrantably impeded, and that the town shall be indemnified against loss, and it shall further require a bond, with personal security thereon, to the town, with warrant of
attorney for the entering judgment thereon, in such sum as the Council may deem proper, conditioned to indemnify and save harmless any and all persons, inhabitants of the said town, their persons, goods, chattels, lands and tenements from loss, damage or expense, from or by reason of the introduction into the streets of the said town of such steam-power or heating pipes, or underground telegraph, telephone or electric-light wires, which bond shall be held by the said town for the use of any and all persons who may be aggrieved or suffer loss, damage or expense by reason of the premises, to be accorded to them upon petition of the person aggrieved, under such restrictions as the Council may impose; and the Council may, when in its judgment the public interests may so require, cause, at the expense of the parties laying or owning the same, such pipes or wires to be removed in whole or in part, or impose such restrictions upon the use thereof as it may think fit in reference to the public interests.
Section 3. Trees in streets, etc. — Powers of Council generally
The Council shall have full power and authority over all trees planted and to be planted in the streets, highways, lanes and alleys in the town, including the right to plant new trees and to care for the same and to remove trees, living or dead, and to train, spray and otherwise care for such trees.
Section 4. Same — Removal of dangerous, etc., trees
Whenever in the opinion of the Council any tree, or part thereof, living or dead, in any of the streets, highways, lanes or alleys of the town becomes defective or dangerous to public travel on such streets, highways, lanes or alleys, or injurious to sidewalks, curbs, sewers or drains, the same Council shall have power to cause a notice to be served upon the property owner in front of whose property such tree exists, requiring the property owner, within a time therein stated, which time shall be not less than three (3) days, to cause said tree or trees to be removed, and the ground or sidewalk whereon said tree existed to be restored to a condition equal to the adjoining ground or sidewalk, at the expense of said property owner. In case such property owner shall fail to cause the removal of any such tree or trees as required by such notice, the Council shall have power to cause the same to be removed and shall charge the cost of same to said property owner, and may
recover the same in any appropriate action in any court of competent jurisdiction. Service of said notice may be made by leaving a copy thereof upon the premises, if same is occupied, or by posting a copy thereof upon the premises, if unoccupied, or forwarding a copy thereof by letter, duly stamped, sealed and registered, addressed to the occupant of the premises or the owner thereof, and the registered receipt, signed by such occupant or owner, shall be sufficient evidence of the service of such notice.
Section 5. Opening, extending, widening, etc., streets —Amount of damages to be paid or tendered
Before any property or ground shall be taken or occupied for the purpose of extending, widening, laying out or opening any street, square, lane or alley, the owner or owners of such property or ground shall be paid or tendered such damages as they shall respectively be entitled to receive, which damages shall be assessed in the manner provided by law.
Section 6. Same — Apportionment and disposition of benefits or damages
In any proceeding taken for extending, widening, laying out or opening any street, square, lane or alley under the provisions of the preceding Section, the Council, in assessing the damages that may result from the extending, widening or laying out or opening of such street, square, lane or alley to the owner or owners of property or ground necessary to be taken or occupied therefor, shall take into consideration all the circumstances of benefit and convenience as well as of detriment to result of such owner or owners.
Section 7. Regulation of drainage
The Council shall have the entire jurisdiction and control, within the town, of the drainage thereof, and may pass ordinances for the opening of gutters, drains and sewers within the limits thereof, and the regulating and maintaining, cleansing and keeping the same and the natural watercourses, runs and rivulets within the town open, clear and unobstructed, and for that purpose may authorize the entry upon private land, and by general regulations prescribe the mode in which they shall be opened, maintained, cleansed and kept opened and unobstructed, and who shall bear
the expense thereof, and may, in its discretion, assess the costs thereof upon the persons and property, real and personal, of those particularly benefited thereby, or of those owning or holding lands through or along which such sewers, drains or watercourses shall flow or pass, and prescribe the mode of collection thereof; provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize the taking of private property for public use without just compensation.
The jurisdiction and control of the Council, as set forth in this Section, shall extend to and include any and all private drains and sewers laid or to be laid under any of the streets, lanes or highways of the town, whether by individuals or corporations now, or that may hereafter be existing, the rights, powers, privileges and franchises of which shall be subject to the provisions and regulations in this Section contained and of any ordinances of the Council passed in confirmity thereto; and the Council may, if in their judgment advisable, authorize and empower any corporation or association of individuals to drain and sewer the town, granting for that purpose such rights, franchises, privileges, emoluments and compensation as shall be proper, and may pass ordinances confirming and regulating the same.
Section 8. Cancellation of liens
The Council shall, by resolution, from time to time, as occasion may require, cancel and satisfy of record, at any meeting of the Council, any and all liens entered against abutting property for the paving or curbing of any footway, sidewalk or street, as well as liens entered for the construction of any public sewer or drain, upon the presentation by the owners or agents of any property liened for purposes aforesaid, of evidence of previous payment to the proper municipal authorities of the town for the whole number of feet contained in the street line of the property of such owners, respectively, of any curbing or paving in front or alongside of, or the drainage from such property, or for sewers.
Upon the absence of evidence of any previous payment for liens as aforesaid, the Council is hereby authorized, in its discretion, to cancel and satisfy of record, any and all liens entered against abutting property, where the property so liened has been and is draining into a public sewer previous to and at the time of the entry of the lien, as aforesaid.
Section 9. Authority to change, etc., natural watercourses, etc.
The Council shall have the right to alter and change the course of direction of any of the natural watercourses, runs of rivulets within the city, and for that purpose to enter upon, take and occupy lands, tenements and hereditaments. Before any property or ground shall be taken or occupied for such purpose, the owner or owners of such property or ground shall be paid or tendered such damages as they shall be respectively entitled to receive, which damages shall be assessed, paid or tendered in the same manner as in the case of the taking of ground or property for extending, widening, laying out or opening of streets. The costs of such alterations or changes shall be estimated, and any allotment, apportionment, assessment or division of any portion thereof, as the freeholders may deem just and reasonable, shall be made upon and among the persons, properties, interest and estates specially benefitted by such alterations or change, and collected and made a lien in the mode provided in the case of extending, widening laying out or opening any street, as provided for in this Chapter.
Section 10. Authorization
The Council is hereby authorized and empowered to construct such sewers in accordance with any plan now or that may hereafter from time to time be adopted, as may seem to them necessary to meet the requirements of the town, and the cost of constructing such sewers shall be met in the following manner.
Section 11. Manner of computing costs and assessments against abutting property
The Council, from the approximate estimate of the whole cost of constructing any sewer in accordance with any plan now or that may hereafter from time to time be adopted, shall apportion the said cost to each lineal foot of sewer to be built in a_ccordance with the aforesaid system, said cost to be apportioned alike upon each and every size of sewer, be it a lateral or trunk sewer; and the said cost per lineal foot shall be paid for by the abutting property upon the streets or highways in which such sewers are constructed
at the time of completing each sewer, and the aforesaid property shall be assessed for such costs per lineal foot as follows:
All assessments shall be made upon the properties abutting
upon that portion of any street or highway, lane or alley in which any public sewer may be constructed under this provision, at such rate for each front foot of such property upon such street, highway, lane or alley, and at such rate for each square foot of such property between such street, highway, lane or alley and a line not exceeding two hundred feet distant from and parallel with the line of such street, highway, lane or alley, as the Council, or its successors, shall determine; provided that when any property is situated at the corner of two streets or highways, or otherwise so situated as to be assessed for the expenses of building a sewer on one of such streets or highways, only the front of such property, together with the area, shall be liable for such assessment, and the whole assessment shall be made on the completion of any portion of a sewer, either in front or on the side of such property, so as to make the said property accessible to such sewer; and, provided further, that the Council shall determine, in all cases, what portion of a property shall be considered as side frontage, unless said property has been divided into building lots and a plot thereof filed with the Council, or published, or both, then in such case the side frontage shall be determined by such plan; provided further, however, that should the owner or owners of such corner property decide, after the above assessments are made or paid, to make the side of such property, as determined by the Council, the frontage of such property, then in such case the owner or owners of such corner property shall pay such additional sum of money as the Board of Directors may determine upon, in accordance with the provisions of this article; and provided also, that no property or portion of property shall be assessed for the construction of any sewer, unless such property or some portion thereof shall abut and be bounded upon said street on which said sewer shall have been constructed, or unless such property or portion thereof has a right of access to the street or highway be a private alley, or desires to use said sewer before a sewer is constructed upon said street or highway upon which said property abuts, in which case said property shall be liable for the same assessment as though the sewer was constructed in the streets or highways upon which the property abuts, and the property shall not be liable for any further assessment for sewer purposes.
Section 12. Right of landowners assessed to connect with sewer
When any such assessment shall be made upon any land for the expense of constructing any such sewer, the owner so assessed shall have the right to connect such land with such sewer, under and subject to such rules and regulations as the Council shall from time to time prescribe, upon executing to said Council a release of all damages which may at any time happen to such property in any way resulting from such connection,
Section 13. Assessment lien; enforcement thereof, etc.
All assessments made under authority of this article shall be a lien upon the property upon which they are made from the date upon which they are certified by the Council to the clerk of such board for collection, and such lien shall have priority against any lien, incumbrance or conveyance made or suffered by the owner or owners of such property after the date of the certifying of such assessment as aforesaid.
An moneys received by the Council from sewer liens dated subsequent to July 1, 1912, may be retained by the Council and the Council is hereby authorized to pay the sums transferred to the Council for receipts from sewer liens dated subsequent to July 1, 1912.
Any such assessment shall be due and the interest thereon accrued, and all costs thereon, upon the grounds or buildings of such owner abutting on any such streets or highways aforesaid, which such ground or buildings or any part thereof shall be sold by the Council at public auction after ten days' notice in two newspapers published in the town, and a deed from the town shall convey to the purchaser of such grounds or buildings as full and complete a title to such premises, in fee simple or otherwise, as if the same were executed by said owner thereof. And it shall be the duty of said Council, out of the purchase money of said premises so sold as aforesaid, to pay all costs arising from such process and sale to the parties entitled thereto, respectively, and to retain the amount of such assessment with accrued interest thereon as aforesaid. The residue of the purchase money shall be immediately deposited by the Council in a bank, to the credit of the owner of the property so sold.
Section 14. Modification of assessments
The Council is hereby authorized to alter or modify any and all assessments heretofore made for the cost of constructing sewers in accordance with this Chapter so as to adjust said assessments in accordance with the above provisions, and out of any moneys received for current expenses to refund to the person or persons who have paid such sewer assessments so as to conform to the said provisions. Provided that such alterations or modifications shall not invalidate the said assessments or the lien thereof.
Section 15. Additional rules and regulations
The Council is hereby authorized and empowered to pass and adopt such rules and regulations as the said Council may see proper for regulating, controlling and prescribing the manner in which any sewer or drain constructed by order of or in charge of said Council shall be used, and the manner in which connections therewith, or with any private sewer now existing or hereafter to be constructed in any public street, lane, or alley in the town, any house, building, yard or other place, shall be made, and for the keeping of the same in proper repair, and shall prescribe certain fines and penalties for the non-observance of such rules and regulations, said fines to be collected in the same manner that other fines for offenses against the ordinances of the town are now or may hereafter be collected.
Section 16. Conveyance of lands under navigable streams to town
The Governor of the State be and is hereby authorized and directed to grant and convey to the town under the great seal of the State, all the right and title of the State, in and to all the land under water within the limits of the said town where said land under water is located in or under any part of navigable streams.
Section 17. Water rates and rents generally; liens for unpaid water rents
The water rates shall be fixed by the said Council at prices that shall produce revenue sufficient at least to pay the interest on the water bonds and the running expenses on the water works. All rents, income, receipts, revenues and moneys from all sources, now received, or hereafter to be received, by the said Council (excepting the annual appropriations made by the Council), shall be paid monthly on the first day of each and every month to the town Treasurer for the use of the town, to be expended for municipal purposes in such manner as the Council may deem proper.
All water rents laid or imposed by the Council for the town remaining unpaid and in arrears for thirty days after they become due, shall be and constitute a lien upon the lands and premises of the owner to which the water was furnished, and such liens shall have preference and priority to all liens of recognizance, mortgage or judgment on such lands and premises created or suffered by said owner, although such other lien or liens shall be of a date prior to the time of the attaching of such lien for water rents.
In case of the sale under execution process of any lands and premises upon which such liens for water rents shall exist, such liens shall be transferred to the fund arising from such sale in the hands of the officer making the same and the said real estate so sold shall be discharged therefrom.
The lien for water rents shall remain a lien for the period of five years and no longer, from the expiration of thirty days after said water rents became due and payable.
The Council for the town in collecting water rents out of real estate upon which there is a lien under the provisions of this Chapter, shall proceed in the manner now by law prescribed for the collection of taxes out of real estate by the town.
Section 18. Distribution of water generally
The town, through the agency of the Council, in addition to the power and authority which it now has to distribute water within the corporate limits of said town, may, in its discretion distribute said water throughout all of that territory included within ten miles of the boundary thereof.
The Council shall determine the person or persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporations, to which it shall distribute water throughout said territory included within ten miles of the boundary of said corporate limits; shall fix the rates therefor; shall regulate the use of said water, and shall supply the same upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by said person or persons, firm or firms, corporation or corporations, and the said Council.
The said town, by and through the agency aforesaid, shall have and exercise all of the powers and authority necessary to the accomplishments of said distribution of water throughout the territory included within ten miles of the boundary of said corporate limits as it now has and possesses in the installation, operation and maintenance of its water system in the town and in the distribution by it of water in the town, including the authority and power to acquire by purchase or condemnation, such land and property as may be necessary therefor.
Section 19. Acquisition of land, waters, etc., necessary for town water supply — Power of town generally
The town, acting by and through the agency of the Council, shall have power to acquire by purchase or condemnation as hereinafter provided, any lands, buildings, structures, franchises, easements, highways, roads, ways, bridges, waters, water rights or any other property, real or personal, of whatever nature, in the county, as may be necessary for furnishing to the town a supply of pure and wholesome water adequate to meet the present and future needs of the said town.
Section 20. Same — by condemnation
Whenever the said town cannot agree with the owner or owners of any lands, buildings, structures, franchises, easements, highways, roads, ways, bridges, waters, water rights or any other property, real or personal in the county necessary to be taken or used in the construction, reconstruction or maintenance of such water supply which the said town shall construct, reconstruct or maintain or propose to construct, reconstruct, or maintain for the purchase thereof, the said town acting through the agency of the said Council, may apply to the Associate Judge of the State, resident in the county, for the condemnation of such property, first giving to the other party or owner at least five days' notice in writing of the intended application, if such party or owner is within the State, and if said party or owner is unknown or without the State, or if under legal disability and having no legal representative in the State, then such notice shall be published in some newspaper in the county, at least five days prior to the intended application and such publication shall be sufficient notice; upon application made as aforesaid, the said Associate Judge shall appoint five judicious and impartial freeholders to view the premises or ascertain the easement, franchise or water rights and assess the damages which the owner or owners will sustain by reason of said construction or reconstruction or the taking of such property. The freeholders shall be sworn or affirmed before some officer authorized to administer oaths or affirmations, before entering on the premises or before ascertaining the easement, franchise or water rights, faithfully and impartially to perform the duties assigned them. They shall give ten days' notice in writing to the owner or owners of the premises or property so proposed to be condemned, or to their guardian or guardians, duly appointed, if within the State and to the said town of the time of the meeting to view the premises or ascertain the easement, franchise or water rights; if the owner or owners are unknown or are without the State or if under legal disability and having no legal representative in the State, publication of such last mentioned notice shall be made in some newspaper in the county in which the proceedings were instituted at least ten days prior to the said meeting, and such publication shall be sufficient notice thereof. The said Council shall keep a record of their proceedings with their findings and awards and return the same to the prothonotary of the county in which the said proceedings were instituted, and shall certify their findings and awards to the owner or owners of the property
and to said Council; if the Council or any party in interest is dissatisfied with such findings or awards, it or he may, on application to said prothonotary within fifteen days after such findings and awards have been made and filed, sue out a writ of ad quod damnum, requiring the sheriff of said county, in the usual form, to inquire of twelve impartial men of his bailiwick of the damages which will be sustained as aforesaid, and their report shall be final. The said Council or the said jury shall, in assessing the damages aforesaid, take into consideration the benefits and advantages to the owner or owners resulting from the proposed improvement and set off the value of such benefits or advantages against the loss, detriment and disadvantages, which such owner will suffer, provided that in no case shall the amount estimated as and for benefits and advantages exceed the amount allowed for loss, detriment or disadvantage to such owner. The amount of damages being ascertained, the Council may pay or tender the amount thereof or within two months after the same shall have been so ascertained, to the person or persons so entitled thereto, or, if the person or persons so entitled refuse to accept or reside out of or are absent from the county during all or any part of said period of two months, the same may be deposited to his credit in bank, in the county seat of the county wherein such proceedings are instituted, within said time, and thereupon said property may be taken and occupied for the use and purpose for which it was condemned; provided that the Council, in its discretion, after it has made application as aforesaid, for the condemnation of property, may occupy or use such property without delay, and the proceedings for the ascertainment of the damages shall proceed as in this section provided, but in the event of such immediate use or occupation as last aforesaid, the Council shall pay to the owner or owners thereof if within the State, or if such owner or owners refuse to accept the amount of damages or are without the county, deposit to his or their credit in the bank, within ten days after the damages have been ascertained, the amount thereof. The expenses of the assessment by the said Council of the damages aforesaid of the fees of the said sheriff and prothonotary and of all costs incurred in the execution of the writ of ad quod damnum, shall in all cases be paid by the Council. The said Judge shall have power to fill any vacancy in any Council and thereafter the Council shall proceed as though no vacancy had occurred.
Section 1. Effective Date
This Act shall become effective, after passage, upon the
adoption of a resolution, at a regular or special meeting of the Commissioners at which a quorum is present, accepting the provisions of this Act.
Approved June 25, 1971.