CHAPTER 138 - CLAYTON
AN ACT TO REINCORPORATE THE TOWN OF CLAYTON.
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (two-thirds of all the members elected to each branch of the Legislature concurring therein):
Section 1. That the limits of the Town of Clayton are hereby re-established and declared to be the same as shown on a plot, recorded in the Recorder's Office, at Dover, in Deed Record Book A, Volume 7, page 88.
Section 2. The governing body of the Town of Clayton shall be a Town Council composed of five (5) members whose terms shall be one (1) year and until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified and each of whom at the time of his nomination and election shall be a resident of the said Town, above the age of twenty-one years and the owner of real estate within said Town, provided however that any married man, otherwise qualified, whose wife is the owner of real estate within said Town, and any married woman, otherwise qualified, whose husband is the owner of real estate within said Town, may be nominated and elected a member of Council although such person may not be the owner of real estate within said Town, and real estate in said Town owned jointly by husband and wife shall make both husband and wife eligible, if otherwise qualified. No person shall be eligible for nomination or election who shall not have paid, prior to the filing of his nomination, all Town taxes theretofore assessed to him, and also all water and sewer rents theretofore due from him.
Members of Council shall be nominated and elected as follows: Nominations shall be filed at the Town office in said Town during usual business hours, with the Town Clerk, or in the absence of the Town Clerk, with the President or Secretary of Council at any place within said Town, not later than 4 o'clock P. M., (Eastern Standard Time) on Monday next preceding the first Saturday in May. Each nomination shall be in writing, signed by the nominee or by five (5) other persons qualified to 'vote at such election.
The election shall be held. at the Town Office, or some other suitable place in said Town designated by Council, after ten (10) days' notice thereof by Council, posted in at least five (5) of the most public places in said Town. The election shall be held on the first Saturday in May in each year hereafter and the polls shall be kept open from 2 o'clock until 6 o'clock P. M., (Eastern Standard Time). At such election all residents of said Town, twenty-one years of age and upwards, who shall have paid all Town taxes theretofore assessed to them and also all water and sewer rents due from them, shall be entitled to vote.
Council shall cause to be printed ballots, at least as many in number as the approximate number of citizens in said Town entitled to vote at the election. Such ballots shall contain the names of all persons duly nominated, under headings designating the offices for which nominated and such ballots shall be delivered to the persons appointed or selected to hold the election at the opening of the polls, and every citizen calling for a ballot shall receive one from the election officers. Voters may also prepare their own ballots, either printed or written, provided such ballots do not contain a name or names other than those duly nominated.
The election shall be held by three freeholders of said town, who shall be designated for that purpose as "Election officers" by the Town Council at its last regular meeting in each year, prior to the date of said election, one of whom shall be named to preside. The election officers shall keep a list of all voters at such election. When the election shall be closed the presiding officer shall take the ballots out of the box, open and read them, and pass the ballots to one of the other election officers for his inspection, and the third election officer shall tally the vote. In case of a tie vote for any office, the person designated to preside at the election shall cast the deciding vote. When the result of the election shall have been ascertained, the election officers shall make out certificates of election, and deliver them to the various members of Council elected, with the hour and place of meeting of the Town Council at the first stated meeting after their election. A certificate of election shall, also, be given to the Secretary or Town Clerk to be entered on the minutes of the Town of Clayton.
Before entering on their duties as members of Council, the members elected shall be sworn or affirmed by one of the retiring members of Council. If at the time for holding any town election, the persons designated to hold such election, or any of them, shall not be present, the voters then present may proceed to elect one or more persons, as the case may be, to act as election officers in the place of any absentee.
If any vacancy should occur in the membership of the said Council, by death, resignation, removal from town, refusal to serve, or otherwise, the remaining members of Council shall have the power to fill such vacancy until the next regular election.
The election officers shall each receive the sum of four dollars ($4.00) for their services in connection with the holding of said election.
The present duly elected members of Council shall continue in office until the first Saturday in May, A. D. 1937 and until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified.
Section 3. The members of the Town Council shall meet for the purpose of organization on the second Monday evening in May following their election, and shall organize by the election of a President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, and such other officers as shall be found necessary.
It shall be the duty of the President to preside at the meetings of Council; to have the general supervision of all the streets, lanes and alleys in said town, under the direction of the Town Council, and of the persons who may be employed by the Town Council; to receive complaints of nuisances, and other complaints of citizens of violation of laws, or ordinances, and present the same to the Council at their first meeting for action; and such infraction or violation, of the law or ordinances as require immediate action to cause the same to be proceeded on before the alderman. He shall issue and sign all licenses for every exhibition with the Town of Clayton for which a license therefor is, or may be required; he shall sign all warrants on the Treasurer for the payment of any money and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by any ordinance or ordinances of the Town Council. If the President of Council shall be incapacitated from acting by reason of absence, or for any other cause whatsoever, then all the powers and duties conferred and imposed upon him by this Act, or any other law conferred or imposed, or any ordinance or ordinances adopted by the Town Council, shall be exercised and performed by the person who at the time shall be acting as President of Council.
The President, Secretary and Treasurer shall each receive as compensation for their services a sum not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) annually, and the remaining members of Council shall each receive as compensation for their services a sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25.00) annually.
Section 4. The inhabitants of The Town of Clayton, within the corporate limits heretofore established or within the corporate limits hereafter established, shall be and they are hereby created a body politic and corporate in law and equity, and shall be able and capable to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded in courts of law and equity in this State and elsewhere by the corporate name of "The Town of Clayton", and shall have a corporate seal, which Council may alter, change or renew at their pleasure; and may purchase, take hold and enjoy lands, tenements and hereditaments in fee simple or otherwise, and also goods and chattels, rights and credits, and may alien, grant, demise and dispose of the same as they may deem proper, and may do all other things which a body politic and corporate may lawfully do to carry out and effect the objects and purposes of this Act. Said Town shall have the superintendence and oversight of all roads and streets now open or hereafter to be opened wholly or partly within the limits of said town, and no overseer of any such roads or streets shall be appointed by the Levy Court of Kent County but the said Levy Court shall annually appropriate for the repair of said roads and streets such sum of money as the said Town of Clayton shall be entitled to, under the provisions of Chapter 71, Volume 30 of the Laws of Delaware, and shall make an order for the payment thereof to the Treasurer of the Town of Clayton for the use of said town.
Section 5. The Town Council, at the regular meeting next after each annual election, as hereinbefore provided for, or as soon thereafter as convenient, shall proceed to elect by ballot, some suitable person, resident in the town, to be alderman of the Town of Clayton, who may or may not be a Justice of the Peace, to serve as such for one year, from the second Monday in May or until his successor shall be duly elected, subject, however, to be removed from office at any time by a vote of a majority of all the members composing the Town Council. Before entering upon the duties of his office he shall be sworn or affirmed, by the President of the Town Council, or by any one of the Councilmen, to perform the duties of his office honestly, faithfully and diligently.
It shall be his duty to execute all laws enacted for the government of said town, and to carry into effect all orders and directions of the Town Council made in pursuance of any law of this State or of any ordinance that the said Town Council may legally make and establish. He shall have all the powers of a Justice of the Peace within the town, and shall have jurisdiction and cognizance of all breaches of the peace and other offenses in said town, so far as to arrest and hold to bail or fine and imprison offenders, and also of all fines and forfeitures and penalties which may be prescribed by any law of this State or by any ordinance of the Town Council regularly passed and established for the government of the town, and also of all neglects, omissions or defaults of any town constable, collector, assessor, treasurer, town clerk, or any other officer or person whose duty it may be to collect, receive, pay over or account for any money belonging to said town, or to execute or obey any law or ordinance thereof; provided, that he shall not impose any fine exceeding one hundred dollars, or have jurisdiction in civil matters exceeding two hundred dollars, exclusive of costs. His fees for any service under this Section shall be the same as those of a Justice of the Peace for like service and for any service or duty for which no fee may be provided by law the fee may be established by ordinance of the Town Council. If any vacancy shall occur in the office of alderman of the Town of Clayton, by death, resignation, removal from office or otherwise, such vacancy shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the Town Council, or as soon thereafter as practicable. If any alderman shall be removed from his office by the Town Council as hereinbefore provided, he shall deliver to his successor in office, within two days after the election of his successor, all the books and papers belonging to his office, and shall pay over to the treasurer of the town all moneys in his hands belonging to the town within five days after his removal. Upon his neglect or failure to pay over to the Treasurer of the town within the time aforesaid all moneys belonging to the town, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof by indictment, shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars.
The alderman shall, at every regular meeting of the Town Council, report to the Council all fines imposed by him during the preceding month, and pay to the treasurer of the town of Clayton all such fines and penalties received by him during the said time, and in default of making such report or paying such fines and penalties for a period of twenty days after such report should be made and such fines and penalties should be paid as aforesaid, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof by indictment shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars.
Section 6. The Town Council shall have power, upon the application of ten or more citizens of the town by petition, to locate, lay out, and open any new street, lane or alley or widen any street, lane or alley heretofore laid out in said town, or reopen any old street, lane, or alley now closed, or which may hereafter be closed, which ten or more citizens may desire to be located, laid out and opened, or widened, or reopened, allowing to the persons respectively, through and over whose lands such street, lane or alley may pass, such compensation therefor as Council shall deem just and reasonable under all circumstances, which compensation, if any be allowed, shall be paid by the treasurer of the Town out of the moneys of said town upon warrants drawn upon him by order of Council.
Whenever the Town Council shall have determined to locate and lay out, or widen any street, lane or alley, and shall have fixed the compensation therefor, it shall be its duty immediately after the survey and location of the said street, lane or alley, to notify in writing, the owner or owners of the real estate through or over which said street, lane or alley may run, of its determination to open or widen the same, and to furnish a general description of the location thereof, and also the amount of the damages or compensation allowed to each, and if such owner be not resident within the said Town to notify the holder or tenant of said real estate, but if there be no holder or tenant resident in said Town the said notice may be affixed to any part of the premises. If any owner be dissatisfied with the amount of the compensation or damages allowed by the Town Council, as aforesaid, he or she may, within ten days after such notice, as aforesaid, appeal from the said assessment of compensation or damages by serving a written notice to that effect on the President of said Council, or the person performing the duties of President of Council for the time being. In order to prosecute said appeal, such owner or owners shall within fifteen days after the expiration of the ten days allowed for appeals, and upon ten days' notice to said President of Council, or the person performing the duties of President of Council for the time being, make written application to the Associate Judge of the Superior Court of this State, resident in Kent County, for the appointment of a commission to hear and determine the matter of damages or compensation, and thereupon the said Associate Judge shall issue a commission under his hand directed to five freeholders of the said county, three of whom shall be residents of said Town of Clayton and two of whom shall be nonresidents of said town, commanding them to assess the damages, if any, which the owner of the real estate through or over whose land said street, lane or alley shall pass, who shall have notified the said Town Council of their intention to appeal, may incur by reason thereof and to make return of their proceedings to the said Associate Judge at a time therein appointed. The freeholders named in such commission being first sworn or affirmed, as in said commission shall be directed, shall view the premises, and they, or a majority of them, shall assess the damages as aforesaid, if any, and the Commissioners in assessing damages shall take into consideration the benefits and advantages to the owners from the proposed street improvements and set off the value of such benefits or advantages against the loss and disadvantages which such owners will suffer, provided in no case shall the value of benefits and advantages exceed the amount allowed for loss, detriment or disadvantage to such owners. The Commissioners shall make return, in writing, of their proceedings in the premises to the said Associate Judge, who shall deliver said return to said Town Council which shall be final and conclusive. The said Associate Judge shall have power to fill any vacancy in the commission. The amount of damages being so ascertained, the Town Council may pay or tender the same to the person or persons entitled thereto, within one month after the same shall be finally ascertained, or if the person or persons so entitled reside out of or are absent from town, during said period of one month, or are minors, then the same may be deposited to his or her credit in the Clayton Bank, within said time, and thereupon the said property or land may be taken or occupied for the uses aforesaid. In the ascertaining and assessment of damages by the freeholders appointed by the Associate Judge aforesaid, if the damages shall be increased, the costs of the appeal shall be paid by the Treasurer of the town out of any money in his hands belonging to the Town, but if said damages shall not be increased the costs of the appeal shall be paid by the party appealing. The fees to the freeholders shall be five dollars per day to each, which shall be taxed as part of the costs. After the damages shall be fixed and ascertained by the freeholders as aforesaid, the Town Council shall have the option to pay damages assessed, within the time aforesaid, and proceed with the said improvements, or, upon the payment of the costs only, may abandon the proposed improvements.
Section 7. The Town Council shall have power to enact ordinances to prevent nuisances, to preserve the health of the Town, and to prevent the introduction of infectious or contagious diseases, for which purpose their jurisdiction shall extend to any distance within one mile of the limits of said Town. The Council may also pass ordinances to define and remove nuisances, to ascertain and fix the boundaries of streets, squares, lanes and alleys, or to repair and improve the same, or to alter, extend or widen any street, square, lane or alley, or open and lay out new ones, subject to the provisions in that behalf hereinbefore contained; to regulate and fix the ascents and descents of all streets, lanes and alleys, and the drainage thereof; to direct the paving or graveling of footways, and to prescribe the width thereof; to regulate and provide for the making of gutters, and the placing of gutter stones or plates therein, and for curbing, wherever, in their opinion, such paving or graveling, making of gutters, and the placing of gutter-stones or plates therein, and curbs, may be necessary or proper; to prescribe the extent of steps, porches, cellar doors and other inlets to lots and buildings; to regulate the construction and repair of chimneys, and to provide for keeping the same cleaned and in good order; to regulate the storage of gunpowder or any other dangerous or combustible materials, and to provide against casualties by fire. No person shall be obliged to pave any footway to a greater breadth than 41/2 feet in front of any vacant lot or lots not near or adjoining a dwelling house, and no grading, curbing or widening of sidewalks shall, after the same has once been established, be directed to be altered or changed for a period of ten years, except upon the petition of a majority of the property owners holding land on such street or part of street where such alteration or change is proposed to be made, and upon such petition the Town Council shall have the option to make such change or alteration, or not. The Town Council shall also have power to enact ordinances in relation to the keeping or harboring of dogs, to provide for the registering of the same, and to regulate their running at large, and may impose an annual tax not exceeding one dollar on every male dog, or two dollars on every female dog, and may provide for the collection of the same, from each and every person owning or harboring any dog or dogs; and also shall have power to impose fines and penalties for the enforcement of any of said ordinances. The said Council shall have power, also, by ordinance, to appoint a town surveyor to make a plot or map, showing the ascent and descent of all streets, lanes and alleys, the building lines upon the same, and generally to do and perform all such matters and things as they may deem necessary for carrying into effect the provisions in this Section contained.
The Council shall have power, by ordinance or resolution, to trim or remove or cause the owners thereof to trim or remove any and all trees, bushes, shrubbery, weeds or other vegetation, wherever situated in the said Town, and which Council shall deem to constitute a public nuisance or menace to the public welfare, safety or traffic; and by ordinance or resolution to remove or raze, or cause the owners thereof to remove or raze, any building or structure, or any part thereof, wherever located in said Town and which Council shall deem to be a fire hazard or a menace to the health or safety of the public.
Council shall have power, by ordinance or resolution, to prohibit the keeping of pigs or hogs within the corporate limits of the said Town.
The enumeration of specific powers of Council in this Section, or elsewhere in this Act, shall not be held or deemed to be inclusive of all powers of Council, and in addition thereto Council shall have all additional powers implied in this Act or appropriate to the exercise of any expressed power and also council shall have and may exercise all other powers which, under this Act and the laws of the State of Delaware, it would be competent for this Act to specifically enumerate and which are necessary, desirable or useful for the proper and efficient conduct of the government of the Town of Clayton.
Section 8. Whenever the said Town Council shall have determined that any paving, graveling, guttering, placing of gutter stones or plates in any gutter and curbing or any or either, or all of them, shall be done, they shall notify the owners of the land 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 to cause such paving, graveling, guttering, placing of gutter-stones or plates in any gutter, and curbing to be done in conformity with said notice. In the event of any owner 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 Treasurer of the Town shall, as soon as convenient thereafter, present to the said owner or owners of such lands a bill, showing the expense of such paving, graveling, guttering, placing of gutter-stones or plates in any gutter and curbing. If such owner or owners be not resident in the Town of Clayton such bill may be presented to the occupier or tenant of said land, or if there be no occupier or tenant resident in the said Town of Clayton such bill may be sent by mail to such owner or owners, directed to him or them at the post office nearest his or their residence. If such bill be not paid by the owner or owners of such lands within thirty days after the presentation thereof, as aforesaid, then it shall be the duty of said Town Council to issue a warrant in the name of the State of Delaware under the hand of the President of the Town Council, and the seal of the said corporation, directed to the Treasurer of the Town of Clayton, 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 the said bill, together with all costs. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer of the said Town of Clayton, 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 of the most public places in the Town of Clayton at least ten days before the day of sale, to sell the goods and chattels of such 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 or chattels of such owner or owners can be found within said town sufficient to satisfy the amount of said bill with all costs, then it shall be the duty of the said Treasurer of the said Town of Clayton, after ten days' notice to such owner or owners aforesaid, and after posting five or more notices of sale in at least five of the most public places in the Town of Clayton, for at least ten days before the day of sale, and after causing such notice of sale to be published in two successive issues in a newspaper printed in the said Town of Clayton (or, if there be no newspaper printed in the said Town of Clayton, then in a newspaper printed anywhere in Kent County), to sell the lands and tenements of such owner or owners in front of which such paving, graveling, guttering, placing of gutter-stones or plates in any gutter, 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 all costs, and a deed from the Treasurer of the said Town of Clayton shall convey to the 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, guttering, placing of gutter-stones or plates in any gutter, and curbing, shall be a lien on the premises in front of which the said work was done, and said lien shall relate back to the time when the notice herein required shall have been served upon the owner or owners or occupants of said premises, and shall have priority over any lien, encumbrance, or conveyance suffered or made by the owner or owners after the service of said notice. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer of said Town, out of purchase money of the said goods and chattels, or lands and tenements, sold as aforesaid, to pay all costs arising from the said proceeds and sale to the parties entitled thereto, and to retain for the use of the said Town the amount of the said bill as aforesaid and the residue of the said purchase money, if any, shall immediately be deposited in The Clayton Bank and Trust Company to the credit of the said owner or owners.
The Treasurer of the said Town 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 and 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 owner shall be notice to all, and in case no owner shall reside in said Town, 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 said Town, it shall be sufficient to send notice by mail to any owner of said premises directed to him or her, at the post office nearest his or her place of residence. The provisions herein-before contained in this Section shall apply to any order made by the Council of said Town in respect to any pavement, sidewalk, gutter, placing of getter-stones or plates in any gutter, or curb, heretofore made or done, which the said Council may deem insufficient, or to need repairing. The said Council, in addition to the provision 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.
Section 9. The Council of said Town shall have power and authority to make, establish and publish such ordinances as they may deem beneficial for the good government of the said Town at any regular monthly meeting. Such regular meeting shall be held on the second Monday evening of each month; additional meetings may be held as provided by town ordinance, or whenever twelve taxables of said Town shall, in writing, addressed to the President of Council, request a special meeting, or whenever the President may deem it expedient. All meetings shall be open to citizens of the said Town of Clayton, except when matters, required to be heard in executive session, shall be under consideration. At any such regular or special meetings, ordinances or rules for the good government of said Town, the improvement of its streets, the repairs and construction of drains and water courses, the planting and protecting of ornamental trees, and for all other matters relating to the general welfare of said Town may be ordained and enacted. They shall have and are hereby vested with power and authority to prescribe the fines or penalties for violation of any of the provisions of this Act, or of the ordinances which they may enact in pursuance hereof, and which are not specially provided for in this Act. All such fines and penalties which may be imposed, either by this Act or the ordinances enacted as aforesaid, may be collected before the alderman of said Town or any Justice of the Peace of said Town, and in default of payment said alderman or Justice of the Peace may commit for any time not exceeding thirty days.
The fiscal year of the Town of Clayton shall begin on the first day of April in each year and shall end with the next succeeding thirty-first day of March. Council shall cause a clear, concise and correct annual financial statement of the said Town for the fiscal year next preceding to be printed, at least three hundred in number, and distributed in the Town of Clayton, not later than the Saturday next preceding the last day for the filing of nominations for Council.
Section 10. Council may appoint such number of Town Constables as shall be deemed necessary from time to time and who shall constitute the Town police, and may also in its discretion appoint any Constable of Kent County residing in said Town as an additional member of the Town police. Council shall have power to remove any Town Constables at any time and also to revoke the appointment of any County Constable as a member of the Town police.
Section 11. The Council of said Town shall have power and authority to make such regulations and enact such ordinances relating to the traffic over and upon the streets, lanes and alleys of said Town, and the use thereof, and the parking or placing of carts, carriages, automobiles, or obstructions in and upon any of said streets, lanes, alleys or sidewalks, as they shall deem proper, to secure the free and uninterrupted use and employment thereof, and if any person shall violate the regulations and ordinances of the said Council in that behalf, every person so offending shall forfeit and pay to the Treasurer of said Town, for the use of said Town, a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, to be recovered with costs, by the Treasurer of said Town, in the name of the Town of Clayton, before the alderman of the said Town or before any Justice of the Peace residing in said Town, in the same manner as debts of like amount are recoverable by law.
Section 12. That in all cases where any fines, penalties, moneys, debts, damages, or obligations are due and owing to the said Town of Clayton and arising from any of the provisions of this Act, the said fines, penalties, moneys, debts, damages, or obligations, in addition to the remedies herein set forth by this Act for their recovery, may be enforced, collected and recovered by means of attachment process as fully and effectually as any debt or damages may be recovered by virtue of any attachment law of this State.
Section 13. It shall and may be lawful for the Council of said Town to use the jail of Kent County for the purpose of carrying into effect any judgment or sentence pronounced under the provisions of this Act, or for carrying into effect any ordinance or regulation adopted under the provisions of this Act, and it shall be the duty of the keeper of said jail to receive and lock up in said jail any person committed to his custody under the provisions of this Act, or under the provisions of any ordinance of the Council of said Town.
Section 14. The Council of said Town shall have the power and authority to use the money in the Treasury of said Town, or any portion thereof, for the improvement, benefit and ornament thereof, as they may deem advisable. In the general performance of their duties, the acts, doings and determinations of a majority of the Council of said Town shall be as good and binding as the acts, doings and determinations of the whole.
In case of a vacancy or vacancies in the Council of said Town, the remaining members shall fill such vacancy or vacancies within thirty (30) days, if practicable, and while any vacancy or vacancies continue, Council shall not authorize or permit the expenditure of any Town funds in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100) for any one item of expense, except for contracts, salaries, accounts and other obligations contracted, due or created prior to the existence of such vacancy or vacancies.
Section 15. It shall be the duty of the Alderman of said Town and Council of said Town, and of the constables of said Kent County residing in said Town, if duly appointed members of the Town police, and of the town constables, to suppress all riotous, turbulent, disorderly, or noisy assemblages or gatherings of persons in or about any buildings used for any fair, festival, concert, or any other social, literary or religious meeting, or any entertainment whatsoever, or in the streets, lanes, squares or alleys of said Town, at any time or season whatever; to prevent all gatherings whatever which may obstruct or interfere with the free use of the streets or sidewalks, and for this purpose it shall be the duty of any of said constables to seize and arrest any such persons so offending and carry them before the Alderman of said Town, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine the case, and upon conviction before him the Alderman shall sentence any such person so convicted to pay a fine not exceeding Twenty-five dollars and may commit the party to prison for a period not exceeding thirty days, or until said fine and costs shall be paid. It shall be the duty of the Alderman of said Town upon complaint made before him of any such riotous, turbulent or noisy assemblages or gatherings as aforesaid, to issue his warrant to any of the constables aforesaid, commanding him to arrest and bring any such person so offending as aforesaid before him for trial. It shall be the duty of the constables aforesaid, or any one of them, to arrest any drunken or disorderly person they may see on the streets, lanes, alleys of said town, and take such person so arrested before the Alderman of said Town, who shall proceed forthwith to hear and determine the case, and upon conviction before him he shall sentence such person in the same manner and to the same punishment provided in this section for the punishment of persons brought before him for the offenses in this section first enumerated. If on view of the person or persons who may be brought before the Alderman of said Town for violation of this section, it shall appear to the Alderman that in his judgment such person or persons are not in a condition to be heard or tried, he may commit such person to the keeper of the jail of Kent County to wait a trial at a time by him to be fixed; such time shall in no case be more than twenty-four hours from the time of commitment, unless the expiration of the said twenty-four hours would be on the Lord's Day, and then not later than ten o'clock on the Monday morning following.
The fee to the Alderman of said Town for the trial of any cause under this section shall be one dollar, and to the constable making the arrest one dollar. In case of a commitment the constable shall receive an additional fee of one dollar, and the keeper of said jail shall be entitled to receive the same compensation for the board of the said prisoner as shall be allowed by the Levy Court for the board of prisoners of Kent County.
Section 16. The Alderman of said Town, the Council of said Town, and the Town constables shall have power and authority to suppress, extinguish and prevent all bonfires within the limits of the said Town, and to suppress and prevent the firing of guns or pistols or the setting off of fire crackers, or other fireworks, or the making and throwing of fire-balls, within the limits of said Town, and the Council of said Town may, by ordinance or ordinances, impose fines and penalties upon the persons violating the provisions of this section, and may provide for the collection of such fines and penalties so imposed.
Section 17. The Council of said Town is hereby authorized and required to prohibit the use, maintenance or establishment of any building or structure wherein any cattle, sheep or swine are now, or may hereafter be slaughtered, and to further prohibit any offal or refuse matter from any such building or structure being brought within the limits of said Town under a penalty of not less than Ten Dollars, nor more than twenty-five dollars, to cause all obstructions and nuisances that may at any time be and exist within the limits of said Town, whether in the streets, lanes or alleys, or on sidewalks, or in any other place within the limits aforesaid, to be removed and abated. The Council of said Town, or a majority of them, may proceed, either on their own view or upon complaint of any other citizen, in writing, stating the character of the obstruction or nuisance, and where the same exists. If the Council of said Town, or a majority of them, either of themselves, or upon such information, or upon view, shall determine that an obstruction or nuisance exists and ought to be removed, they shall give notice, in writing, signed by the President of said Council, or the acting President of said Council, if the President of said Council be absent from the Town or otherwise be incapacitated from acting, to the person causing the obstruction or nuisance, or who is responsible for its existence or continuance, to remove or abate the same, and if such person shall refuse or neglect for the space of two days after such notice to remove or abate such obstruction or nuisance, Council shall have power and authority to cause such obstruction or nuisance to be removed or abated; and for this purpose Council may issue a warrant in the name of the State of Delaware under the hand of the President of Council, or the acting President, and the seal of the said Town, and directed to any constable of the Town of Clayton, commanding him forthwith to remove or abate such obstruction or nuisance; whereupon the constable to whom the said warrant may be delivered, shall forthwith proceed to remove or abate the same, and for this purpose he shall have full power and authority to enter into and upon any lands and premises within the Town of Clayton, and to take with him such assistants, implements, horses, carts, wagons or other things, as may be necessary and proper, and do and perform all matters and things, right and proper to be done for the removal of such obstruction or the abatement of such nuisance.
The costs and damages of all the proceedings, shall be determined and adjudged by Council, and if the same be not paid to the Treasurer of said Town for the use of the Town by the person causing the obstruction or nuisance, or who is responsible for its existence or continuance, within ten days after a bill stating the amount of such cost and damages shall have been presented to such person, then Council may proceed to collect the same out of the goods and chattels of such person by warrant issued to the Treasurer of said Town in the same manner as provided in Section 8 of this Act, for the collection of the expenses of any paving, graveling, etc., and the Treasurer of said Town, upon the receipt of such warrant, shall have all powers to sell the goods and chattels of such person conferred and shall proceed in the same manner as directed by said Section 8 of this Act, on warrants directed to him under said section to collect the expense of paving, graveling, etc., except that nothing in this section contained shall confer any power upon the Treasurer of said Town to sell any land and tenements. If the person causing such obstruction or nuisance, or who is responsible for its existence or continuance, shall neglect or refuse to remove or abate the same for the space of two days after such notice aforesaid, he shall, in addition to the provisions hereinbefore in this section in that behalf contained, forfeit and pay to the Treasurer of said Town for the use of the Town a sum not less than five dollars and not more than twenty-five dollars and five dollars additional for each and every day such obstruction or nuisance shall continue unremoved or unabated after the expiration of the two days' notice as aforesaid, to be recovered with costs of suit, in the name of the Town of Clayton before the Alderman of said Town or any Justice of the Peace residing in said Town, as debts of like amount are recoverable. In ascertaining the amount of the judgment the person before whom the case is heard and determined shall compute the time beginning with and including the day following the expiration of the said two days' notice up to and including the day on which judgment is rendered if the obstruction or nuisance be then not removed or abated, or if then removed or abated up to and exclusive of the day on which such obstruction or nuisance was removed or abated and five dollars for each such day shall be added to the initial fine and judgment rendered accordingly.
If the amount of the judgment, exclusive of costs, will exceed two hundred dollars, the case shall not be cognizable before the Alderman or Justice of the Peace, but in such case suit in the name of the Town of Clayton may be brought in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County. These last provisions shall be cumulative and additional to the provisions herein-before in this Section contained.
Section 18. If any member of the Town police 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 it shall be the duty of the Council of said Town to present him to the Grand Jury of Kent County, and upon conviction thereof by indictment he shall be fined in a sum not less than ten nor more than two 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.
Section 19. The Treasurer of the said Town, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall be sworn or affirmed faithfully, honestly and diligently to perform the duties of his said office, which oath or affirmation may be administered to him by the President of Council, or by any member thereof, or by any Judge, Justice of the Peace, or Notary Public. He shall before entering upon the duties of his office, give bond to the Town of Clayton with sufficient surety to be approved by Council in the penal sum of at least three thousand dollars ($3,000.00), conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, and for the payment to his successor in office of all sums of money belonging to said Town which may remain in his hands upon the settlement of his accounts, to which said bond and condition there shall be annexed a warrant of attorney for the confession of judgment for said penalty. The premiums upon said bond, and upon any other bond required under this Charter of any of the officers and employees, of the Town of Clayton, shall be paid out of the general funds in the Treasury of said Town. The said Treasurer shall pay all orders drawn on him by order of Council, and signed by the President thereof, out of any moneys in his hands belonging to said Town. He shall, at each regular meeting of Council submit a report, in writing, of all receipts and disbursements, which shall be entered in the minutes of said meeting. He shall make such settlements of his accounts from time to time, as shall be required by Council, and shall make final settlement annually on or before the Second Monday in April.
Section 20. At the regular meeting of Council on the second Monday in May in each year, there shall be appointed an Assessor, who shall be a freeholder and a citizen of the Town of Clayton, but no person then serving as member of Council shall be eligible to the office of Assessor during the term of his office as a member of Council. The assessor shall receive such reasonable compensation for his services as shall be determined by the Town Council.
Council at the same meeting in May shall also appoint a Town Clerk and a Town Tax Collector who shall be one and the same person and who shall be a resident of the Town of Clayton but who need not be a freeholder and who shall receive such compensation as Council shall determine, and in addition to the collection of Town taxes, he shall collect all water and sewer rents, electric accounts, and all other accounts due the Town of Clayton, shall keep all Town records and shall perform such other services in the maintenance of the Town office and otherwise as Council shall from time to time prescribe. The term of such Clerk and Collector shall be one year from the second Monday in May and such officer shall not be removed during any term except for cause and after a hearing before Council.
Council may from time to time and for such period or periods as it deems best, appoint a Delinquent Tax Collector, who may or may not be a resident of the Town of Clayton, and Council may require such bond as it deems proper. Such Delinquent Tax Collector shall serve during the pleasure of Council and shall have all the powers while in office as are vested in the Town Tax Collector and shall receive such compensation as Council may determine. Such Delinquent Tax Collector, at the discretion of Council, may also be empowered by Council to collect any and all other moneys and accounts, in addition to taxes, in arrears and due the Town of Clayton.
Section 21. The Town Council may fix the sum to be assessed upon each citizen residing in said Town, above the age of twenty-one years, as well those owning as those not owning real estate within the limits of said Town; but the sum so to be fixed shall be one and the same for every class and description of citizens.
Section 22. Council is hereby authorized and empowered to levy and collect from the taxables of said Town according to the terms and provisions of this Act such sums as may be deemed by them necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, clear of all delinquencies and expenses of collection. Provided, nevertheless, that the, citizens of the Town may assemble in Town meeting at any time during the year to determine whether any additional sum or sums shall be levied and collected for any specific purpose or purposes; notice of which meeting, the place of meeting and, the special purpose or purposes for which said additional sum or sums are desired having been published by Council in five public places in the Town for at least ten days immediately prior to the time of said meeting. At said meeting a resolution or resolutions shall be prepared stating explicitly the additional sum or sums needed or desired, and the specific purpose or purposes to which the said sum or sums shall be applied. The qualified voters of the Town shall then proceed to vote yea or nay, by ballot, upon said resolution or resolutions, and the result shall be certified to Council; and if a majority of those voting shall approve of said resolution or resolutions then Council shall levy and collect said additional sum or sums and apply the same for the purpose or purposes specified; and if more has been levied and collected than was necessary for the purpose or purposes named or specified, the residue shall be carried into the treasury of the Town for general purposes.
Section 23. It shall be the duty of the Assessor of said Town, annually, to make a true, just and impartial valuation and assessment of all the real estate within said Town, and also an assessment of all citizens residing in said town above the age of twenty-one years, as well those owning as those not owning real estate within the limits of said Town, and also the personal property of such citizens subject to county assessment and taxation; also, if required by Council, to ascertain the number of dogs within the said Town and assess the owner or keeper of a dog or dogs, one dollar for each male dog and two dollars for each female dog. The said Assessor shall make such assessment and return the same to Council within three weeks next after his appointment. Council shall assess the real estate and person and assessable personal property of the Assessor. Council shall as soon as conveniently may be after receiving said assessment list, cause a full and complete transcript of said assessment list to be prepared and hung up in the post office, or such other public and convenient place as Council may select in said Town, where it shall remain for at least five days thereafter for public inspection; and Council shall, on the first Monday in June, hold a Court of Appeals, which shall continue open from 7 o'clock P. M., to 9 o'clock P. M., (Eastern Standard Time) of said day, when Council shall hear and determine appeals from the said assessment, and may make correction of, additions to, or alterations in the said assessment. Council may adjourn the Court of Appeals from day to day. Notice of the hanging up of said assessment list, and also at the same time, notice of the time and place of hearing appeals, shall be given by posting such notice in at least five (5) public places in the Town of Clayton for a period of at least five (5) days prior to the first Monday in June, when said appeals are heard.
The determination of Council upon any appeal, or upon any matter relating to such assessment, shall be final and conclusive. No member of Council shall sit upon his own appeal, but the same shall be heard and determined by the other members of Council. After the said valuation and assessment shall be examined and adjusted by Council, all taxes shall be levied, assessed and raised on the real estate, personal property and persons thus valued and assessed, in just and equal proportions, and rates. The fact that any property is without adequate fire protection or is outside of the limits of a proper and satisfactory sewer connection shall be taken into consideration in assessing the value of said property. The Assessor, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall be sworn or affirmed diligently, faithfully and impartially to perform the duties of his office to the best of his ability, knowledge and judgment, which oath or affirmation may be administered to him by the President or any member of Council, or any Judge, Justice of the Peace, or Notary Public.
Section 24. Council, after having ascertained the sum necessary to be raised in the said Town for the purposes of this Act, and after having apportioned the same on the assessment and valuation aforesaid, shall annually on the 15th day of June cause to be delivered to the Town Collector a list, or tax duplicate, containing the names of the taxables as well the owners of real estate as those not owning real estate, and opposite the name of each the amount of the real estate, his poll and assessable personal property, and the tax on the whole valuation and assessment, and the rate per hundred dollars, which list shall be certified by the President of Council. The Collector immediately after receiving said list, shall proceed to collect the taxes rated and contained in said list, and in collecting the same shall have all the powers conferred by law on the Receiver of Taxes for Kent County. All taxes shall be due and payable on the First day of July of each year and five (5%) per centum discount shall be allowed on all taxes paid in the month of July of the calendar year the taxes are levied, but no discount shall be allowed nor any penalty added for payment during the months of August and September of the calendar year the taxes are levied, and upon all taxes unpaid on and after the first day of October of the calendar year the taxes are levied penalty shall be added at the rate of one (1%) per centum thereof for each month and until such tax is paid. The Town Clerk and Collector, before entering upon the duties his office, shall give bond to the Town of Clayton with sufficient surety to be approved by Council in the penal sum of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and the payment to the Treasurer of said Town of all moneys collected by him belonging to said Town and for the settlement of his accounts with the Treasurer of said Town in the month of April next following his appointment, and at such other times as Council may require, to which said bond and condition there shall be annexed a warrant of attorney for the confession of judgment for said penalty.
The provisions of Article 6 of Chapter 79 of the Revised Code of Delaware of 1935 shall be deemed and held to apply to all taxes laid and imposed under the provisions of this Act except that the lien for town taxes in the Town of Clayton shall be and remain a lien for the period of three (3) years from the date prescribed by this Act for the delivery of the duplicate, or assessment list, of said Town to the Collector thereof, and no longer.
Section 25. That in addition to the power hereinbefore given to the Collector of Town taxes appointed for the Town of Clayton, it shall and may be lawful for the Collector of the Town of Clayton, after demand made by him upon the person against whom a tax may be assessed, either poll, personal or real property, for the payment of the tax assessed, and the failure of said taxable to pay the same on said demand, to give written notice to any person or persons residing in Kent County whom he may suppose to have in his or their possession any goods, chattels, rights, credits, moneys, or wages belonging to or owing to said taxable, stating the amount of taxes due from said delinquent taxable, and if the person served with notice, as aforesaid, shall refuse or neglect for thirty days after such notice to file a statement with the said Collector, giving in detail the goods, chattels, rights, credits, moneys or wages in his hands belonging to said delinquent taxable and to deliver the same to the Collector, or to pay into the hands of the Collector so much money, as will satisfy said Town of Clayton tax due and owing to said Town of Clayton from said delinquent taxable, and all costs incurred in and about the collecting of said Town of Clayton taxes from said delinquent, the Collector may proceed by suit in the name of the Town of Clayton, before any Justice of the Peace in the Town of Clayton, or elsewhere in Kent County, against any person notified as aforesaid and failing as hereinbefore provided, and may recover against him, her or them a judgment for the amount of the Town of Clayton taxes due from said delinquent taxable, and all costs. The costs in any such proceeding shall be the same as those fixed by law in a civil action for debt. The process, mode of trial, right of appeal and form of proceeding shall be as prescribed in Chapter 121 of the 1935 Revised Code of this State. The cost for serving the written notice shall be the same as now provided by law in cases of attachment. The oath of the Collector shall be sufficient evidence of the demand on the taxable and of the service of notice upon and refusal and neglect of the person in whose hands were or supposed to be goods, chattels, rights, credits, moneys or wages.
Section 26. That the Town Council of said Town shall have the power, in its discretion, by ordinance duly enacted or by resolution duly adopted, to release, relieve and exempt the real estate, not exceeding five (5) acres, and/or the personal property, of any person, firm, association or corporation within the corporate limits of the Town of Clayton, upon which real estate any manufacturing plant or other industrial development or improvements shall be made or erected for the employment of labor, skilled or otherwise, or any real estate upon which any buildings are now erected and which after the approval of this Act shall be used for any manufacturing or industrial purposes, not before carried on therein, from any and all municipal taxes, water rents, sewer rents, or charges for electric current, or any of them, for a period not in excess of ten (10) years from the enactment of such ordinance or the adoption of such resolution.
Section 27. The Secretary of Council, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall be sworn or affirmed to faithfully, honestly and diligently perform the duties of said office, which oath or affirmation may be administered by the President of Council, by any member of Council, or by the Alderman, any Justice of the Peace, or any Notary Public.
It shall be the duties of the Secretary of said Town to keep a true and complete record of all of the proceedings of Council at all meetings held by them and to post the names of all candidates for election as members of Council in three (3) public places in said Town at least five (5) days before the day of election and to do and perform such other matters and things as may be required by this Act or which may be provided by ordinance of Council.
Section 28. The State Highway Department of the State of Delaware shall have charge of the three bridges crossing Greens Branch within the limits of the Town of Clayton, to-wit: at Basset Street, at Rodney Street and on the road leading from Clayton Public Schools to the Kenton road. The said State Highway Department shall keep said bridges, and all appurtenances thereto, in good order and repair and when necessary shall rebuild the same. Said State Highway Department shall bear all expense of maintaining and rebuilding said bridges.
Section 29. That Council of the Town of Clayton is authorized and empowered upon petition, as hereinafter provided, to pave, gutter, curb and grade the streets of the Town of Clayton, or so many of such streets, or such parts thereof, as may be selected for that purpose, and, also, to build and improve the sewers and conduits in any of said streets selected to be paved as aforesaid, and to provide funds for the payment of the costs, or part of the cost of such improvements, as hereinafter set forth.
Whenever a majority of the property owners owning property abutting on any street of the said the Town of Clayton, or on any section of a street, between intersecting streets, shall petition Council to pave or improve said street, or section thereof, it shall be the duty of Council, and it is hereby authorized and; directed, to pave, gutter, curb and grade suet' street or section thereof, under the provisions of this Act. Provided, however, that Council shall not be required to pave any street or section thereof, unless there are sufficient funds in the Treasury of the said Town, or otherwise available, to pay one-third of the cost of such improvement; and provided, further, that said petition shall be deemed sufficient when signed by a majority of such property owners, residing in The Town of Clayton.
Whenever any street, or section thereof, is paved or repaved after the passage of this Act, or is graded, curbed, guttered, or sewered, Council shall assess against the properties abutting upon the street, or the section thereof which is improved, under the provisions of this Act, not exceeding two-thirds of the whole cost of making such improvement, except the cost of grading and paving the intersections of streets. Provided, however, that Council shall make provision for a separate connection of each property, with the sewer, extending such connection to the curb line of the street, and that the entire cost of such connection shall be paid by the owners of abutting properties.
Whenever any improvement, made under the provisions of this Act, is completed, Council aforesaid shall cause to be prepared a list showing the names of the property owners, the lineal feet of property of each abutting on the street or section thereof improved, the amount proposed to be assessed against each lot or parcel of land and the total cost of any such improvement. Upon the completion of such list, a copy of the same shall be hung up for at least ten days in some public place in the Town of Clayton for the inspection of the public, and notice of the completion of said list and of the place where the same is hung up for inspection, as aforesaid, shall be given to all parties in interest by advertisement in a newspaper published in the Town of Clayton in at least two successive issues of said paper, or if there be no newspaper published in the Town of Clayton in some other newspaper published in Kent County; said advertisement shall also state the time and place, when and where Council will hear any objection, which may be made against any assessment, as aforesaid. The time of the meeting for the hearing of objections, as aforesaid, shall be not earlier than one week nor later than four 'weeks from the date of the last issue of the newspaper containing the advertisement aforesaid. The place of said meeting shall be in Council Chamber of the Town of Clayton, or some other convenient room in said Town. Council shall sit to hear any objection to the assessment aforesaid, at the place advertised, from one o'clock to four o'clock in the afternoon (Eastern Standard Time) on the day designated and may adjourn from day to day, if necessary. At said session Council shall make such alterations and corrections of the assessment as it shall deem proper and in accord with the provisions of this Act.
The determination of Council at any such session shall be final and conclusive. A copy of the assessment list as corrected as aforesaid shall be hung up for at least ten days in the same place in which the copy of the original list had been displayed. At the expiration of the ten days aforesaid the assessment list as corrected, as aforesaid, shall be certified by Council, under the hands of its President and Secretary, to the Collector of Taxes of the Town of Clayton for collection, and from the date of such certification, the several amounts shown upon such list as assessed against the properties shall be a lien upon the property upon which the assessment is made, and such lien shall have priority of any lien, encumbrance or conveyance, except taxes or prior liens for public improvements. No error or mistake in regard to the name of an owner shall be held to invalidate any assessment, and it shall be sufficient if the name of the last owner, as shown by the record in the office of the Recorder of Deeds for Kent County at the time of the notice required in this Section to be published in a newspaper, is shown upon such assessment list.
All assessments made in pursuance of this Section shall be based upon, the lineal feet of property actually abutting upon that section of the street improved, and each lineal foot of such property, affected within the same block or square shall be assessed alike, regardless of the depth, width or other dimensions of such property. All assessments so made shall be due upon the date of the certification by Council to the Collector of Taxes of the Town of Clayton, as aforesaid, but shall not be collectible until the expiration of thirty days from said date. The payment of the amount of any assessment within the said thirty days shall be accepted by the Collector of Taxes as a full satisfaction of such assessment. On all assessments remaining unpaid after the expiration of said thirty days from the date of the certifying, as aforesaid, interest, at the rate of six per centum per annum, computed from the date of certifying, as aforesaid, shall be added. Any property owner may, at his election to be expressed in writing to Council, aforesaid, within thirty days after the date of certifying, as aforesaid, pay his assessment in eight equal installments, together with interest, as above stated; the first of said installments, with accrued interest, shall be due, payable and collectible at the expiration of three months from the date of the certifying aforesaid, and thereafter one of said installments, with accrued interest, shall become due, payable and collectible at the expiration of every three months until all of said installments, with accrued interest, have been fully paid. Any property owner may have the right at any installment period, to pay the balance due on his assessment in full or any part thereof not less than one installment, with accrued interest thereon. All assessments shall be due and payable to the Collector of Taxes of the Town of Clayton at the town office in the Town of Clayton, the designation of such office to be given notice of by said Collector of Taxes by advertisement in at least two issues of the newspaper published in the Town of Clayton, or if there be no newspaper published in the Town of Clayton then in some other newspaper published in Kent County, the date of the last issue of which paper shall be at least five days before the expiration of thirty days from the date of the certifying of the assessments by Council to the Collector of Taxes, as hereinbefore set forth.
If any property owner, who has signified his desire to pay his assessment in installments, as hereinbefore set forth, shall omit to pay any of said installments when the same shall become due and payable as aforesaid, then and in such event the entire assessment or so much thereof as shall then be unpaid, together with accrued interest, shall immediately become and be due, payable and collectible.
If any property owner, who has not elected to pay his assessment in installments, as hereinbefore set forth, shall have omitted to pay the said assessment at the expiration of the thirty days from the date of the certification of the assessment, as aforesaid, and if any property owner, who shall have elected to pay his assessment in installments, shall omit to pay any of the said installments, when the same shall become due and payable, as aforesaid, then and in every such case it shall be the duty of the President of Council to issue his warrant directed to the Collector of Taxes of the said town, commanding him to levy the entire assessment or so much thereof as shall then remain unpaid, together with accrued interest and all costs thereon, upon the property affected by said assessment, which said property, or any part thereof, shall be sold by the said Collector of Taxes of the Town of Clayton at public auction after advertisement in two successive issues of some newspaper published in the said Town of Clayton, or if there be no newspaper published in the Town of Clayton then in some other newspaper published in Kent County, and a deed from the President of the Town Council of the Town of Clayton shall convey to the purchaser of such property, a full and complete title to said property in fee simple, or otherwise, as if the same were executed by the owner thereof.
And it shall be the duty of said Collector of Taxes out of the purchase money of the said property so sold as aforesaid to pay all costs arising from said process and sale to the parties entitled thereto respectively and to retain the amount of such assessment with accrued interest thereon, as aforesaid. The residue of said purchase money shall be immediately deposited by the said Collector of Taxes in The Clayton Bank and Trust Company to the credit of the owner of the property so sold.
Section 30. The Town Council of the Town of Clayton shall have full power and authority to erect, construct, equip, maintain and operate a plant or plants for the generating and manufacture of electric current for the use of the inhabitants of said Town and for lighting of streets, squares, lanes, alleys and public buildings of said Town and shall have full power and authority to construct, erect, maintain, improve, extend, equip and operate on and over the streets, lanes and alleys of said Town and where necessary, over any other property in said Town, such transmission and distribution lines for said current as may be necessary to properly light said Town and to furnish proper connections for electric current to the properties of the inhabitants thereof who may desire the same. The Council shall have power to make contracts for the purchase of heat, light, sewer, water and electric current with any responsible persons, firms, or corporations and to distribute the same to users within or without the said Town with the same full powers as if such heat, light, power, water or electric current has been generated or manufactured by the said Town as herein expressly provided for by this Act. Council shall grant to all persons whosoever in said Town the privilege of using the electric current conveyed and distributed by said Town in such manner and on such terms and conditions and at such rates and for such amounts as to the Council may seem just and proper and shall enact such ordinances relating to electric current, its generation and distribution in said Town and the regulation of the connection thereof with the properties of individuals in said Town and its general management and control, as Council shall from time to time deem advisable. Council may at its option transmit electric current from said Town to places and properties outside of the Town limits upon such terms, charges and conditions as it shall deem advisable.
The Town Council shall also have full power and authority, at any regular or special meeting, by a majority vote, to enact ordinances or adopt resolutions granting franchises to any responsible persons, firms, associations or corporations, and for such terms of years as Council shall deem advisable to use the present and future streets, squares, alleys and lanes of the said Town for purposes of furnishing light, heat, power, gas or water, or any or all of them, to said Town and to the persons, firms, or corporations residing therein and for the purpose of transmitting light, heat, power, gas and water, or any or all of them, through, over, across or under said streets, squares, alleys and lanes to points outside of the limits of said Town, any such franchise or franchises to contain such restrictions, conditions and stipulations as shall to said Council seem wise; and said Council, by a majority vote, at any regular or special meeting, shall also have full power and authority to enter into contracts with any responsible persons, firms, associations or corporations for the furnishing of light, heat, power, gas or water or any or all of them, or for the furnishing of electric current, either at wholesale or retail, to said Town and to persons, firms, and corporations residing therein, or adjacent thereto.
Section 31. The Town Council of the Town of Clayton is hereby vested with full power and authority to provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a sewer system for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the said Town, on, over, under or through the lands of any person, firm, association or corporation. The Council shall have power to enact ordinances, rules and regulations regarding the sewers and the sewer system of the Town and the use thereof, and the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, and to fix fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the said sewers or sewer system of the Town. The Council may, at its option, furnish sewer facilities to places and properties outside of the Town limits and upon such terms, charges and conditions as it shall deem advisable. The Council may require any property in said Town, for which there is an available sewer, to be connected with the sewer system, and may compel the owner of such property to pay the cost of such connection and the tapping fee therefor by the same method of procedure as is provided for in Section 17 of this Act.
The Council may, by condemnation proceedings, take private land, or the right to use private land, under, over or on the surface thereof, for the proper operation or extension of the sewers and sewer system of the Town. The method of procedure by condemnation under this Section shall be the same as prescribed in Section 6 of this Act, for the opening and laying out of new streets.
Section 32. The Town Council of the Town of Clayton is hereby vested with full power and authority to provide for the Town of Clayton an ample supply of pure water and to purchase, lease, erect, contract, maintain, operate and control wells, reservoirs, pumping stations, water mains, fire hydrants and all other instruments for the collection, storage, conveyance and distribution of water on, over, under or through the lands of any person, firm, association or corporation. The Council shall have power to enact ordinances, rules and regulations in regard to the use, for public or private purposes, of water furnished by the Town, and the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, and to fix fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to, or interference with the Water System of the Town. The Council may, at its option, furnish water from the Town system to places and properties outside the Town limits upon such terms, charges and conditions as it shall deem advisable.
The Council may, by condemnation proceedings, take private land, or the right to use private land, under, over or on the surface thereof, for the proper operation or extension of the water system. The method of procedure by condemnation under this Section shall be the same as provided for in Section 6 of this Act for the opening and laying out of new streets.
Section 33. The present Alderman, Treasurer and Collector, and Town Constables shall continue to hold their respective offices until the second Monday in May, A. D. 1937, at which time their successors shall be elected or appointed, as the case may be, as provided by this Act.
Section 34. That nothing in this Act shall be deemed to repeal or invalidate the provisions of Chapter 134, Volume 30, Laws of Delaware, or the provisions of Chapter 135, Volume 30, Laws of Delaware, or the provisions of Chapter 131, Volume 33, Laws of Delaware, or the provisions of Chapter 98, Volume 35, Laws of Delaware, or the provisions of Chapter 96, Volume 39, Laws of Delaware, or the provisions of Chapters 154, 155 and 156 of Volume 40, Laws of Delaware, or the provisions of any other statutes of the State' of Delaware, except in so far as any of the provisions of said Chapters or of said statutes may be in conflict with the provisions of this Act.
That all ordinances, heretofore made by the Town Council of the said Town of Clayton, except in so far as the same have been repealed, are hereby ratified and confirmed, and all debts, liabilities and obligations due and owing to the said town, and all actions, right of action, or rights, whatsoever, on behalf of the said Town of Clayton are hereby declared to be unaffected or unimpaired by the provisions of this Act, and all the powers and authority now appertaining and belonging to any office or officer of said town are hereby retained unimpaired, so long as any such office shall continue.
Section 35. This Act shall be deemed and taken to be a public Act.
Approved April 26, 1937.