CHAPTER 170
AN ACT TO REINCORPORATE THE CITY OF LEWES.
WHEREAS, it is deemed desirable that the Charter of The Town of Lewes, being Chapter 170, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, as amended, entitled "An Act to Reincorporate The Town of Lewes," be consolidated into one complete Act and in certain respects amended and revised.
NOW, THEREFORE;
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
INCORPORATION
Section 1. The inhabitants of The City of Lewes within the corporate limits as hereinafter defined in this Charter or as extended as hereinafter provided and the inhabitants of all the public land, whether within the corporate limits of The City of Lewes, as defined herein, or on the public land contiguous to but outside the corporate limits of The City of Lewes, as defined herein, and fronting on the Delaware Bay between the point of Cape Henlopen on the South and Veasey's Inlet on the North are hereby declared to be a body politic and corporate in law and equity and shall be able and capable to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended in all courts of judicature whatsoever by the corporate name of "The City of Lewes."
TERRITORY AND LIMITS
Section 2. The present boundaries and limits of The City of Lewes are hereby established and declared to be, as follows: Beginning at a point on the Bay shore at the mouth of Broad-kiln River and following said river to a point where the Lewes River intersects; thence following said Lewes River until it reaches the mouth of Canary Creek; thence following said Canary Creek until it intersects a line drawn from Greenhill Light-house to a point on the Southwest side of Block House Pond and Market Street; thence following said Market Street until it strikes a division line between the lands of Sarah C.
Wright and Eliza Metcalf; thence following said division line to South Street; thence running the same course between the lands of Dr. Hiram R. Burton and Virginia L. Mustard across King Street to a point in George Robinson's field about five hundred feet from King Street; thence in an Easterly direction until it strikes the division line between the lands of Robert Arnell and lands formerly of Dr. David Hall; thence following said course until it strikes a ditch through Miss Mcllvanine's lands, following said ditch to Lewes Creek; thence following said Creek in a Southeasterly direction until it strikes the former corporation line; thence following said line to the Bay shore; thence following the low water mark along said Bay Shore to the place of Beginning, together with the following described tracts of land which were annexed to the corporate limits of The Town of Lewes:
Parcel No. 1. Situate, lying and being Southeast of and adjacent to a present Southeast boundary line of the Town of Lewes described as: "a ditch through Miss Mcllvaine's land" (See Laws of Delaware, Vol. No. 22, Chapter 199, Sec. 1, and Vol. No. 43, Chapter 170, Sec. 2, page 723). Beginning for said Parcel No. 1 at a point in the present Town line described as: "a ditch through Miss Mcllvaine's land" where a ditch flowing Northeast out of White's Pond, and a ditch flowing North through lands now or formerly of Charles White, intersect and merge with said ditch flowing through lands formerly of Miss Mcllvaine, now lands of Fish Products Company. Said beginning point being also a corner for lands of Fish Products Company (formerly lands of Edith P. Melson) and lands now or formerly of Charles White. Thence from said beginning point, and with the division line between lands of Fish Products Company, and land now or formerly of Charles White and with bearings being referred to the true meridian, S. 18° 37' E. 445.17 ft. to a stake; thence along line for lands of Fish Products Company and line for lands of Percy Schmierer N. 71° 48' E. 678.48 ft. to the Southwesterly side of Gills Neck Road; thence continuing same course N. 71° 48' E. 30 ft. further to the Northeasterly side of said Gills Neck Road; thence along the Northeasterly side of said road S. 17° 00' E. 145.2 ft.; thence with a line through lands of Fish Products Company, it being also the original division line between lands formerly of Jacob A. Marshall, and lands formerly of Jane Mcllvaine N. 87° 43' E. 594.0 ft.; thence N. 79° 37' E. 49.5 ft.; thence N. 64° 07' E. 693 ft. or such distance as will reach the Southwest bank of the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal; thence along the Southerly bank of said Canal in a Northwesterly direction such a distance as will reach the mouth of the aforesaid ditch running through lands formerly of Jane Mcllvaine, now lands of Fish Products Company, the mouth of said ditch being located at the bend in the Gills Neck Road, and is N. 17° 00' W. 1005.8 ft. from the end of the herein described second course; thence up said ditch, which is a present boundary line for the Town of Lewes, in a Southwesterly direction such a distance as will reach the place of beginning. Containing 34.6 acres more or less. A plot entitled Plot of the Lands in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Sussex County at Georgetown, Delaware in Plot Record No. 1, page 32.
Parcel No. 2. Situate lying and being adjacent to and West of the present West boundary lines of the Town of Lewes; as set out in Laws of Delaware, Vol. No. 22, Chapter 199, Sec. 1, and Vol. No. 43, Chapter 170, Sec. 2, page 723. Beginning for said parcel No. 2 at a point in the Northwest side of Market Street and on the Southwest side of Block House Pond in said Town of Lewes, Delaware. Said beginning point being the end of the third course; as described in Laws of Delaware, Vol. No. 22, Chapter 199, Sec. 1, and the end of what is intended to be the fourth course in the description of the present Town boundary lines found in Laws of Delaware, Vol. No. 43, Chapter 170, Sec. 2, page 723, but said fourth course being omitted therein. Thence from said beginning point, and with the Northwesterly side of Market Street, S. 43° 45' W. (as surveyed in 1874 with bearing being referred to the Magnetic meridian of that date) such a distance as will reach the Southwesterly side of the street or road which lies between land of the Lewes Special School District and lands of the United States Government; known as Fort Miles Hospital Area; thence along the Southwesterly side of said unnamed street, or road in a Northwesterly direction such a distance as will reach the Southeasterly side of Stanley Miller's Subdivision known as "Highland Acres"; thence along the Southeasterly line of said Subdivision, "Highland Acres" and line for lands of the United States Government or Fort Miles Hospital Area, and in accord with a survey dated February 13, 1951, with bearings referred to the Magnetic Meridian of that date S. 47° 58' W. 274.69 ft. to a concrete marker; thence S. 46° 03' W. 575.71 ft. to a concrete marker; thence along the Southwesterly side of said Subdivision, and line for lands of Lewes Graves (formerly lands of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Railroad Company) N. 49° 20' W. 743.76 ft. to a corner fence post, thence along the Northwesterly side of said Subdivision, and line for lands of William Russell N. 46° 00' E. such a distance as will reach the aforesaid fourth line of the Town's present limits, namely, a line drawn from Greenhill Light House to a point on Southwest side of Block House Pond and Market Street; thence following said line in a Southeasterly direction to the place of beginning let the area be what it may. In the event it should be determined that there still remains some land in the possession of the Lewes Special School District which lies beyond the Corporate limits, then such additional lines as found necessary to include such lands of the Lewes Special School District shall be included, and become a part of this description. A plot of aforesaid Subdivision "Highland Acres" is now of record in the Recorder of Deeds Office in and for Sussex County, at Georgetown, Delaware, in Plot Record No. 2, page 32.
Parcel No. 3. Beginning at a point, said point being at the intersection of lands of Highland Heights, Inc., the corporate limits of The Town of Lewes and lands of Lewes Special School District; thence South 43 degrees, 31 minutes, 47 seconds West, such distance as is required to reach a corner for these lands, lands now or formerly of William Russell Heirs and Highland Acres Subdivision; thence along and with the line of lands now or formerly of William Russell Heirs, North 47 degrees, 47 minutes and 8 seconds a distance of 497.56 feet to a point, said point being a corner for these lands, lands now or formerly of William Russell Heirs and lands now or formerly of John S. Wingate; thence by and with the division line between these lands and lands now or formerly of John S. Wingate North 43 degrees, 44 minutes, 45 seconds East such distance as is required to reach the present corporate limits of The Town of Lewes; thence in a southeasterly direction by and with the present corporate limits of The Town of Lewes, home to the place of beginning containing approximately seven (7) acres of land more or less.
ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY
Section 3. In the event that it becomes feasible or necessary in the future for The City of Lewes to enlarge its then existing limits and territory, such annexation accomplished in accordance with the following procedures shall be lawful:
(a) If five (5) or more property owners resident in a territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of The City of Lewes, by written petition with the signature of each such petitioner duly acknowledged, shall request the City Council to annex that certain territory in which they reside and own property, the Mayor of The City of Lewes shall appoint a committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the City Council to investigate the possibility of annexation. The petition presented to the City Council shall include a description of the territory requested to be annexed and the reasons for the requested annexation; or, the City Council, by a majority vote of the elected members thereof, may, by resolution, propose that a committee, composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of said City Council, be appointed by the Mayor to investigate the possibility of annexing any certain territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of The City of Lewes.
(b) Not later than ninety (90) days following its appointment by the Mayor, as aforesaid, the committee shall submit a written report containing its findings and conclusions to the Mayor and City Council. The report so submitted shall include the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed annexation both to the City and to the territory proposed to be annexed, and shall contain the committee's recommendations whether or not to proceed with the proposed annexation and the reasons therefor. In the event that the committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is advantageous both to the City and to the territory proposed to be annexed, within thirty (30) days after receiving the report, a second resolution shall then be passed by the City Council proposing to the property owners and residents of both the City and the territory proposed to be annexed that the City proposes to annex certain territory contiguous to its then limits and territory. In the event that the committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is disadvantageous either to the City or to the territory proposed to be annexed, within thirty (30) days after receiving the report of the committee, the resolution proposing to the property owners and residents of both the City and the territory proposed to be annexed shall be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the elected members of the City Council. If the resolution shall fail to receive the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the elected members of the City Council, the territory proposed to be annexed shall not again be considered for annexation for a period of one year from the date that the resolution failed to receive the required affirmative vote. The second resolution shall contain a description of the territory proposed to be annexed and shall fix a time and place for a public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. The resolution adopted by the City Council setting forth the above information shall be printed in a newspaper published in The City of Lewes at least one week prior to the date set for the public hearing, or, if no newspaper is published in the City, publication shall be had in a newspaper having a general circulation both in the City and in the territory proposed to be annexed, or, at the discretion of the City Council the said resolution shall be posted in five (5) public places both in the City and in the territory proposed to be annexed.
(c) Following the public hearing, but in no event later than thirty (30) days thereafter, a resolution shall then be passed by a majority of the City Council ordering a Special Election to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days after the said public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. The passage of this resolution shall ipso facto be considered the City Council's determination to proceed with the matter of the proposed annexation,
(d) The notice of the time and place of holding the said Special Election shall be printed within thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the Special Election in at least two (2) issues of a newspaper published in the City, or, if no newspaper is published in the City, the notice may be printed within thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the Special Election in two (2) issues of a newspaper having a general circulation both in the City and in the territory proposed to be annexed, or, in the discretion of the City Council, the said notice may be posted in five (5) public places both in the City and in the territory proposed to be annexed, at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the Special Election.
(e) At the Special Election, every property owner, whether an individual, a partnership, or a corporation, both in the City and in the territory proposed to be annexed, shall have one (1) vote for each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of assessment as shown by the books of the City in the case of City property owners and by the records of the Board of Assessment of Sussex County in the case of property owners in the territory proposed to be annexed. Each leaseholder holding land under a valid lease for a term of not less than ten (10) years whose lease is recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, in and for Sussex County, and who has erected upon his or her leasehold an improvement having an assessed valuation of at least One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of assessment as shown by the records of The City in the case of City leaseholders and by the records of the Board of Assessment of Sussex County in the case of leaseholders in the territory proposed to be annexed. Every citizen of either the City or of the territory proposed to be annexed who is not a property owner or leaseholder as herein defined shall have one (1) vote. In the case of property owned or leased by a husband and wife jointly, the husband and wife shall each have one (1) vote for each Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) of assessment. In the event that a person is the owner or leaseholder, as defined herein, of property in the City and is also either an owner or leaseholder, as defined herein, of property in the territory proposed to be annexed and resides in either place, he may vote only where he resides. In the event that a person is the owner or leaseholder, as defined herein, of property in the City and is also either an owner or leaseholder, as herein defined, of property in the territory proposed to be annexed but does not reside in either place, he may vote only in the City and not in the territory proposed to be annexed. Property owners or leaseholders, as defined herein, whose property or whose improvement located on leased land is exempt from taxation or is not assessed shall not be entitled to vote. The books and records of The City of Lewes in the case of City property owners or City leaseholders, as defined herein, and the books and records of the Board of Assessment of Sussex County in the case of property owners or leaseholders as defined herein in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be conclusive evidence of the right of such property owners or leaseholders to vote at the Special Election. In the event that an individual holds a power of attorney duly executed and acknowledged and specifically authorizing said records of The City of Lewes in the case of City property owners or leaseholders as defined herein, in the books and records of the Board of Assessment of Sussex County, in the case of property owners or leaseholders as defined herein, the territory proposed to be annexed shall be conclusive evidence of the right of such property owners or leaseholders to vote at the Special Election. In the event that an individual holds a Power of Attorney duly executed and acknowledged and specifically authorizing said person to cast the votes of another person or to cast the votes of a partnership or corporation at the said Special Election, a duly authenticated copy of the Power of Attorney shall be filed in the office of the City Manager. Said Power of Attorney as so filed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the right of the person so named to cast the votes of another person or to cast the votes of a partnership or a corporation at the Special Election.
(f) 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 Special Election.
(g) The form of the ballot shall be as follows:
q For the proposed annexation.
q Against the proposed annexation.
Please mark your preference.
On the reverse side of the ballot shall be the following:
This ballot casts votes.
(h) The Mayor shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Election, at least one of whom must reside and be the owner or leaseholder, as defined herein, of property in the City, and at least one of whom must reside and be the owner or leaseholder, as defined herein, of property in the territory proposed to be annexed. One of the said persons so appointed shall be designated the Presiding Officer. Voting shall be conducted in the City Hall and the Board of Election shall have available, clearly marked two (2) ballot boxes. All ballots cast by those persons, partnerships, or corporations authorized to vote as residents, property owners or leaseholders as defined herein, in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be deposited one such ballot box, and all ballots cast by those persons, partnerships or corporations who are authorized to vote as residents, property owners, or leaseholders, as defined herein, of the City shall be deposited in the other such ballot box. The polling place shall be opened from 12:00 noon, prevailing time, until 7:00 P.M., prevailing time, on the date set for the Special Election.
(i) Immediately upon the closing of the polling place, the Board of Election shall count the ballots for and against the proposed annexation and shall announce the result thereof; the Board of Election shall make a certificate under their hands of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed annexation, and the number of void votes, and shall deliver the same to the City Council. The said certificate shall be filed with the papers of the Council.
(j) In order for the territory proposed to be annexed to be considered annexed, a majority of the votes cast both from the City and from the territory proposed to be annexed must have been cast in favor of the proposed annexation. In the event that the Special Election results in an unfavorable vote for annexation, no part of the territory considered at the Special Election for annexation shall again be considered for annexation for at least a period of one (1) year from the date of the Special Election. If a favorable vote for annexation shall have been cast, the City Council of The City of Lewes shall cause a description and a plot of the territory so annexed to be recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds for Sussex County, in Georgetown, Delaware, but in no event shall such recordation be completed more than ninety (90) days following the favorable referendum. The territory considered for annexation shall be considered to be a part of The City of Lewes from the time of said recordation. The failure to record the description and plot within the specified time shall not make the annexation invalid but such annexation shall be deemed to be effective at the expiration of the ninety (90) days period from the date of favorable Special Election.
STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
Section 4. The government of the City and the exercise of all powers conferred by this Charter, except as otherwise provided herein shall be vested in the Mayor and City Council. The term of the Mayor shall be a period of two (2) years commencing at the Annual Meeting of the City Council following his election and continuing until his successor is duly elected and qualified.
The City Council shall be composed of Four (4) members, each of whose terms shall be for a period of two (2) years commencing at the Annual Meeting of the City Council following his election and continuing until his successor is duly elected and qualified.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCILMAN
Section 5. The qualifications for Mayor and for City Councilman at the time of his election shall be as follows:
(a) A bona fide citizen of the United States and of the State of Delaware and a resident freeholder or resident leaseholder, as hereinafter defined, of The City of Lewes for at least One (1) year next preceding the annual election.
(b) At least Twenty-one (21) years of age; and
(c) A non-delinquent taxpayer of The City of Lewes of all property taxes levied or assessed by The City of Lewes against his or her freehold or leasehold or against improvements located on leased land or of rent due The City of Lewes for at least One (1) year next preceding the annual election.
(d) Each of the qualifications for the Mayor and the City Councilman shall be continuing qualifications to hold office and the failure of either the Mayor or any of the City Councilman to have any of the qualifications required by this Section during his term of office shall create a vacancy in the office.
(e) For the purposes of this Section, a "leaseholder" shall be deemed to mean and include a person holding land under a valid lease either in his own name or as a coparcener or jointly with his or her spouse from either the State of Delaware or the Commissioners of Lewes or The City of Lewes for a term of at least Ten (10) years whose lease is recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, in and for Sussex County, and who has erected upon the leasehold an improvement having an assessed valuation of at least One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) as shown by the records of The City of Lewes and for all purposes of this Section, the word "freeholder" shall be deemed to include any person who holds fee simple title to real estate either in his own name, as a tenant in common, as a joint tenant, or as a tenant by the entirety.
METHOD OF MAKING NOMINATIONS
FOR MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMAN
Section 6. Each candidate for Mayor and City Councilman shall be nominated as follows:
(a) Each candidate shall notify the City Manager in writing of his candidacy for the office of either Mayor or City Councilman; or Five (5) or more persons qualified to vote in the annual election may file the name of the candidate for the office of Mayor or City Councilman with the City Manager provided that the candidate endorses his written consent thereon.
(b) All such notifications of candidacy must be filed at the Office of the City Manager during the regular business hours of the City at least Fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the annual election next ensuing; and thereupon, it shall be the duty of the City Manager to have a list of names of all candidates so filed with him printed in a newspaper published in The City of Lewes at least Five (5) full days prior to the said annual election next ensuing; or in the event that no newspaper is published in the said City, publication may be had in a newspaper having a general circulation in the community; or, in the discretion of the City Council, the City Manager may post a list of names of all candidates designating the office sought by each candidate in at least five (5) public places in the City, such public places to be designated by the Council. One of the said public places shall be in the City Hall of The City of Lewes.
(c) In the event that the City Manager is unable to act because of illness, absence, or for any other reason whatsoever, the names of all candidates shall be filed with the Vice-President of the City Council who shall thereupon perform the duties required of the City Manager in subsection (b) of this Section.
(d) The City Council shall cause to be printed sufficient ballots in order for each citizen of the City to vote at the annual election. Said Ballot shall contain the names of all the persons nominated and shall designate the office for which each is a candidate, and such ballots shall be delivered to the City Manager at least five (5) days prior to the date of the annual election. No ballots to be used for voting at the annual election shall be available for distribution to any person prior to the time of his or her actually presenting himself for the purpose of voting; provided, however, that the City Manager shall have available for distribution Five (5) days prior to the date of the Annual Municipal Election sample ballots marked or defaced in such a manner that they cannot be used at the election.
MANNER OF HOLDING ANNUAL MUNICIPAL
ELECTION
Section 7. The procedure for holding the Annual Municipal Election shall be as follows:
(a) The Annual Municipal Election shall be held at the Town Hall in The City of Lewes on the second Saturday in May of each and every year from Twelve o'clock noon, prevailing time, until Six o'clock in the evening, prevailing time, the first said Annual Municipal Election to be held pursuant to this Charter to be held on the second Saturday in May, A.D. 1970.
(b) At the Annual Municipal Election to be held on the second Saturday in May, A.D. 1970, the Mayor and two Councilmen shall be elected. The Mayor shall be elected to serve a term of Two (2) years or until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified. Each of the Councilmen who are elected shall serve for a term of Two (2) years or until his successor has been duly elected and qualified.
(c) At the Annual Municipal Election to be held on the second Saturday in May, A.D. 1971, two Councilmen shall be elected, each of whom shall serve for a period of Two (2) years or until his successor has been duly elected and qualified.
(d) Thereafter, at each Annual Municipal Election, there shall be elected two Councilmen who shall serve for a term of Two years or until their successors have been duly elected and qualified except at the Annual Municipal Election in the year when a Mayor is to be elected at which time two Councilmen shall be elected to serve for a term of two years or until their respective successors shall be duly elected and qualified.
(e) The Mayor and the members of the Commissioners of Lewes who hold office at the time of the passage of this Act shall continue to hold office as the Mayor of the City of Lewes and members of the City Council of The City of Lewes until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified.
(1) The Annual Municipal Election shall be conducted by a Board of Election consisting of an Inspector and two Judges appointed by the Mayor of The City of Lewes with the concurrence of a majority of the members of the City Council at the last regular meeting of the City Council prior to the date of the Annual Municipal Election. The Board of Election shall determine who is and who is not lawfully entitled to vote thereat, taking reasonable steps to see that the law pertaining to the Annual Municipal Election receives compliance and for the purpose of counting the votes and certifying the result to the City Council. If any of the officers so chosen and designated to conduct the Annual Municipal Election shall not be present at the polling place at the time designated for the holding of the Annual Municipal Election, it shall be lawful for the qualified voters present at the polling place at the time of holding said Annual Municipal Election to elect from among themselves a person to fill each vacancy in such Board of Election caused by the absence of any member of the Board of Election. The Board of Election shall keep a list of all persons who voted at such Annual Municipal Election.
(g) At such Annual Municipal Election, every person, male or female, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one on the date of the Annual Municipal Election and who shall have been a citizen of the United States for a period of one year and a citizen of The City of Lewes for a period of one year preceding the date of the Annual Municipal Election shall have one (1) vote, provided he or she has registered on the "Books of Registered Voters" of The City of Lewes. For the purposes of this Section, a citizen of The City of Lewes shall be deemed to include any person who is a qualified voter of the Third Election District of the Thirty-Fifth Representative District of Lewes, Sussex County, Delaware, residing within the corporate limits of The City of Lewes as defined in this Charter. The City Council of The City of Lewes shall provide two registers to be known as the "Books of Registered Voters" which are to be kept at the Office of the City Manager. The Books of Registered Voters shall contain the following information for each registrant: The name of the registered voter arranged in alphabetical order, the address of the voter, the birthdate of the voter, the date the registrant became a citizen of the United States, the date that the registrant became a resident of The City of Lewes, and any other pertinent information. No person shall be registered upon the Books of Registered Voters unless he will have acquired the qualifications to vote in the Annual Municipal Election for the year in which he registers. A person shall be required to register only one time; provided, however, that if a registered voter fails to vote in two consecutive Annual Municipal Elections, his name shall be removed from the Books of Registered Voters and notice sent to said registered voter at his last known address by registered mail with return receipt requested advising that his name has been removed from the Books of Registered Voters and that it will be necessary to register again in order to be eligible to vote in the Annual Municipal Election. The Books of Registered Voters shall be maintained in the Office of the City Manager and shall be conclusive evidence of the right of any person to vote at the Annual Municipal Election. A person may register at the Office of the City Manager during the regular business hours of such Office until the close of business of such Office on the fifteenth day prior to the date of the Annual Municipal Election by completing such forms as may be provided by the City.
ORGANIZATION AND ANNUAL MEETING
OF COUNCIL
Section 8. (a) Before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the Mayor elect, and the Councilmen elect, shall be sworn by a Notary Public to perform faithfully and impartially the duties of their respective offices with fidelity. At 8:00 o'clock P.M. at the first regular meeting following the annual election, the Mayor and City Council shall meet at the Council Chamber and the newly elected officers shall assume the duties of office, being first duly sworn or affirmed to perform their duties with fidelity as aforesaid.
(b) At this annual meeting, held on the first regular meeting following the Annual Municipal Election, the City Council shall organize and elect, by ballot, a Vice-President, who shall hold office for the term of one year, or until his successor shall be duly elected. The City Council shall likewise select a Secretary from their own number to serve until the first regular meeting after the next Annual Municipal Election. They shall also choose an Assistant Secretary to serve as aforesaid, who may or may not be from among their own number and such other officers and employees as may be determined to be necessary.
REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS
Section 9. The City Council of The City of Lewes shall hold one meeting in each month on the second Monday of the month. If the second Monday of the month shall be a legal holiday, the monthly meeting of the City Council of The City of Lewes shall be held on the third Monday of the month. Special meetings shall be called by the Secretary upon the written request of the Mayor of The City of Lewes, or upon the written request of any two members of the City Council of The City of Lewes, stating the day, hour and place of the special meeting requested, and the subject or subjects proposed to be considered thereat. The Secretary shall thereon give written notice to the Mayor and to each member of the City Council of the day, hour and place of such special meeting and the subject or subjects to be considered thereat. Such notice of the Secretary must be deposited in the United States mail in the main Post Office of The City of Lewes at least forty-eight (48) hours before the time of such special meeting; provided, that a written waiver of such notice, signed by the Mayor of The City of Lewes and by all members of the City Council prior to or immediately upon the convening of such special meeting, shall make such written notice unnecessary and shall authorize and make valid the holding of a special meeting at any time named in such waiver, and the transaction of any other business at the meeting, if the waiver so states.
QUORUM
Section 10. A majority of the members elected to the City Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting; but a less number may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance.
RULES AND MINUTES OF COUNCIL
Section 11. The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business, and shall keep a journal of its proceedings and the yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of every ordinance and resolution and shall be entered in the journal with the text of the ordinance or resolution.
VACANCIES
Section 12. If any vacancy shall occur in the office of Mayor or Councilman, by death, resignation, loss of residence in The City of Lewes, refusal to serve, failure to elect, or otherwise, the same may be filled by a majority vote of the members of the City Council, the person or persons so chosen to fill such vacancy or vacancies shall be qualified as in the case of newly elected members, and shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term.
DISQUALIFICATIONS
Section 13. If any Councilman or Mayor, during his term of office, shall be found guilty of any crime or misdemeanor and sentenced to imprisonment for any term whatever, or shall for any reason cease to be resident of said City, he shall forthwith be disqualified to act as a member of Council or Mayor, and his office shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled by Council, as aforesaid.
CONTRACTS
Section 14. (a) It shall be unlawful for the City Council to make or enter into any contract in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for materials, supplies, work or labor for the benefit and use of The City of Lewes with any member of the City Council or the Mayor or with any partnership in which any member of the City Council or the Mayor is a general partner or with any corporation in which any member of the City Council or the Mayor is a director or controlling stockholder or with any firm or company which any member of the City Council or Mayor is pecuniarily interested, provided that if all the elected members of the City Council shall vote to enter into such contract, then the City may enter into such a contract. Any such contract executed without such unanimous vote shall be absolutely null and void.
(b) All contracts for the purchase of materials or for the furnishing of services authorized or permitted by this Charter shall be accomplished by competitive bidding and the awarding of contracts to the lowest responsible bidder; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that competitive bidding shall not be required in any of the following circumstances:
1. The aggregate amount involved is not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00);
2. The purchase or contract is for personal or professional services;
3. The purchase or contract is for any service rendered by a university, college or other educational institution;
4. The purchase or contract is for any service to be rendered by the State of Delaware or any political subdivision thereof;
5. The purchase or contract is for property or services for which it is impracticable to obtain competition;
6. The public exigency as determined by the City Council will not permit the delay incident to advertising;
7. The materials to be purchased are to be used to complete a project under the supervision of the City Manager;
8. The purchase or contract is for property or services for which the City Council determines the prices received after competitive bidding are unreasonable as to all or part of the requirement or were not independently reached in open competition;
9. A public emergency as determined by the City Council exists.
DUTIES OF THE MAYOR AND PRESIDENT
OF CITY COUNCIL
Section 15. (a) The Mayor of The City of Lewes shall be President of the City Council and shall preside at all meetings thereof, but shall vote only in the event of a tie. He shall appoint all committees, receive complaints of nuisances, and other complaints of citizens concerning violations of law and ordinances. He shall present a report of complaints of nuisances and violations of law and ordinances to the City Council at the first regular meeting thereafter. He may require the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman, as hereinafter provided for in this Act, or the resident Justice of the Peace to proceed upon such infractions or violations of law or ordinances immediately in the event that he deems such action to be required.
(b) The Mayor within thirty (30) days following his election may appoint, by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the City Council, two suitable persons who shall be qualified voters of The City of Lewes to act as Alderman and Assistant Alderman. The persons so selected and designated need not be Justices of the Peace. Both the Alderman and the Assistant Alderman shall hold office until each successor shall be appointed or chosen.
(c) The Mayor shall be a Conservator of the Peace and shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Alderman. If no Alderman or Assistant Alderman is appointed, the Mayor shall perform all the duties prescribed for that office and all fines, penalties and fees collected by him shall be paid to the City Manager. The City Council shall procure a suitable record for such Mayor which shall be known as the "Mayor's Docket" upon which his official acts as set forth in this Section shall be enforced and kept.
(d) The Mayor and the Alderman shall on the first regular meeting in each month report to the City Council all fines, penalties and fees imposed by them during the preceding month and pay over to the City Manager all such fines, penalties, and fees due to the City received by them during said time, and any default of making such report and payment for a period of twenty (20) days after such report should be made, and such fines and penalties should be paid as aforesaid, they shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof by indictment, shall be fined not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(e) The Mayor may for any reasonable cause, by and with the consent or upon the address of a majority of all members of the Council, remove from the office, any person appointed by him or by any of his predecessors. The person against whom the Mayor or the Council may be about to proceed shall receive five day's notice thereof, accompanied by a statement of the cause alleged for the removal and shall be accorded a full and fair hearing, if such a request is received by the Mayor by registered mail with return receipt requested within ten (10) days following the date that notice of removal is received by such person.
(f) The Mayor may appoint such other committees as he deems necessary for the proper administration of The City of Lewes or the Council may, by resolution, authorize the Mayor to appoint certain committees which are deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(g) It shall be the duty of the Vice-President of the City Council, in the absence of the Mayor to preside at all of the meetings of the City Council and in the event of absence of the Mayor to perform such other duties and have such other powers of the Mayor as are prescribed by the Charter of The City of Lewes or by any ordinance of the Council.
SECRETARY
Section 16. (a) The Secretary shall have charge and custody of the books, journal, records, papers and other effects of the City and shall keep the same in a safe and secure place. He shall keep a full and complete record of all the transactions of The City of Lewes. He shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, and shall keep a record of the transactions and proceedings of the same, together with such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or by ordinance or rule of the City Council of The City of Lewes. He shall file and keep in a safe place the seal of The City of Lewes and all papers and documents arising out of the proceedings of the City Council of The City of Lewes and relative to the affairs of the City. He shall deliver the same to his successor in office. He shall attest the seal of The City of Lewes when authorized by the City Council and shall perform such duties and have such other powers as may be prescribed by ordinance.
(b) All books, records and journals of the corporation in the custody of the Secretary may, in the presence of the Mayor, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or any member of the City Council of The City of Lewes be inspected by any freeholder or leaseholder as defined herein of the City desiring legitimate information at any time, or times, as may be convenient and will not interfere with the regular routine of the business of the City.
(c) All records, books, papers and documents in the custody of the Secretary shall at all times be open for the inspection of members of the City Council of The City of Lewes.
(d) The compensation of the Secretary for his duties, as such, shall be determined by the City Council.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Section 17. The duties and powers of the Secretary as hereinbefore prescribed shall devolve upon the Assistant Secretary in the absence of inability of the Secretary. The Assistant Secretary shall likewise perform such other duties and have such other powers as may be prescribed by resolution by the City Council of The City of Lewes and shall receive such compensation as the City Council by resolution shall determine.
ALDERMAN AND ASSISTANT ALDERMAN
Section 18. (a) The Mayor may appoint some suitable person to act as Alderman and may appoint some suitable person to act as Assistant Alderman. Any person appointed by the Mayor to serve as Alderman or Assistant Alderman shall be at least twenty-one years of age, shall be of good character and reputation and shall be a resident of The City of Lewes and shall not be a member of the City Council of The City of Lewes. Any person appointed by the Mayor to serve as Alderman or Assistant Alderman shall be appointed for an indefinite term and any such appointment shall be confirmed by a majority of all members of the City Council of The City of Lewes. Either the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman may be removed from office at any time, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the elected members of the City Council of The City of Lewes.
(b) Before entering upon the duties of his office, the persons appointed by the Mayor to serve as Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall be sworn or affirmed by the Mayor to perform the duties of his office honestly, faithfully and diligently and to uphold and enforce the Charter of The City of Lewes and ordinances duly enacted by the City Council of The City of Lewes and to carry into effect all orders of the City Council of The City of Lewes made pursuant to any law of this State. The Assistant Alderman shall perform the functions of the Alderman if the Alderman is unavailable and at such other times as may be designated by the Mayor. During such periods, the Assistant Alderman shall have all the powers and duties of the Alderman.
(c) The City Council shall procure a suitable record for the use of the Alderman and the Assistant Alderman. Such record shall be known as the "Alderman's Docket." The Alderman and the Assistant Alderman shall each record all official acts and proceedings in the "Alderman's Docket."
(d) The Alderman and the Assistant Alderman shall have jurisdiction and cognizance of all breaches of the peace and other offenses committed within the corporate limits of The City of Lewes so far as to arrest and hold for bail, or fine and imprison offenders for any offense, penalty or forfeiture prescribed by the Charter of The City of Lewes and any ordinance enacted thereunder; of all neglects, omissions or defaults of any City Officer, agent or employee; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that neither the Alderman nor the Assistant Alderman shall impose any fine in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor imprison any offender for more than sixty (60) days except as otherwise provided in the Charter of The City of Lewes. The Alderman and the Assistant Alderman, may in addition to any fine or term of imprisonment permitted to be assessed or imposed, impose and collect such costs as are set by ordinance by the City Council of The City of Lewes; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that no cost shall be imposed which is in excess of that which may be imposed by a Justice of the Peace for like service.
(e) The Alderman and the Assistant Alderman shall prepare and submit a monthly report to the City Council reporting all fines and penalties imposed during the preceding calendar month and shall pay to the Treasurer of the City all such fines and penalties.
(f) The Alderman and the Assistant Alderman shall receive such salary as may be fixed from time to time by resolution of the City Council.
(g) If any Alderman or Assistant Alderman shall be removed from office as hereinbefore provided, he shall deliver to the City Manager, within two (2) days after his removal from office, all the books and papers belonging to his office, and shall pay over to the City Manager all monies in his hands within five (5) days after receiving the notice of his removal from office. Immediately after the receipt of the books and papers belonging to the office of either the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman, the City Manager shall require the auditor of the City, appointed as hereinafter provided, to make an audit of the books and papers of the official so removed from the office. Upon the neglect or failure to deliver all the books and papers to the City Manager within the time specified by this Charter, or to pay over all the monies to the City Manager within the time specified, the Alderman or Assistant Alderman, so removed, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each day that he fails to deliver the books and papers to the City Manager or to pay over all monies to the City Manager.
CITY MANAGER
Section 19. (a) The City Council of The City of Lewes shall appoint a City Manager who shall be the Chief Administrative Officer of the City.
(b) The City Council of The City of Lewes shall impose such qualifications for City Manager as may be deemed necessary; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that no person holding the office of Mayor of The City of Lewes or the office of City Councilman shall be chosen to be City Manager during his term of office as Mayor or Councilman.
(c) The City Manager shall hold office for an indefinite term and may be removed by a majority vote of the City Council of The City of Lewes. At least thirty days before such removal shall become effective, the City Council shall, by a majority vote of all the elected members thereof, adopt a preliminary resolution stating the reasons for his removal. The manager may reply in writing and may request a public hearing which shall be held not earlier than twenty days nor later than thirty days after the filing of such request. After such public hearing, if one be requested, and after full consideration, the City Council by majority vote of all the elected members thereof, may adopt a final resolution of removal. By the preliminary resolution, the City Council may suspend the manager from duty, but shall in any case cause to be paid him forthwith any unpaid balance of his salary and his salary for the next three calendar months following adoption of the preliminary resolution.
(d) In case of the absence or disability of the Manager, the City Council may designate some qualified person to perform the duties of such office during his absence or disability. The compensation which the Manager shall receive for the performance of his duties shall be fixed by the City Council of The City of Lewes.
(e) The City Manager shall make such appointments and shall hire such employees at such compensations as the City Council by resolution shall determine. All employees shall be hired for an indefinite term and may be removed by the City Manager at any time unless otherwise provided by resolution of Council. He shall exercise his sole discretion in the appointment or hiring of any such employees; provided, however, that if a resident or residents of the City, competent to perform the work required by the Manager, can be found, such resident or residents shall be given first choice. The City Manager shall be the sole judge of the competence or incompetence of any such person. The City Council of The City of Lewes shall sit as a Board of Appeal to review removal of any employee or employees at such times when a majority of the elected members of the City Council shall deem it in the best interests of the City to do so. The decision of the City Council in such cases shall be conclusive.
(f) It is the intention of this Charter that, in the performance of his duties and in the exercise of his powers, the City Manager shall not be influenced by any matters whatsoever of a political or factional nature. It is the intention of this Charter that the City Manager shall be guided solely by matters of expediency and efficiency in the administration of the affairs of the City placed in his charge. To that end, neither the City Council nor any of its committees nor members thereof shall direct or request that appointment of any person to, or his removal from, any office by the City Manager or any of his subordinates, nor, in any manner, take part in the appointment removal of the employees in the administrative service of the affairs of the City under the charge of the City Manager. Except for purposes of inquiry, the City Council shall deal with that portion of the administrative service for which the City Manager is responsible solely through the City Manager.
(g) It shall be the duty of the City Manager to supervise the administration of the affairs of the City under his charge and to make such reports to the City Council as are required by the City Council. He shall make such recommendations to the City Council concerning the affairs of the City as may seem to him desirable. He shall keep the City Council advised of the financial conditions and future needs of the City. He shall prepare and submit to the City Council the annual budget estimate. He shall render to the City Council, at their monthly meeting of each and every month, a true, accurate and detailed account of all monies collected or by him received in the performance of duties, and shall promptly turn over the same to the City Council.
(h) In conjunction with the Mayor of The City of Lewes, he shall sign warrants pursuant to appropriations or resolutions theretofore made by the City Council. He shall prepare and submit to the City Council such reports as may be required by that body. He shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or required of him by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.
(i) The City Manager and such other officers of the City as may be designated by vote of the City Council shall be entitled to seats in the meetings of the City Council but shall have no vote therein.
(j) The City Manager shall have charge and supervision of streets, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, boardwalks, jetties, piers, parks and other administrative affairs of the City and of all work relating thereto. He shall have charge of and shall collect all taxes, assessments, rentals, license fees, or other charges due the City. He shall have charge of the administration of all provisions of this Charter and ordinances and resolutions of the City Council relating to the affairs of the City, when not otherwise provided for by this Charter, or by any ordinance or resolution of the City Council. He shall pay over to the City Treasurer, at least monthly, as hereinbefore provided, and oftener if required by the City Council, all monies received or collected by him and by any employee under him.
(k) He shall keep a full and strict account of all monies received and all disbursements by him and such account shall, at all times, be open to inspection by the City Council.
(1) He shall give The City of Lewes a Bond, if required by the City Council, in such sum and in form and with security satisfactory to that body for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and the restoration to The City of Lewes, in case of his death, resignation or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in his possession belonging to the City.
(m) In the event of a vacancy in the office of City Manager for any reason or reasons whatsoever, the duly appointed and qualified successor to that office shall succeed to all the rights, privileges and powers theretofore reposed in his predecessor or predecessors in office in the same manner as though all acts, deeds and steps theretofore taken by any such predecessor or predecessors with respect to any matter or thing pertaining to said office had been taken or performed by the successor to such office.
POWER TO BORROW MONEY AND ISSUE BONDS
Section 20. The City Council may borrow money and issue bonds or certificates of indebtedness to secure the payment thereof on the faith and credit of The City of Lewes, to provide funds for the erection, the extension, the enlargement, the purchase or the repair of any plant, machinery, appliances, or equipment for the supply, or the manufacture and distribution of electricity or gas for light, heat or power purposes; for the furnishing of water to the public; for the construction, repair or improvements of highways, streets or lanes, or the paving, curbing or erection of gutters along the same; for the construction or repair of sewers or sewage disposal equipment; or to defray the cost or the share of The City of the cost of any permanent municipal improvements; provided, however, that the borrowing of the money therefor shall have been authorized by the City Council and shall have been approved by the electors in the manner and at the time following:
(a) Council by resolution shall propose to the electors of the City by resolution that a stated amount of the money shall be borrowed for any of the above purposes. The resolution shall state the amount of the money desired to be borrowed, the purpose for which it is desired, the manner of securing the same, and other pertinent facts relating to the loan which are deemed pertinent by the City Council and in their possession, and shall fix a time and place for hearing on the said resolution.
(b) Notice of the time and place of the hearing on the resolution authorizing said loan shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in the City and or, in the discretion of the City Council, distributed in circular form at least one week before the time set for said hearing.
() A second resolution shall then be passed by Council ordering a special election to be held not less than thirty days and not more than sixty days after said public hearing to borrow the said money, for the purpose of voting for or against the proposed loan. The passing of the second resolution calling the special election shall ipso facto be considered Council's determination to proceed in the matter in issue.
(a) The notice of the time and place of holding the said special election shall be printed in two issues of a newspaper having a general circulation in the City within the thirty days immediately prior to the election, or, in the discretion of the City Council, distributed in circular form at least fifteen days prior to the election, or both at the discretion of the Council.
(b) At the special election, every owner of property whether individual, a partnership, or corporation shall have one vote for each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of assessed valuation or part thereof as shown by the books of the City, and the said vote may be east either in person or by proxy. The books of The City of Lewes shall be conclusive evidence of the right of any owner to vote at the special election and the number of votes to be cast by such owner.
(c) The Council shall cause to be prepared, printed and have available for distribution a sufficient number of ballots at not less than five days prior to the date of the special election.
(d) The Board of Election shall count the votes for and against the proposed loan; and shall announce the result thereof; shall make a certificate under their hands of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed loan, and shall deliver the same to the Council, and the original shall be filed with the paper of the Council.
(h) The form of bond or certificate of indebtedness, the interest rate, the time of payment of interest, the classes, the time of maturity, and provisions as to the registration shall be determined by the Council after said special election. The bonds may be sold at either public or private sale as determined by the City Council. The Council shall provide, in its budget, and in fixing the rate of tax, for the payment of interest and principal of said bonds at the maturity or maturities thereof, a sinking fund therefor. The faith and credit of The City of Lewes shall be deemed to be pledged for the due payment of the bonds and interest thereon issued under the provisions hereof, when the same have been properly executed and delivered for value, and there shall be no limitation upon the amount of taxes which may be raised by taxation for the payment of interest on and principal of any bonded indebtedness whether incurred before or after the passage of this Act.
() The bonded indebtedness shall not at any time exceed in the aggregate the total sum of Twenty-five per centum (25%) of the value of the real property situate within the limits of the City as shown by the last assessment preceding the creation of the said indebtedness.
In the event The City of Lewes should construct or acquire any plant, machinery, appliances, or equipment for the supply of electricity or gas for light, heat or power purposes, authority is hereby granted The City of Lewes to furnish electricity or gas for light, heat or power purposes to the outlying communities provided that this authority shall not exceed a distance of One Mile beyond the limits of said City as set forth herein or as extended by annexation as herein provided, and provided that such extension will not incur indebtedness in excess of the bonded limit of said City and to do all things necessary to carry out this authority.
THE TREASURER
Section 21. At the first regular meeting of the City Council of The City of Lewes following the annual election in each year, the City Council shall appoint a proper person, being a freeholder or leaseholder as defined herein of The City of Lewes, to be the Treasurer of the City. The Treasurer may or may not be a member of the City Council. In the event that the office of Treasurer shall become vacant by reason of death, resignation, removal or otherwise, the City Council shall at the next regular meeting after said office shall have become vacant, appoint a proper person, being a freeholder or lease holder, as defined herein, to serve for the balance of the unexpired term of said office.
Before the Treasurer enters upon the duties of his office, he shall give bond to the City of Lewes with surety being an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of Delaware in the penal sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), conditioned upon the faithful discharge of the trust imposed in him and the payment over to The City of Lewes or to his successor in office of all such sums of money as may remain in his hands upon the settlement of his accounts. The said Treasurer shall pay all orders drawn on him by the City Council, and shall settle his accounts with City Council annually before the fifth day of December, and as often at such times as the City Council shall require. The said Treasurer shall receive a reasonable compensation to be determined by the City Council.
CITY SOLICITOR
Section 22. At the first regular meeting following the Annual Election, the City Council of The City of Lewes shall reelect and appoint a City Solicitor, the City Solicitor shall be a member in good standing of the Bar of the State of Delaware with offices in Sussex County. It shall be his duty to give legal advice to the Mayor and the City Council and other officers of the City and to perform such other legal services as may be required by the City Council.
BOARD OF HEALTH
Section 23. (a) The Board of Health shall consist of four (4) members, one of whom shall be a practicing physician with offices in the City. The Board shall be appointed by The City Council at the first regular meeting following the Annual Election hereinbefore provided and shall serve for one year or until their successors are duly appointed and qualified. The Board of Health shall have cognizance of and interest in the life and health of the people of the City. It shall report to the City Council, in writing, whatever is deemed by the Board to be injurious to the Health of the people of the City, and shall make recommendations to the City Council, concerning whatever may contribute to the health and sanitation of the people. The Board shall organize by the election of a President and Secretary within ten (10) days after the notice of their appointments, and shall keep a record of their proceedings and acts. The Secretary shall be the executive officer of the Board.
(b) The Secretary of the Board may be allowed a reasonable annual compensation for his services which shall be determined by the City Council and no other compensation shall be paid to the Secretary for his services as such. The Secretary may or may not be a member of the Board of Health appointed by the City Council, but he shall be a resident of the City.
(c) The power to adopt ordinances relating to the health of the population of the City, or to prevent the introduction or spread of infections or contagious diseases or nuisances affecting the same, shall extend to area outside of the City within one mile from said limits.
POLICE FORCE
Section 24. (a) It shall be the duty of the City Council to appoint a Police Force, consisting of a Chief of Police and such members or subordinates as the City Council may deem wise. The City Council shall, from time to time, make rules and regulations as may be necessary for the organization, government, and control of the Police Force. The Chief of Police and the members of the Police Force shall be subject to the direction of The City Council and may be removed by The City Council at any time. They shall preserve peace and order, and shall compel obedience within the City limits to the ordinances of the City and the Laws of the State of Delaware. They shall have such other, duties as the City Council shall, from time to time, prescribe.
(b) Each member of the Police Force shall be vested, within the City limits, with all the powers and authority of any Constable of Sussex County and in the case of a pursuit of an offender their power and authority shall be without territorial limitations.
(c) Every person sentenced to imprisonment, shall be delivered by a member of the Police Force to the County Jail of Sussex County, or to the lockup of the City, to be there imprisoned for the term of the sentence.
(d) It shall be the duty of the Police to suppress riotous, disorderly or turbulent assemblage of persons in the streets of the City, or the noisy conduct of any person in the same, and upon view of the violation of any ordinance of the City relating to the peace and good order thereof, the Police shall have the right and power to arrest without warrant and to take the offender before the Alderman or Assistant Alderman or before any Justice of the Peace in Sussex County for hearing thereon.
ASSESSOR
Section 25. (a) At the first regular meeting following the annual election, it shall be the duty of the City Council to appoint an Assessor. The Assessor shall be over the age of Twenty-one (21) years, a bona fide resident of The City of Lewes, and a freeholder of the City.
(b) On good behavior, the term of office of the Assessor shall be one year and shall expire on the date of the first regular meeting of the year succeeding his appointment.
(c) He shall be sworn or affirmed by the Mayor of The City of Lewes, to perform his duties with fidelity and without favor. It shall be his duty to make a fair and impartial assessment of property and persons subject to taxation situated within the City and to perform such other duties in reference thereto as shall be prescribed, from time to time, by the City Council.
(d) The compensation to be by him received for the performance of his duties and the hiring of employees to assist him in the performance of his duties shall be fixed by and subject to the approval of the City Council.
ASSESSMENT OF TAXES
Section 26. (a) The Assessor shall, prior to the first regular meeting in January, make a just, true and impartial annual valuation or assessment of all real estate and improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein within The City of Lewes. In making such assessment, the rules, and exemptions now applicable by law to the making of the County Assessment of persons and properties shall be applicable insofar as consistent with the provisions of this Charter. All real estate and improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein shall be described with sufficient particularity to be identified. Real estate and improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein shall be assessed to the owner or owners if he or they be known. If the owner or owners cannot be found or ascertained, it may be assessed to "Owner Unknown". A mistake in the name of the owner or owners, or a wrong name, or an assessment to "Owner Unknown", shall not affect the validity of the assessment of any municipal tax or assessment based thereon; provided the assessment shall specify the last record owner or owners there of as the same shall appear from the records in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Sussex County at Georgetown, Delaware.
(b) The Assessor shall also make a personal assessment of all the male and female citizens of the City above the age of twenty-one years. He shall also make a personal assessment against all person or persons residing within the limits of the City whether he be an owner of said real estate or not; said personal assessment shall be determined by The Commissioners and certified to the Assessor. Said personal assessment or per-capita tax, in the case of both resident and non-resident real estate owner, shall be in addition to the assessment levied on the real estate so owned by and assessed against them.
(c) The Assessor, after making such annual assessment, shall at the first regular meeting in January, aforesaid, deliver to the City Council, a list containing the names of all persons assessed and the amount of the assessment against each. He shall also deliver at such time as many copies of said list as the City Council shall direct.
(d) The annual assessment list shall distinguish the real and personal assessment of each person and shall also be arranged so that the land, the improvements thereon, the improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein and the per-capita assessment shall appear in separate column of spaces. In making its assessment, the Assessor shall make his valuation accordingly.
(e) The real property of the Assessor shall be assessed by the City Council.
(f) Immediately upon receiving the annual assessment list from the Assessor, the City Council shall cause a full and complete copy of the same containing the amount assessed to each taxable to be hung up in a public place in The City of Lewes, and there it shall remain for a period of at least ten (10) days for the information of and examination by all concerned. Appended thereto and also in five or more public places in said City shall be posted notices advising all concerned that, upon a certain day mentioned therein and not earlier than ten (10) days after the date of posting of the true and correct copy of the annual assessment list and notices, between the hours of one o'clock P.M. and five o'clock P.M., the City Council will hold a Board of Appeals, at which time, and place they shall hear appeals from the said annual assessment. The decision of the City Council, sitting as a Board of Appeals, shall be final and conclusive and the said City Council shall revise and complete said assessment at this sitting. No councilman shall sit upon his own appeal but the same shall be heard and determined by the other members of the City Council.
(g) The Assessor shall be present on the day fixed for hearing appeals and shall furnish to the City Council such information and answer such questions as the City Council may require in respect to any assessment from which an appeal has been taken. The City Council shall have authority to enforce his attendance by appropriate process.
LEVY OF ANNUAL TAXES
Section 27. (a) At the first regular meeting in February,
after having revised and completed the assessment, the City Council shall determine to their best judgment and knowledge the total amount necessary to be raised by the City to meet all fixed and anticipated expenses and obligations of the City, including reasonable and appropriate reserves, for the then current fiscal year as set forth in the City Budget for each year plus a reasonable amount to cover unanticipated expenses and emergencies.
(b) It shall then proceed to determine, in its sole discretion, from which sources of the authorized revenues of the City the amount so determined by them shall be raised and, within the limits prescribed by this Charter with respect to any such source, the amount to be raised from each such source.
The City Council shall then proceed to determine, assess, fix and/or levy the following:
a. The rate of tax on real estate and on improvements located thereon and on improvements located on land under lease as defined herein per $100 of assessed value; and/or
b. The amount of personal or per-capital tax upon each qualified voter; and/or
c. The rate of tax upon all poles, constructions, erections, wires and appliances more particularly mentioned, or intended so to be, in Section 29 (32) of this Charter, as amended; and/or
d. The several license fees to be charged for carrying on or conducting of the several businesses, professions, or occupations more particularly mentioned, or intended so to be in Section 29 (33) of this Charter, as amended; and/or
e. The fees or rates to be charged in respect of any other authorized source of revenue sufficient in their best judgment and estimation to realize the amount to be raised from each such source determined by them to be used, as aforesaid; Provided, however, that sources "d" and "e" aforementioned may be determined, fixed, assessed, levied and/or altered or changed upon other than a fiscal year basis and at any other regular or special meeting of the Council as it, in its own proper discretion, shall determine.
(c) Immediately after the first regular meeting in February of each and every year, the City Council shall make, or cause to be made, a full, true and correct annual tax list showing the amount of tax levied against each taxable thereon from sources a, b, and c, above mentioned. This list shall be known as the annual tax list of The City of Lewes. In addition to the information contained in the assessment list, it shall likewise contain information as to the rate of tax upon real estate and upon improvements located on land under lease, as defined herein, per $100 of assessed value thereof.
(d) The City Council shall cause to be delivered to the City Manager a duplicate of said annual tax list, and the City Manager shall immediately proceed to collect the same as hereinafter provided.
(e) Nothing contained in this Charter shall be construed to effect or impair in any way the validity of any tax, fee, assessment, or other charge lawfully levied, assessed, or due the Commissioners of Lewes, under existing laws in reference to said City and the same are hereby declared to be valid, binding and vested in The City of Lewes created hereby.
COLLECTION OF ANNUAL TAXES
Section 28. (a) The City Manager, as soon as the City Council shall have placed in his hands the duplicate annual tax list, shall proceed at once to collect the taxes on said duplicate list.
(b) All taxes so laid or imposed by The City of Lewes in such annual tax list, shall be and constitute a lien upon all the real estate together with improvements located thereon and a lien upon any improvements located on land under lease, as defined herein, of the taxable, against or upon whom such taxes are laid or imposed, of which such taxable was seized or owned at any time after such taxes shall have been levied and imposed, that is situated in The City of Lewes. Such lien shall have preference and priority to all other such liens on real estate or upon improvements located on land under lease as prescribed herein created or suffered by said taxable although such other lien or liens be of a date prior to the time of the attaching of such lien for taxes; provided, that the lien for such City taxes shall remain a lien for a period of ten (10) years from the date upon which the City Council shall deliver unto the City Manager the tax list therefor. If such real estate, or improvements located on land under lease as defined herein, remains the property of such person or persons who owned it at the time the tax was laid, then the lien shall not be extinguished until the tax is collected.
(c) All taxes shall be paid to the City Manager of The City of Lewes, and all taxes shall be due and payable at and from the time of the delivery of the tax list to the City Manager.
(d) All taxes shall be paid at the City office.
(e) In the collection of said taxes, the said City Manager shall deduct five (5%) per centum from the amount of taxes assessed against the real property of any person who pays said tax on or before the last day of April next succeeding the delivery of the duplicate annual tax list to the said City Manager. On all taxes paid on or after the first day of May and on or before the last day of September next succeeding the delivery of the annual duplicate tax list to the City Manager, there shall be no deduction or abatement. On all taxes paid after the last day of September next succeeding the delivery of the annual duplicate tax list to the City Manager, there shall be added an amount equal to one per centum (1%) per month for each and every month such taxes shall remain unpaid and shall be collected in the same manner as the original amount of the tax.
(f) On the same day of the month of the second year following the delivery of the duplicate annual tax list to the City Manager, the City Manager shall make full, final and complete settlement with the City Council. The settlement shall take place on that day in the room in which the City Council holds their meetings. At such settlement, the City Council shall allow to the City Manager all taxes which shall have been impossible to collect by reason of errors in the assessment list, delinquencies or otherwise. No allowance shall be made for the default of neglect or delay of the City Manager. The settlement shall be final and conclusive and no other allowances, in any form shall be made to the City Manager by the City Council. Upon the conclusion of the settlement, the City Manager shall pay over to The City of Lewes, the aggregate amount of the taxes found to be due the City. Upon his failure or neglect to do so, it shall be the duty of the City Council to proceed to collect the same from the City Manager, and/or his surety. Default by the City Manager to the City in any sum, shall ipso facto, vacate his office; provided, however, that the City Council, for good cause shown shall have the power to extend the time for settlement by the City Manager for a period not exceeding six months.
ENUMERATION OF POWERS
Section 29. Not by way of limitation upon the power vested in the City Council to exercise all powers delegated by this Charter to the municipal corporation except as may expressly appear herein to the contrary, but, rather, by way of enumeration and for purposes of clarity, the City Council is vested by this Charter with the following powers, to be exercised by said City Council in the interest of good government and the safety, health and welfare of the City, its inhabitants and affairs, that is to say,
1. To prevent vice, drunkenness and immorality.
2. To provide for and preserve the health, peace, safety, cleanliness, ornament and good order of the City and its inhabitants.
3. To prohibit all gaming and fraudulent devices.
4. To prohibit, restrain, license or regulate all public sports, exhibitions, shows, parades, productions, circuses or other public performances, amusements, and games.
5. To ascertain, locate, lay out, establish, open, change, alter, widen, abandon, regulate the use and enjoyment of, prevent or remove any obstruction of, level, grade, flag, dress macadamize, pave, gravel, shell, improve, dredge, erect, remove, repair or replace any new or present street, highway, lane, alley, watercourse, park, lake, strand, crosswalk, wharf, dock, sewer, drain, aqueduct or pipe line, or portion thereof, in the City; to specify the grade thereof, the materials to be used in the doing thereof and the manner in which the same shall be clone; and to enter into contracts or agreements for the doing thereof, including contracts or agreements with the State Highway of the State of Delaware for the permanent maintenance. Repair and upkeep of any street, lane, alley, roadway or other highway within the City.
6. To regulate or control the observance of the Sabbath Day.
7. To establish and regulate pounds and to restrain, prohibit and impound any domestic or wild animal, beast, bird or fowl running at large, and to authorize the destruction of the same, and to impose taxes on the owners of dogs.
8. To locate, regulate, license, restrain or require the removal of slaughter houses, wash houses, laundries, canning establishments, phosphate, fish, fertilizer or manure plants or establishments, swine pens, privies, water closets and any business or buildings or conditions detrimental to the public health or constituting a public nuisance or of an offensive or noxious nature.
0. To enforce the removal of snow, ice, dirt or other foreign substance from sidewalks and gutters by owners or abutting owners.
1. To prohibit, remove, or regulate the erection and maintenance of, any stoop, step, platform, bay window, cellar door, gate, area, descent, sign, post, or any other erection of projection in, over upon or under any street, highway, alley, lane, watercourse, park, lake, strand, sidewalk, crosswalk, wharf, dock, sewer, drain, aqueduct or pipeline of the City.
2. To define, prevent, abate or remove nuisances, obstructions or any condition detrimental to the public safety, health or welfare.
3. To provide an ample supply of pure water for The City and its inhabitants and to this end to acquire, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, control and dispose of wells, reservoirs, pumps, machines, stations, tanks, standpipes, water mains, fire hydrants and all other equipment, property or rights used in and about the collection, storage, purification, conveyance, distribution or sale of water; to regulate and prescribe for what private or public purposes the water furnished by the municipal corporation may be used, the manner of its use, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the water system or equipment of the City; to furnish, or refuse to furnish, water from the City system to places and properties outside the City limits; and to contract for and purchase water and distribute the same to users within or without the City with the same full powers as though such water had been initially reduced to usefulness by the municipal corporation itself.
13. To provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a sewer system and/or a sewage treatment and disposal plant and facilities for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the City; to regulate and prescribe for what private or public purposes the system may be used, the manner of its use, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to, or interference with the said system, plant or facilities; to furnish or refuse to furnish, sewer disposal service from the City system to places and properties outside the City limits; in the interest of the public's health, to compel any and all properties in the City to be connected to the sewer system of the City; and to contract for and purchase sewer disposal service and to resell the same to users within or without the City with the same full powers as though such service had been initially provided by the facilities therefor of the municipal corporation itself.
14. To provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a plant and system, or plants and systems, for the generating, manufacturing and distributing of electric current or gas, or both, to the inhabitants of the City and for lighting the streets, highways, lanes, alleys, watercourses, parks, lake strands, sidewalks, crosswalks, wharves, docks, public buildings or other public places of the City, and to this end to acquire, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, control and dispose of transmission and distribution lines, pipes, mains and other conveyances for any such current or gas as may be necessary properly to light the City and to furnish proper connections for electric current and gas to the properties of the inhabitants of the City who may desire the same; to regulate and prescribe for what private or public purpose the current or gas furnished by the municipal corporation may be used, the manner of its use, the amount to be paid by the users thereof, the mains whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the electric or gas system or systems to places and properties outside the City limits; and to contract for and purchase electric current or gas and distribute the same to user within or without the City with the same full powers as though such current or gas had been initially reduced to usefulness by the municipal corporation itself.
15. To fully control within the City the drainage of all water and, to that end, to alter or change the course and direction of any natural water course, runs or rivulet within the City, to regulate, maintain, clean and keep the same open, clean and unobstructed, and to provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a surface water drainage system and facilities for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the City.
16. To provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control jetties, bulkheads, embankments, flood gates, piers, boardwalks, or fills for the preservation of any strand or high land within the limits of the City or contiguous thereto, to the end that the same may be preserved, property protected and the general public might enjoy the use therof.
17. To grant franchises or licenses to any responsible person, firm, association or corporation, for such period of time, upon such terms, restrictions, stipulations and conditions and for such considerations as the City Council shall deem wise, to use the present and future streets, highways, lanes, alleys, watercourses, parks, lakes, strands, sidewalks, crosswalks, wharves, docks, and other public places of the City for the purpose of furnishing heat, light, power, gas, water, sewer, drainage, electric current, telephone, telegraph, railroad excepting railroads or railways engaged in interstate commerce, bus, taxi or other transportation, carrier or public service to the City and to the persons, firms, or corporations residing or located therein and for the purpose of transmitting the same from or through the City to points outside the limits thereof, and for the purpose of erecting wharves and piers, and for the purpose of vending any article of merchandise or service upon, or from any vehicle upon any such present and future street, highway, lane, alley, etc.; provided, that no exclusive franchise or license shall be granted for any such purpose to any person, firm, association or corporation whomsoever.
18. To regulate and control the exercise of any license or franchise mentioned in Section 29 (17) of this Charter or intended so to be.
19. To direct, regulate and control the planting, rearing, treatment and preserving of ornamental shade trees in the streets, highways, avenues, parks and grounds of the City and to authorize or prohibit the removal or destruction of said trees.
20. To direct the digging down, draining, filling up, cleaning, cutting or fencing of lots, tracts, pieces or parcels of ground in the City which may be deemed dangerous or unwholesome or necessary to carry out any improvements authorized by this Charter.
21. To provide for or regulate the numbering of houses and lots on the streets, and the naming of streets and avenues.
22. To regulate, control or prevent the use of storage of gunpowder, fireworks, tar, pitch, resin and all other combustible materials and the use of candles, lamps and other lights in stores, shops, stables and other places; to suppress, remove, or secure any fireplace, stove, chimney, oven, broiler, or other apparatus which may be dangerous in causing fire.
23. For the prevention of fire and the preservation of the beauty of the City, to regulate and control the manner of building or removal of Dwelling houses and other buildings; to establish a code for the same and to provide for the granting of permits for the same; to establish a building line for buildings to be erected; zone or district the City and make particular provisions for particular zones of districts with regard to building or building materials; and, generally to exercise all the powers and authorities vested in the legislative body of cities and incorporated towns under and by virtue of 22 Del. C. § 301 et seq., and all amendments thereto.
24. To acquire, build, erect and maintain a suitable place as a lock-up or jail for the City which shall be used as a place of detention for persons convicted of violation of law or ordinance, or for the detention of persons accused of violation of law or ordinances for a reasonable time, in cases of necessity, prior to hearing and trial; and to provide for the restraint, support and employment of paupers, beggars and vagrants; provided, that the jails of Sussex County may be used for any such purpose, in which event the City shall pay for the board of persons committed thereto for violations of ordinances of the City which are not violations of any general law of the State.
25. To acquire, build, erect and maintain buildings and facilities necessary or required for housing and equipping offices of the City.
0. To regulate or prevent the use of guns, air guns, spring guns, pistols, sling shots, bean-shooters, and any other devices for discharging missiles which might cause bodily harm or injury to property; and to regulate or prevent the use of fireworks, bombs and detonating works of all kinds.
1. To provide for the punishment of a violation of any ordinance of the City by fine or imprisonment, or both, not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or Sixty (60) days, and for working any person sentenced to such imprisonment or any person who shall refuse to so work when ordered.
2. To provide for the organization of a fire department and the control and government thereof; to establish fire limits and do all things necessary for the prevention and extinguishment of fires; and, in their discretion, to contribute, donate or give an amount or amounts, not to exceed in the total during any given fiscal year, three per centum (3%) of the total taxes levied on real estate, unto any Volunteer Fire Company or Companies incorporated under the Laws of Delaware, or any Volunteer Fire Association or Associations maintaining and operating firefighting equipment and service to the City; provided, that any such contribution, donation or gift may be made subject to such conditions and stipulations as to the use thereof as The City Council shall deem advisable.
0. To purchase, take and hold real and personal property when sold for any delinquent tax, assessment, water rent, electric bill, gas bill, license fee, tapping fee, charge growing out of abatement of nuisances and the like, laying out and repairing sidewalks, or other charge due the City and to sell the same.
30. To levy and collect taxes for any and all municipal purposes upon all real estate and improvement's located thereon and to levy and collect taxes for any and all municipal purposes upon improvements having an assessed valuation of at least One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) located on land under a valid lease for a period of at least ten (10) years within the City, except lands belonging to the City; provided, that the amount to be raised from the source shall not exceed the sum of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00).
0. To levy and collect a personal or per capital tax upon all persons otherwise qualified to vote at any annual municipal election to be used for any and all municipal purposes.
1. To levy and collect taxes upon all telephone, telegraph, power poles, pipe lines, rail lines or other constructions or erections of a like character erected within the limits of the City, together with the wire or other appliances thereto or thereon attached, expressly excepting all telephone, telegraph, power lines or poles and rail lines owned or operated by any railroad or railway company engaged in interstate commerce for any and all purposes, and to this end may at any time direct the same to be included in or added to the City Assessment. In case the owner or leasee of such constructions or erections, wires or other appliances shall refuse or neglect to pay the taxes levied thereon, in addition to the remedies for the collection thereof set forth in Section 31 of this Charter, the City Council shall have authority to cause the same to be removed.
2. To license, tax and collect fees annually for any and all municipal purposes (including the cost and expense of advertising the City) of such various amounts as the City Council from time to time shall fix, from any individual, firm, association or corporation carrying on or practicing any business, profession or occupation within the limits of the City; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be so construed as to make it mandatory upon any resident of the State to apply for a license in order to sell in the City any farm produce or products grown upon a farm owned by the vendor or any member of his family with whom he resides.
34. To determine from which authorized sources and in what proportions taxes shall be levied and used each year to raise the revenue or funds required to meet the general expenses of the municipal corporation and all funding, amortization and interest requirements on its outstanding bonds or other indebtedness.
0. To provide for the collection of and disbursement of all monies to which the City may become entitled by law, including licenses and fines, where no provision for the collection and disbursement thereof is otherwise provided in the Charter.
1. To borrow money in the name of the City for any proper municipal purpose, and in order to secure the payment of the same, to issue bonds or other kinds or forms of certificate or certificates of indebtedness, pledging the full faith and credit of the City or such other security or securities as the City Council shall select, for the payment of the principal thereof and the interest due thereon, all of which bonds or other kinds or forms of certificates of indebtedness issued by the City shall be exempt from all State, County or municipal taxes; provided, that in no event shall the indebtedness of the City, for any and all purposes, at any one time exceed in the aggregate twenty-five per centum (25%) of the assessed value of all real estate in the City subject to assessment for the purpose of levying the annual tax hereinbefore mentioned.
2. To acquire, and/or to vacate the use of, lands, tenements, personality, property, easements, rights-of-way, or any interest in property, either within or without the limits of the City, by way of condemnation and eminent domain, for any proper and lawful municipal purpose or whenever required properly to carry out, exercise or fulfill any power conferred upon or delegated to the municipal corporation by the Charter. Proceedings by way of condemnation in any such case shall be the same or prescribed hereafter in Section 34 of this Charter for the opening and laying out of new streets or the vacating or abandoning of old streets and the resolutions referred to in said Section 34 shall be changed and modified to cover any case contemplated hereby.
38. To appropriate money to pay the debts, liabilities and expenditures of the City, or any part or item thereof, from any fund applicable thereto, and to transfer temporarily money from one fund to another fund of the City in case of emergency.
39. To provide for the payment of any tax, fine, penalty, license, forfeiture, assessment, fee, charge or other amount clue the City by the performance of labor or service for the City by any person owing the same.
40. To inquire into and investigate the conduct of any officer, agent, or employee of the City or any municipal affair, and for any such purpose or purposes may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths or affirmations, and compel the attendance of witnesses and production of books, papers or other evidence by summary process.
41. The City Council may, by ordinance duly adopted in accordance with this Charter, establish a pension plan or a Health and Welfare Plan, or both, for the employees of the City of Lewes under such terms and conditions as the City Council, in its discretion, deems most appropriate; provided, however, that any annual appropriations which is made by the City of Lewes under any such pension plan or Health and Welfare Plan, or both, shall not exceed a maximum of fifteen percent (15%) of the total annual payroll of the City of Lewes and provided further that the method of funding may, if deemed advisable by the City Council, be handled through a recognized insurance company licensed by the State of Delaware or authorized to do business in this State and approved by a majority of City Council.
0. To make, adopt and establish all such ordinance, regulations, rules and by-laws, not contrary to the laws of this State and the United States, as the City Council may deem necessary to carry into effect any of the provisions of this Charter or any other law of the State relating generally to municipal corporations or which they may deem proper and necessary for the good government of the City, the protection and preservation of persons and property and of the public health and welfare of the City and its inhabitants; provided, that any ordinance relating to the public health of the City and its inhabitants or designed to prevent the introduction or spread of infectious or contagious diseases, or to prevent nuisances affecting the same, shall apply not only within the corporate limits of the City but as well to all areas and persons outside the City within one mile from said limits.
TOWN BUDGET
Section 30. (a) The fiscal year of The City of Lewes shall be from April 1st of one year to March 31st of the next succeeding year.
(b) Annually each year and not later than March 1, the City Manager shall prepare a rough draft of a City Budget. From this rough draft, the City Council shall, not later than March 15 of each year, prepare the City Budget, containing the financial plan for conducting the affairs of the City for the ensuing fiscal year.
(c) The Budget shall contain the following information:
1. A detailed estimate showing the expense of conducting each department and office of the City for the ensuing fiscal year.
2. The value of supplies and materials on hand, together with the nature and kind of machinery or other implements and the condition thereof.
3. The amount of the debt of the City, together with a schedule of maturities of bond issues.
4. An itemized statement of all other estimated expenses to be incurred in the affairs of the City.
5. A statement of the amount required for interest on the bonded debt, the amount necessary to pay any Bond maturing during the year and the amount required for the "Sinking Fund" or "Sinking Funds".
6. An estimate of the amount of money to be received from taxes, assessments and all other anticipated income of the City from any source or sources whatsoever.
(d) The City Council shall, so far as possible, adhere to the Budget so adopted in the making of appropriations.
REMEDIES FOR COLLECTION OF TAXES,
ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER CHARGES
Section 31. (a) A remedy by distress as now prescribed by law is hereby preserved to the City Manager for the collection of any taxes, assessments, license fees, warrants, rentals or other charges for which he may be responsible.
(b) At any time after the delivery of the duplicate annual tax list or duplicate scrap sewer assessment list or warrant or any other list of charges due The City of Lewes, the City Manager may institute suit in the name of The City of Lewes before any Justice of the Peace or Court of the State of Delaware, in any of the Counties of the State, for the recovery of the unpaid tax, assessment, license fee, rental or other charge, in any action of debt, and upon judgment obtained, may issue Writs of Execution as in case of other judgments recovered before a Justice of the Peace.
(c) The said execution shall constitute a lien upon all the personal property of the taxable within the County where the judgment shall have been obtained, which by virtue of such execution shall be levied upon within thirty (30) days after the issuance thereof, and such lien shall have priority over all other liens against said personal property created or suffered by the taxable, except such liens thereon which may have been created in respect to County Taxes, although such other liens be of date prior to the time of the attachment of the said tax liens.
(d) Any time after the delivery of any such duplicate annual tax list, assessment list, or warrant, or other lists containing charge due the City, the City Manager may notify, in writing, the person, firm or corporation by whom any taxable is employed that the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rental or other charge of said employee is due and unpaid. The notice shall be signed by the City Manager and shall contain the correct name of the taxable as it appears upon any such list, the amount of the tax, assessment, rental or other charge due with penalties and interest added, if any. Thereupon it shall be the duty of the employer to take from the wage, salary or other money then due the taxable, the amount of the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rental or other charge, together with penalties and interest added, if any owing, from the employee, and charge the same against him, and to pay the same to the Treasurer within ten (10) days. The City Manager shall give to the employer a certificate of payment which shall be allowed in any suit or accounting between the employer and taxable. If the employer be notified as aforesaid and, having in his hands money belonging to the taxable, shall neglect or refuse to comply with the provisions hereof, such employer shall become personally liable for the amount of the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, or other charges, together with penalties and interest due thereon, if any, of the persons as to whom notice was given, and the amount thereof may be recovered from such employer in an action of debt before any Justice of the Peace, or Court of State of Delaware, as aforesaid. This process shall be deemed to be in the nature of a garnishment proceeding.
(e) The City Manager may make a complaint under oath before any Justice of the Peace, that the tax of any taxable is due and unpaid and that he has been unable to make collection of the tax, assessment, license fee; warrant, rental or other charge by any of the methods for the recovery of taxes prescribed by this Charter, and thereupon a warrant shall be issued for the arrest of such taxable and if, after hearing it shall be found that the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rental or other charge, of the person arrested is due and unpaid, and if the taxable shall thereon fail to pay the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rental or other charge, together with accrued costs, he shall be committed to the jail of Sussex County, or City lockup until the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rental, penalty, cost and charges are paid, but, in no event shall the term of his imprisonment exceed thirty (30) days.
() For the purpose of collecting the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rent or any other charge due the City from any taxable, and without the necessity of first employing the other remedies herein provided the Treasurer is empowered to sell the lands and tenements of the taxable or the improvements of a taxable located on land under a valid lease for a term of at least ten years which said lease is recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, in and for Sussex County, or the lands and tenements of a taxable, alienated, subsequent to the levy of the tax, assessment, license fee, warrant, rent or other charge.
(g) The City Manager shall present to the Superior Court of Sussex County a petition which shall state:
1. The name of the taxable, assessee, license, or charges.
2. The year for which the tax, assessment, license, rent or other charge was levied.
3. The rate of the tax, assessment, license, rent or other charge.
4. The total amount due.
5. The date from which the penalty for non-payment, if any, shall commence and the rate of such penalty.
6. A short description of the lands and tenements or a short description of the improvement located on the lands under as defined herein proposed to be sold sufficient to identify the same.
7. A statement that a bill of said tax, assessment, license, rent or other charge has been mailed to the taxable that he will proceed to sell the lands and tenements of the taxable for the payment of the tax, assessment, license, warrant, rent or other charge due the City, and the date of such mailing.
8. That it has been found impractical to attempt to collect the said tax, assessment, license, rent or other charge, by any other remedy hereinbefore provided.
(h) At least ten (10) days prior to the filing of any such petition, the City. Manager shall deposit in the mail, in a sealed and stamped wrapper and requiring a return registry receipt, addressed to the taxable at his last known address, an itemized statement of the tax, assessment, license, warrant, rent or other charge due the City, together with all penalties and costs then due thereon, together with a notice to the taxable that he shall proceed to sell the lands and tenements of the taxable for the payment of the tax, assessment, license, warrant, rent or other charge due the City. The City Manager shall exhibit the return registry receipt to the Court by filing the same with the petition.
(i) The petition shall be filed by the City Manager and shall be verified before a Notary Public.
(j) Upon the filing of the petition, the Prothonotary shall record the same in a properly indexed record of the Court and shall endorse upon said record of said petition, the following: "This petition filed the ________ day of ______ A.D. (giving the day and year), and the City Manager of The City of Lewes shall therefore proceed to sell the lands and tenements herein mentioned or a sufficient part thereof, for the payment of the amount due", which endorsement shall be signed by the Prothonotary.
(k) The City Manager shall then proceed to advertise the lands and tenements of the taxable by posting handbills in at least five (5) public places in The City of Lewes (one of which shall be posted on the premises) and publishing the notice of said sale in a newspaper published in Sussex County. The notice shall contain the day, hour and place of sale and a short description of the premises sufficient to identify the same. The notice shall be posted at least ten (10) days before the day fixed for the sale and shall be published in the newspaper at least one week before the day of the sale.
(1) Each sale of lands and tenements or of improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein shall be returned to the Superior Court, aforesaid, at the ensuing term thereof following the sale. At the return of said sale the Court shall inquire into the circumstances and either approve or set aside the sale. No sale shall be approved by the Court if the owner be ready at the Court to pay the taxes, assessment, license fee, rent or other charge due the City, together with penalty, interest and costs, if any. If it set aside the sale, the Court may order another sale and so on until the tax, assessment, license fee, rent or other charge due is collected.
(m) If the sale shall be approved by the Court, then at the expiration of one year from the date of the sale (which shall be known as the redemption year) the City Manager shall make, execute and deliver a deed or a bill of sale to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, which shall convey the title of the taxable, assessee, licensee, tenant or lessee or charges or his alienee, as the case may be: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that within the redemption year, the owner, his heirs or assigns, shall have power to redeem the lands or improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein on payment of the costs, the amount of the purchase money and twenty per cent interest thereon to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns. If the purchaser refuses to accept the same or in the event the purchaser, or his heirs or assigns, cannot be located within the State of Delaware, then in either event, it shall be lawful for the owner, his heirs, executors or assigns, to pay the amount of the redemption money to the City Manager of The City of Lewes, and upon taking from him a good and lawful receipt therefor, such receipt shall be considered for all intents and purposes as a valid and lawful exercise of the owner, his heirs, executors and assigns, of his or their power to redeem the land so sold.
(n) After satisfying the tax, assessment, license or other charge due and the cost and expenses of sale from the proceeds of the sale the amount remaining in the hands of the City Manager shall be paid, at once, to the owner of the land or of the improvement located on lands under lease as defined herein. Should the owner of the land or of the improvement located on lands under lease as defined herein refuse to accept the same, or the owner is unknown or cannot be found the amount remaining shall be deposited in some bank in The City of Lewes, either to the credit of the owner, or in a manner by which the fund may be identified.
(o) In sales of land or of improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein for the payment of taxes, assessments, licenses, warrants, rentals or other charges due The City of Lewes, the following costs shall be allowed, which shall be deducted by the City Manager from the proceeds of the sale, or chargeable against the owner; the prothonotary of the Court shall receive for filing and recording the Return of Sale. The City Manager shall be entitled to receive the sum of $5.00 for every sale of real estate or improvements located on lands under lease as defined herein made by him in the exercise of said powers for the enforcement of the payment of taxes, assessments, licenses, warrants, rentals or other charges, together with such additional sum as may be reasonable and proper for the service of Counsel in preparing such papers as may be necessary in premises, all of which shall be a part of the costs to be paid out of the purchase money realized out of the sale of said real estate sold for the taxes, assessments, license fees, warrants, rentals or other charge due the City.
(p) The cost of the deed shall not be chargeable as costs but shall be paid by the purchaser.
(q) If the owner or lessee as defined herein of any lands and tenements, or of improvements on leased land, as defined herein, against which a tax shall be levied and assessed or from whom rent shall be due shall be unknown, this fact shall be stated in the advertisement of sale and in the petition to the Court.
(r) If any person is assessed for several parcels of land and tenements in the same assessment, or if rent from land under lease shall be due for several parcels, or if improvements shall have been erected on several parcels of land under lease, as defined herein, the total of said taxes, assessments, rents and other charges due the City, may be collected from the sale of any portion of said lands and tenements or from any improvements, provided, that the land alienated or lease assigned by the taxable or lessee shall not be sold until other property of the taxable or lessee shall have been first disposed of.
POWER TO BORROW AGAINST ANTICIPATED
REVENUES
Section 32. The City Council of The City of Lewes shall have full power and authority to anticipate revenue by borrowing upon the faith and credit of The City of Lewes, the sum or sums of, not exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars $50,000.00) in any one fiscal year, when, in the opinion of the majority of the said City Council, the needs of The City of Lewes demand it. The City Council may secure said sum or sums of money so borrowed by promissory notes of The City and attested by the Secretary, either with or without the corporate seal of The City of Lewes affixed as is requested by the bank or person advancing the money on said notes, and no Officer nor Councilman shall be personally liable for the payment of such notes because it is signed by them as Officers of The City of Lewes, and is authorized by the resolution of the City Council; provided, however, any sum of money borrowed on the faith and credit of The City of Lewes, as aforesaid, in any fiscal year, shall be paid out of the general funds of the City, at the minimum rate of Ten per centum (10%) per fiscal year and shall be completely paid at the end of ten (10) fiscal years following the first fiscal year which said money was borrowed with interest thereon.
POWERS OVER PUBLIC LAND
Section 33. (a) All the public and vacant lands lying within the corporate limits of The City of Lewes as defined herein or as later extended pursuant to this Charter, and all the public or vacant lands contiguous to but outside the corporate limits of said City and fronting on the Bay between the point of Cape Henlopen on the south and Veasey's Inlet on the north shall be vested in the City Council of The City of Lewes, and the said City Council shall have jurisdiction over the same; and all ordinances adopted by the said City Council shall have the same force over and upon the said public and vacant lands as within the corporate limits of said City, and the City Council is hereby authorized to lease, to persons who will improve or agree to improve the same, such portions of said public lands for such time and upon such terms as the City Council may deem proper for the interest and benefit of said City; and if hereafter any person or persons shall, without the permission and consent of the City Council build upon any of said public lands, he, she or they shall forfeit such improvements or buildings to the said City.
(b) The City Council may assess or levy upon any person or persons leasing, occupying, enclosing, or claiming the uses or privileges of any of the said public lands vested as aforesaid in The City of Lewes, and not held under lease from the City at a certain rent which expressly includes taxes, and not held by virtue of the provisions of any act of the Legislature of this State otherwise providing, a tax, not exceeding six per cent of the assessed actual value of the lands so leased, enclosed, occupied or claimed, and two per cent of the actual value of the improvements thereon.
(c) Nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize any person or persons to build upon or enclose any of the said public lands without permission and consent of the City Council, nor to authorize the City Council to assess or levy a tax upon persons excluded from the provisions of Section 9 of the Act entitled "An Act to Incorporate the Town of Lewes, and for other Purposes", as amended by Chapter 535 of Volume 14 of the Laws of Delaware, and as re-published in Chapter 536 of the same volume.
(d) The City Council of The City of Lewes is hereby vested with full and exclusive authority and control over the Great and Beach Marshes, Cape and Cape Marshes, near Lewes, and may sell and dispose of the grass and hay thereof in the month of July in each and every year, at public sale, giving notice by printed advertisements, posted in five of the most public places in Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred ten days before the day of sale, to the highest and best bidder or bidders for the same; the notices shall specify the place where and the time when the grass or hay will be sold; the City Council is further authorized to sell sand and gravel by measure or otherwise, as may be deemed by the City Council to be to the best interest of the City, wherever such sand and gravel may be located within the limits of the vested lands of The City of Lewes; and the City Council is further authorized to sell the wood and timber on the Cape and Cape Marshes at any time that it may be necessary or desirable for any improvement made in or near said City, by and with the concurrence of a majority of the members of the City Council; and the proceeds arising from the sale of the sand, gravel, grass, hay, wood and timber shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the City, to be applied by the City Council to such improvements of the City as they may deem proper. If any person or persons, without first obtaining permission from the City Council, shall fell, cut, cart or convey any green timber or wood, or any timber on or from said Cape for any private use whatsoever, except wood cut from dead timber for fuel, he or they shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding fifty dollars, with costs, to be recovered by the City Council, for the use of the City, in the same manner as debts of that amount are recoverable; and persons so offending shall also be subject to a fine, not exceeding ten dollars, to be enforced as other fines and penalties provided for in this Act; and the City Council may seize any timber or wood so cut, from any person or persons so offending and may dispose of the same to the highest bidder, for the use of said City, and may pass any rules, regulations and ordinances regarding the cutting of said timber as they may deem proper for the interest of said City; provided that nothing in this Section or Act shall authorize the City Council to pass any ordinances to prevent any citizen of The City of Lewes or State of Delaware from fishing along said Delaware Bay Shore.
STREETS
Section 34. (a) The City Council shall have the power and authority to lay out, locate and open new streets or to widen and alter existing streets or parts thereof and to vacate or abandon streets or parts thereof, whenever they shall deem it for the best interest of the City.
(b) The procedure to be used to do any of those things heretofore listed shall be as follows:
1. Whenever five (5) or more property owners in a portion of the City directly affected or abutting on the proposed street to be opened, laid out, changed, altered, or closed, shall be written petition with each signature duly acknowledged, request the City Council to lay out, locate, or open a new street or to widen or alter an existing street or any part thereof or to vacate or abandon a street or any part thereof, the Mayor of the City of Lewes shall appoint a committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the City Council to investigate the possibility of changing the structure of said street in the City. The petition presented to the Council by the property owners shall include a description of property through which the proposed street shall be laid out or a description of the street on which any other of the actions hereinbefore described shall take place and the reasons why the change in the structure of the streets of the City should be undertaken; or the City Council by a majority vote of the elected members thereof may by Resolution propose that a committee of not less than three (3) of its elected members be appointed by the Mayor to investigate the possibility of changing the street structure of the City for any of the reasons hereinbefore set forth.
(c) Not later than ninety (90) days following its appointment the committee shall submit a report concerning its findings to the Mayor and the City Council. The report shall contain the advantages and disadvantages to the City caused by the changing of the street structure and shall contain the conclusion of said committee either recommending or disapproving the changing of such street structure. If the report of the committee appointed by the Mayor recommends changing the existing street structure of the City of Lewes and a majority of the elected members of the City Council concur therein, the Council by resolution shall propose to the property owners and citizens of the City that the Council proposes to change the street structure by opening a new street or by doing any of those things herein-before described to the existing street structure of the City. If the report of the committee appointed by the Mayor is not in favor of changing the existing street structure of The City of Lewes the resolution proposing the change in the street structure to the property owners and citizens of The City of Lewes shall be passed by a majority of three-fourths of the elected members of the City Council. The resolution shall contain a description of the proposed change and shall fix a time and place for a public hearing on the matter of changing the street structure. The resolution adopted by the City Council shall be printed in a newspaper published in The City of Lewes, or, if no newspaper is published in The City of Lewes, publication may be had in a newspaper having a general circulation in the City, or in the discretion of the City Council, the resolution shall be posted in five (5) public places in the City for at least one week before the time set for the public hearing. The resolution shall also state the hour and place where and when the City Council shall sit to hear objections and to award just and reasonable compensation to anyone who will be deprived of property by the proposed change in the existing street structure of the City.
(d) Whenever the City Council shall have determined to locate or layout or widen any street, lane or alley, and shall have affixed the compensation, therefore, it shall be their duty, immediately after the survey and location of said street, land or alley, to notify by registered letter with return receipt requested, the owner or owners of the real estate through or over which such street, lane or alley may run, of their determination to open or widen the same, and to furnish a general description of the location thereof; also the amount of the compensation or damages allowed to each such property owner, and if such owner be not a resident within the City, to notify the holder or tenant of said real estate and the owner of such property if his address be known; but if there be no holder or tenant resident in said City and the address of the owner be unknown, or if there is a holder or tenant and the address of the owner is unknown, the said notice may be affixed to any part of the premises. If the owner is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation or damages allowed by the City as aforesaid, said property owner may, within ten (10) days after such notice as aforesaid was posted or mailed, appeal from the written notice of assessment or compensation or damages by serving written notice by registered mail with return receipt requested upon the Mayor of the City to the effect that he or she is dissatisfied with the amount of said compensation or damages, and it is his or her intention to make written application to one of the Judges of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for Sussex County for the appointment of a Commission to hear and determine the matter in controversy; and in order to prosecute said appeal, such owner shall within fifteen (15) days after serving said notice upon the Mayor as aforesaid, make written application to said Judge of the Superior Court of this State who is that time resident of Sussex County for the appointment of such a commission; and thereupon the said Judge shall issue and appoint a Commission directed to five (5) freeholders of the said County, three (3) of whom shall be residents of The City of Lewes, and two of whom shall be non-residents of said City, demanding them to assess the damages which the owner of the real estate through or over which the said street, lane or alley shall pass, and who shall have notified the said City Council of their intention to appeal, may incur by reason thereof, and to make return of their proceeding to the said Judge at the time therein appointed.
(e) The freeholders named in such Commission, being first duly sworn or affirmed, shall view the premises and may, or a majority of them, shall assess the damages aforesaid, and shall make return, in writing of their proceedings to the said Judge who shall deliver and return to the City Council, which shall be final and conclusive. The said Judge shall have the power to fill any vacancy in the Commission. The amount of damages being so ascertained, the City Council may pay or tender the same to the person or persons entitled thereto within thirty (30) days after the same shall be finally ascertained, or if the person or persons so entitled reside out of, or are absent from the City during the said period of thirty (30) days, then same shall be deposited to his or her credit in the Farmers Bank of the State of Delaware with offices in Georgetown, Sussex County, Delaware, within said time, and thereupon the said property of lands may be taken or occupied for the uses aforesaid.
(f) If the ascertainment and assessment of damages by the freeholders appointed by the Judge as aforesaid shall be increased, the cost of the appeal shall be paid by the City out of any money in the hands of the Treasurer belonging to the City; but if said damages shall not be increased, the cost of the appeal shall be paid by the party appealing. The said freeholder members of the Commission shall receive and be allowed for each day's actual service or of any part of a day the sum of Five Dollars ($5.00). After the damages shall be fixed and ascertained by the freeholders, the City Council shall have the option to pay the damages assessed within the time aforesaid and to proceed with the said improvements, or, upon the payment of the costs only, may abandon the proposed improvements.
(g) In the event that the City Council feels that the damages assessed are not just as being excessive, it may then appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware. If the owner of the property feels that the damages awarded are inadequate, such owner may appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware.
CURBING AND PAVING
Section 35. (a) Whenever the City Council shall have determined that any paving, graveling, curbing or any or either or all of them shall be done, they shall notify the owner or owners of the land along or in front of whose premises the same is to be done, particularly designating the nature and character thereof, and thereupon it shall be the duty of such owner or owners to cause such paving, graveling and curbing to be done in conformity with said notice. In the event of any owner or owners neglecting to comply with said notice for the space of thirty days, the said Council may proceed to have the same done, and when done the City Manager, shall as soon as convenient thereafter, present to the owner or owners of such lands a bill showing the expenses of such paving, graveling and curbing; if such owner or owners be not resident in The City of Lewes, such bill may be presented to the occupier or tenant of said lands, or if there be no occupier or tenant resident of said City of Lewes, such bill may be sent by mail to such owner or owners directed to him, her or them at the post office nearest his, her or their residences. If such bill be not paid by the owner or owners of such lands within sixty days after the presentation thereof as aforesaid, then it shall be the duty of the said City Council to issue a warrant in the name of The City of Lewes, under the hand of the Mayor of the City and seal of said City, directed to the City Manager of The City of Lewes, commanding him that of the goods and chattels, lands and tenements of such owner or owners, he should cause to be levied and made the amount of said bill, together with all costs. It shall be the duty of the City Manager of The City of Lewes, as soon as convenient after the said warrant shall be delivered to him, and after ten days' notice to the owner or owners of such lands, and after posting five or more notices of sale in at least five public places in The City of Lewes, at least ten days before the day of sale, to sell the goods and chattels of said owner or owners at public auction, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the amount of said bill with all costs. If no goods and chattels of such owner or owners can be found within said City sufficient to satisfy the amount of said bill with all costs, then it shall be the duty of the said City Manager of the said City of Lewes, after ten days' notice to such owner or owners as aforesaid, and after posting five or more notices of sale in at least five public places in The City of Lewes, for at least ten days before the day of sale, and after causing such notice of sale to be published twice in one newspaper printed in the said City of Lewes, or if there be no newspaper printed in the said City of Lewes, then in a newspaper printed anywhere in Sussex County, to sell the lands and tenements of such owner or owners along or in front of which such paving, graveling and curbing, or either of them, have been done, or so much of said lands and tenements as may be sufficient to satisfy the amount of said bill with costs, and a deed from the City Manager of said City of Lewes shall convey to the purchaser or purchasers of such lands and tenements as full and complete title, in fee simple or otherwise, as if the same were executed by the owner or owners thereof. The claim for paving, graveling and curbing shall be a lien on the premises along or in front of which the said work was done, and shall have priority over any lien, incumbrance or conveyance suffered or made by the owner or owners after the presentation of the said bill as aforesaid; provided that within thirty days after the completion of said improvements a certificate under the corporate seal of The City of Lewes signed by the Mayor setting forth the amount of the bill, the date of the completion of the improvements and a description of the property affected by said lien with the name or names of the owner or owners shall be recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds at Georgetown, in and for Sussex County; and the record of such certificate or duly certified copy hereof shall be evidence in all Courts of law and equity in this State. Any such lien heretofore acquired shall be continued, provided that a certificate as above described shall be recorded in the said Office of the Recorder of Deeds within ninety days after the approval of this Act. It shall be the duty of the City Manager of the City from the Purchase money of the said good and chattels of lands and tenements, sold as aforesaid, to pay all costs arising from the proceeds of said sale to the parties entitled thereto, and to retain for the use of said City the amount of said bills as aforesaid, and the residue of the said purchase money, if any, shall be deposited in the Farmers Bank of the State of Delaware at Georgetown, to the credit of the said owner or owners. The City Manager of the said City shall be entitled to receive five dollars for every sale of personal property under this Section, and ten dollars for every sale of real estate under this Section, together with such additional sum as may be reasonable and proper for the keeping, taking care of such personal property, for selling the same and for advertising all of which shall be part of the costs to be paid out of the purchase money as aforesaid. Any notice, required by this Section, to one co-owner shall be notice to all, and in case no owner shall reside in said City, notice served upon the occupier or tenant shall be sufficient, or if there be no owner or occupier, or tenant of said premises resident in the City, it shall be sufficient to send notice by mail to any owner or owners of said premises, directed to him, her or them at the post office nearest his, her or their place or places of residence; the provisions hereinbefore contained in this Section shall apply to any order made by the City Council in respect to any pavement, sidewalk or curb heretofore made or done, which the said Council may deem insufficient or to need repairing. The said Council, in addition to the provisions of this Section hereinbefore contained shall have power and authority to enforce by ordinance, all the requirements of this Section, by imposing such fines and penalties as shall, in the judgment of said Council, be necessary and proper.
(b) In addition to the remedies herein provided for the collection of bills relative to the curbing and paving of properties, or for the collection of taxes or any other debt or demand due The City of Lewes, it shall be lawful for the City Council in the name of The City of Lewes, to institute an action before any Justice of the Peace of the County of Sussex if the amount of the demand be One Thousand Dollars or less, or before the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, if the amount of the demand be more than One Thousand Dollars, and thereupon to obtain judgment for the amount of such demand or debt, and to collect the same in the manner now or hereafter provided for the collection of judgments in the State of Delaware.
USE OF TOWN MONEY
Section 36. (a) The City Council shall have the power and authority to use the money in the Treasury of said City, or of any portion thereof, for the improvement, benefit, protection, ornament, and the best interest of the said City as it may deem advisable and to use the City money to accomplish and carry into effect all acts and things which it has power to do by virtue of the Constitution, Laws of Delaware, this Act and all lawful ordinances and resolutions of Council. In the general performance of their duties the acts, doings and determination of a majority of the Council of said City shall be as good and binding as the acts, doings and determination of the whole. In case of vacancy or vacancies in the City Council, the remaining members, until such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled as herein-before provided, shall have the same power and authority as the whole.
OBSTRUCTIONS, NUISANCES AND
UNSANITARY CONDITIONS
Section 37. The City Council shall have power and authority to enact ordinances or adopt resolutions to define prevent, abate and remove all obstructions, nuisances and unsanitary conditions at any time existing or deemed to be contemplated by any property owner or tenant or any property owner thereof whether in the street square, lane or alleys, or on the sidewalks or any other public or private place within the limits of said City either on its own inspection, or upon written complaint of any citizen of the City stating the character and location of the obstruction, nuisances or unsanitary conditions, and signed by the citizen making the complaint. If a majority of the elected members of the City Council either upon inspection or upon such inspection or upon such information, or both, shall determine that such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition exists and ought to be removed or abated, as the case may be, the City Council shall enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution, or both, appropriate to the contemplated or existing commission and the City Council shall thereupon give notice in writing by registered mail with return receipt requested, signed by the Mayor to the person or persons contemplating or causing such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition, or to the person or persons who are responsible for its existence or continuance to remove or abate the same and if such person or persons refuse or neglect for the space of two (2) days to take steps to abate or remove the stated condition after such notice is received, Council shall have the power and authority to cause such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition to be removed or abated; and for this purpose Council may issue a warrant in the name of the City of Lewes, under the hand of its Mayor and the Seal of the City, and directed to any Constable of Sussex County, commanding him forthwith to abate such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition, whereupon the Constable to whom said warrant may be delivered shall forthwith proceed to remove or abate the same and for such purpose he shall have full power and authority to enter into and upon any lands and premises in said City and to take with him such assistance, implements, horses, carts, wagons, automobiles, trucks, or other things, as may be necessary and proper, and to do and perform all matters and things right, proper and necessary to be done for the removal or abatement of such obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition. The costs of all the necessary work, labor and proceedings of the City in the removal or abatement of such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition shall be determined by Council upon the completion of the work, and if such amount be not paid to the Treasurer, for the use of the City, by the person or persons causing or responsible for such obstructions, nuisance or unsanitary condition within ten days after a bill stating the amount of such costs is presented or mailed to such person or persons, at their last and best known post office address, then Council may proceed to collect the same out of the goods and chattels, lands and tenements, of such person or persons, and it shall be the duty of Council to issue a warrant in the name of The City of Lewes under the hand of the Mayor, and the Seal of the City, directed to the Alderman or any Justice of the Peace commending him that of the goods and chattels, land and tenements of such person or persons he shall cause to be levied and make the amount of said bill, together with all costs. It shall be the duty of the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace, as soon as convenient thereafter, and after ten days, written notice to such person or persons, deposited in the mails and directed to such person or persons at his or their last and best known post office address, and after posting five or more notices of sale in at least five of the most public place in said City at least ten days before the day of sale, to first sell the goods and chattels of such person or persons at public auction in said City, or so much thereof as may be necessary to pay the amount of said bill with all costs. If no goods or chattels of such person or persons can be found in said City, or the goods and chattels found and sold as aforesaid be not sufficient to satisfy the amount of said bill, with all costs, then it shall be the duty of the said Alderman or Justice of the Peace, after further notice of ten days, given to said person or persons in the same manner as aforesaid, for the sale of goods and chattels, and after posting five or more notices of sale in at least five of the most public places in said City, for at least ten days before the day of sale, and after causing such notice of sale to be published once, in a newspaper published in Sussex County, to sell the land and tenements of such person or persons, or so much thereof as may be sufficient to satisfy the amount of said bill and all costs, and a deed from the Alderman or Justice of the Peace of said City shall be made and shall convey to the purchaser or purchasers of such lands and tenements as full and complete title in fee simple or lesser estate, as if same were executed by the person or persons whose lands and tenements were sold as aforesaid. The claim for the expenses of the City in removing or abating such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition, and all costs, shall be a lien on the premises where such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition exists, and said lien shall relate back to the time when the first notice to remove or abate shall have been served upon such person or persons and shall have priority over any lien, encumbrance or conveyance suffered or made by such person or persons after the mailing of said notice. It shall be the duty of the Alderman or Justice of the Peace, out of the purchase money from the sale of said goods and chattels, or lands and tenements, to pay all costs arising from said proceedings and sale to the parties entitled to such costs, to retain and pay to the Treasurer, for the use of the City, the amount of the said bill to the City, and the residue of said purchase money, if any, shall be at once deposited in some bank in The City of Lewes to the credit of the owner or owners of said goods and chattels, or lands and tenements. The Alderman or Justice of the Peace shall be entitled to receive Ten Dollars for every sale of personality under this Section and Twenty Dollars for every sale of real estate under this Section, together with such additional sum as may be allowed by Council for the keeping and care of such personal property, for selling the same, and for said advertising, all of which shall be a part of the costs aforesaid to be paid out of the purchase money. Any notice required by this Section to one co-owner shall be notice to all, and in case of no owner shall reside in said City, said written notice deposited in the mail in a sealed envelope and addressed to such owner at his or her best known post office address shall be deemed proper notice. Council in addition to the provisions of this Section by imposing such fines and penalties as shall be, in the judgment of Council, necessary and proper which shall be additional to the said expenses and costs of removal or abatement. For all the purposes of this Section, any property, whether dwelling, storehouse, or both, or otherwise, which does not have proper connections with the sewer system of the said City, if such sewer connections be available for such property, shall be deemed to be in an unsanitary condition under the meaning of this Section, at the discretion of the Council.
MUNICIPAL ZONING REGULATIONS
Section 38. (a) For the purpose of protection against fire, promoting health, safety, morals or the general welfare of the community, the City Council is hereby empowered to adopt ordinances to regulate and restrict the height, number of stores, size of buildings and other structures, the density of population, and the location and use of buildings, structures and lands for trade, industry, residence or other purposes, and this power shall embrace new buildings or additions to or alterations of existing structures of every kind; to condemn buildings or structures, or portions thereof, that constitute a fire menace, and to require or cause the same to be torn down, removed, or so altered as to eliminate the menace of fires; to prescribe the height and thickness of any building and the kind and grade of materials used in the construction thereof.
(b) The City Council in order to avail itself of the powers conferred by this section, shall appoint a commission of not less than three members to be known as the Zoning Commission in accordance with Section 306, Title 22, Del. C. of 1953, as amended. The City Council shall further provide for the appointment of a Board of Adjustment which shall consist of the City Manager, the Mayor and the City Solicitor. The Board shall have all the powers and shall be bound by the same procedure as set forth in Sections 321 through 330 inclusive, Title 22, Del. C. of 1953, as amended. Should any amendment be made to 22 Del. C. 306 or 22 Del. C. Sections 321 through 330 inclusive by the General Assembly, the Charter of The City of Lewes shall be deemed amended in order to comply with such amendments.
Upon the passage of this act, before any building or structure of any kind, or alteration or additions to any building constructed in The City of Lewes be made, a permit must be secured from the City. The City Council is hereby empowered to enact ordinances establishing fees in relation thereto sufficient only to defray the costs in all actions taken pursuant to this Section.
ACTIONS OR SUITS AGAINST CITY
Section 39. No Action, suit or proceeding shall be brought or maintained against The City of Lewes for damages, either compensatory or punitive, on account of any physical injury or injuries, death or injury of property by reason of the negligence, simple, gross, willful or wanton of the said The City of Lewes or any of its departments, officers, agents or employees thereof, unless the person by or on behalf of whom such claim or demand is asserted, within Ninety (90) days from the happening of such injury or the suffering of such damage, shall notify in writing the Mayor of The City of Lewes of the time, place, cause, character and extent of the injury sustained, so enrolled or damages suffered.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Section 40. (a) At the first regular meeting of the City Council of The City of Lewes following the annual election in each year, the City Council may appoint a proper person to be the Director of Public Safety at such salary and on such other terms as may be deemed proper. The City Council shall impose such qualifications for Director of Public Safety as may be deemed necessary; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that no person holding the office of Mayor of The City of Lewes or the office of City Councilman shall be chosen to be Director of Public Safety during his term of office as Mayor or Councilman.
(b) The Director of Public Safety shall hold office at the pleasure of the City Council of The City of Lewes and may be removed by a majority vote of all the elected members of the City Council. At least thirty days before such removal shall become effective, the City Council shall, by a majority vote of all the elected members thereof, adopt a preliminary resolution stating the reason for his removal. The Director may reply in writing and may request a public hearing which shall be held not earlier than twenty days nor later than thirty days after the filing of the request. After such public hearing, if one be requested, and after full consideration, the City Council, by a majority vote of all the elected members thereof, may adopt a final resolution of removal. By the preliminary resolution, the City Council may suspend the Director of Public Safety from duty but shall cause to be paid him forthwith any unpaid balance of his salary due at the time of the adoption of the preliminary resolution.
(c) The Director of Public Safety shall have the charge, supervision, and management of the members of the Police Force of The City of Lewes and such other duties as may be from time to time prescribed by the City Council.
(d) The Director of Public Safety shall submit such reports to the City Council as may be required by that body. He shall make such recommendation to the City Council concerning the affairs of the Police Force as may to him seem desirable. He shall render to the City Council, at its monthly meeting of each and every month, a police report showing the activities of the Police Force during the preceding month.
SURVIVAL OF POWER AND VALIDATING SECTION
Section 41. This Act shall operate to amend, revise and consolidate, "An Act to re-incorporate The Town of Lewes" being Chapter 170, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, and the various amendments and supplements thereto, and to repeal all such parts of said Act and its amendments and supplements as are manifestly inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. All powers conferred upon or vested in The Commissioners of Lewes by any Act of Law of the State of Delaware not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter, are hereby expressly conferred upon, and vested in The City of Lewes and/or the City Council of The City of Lewes, precisely as if each of the said powers was expressly repeated in this Charter. All ordinances and resolutions heretofore lawfully enacted or adopted by the Commissioners of Lewes or resolutions and regulations adopted by the Board of Public Works and in force at the time of the approval of this Charter shall continue in full force and effect until the same or any of them shall be repealed, modified or altered by the City Council of The City of Lewes under the provisions of this Charter; all the acts and doings of the Commissioners of Lewes or any officers or employees of the Commissioners of Lewes, lawfully done or performed under the provisions of any law of this State, or of any ordinance of said Commissioners of Lewes, prior to the approval of this Act, are hereby ratified and confirmed; all taxes, debt, fine or penalties assessments and forfeitures due the Commissioners of Lewes shall be deemed to be due The City of Lewes, and all debts due from the Commissioners of Lewes shall be deemed to be due from The City of Lewes and the same shall remain unimpaired until paid; and the power, right and authority to collect taxes and rentals imposed under the provisions of this Act, and the processes which may be employed hereunder, shall be deemed to apply and to extend to all unpaid taxes and rentals imposed under the Charter of the Commissioners of Lewes and all amendments and supplements thereto; the bonds given by or on account of any official of the Commissioners of Lewes shall not be impaired by or affected by the provisions of this Act, but The City of Lewes shall succeed to all the benefits of said bonds; all valid laws heretofore passed relating to or concerning the Commissioners of Lewes or authorizing the borrowing of money and the issuing of bonds on the credit of said Commissioners of Lewes shall be and remain valid and good heretofore, and be unaffected and unimpaired by this Act.
If any part of this Act shall be held unconstitutional, such holding shall not in any wise invalidate the remaining provisions of this Act. This Act shall be deemed and known to be a public act.
Approved June 19,1969.