CHAPTER 184
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 177, VOLUME 36, LAWS OF DELAWARE, AND CHAPTER 203, VOLUME 25, LAWS OF DELAWARE, BY REVISING AND AMENDING THE DUTIES OF THE TOWN ALDERMAN OF "THE COMMISSIONERS OF MILLSBORO" AND ELIMINATING THE TOWN CONSTABLE AS SUCH, AND CREATING A POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all the Members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. That § 12 of Chapter 203, Volume 25, Laws of Delaware, shall be and the same is hereby repealed, and the following section, to be known as § 12 is enacted in lieu thereof:
Section 12 (A). The Commissioners shall at their second regular meeting after the General Election appoint some suitable person who shall act as Alderman. The person so selected and designated need not be a Justice of the Peace, although such person may be. The Alderman shall hold office from the time of his appointment until the second regular meeting after the General Election, next following his appointment.
(B). In case of sickness, unavoidable absence or vacancy of the office created by death or otherwise, any of the Commissioners shall have, during such sickness or absence, the same power and authority as could, under the circumstances, be exercised by the Alderman. In the event of any vacancy in this office prior to the normal termination of the term of Office, the Commissioners shall appoint a successor to complete the unexpired term.
(C). Before entering upon the duties of his office, the person appointed by the Commissioners to serve as Alderman shall be sworn or affirmed by the Commissioners to perform the duties of his office, honestly, faithfully and diligently. It shall be the duty of the Alderman to enforce all laws enacted for the government of the Town and to carry into effect all orders and
directions of the Commissioners of Millsboro made in pursuance of any law of this State and to carry into effect any ordinance that the Commissioners of Millsboro may legally make or establish. The Commissioners of Millsboro shall procure a suitable record for the use of the Alderman. Such record shall be known as the "Alderman's Docket".
(D). The Alderman shall have Jurisdiction and cognizance of all breeches of the peace and other offenses committed within the limits of the Town and within one mile of the limits and territory of the Town so far as to arrest and hold for bail or to fine and imprison offenders; of all fines, penalties and forfeiture prescribed by this Chapter, ordinances enacted hereunder; of all neglects, omissions or defaults of any member of the police force, or of any other Town officer, agent or employee; provided that he shall impose no fine or penalty in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) exclusive of costs and no term of imprisonment in excess of sixty (60) days, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
(E) The fees of the Alderman for any service shall be the same as those of a Justice of Peace for like service. For any service or duty for which no fee is provided by law for a Justice of Peace, the Commissioners of Millsboro may establish a fee by ordinance.
(F) If any Alderman shall be removed from office as hereinafter provided, he shall deliver to the Commissioners of Millsboro within two (2) days after his removal from office, all the books and papers belonging to his office, and shall pay over to the Commissioners of Millsboro 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 the Alderman, the Commissioners of Millsboro shall make or cause to be made an audit of the books and papers of the Alderman so removed. Upon the neglect or failure to deliver all the books and papers to the Commissioners of Millsboro within the time specified by this Charter, or to pay over all the monies to the Commissioners of Millsboro within the time specified, the Alderman so removed shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined no 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 Commissioners of Millsboro or to pay over all monies to the Commissioners of Millsboro.
(G) The Commissioners for any reasonable cause may remove the Alderman from office. The Alderman under such circumstances, shall be given five days' notice thereof and shall be accorded a full and fair hearing if so requested in writing, addressed to the Commissioners, within five days of his formal receipt of the notice of his removal.
Section 2. That § 21 of Chapter 203, Volume 25, Laws of Delaware, shall be and the same is hereby repealed and the following section, to be known as § 21 is enacted in lieu thereof:
Section 21 (A). The Commissioners shall appoint some suitable person to act as Chief of Police. The Chief of Police, as chosen, shall serve at the pleasure of the Commissioners and shall be the head of the Police Department of the Town of Millsboro, and shall receive such compensation as the Commissioners shall fix. The Commissioners shall also appoint such assistants to the Chief of Police as may by resolution be required. These assistants to the Chief of Police shall hold office at the pleasure of the Commissioners and shall receive such compensation as the Commissioners, by resolution, may fix. The Chief of Police shall pay over to the Commissioners, in the manner designated by them, all fees or other monies collected by the Chief of Police and his staff in the execution of their duties. The Commissioners may for any reasonable cause remove from office either the Chief of Police or any member of his staff. The person against whom the Commissioners may choose to proceed shall receive 5 days' notice thereof and shall be accorded a full and fair hearing, if requested in writing, addressed to the Commissioners, within five days of his formal receipt of the notice of his removal.
(B) The said Police Officers shall be conservators of the peace within the limits of the Town of Millsboro and shall monthly, or as often as the Commissioners of Millsboro shall deem desirable, submit a report to the Commissioners of Millsboro setting forth the number of arrests made during said preceding month. The Police Officers shall see that ordinances are enforced, and they together with said assistants or other policemen as may be appointed, shall have power to arrest any person or persons for the violations of said ordinances wherein an arrest for violation is provided; and in addition thereto they shall perform such other duties as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by the laws relating to said Town, and by the ordinances thereof, and shall have all of the same powers and functions that Constables of Sussex now have, or may hereafter have as conservators of the Peace.
(C) Each member of the Police Force shall be vested, within the Town limits and within one mile outside said limits, with all the powers and authority of a Constable of Sussex County, and in the case of pursuit of an offender, their power and authority shall extend to any part of the State of Delaware.
(D) It shall be the duty of the police to suppress riotous, disorderly or turbulent assemblages of persons in the streets of the Town, or the noisy conduct of any person in the same, and upon view of the above, or upon view of the violations of any ordinance of the Town 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 a Justice of the Peace for hearing.
() If any Police Officer shall neglect or refuse to perform any of the duties required of him by this Act, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and the Commissioners of Millsboro may present him to the Grand Jury of Sussex County, and upon conviction he shall be fined in a sum not less than Ten nor more than One Hundred Dollars, and may be imprisoned in the discretion of the Court for any term not exceeding one year, and upon such conviction he shall ipso facto forfeit his office.
Approved December 18, 1963.