CHAPTER 65
SELBYVILLE
AN ACT AUTHORIZING "THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF SELBYVILLE" TO BORROW SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($75,000.00) AND TO ISSUE BONDS THEREFORE FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE GENERAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE WATER PLANT OF "THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF SELBYVILLE," AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF REPAIRING OR REPLACING DEFECTIVE OR INADEQUATE WATER LINES AND EXTENDING THE WATER LINES WITHIN THE TOWN OF SELBYVILLE; PROVIDING FOR A REFERENDUM VOTE TO APPROVE THE ISSUANCE OF SAID BONDS BY "THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF SELBYVILLE."
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (two-thirds of all the Members elected to each Branch thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selby-vine," a municipal corporation and body politic created by and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, be and it is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow on the faith and credit of the said "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selby-vine" a sum of money not exceeding Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) to be used for the purpose of the general improvement of the water plant of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville," and for the purpose of repairing or replacing defective or inadequate water lines and extending the water lines within the Town of Selbyville.
Section 2. "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selby-vine," for the purpose as set forth in Section One of this Act, shall have full power and authority to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) to be known by whatever name "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" shall designate by resolution of the Mayor and Council.
Section 3. The form, amount and denomination of the bonds, the rate of interest, the time of payment thereof, the classes, the times of maturity and provisions as to the registration and redemption thereof, if said bonds shall be redeemable before their due date shall be determined by the Mayor and Council. The said bonds shall be offered for sale to the best and most responsible bidder or bidders after suitable advertisement, as the Mayor and Council shall determine. The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville shall have the right to reject any and all bids which may be offered for such bonds if, in the judgment of the said Mayor and Council, such bids shall be deemed insufficient. The Mayor and Council may sell or dispose of said bonds at private sale for the best price obtainable therefor, provided, said price shall not be less than par and accrued interest.
In the event the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville shall so decide said bonds shall be redeemable at the option of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville. The time of redemption and the price to be paid by "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" upon redemption shall be determined by the Mayor and Council and the terms thereof shall be set forth and printed on the face of said bonds.
Section 4. The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville shall direct and effect the preparation and sale of the bonds which are authorized by this. Act, at such time or times, at such price or prices and upon such term as the Mayor and Council shall deem advisable, and all the monies arising from the sale of said bonds shall be used for the carrying out of the purposes and provisions of this Act.
Section 5. That the form of said bonds, and of any coupons which may be thereunto attached, shall be prescribed by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville, and all such bonds shall be signed by the Mayor of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" and by the Treasurer of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" and shall be sealed with the Corporate Seal of said municipal corporation, and the said bonds shall be exempt from all State, County and Municipal taxes. As the said bonds, and any coupons thereto originally attached shall be paid, the same shall be cancelled as the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville may direct. Facsimile signatures of the Mayor of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" and of the Treasurer of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" may be imprinted upon any and all coupons that may be attached to the bonds, in lieu of the signatures of the said Mayor and of the said Treasurer in their own original handwriting.
Section 6. The Mayor and Council of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" are hereby authorized and required to levy and raise by taxation in each and every year such sum of money as may be required to pay the interest accrued on said bonds while all or any of said bonds remain unpaid, and the said Mayor and Council are further authorized and required to levy and raise by taxation, from time to time such sum or sums of money as shall be needed to establish such sinking fund as the said Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville may, at their discretion, authorize for the redemption of said bonds, or any of them, at or before their maturity and such sum or sums of money as shall be required to otherwise redeem any or all of said bonds at or before their maturity. Taxes for interest and for redemption of said bonds shall be levied and raised as taxes for general municipal purposes in said municipal corporation are levied and raised, and shall be in addition to the taxes levied and raised for any and all other municipal purposes.
Section 7. The bonds authorized by this Act may be issued at one time and in one series or at different times and in different series and the maturity date of said bonds may be at one time or said bonds may mature serially at such time or times as the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville may determine prior to the issuance and sale of said bonds. The authority to issue and sell any bonds or number of bonds under this Act shall not be deemed to be exhausted until the aggregate of the amount of the bonds issued under this Act shall be Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00).
Section 8. That the faith and credit of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville" are hereby pledged for the due payment of all the bonds that may be issued under the provisions of this Act.
Section 9. That before any bonds shall be issued under the provisions of this Act, the said Bond Issue shall be approved by a referendum vote of the qualified voters of "The Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville." Notice of the holding of said referendum election shall be authorized by resolution of the Mayor and Council, published once a week, for at least three consecutive weeks in the newspaper or newspapers published in the Town of Selbyville, Delaware, if any, and in one other newspaper of the State of Delaware as shall be determined by resolution of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville. Such notice shall set out in summary form the amount and purposes of such Bond Issue, the date and place of holding the referendum election and the hours the polls will be open.
At said referendum election every resident and non-resident taxable of the City, of the age of twenty-one years, or upwards, who has, by the time of voting, paid all town taxes theretofore assessed to him and/or assessed against the property he owns at the time of the referendum election, shall be entitled to vote and shall have one vote for each dollar, or fractional part of a dollar, of taxes paid by him according to the last town assessment and tax payment records preceding the referendum election.
In case of jointly owned property, the votes of the owners of shares therein shall be in accordance with their respective shares, or if all owners appear at the polls and so consent, all of the votes may be cast by the owner of any share, except that the spouse first present at the polls may cast all the votes in reference to the property held by husband and wife as tenants by the entirety. Life tenants shall have the entire vote as to the property so held, and holders of the remainder interest only shall have no vote by reason thereof. Corporations owning taxable property within the limits of the municipal corporation shall have the right to vote. The vote of a corporation may be cast by its President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer, who shall be entitled to vote one vote for each dollar, or fractional part of a dollar, of taxes paid by the corporation according to the last town assessment and tax payment records preceding the referendum election.
The Judge of the election shall note on the outside of each ballot before he deposits the ballot in the ballot box, the number of votes to which each voter is entitled, in accordance with town assessment and tax payment records.
The Mayor and Council shall provide sufficient ballots which shall have printed thereon "For Bond Issue" and "Against Bond Issue." Each voter shall indicate his preference by making a clearly legible mark, by pencil or in ink, opposite the words showing his preference, or by merely striking out the alternative to which he is opposed. Any other writing and/or form of marking the ballot, except the number of votes noted thereon by the Judge, shall render it void. No voting by proxy shall be permitted.
The Mayor and Council, shall, prior to the date of the referendum election, appoint one judge and two clerks to pass upon the qualifications and number of votes of each voter and to conduct the election, and a majority of the election officers present at the opening of the polls shall fill any vacancy among the election officers. A majority of the election officers shall be sufficient to decide the qualifications and the number of votes of the voters. The Mayor and Council, prior to the date of the referendum election shall designate either the Town Clerk or some other town employee or official familiar with the assessment and tax payment records to attend the election with the last town assessment and tax payment records for the inspection of the election officers. The referendum election shall be held not less than thirty days after the approval of this Act and at such time thereafter as the Mayor and Council shall designate after having first determined the extent of the present and probable future municipal improvements and having available such estimates of the probable cost of the same as they deem advisable. The referendum election shall be held at such suitable place in the Town of Selbyville as the Mayor and Council shall designate in said public notice. The polls shall be open from 2:00 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time) and shall close at 7:00 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time), unless at the time of said election Daylight Saving Time be in effect in said Town, in which case the polls shall open at 2:00 P.M. (Daylight Saving Time) and shall close at 7:00 P.M. (Daylight Saving Time).
The Judge of the election and the election clerks shall have the right to vote subject to the same qualifications and provisions applying to other voters at said election.
The election clerks shall each keep a separate tally sheet and their tally sheets shall be compared and must agree as to the total votes cast for and the total votes cast against the Bond Issue. Both tally sheets shall then be certified as correct by at least two of the election officers and be delivered to the Mayor, or to the Town Clerk, immediately after the tally sheets are compared, are in agreement, and have been certified.
The Mayor and Council shall at the next regular meeting after the election, or a special meeting, receive the results of the referendum election and make the same a part of the minutes of said meeting, whereupon if a majority of the votes cast were "For Bond Issue" this Act immediately shall become effective and the bonds herein provided for, and not exceeding Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), may be issued and sold as in this Act provided, but if at such referendum election the majority of the votes cast, were "Against Bond Issue," then no bonds shall be issued nor shall any money be borrowed under this Act, without another referendum election being held at such time as the Mayor and Council shall determine.
In the case of a tie vote on the Bond Issue, the Mayor of the Town of Selbyville shall, within one week after said referendum election, call a special meeting of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville, at which meeting a vote of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Selbyville shall be taken and. if the vote of the majority of said Mayor and Council is for the Bond Issue, then the referendum election shall be deemed to be "For Bond Issue," but if the majority vote of the Mayor and Council is against the Bond Issue then no bonds shall be issued, nor shall any money be borrowed under this Act, without a further referendum election as herein provided.
Section 10. That a statement appearing in the bonds which may lawfully be issued under the provision of this Act to the effect that the bonds have been duly authorized, shall be deemed and held to be conclusive evidence in favor of the lawful holder of any such bonds that the terms and conditions of this Section and the Act as a whole, have been fully met and complied with.
Approved May 3, 1951.