Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 60.

OF SALARIES.

AN ACT requiring and enforcing payment to the County Treasurer of all fees of certain offices, regulating accounts of fees and audits thereof, and fixing the compensation of such County Officers and of their Deputies and Clerks.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

Section 1. That on and after the expiration of the terms of office of the following county officers in each of the counties of this State, to wit, Clerks of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, Prothonotaries, Recorders, Registers of Wills, Registers in Chancery, Clerks of the Orphans Court and Sealers of Weights and Measures, all the fees, costs, allowances and other perquisites which may thereafter be taxable and paid to any person holding any of said offices for any official service rendered by any of the above named officers, shall be for the sole use of the County of such officer, and when received shall be paid to the county treasurer of the county of such officer; but this Section shall not apply to any fees, costs, allowances or other perquisites due to any predecessor in office for any official service rendered by such predecessor prior to the time when this Act shall take effect.

Section 2. That every Clerk of the Peace, Sheriff, Coroner, Prothonotary, Recorder, Register of Wills, Register in Chancery, Clerk of the Orphans Court and Sealers of Weights and Measures, in each of the counties of the State shall, after the time aforesaid, collect all fees, costs and allowances by law taxable by or payable to such officer without any deduction, abatement or remission; except fees; costs and allowances payable by the county of such officers and shall keep in a properly indexed book, to be known as a "Fee Book", provided by the County, an itemized account showing the amount of each fee, item of cost and allowance by law taxable by or payable to such officer and the service for which the same was rendered or charged, the date of payment and the name of the person paying the same; and on the first secular day in each and every month shall file with the county treasurer and with the Levy Court of his county an account of all fees, costs and allowances received by him in the preceding month, which account shall be so itemized that they may be compared with the fees, costs and allowances as entered in the said Fee Book, and the correctness of the accounts so rendered shall be verified by the affidavit of the officer rendering the same; and each of said officers shall also, on the first secular day in each month, pay over to the said county treasurer all the fees, costs and allowances so received from any source, which shall be payable to the county treasurer as hereinabove provided, but this Section shall not require the payment to the county treasurer of any fees, costs and allowances received for any official service rendered by any other officer than those named in this Section.

Section 3. That the said county officers mentioned in Section 1 of this Act, and each of them, shall be, and they are hereby made, liable upon their respective official bonds for the payment to the county treasurer of the county of such officer of all the fees which they shall collect respectively; and all the official bonds to be entered into by them shall contain the following additional condition: "and if the said shall truly and without delay pay over to the county treasurer all the fees which it shall be his duty to collect and which are to be paid to the county treasurer." The Levy Court of each county shall cause proceedings to be brought on any of said bonds for the breach of the foregoing condition for the recovery of the penalty therein.

Section 4. That the fees mentioned in Sections 2 and 3 hereof to be collected by the several officers therein mentioned, shall be all fees mentioned and set forth in Chapter 125 of the Revised Code of the State of Delaware as amended, and all other fees now by law payable or to become payable to such several officers.

Section 5. That the county comptroller of New Castle County shall, during the months of January and July in each year, audit, inspect and examine the books, accounts, papers, records and dockets of the several county officers of New Castle County mentioned in the first Section of this Act, and ascertain the amounts clue to the county in fees; and he shall during the months aforesaid, report in writing to the Levy Court, which shall cause the same to be entered at large upon their minutes and published in pamphlet form for distribution.

Section 6. The county treasurer of Kent and Sussex Counties shall, during the months of January and July in each year, audit, inspect and examine the books, accounts, papers, records and dockets of the several county officers mentioned in the first Section of this Act, in their respective counties and ascertaining the amounts due the county in fees; and he shall, during the months aforesaid, report in writing to the Levy Court, of his county which shall cause the same to be entered at large upon their minutes and published in pamphlet form for distribution.

Section 7. That on and after the expiration of the terms of office of the following county officers in each of the counties in this State, namely Clerks of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, Prothonotaries, Recorders, Registers of Wills, Registers in Chancery and Clerks of the Orphans Court, the said officers shall be paid, in lieu of all fees, costs, allowances, perquisites and other compensation of every kind for performing every and all the services, acts and duties of their respective offices, a sum equal to ten per centum of all fees and costs paid by them respectively to the county treasurer of their respective counties as hereinabove provided and required, and also the following annual salaries, payable in equal monthly installments by the county treasurer of their respective counties, namely, in New Castle County the Clerk of the Peace shall receive Four Thousand dollars; the sheriff, Three Thousand and Six Hundred dollars; the Coroner, One Thousand and Two Hundred dollars; the Prothonotary, Three Thousand and Six Hundred dollars; the Recorder. Three Thousand and Six Hundred dollars; the Register of Wills, Three Thousand and Six Hundred dollars; the Register in Chancery, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars and the Clerk of the Orphans Court, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars.

In Kent County the Clerk of the Peace shall receive One Thousand and Eight Hundred dollars; the Sheriff, Two Sheriff, Thousand dollars; the Coroner, One Thousand dollars; the Prothonotary, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars; the Recorder, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars; the Register of Wills, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars; the Register in Chancery, Five Hundred dollars and the Clerk of Orphans Court, Five Hundred dollars.

In Sussex County the Clerk of the Peace shall receive County, One Thousand and Eight Hundred dollars; the Sheriff, Two Thousand dollars; the Coroner, Six Hundred dollars; the Prothonotary, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars; the Recorder, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars; the Register of Wills, One Thousand and Five Hundred dollars; the Register in Chancery, Five Hundred dollars and the Clerk of the Orphans Court, Five Hundred dollars.

Section 8. That the officers mentioned in the first Section of this Act may select and employ deputies and Clerks to assist them in the performance of the duties of their offices respectively at the following annual salaries, namely:

In New Castle the Clerk of the Peace may select and employ one deputy at a salary of One Thousand and Two Hundred dollars; and three clerks, each at a salary of Six Hundred dollars; the Sheriff, three deputies, one at a salary of Eight Hundred dollars and two at Six Hundred dollars each; the Coroner, one deputy at a salary of Five Hundred dollars; the Prothonotary, one deputy at a salary of One Thousand dollars; the Recorder, one deputy at a salary of One Thousand dollars and four clerks, each at a salary of Six Hundred dollars; the Register of Wills one deputy at a salary of One Thousand dollars and one clerk at a salary of Six Hundred dollars; the Register in Chancery and Clerk of the Orphans Court may select and employ a deputy at a salary of Six Hundred dollars.

In Kent County and in Sussex County each of said officers, excepting the Coroner, enumerated in this Section, may select and employ one deputy at a salary of Six Hundred dollars.

Section 9. That the salaries of such deputies and clerks shall be paid to them by the county treasurer in equal monthly installments upon the certificate in writing of the officer employing them, that they have faithfully performed their duties during the preceding month.

Section 10. That all such deputies and clerks shall be under the control of the officer by whom they are selected and employed, who shall have the right to discharge any such deputy or clerk at any time, and be responsible for all the official acts, neglects and defaults of all such deputies and clerks as he may employ.

Section 11. That if any of said officers mentioned in the first Section hereof shall fail, neglect or refuse for ten days to pay over, as herein required, all such fees, costs, allowances and prerequisites as he shall receive and collect for use of the County of such officer, or shall fail to collect the fees required to be paid by law, or shall demand or receive from any person any fee or allowance greater than is provided by law, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, besides being liable in a civil action for the amount of such fees, costs, allowances and perquisites as he may have thus illegally withheld; and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than One Thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than one year, or may be both fined and imprisoned, in the discretion of the Court. Whenever any officer is convicted under this Section, it shall operate as a forfeiture of his office and he shall be removed from office by the Governor within ten days from the date of such conviction.

Section 12. The Fee Book mentioned in this Act shall be part of the records of the office for which it is kept and shall be at all times open to inspection and examination.

Section 13. The Sheriff of each county at the end of each month shall present to the County Treasurer an itemized and verified account of all mileage fees taxable by law for serving process and performance of every official duty, and the County Treasurer shall pay the amount thereof to the Sheriff in addition to the compensation hereinabove provided for such officer, and in case a special emergency shall make it necessary for the Sheriff of either county to employ temporarily a greater number of deputies than herein provided for the preservation of peace and good order, the Sheriff may be reimbursed by the Levy Court of his county for sums actually expended for the services of such deputies upon rendering a detailed sworn statement of the occasion for the employment, the term thereof and the amount paid to each deputy and the names of such deputies.

Section 14. That all Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent herewith, and especially Chapters 73, 294 and 335 of Volume 22, of the Laws of Delaware, be and they are hereby repealed from the time when this Act shall go into effect, as herein provided.

Approved April 6, A. D. 1905.