CHAPTER 463
BETHANY BEACH
AN ACT TO CHANGE THE CORPORATE NAME OF "THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE TOWN OF BETHANY BEACH" TO THE "TOWN OF BETHANY BEACH" AND TO ESTABLISH A REVISED CHARTER THEREFOR.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all the Members elected to each Branch thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. NAME AND TERRITORIAL LIMITS
The body politic and corporate in the County of Sussex, State of Delaware, now known as "The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach" shall hereafter be known as the "Town of Bethany Beach."
The boundaries of the Town of Bethany Beach are hereby established and declared to be the same boundaries and limits that have been heretofore surveyed, determined and recorded in the Recorder's Office at Georgetown, County of Sussex, Delaware, as follows :
Beginning at the low water mark of the Atlantic Ocean on the central line of Fifth Street, thence westerly with the said line to the eastern boundary of lands of Alonzo H. Evans ; thence with the said easterly line of said Alonzo H. Evans to the northerly line of the canal right of way known as the "Canal Loop" formerly owned by the Bethany Beach Improvement Company ; thence with the northerly line of said canal right of way to the westerly line of the right of way of the Free Inland Waterway connecting Assawoman Bay with the Delaware Bay; thence with the said line of said Inland Waterway to the northerly line of lands of Hiram James ; thence with said line of Hiram James and the northern line of lands of Henry M. Evans to Muddy Neck Road ; thence with the old Hall and Evans line in a straight line to the low water mark of said Atlantic Ocean; thence to the place of beginning.
Section 2. INCORPORATION AND GENERAL POWERS
A. The inhabitants of the Town of Bethany Beach, within the limits and boundaries set forth in Section 1 of this Act, or within the limits and boundaries hereafter established, shall be and they are hereby created a municipal corporation and body politic in law and equity by the corporate name of the "Town of Bethany Beach" (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the Town"), and under that name shall have perpetual succession ; may have and use a corporate seal, which may be altered, changed, and renewed at pleasure ; may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded in all courts of law and equity in the State of Delaware and elsewhere by said corporate name ; may hold and acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, or by condemnation, real property and personal property within or without its boundaries for any municipal purposes, in fee simple or for lesser estate or interest, and may sell, lease, hold, manage, and control such property as its interest may require, subject, however, to other provisions of this Act. The Town shall have all other powers necessary or appropriate for its government and the preservation of its peace and good order ; and it shall likewise have all other powers necessary or appropriate to provide for its sanitation, beauty, the health, safety, convenience, comfort and well-being of its population, and the protection and preservation of property, public and private. All prosecutions, actions, suits, and proceedings, except as otherwise provided in this Act, shall be brought in the name of the "Town of Bethany Beach".
. The Town shall have power to annex any contiguous territory upon compliance with the provisions of Section 101, Title 22 of the Delaware Code, and to extend and apply to such additional territory laws, ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations in force within the said Town insofar as they may be locally applicable. Before any additional territory shall be annexed to the said Town, the Council shall pass a resolution describing and defining the territory proposed to be annexed and shall give notice that the petition for such annexation has been presented, by causing copies of the said resolution to be posted in at least three (3) public places in the Town ; and, at the end of sixty (60) days after such posting, the Council shall call a special election for the purpose of determining whether
the freeholders of the Town desire that the additional territory be annexed to the Town. Every person qualified, under Section 5-D of this Act, to vote at an annual election shall have the right to vote at the special election. If a majority of voters vote in favor of the annexation of the additional territory, such additional territory shall be a part of the Town. The special election shall be conducted under the supervision of an election board in the manner prescribed in Section 5-C of this Act.
C. The enumeration of particular powers in this Act shall not be held to be exclusive, but, in addition to the powers enumerated, it is intended that the Town shall have, and may exercise, all powers that may be reasonably implied from the enumerated powers which are necessary or appropriate to the exercise of the powers conferred and the performance of the functions prescribed. All powers of the Town shall be exercised as prescribed by this Act, or, if not prescribed herein, by ordinance or resolution of the Town Council.
Section 3. STRUCTURE OF THE GOVERNMENT
A. The government of the Town and the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act, except as otherwise provided in this Act, shall be vested in a Town Council (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the Council"). The Town Council shall consist of seven members, who shall have attained at least the age of twenty-one years and shall have been owners of record in fee simple of real estate in the Town for not less than six (6) months at the time of their nomination and election and against whose property there shall be no due or unpaid taxes, assessments or other charges due to the Town: Provided, that any married man whose wife is qualified as a freeholder of record in the Town to hold the office of Councilman, may be elected as a member of the Council, although he is not the owner in his own right of any real estate within the Town, but no such husband shall hold the office of Councilman at the same time that his wife is a member of the Council. No compensation shall be paid to any member of the Council for services rendered as such member, except as provided in this Act. The members of the Council shall each be entitled to receive for their services as such an annual compensation as fixed by the Council but not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00).
B. The fiscal year of the said Town may be determined by the Council.
Section 4. COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED AS COUNCILMEN
The presently elected Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach are by this Act appointed to serve and to act as members of the Council of the said Town from and after the effective day of this Act until the expiration of the terms for which they were respectively elected as such Commissioners, or until their successors shall have been duly qualified. At the expiration of the term of each Commissioner and thereafter the members of the Council shall be elected for the times and in the manner prescribed in Section 5 of this Act, provided, that if a vacancy occurs in the office of any Councilman before the expiration of the term for which he was elected as Commissioner, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the said term in the manner provided in Section 11 of this Act.
Section 5. ANNUAL ELECTIONS
A. The annual election of Councilmen shall be held on the first Saturday in August of each and every year between the hours of 2:00 P. M. and 6:00 P. M., at such place in the Town as shall be designated by the Council. Due notice of such election shall be given by posting notices thereof in three (3) public places in the Town not less than fifteen (15) days before the day of such election. At the expiration of the terms of office of the present Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach whose terms of office end in an even year, and thereafter every two (2) years, four (4) Councilmen shall be elected for terms of two (2) years each, and at the expiration of the terms of such Commissioners whose terms of office end in an uneven year, and thereafter every two (2) years, three (3) Councilmen shall be elected for terms of two (2) years each.
B. (1) Candidates for the office of Councilman shall be nominated in the following manner: Nominations shall be in writing, shall be signed by the nominee or by three (3) other persons who shall be qualified voters in the Town, and shall be
filed with the Secretary of the Council not later than 7:00 P. M. on the tenth day before the day of the annual election. The said nominations shall be presented to the Council by the Secretary at a meeting of the Council which shall be held not later than 8:00 P. M. on the last day for filing nominations with the Secretary. At the said meeting the Council shall direct the Secretary to post forthwith the names of all qualified, nominated candidates in three (3) public places in the Town, and shall appoint three (3) qualified voters of the Town to serve as an Election Board and shall designate one (1) of the said appointees to act as chairman of the said Board ; (2) the Council shall cause to be printed or typed a sufficient number of ballots to insure that each qualified voter in the Town shall be furnished with a ballot at the polls on the day of the election. The said ballots shall contain the names of all persons who have been nominated and qualified, and said names shall be placed alphabetically upon said ballots under headings designating the office for which they are candidates and, at the opening of the polls on the day of the election, such ballots shall be delivered to the Election Board appointed by the Council.
C. Every election (whether annual, special or a ref erdum) shall be held under the supervision of the Election Board, the members of which shall be the Judges of the elections; but if at the opening of the polls on the day of any election, the regularly appointed persons comprising the Election Board, or any one or more of them, are not present at the opening of the polls, the persons who are entitled to vote and are then present shall appoint, by viva voce vote, a qualified voter or voters to act in the stead of the absent member or members of the Election Board; and the qualified voter or voters so elected viva voce shall continue to act as a Judge or Judges of that particular election in the place and stead of said regular member or members whether or not they appear at the polling place or places after the member or members, elected by viva voce vote, have begun to act. The persons comprising the Election Board, or those acting in their stead, as the case may be, shall be Judges of the election, and shall determine the voting qualifications of the persons who present themselves as voters and the legality of the votes cast. The Election Board shall keep a list of all the persons who vote at the election.
D. Every person not less than twenty-one (21) years of age who has been a freeholder of record in the Town for at least three (3) months immediately preceding the election and against whose property there shall be no due and unpaid taxes, assessments, or other charges due the Town, shall have the right to vote in any annual or special election or on any referendum. The Council may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act, governing the manner in which the votes shall be cast and registered, including voting by proxy, provided, that all proxies shall be duly notarized by the voter giving the same, and shall contain specific directions as to the candidates who shall receive the votes cast or as to the propositions to be voted upon.
E. Upon the close of the election, the votes shall be read and counted publicly, and the person who has the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared duly elected and shall, after qualifying, continue in office for the term for which elected or until his or her successor has been duly elected and has qualified. In the case of a tie vote for any office, the Election Board shall, by a majority vote of the persons serving as such Board, decide which of the candidates so tied shall be declared elected and entitled to receive the certificate of election provided for in Subsection F of this section.
F. The Election Board shall give to each person elected a certificate of election, and shall enter in a book provided for that purpose the minutes of the election and the names of the persons elected. The said Board shall sign the book and deliver the same to the Council. The Council shall preserve the said book and it shall be admissible in evidence in all courts of law and equity. All ballots cast and the records of the election shall be preserved in the custody of the Election Board for a period of fifteen (15) days after the day of the election, and they shall be delivered to the Council and preserved for a longer period if the Council deems such action to be necessary.
Section 6. ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNCIL AND ANNUAL MEETING
ing each year. The members of the Council, relinquishing their office as a result of said annual election, shall serve and function as members of the Council until their newly elected successors have been sworn at the annual meeting as provided in this section.
B. At the annual meeting, the newly elected members of the Council shall assume the duties of their offices. Before entering upon the duties of their offices, the newly elected members shall be sworn, by some person authorized by the Laws of the State of Delaware to administer oaths, to perform faithfully and impartially the duties of the office of Councilman. At such meeting the Council shall organize and shall choose a President from their own number, who shall serve as such during the ensuing year at the pleasure of the Council. The Council shall also choose a Secretary and a Treasurer, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Secretary and the Treasurer may or may not be members of the Council, and may or may not be one and the same person. The Secretary and the Treasurer shall be authorized to receive for their services in those offices such compensation as may be fixed by the Council without regard to the amount they may receive for their services as members of the Council. The President may designate another member of the Council to preside during the temporary absence of the President.
. In case of a vacancy in the office of the President, by death, resignation, or otherwise, the members of the Council may, at any regular or special meeting, choose one of their own number to serve as President during the unexpired portion of the ensuing year.
Section 7. REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL
The Council shall hold regular meetings once a month, which meetings, except as otherwise provided in this Act, shall be held at such times as the Council by resolution may designate. All meetings of the Council shall be held in such place in the Town as the Council may select. In the event of a temporary change in the time or place of the meeting, notice shall be posted a reasonable time prior to the next meeting in some suitable public
place in the Town, stating the new place of meeting selected by the Council and the day and hour of such meeting; and the Secretary of the Council shall give written notice to each member of the Council of the change in the time and place of the meeting by depositing such notices, addressed to each member respectively, in the United States Post Office in the Town of Bethany Beach, at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time set for such meeting.
Section 8. SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL
Special meetings of the Council shall be called by the Secretary upon the written request of the President of the Council or upon the written request of any two (2) members of the Council, stating the day, hour, and place of the special meeting requested and the subject or subjects proposed for consideration thereat. The Secretary shall thereupon give written notice to the President and to each member of the Council of the day, hour, and place of such special meeting and of the subject or subjects proposed to be considered at such meeting. Such notice shall be addressed to the President and the other members of the Council, respectively, and shall be deposited in the United States Post Office in the Town of Bethany Beach at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the time set for such special meeting. No business shall be transacted at a special meeting unless such notice has been addressed and mailed as aforesaid, provided that the mailing of such notice may be waived individually by the President or any other member of the Council in writing prior to or immediately after the convening of such special meeting, and the proper filing of the necessary waiver or waivers shall authorize and make valid the holding of the special meeting. The Council shall have the same power and authority to enact all ordinances and to transact all other business at a special meeting as it might legally do at a regular meeting.
Section 9. QUORUM OF THE COUNCIL
A quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Council shall consist of a majority of all of the members of the Council, but if a less number be present they may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance adopted by the affirmative votes of five (5) members of the Council. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the acts, doings and determinations of a quorum of the Council shall be valid for all purposes.
Section 10. RULES OF ORDER AND JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS
The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and the yeas and nays shall be taken upon every ordinance or resolution considered by the Council and shall be entered in the journal with the text of the ordinance or resolution acted upon.
Section 11. VACANCIES ON THE COUNCIL
In the case of vacancy in the membership of the Council, by death, resignation, or otherwise, the Council shall fill such vacancy for the remainder of the term for which the member was elected, provided, that if a vacancy shall exist in the office of Councilman, the unexpired term of which office shall be for more than one (1) year, the Council shall appoint a qualified person to serve until the next annual election, at which time a qualified person shall be elected to fill the unexpired term of said office in the manner provided in Section 5 of this Act.
Section 12. DISQUALIFICATION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
If any Councilman shall; during his term of office, be convicted of any felony or misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to imprisonment for any term whatever, he shall forthwith be disqualified to act as a member of the Council and his office shall be deemed to be vacant and shall be filled in the manner provided in Section 11 of this Act.
Section 13. CONTRACTS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS
or labor for the use and benefit of the Town with any member of the Council or with any immediate member of his or her family, or with any partnership in which any member of the Council is a partner, or with any corporation in which any member of the Council is a director, officer, or stockholder, or with any firm or company in which any member of the Council is pecuniarily interested, except with the unanimous consent of the entire Council, and without such unanimous consent any such contract shall be absolutely null and void and the Town shall incur no liability whatever thereunder.
A. In addition to the appointment of a Secretary and a Treasurer as provided in Section 6 of this Act, the Council shall appoint a Collector of Taxes, an Assessor, and an Auditor, and may, when it deems it advisable to do so, appoint an Alderman, a Chief Police Officer, and a Town Solicitor. The Council may also appoint any such other officers, including subordinate police officers, employees, and agents of the Town as it deems necessary or appropriate for the proper conduct and management of the Town's business and affairs. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all officers, employees, and agents appointed by the Council shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. Any officer, employee, or agent appointed by the Council may, by order of the Council, be removed from office at any time for sufficient cause or for other reasons, without regard to his term of office.
B. The Council shall, except as otherwise provided by this Act, fix the compensation of all officers, employees, and agents of the Town, and the time and manner of payment. No officer, employee, or agent of the Town shall have, take, or receive from the Town any compensation in any form in addition to the salary or compensation fixed by the Council.
C. The Council shall cause to be kept a full and complete record of all officers, employees, and agents appointed or employed by the Town, containing the names of such officers, employees, and agents, the date and terms of their appointment or employment, the salary or compensation fixed by the Council, and the dates of the termination of their services.
D. (1) The duties of the President of the Council shall be to preside at all meetings of the Council ; to have general superintendence of municipal affairs ; to receive complaints of nuisances and all complaints of violations of laws and ordinances and to present the same to the Council at its first meeting thereafter for action of the Council, and to cause such infractions or violations of the laws or ordinances, as require immediate action, to be proceeded with before the Town Alderman or any Justice of the Peace of Sussex County. Provided, that superintendence or conduct of any specified municipal activity may be vested solely in a committee or appointee where the Council deems it advisable to do so, and in such case the committee or appointee so designated shall be responsible to the Council. (2) The President shall issue and sign all licenses for exhibitions within the Town, and all licenses and permits for any other purpose for which, under the Laws of the State of Delaware or the ordinances of the Town, a license or permit is required. (3) The President of the Council shall sign all warrants on the Treasurer for the payment of any Town money and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by resolution or ordinance of the Council. The President of the Council, by and with the consent of the Council, may appoint a member of the Council to sign warrants on the Treasurer in the absence of the President. (4) The President shall have the same right as other members of the Council to vote on all matters and may at any time designate a member of the Council to preside at a meeting if he desires to make a motion, move or second the adoption of a resolution, or debate any question from the floor, and may thereafter immediately resume his duties as presiding officer.
E. The Secretary shall be a freeholder in the Town and shall be not less than twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of his appointment. He shall record all the proceedings of the Council and shall keep a correct journal of the same in a book to be provided for that purpose. He shall file and keep in a safe place the Seal of the Town, and all books, papers, and documents relative to the affairs of the Town, and shall deliver the same to his successor in office. The Secretary shall attest the Seal of the Town when authorized by the Council and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as may be prescribed by ordinance of the Council. All books, records, papers, and documents in the custody of the Secretary shall always be open for the inspection of the Council and shall be open to public inspection under such regulations as the Council may prescribe.
F. The Treasurer shall be a freeholder of the Town and shall be not less than twenty-one (21) years of age, at the time of his appointment. The Treasurer shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, be sworn faithfully and honestly to perform the duties of his office, which oath shall be administered by a person authorized under the Laws of the State of Delaware to administer oaths. The Treasurer shall also, before entering upon the duties of his office, give a bond to the Town of Bethany Beach in such amount and with such sufficient surety or sureties as shall be approved by the Council, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of this office and for the payment to his successors in office, or to the Town of Bethany Beach, of all sums of money belonging to said Town, which may remain in his hands upon the settlement of his accounts, to which bond and condition shall be annexed a warrant of attorney for the confession of judgment. The Treasurer shall pay all orders drawn on him by order of the Council and signed by the President thereof, out of any moneys in his hands belonging to the Town. He shall settle his accounts with the Council annually by the end of the fiscal year and at such other times as the Council may require.
G. (1) The Collector of Taxes shall be a resident of the Town of Bethany Beach and shall be above the age of twenty-one (21) years at the time of his appointment. (2) Before entering upon the duties of his office, the Collector of Taxes shall be sworn by some person authorized under the Laws of the State of Delaware to administer oaths faithfully to perform the duties of his office. The Collector of Taxes shall also, before entering upon the duties of his office, give a bond to the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware, in such amount and with such sufficient surety or sureties as shall be approved by the Council, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and the payment to the Treasurer of the Town of all moneys collected by him belonging to the Town from taxes, water rents, and all other revenues and sources, and for the settlement of his accounts with the Treasurer of the Town at the end of each fiscal year, and at such other times as the Council may require, to which bond and condition shall be annexed a warrant of attorney for confession of judgment. (3) It shall be the duty of the Collector of Taxes to collect all Town Taxes, water rents, and other revenues and money of the Town required by this Act or any ordinance of the Council and to pay the same to the Treasurer of the Town without delay.
H. The assessor shall be a freeholder of the Town and shall have attained at least the age of twenty-one (21) years at the time of his appointment. Before entering upon the duties of his office he shall be sworn by some person authorized by the Laws of the State of Delaware to administer oaths to perform the duties of his office with fidelity and without favor. It shall be his duty to make a fair and impartial assessment of all real property subject to taxation situated within the Town, provided, however, that the real property owned by the Assessor shall be assessed only by the Council.
. The Auditor shall have attained at least the age of twenty-one years. It shall be his duty to audit the accounts of the Town and all of its officers whose duty involves the collection, custody, or payment of the moneys of the Town. He shall also audit the books of the Alderman and the records of all fines, penalties, and costs imposed or collected pursuant to any judgment, order, or decree made. The Auditor shall, on or before the last business day in the month of September, make and deliver a detailed report of all accounts, records, and books examined and audited by him, and true copies of said report shall be posted in three public places in the Town. The Auditor, in the performance of his duties, shall have access to all records of the Council and all records of the officers of the Town. The Council may employ such clerks or accountants as in its judgment may be necessary to assist the Auditor in the performance of his duties.
A. (1) The Alderman 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 committed within the limits of the Town so far as to arrest and hold to bail, or fine and imprison offenders ; of all fines, penal-
ties, and forfeitures prescribed by this Act or any ordinance enacted hereunder, or prescribed by any other law of the State of Delaware and of all neglects, omissions or defaults of the Chief Police Officer or any other Town officer, agent or employee. Provided, that the Alderman shall impose no fine or penalty in excess of that fixed by ordinances and shall not commit to prison for a longer term than thirty (30) days. The jails of Sussex County may be used for imprisonment under the provisions of this Act and ordinances made thereunder, provided that the Town shall pay for the board of persons committed for breaches of ordinances which are not breaches of the general law. (2) The Alderman shall also have jurisdiction in suits of a civil nature, for the collection of taxes and water rents, and for the recovery of amounts due for the construction of sidewalks, gutters, curbs, pavements, water mains or sewers, and for expenses of abatement of nuisances, and all other matters which may arise in the proper government and control of the Town under the provisions of this Act ; and within his jurisdiction he shall have all the powers and authority, and shall be subject to all the limitations of a Justice of the Peace of Sussex County, except as herein otherwise provided ; and his fees shall be the same as those of a Justice of the Peace for like services. For any service or duty for which no fee is provided by law, such fee shall be established by ordinance of the Council. (3) Upon the expiration of his term of office, or in case of resignation or removal from office, the Alderman shall forthwith deliver to his successor all books, papers, documents, and other things belonging or appertaining to his office, and shall pay over to the Treasurer of the Town all moneys in his hands belonging to the Town. Upon neglect or failure to make such delivery or payment within five (5) days after he ceases to hold the office of Alderman, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or he may receive both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the Court. (4) At every regular monthly meeting of the Council, the Alderman shall report in writing all fines imposed by him, and all fines and penalties and other money received by him during the preceding month belonging to the Town. He shall pay all such moneys to the Treasurer within ten days after making such report to the Council ; and for failure to make report to the Council or failure to make payment to the Treasurer within such ten (10) days, he shall, upon conviction in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, receive the same punishment as that provided in the preceding paragraph of this Section. (5) The Alderman shall keep a docket in which a record of all of his official acts shall be entered, which shall be open to public inspection and examination at all times.
K. The Town Solicitor shall be a member of the Bar of Sussex County, Delaware. It shall be his duty to give legal advice to the Council and other officers of the Town, and to perform such other legal services as may be required of him by the Council. He shall receive for his services such compensation as the Council may deem appropriate.
L. (1) The Chief Police Officer shall be subject to the direction of the Council, and the Council shall from time to time make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for his control and demeanor. The Chief Police Officer shall preserve peace and good order, and shall compel obedience within the Town limits to the ordinances of the Town and the Laws of the State of Delaware. He shall have such other duties as the Council shall from time to time prescribe, and shall be entitled to the same fees and costs as a Constable of Sussex County, in addition to such compensation as may be allowed by the Council. (2) It shall be the duty of the Chief Police Officer to suppress riotous disorderly or turbulent assemblages of persons in the streets or squares of the Town, or the noisy conduct of any person in the same, and upon view of the above, or upon the view of the violation of any ordinance of the Town relating to the peace and good order thereof, the Police Officer shall have the right and power to arrest without warrant and to take the offender before the Alderman or any Justice of the Peace of Sussex County for hearing. (3) The Chief Police Officer shall be vested within the Town limits with all of the powers and authority of a Constable of Sussex County and shall have the power to make arrests for all motor vehicle and other traffic violations within the limits of the Town; and in the case of pursuit of an offender his authority and power shall extend to any part of the State of Delaware. (4) Every person sentenced to imprisonment by the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace of Sussex County for an
offense committed within the Town limits shall be delivered by the Chief Police Officer to the County Jail of Sussex County, or to the lock-up of the Town, to be there imprisoned for the term of the sentence. (5) In the case of any arrest at a time, when the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace shall not be available to hear and determine the charge, the person arrested may be delivered to the lock-up of the Town for imprisonment until such reasonable time thereafter as shall enable the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace to hear and determine the charge against such person.
M. The Council shall also have power to establish a Board of Health which shall consist of three (3) members, one (1) of whom shall be a practicing physician in Sussex County. The members of the Board of Health shall be appointed by the Council at the annual meeting or as soon thereafter as possible, and shall serve for the ensuing year or until their successors are duly appointed and qualified. The Board of Health shall have cognizance of and interest in the life and health of the people and population in the Town. It shall report to the Council, in writing, all conditions which it deems to be injurious to the health of the people of the Town and shall make recommendations to the Council concerning whatever it considers may contribute to the health of the people and the sanitation of the Town.
Section 15. ENUMERATION OF POWERS OF THE COUNCIL
The Town Council shall, by ordinance, rules, regulations, resolutions, or by-laws, or amendments to the same, have power :
A. (1) To preserve and protect the peace, health, welfare, and good morals of the inhabitants of the Town and to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases ; (2) to define, prevent, abate or remove nuisances of all kinds, and to abate or remove any nuisance at the expense of those maintaining or permitting it and to compel the owner or occupant of any lot, house, building, shed, cellar, or other land or structure in or upon which there may exist any matter or thing, which is or may be detrimental, in the opinion of the
Council, to the health of the inhabitants of the Town, to cleanse, remove or abate the same, under the direction of the Council, as often as the said Council shall deem necessary for the health and well-being of the inhabitants of the Town, or in a summary manner to cause the same to be done at the expense and proper cost of such owner or occupant; and such owner or occupant is hereby expressly made liable for said costs and expenses, to be collected, as hereinafter directed, from such owner or occupant in addition to any fine or penalty for which he may be liable for maintaining such nuisance; (3) to prevent vice, drunkenness, immorality, and disorderly conduct, to quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages, to prevent and restrain gaming and gaming houses and all instruments and devices for gaming or gambling, to prevent and restrain disorderly houses and houses of ill fame or prostitution, to regulate and prohibit vagrants, mendicants, and street beggars, to prohibit or regulate the holding of parades in any of the streets of the Town, and to prohibit any willful practice having a tendency to frighten animals or to annoy persons passing in the streets.
B. (1) To prescribe methods for fire protection in the Town, including authority to prohibit the use of building materials which it may deem to create a fire hazard in the section of the Town where they are to be used, to zone or district the Town and to make particular zones or districts with regard to building and building materials, and to forbid any building, including new building or rebuilding or additions to or alterations of existing structures of any kind, except for which a building permit has been obtained in the manner as prescribed by the Council ; (2) to condemn any existing building or structure that it deems to be a fire menace and to cause the same to be torn down or removed, provided that no building shall be so condemned until reasonable notice of the intention to condemn shall have been given to the owner thereof, together with an opportunity to be heard ; (3) to regulate or prevent the storage of gasoline, naphtha, oils, gunpowder, or any other inflammable, combustible, or dangerous substances or materials, and to define, investigate, prevent, abate and remove fires and explosion hazards, both within and without buildings in the said Town; (4) to regulate the sweeping and cleaning of chimney flues and to provide for the keeping of chimneys in a safe condition as to fire and all other hazards ; (5) to prevent, suppress, and regu-
late all bonfires, the firing of firearms and keeping, sale, and the setting off and exploding of fire crackers, fire works, torpedoes, and all explosives of whatever character at any place in the said Town ; (6) to construct, improve, extend and maintain a water plant and distribution system therefore including water mains, fire hydrants, and other proper instruments for the prevention and combatting of conflagrations ; (7) to provide for the expenditure, through its own channels, or through those of a volunteer fire company in the said Town, of such funds as the Council may from time to time deem necessary or appropriate for the protection from fire of the lives of the inhabitants and the property in the Town.
C. (1) To enact and enforce a code of building regulations to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town, including the power to forbid the construction of any new building, or any addition to or alterations or repair of any existing building unless a building permit as prescribed by the Council has been obtained therefor ; (2) to prescribe the extent and nature of and to require the removal of any platform, stoop, step, bay window, porch, awning, drain, shed, cellar, door, gate, or other projection of any character in, over, under, or upon any street, road, avenue, sidewalk, alley, square, or other public place, which the Council deems to be dangerous to the safety of the inhabitants, obstructive to the convenience of the public, or detrimental to the beauty of the Town, and to regulate all inlets to lots and buildings ; (3) to establish building lines for buildings to be erected ; (4) to assign street numbers to houses and buildings and parts thereof.
. (1) To control the drainage of all water within the limits of the Town, including the power to regulate, clean, and keep open and unobstructed and to alter and change the course and direction of the natural water courses, runs, and rivulets within the limits of the Town, and to keep open gutters, surface-water, and underground drains and sewers within the limits of the Town ; and for such purposes the Council shall have the power to authorize the entry upon private lands and to take, condemn, and occupy the same in the same manner and by condemnation proceedings of the same character as those provided for in connection with the opening and laying out of streets in Section 20 of this Act ; (2) to locate, regulate, prohibit ior
remove slaughter houses, to regulate, prohibit, or remove privies or outside water closets, to regulate or, where necessary in the interest of the public health, to prohibit or remove cesspools, septic tanks, or any other local means of disposing of sewage, to provide for the removal and disposal of garbage and trash, to fix and levy the amounts to be charged for such removal, and to prohibit and regulate public and private wells containing water that may be dangerous to the health of any of the people of the Town ; (3) to compel the owner or owners of property within the limits of the Town, after written notice to said owner or owners by registered mail, to fill in any low lots so that the same may drain, to abate, remove and keep free all property from dense underbrush, rubbish, tall weeds, fallen timber, or any like condition which in the discretion of the Council constitutes a fire hazard, or is unsanitary, or is prejudicial or detrimental to the health and welfare of the population of the Town or to adjacent lot owners; and the Council shall have power to levy a fine or penalty of not less than Five Dollars ($5.00) and not more than Twenty Dollars ($20.00) against such owners for each and every calendar month such notice has not been compiled with after the expiration of such notice, and said fine or penalty may be assessed against the said property by the Council and shall be collected by the Collector of Taxes in the same manner and by the same remedies as those provided for the collection of taxes in Section 17 of this Act.
E. (1) To ascertain and fix the boundaries of streets, avenues, roads, squares, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks, to pave, repave and improve the same, including the power to bridge natural or artificial watercourses, to alter, extend or widen any street, road, avenue, square, lane, alley, or sidewalk, or to vacate or abandon the same, and to open, lay out, improve and repair new streets, roads, avenues, squares, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks, subject however, to the provisions and restrictions in that behalf herein otherwise set forth; (2) to regulate and fix the ascents and descents of all streets, avenues, roads, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks, and the drainage thereof, to direct and carry out the paving, repaving and improvements of foot pavements, and to prescribe the width and materials thereof as hereinafter set forth, and (3) to regulate and provide for the construction of new gutters and curbs and the improvements of existing gutters and curbs, subject however, to the provisions and restrictions in that behalf herein otherwise prescribed.
F. (1) To provide for the employment, from time to time, of skilled surveyors to make plots and maps showing the limits of said Town and the ascents, descents, and limits of all streets, roads, avenues, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks, and the grade of all sewers and water mains, and generally to do and perform all other matters of a cognate nature as may be deemed necessary by the Council ; (2) to provide for superintendence and oversight of all roads, streets, avenues, squares, lanes, and alleys now opened or hereafter to be opened, within the limits of the Town, and no overseer, or similar official, shall be appointed by the Levy Court of Sussex County, but the said Levy Court shall annually appropriate for the repairs and upkeep of the roads, avenues, and streets in said Town the sum of money provided for by the Laws of the State of Delaware now in force or hereafter enacted and the said Levy Court shall make orders for the payment thereof to the Treasurer of the Town for the use of the said Town ; (3) to enforce the removal of snow, ice, and dirt from sidewalks by the owner or occupant of the adjoining property ; (4) to provide lamps and lighting equipment and to cause the streets and public places of every description in the Town to be lighted at such hours of the day or night as the Council shall deem necessary.
G. (1) To levy and collect license fees, annually, for such amount or amounts as the Council shall from time to time fix, from any individual, firm, association, or corporation carrying on or practicing any business, profession, or occupation within the limits of said Town; (2) to levy and collect license fees upon the property of any person, firm, association, or corporation carrying on business in said Town and supplying the inhabitants thereof with any form or manner of services for any valuable consideration, provided, however, that nothing in this Act shall be construed as to make it mandatory upon any resident of the State of Delaware to apply for a license in order to sell, in the Town of Bethany Beach, farm product or products grown on his own farm or on a farm operated by him ; (3) to prohibit, restrain, or regulate all sports, exhibitions of natural or artificial curiosities, caravans of animals, theatrical exhibitions, circuses, or other public performances and exhibitions, to which a price of admission is charged, and to fix and levy the sum or sums to be paid the Town for temporary licenses authorizing such exhibitions ; (4) to regulate the operation of public utilities within the Town and the use of the streets in connection with the operations of public utilities outside of the Town, or the use of the streets by common carriers, either passenger or freight or both, and to require that licenses from the Town be secured, and to determine the amount or amounts to be paid therefore ; (5) to levy and collect taxes on gas and water mains, underground conduits, telephone, electric current, or other poles or erections of like character in said Town, together with the wires thereon strung, and to this end may at any time direct the same to be removed and suit to be instituted to collect the taxes so levied, in the event the owner or lessee thereof refuses or neglects to pay such taxes ; (6) to prevent, abate or diminish electrical or other interferences with radio and television reception in the Town.
H. (1) To regulate the placing and replacing of poles or other structures within the town limits for the carrying of telegraph, telephone, electric current or other wires and attachments thereto ; (2) to prevent injuries to trees from electric wires or from any other source or cause whatsoever; (3) to provide such life guard service on the ocean strand during the summer months as the Council, in its discretion, shall deem adequate, and to regulate or, if necessary prohibit, swimming or bathing in the ocean or in waters within the limits of the Town.
. To use the money in the Treasury of the Town or any portion thereof, from time to time, for the improvement, benefit, protection, ornamentation, and the best interests of the said Town, as the Council may deem proper, and to use the Town's ,money to accomplish and carry into effect all acts which it has power to do by virtue of this Act and all other Laws of the State of Delaware and all lawful ordinances and resolutions of the Council, provided, that the Council shall cause a full and correct annual statement of the receipts and disbursements of all Town monies for the fiscal year next preceding to be posted in three (3) public places in the Town of Bethany Beach at least ten (10) days prior to the annual election.
A. To regulate Lhe keeping and registration of dogs and to prevent their running at large, and to provide for registration fees therefor, and to regulate or prevent the keeping of wild animals, swine, goats, cattle, chickens, or other fowl or animals in 'said Town, or, in the judgment of the Council, in the more thickly populated parts of said Town.
K. (1) To make and enforce such regulations, not in conflict with the Laws of the State of Delaware, as it may deem necessary and beneficial for the safety and regulation of pedestrians, automobiles and all other mechanically propelled vehicles, animals and animal-drawn vehicles in and over the streets, avenues, roads, squares, lanes, alleys, corners, and other public places in the Town, including authority to provide for the purchase and installation of traffic control lights and signals; (2) to make and enforce regulations governing the parking and non-parking of any vehicle in the streets, roads, squares, avenues, lanes, alleys, and other public places in the Town, which the Council deems necessary or appropriate, including the power to purchase, rent, and install and use coin-operated parking meters.
L. (1) To prescribe fines, or penalties, or both, for violations of any of the provisions of this Act, or any ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation made under its authority, provided, that no ordinance or other act of the Council shall prescribe any fines of more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) exclusive of costs, nor any penalty by way of imprisonment in excess of thirty (30) days, but the Council may provide for both such fine and imprisonment in any case ; (2) to provide for the deposit of cash collateral by persons charged with violating any ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation governing the operating or parking of vehicles in the streets, roads, avenues, squares, alleys,' lanes, or other public places in the Town, in cases where the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace is not available to grant bail or take other proper action ; (3) to build or otherwise provide a suitable place as a lock-up or jail for the Town, which may be used as a place of detention for persons convicted of violation of law or of any ordinance, resolution, rule, or regulation of the Council, or for the detention of persons for a reasonable time in cases of necessity prior to hearing and trial, however, nothing herein shall be construed to deprive the Council of the right to use the jail of Sussex County for such purposes as is otherwsie provided in this Act.
M. The Council shall likewise have the power to inquire into and investigate the conduct of any office, officer, or employee of the Town and to make investigations of all municipal affairs, and, for any such purpose or purposes, shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and compel the production of books, papers, or other evidence.
Section 16. ASSESSMENT OF TAXES
A. During the year immediately following the year in which this Act becomes effective as provided in Section 36 hereof, and every fourth year thereafter, there shall be a true, just, and impartial valuation and assessment of all real property subject to County taxation within the Town, locating each parcel of real property by street and number, or other description. The assessment so made shall be known as the "general assessment". In other years there shall be made a scrap assessment, as hereinafter provided. All assessments shall be made and completed prior to the first day of June.
B. The scrap assessment shall value and assess all taxable real property within the Town not already valued and assessed by the general assessment then in force, and all improvements made upon said real property since the general assessment was completed. In the years that scrap assessments are made, the general assessment then in force as supplemented or modified by the subsequent scrap assessments, shall constitute the assessment of that year.
C. The Assessor shall make and deliver to the Council as soon as the assessments are made such number of copies thereof as the Council shall direct. The Council shall have power to sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal to correct and revise the assessments made by the Assessor and to hear appeals concerning the same, and a majority of all the members of the Council shall be a quorum for that purpose. The said Board shall have full power and authority to alter, revise, add to, and take from the said assessments. The decision of a majority of the said Board so sitting shall be final and conclusive, provided, that no member of the Council shall sit on his own appeal.
D. The Council shall, prior to the fifteenth day of June in each year, cause a copy of the general assessment, or the scrap
assessment made in the particular year, to be posted in three (3) public places in the Town and there to remain for at least ten (10) days for public information. Attached to each of said copies so posted there shall be a notice of the day, hour, and place when and where the Council will sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal.
E. The assessment as made by the Assessor, or as revised and adjusted by the Board of Revision and Appeal, as the case may be, shall be the basis for the levy and collection of the taxes for the Town.
. The Council shall have the power to assess, levy, and collect taxes upon all telephone, telegraph, or power poles, or other erections of like character erected within the limits of the Town, together with the wires and appliances thereto or thereon attached, that are not otherwise assessable and taxable, and to this end may, after making assessments thereof, direct the same to be included in or added to the Town assessment. In case the owner or lessee of such poles or erections shall refuse or neglect to pay the taxes so levied, such taxes may be collected by the Collector of Taxes as in the case of other taxes.
A. No farm lands, consisting of five (5) acres or more, included within the limits of the Town of Bethany Beach, shall be subject to any Town tax unless the same shall have been laid out as building lots and unless the same shall front upon some public street of the Town which shall have been opened and graded; but any dwelling house situated on farm land and not to exceed six thousand two hundred and fifty (6,250) square feet of land shall be subject to taxes herein provided. All farm lands within the aforesaid limits, which shall have been laid out as building lots and which shall front upon some public street of the Town (that has been opened and graded), shall be subject to be taxed to the depth of three hundred (300) feet from the said street line for Town purposes. The Council shall be the sole judges of what lands are, and what lands are not, farm lands for the purposes of this section.
B. The assessments heretofore made and in force, on the day this Act becomes effective, shall continue in force and effect until an assessment is made under the provisions of this Act.
I. The Council shall during each year determine and fix a rate of taxation, subject to the limitation contained in the last paragraph of this Section, which will produce approximately the amount of money necessary to defray the expenses of the Town for the current year, including interest on bonded indebtedness and for redemption of maturing bonds and for maintenance of a sinking fund.
J. The limit on the amount to be raised by taxation under this section shall not exceed the sum of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000,00) in any one year.
Section 17. COLLECTION OF TAXES
A. On or before the fifteenth day of July in each year, the Council shall deliver to the Collector of Taxes a list containing the names of the persons of the Town who are taxable, opposite the name of each the amount of the assessed value of his real property, the rate of tax per hundred dollars, and the total amount of the tax assessed. Attached to the tax list there shall be a warrant, under the seal of the Town of Bethany Beach, signed by the President of the Council and attested by the Secretary thereof, commanding the Collector of Taxes to make collection of the taxes as stated and set forth in the tax list.
B. All taxes assessed by the Town of Bethany Beach shall be and shall constitute a lien upon all the real estate of the person against whom the taxes are levied and imposed situate within the Town of Bethany Beach, and such lien shall have preference and priority to other liens of record, except prior liens for United States, State and County taxes, on such real estate created or suffered by the said taxable, although such other lien or liens be of a date prior to the time of the attaching of such lien for taxes, provided that the lien for the Town taxes shall be a lien for a period of three (3) years from the fifteenth day of July of the year in which such tax shall have been assessed and no longer.
C. All taxes when and as collected by the Collector of Taxes, shall be paid to the Treasurer of the Town and all taxes
shall be due and payable at and from the time of the delivery of the tax list to the Collector of Taxes. To every tax paid after the thirtieth day of September in each year, there shall be added and collected one (1%) per cent for every month or fraction of a month after the said thirtieth day of September that the tax remains unpaid. Before exercising any of the powers hereinafter enumerated for the purpose of collecting taxes, the Collector of Taxes shall advise the taxable of the amount due by depositing in the United States Post Office at Bethany Beach, addressed to the taxable, a letter containing such information.
D. The Collector of Taxes shall have the following powers, which may be exercised by him for the purpose of collecting taxes :
(1) By distraint of the goods and chattels of the taxable situate within the Town; (2) by instituting suit before a Justice of the Peace of the State of Delaware, before the Alderman of the Town of Bethany Beach, or in any Court of the State of Delaware, for recovery of the unpaid tax, in an action of debt, and upon judgment obtained, writs of execution may issue as in the case of other judgments recovered before a Justice of the Peace, Alderman or other Court of the State of Delaware. An execution so issued shall constitute a lien upon all the personal property of the taxable within the County where the judgment shall have been obtained and shall have priority over all other liens against the personal property of the taxable, except prior liens for United States, State and County taxes ; (3) by filing a petition, signed by the Collector of Taxes and verified before a Notary Public, with the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for Sussex County praying for an order of that court authorizing him to sell the lands and tenements of the taxable against the taxes were assessed. The petition shall show, (a) the name of the taxable, (b) the year for which the tax was levied, (c) the rate of the tax, the total amount due, (d) the date from which the penalty for non-payment, if any, shall commence and the rate of such penalty, (e) a short description of the lands and tenements proposed to be sold sufficient to identify the same, (f) a statement that a bill for said tax has been mailed to the taxable at his last known post-office address, that the tax has not been paid, and that it has been found impractical to collect the said tax by any of the other remedies
herein provided for, provided, however, that no petition shall be filed for the sale of lands and tenements unless any part of the tax due thereon is three (3) years past due and the owners thereof have been given sixty (60) days written notice, by United States Registered Mail address at his last known address ; (4) after hearing on the petition so filed, the said Superior Court shall be authorized to order that the lands and tenements of the taxpayer, or so much thereof as is necessary to satisfy the tax, be sold at public sale under such conditions and upon such public notice as the court may determine, provided that, after deduction of costs and expenses of the sale, the proceeds from said sale shall be paid to the Collector of Taxes of the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware, to be applied on the said tax and that any of the proceeds remaining, after satisfying the amount of the taxes and penalties due, shall be paid to the property owner or owners.
Section 18. COLLECTION OF CHARGES DUE THE TOWN
In the collection of water rents, license fees, tapping fees, civil penalties imposed by the Council or by this Act, charges growing out of the abatement of nuisances or the removal of unsanitary conditions, assessments for the opening and laying out and paving of streets the construction of gutters and curbs and the construction and repairing of sidewalks or the laying of water or sewer mains or pipes or other charges due the Town, authorized under the provisions of this Act, the collection of the same shall be under the supervision of the Collector of Taxes, in respect of which, except fines imposed by judicial officers, the Council shall issue a warrant to the Collector of Taxes directing him to collect the same from the person, firm, company, or corporation from whom they shall be due, together with interest from the due date and other charges attendant thereto. Upon receipt of the warrant, the Collector of Taxes shall have the same authority and powers, and may pursue the same remedies in respect of collection as are provided in Section 17 of this Act for the collection of taxes. It shall be the duty of the Collector of Taxes to pay forthwith to the Treasurer of the Town all amounts so collected in behalf of the Town.
Section 19. REMOVAL OF OBSTRUCTIONS, NUISANCES, AND UNSANITARY CONDITIONS
A. In addition to the power to impose fines and penalties for the failure to remove or abate obstructions, nuisances, or unsanitary conditions, the Council shall have power to enforce the abatement or removal of all such obstructions, nuisances, and unsanitary conditions in the manner hereinafter provided in this section. (1) If the Council, upon its own inspection or upon information obtained from the Board of Health or the Chief Police Officer, shall deem that an obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition ought to be removed or abated, it shall direct the Secretary to forward by registered mail to the person or persons continuing or causing such obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition or to the person or persons who are responsible for its existence or continuance, a notice addressed to his or their last known address to remove or abate the same within the time stated in the notice. (2) The said notice shall advise the person or persons named therein that if the obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition is not removed within the time stated in the notice, the Council will hold a hearing on a given date at which time they shall be given an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence in their behalf. (3) If after the said hearing the Council shall decide that the said obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition should be removed or abated, it shall pass a resolution to that effect and give notice thereof to the person or persons affected. (4) If such person or persons refuse or neglect to remove or abate the obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition within five (5) days after the date of the resolution, the Council may issue a warrant under the seal of the Town, signed by the President of the Council and attested by the Secretary thereof, directed to an agent appointed by the Council. (5) The warrant shall command the said agent so designated or appointed by the Council forthwith to remove or abate such obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition. (6) The said agent shall forthwith proceed to remove or abate the same and to that end shall have full power and authority to enter into and upon any lands and premises in the Town. He shall likewise have authority to take with him such assistants, implements, horses, carts, wagons, automobiles, trucks, or other things as may be necessary and proper to do and perform all matters and things in connection with the
removal or abatement of such obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition. (7) At the regular monthly meeting of the Council next succeeding the delivery of the warrant to him, the agent appointed by the Council shall make a return to the Council of his proceedings upon the Warrant and shall specify the costs and expenses of all necessary work, labor, and proceedings incurred by him in the abatement or the removal of the same. (8) The Council shall determine, from the return of the said agent, the costs and expenses of all necessary work, labor, and proceedings in reference to the abatement or removal of such obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition. (9) The Council shall then issue a warrant, containing an itemized account of that information, together with the name and last known post-office address of the person from whom the Council shall determine the amount to be due and shall deliver such warrant to the Collector of Taxes. The warrant shall command the Collector of Taxes forthwith to collect the amount stated to be due thereon from the person or persons designated therein.
B. (1) The Collector of Taxes shall forward to such person or persons, in a sealed wrapper, a true and correct copy of the warrant by depositing the same in the United States mails and addressed to such person's or persons' last and known post-office address. (2) If such person or persons shall refuse or neglect to pay the same to the Collector of Taxes for the use of the Town within thirty (30) days from the date of the mailing of such true and exact copy of the warrant, the Collector of Taxes shall then be authorized and required to collect the same in any of the manners hereinbefore provided in Section 17 of this Act for the collection of taxes.
A. In every case the procedure for exercising the power and authority of the Council, as set forth in Section 15 (E) (1) of this Act, to locate, open, and lay out new streets, and to extend, widen, alter, or vacate or abandon existing streets, shall be as follows :
(1) The Council shall adopt a resolution favorable to the opening of and describing generally the contemplated new street, or the alteration or abandonment of any existing street, or part
thereof, as the case may be. The resolution shall also state the day, hour, and place the Council will sit to hear objections to the plan and to award just and reasonable compensation to any person who will be deprived of his property by reason thereof. Copies of such resolution shall be posted in not less than three (3) public places in the Town at least fifteen (15) days prior to the day fixed by the Council for the hearing as aforesaid. (2) At the time and place fixed in the resolution, the Council shall hear all persons who have an interest in the proceeding or who may be affected thereby. After hearing such persons, the Council shall, at said meeting or at any adjournment thereof, adopt a resolution to proceed with or to abandon the plan contemplated in its aforementioned prior resolution. (3) If the Council shall resolve to proceed with the plan contemplated, or a portion thereof, the Council shall award just and reasonable compensation to any person or persons who will be deprived of property by the execution of the plan so contemplated. Such compensation, where awarded, shall be paid by the Treasurer of the Town on a warrant drawn upon him by authority of the Council, upon delivery to him of a good and sufficient deed conveying a fee simple title unto the "Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware", which title shall be clear and free of all liens and incumbrances.
B. (1) Any person, who will be deprived of property by the execution of the plan so resolved and who is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation awarded by the Council, may, within ten (10) days after the award of the Council, appeal from such award by serving written notice to that effect upon the Secretary or the President, or in their absence, upon any member of the Council. (2) The manner and time of prosecuting such appeal shall be as follows and not otherwise: The appellant shall, within thirty (30) days after the award of the Council, apply to the Resident Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for Sussex County, or in the absence of the said Resident Judge, or to any other Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, for the appointment of freeholders to hear and determine the matter of compensation due such appellant by reason of the taking of his property, as aforesaid. Thereupon, the said Resident Judge, or said other Judge, as the case may be, shall issue a commission under his hand directed to five (5) impartial freeholders of Sussex County, commanding them to determine and fix the amount of the compensation to which
the said appellant will be entitled by reason of being deprived of his property, as aforesaid. The freeholders so appointed shall, in fixing the amount of the compensation, take into consideration the benefits or advantages that will enure to the said appellant's property by reason of the opening of such new street, or otherwise. The freeholders so appointed shall make return of their findings to the said Resident Judge or to said other Judge, as the case may be, at a time appointed in the said commission.
C. The freeholders so appointed shall give notice of the day, hour, and place they will meet to view the premises and to fix the amount of the compensation, if any as aforesaid. Such notice shall be served upon the appellant personally, or by posting a copy thereof of the premises affected, at least five (5) days before the day specified therein upon which they are to view the premises, as aforesaid. A copy of such notice shall also be served on the Secretary or the President of the Council at least five (5) days before the day of such meeting.
D. The freeholders named in such commission, after first being sworn or affirmed fully, fairly, and honestly to determine the amount of the compensation to the best of their abilities, shall, on the day and at the hour and place stated in the notice aforesaid, view the premises and hear the appellant and his witnesses and the Council and its witnesses, and shall, without delay, determine and fix the amount of the compenation, if any, to which the said appellant will be entitled by reason of being deprived of any of his property, as aforesaid. Thereupon, and without delay, the said freeholders shall make return, in writing, of their proceedings in the premises to the said Resident Judge, or to the other Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, as the case may be ; and the said Judge shall cause the said return to be delivered to the Secretary or the President of the Council of the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware. Such return shall be final and conclusive upon all parties with respect to the amount of compensation fixed therein ; and the Judge shall have full power to fill any vacancy that may occur among the five (5) freeholders appointed, as aforesaid.
. Upon receipt of the return of the five (5) freeholders, the Council shall, within thirty (30) days after such receipt, pay or tender the amount of the compensation in such return
to the person or persons entitled thereto, or the Council may, if the person or persons entitled is not available or refuses to accept the said amount, deposit the same in any bank in Sussex County to the credit of the person or persons entitled thereto, and thereupon the Council may proceed to carry into effect the plan contemplated in its resolution aforementioned.
F. If the compensation fixed by the five (5) freeholders aforesaid, shall be an increase above the amount fixed by the Council, or if the Council shall decide not to take such property, the cost of the appeal shall be paid by the Town of Bethany Beach. If the said compensation be not increased by the five (5) freeholders aforesaid, the cost of the appeal shall be paid by the party taking the appeal. The fees of the freeholders shall be Five Dollars ($5.00) per day to each, and shall be taxed as part of the costs. After the compensation shall have been fixed by the freeholders as aforesaid, the Town shall have the option of either paying the compensation within thirty (30) days and proceeding with the plan, or of paying the costs only and abandoning the proposed plan. If the Council elects to proceed with the plan, it may apply to the Resident Judge or to the other Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, as the case may be, for an order declaring that the title to the property taken is vested in the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware, which order may be recorded as any other conveyance.
G. If the land comprehended or included in any street or part thereof, which is or shall be vacated or abandoned under this section and Section 15 (E) (1) of this Act, is owned by the Town, the Council may, in its discretion, sell such land at public sale. The Council may reject any bid or bids that it deems to be inadequate. The Council shall have the power to convey, in behalf of the Town, to the purchaser or purchasers thereof a good and sufficient title thereto for whatever estate the Town may have in such land.
H. In exercising its power to repair, construct, build or rebuild, pave, or in any manner improve all new and existing streets, the Council may use such materials and substances and such methods of construction and may employ such contractors, engineers, inspectors, or others as it may deem expedient and may use different materials and different methods of construe-
tion on different streets or parts of streets, if it deems such action advisable. To this end, the Council shall have full power to enter into contracts or agreements with the Highway Department of the State of Delaware for the permanent maintenance, repair, and upkeep of any street within the Town limits.
I. The Council shall have full power and authority to expend such part or parts of the money of the Town, in the general fund of the Town, not otherwise appropriated, towards the carrying out of any powers and authority granted to the Council by this section.
Section 21. GRADING, PAVING, AND REPAIRING OF STREETS AND CONSTRUCTION OF GUTTERS AND CURBS
A. The Council shall have full power and authority to lay out and grade all new streets that may be opened and to repair, repave, regrade, redress, or otherwise repair the roadways in all streets theretofore paved, within the limits of the Town, to repair and rebuild gutters and curbs in such streets, and to expend such part or parts of the money of the Town, in the general fund of the Town not otherwise appropriated, for those purposes.
B. The Council shall likewise have power and authority to pave the roadways in all existing unpaved streets and in all new streets hereafter opened, and to lay and construct gutters and curbs in such streets, but the costs of paving the roadways and laying out and constructing the gutters and curbs in such streets, shall be borne by the owners of the property abutting on the streets or parts of streets to be paved. For the purposes of this section, the term "unpaved streets" shall include all streets along which gutters and curbs have not been laid and constructed at the time this act becomes effective, even though the roadways of such streets may have been covered with some form of hard surfacing material. The costs of paving the roadways and of laying and constructing gutters and curbs in such unpaved and new streets shall be proportionally allocated to the various owners of the property abutting on the street to be paved on the basis of the length of the frontage of the respective lots that abut on the said street, and shall be assessed by the Council accordingly. The costs so assessed shall be a lien on the property so assessed from the date of the assessment for a period of three (3) years and no longer, and such lien shall have preference and priority to other lines of record, except prior liens for United States, State, and County Taxes, on such real property created or suffered by the owner thereof, although such other liens be of a date prior to the time of the attachment of the assessment lien.
C. Upon the assessment of the aforementioned costs, the Council shall issue a warrant thereon, directed to the Collector of Taxes, bearing the seal of the Town, attested by the Secretary of the Council, which shall state the amount or amounts to be by him collected and the person or persons from whom the said amount or amounts shall be by him collected, and shall command him forthwith to collect the same from the person or persons so specified in the warrant.
C. Immediately upon receipt of such warrant the Collector of Taxes shall forward a true and exact copy of the warrant to the person or persons specified therein as owing the Town the amount specified therein as due to the Town. Such true and exact copy of the warrant shall be enclosed in a sealed wrapper, addressed to the last known post office address of the person or persons therein named, and shall be forwarded to such person or persons through the mails of the United States.
C. If the amount specified as due the Town shall not have been paid to the Collector of Taxes within thirty (30) days from the day of the mailing of such true and exact copy of the said warrant, the Collector of Taxes shall then be authorized and required to collect the amount due in any of the manners hereinbefore provided in Section 17 of this Act for the collection of taxes.
D. In paving, repaving, building, rebuilding, or otherwise repairing, improving, all existing and new streets and in laying out, constructing or in repairing gutters and curbs in such streets, the Council may use such materials and substances and such methods of construction and may employ such contractors, engineers, inspectors, and others, as the Council may deem expedient and appropriate, and may use different materials and different methods of construction on different streets, or on parts of the same street.
A. The costs of leveling, grading, constructing, paving, or building of sidewalks in the Town shall be borne by the owner of the land abutting upon such sidewalk, and the Council shall have power to specify the manner of performance and the materials to be used in the leveling, grading, constructing, paving or building of the same.
B. Before any such owner shall be required to lay out and construct or repair any sidewalk, a written petition of five (5) or more freeholders of the Town, owning land abutting on the particular street, directed to that end shall first have been received or obtained by the Council.
C. Upon receipt of such petition, the Council shall direct the Secretary to forward a written notice to the owner or owners of any house or lands, along, in front of, or adjoining the street upon which the Council deems it proper that a sidewalk shall be laid ; directing them to lay sidewalk thereon. Such notice shall specify to the owner any rules or regulations adopted by the Council in respect to the laying thereof or the materials to be used in the doing of work.
A. Should the owner or owners neglect or refuse to comply with said notice for the period of sixty (60) days, the Council shall issue a warrant in the name of the Town, bearing the seal of the Town, and attested by the Secretary, directed to such agent, or contractor, as shall be named by the Council commanding him forthwith to do the work as specified in the above mentioned notice to the owner or owners. Whereupon, the agent, or contractor, to whom the said warrant shall have been directed, shall forthwith proceed to lay such sidewalk as directed in the said warrant. To that end, the said agent shall have full power and authority to enter into any premises or upon any lands in the Town and to take with him such assistants, materials, implements, horses, carts, wagons, trucks, or other things
as may be necessary or useful to perform the work specified in the said warrant. At the next regular monthly meeting of the Council, after delivery of the warrant to the said agent, or contractor, he shall make a return thereon which shall include an itemized statement of all costs incurred by him in the performance of the work specified in the said warrant.
E. From the return of the said agent, or contractor, the Council shall determine the amount due to the Town by reason of the work done and shall issue a warrant thereon, directed to the Collector of Taxes, bearing the seal of the Town, attested by the Secretary of the Council, which shall state the amount or amounts to be by him collected and the person or persons from whom the said amount or amounts shall be by him collected, and shall command him forthwith to collect the same from the person or persons so specified in the warrant.
F. Immediately upon the receipt of such warrant the Collector of Taxes shall forward a true and exact copy of the warrant to the person or person specified therein as owing the Town the amount or amounts specified therein as due to the Town. Such true and exact copy of the warrant shall be enclosed in a sealed wrapper, addressed to the last known post office address of the person or persons therein named, and shall be forwarded to such person or persons through the mails of the United States.
G. If the amount or amounts specified as due to the Town shall not have been paid to the Collector of Taxes within thirty (30) days from the day of the mailing of such true and exact copy of the said warrant, the Collector of Taxes shall then be authorized and required to collect the amount or amounts due in any of the manners hereinbefore provided in Section 17 of this Act for the collection of taxes.
Section 23. JETTIES, BULKHEADS, EMBANKMENTS AND BOARDWALKS
A. The Council shall have the power and authority to locate, lay out, construct, widen, extend, improve, repair, vacate or abandon jetties, bulkheads, and embankments for the preservation of any beach or strand within the limits of the Town or contiguous thereto, to the end that the same may be preserved and property may be protected, or docks, wharves, and piers, to the end that the general public may enjoy the use thereof. In the locating, laying out, constructing, widening, extending, improving, repairing, vacating or abandoning of any such jetties, bulkheads, embankments, docks, wharves, and piers, the Council shall have full power and authority to use such materials and substances and such methods of construction and to employ such contractors, engineers, inspectors and others as the Council shall deem to be expedient and advisable. The Council shall likewise have the authority to maintain, rebuild or repair, within its present limits, the boardwalk now existing on the strand of Bethany Beach. For the purpose of this section the Council shall have full power and authority to expend such part or parts of the money of the Town, in the general fund of the Town not otherwise appropriated.
B. The Council may, by condemnation proceedings, take private lands or the right to use private lands for any of the purposes mentioned in this section. The proceedings by condemnation under this section shall be the same as those prescribed in Section 20 of this Act for the opening and laying out of new streets or the vacating or abandoning of old streets and the resolutions referred to in said Section 20 may be changed and modified to cover cases contemplated by this section.
A. The Council shall have full power and authority to provide an ample supply of pure water for the Town and the inhabitants thereof. For this purpose, it shall have power to maintain the water system presently established and existing by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach, and shall have full power and authority to purchase or lease land or to acquire the same by grant or gift, to erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, and control wells, reservoirs, pumping machines and stations, tanks, standpipes, water mains, fire hydrants, and all other instruments for the collection, storage, purification, conveyance, and distribution of water, over, on, under, or through the lands owned or controlled by the Town or belonging to a private individual or individuals.
B. The Council shall have power to enact ordinances and regulations governing the use of water for public or private purposes furnished by the Town, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means or methods whereby the same shall be collected, and fixing fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the water system or equipment of the Town.
. The Council may, in its discretion, furnish water from the Town system to nearby places and properties outside the Town limits and upon such special terms, charges, and conditions as it shall deem proper, provided all demands within the Town or being met and supplied and will not be jeopardized or impaired by the furnishing of water outside the limits of the Town.
A. The Council shall have power to make contracts with any person, firm, or corporation for the purchase of water and to distribute the same to users within or without the said Town with the same full powers as if such water had been initially reduced to usefulness by the Council itself.
B. 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 furnishing of an ample supply of pure water or the creation, construction, extension, maintenance of a proper water system, or the distribution of water as above provided. The proceedings by condemnation under this section shall be the same as those prescribed by Section 20 of this Act for the opening of new streets or the vacating or abandoning of old streets and the resolution referred to in the said Section 20 shall be changed and modified to cover cases contemplated by this section.
C. The Council shall have power to require that any particular inhabited building or dwelling in the Town be supplied with water from the water system of the Town.
D. The cost of providing and laying water mains and pipes in extending the existing water system in the Town shall be assessed against the property, improved or unimproved, served or which may be served by such mains and pipes from the property line ; and, in making such assessments, the Council shall have authority to designate and fix the limits of the area to be served by any particular main or pipe and to allocate, on a reasonable basis among the property in such area, the costs of providing and laying such mains and pipes in each of the areas so designated and delimited.
H. In the event the Council should deem the system of mains and pipes existing in the water system of the Town at the time the said system was acquired by the Town from its prior owner to be so inadequate in either capacity or quality, or both, as to make necessary the installation of an entire replacement thereof, it shall pass a resolution to that effect and shall submit the resolution to a referendum of the qualified voters of the Town at an annual election, or a special election ordered for that purpose. The Council shall be governed by a majority vote of the qualified voters and the costs of installing the new system of mains and pipes shall be assessed against the properties affected in the manner provided in the preceding paragraph.
. (1) Upon the assessment of the aforementioned costs, the Council shall issue a warrant thereon, directed to the Collector of Taxes, bearing the seal of the Town, attested by the Secretary of the Council, which shall state the amount or amounts to be by him collected and the person or persons from whom the said amount or amounts shall be by him collected and shall command him to collect the same at the time or times and in the amounts, as stated in the warrant, from the person or persons specified in the warrant. (2) Immediately upon receipt of such warrant the Collector of Taxes shall forward a true and exact copy of the warrant to the person or persons specified therein, as owing to the Town, the amount specified therein as due to the Town. Such true and exact copy of the warrant shall be enclosed in a sealed wrapper, addressed to the last known post office address of the person or persons therein named, and shall be forwarded to such person or persons through the mails of the United States. (3) If the amount specified in warrant, as due the Town, shall not have been paid to the Collector of Taxes within the time or times specified in said warrant, the Collector of Taxes shall then be authorized to and required to collect the amount due in any of the manners heretofore provided in Section 17 of this Act for the collection of taxes.
J. All assessments made under this section shall constitute a lien upon all of the real estate against which they are directed from the date the warrant is issued by the Council and shall have preference and priority to other liens of record, except prior liens for United States, State, and County taxes, of such real estate created or suffered by the owner thereof, although such other lien or liens be of a date prior to the time of the attachment of the assessment lien.
K. Chapter 38, Volume 48, Laws of Delaware, entitled:
"An Act Authorizing the Commissioners of Bethany Beach, Delaware, to Erect, Construct, Equip, Enlarge, Purchase, Maintain and Operate a Plant or Plants for the Purpose of Furnishing Water to the Inhabitants of the Town of Bethany Beach and Immediate Vicinity Thereof and to Issue Bonds or Other Certificates of Indebtedness not to Exceed the Sum of $125,000.00 Therefor," is hereby repealed, and all other Acts or parts of Acts of the General Assembly of Delaware inconsistent with this section are hereby repealed. Such repeals shall not be construed as invalidating, in any way, all things and acts done by or all rights accruing to, or all liabilities accruing against the Commissioners of Bethany Beach, Delaware, whether in Law, Equity, or otherwise, under, and by virtue of, or in accordance with the provisions of said Chapter 38. The Town of Bethany Beach shall, under and by virtue of this Act, succeed to and have vested in or against it all things and acts done by, or all rights accruing to, or all liabilities accruing against the Commissioners of Bethany Beach, whether in Law, Equity, or otherwise, under, by virtue of, or in accordance with Chapter 38, Volume 48, Laws of Delaware.
Section 25. ELECTRIC CURRENT AND FRANCHISES
A. The Council shall have power to make contracts for the purchase of electric current for the purpose of heat, light, power and other uses with any responsible person, firm, or corporation for all municipal purposes.
B. The Council shall also have power to grant franchises to any responsible person, firm, association, or corporation, for such terms of years and under such conditions as the Council may deem wise, to use the streets of the Town for the purposes of furnishing light, heat, power, gas, or water, or any or all of them to the Town and to the persons, firms, or corporations residing therein for the purpose of transmitting light, heat, power, gas and water, or any or all of them through, over, across, or under said streets and to points outside of the limits of the Town.
C. The Council shall likewise have power to enter into contracts with any responsible person, firm, association, or corporation 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, or to persons, firms, associations, or corporations residing therein, or adjacent thereto.
D. The Council shall have full power and authority to erect, construct, equip, maintain, and operate a plant or plants for the generating and manufacturing of electric current or gas, or both, for the use of the inhabitants of the Town, for lighting the streets, and for the heating and lighting of buildings of the Town, and shall have power and authority to construct, erect, maintain, improve, extend, equip, and operate such transmission and distributing lines, pipes, mains, and other conveyances for any such current or gas as may be necessary to properly light and heat the Town and to furnish proper connections for electric current and gas to the properties of the inhabitants of the Town who may desire the same.
A. The Council shall have full power and authority to provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a sewer system, including a sewage treatment plant, for the health, sanitation, and convenience of the inhabitants of the Town, on, over, under, or through the streets, or the lands of the Town or of any person or persons.
B. The Council shall have power to enact ordinances, rules, and regulations regarding the sewerage system and sew-
age treatment plant of the Town and the use thereof, and the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, and to fix fines and penalties, or both, for the willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the said sewerage system or sewage treatment plant of the Town.
C. The Council may, in its discretion, furnish sewer facilities to nearby places and properties outside the Town limits upon such special terms, charges, and conditions as it may deem wise. The Council may require any and all property in the Town to be connected with the sewer system and may compel the owner to pay the charge of such connection and the tapping fee charged therefor.
C. The Council may, by condemnation proceedings, take private land or property, or the right to use private land or property, under, over, or on the surface thereof, for the proper operation or extension of the sewer system or the sewage treatment plant of the Town. The proceedings by condemnation under this section shall be the same as those prescribed by Section 20 of this Act for the opening and laying out of new streets or the vacating or abandoning of old streets and the resolution referred to in Section 20 shall be changed and modified to cover cases contemplated by this section.
For the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, of the inhabitants or the general welfare of the community, Vie Council shall have power to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures in the Town, the percentage of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces, and the location and use of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, residence, or other purposes, in accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware in such cases made and provided.
No ordinance or resolution enacted by the Council of a general character relating to the government of the Town shall be of force and effect until the same shall have been posted in at least three (3) public places in the Town for a period of five (5) days.
Section 29. BORROWING OF MONEY AND ISSUANCE OF BONDS
A. The Council may borrow money and issue Bonds or other Certificates of Indebtedness to secure the payment thereof on the faith and credit of the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware or upon such other security or securities as the Council shall elect. The Council shall have the power and authority to borrow such money or moneys to provide funds for the erection, extension, enlargement, maintenance or repair of any plant, machinery, appliance or equipment for the furnishing of water, electric current, or gas to the Town or to the public, for the construction or repair or paving of highways, streets, lanes, avenues, roads, squares, or other public places, or the curbing or erection of gutters along the same, for the construction or repair of sewers, sewer system or sewage treatment or disposal plants and equipment, for the construction, repair, maintenance of boardwalks, piers, docks, wharves, jetties, bulkheads or embankments, or to defray the cost to the Town of any permanent municipal improvement provided for or authorized by the provisions of this Act.
B. The power to borrow any such money or moneys for any of the purposes above specified shall be exercised only i_n the following manner:
(1) The Council shall propose to the electors of the Town by resolution, that a stated amount of money shall be borrowed for any of the above purposes. The resolution shall specify the amount of the money desired to be borrowed, the purpose for which it shall be used, the manner in which it is proposed to be secured, the manner in which it is proposed that it shall be paid, or funded, or both, and all other pertinent facts relating thereto. In the proposal, the Council shall also fix a time and place for a hearing on such resolution which shall give the Council authorization for the loan. Such proposal, containing such notice, shall be posted in three (3) public places in the Town for at least one (1) week before the time set for the said hearing.
(1) If, at said hearing, which shall be public, the Council shall pass the resolution authorizing the loan, the Council shall pass a second resolution which shall order a special election to
be held not less than thirty (30) days and not more than sixty (60) days after the day of the hearing and passing of the resolution authorizing the loan by the Council. The special election shall be held for the purpose of voting for or against the proposed loan.
(3) The Council shall give notice of the time and place for holding the said special election to the electors of the Town by posting notices in three (3) public places within the Town for two (2) weeks prior to the special election, The special election shall be conducted by an Election Board whose members shall be appointed in the same manner and having the same qualifications as hereinbefore provided in the case of annual elections of the Town.
(0) The Council shall cause to be prepared, printed, and have available for distribution, a sufficient number of ballots for the purposes of the special election.
(1) At the special election every person who is a freeholder in the Town and who would be entitled to vote at an annual election, and every partnership or corporation who is a freeholder in the Town, shall be entitled to vote and shall have one vote for every dollar or fractional part of a dollar paid in taxes to the town during the preceding year on the property owned by such person, Partnership or corporation, The said vote or votes or any of them may be cast either in person or by proxy, provided, joint owners may divide their votes as they desire, but no joint owner shall be permitted to vote the interests of the other joint owner or owners without their written authorization. No proxy shall be voted or counted unless the same shall have been signed or sworn to before a Notary Public.
(2) The Special Election Board shall count the votes for and against the proposed loan, and shall announce the result thereof and shall make a certificate, under their hands, of the number of votes cast for and the number of votes cast against the proposed loan and shall deliver such certificate to the Council. The Council shall enter the certificate in its minutes and the original shall be filed with the papers of the Council,
(3) The form of the Bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness, the times of payment of interest, the classes, the time of
maturity and the provisions as to the registration thereof shall be determined by the Council. The said Bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness shall be sealed with the corporate seal of the Town, and shall be exempt from all State, County, and municipal taxation. The Bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness shall be offered for sale to the best and most responsible bidder therefor after advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in Sussex County, Delaware, and elsewhere if the Council shall deem it advisable, for at least one (1) month before the offering of the same for sale. The Council shall provide in its budget and shall allow in fixing the rate of taxation for the Town, for the payment of interest and for principal of such Bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness at the maturity thereof and shall also provide a "Sinking Fund" therefor. Unless otherwise provided therein, the faith and credit of the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware shall be deemed to be pledged for the due payment of any such Bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness, and interest thereon, that shall be issued under the provisions hereof when and after the same have been duly and properly executed and delivered for due value received.
(c) The Council shall have power and authority, without regard to the foregoing provisions of this section to borrow on the faith and credit of the Town of Bethany Beach the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) when necessary to meet the current expenses of the Town, provided that the Bonds or other Certificates of Indebtedness to secure such indebtedness shall mature not later than twelve (12) months after the date of their issuance, and provided further that such indebtedness shall not exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) at any one time.
D. The bonded indebtedness of the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware, shall not, at any one time, in the aggregate, exceed fifteen per centum (15%) of the assessed value of all real property situated in the Town limits and subject to assessment for the purpose of levying the annual tax hereinbefore provided for.
In exercising any of its powers or authority to enter into contracts for the rendering of personal services to the Town, or
the purchase of supplies or the doing of work for any municipal purpose for the Town, the Council shall be bound by the following rules, regulations, and limitations:
(1) No contract shall be made by the Council for any purpose, the contract price of which is in excess of Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00), without public competitive bidding, except where the contract is for public utility services rendered at prices regulated by a governmental agency.
(2) Contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, but the Council may refuse any and all bids for any cause deemed by it to be advantageous to the Town; and
(3) All formal contracts shall be signed by the President of the Council and shall have affixed thereto the seal of the Town, and shall be attested by the Secretary of the Council.
Section 31. PAYMENT OF CHARGES DUE THE TOWN BY WORK
The Council shall have power to provide for the payment of any or all taxes, fines, penalties, forfeitures, or other charges due the Town by the performance of labor for the Town by those who may owe such taxes, fines, penalties, forfeitures, or other charges, and to make proper rules and regulations therefor, but such rules and regulations shall not be construed to make it mandatory upon the Town or its officers to accept labor from any particular person.
Section 32. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
A. Whenever one hundred (100) freeholders qualified to vote at an annual election, in accordance with Section 5D of this Act, shall petition the Council requesting a vote upon any ordinances theretofore passed by the Council, or upon any ordinance proposed by the petition, the Council shall call a special election for such purpose within thirty (30) days from the date of the presentation of said petition and shall post notice of such special election in at least three (3) public places in the Town for a period of at least fifteen (15) days prior to said
election. Every person qualified, under Section 5D of this Act, to vote at an annual election shall have the right to vote at said special election. If two-thirds (2/3) of the persons voting vote against an ordinance passed by the Council, such ordinance shall be repealed as though repealed by the action of the Council. If two-thirds (2/3) of the persons voting vote in favor of the ordinance proposed by the one hundred (100) petitioners, such ordinance shall be deemed to be in force and effect as though passed by the Council in the manner provided by this Act. The special election shall be conducted under the supervision of an election board in the manner prescribed in Section 5C of this Act.
B. The Council may submit any question, which it deems proper, to a referendum vote of the legally qualified voters of the Town, as set forth in Section 5D of this Act. In every case where the Council refers a question to a vote of the qualified voters, it shall order a special election for that purpose not less than thirty (30) days after the reference, notice of which special election shall be posted in at least three (3) public places in the Town for a period of not less than fifteen (15) days prior to said election. The special election shall be conducted in the manner prescribed in Section 5 of this Act. The Council shall be governed by the majority vote of those voting.
The Council may, at reasonable times, compile, or codify, its ordinances, resolutions, orders, and rules and regulations, and may have such number of copies thereof printed for the use of the officials of the Town and for public information as the Council deems proper. From time to time, upon enactment of new ordinances, resolutions, and rules and regulations, the Council shall enroll the same in its minutes and shall keep copies thereof for public information in a book to be provided for that purpose, and may cause supplements to be compiled and printed to any existing compendium.
In determining the meaning of this Act, words importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things; words importing the plural number may
include the singular ; words importing the masculine gender may be applied to females; the word "person" may extend and be applied to partnerships, associations, and corporations; and the reference herein to any officer shall include any person authorized by law to perform the duties of such office, unless the context shows that such words were intended to be used in a more limited sense ; and the requirements that persons be "sworn" shall be deemed to be complied with by making affirmation in judicial form.
As used in this Act, the word "street" shall be deemed and held to comprehend and include roads, avenues, public squares, sidewalks, lanes, alleys, highways, and all other public roadways and public places of any character whatever. The word "vehicle", as used herein, shall be deemed to include every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land, and the words "association", "corporation", or "company" shall each be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns" of such association, corporation, or company.
Section 35. COMPUTATION OF TIME
In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by this Act, the day of the act, event, or default after which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of such period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Sunday or a legal holiday in the State of Delaware, in which event the period shall run until the end of the next day which is neither a Sunday nor a legal holiday in the State of Delaware.
Section 36. REPEALS, SURVIVAL OF POWERS, AND VALIDATIONS
A. Chapter 212, Volume 25, Laws of Delaware, entitled "An Act to Incorporate the Town of Bethany Beach and Giving it Authority to Issue Bonds", as amended, is hereby repealed, but all rights and liabilities now existing under that Act, as amended, shall not be affected by this repeal, and all acts and doings of the Commissioners of Bethany Beach or of any official
of the Town of Bethany Beach which shall have been lawfully done or performed under the provisions of the said Chapter 212, Volume 25, Laws of Delaware or of any other Law of the State of Delaware or of any ordinance of the Commissioners of Bethany Beach, prior to the approval, acceptance, and going into effect of this Act, are hereby ratified and confirmed and shall continue to be valid, unless otherwise provided herein.
B. All ordinances adopted by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach and in force at the time of the approval, acceptance, and going into effect of this Act are continued in force until the same or any of them shall be repealed, modified, or altered by the Council under the provisions of this Act.
C. All powers conferred upon or vested in the Town of Bethany Beach or in the Commissioners of Bethany Beach by any Act or Law of the State of Delaware not in conflict with the provisions of this Act, are hereby expressly conferred upon and vested in the Town of Bethany Beach or in the Council precisely as if each of said powers was expressly repeated in this Act.
D. All taxes, assessments, license fees, penalties, fines, or forfeitures or other charges due to the Town under the acts and proceedings of the Commissioners of Bethany Beach or under any Law of the State of Delaware or ordinance enacted by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall be due to the Town of Bethany Beach, and all debts due to or from and liens in favor of the Town of Bethany Beach shall remain unimpaired until paid to or by the Town of Bethany Beach or disposed of in accordance with law.
E. All powers granted by this Act in respect to the collection of taxes, license fees, assessments, or other charges shall be deemed to apply and extend to all unpaid taxes, license fees, assessments, or other charges heretofore lawfully imposed by the commissioners of Bethany Beach.
F. The surety bonds heretofore given by or on account of any official of the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware, shall not be affected or impaired by the enactment of this Act, but shall remain in full force and effect.
G. All Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent with or in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, but all rights and liabilities accrued thereunder shall not be affected by this repeal.
H. If any part of this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional, such holding shall not be deemed to invalidate the remaining provisions thereof.
. This Act shall be taken as and deemed to be a Public Act of the State of Delaware.
Section 37. CHARTER REFERENDUM
This Act shall not become effective until it shall be approved by a majority vote at the general election to be held in the Town of Bethany Beach, Delaware, on the first Saturday of August, 1955, A. D. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall give notice of the vote to be taken on the provisions of this Act in the notice to be given for holding such general election under the provisions of Section 4 of Chapter 212, Volume 25, Laws of Delaware. In the event a majority of the voters who are qualified to vote at the said general election shall vote in favor of the provisions of this Act, the said Act shall immediately, on the ascertaining of the result of such vote, become operative and of full force and effect.