CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF FELTON
Section 1. Town Limits.
The inhabitants of the Town of Felton within the corporate limits hereinafter defined in this Charter or extended as hereinafter provided, shall be and constitute a body politic and corporate, and shall be known and identified as the ‘TOWN OF FELTON’. The boundaries of the Town of Felton are hereby established and declared as recorded on the official map of record in the Recorder of Deeds Office for Kent County and State of Delaware as presently existing and as hereinafter amended.
Section 2. Annexation of Territory.
Subject to state laws of general application to municipalities pertaining to annexation of territory, the town shall have power to annex any additional contiguous territory adjoining the corporate limits of the town as hereinbefore set forth or as hereafter extended pursuant to the procedure set forth in this Section, and to apply to all such additional territory all laws, ordinances, resolutions, and policies in force in the town so far as they may be locally applicable. For purposes of this Section, ‘contiguous’ means that a part of the boundary of the territory sought to be annexed is coterminous with a part of the boundary of the municipal corporation.
2.1 Initiation of annexation proceedings.
2.1.1 By petition of the property owners. Any property owner(s) holding record fee title to real property in territory contiguous to the then existing corporate limits of the town may petition the Town Council to annex that certain territory in which they own property. Such petition shall be in writing, duly executed and acknowledged by each petitioner, shall describe with reasonable certainty the territory proposed for annexation, indicate the property owned by each petitioner therein, state the reasons for the requested annexation, and identify the proposed zoning district classification(s) for such territory (which proposed zoning classifications shall be consistent with the town's comprehensive plan). The Town Council may, within 90 days following the filing of such petition in the town office, vote to accept such petition and proceed as hereinafter provided, or to reject such petition. Any petition not so accepted within said 90 days shall be null and void. For purposes of Sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.2, ‘territory contiguous to the then existing corporate limits of the town’ shall include both real property which, though itself not contiguous to the town's then existing corporate limits, is contiguous to other real property which is proposed to be included in the annexation and real property which would be contiguous under Section 2.2.11(b).
2.1.2 Resolution of the Town Council. The Town Council may, at any time, adopt a resolution proposing the annexation of any territory(s) contiguous to the town. Such resolution shall describe, with reasonable certainty, the territory(s) proposed to be annexed, state the reasons for the proposed annexation, and identify the proposed zoning district classification(s) for such territory(s) (which proposed zoning classifications shall be consistent with the town's comprehensive plan). Upon adoption of such resolution, the Town Council shall proceed as hereafter provided.
2.2 Annexation procedure. Whether annexation is proposed by petition of the property owners or by resolution of the Town Council, the following procedure shall be complied with:
2.2.1 Resolution and notice.
(a) The Town Council shall adopt a resolution notifying the property owners and the residents of both the town and the territory proposed to be annexed, that the town proposes to annex certain territory which adjoins its then corporate limits. The resolution shall contain a description of the territory proposed to be annexed, shall identify the zoning district classification(s) proposed for such territory if annexed (which proposed zoning classifications shall be consistent with the town's comprehensive plan), and shall fix a time and place for a public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation and zoning. Such resolution may also provide that if the annexation is finally approved, the town shall not be obligated to extend any municipal facilities or improvements unless and until the Town Council, in the sole exercise of its reasonable discretion, determines that it is appropriate for the town to do so or the owner or developer of any property so annexed (or any portion thereof) binds itself, with reasonable surety acceptable to the town, to pay in full all costs and expenses to extend or construct such municipal facilities and improvements to serve such lands (in strict accordance with all governing federal, state, and town regulations and standards), subject to an appropriate ‘recapture agreement’ (acceptable to the town) pursuant to which the owner(s) or developer(s) of other lands benefited by extensions or improvements paid for by the initial owner/developer under the recapture agreement would pay to the town their equitably-determined proportionate share of such costs and expenses (as a condition precedent to obtaining such services, extensions, and/or improvements) which amounts the town would, upon receipt, rebate to the owner or developer which had originally paid for those extensions and/or improvements. The resolution setting forth the information shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the town. Such publication shall appear not less than 30days nor more than 60 days before the date set for the hearing. Such notice shall be in bold print or bordered in black in such manner as to call attention thereto.
In addition to publication as herein provided, the Town Council shall, not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of such hearing: (1) cause a public notice, containing the full text of the resolution, to be posted in at least five public places in the town; (2) shall comply with the applicable provisions of 29 Del. C. Chapters 92 and 93, as those provisions may from time to time hereafter be amended (or with any future corresponding provision of law), and (3) send a copy of such notice, certified mail, to the owners of record of the lands proposed to be included in the annexation at their address as shown on the public tax records. Written notice to one co-owner shall be notice to all.
2.2.2 Public hearing. At the time, date, and place specified in the resolution proposing annexation (or at any revised date, time, or place if duly noticed as provided in Section 2.2.1) the Town Council shall sit to hear comments and opinion from any concerned party regarding the proposed annexation and proposed zoning district classification. Such public hearing shall be for the purpose of obtaining public opinion and legislative fact finding and the Town Council shall remain free to exercise its legislative discretion in making its determination with regard to any proposed annexation.
2.2.3 Where Annexation Requested or Consented To By Record Owners Of A Single Parcel of Land. Where an annexation proposal is either initiated at the written petition of all of the owners of record of a single parcel of land proposed for annexation, or consented to in a notarized writing signed by all such owners and submitted to the Town Council no later than the conclusion of the public hearing held pursuant to Section 2.2.2, the Town Council may, at any duly noticed regular or special meeting held within six months of the public hearing, vote to accept or reject such proposed annexation and, if to accept, then to proceed in accordance with Section 2.2.8(b). In such cases, no election shall be required. A ‘single parcel of land’ for purposes of this Section 2.2.3 shall mean one or more contiguous tax map parcels of land (or portions thereof) all owned of record by the same person(s) or legal entity(s).
2.2.4 Resolution ordering special election for multiple property annexations. At any time following the public hearing, the Town Council may pass a resolution ordering a special election to be held not less than fourteen (14) days, nor more than thirty (30) days after the date of such resolution proposing the special election. Such resolution shall identify the zoning district classification(s), consistent with the comprehensive plan, which shall be assigned to the territory(s) if annexed. The passage of this resolution shall ipso facto be considered the determination of the Town Council to proceed with the matter of the proposed annexation and zoning district classification if the election results are in favor of the annexation.
2.2.5 Notice of special election. Notice of the time and place of said special election shall be published not less than 14 days nor more than 60 days before the date set for said special election. Notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the town. Such notice shall be in bold print or bordered in black in such manner as to call attention thereto.
In addition to such publication as herein provided, the Town Council shall, not less than 14 days nor more than 30 days before the date of such special election: (1) cause a public notice containing the full text of the resolution proposing such special election to be posted in at least five public places in the town, and (2) mail a copy of such notice to the record owners of the subject parcels and to the residents thereof as known to the Town.
2.2.6 Those entitled to vote.
(a) At such special election, any person residing in the area proposed to be annexed who would be entitled to vote at the annual town election if the area proposed to be annexed was already included in the town, shall be entitled to one vote. (For purposes of this Section ‘lawfully entitled to vote’ shall not include ‘registered to vote’ if registration is required for town elections). In addition, each legal entity or natural person holding record title in its own name in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be entitled to one vote.
(b) These provisions shall be construed so as to permit only ‘one-man, one vote’. Where a voter is entitled to vote by virtue of both residence and ownership of property, that voter shall be entitled to only one vote; where a voter is entitled to vote by ownership of two or more properties, that voter shall be entitled to only one vote.
(c) Any legal entity (other than a natural person) entitled to vote must cast its vote by a duly executed and acknowledged power of attorney. Any natural person may cast his/her vote by a duly executed and acknowledged power of attorney. Such power of attorney shall be surrendered to the Board of Special Election, which shall file same in the office of the town manager. Such power of attorney so filed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the right of said person to vote in the special election on behalf of the legal entity or natural person granting the power.
2.2.7 Conduct of the special election. The Town Council may cause voting machines, electronic voting systems, or paper ballots to be used in the special election, as required by law, the form of ballot to be printed as follows:
__________For the proposed annexation.
__________Against the proposed annexation.
The mayor shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a board of special election. One of the said persons so appointed shall be designated the presiding officer. The Board of Special Elections shall be the sole and final judges of the legality of the votes offered at such special election. It shall keep a true and accurate list of all natural persons and other legal entities voting. Voting shall be conducted in a public place as designated by the resolution calling the special election. The polling place shall be open for such period of time as the Town Council determines to be reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances, not less than one hour, as set by the Town Council, on the date set for the special election. All persons in the polling place at the time of the closing of the polls shall be permitted to vote, even though such votes are not cast until after the time for the closing of the polls.
All ballots cast by those persons or other legal entities authorized to vote as residents or property owners in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be deposited in designated ballot box(es) or cast in designated voting machine(s).
2.2.8 Results of special election.
(a) In order for the territory proposed to be annexed to be considered annexed, a majority of the votes must have been cast in favor of the proposed annexation.
(b) If the vote is favorable to the proposed annexation, the Town Council shall at its first meeting following the special election adopt a resolution annexing the said territory and including it within the limits of the town. If the initial resolution proposing annexation provided that the town was not obligated to extend municipal facilities or improvements to the annexed lands as provided in Section 2.2.1, the resolution annexing such lands shall contain the same or substantially similar provisions. Upon the adoption of said resolution of annexation, copies thereof, signed by the Mayor and Council, and certified by the Town Manager, with municipal seal affixed, together with a plot of the area annexed, shall forthwith be filed for record in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County, and sent to the Office of State Planning. The territory so annexed shall be considered to be a part of the town from the moment the last mentioned resolution is adopted by the Town Council. Failure to record said resolution, or the plot accompanying same shall not invalidate the annexation, but such recording may be enforced by writ of mandamus or mandatory injunction.
2.2.9 Simultaneous annexation proceedings. Provided that such parcels otherwise meet the requirements of this charter for contiguity, nothing herein shall be deemed to require the Town Council to include all contiguous parcels proposed for annexation as one ‘territory’ in one annexation election, but the Town Council may, in its sole discretion, simultaneously conduct an annexation election on each such parcel, or on such combinations of contiguous such parcels, as it deems appropriate; nor shall anything herein prevent the Town Council, in its sole discretion, from combining two or more contiguous parcels proposed for annexation in one ‘territory’ for purposes of conducting an annexation election.
2.2.10 Annexation agreements. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, annexation proceedings may be made contingent upon an annexation agreement with the town which agreement may address any matters which would be relevant to the subject lands, if annexed. By way of example and not in limitation, such agreement may address zoning, subdivision approval, site plan approval, tax relief, public utilities, and public improvements. No provision of any annexation agreement shall violate the town's comprehensive plan. In the event the Town Council approves such an agreement and votes to accept a petition under Section 2.1.1 of this Charter, such annexation agreement, as reviewed and finally approved, shall be deemed a material part of the annexation and shall be included in all subsequent steps of the annexation procedure; that is: (1) the resolutions and notices adopted by the Town Council pursuant to Section 2.2.1., Section 2.2.3, Section 2.2.4, and Section 2.2.8 shall recite that the proposed annexation includes and is subject to an annexation agreement, shall briefly summarize its terms, and shall state that copies of the agreement are available upon request at the town hall; (2) if the results of the election are favorable to the proposed annexation as provided by Section 2.2.8(a) of this Charter, the resolution annexing the territory (as provided by Section 2.2.8(b)) shall recite that the annexation is subject to an annexation agreement and shall incorporate the terms of such agreement by specific reference; and the parties shall be bound to honor the provisions of such agreement unless released there from by the other party.
Provided further, that no annexation agreement made at the time of annexation under this Section 2.2.10 shall extend beyond seven years from the date the property is annexed into the town; and such agreements shall be null, void, and unenforceable after the expiration of said seven (7) years.
An annexation agreement may be modified or amended by mutual agreement of the petitioner and the Town Council at any time prior to the resolution ordering the special election pursuant to Section 2.2.4 of this Charter, but any substantial modification or amendment shall be deemed to be the withdrawal of the original petition and the filing of a new petition under Section 2.1.1.
2.2.11 Property owned by the State of Delaware; highways, streets, roads and alleys, ponds, canals, streams and other waters.
(a) Real property owned by the State of Delaware may be annexed into the town without the State's casting a vote in the special election, provided the state agency having control and supervision thereof does not notify the town, in writing, of its objection to such annexation within 30 days after notice of the resolution proposing the annexation as provided in Section 2.2.1.
(b) Highways, streets, roads, and alleys; ponds, canals, streams, and other waters. Contiguity with the town's existing corporate limits, or with other territory which is itself contiguous with the town's existing corporate limits, shall not be deemed interrupted by the existence of any highway, street, road, alley, pond, canal, stream, or other body of water running parallel with and between the parcel sought to be annexed, but nothing herein shall be construed to allow highways, roads, alleys, rights of way, utility easements, waterways, or like entities to be annexed in ‘corridor’ fashion or to be utilized as a corridor route for annexation to create contiguity.
2.2.12 Re-submission of proposed annexation. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the council from resubmitting a proposal for annexation to the voters of said territory, or any portion thereof, under the authority of this Section and in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Section 3. Powers of the Town.
3.1 Generally. The town shall have and enjoy all the powers possible for a municipal corporation to have under the Constitution and laws of the State of Delaware, as fully and completely as though they were specifically enumerated in this Charter.
3.2 Enumeration of powers. Not by way of limitation upon the scope of the powers vested in the Town Council to exercise all powers delegated by this Charter to the town (except as may expressly appear herein to the contrary), but rather by way of enumeration and for purposes of clarity, the Town Council is vested by this Charter with the following powers, that is to say, the Town Council:
3.2.1 May have and use a corporate seal that may be altered, changed, or renewed at pleasure.
3.2.2 May hold and acquire by gift, negotiation and purchase, devise, lease, or condemnation, property both real (improved or unimproved) and personal, or mixed, within or without the boundaries of the town, in fee or lesser estate or interest, necessary or desirable for any municipal or public purpose, including but not limited to, providing sites for constructing, improving, extending, altering, or demolishing:
(a) Public buildings;
(b) Parks;
(c) Streets, squares, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks;
(d) Water systems, including but not limited to sewage lines, conduits, lift stations, sewage disposal or treatment plants, and all appurtenances thereto;
(e) Water systems, including but not limited to, water plants, wells, lines, conduits and all appurtenances thereto;
(f) Electric systems, including but not limited to, electric plans, substations, distribution systems, lines, conduits and all appurtenances thereto;
(g) Gas systems, including but not limited to storage tanks, distribution systems, conduits and all appurtenances thereto;
(h) Recreational facilities, including but not limited to public bathing beaches, gymnasiums, athletic fields, bicycle paths, tennis, basketball, or paddle ball courts and all appurtenances thereto;
(i) For slum clearance and redevelopment, urban renewal, revitalization, or rehabilitation of blighted areas or removal of dangerous buildings;
(j) For the protection of the health of the citizens of the town; and
(k) For the proper furnishing of adequate municipal services to the citizens of the town and those persons residing in such proximity to, but beyond, the corporate limits of the town who can be furnished with such municipal services, in the discretion of the Town Council to the mutual benefit and advantage of the town and such non-residents thereto, upon such terms, charges, and conditions as the Town Council may determine and approve.
3.2.3 May sell, grant, alienate, lease, mortgage, manage, hold and control such property as the interests of the town may require except as prohibited by the Constitution of the State of Delaware or as restricted by this Charter.
3.2.4 May pay for the acquisition, construction, improvement, repair, extension, alteration, or demolition of any municipal or public property, real, personal, or mixed, from the general fund of the town, from the proceeds of any bond issue which may be authorized and sold for any of the purposes for which lands and premises are authorized by this Charter to be acquired, and/or from the proceeds of any grant or loan made to the town by any governmental entity of the United States or the State of Delaware where the proceeds of the grant or loan are for the purposes for which lands and premises are authorized by this Charter to be acquired.
3.2.5 May acquire, build, erect and maintain buildings and facilities necessary or required for housing and equipping the offices of the town.
3.2.6 May purchase, take and hold real and personal property when sold for any delinquent tax, assessment, trash bill, water rent, electric bill, gas bill, license fee, tapping fee, charge growing out of abatement of nuisances and the like, laying-out and repairing sidewalks, or other charge due the town, and to sell the same.
3.2.7 May ascertain, locate, lay out, establish, open, change, alter, widen, abandon, regulate the use and enjoyment of, prevent or remove any obstruction of, level, grade, flag, dress, macadamize, pave, gravel, shell, improve, dredge, erect, remove, repair and replace any new or present street, highway, lane, alley, water course, park, lake, pond, crosswalk, wharf, dock, sewer, drain, gutter, aqueduct, or pipeline or portion thereof, or any new or present sidewalk, curb, or gutter or portion thereof in the town to specify the grade thereof, the materials to be used in the doing thereof and the manner in which the same shall be done; to enter into contracts or agreements for the doing thereof, including contracts or agreements with the State of Delaware for the permanent maintenance, repair and upkeep of any street, lane, alley, roadway or other public thoroughfare within the town.
3.2.8 May enforce the removal of ice, snow or dirt or other foreign substance from sidewalks and gutters by owners or abutting owners.
3.2.9 May prohibit, remove or regulate the erection of any stoop, step, platform, bay window, cellar door, gate, area, descent, sign, post or any other erection or projection in, over, upon or under any street, highway, alley, lane, water course, park, lake, strand, sidewalk, crosswalk, wharf, dock, sewer, drain, aqueduct or pipeline of the town.
3.2.10 May provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control dams, jetties, bulkheads, embankments, flood gates, piers, or fills for the preservation of any strand or high land within the limits of the town and contiguous thereto to the end that the same may be preserved and properly protected that the general public might enjoy the use thereof.
3.2.11 May direct, regulate and control the planting, rearing, treatment and preserving of ornamental shade trees in the streets, avenues, highways, parks and grounds of the town and to authorize or prohibit the removal or destruction of said trees.
3.2.12 May fully control within the town the drainage of all water and to that end to alter or change the course and direction of any natural water course, runs or rivulet within the town, to regulate, maintain, clean and keep the same open, clean and unobstructed, and to provide, construct, extend and maintain, manage and control a surface water drainage system and facilities for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the town.
3.2.13 May provide an ample supply of potable water for the town and its inhabitants and to this end may acquire, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, control and dispose of wells, reservoirs, pumps, machines, water treatment facilities, stations, tanks, standpipes, water mains, fire hydrants, and all other equipment, property, or rights used in or about the collection, storage, purification, conveyance, or distribution or sale of water; to regulate and prescribe for what public or private purposes the water furnished by the town may be used, the manner of its use, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury, or damage to or interference with the water system or the equipment of the town; in the interest of the public's health, may compel any and all properties in the town to be connected to the water system of the town; may furnish or refuse to furnish water from the town system to places and properties outside the town limits; and may contract for and purchase water and distribute the same to users within or without the town with the same full powers as though such water had been initially reduced to usefulness by the municipality itself.
3.2.14 May provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a sewer system and/or a sewage treatment and disposal plant and facilities for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the town; may regulate and prescribe for what private or public uses or purposes the system may be used, the manner of its use, the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts shall be collected and the fines or penalties or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to, or interference with the said system, plant or facilities; may furnish or refuse to furnish sewer disposal service from the town system to places and properties outside the town limits; in the interest of the public's health, may compel any and all properties in the town to be connected to the sewer system of the town; and may contract for sewer collection, treatment and/or disposal service and to resell the same to users within or without the town with the same full powers as though such service had been initially provided by the facilities therefore of the town itself.
3.2.15 May provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control the plant and system, or plants and systems, for the generating, manufacturing and distributing of electric current or gas, or both, to the inhabitants of the town and for lighting the streets, highways, lanes, alleys, water courses, parks, lakes, strands, sidewalks, crosswalks, wharfs, docks, public buildings or other public places in the town, and to this end may acquire, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate, extend, enlarge, renew, replace, control and dispose of transmission and distribution lines, pipes, mains and other conveyances for any such current or gas as may be necessarily proper to light 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; to regulate and prescribe for what private or public purpose the current or gas furnished by the town may be used, the manner of its use, the amount to be paid by the users thereof, the means whereby such amounts are to be collected and the fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the electric or gas system or systems of the town; to furnish or refuse to furnish electric current or gas from the town's system or systems, to places and properties outside the town limits; and to contract for and purchase electric current or gas and distribute the same to users within or without the town with the same full powers as though such current or gas had been initially reduced to usefulness by the town itself.
3.2.16 May regulate, control or prevent the use or storage of gasoline, naphtha, gun powder, fireworks, tar, pitch, resin, and all other combustible or dangerous materials and the use of candles, lamps, and other lights in stores, shops, and other places; may regulate, suppress, remove or secure any fireplace, stove chimney, oven broiler, or other apparatus which may pose a danger of causing fires.
3 2.17 May provide for the organization of a fire department and the control and government thereof; may establish fire limits and do all things necessary for the prevention or extinguishment of fires; and at the discretion of the Town Council, may contribute, donate or give an amount or amounts to any volunteer fire company or companies incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, or any volunteer fire association or associations maintaining and operating fire fighting equipment and service to the town, provided that any such contribution, donation or gift may be made subject to such conditions and stipulations as to the use thereof as the Town Council shall deem advisable.
3.2.18 May provide for the organization of ambulance, rescue or paramedic service(s) and the control and government thereof; may, at the discretion of the Town Council, contribute, donate or give an amount or amounts to any such service formed or incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, or to any volunteer service maintaining and operating ambulance, rescue or paramedic equipment and services for the inhabitants of the town, provided that any such contribution, donation or gift may be made subject to such conditions and stipulations to the use thereof as the Town Council may deem advisable.
3.2.19 May prevent vice, drunkenness, and immorality.
3.2.20 May prohibit gaming and fraudulent devices.
3.2.21 May prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages.
3.2.22 May adopt and enforce such ordinances regulating traffic, on all streets, alleys, avenues, and public ways within the town as are not inconsistent with the motor vehicle laws of the State of Delaware.
3.2.23 May regulate or prohibit the use of public streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, right-of-ways, public places and town-owned lands for commercial uses or activities not otherwise protected from such regulation or prohibition by the Constitutions of either the United States or the State of Delaware, or by any controlling federal statute.
3.2.24 May regulate or prevent the use of guns, air guns, spring guns, pistols, sling shots, bow and arrows, and any other device for discharging missiles which may cause bodily injury or injuries or harm to persons or property; and to regulate or prevent the use of bonfires, fireworks, bombs and detonating works of all kinds.
3.2.25 May provide for and preserve the health, peace, safety, cleanliness, ornament, good order and public welfare of the town and its inhabitants.
3.2.26 May prohibit, restrain, license or regulate all public sports, exhibitions, shows, parades, productions, circuses or other public performances, amusements and games.
3.2.27 May direct the digging down, draining, filling up, cleaning, cutting or fencing of lots, tracts, pieces or parcels of ground in the town which may be deemed dangerous or unwholesome or necessary to carry out any improvements authorized by this Charter and to assess the cost thereof against the owner thereof.
3.2.28 May define, prevent, abate or remove nuisances, obstructions or any other condition detrimental to the public safety, health or welfare; and to cause the cost of such abatement or removal to be paid by the legal entity causing or permitting same to exist.
3.2.29 May adopt ordinances providing for the condemnation, upon inspection, of any building or structure in the town which is determined, on the basis of standards set forth in such ordinance(s) to be a fire hazard or otherwise unsafe, and cause the same to be torn down or removed; and to cause the cost of such demolition and removal to be paid by the legal entity causing or permitting same to exist.
3.2.30 May establish and regulate pounds and to restrain, prohibit and impound any domestic or wild animal, beast, bird or fowl running at large and to authorize the destruction of the same; and to regulate the keeping of dogs within the town, and to provide for registration and fees thereof.
3.2.31 May provide for the punishment of a violation of any ordinance of the town by fine or imprisonment or both, not exceeding $1,000.00 and/or 30 days imprisonment for each offense.
3.2.32 May adopt by reference and enforce the provisions of the Delaware motor vehicle statutes, including all fines and penalties set out therein, and including all amendments thereto enacted from time to time by the Delaware General Assembly.
3.2.33 May, in addition to or in lieu of imposing fines or criminal penalties, impose civil penalties for violations of any local town ordinance
3.2.34 May enact ordinances providing for a ‘voluntary assessment procedure’ pursuant to which citizens charged with violations of local Town ordinances may admit to the violation and mail in or deliver to the Town Hall the appropriate fine or civil penalty without the necessity of appearing before any judicial officer. Any such ordinances shall provide: (a) that if the citizen does not opt to use the voluntary assessment procedure, the charge shall proceed through normal judicial proceedings; (b) that any citizen who opts to use the voluntary assessment procedure may, in a timely manner, revoke such option and allow the charge to proceed through normal judicial proceedings; (c) shall disclose the minimum and maximum penalties established for violation of the ordinance and provide that only the minimum penalty is due if the citizen opts for the voluntary assessment option; provided further, that the Town may not utilize such voluntary assessment procedure for violation of any ordinance which regulates conduct which is also regulated by a state statute which state statute involves a scheme of state record keeping (as, for example, the ‘points’ system utilized by the State with regard to moving motor vehicle violations).
3.2.35 May acquire, build, erect and maintain a suitable place as a lock-up or jail for the town which shall be used as a place for detention of persons accused of violations of law or ordinances, for a reasonable time in cases of necessity prior to hearing and trial; provided that any correctional institution located in Kent County may be used for any such purpose.
3.2.36 May provide for payment of any tax, license, assessment, fee, charge, or other amount due the town by the performance of labor or service for the town by any person owing the same.
3.2.37 May regulate and control the manner of building, moving, or removal of dwellings or other structures and to provide for granting permits for same.
3.2.38 May prohibit and prevent the carrying on of construction by private persons or companies at such times and seasons of the year and at such hours of the day as the Town Council may determine necessary and appropriate for the public health and welfare.
3.2.39 May provide for or regulate the numbering of houses and lots on the streets and the naming of the streets and avenues.
3.2.40 May, for the prevention of fire and the preservation of the beauty of the town, establish a building line for buildings to be erected; may zone or district the town and make particular provision for particular zones or districts with regard to the use of land or buildings; and may prohibit any building or construction except those for which a building permit has been issued as prescribed by the Town Council; and generally may exercise all powers and authorities vested by virtue of 22 Del. C. Chapter 3, as it may hereafter from time to time be amended, or any future corresponding provision of law.
3.2.41 May license, tax and collect fees of such various amounts as the Town Council from time to time shall fix from any individual, firm, association or corporation carrying on or practicing any business, profession or occupation, or renting out any real or personal property, within the limits of the town.
3.2.42 May impose, upon new development or construction or upon first time occupancy of new construction, such ‘impact fees’ as are reasonably and proportionally calculated to recover the cost of installing, enlarging, improving, or expanding public or municipal improvements and services which have a rational nexus to such new construction; and/or to contribute to the costs of operations of those volunteer fire companies, and/or ambulance/paramedic companies providing services within the town or to residents of the Town.
3.2.43 May grant licenses and impose fees for licenses, issue permits, and regulate any activity within the corporate limits of the town.
3.2.44 May grant franchises or licenses to any responsible person, firm, association or corporation for such period of time, upon such terms, restrictions, stipulations and conditions and for such consideration as the Town Council shall deem in the best interest of the municipality, to use the present and future streets, highways, lanes, alleys, water courses, parks, lakes, strands, sidewalks, boardwalks, crosswalks, and other public places of the town for the purpose of furnishing heat, light, power, gas, water, sewer, drainage, electric current, telephone, telegraph, television, internet services, railroad (excepting railroads or railways engaged in interstate commerce), bus, taxi or other transportation, carrier or public service to the town, unto the persons, firms or corporations residing or located therein and for the purpose of transmitting the same from or through the town to points outside the limits thereof; provided, however, that whenever any state or federal law grants jurisdiction over any such activity to a state or federal agency, the town shall have no authority inconsistent therewith.
3.2.45 May regulate and control the exercise of any license or franchise mentioned in Section 3.2.41 of this Charter, or intended so to be.
3.2.46 May appropriate money to pay the debts, liabilities and expenditures of the town, or any part or item thereof, from any fund applicable thereto, and to transfer temporarily money from one fund to another fund of the town in case of emergency.
3.2.47 May inquire into and investigate the conduct of any officer, agent or employee of the town or any municipal affair and for such purpose or purposes may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths or affirmations, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, or other evidence by subpoena.
3.2.48 May establish a pension, health, dental, or other insurance plan, (including participation in any pension, health, dental, or insurance plan offered by or through the State of Delaware) for the employees of the town under such terms and conditions as the Town Council, in its discretion, may deem most appropriate. The method of funding, if deemed desirable by the Town Council, may be accomplished through an insurance company or brokerage firm licensed by the State of Delaware or authorized to do business in this State.
3.2.49 May determine what purposes are deemed to be public purposes or municipal purposes.
3.2.50 May make, adopt, and establish, alter and amend all such ordinances, regulations, rules, and by-laws not contrary to the laws of this state and the United States as the Town Council may deem necessary to carry into effect any of the provisions of this Charter or any other law of the state relating generally to municipal corporations or which they may deem proper and necessary for the order, protection and good government of the town, the protection and preservation of persons and property, and of the public health and welfare of the town and its inhabitants; provided, however that any ordinance relating to the public health of the Town and its inhabitants or designed to prevent the introduction or spread of infectious or contagious diseases or to prevent nuisances affecting the same shall apply not only within the corporate limits of the town but as well to all areas and persons outside the town within one (1) mile from said limits.
3.3 Liberal construction; manner of exercise. The powers of the Town under this Charter shall be liberally construed in favor of the Town, and the enumeration of particular powers by this Charter shall not be held or deemed to be exclusive, but, in addition to the powers enumerated herein, implied hereby, or appropriate to the exercise thereof, the town shall have and may exercise any and all powers which, under the Constitution of the State of Delaware, it would be competent for this Charter to specifically enumerate.
3.4 Manner of exercising powers. All powers of the town, whether express or implied, shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Charter, or if not prescribed herein, then in the manner provided by ordinance or resolution of the Town Council. The council may, by resolution, do such other act or thing incidental, necessary, or useful in connection with any of the matters in this Charter duly authorized.
3.5 Intergovernmental cooperation. The town may exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions and may participate in the financing thereof, jointly or in cooperation, by contract or otherwise, with the State of Delaware or with any agency or political subdivision thereof, or the United States or any agency thereof, except as prohibited or restricted by the Constitution or laws of the State of Delaware or by this Charter.
Section 4. Town Council.
4.1. Governing Body. The government of the Town and the exercise of all powers conferred by this Charter, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be vested in and exercised by the Town Council composed of five (5) members to be chosen as hereinafter provided.
4.2. Qualifications. Candidates for the office of Town Council must be at least 21 years of age, and, for a period of at least one year prior to the date of the election, been a bona fide resident of the Town qualified to vote at the annual Town election as provided in Section 6.1. No person having been convicted of a felony or any crime of moral turpitude shall be qualified to be a candidate for the office of Town Council. The Town Council, by a majority vote of its disinterested members, shall be the sole and final judge of the qualifications of its members and shall interpret and apply the standards set forth in this charter.
4.3. Term of Office. The term of office for each member of the Town Council shall be two years. The present Commissioners of the Town of Felton (hereafter to be known as ‘Town Council members’), and other officers appointed to serve under 63 Laws of Delaware, Chapter 349, as amended, shall continue to serve as Town Commissioners/Council members and officers of the Town from and after the effective date of this charter, until their successors are duly elected or appointed. At the annual Town election in 2007, three (3) persons shall be elected to the Town Council to fill vacancies created by the expiration of the terms of office of the three then- outgoing council members, and at the annual Town election in 2008, two (2) persons shall be elected to fill the vacancies created by the expiration of the terms of office of the three then out-going council members. Thereafter, two members of the Town Council shall be elected in even years, and three council members shall be elected in odd years.
Section 5. Notice of Solicitation of Candidates; Notice of Candidacy.
5.1 Notice of Solicitation of Candidates. Not less than twenty (20) days prior to the filing deadline for Notices of Candidacy, the Town shall post a ‘Notice of Solicitation of Candidates’ in at least five public places in the Town, one of which shall be at the Town Hall. If the Town has a website, such notice shall also be posted on the website. The Town shall provide a copy of such notice to the Department of Elections. Such notice shall include the term or terms of each office up for election, the deadline and procedure for declaring candidacy for an office up for election, and the qualifications for holding each office. If the Town permits absentee ballots, the notice shall also include information concerning how to obtain an absentee ballot.
5.2 Notice of Candidacy. In order to be listed on the ballot at any regular or special election of Town Council members, each candidate shall file a written, signed, and notarized notice of intention (in the form of a letter) to seek office with the Town Manager, at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date set for the election. Such letter shall contain an affidavit that the candidate meets all of the qualifications for holding office. The Town Manager shall present all timely received letters of candidacy to the Town Council at its first meeting held after the filing deadline.
5.3 Determinations Concerning Qualifications. If the Town Manager determines that any candidate may not meet the qualifications for office, he/she shall notify the Mayor who shall call a special meeting of the Town Council to be held not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date set for the election, at which meeting the Town Council shall decide the matter. The candidate whose qualifications are at issue shall be notified, by registered mail, of the date, time and place of the hearing, at which he or she may appear and testify. If the Town Council determines that the candidate does not meet the qualifications for office, it shall reject his/her notice of intention to seek office and his/her name shall not appear on the ballot. In making the determination, only those members of the Town Council who are not running for re-election shall be entitled to vote on the question.
5.4 Compliance with Municipal Election statute. Every candidate for Town office, and every effected Town Official, shall comply the provisions of 15 Del. C. § 7555 (d) through (h) (as the same may be amended from time to time, or in accordance with any corresponding provision of law) as regards the filing of ‘Certificates of Intention’ or ‘Statements of Organization’. The Town shall, in accordance with § 7555(l) of the Municipal Election Statute, submit the names of candidates for each office up for election to the Department of Elections no later than one (1) business day following the deadline for filing a Notice of Candidacy under Section 5.2 above.
Section 6. Elections.
6.1 Voter qualifications. Any person shall be qualified to vote who, on the date of the election, is:
(a) A United States citizen;
(b) Has attained eighteen (18) years of age;
(c) Has been a bona fide resident of the Town for at least 60 days preceding the date of the election in which he/she seeks to vote;
(d) Has not been adjudged a mentally incompetent person by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(e) Has not been disenfranchised pursuant to Sections 3 or 7 of Article V of the Constitution of the State of Delaware.
For purposes hereof, a person is a ‘bona fide resident’ of the town when he/she physically resides within the corporate limits of the town with the actual intent to make that residence his/her fixed and permanent home; however, any person who is enlisted or engaged in any government service of the United States or any military organization of this state of the United States, which service requires him/her to reside outside the limits of the town, shall be considered to be a bona fide resident of the town during the period of his/her service so long as it remains his/her actual intention to retain Felton as his/her fixed and permanent home.
6.2 Voter registration. The Town Council may enact such ordinances concerning the registration of qualified voters for municipal elections in the town as it deems reasonably necessary to provide for the orderly and efficient conduct of municipal elections; provided that no such ordinances shall alter the qualifications of voters as hereinabove set forth, nor shall any such ordinances unduly impair the right to vote in a municipal election. If the Town Council does provide for voter registration and maintains its own voter registration system, it shall post a schedule of when eligible citizens may register to vote and provide them a reasonable opportunity to do so.
6.3 Uncontested elections; write-in candidates.
(a) Where there is only one official candidate for each office up for election, the Board of Elections shall declare those candidates elected without the holding of a formal election.
(b) No person or candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot shall be eligible for election, and votes for ‘write-in’ candidates shall not be counted.
6.4 Date, time, and place and manner of conducting.
(a) Date, time, and place. The annual town election shall be held on the first Monday in March of each year at such time and place, within the town, as shall be determined by the Town Council. The polls shall remain open for not less than six hours, the times to be determined by the Town Council.
(b) Notice of elections. Notice of town elections, including the date, time, and place thereof, the names of the candidates for each office to be filled, and the qualifications to vote in the election shall be given by posting notice thereof in at least five public places in the town, one of which shall be at the Town Hall, not less than twenty days before the day of such election and by publishing notice thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the town at least seven days prior to the date of the election. The published notice shall be in bold print or bordered in black in such manner as to call attention thereto.
(c) Voting machines, paper ballots, electronic voting system. Elections shall be by voting machine, electronic voting system, or by paper ballot as the Town Council shall determine; provided however that voting machines or electronic voting systems shall be used if required by general statute.
(d) Absentee voting. The Town Council may (but shall not be required to), by ordinance, provide for a qualified voter (duly registered if required by ordinance) who shall be unable to appear in person, to cast his or her ballot at any municipal election by absentee ballot. In such event, the Town shall comply with § 7556 of the Municipal Election statute regarding absentee voting as such statute may from time to time hereafter be amended, or in accordance with any future corresponding provision of law.
(e) Rules governing conduct of elections. All elections for Town Offices shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of § 7558 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code regarding, among other things, training of Election Officers, persons who may be admitted into the voting room, electioneering, challengers and challenges, oath of office for Election Officers, bribery, polling places and the preparation thereof, voting procedures, closing of the polls, and unofficial results; provided however that the Election Board shall fulfill the role of ‘Inspector’ of the election. The Town Council may, by ordinance or resolution, adopt such other additional rules, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter or with controlling state or federal law, governing the conduct of elections.
(f) Election Board. Every election shall be held under the supervision of an election board. The Election Board shall consist of three (3) or five (5) persons (as determined by the Town Council) who shall be qualified voters of the town and who shall not themselves be an elected official or candidate or an immediate family member of an elected official or candidate (mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, including half-brothers and half-sisters, stepfamily members, and in-laws). An Election Board shall be appointed for each Town Council election by the Town Council at least twenty (20) days before such election. Members of the Election Board shall be issued a Certificate of Appointment and shall take the oath or affirmation set out in § 7551(d) of Title 15 of the Delaware Code. Members of the Election Board shall not engage in ‘electioneering’ as defined in§ 7551 (e) of the Municipal Election statute. After installation of the Board, the Town shall notify the Commissioner of Elections and the Department of Elections of the Board’s members, and post the names and contact information for the Board in the Town Hall and, on the Town’s website (if it has one). The Town Council may, at the same time it appoints the Election Board, appoint up to three ‘alternate’ members (designated as ‘first’, ‘second’, and ‘third’ alternate) to assume office in the event that one or more of the original Board resigns, is disqualified, or is otherwise unable to serve. Each alternate member shall meet all the qualifications for serving on the Election Board and shall conduct himself/herself in the manner required for members of the Election Board. In the event that it becomes necessary for one or more of the alternates to serve, they shall be provided a Certificate of Appointment, administered the oath or affirmation, and notice of their appointment provided as in the case of the original members of the Board. Members of the election board shall be the sole and final judges of the conduct of the election and of the legality of the votes offered. The Board of Election shall determine all challenges and other issues involving the conduct of the election at the polling place. The election board shall keep a list of all voters voting at said election. The election board shall have the power to administer oaths, subpoena persons, and officers of the town, and books, records and papers relative to the determination of the qualifications of voters and the legality of any vote or votes offered.
(g) Election Officers. Pursuant to § 7557 of Title 15 of the Delaware Code, the Board of Elections shall appoint a sufficient number of Election Officers to assist in conducting the Town Election in a fair and equal manner. Any Election Officer who violates the provisions of the Municipal Election statute shall be forthwith removed by the Board of Elections.
(h) Election results. The Board of Elections shall tabulate the votes and announce the results of the election as soon as possible following the closing of the polls. Following the resolution of any contest and the certification of the election results, the Board of Elections shall audit the election records in order to reconcile the number of voters who cast ballots as compared to the number of voters who returned absentee ballots and voted on voting machines. The results shall be reported to the Mayor and made available for public review.
(i) Recounts. The Board of Elections shall recount the absentee ballots (if any) if the difference between the top two candidates is one half (½) of one percent (1%) or less than the total votes cast for that office. Where citizens vote for more than one candidate for an office, the Board of Elections shall recount absentee ballots if the difference between the last candidate elected and the next closest candidate is one-half (½) of one percent (1%) or less than the total votes cast for the office.
(j) Ties. In the event of a tie vote for any office, the Election Board shall determine such tie by a majority vote of the entire election board.
(k) Preservation of ballots and records. All ballots cast and all records of the election kept by the Election Board shall be preserved in the custody of the election board for a period of thirty (30) days following the Election Board’s announcement of the election results, unless an appeal is filed in a court of appropriate jurisdiction, in which case such ballots and records shall be preserved until further direction of the court having jurisdiction.
6.5 Time Limit to Challenge Election. No action to challenge the election of any member of the Town Council may be filed after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date the Election Board announces the results of the election.
Section 7. Town Council.
7.1 Organizational meeting. An organizational meeting of the Town Council shall be held not less than seven days nor more than fourteen (14) days following the determination of the election results by the election board. Such meeting shall be held at the usual place for holding regular meetings. The newly elected council-members shall assume the duties of their respective offices, being first duly sworn or affirmed to perform their duties with fidelity, which oath or affirmation shall be taken before a notary public, a justice of the peace, the mayor, or by one of the holdover council-members. Until such newly elected council-members have been duly installed in office, the outgoing members of the Town Council shall remain in office as ‘hold-over’ members of the Town Council. The oath of office shall be in the form substantially as follows:
I (FULL NAME) do hereby solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Delaware, the Charter and Ordinances of the Town of Felton, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of ______________________ of the Town of Felton according to the best of my ability.
At such meeting, the newly-constituted Council shall elect a Mayor and Vice-Mayor from among themselves, each of whom shall serve for a term of one (1) year and until his/her successor has been duly elected and qualified. Such vote may be by secret ballot if requested by one or more members of the newly-constituted Council.
7.2 Officers. The offices of mayor and council member shall be elective. All other officers shall be appointed offices, such appointment to be made by the Town Council, as provided in Section 7 of this Charter.
7.2.1 Mayor. It shall be the duty of the Mayor to preside at all meetings of the Town Council, to serve as the head of the town government for all ceremonial purposes or for purposes of military law; and to perform such other duties as may be prescribed by any ordinance or resolution adopted by the Town Council. The Mayor shall have the same right as other council-members to vote on all matters and may at any time appoint another council-member to preside if he/she desires to make a motion, move the adoption of a resolution, second either, or debate any question from the floor, and may thereafter immediately resume his/her duties as presiding officer. For purposes of establishing a majority vote or quorum, the mayor shall be counted as a member of council.
The Mayor shall be authorized to act on behalf of the town, without prior council approval, in the event of some sudden emergency requiring prompt action in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the town, its residents and property owners. A ‘sudden emergency’ for purposes of this Section shall include, by way of example and not in limitation, a major fire or conflagration, significant flooding, or serious storm threatening significant damage, a civil disturbance, or a toxic spill. A ‘sudden emergency’ shall also include any emergency situation as declared by any County, State, or Federal agency having jurisdiction over the town where the scope of the emergency so declared includes the Town of Felton. If reasonably possible, the Mayor shall notify each council-member, in writing, or by fax or ‘e-mail’ of the action so taken within 48 hours. Notice shall be complete upon depositing such notice in the U.S. Mail, proper postage affixed, to each council-member at his/her last known address, by personal delivery, or by confirmation of receipt of a fax or e-mail transmission.
Any action taken by the Mayor under the powers vested in him/her under this Section shall be as good as the act of the entire council, provided that the council may at a regular or special meeting held within fifteen (15) days of the Mayor's action, cancel the further implementation of any such action not yet completed and notify any persons or legal entities affected.
7.2.2 Vice-Mayor. The vice-mayor shall act as mayor during the absence or disability of the mayor, and while so acting, shall be vested with all the powers, duties, and authority of the mayor. The vice-mayor shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the mayor or by ordinance or resolution adopted by the Town Council.
Succession of authority. In the event that the mayor is unavailable or incapable of assuming his/her responsibilities in a sudden emergency (as defined in Section 7.2.1) the emergency powers therein vested in the mayor shall devolve upon the following officers and officials of the town in the following order of sequence: (1) Vice-Mayor, (2) each of the three remaining council-members in order of their total number of years served on Council, (3) Town Manager, and (4). Chief of Police,
Committees. The Town Council shall, by majority vote of the entire Council, establish all committees and appoint all persons to serve on those committees. Any member of council may nominate one or more persons to serve on any committee established by the Town Council.
7.3 Prohibitions.
7.3.1 Holding other office; employment restrictions. Except where authorized by law, no member of the Town Council or the Mayor shall hold any other town office or town employment while serving in office, and any former mayor or council-member shall not hold any compensated appointed town office or employment until one (1) year after he/she leaves such office.
7.3.2 Contracts with the town. It shall be unlawful for the mayor or any member of Town Council or the town's officers, agents, or employees, to make or enter into any contract or purchase order for materials, supplies, work or labor for the use and benefit of the town with the mayor or with any council-member or with any partnership in which the mayor or any council-member is a partner, with any corporation in which the mayor or any council-member is a director or has a substantial financial interest, or with any other entity in which the Mayor or any council-member has a substantial financial interest, except with the unanimous consent of the disinterested members of the Town Council, and such contract shall be absolutely null and void without such unanimous consent. For purposes hereof, the phrase ‘mayor or any council-member’ shall include any member of that official's immediate family, to wit: spouse, child, step-child, parent, step-parent, or sibling, by the whole or half-blood, provided however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the Town Council, or the town's officers, agents, or employees, from entering into any such contract without such unanimous approval where the amount involved in the transaction does not exceed the sum of $1,000.00. No transaction exceeding said $1,000.00 may be deliberately fragmented into two or more smaller transactions so as to avoid the $1,000.00 limitation. The disinterested members of the council shall be the final arbiters in determining whether any transaction or series of transactions were so fragmented, and in making such determination shall consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding such transactions.
7.4 Vacancies, forfeiture of office.
7.4.1 Vacancies. The office of mayor or council-member shall become vacant upon his/her death, resignation, lawful removal from, or forfeiture of his/her office.
7.4.2 Forfeiture proceedings. A forfeiture of office shall occur when the mayor or any council-member:
(a) Lacks, at any time during his/her term of office, any qualification for his/her office prescribed by this Charter or by law.
(b) Willfully violates any express prohibition of this Charter.
(c) Is convicted of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude.
(d) Fails to attend three consecutive regular council meetings without being excused by council.
(e) Is physically, mentally, or emotionally incapable of performing the functions of his/her office.
(f) Ceases to be a bona fide resident of the Town.
7.4.3 Determination concerning forfeiture. Forfeiture shall be automatic where the conditions set forth in 7.4.2(c) or (d) occur. Where the conditions set forth in 7.4.2(a), (b), (e) or (f) are alleged to have occurred, a determination concerning such alleged forfeiture shall be made by the Council, but the affected party shall not have a vote in any such decision. Such deliberations may be had in executive session and if the council preliminarily determines by a unanimous vote of the council-members entitled to vote on the question, that forfeiture has occurred, it shall, within 48 hours of that determination, provide written notice thereof to the affected council-member, stating specific reasons. The affected party shall then have ten days in which to make a written demand for a public hearing before the council, to be held within twenty days of the written demand, at which hearing he or she may appear with the assistance of counsel and present evidence to the relevant issues. Thereafter, the council shall hear any other relevant evidence and vote again on the question of forfeiture; and if a determination of forfeiture is again made by a unanimous vote of the disinterested council-members entitled to vote on the question, the decision shall be final.
7.4.4 Failure to request hearing as a bar. Failure of the affected person to make written demand for a public hearing as hereinabove stated shall be an absolute bar to the right to challenge the council's decision. During, or in connection with, any such proceedings, the council shall have authority to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of documentary or physical evidence, all of which shall be done if requested in writing by the affected person.
7.5 Filling vacancies on the Town Council. In the case of any vacancy occurring on the Town Council, the remaining Council members shall appoint another qualified person to serve for the remainder of that vacant seat's term. If the vacancy on council was of the person serving as Mayor or Vice-Mayor, immediately following the appointment of a qualified person to serve the remainder of that vacant seat’s term, the Town Council shall hold a re-organization meeting to elect a new Mayor or Vice-Mayor as the case may be.
7.6 Compensation; reimbursement of expenses.
7.6.1 Compensation. The Mayor and each member of the Council shall receive a specified sum for each regular or special meeting attended by such person. The amount paid for attendance at each meeting shall be established by the Town Council at the time of the annual budget review.
7.6.2 Reimbursement of expenses. The Mayor and members of council shall be reimbursed for their documented actual and necessary expenses incurred on town business. If the total amount of reimbursements requested by any member of council during any month is $25 or less, the Town Manager may approve such reimbursement; otherwise such amounts shall be approved by the Town Council in open meeting and recorded in the minutes. No member of the Town Council shall be entitled to vote upon their own request for reimbursement unless similar expenses were incurred by four or more members of the Town Council in connection with the same event or activity.
7.7 Meetings.
7.7.1 Regular meetings. The Town Council shall meet regularly the second Monday of each month, provided that when any meeting date falls on a town holiday, that meeting shall be held on the next business day. The time and place of each regular meeting shall be set by council each year at their organizational meeting, but council shall not hereby be prohibited from rescheduling such meetings from time to time during the year as need arises.
7.7.2 Special meeting; waiver of notice. Special meetings shall be called by the town manager upon the written request of the mayor, or upon the written request of any three council-members, stating the day, hour, and place of the special meeting requested and the subject or subjects proposed to be considered thereat. The Town Manager shall provide notice of such special meeting in accordance with the Delaware Freedom of Information Act and shall provide notice to all members of the Town Council at least 48 hours prior to the time set for such special meeting. Such notice to the members of Council shall be effective if received by the person to whom sent, or by an adult person residing in the household of the person to whom sent, if sent by personal delivery, overnight courier or special delivery service. Receipt of such notice may be established by reasonable proofs of same according to the means of delivery utilized. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, any member of the Town Council entitled to notice of a special meeting under this Section may at any time, before, at, or after the holding of such special meeting, submit a written waiver of notice which written waiver shall make valid the holding of such special meeting at any time and for any purpose named in such waiver, or the transaction of any other business at the meeting, if the waiver so states. Additionally, attendance at any such meeting, except for the express and limited purpose of objecting to the holding of such meeting, shall constitute a waiver of notice for such meeting. Subject to the scope of the notice, the Town Council of the town shall have the same power and authority to enact all ordinances, adopt all resolutions, pass all motions, make all orders and transact all business at any such special meeting, called as aforesaid, as council has at a regular meeting.
7.7.3 Recessed meetings. The Town Council may recess its meetings from time to time, stating the date, place, and time at which such meeting shall be resumed.
7.8 Manner of acting.
7.8.1 Rules of procedure, record of proceedings. The Town Council may determine its own rules of procedure and order of business. It shall keep a record of its proceedings.
7.8.2 Ordinances. The Council is hereby vested with the authority to enact ordinances or resolutions relating to any subject within the powers and functions of the town, or relating to the government of the town, its peace and order, its sanitation, beauty, health, safety, convenience and property, and to fix, impose and enforce the payment of fines and penalties for the violation of such ordinances or resolutions, and no provision of this Charter as to ordinances on any particular subject shall be held to be restrictive of the power to enact ordinances or resolutions on any subject not specifically enumerated.
In addition to other acts required by law or by specific provisions of this Charter to be done by ordinance, those acts of the Town Council shall be by ordinance which:
(a) Adopts or amends an administrative code; provided that no ordinance shall be required to amend the personnel policy, or any component thereof, unless so required by a duly adopted ordinance.
(b) Provides for a fine or other penalty or establishes a rule or regulation for violation of which a fine or other penalty is imposed;
(c) Grants, renews or extends a franchise;
(d) Amends or repeals any ordinances previously adopted;
(e) Revises the town's fiscal year;
(f) Levies a real estate transfer tax;
(g) Levies impact fees or connection fees.
Acts other than those referred to in the preceding may be done either by ordinance or by resolution. Every ordinance shall be introduced in writing. Voting on any ordinance may be by voice vote or written vote and the vote of each council-member on any ordinance shall be entered on the record. No ordinance shall be passed unless it shall have the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the Town Council.
7.8.3 Quorum. Three (3) members of the Town Council shall be physically present in order to constitute a quorum to conduct business, but if a lesser number be present at any regular or properly called special meeting, they may adjourn from time to time and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance adopted by the majority of the entire council.
7.8.4 Participation and voting by remote access. The Town Council is hereby authorized, by duly enacted ordinance, to provide that whenever unavoidable circumstances prevent the mayor or any member of the Town Council from being physically present at any meeting of the Town Council at which a quorum is physically present, such person(s) may participate in the meeting, including the making or seconding of any motion and the casting of a vote on any motion, by remote electronic access (e.g. speaker telephone, videoconferencing equipment), provided that all persons present at the place of the meeting can hear and speak to the person(s) participating through remote access and provided that the person participating by remote access can hear and speak to all persons participating at the meeting; provided further, however, that the meeting shall not be presided over by any person not physically present at the meeting.
7.8.5 Vote necessary to carry action. All powers of the Town Council, whether express or implied, shall be exercised in the manner provided herein, or if not prescribed herein, then by ordinance or resolution. In the general performance of their duties, the acts, doings, and determinations of a majority of the entire Town Council shall be as good as the acts and determinations of all the members of the council. No ordinance, resolution, motion, order, or other act of the Town Council, except as herein specifically authorized, shall be valid unless it receives the affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the Town Council. Votes, except on procedural motions, shall be by roll call and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in the minutes.
Section 8. Appointed Officers.
8.1. Town Manager.
8.1.1 Appointment, term. The Town Council shall appoint a town manager who shall be the chief administrative officer for all departments and functions of the town. He/she shall be appointed solely on the basis of his/her professional, executive and administrative qualifications. He/she need not, when appointed, be a resident of the town or of the State of Delaware, but shall, within six (6) months of his/her appointment, as a condition of his/her employment, become domiciled within such radius of the town hall as determined by council at the time of his/her appointment. No member of council shall while in office, or within one (1) year after leaving office, be appointed as town manager.
The town manager shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of any resolution, ordinance, and/or written agreement authorized by the Town Council and specifically applicable to that town manager, provided however, that: (1) the Town Council may at any time terminate the town manager's employment for ‘just cause’ without payment of any severance pay or benefits; and (2) the Town Council may at any time terminate the town manager's employment without ‘just cause’ upon payment to the town manager of such severance pay and benefits as provided in the terms of any resolution, ordinance, and/or written agreement governing the employment of that town manager. For purposes of this Section, ‘just cause’ shall mean one or more specific, articulable reasons related to the town manager's unsatisfactory performance involving misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, or incompetence, which rationally support termination of employment.
In case of the absence, disability, or suspension of the town manager, the council may designate some other competent person to perform the duties of the office during such absence, disability or suspension; subject to the Town Council's authority aforesaid, the town manager may appoint a town employee to serve as ‘acting town manager’ during the town manager's temporary absences.
8.1.2 Duties. The Town Manager shall be responsible to the Town Council for the proper administration of all affairs of the town placed in his/her charge, and he/she shall have such powers and duties as shall be established by the terms of any ordinance or resolution duly adopted, or from time to time amended, by the Town Council. Subject to and in accordance with applicable ordinances, rules, and policies adopted by the Town Council, the town manager shall be responsible for the hiring, supervision, discipline, lay-off, and termination of all employees necessary to fill those positions of municipal employment, which have been authorized and funded by the Town Council.
8.1.3 Vacancy from office. In the event of a vacancy in the office of town manager, the duly appointed and qualified successor to that office shall succeed to all the rights, privileges and powers theretofore reposed in his/her predecessor or predecessors in office in the same manner as though all acts, deeds and steps theretofore taken by any such predecessor or predecessors with respect to any matter or thing pertaining to said office had been taken or performed by the successor to such office.
8.2 Chief of Police.
8.2.1 Appointment; term. The Town Council, upon the recommendation of the town manager, shall appoint a duly-qualified chief of police who shall be the chief law enforcement officer of the town. He/she need not, when appointed, be a resident of the town or of the State of Delaware, but shall, as a condition of his/her employment, become domiciled within a radius of the town hall as determined by council, within six months of his/her appointment. No member of the Town Council shall, while in office, or within one year of leaving office, be appointed as police chief. The chief of police shall be removable in accordance with the provisions of any resolution, ordinance, and/or written agreement authorized by the Town Council and specifically applicable to that chief of police, subject to any governing state statutory provisions.
8.2.2 Duties. The chief of police shall be responsible to the town manager for the proper administration of all affairs of the police department placed in his/her charge by the town manager. Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of any applicable state statutes, and applicable town ordinances, rules, and policies adopted by the Town Council, the chief of police shall be responsible for the hiring, supervision, discipline, lay-off, and termination of all employees within the police department with prior approval of the town manager which have been authorized and funded by the Town Council.
8.2.3 Vacancy from office. In case of the absence, disability, or suspension of the police chief, the town manager may designate some other competent person to perform the duties of the office during such absence, disability or suspension.
8.3 Town Solicitor. The Town Council shall select and appoint a Town Solicitor for an indefinite term that shall be removable at the pleasure of the Town Council. The solicitor shall be a member in good standing of the Bar of the State of Delaware. It shall be his/her duty, when requested, to give legal advice to the council, the town manager, and the chief of police, (provided however, that in the event of any conflict of interest, the town solicitor shall advise only the Town Council); and to perform other legal services as may be required of him by the council.
8.4 Other officers, agents, and boards.
8.4.1 Appointment, hiring. The Town Council may provide for the appointment or hiring of such other officers, agents, and boards of the town, which it may deem proper and necessary, for the proper conduct and management of the town, including by way of example and not in limitation, a consulting engineer, appraisal firms, financial auditor, board of assessment, Board of Adjustment, Planning Commission, and Election Board. Except as otherwise provided by written agreement approved by the Town Council, or as provided elsewhere in this Charter or in any governing statute or ordinance, such officers, agents, and board members shall serve at the pleasure of the Town Council.
8.4.2 Compensation.
(a) Officers and agents. The Town Council shall by approval of the annual budget, by ordinance, resolution, or written contract, fix the amount of any salaries or compensation of the officers and agents employed by the town.
(b) Members of boards and commissions. The amount (if any) to be paid to the members of any board or commission appointed or confirmed by the Town Council for attendance at each meeting of such board or commission shall be established during the annual budget process.
8.5 Personnel records. The Town Council shall cause to be kept appropriate personnel records for all town employees, as necessary to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations and in accordance with commonly-accepted personnel practices for municipal employees. Such records shall not be ‘public records’ and shall not be subject to public inspection.
8.6 Surety bonds. The Town Council may, at the town's expense, require any town employee to be bonded by a commercial bonding company in such amount and according to such terms as deemed necessary and appropriate by the Town Council.
Section 9. Indemnification of Town Council Members and Officials.
9.1 Right to Indemnification. The Town of Felton shall indemnify, from the general funds of the Town's treasury, to the extent not otherwise covered by appropriate insurance, any person who is a party to or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceedings, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Town of Felton itself), by reason of the fact that he/she is or was a Town Council member, or other duly elected or appointed Town official of the Town of Felton, or arising out of actions taken by each or any of them in connection with the performance of their official duties, against expenses (including attorneys fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement), actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, if and only if he/she acted in good faith and in a manner he/she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Town; and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his/her conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit, or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendre or nolle prosequi or its equivalent shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he/she believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Town of Felton, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his/her conduct was unlawful.
Indemnification, as provided in this charter, shall be made by the Town only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the Town Council, of any individual Town Council member(s), and/or any Town officers is proper in the circumstances because he, she, or they met the applicable standards of conduct set forth above, and, in the case of a monetary settlement, that the amount and terms of the settlement are reasonable under the circumstances. Such determination shall be made:
(a) If there are at least three disinterested Town Council members who are not parties to or the subject of such action, suit, or proceeding, by a majority vote of such disinterested Council members, or
(b) By written opinion of independent legal counsel if: (1) a majority of the disinterested Council members so elect or; (2) if there are less than three disinterested Council members.
9.2 Insurance. In applying Section 9 regarding indemnification, any applicable or potentially applicable contract of insurance shall be construed and applied as if there were no right of indemnification hereunder, and the right of indemnification hereunder shall be secondary to any such insurance and shall attach only to the extent that there is no applicable insurance, there is a deductible, or to the extent there remains any unreimbursed amounts after any such applicable insurance has been exhausted.
Section 10. Town Finances.
10.1 Use of Town Monies. The Town Council shall have full power and authority to use the money of the Town, or any portion thereof, from time to time, for the improvement, benefit, protection, ornamentation, and best interests of the Town as Council may deem proper, and to use Town money to accomplish and carry into effect all acts and things which it has power to do by virtue of the Laws of Delaware, this Act, and all lawful ordinances and resolutions of the Town Council.
10.2 Town Manager; Expenditure of Town Monies.
The Town Council shall generally oversee the Town Manager and other authorized Town employees in their handling of and dealing with all monies owed or belonging to or in the possession of the Town, in those individuals' handling of all expenditures of Town monies, and in those individuals incurrence of accounts payable, debts, or other financial obligations by, for, or in the name of the Town.
All accounts payable, debts, or other financial obligations incurred by, for, or in the name of the Town, shall be presented to the Town Council in the following formats:
(a) Any normal, routine, and recurring debt, bill, account payable, or financial obligation (hereinafter ‘routine bill’) may be incurred and paid with the approval of the Town Manager.
(b) All non-routine accounts payable, bills, debts, or financial obligations incurred by, for, or in the name of the Town shall be presented for prior approval by a majority vote of the entire Council before such obligation shall become binding upon the Town; and any such account payable, debt, bill, or other financial obligation incurred without the Town Council's prior approval shall be deemed to be incurred conditionally and contingent upon the Town Council's approval as hereinabove provided.
(c) No payment either routine or non-routine shall be made by the Town except by check or draft drawn upon duly authorized Town of Felton accounts and signed by any two members of the Town Council.
10.3 Fiscal year. Unless revised by ordinance duly adopted by the Town Council, the fiscal year of the town shall begin with the first day of July in each year and end with the next-succeeding thirtieth day of June.
10.4 Annual budget. The Town Council shall annually, at or before the regular Town Council meeting in June of each year, adopt a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
10.4.1 Determination of revenue needs. The Town Council shall determine, in its best judgment and knowledge, the total amount necessary to be raised by the town to meet the fixed and anticipated expenses and obligations of the town, including reasonable and appropriate reserves, for the then upcoming fiscal year plus a reasonable amount to cover unanticipated expenses and emergencies.
10.4.2 Determination of revenue sources. The Town Council shall determine, in its sole discretion, from which sources of the authorized revenues of the town the amount so determined by them shall be raised and, within the limits prescribed by this Charter with respect to any such source, the amount to be raised from each such source:
(a) Real estate and improvements. The proposed rate of tax on real estate including improvements thereon per $100.00 of the assessed value; and/or
(b) Utility fixtures. The proposed rate of tax upon all poles, construction, erections, wires, and appliances more particularly mentioned, or intended so to be in Section 3.2.41 of this Charter; and/or
(c) License fees. The several license fees to be charged for carrying on or conducting of the several businesses, professions or occupations more particularly mentioned or intended so to be in Sections 3.2.38 and 3.2.40 of this Charter: and/or
(d) Municipal services. The several rates to be charged for furnishing water and sanitary sewer service and front footage assessment; electric supply and distribution service; trash collection; and/or
(e) Other services. The fees or rates to be charged in respect to any other authorized source of revenue sufficient in their judgment and estimation to realize the amount to be raised from each such source determined by them to be used as aforesaid; provided, however, that sources (c), (d), and (e) aforementioned may be determined, fixed, assessed, levied and/or altered or changed upon other than a fiscal year basis at any regular or special meeting of the Town Council as the Town Council, in its own proper discretion, shall determine; and provided further that the rate of tax upon taxable real property (a) and upon utility fixtures (b) may be revised at such time the Town Council finally approves and accepts the annual assessment list for town property taxes pursuant to Section 11.7.
10.5 Annual audit. The Town Council shall retain a certified public accountant to be the auditor of accounts of the Town of Felton. It shall be the duty of the auditor to audit the accounts of the town and all its officers whose duty involves the collection, custody and payment of moneys to or by the town. The auditor shall on or before December 1st of each year make and deliver a detailed report of any and all accounts, records, and books from the previous fiscal year by him/her examined and audited which report under his/her hand and seal shall be available for public inspection; provided however, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the date for submission of the auditor's report may be extended by the Town Council beyond December 1st at the written request of the auditor for reasonable cause shown. The auditor, in the performance of his/her duties, shall have access to all records and accounts of the offices of the town.
10.6 Recovery of legal expenses incurred in enforcement of town ordinances and/or collection of amounts due to the Town. Whenever it becomes necessary or expedient for the town to file any legal action or proceeding to enforce compliance with a town ordinance and/or to collect an amount due to the town before any court or administrative agency having jurisdiction thereof, if the town is the prevailing party in such action, the court or administrative agency having jurisdiction shall be authorized, in the exercise of its reasonable discretion, to award judgment to the town in an amount deemed appropriate by it to reimburse the town for its costs of prosecution, including court costs, expert witness fees, reasonable attorney's fees, and other documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with such prosecution; provided however, that in order to recover such amounts under this Section, the town shall, prior to the filing of such legal action or proceeding, make written demand upon the responsible party for compliance with the ordinance and/or payment of the amount due (as the case may be), which written demand shall include notice of this provision of the Town Charter.
Section 11. Assessment for taxes.
11.1 Adoption of Kent County Assessment List. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the Town Council may adopt the Kent County assessment list for all property located within the corporate limits of the Town in lieu of making its own independent valuation and assessment. In such event, the assessments established by Kent County shall be conclusive for the purpose of levying Town taxes, and the Town Council shall have no authority to hear appeals regarding such assessments; provided however, that the Town Council may sit to hear and determine any appeal concerning an addition to a tax bill under §11.3 hereof. The provisions of 22 Del. C. Chapter 11 (as it may from time to time hereafter be amended, or any corresponding future provision of law) shall govern the Town Council’s adoption of the Kent County Assessment list; provided however, that the Town shall not be required to publish notice of such election ‘prior to March 1 of each year’ that the election remains if effect.
11.2 Assessment Procedure if Kent County Assessment Not Adopted. If the Town Council does not elect to adopt the Kent County Assessment List, the Town Assessor shall, between the months of January and March inclusive, of each year, make a just, true and impartial annual valuation or assessment of all real estate and improvements located within the Town of Felton. The Town Council may retain the services of professional appraisers or assessors to assist the Town Assessor, but the Town Assessor shall be responsible for making the final determination. All real estate shall be described with sufficient particularity to be identified. Real estate shall be assessed to the owner or owners if known. If the owner or owners of real estate cannot be found or ascertained, it may be assessed to 'Owner Unknown'. A mistake in the name of the owner or owners or an assessment to 'Owner Unknown' shall not affect the validity of the assessment or of any municipal tax based thereon; provided, however, the assessment shall specify the last record owner or owners thereof as the same shall appear from the records in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, in and for Kent County.
11.2.1 Assessment of the Town Assessor. The real property of the Town Assessor shall be assessed by the Town Council.
11.2.3 Delivery of Assessment List. The Town Assessor, after making such annual assessment, shall deliver to the Town Manager a list containing the names of owners of all properties assessed and the amount of assessment against each. Such list shall be delivered to the Town Manager by April 1 of each year.
11.3 Additions to Tax Bills Whether utilizing the Kent County assessments or those prepared by the Town's own Assessor, the Town Manager shall annually, prior to the posting of the assessment list, compile a list of any and all charges, costs or other assessments owed to the Town, which list of charges incurred shall include, but not be limited to, the following: Municipal Bond Sinking Fund assessments, sidewalk, curb and gutter assessments, water and sewer assessments, weed and grass cutting bills, trash collection bills, past due utility bills, charges for the Town’s abatement of nuisances or the boarding up, repair, or demolition of dangerous structures, damages to Town property, and the amount of any unpaid penalty imposed by any court of competent jurisdiction for violation of any Town ordinance.
11.4 Posting of Assessment List; Notice. Promptly following its first regularly scheduled meeting in April, the Town Council shall cause a full and complete copy of the assessment list, containing the amount assessed to each taxable, to be made available for public inspection at the Town office, and there it shall remain for a period of at least ten (10) days for the information of and examination by all concerned. Appended thereto, and also in three or more public places in the Town, shall be posted notice advertising to all concerned the date and place where the assessment list has been made available, and that, upon a certain day mentioned therein (not earlier than ten (10) days after the availability of the true and correct copy of the assessment list), the Town Council will sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal to hear appeals from the said assessment and to make such corrections and revisions as it deems appropriate and lawful; provided however, that if the Town adopts the Kent County Assessment list, such notices shall state such fact, that those assessments are deemed controlling for purposes of Town taxes, and that the Town Council, sitting as the Board of Revision and Appeal, will sit to hear only appeals concerning additions to tax bills under Section 11.3. Such notice shall also be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Felton not less than ten (10) days prior to the date set for such appeals.
11.5 Appeals Day. On the fourth Monday in April, or such other day established by Council not less than ten (10) days following the posting of the assessment list, the Town Council shall sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal to hear appeals from the said assessment and to correct and revise the assessment as they deem appropriate. If the Town shall not have adopted the Kent County assessment list, then the Town Council shall have full power and authority to alter, revise, add to, and take from the said assessment; but if the Town has adopted the Kent County assessment list, the Town Council shall only have authority to revise those amounts owed to the Town which were added to the assessment list pursuant to Section 11.3. The decision of three (3) members of the Council shall be final and conclusive, unless an appeal (by appropriate writ) is taken to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for Kent County within ten (10) days from the date of the Town Council's decision.
No member of the Town Council shall sit on his/her own appeal, but the same shall be heard and determined by the other members.
Unless the Town shall have adopted the Kent County Assessment List, the Town Assessor shall be present on the day fixed for hearing appeals and shall furnish to the Town Council such information and answer such questions as the Town Council may require in respect to any assessment for which an appeal has been taken. The Town Council shall have the authority to enforce the attendance of the Town Assessor by appropriate process.
11.6 Exemption from Taxation. All property which would be exempt from property tax under 9 Del. C. Chapter 81, as amended, or any future corresponding provision of law, shall be exempt from municipal property tax by the Town of Felton. Additionally, anything in this charter to the contrary notwithstanding, the Town Council shall have the power and authority to exempt, in whole or in part, such property from municipal property tax when, in the opinion of the Town Council, it will best promote the public welfare.
11.7 Upon completion of the appeal process under Section 11.5, the Town Council shall at that meeting or at the next ensuing regular meeting, adopt a resolution approving the final assessment list (including any and all charges, costs, or other assessments owed to the Town and added to the assessment list under Section 11.3) and setting the tax rate per $100 of assessed value.
11.8 Supplemental Assessments. Beginning on the effective date of this Charter and for each quarter of each year thereafter, there shall be a true, just, and impartial valuation and assessment of all newly constructed real property within the Town, locating each parcel of real property by street and number or other description. Property shall be deemed to be newly constructed when the Town or county permits occupancy and use. The said valuation and assessment shall be made by the Town Assessor in accordance with the provisions of this charter; or the Town Council may adopt the quarterly supplemental assessment list from Kent County. The supplemental assessment shall be deemed a general assessment for all property with new construction.
The supplemental assessment as aforesaid shall be during the months of January, April, July, and October of each year beginning on the effective date of this Charter, provided that this Section 11.8 not apply to any construction for which had building permits had been issued prior to the effective date of this Charter.
The supplemental assessment list shall be delivered to the Town Manager as soon as completed or received. The Town Manager shall cause a full and complete copy, containing the amount assessed to each taxable on such supplemental assessment list to be mailed, certified mail to each taxable on the list at their last address as shown on the Town’s tax records. Such mailing shall notify each taxable if the supplemental assessment is based upon the Kent County supplemental assessment list (and that any appeal must be directed to Kent County), or if the assessment is based upon an appraisal performed by the Town Assessor (in which case an appeal may be had to the Town Council sitting as the Board of Revision and Appeals by filing a written request with the Town Hall within 14 days of the date that such notice was mailed by the Town. In the event that any such appeal is timely received, the Town Manager shall notify the taxable, by certified mail, of the date, place, and time where the Town Council will sit to hear and decide the appeal, such date to be not less than 14 days after the date that notice of the hearing date is mailed to the taxable. Such appeal, and all proceedings and actions taken pursuant to and in consequence of such appeal shall be subject to and governed by the same provisions as set out in Section 11.5 pertaining to appeals from the annual assessment, except that upon completion of the appeal process, the Town Council shall adopt a resolution approving the final supplemental assessment list.
The provisions of 9 Del. Laws, Chapter 87 and 25 Del. Laws, c. 2901 through 2905 of the revised Code of Delaware, 1974 as hereafter amended from time to time, or any future corresponding provision of law, shall be deemed and held to apply to all taxes laid and imposed upon the provisions of this charter.
Section 12. Taxation: Levy of Property Taxes; Savings Clause; Tax Limit; Due Date; Discount for Early Payment; Penalty for Late Payment.
12.1 Taxation. The Town Council is authorized to levy and collect from the taxables of the town, according to the terms and provisions of this Act, such sum of money as may be deemed by the Town Council as necessary and proper for the general municipal needs of the town, including sufficient monies to pay interest and principal on any municipal bond issued by the town pursuant Sections 14.1, 14.2, and/or 14.3 of this Charter, or pursuant to any special act of the General Assembly.
12.2 Levy of Tax; Supplemental Tax Bill. The adoption of the resolution under Section 11.7 (or the adoption of the final resolution for supplemental assessments under Section 11.8) shall constitute the levy of such taxes, and the Town Manager shall proceed immediately to collect all taxes and other amounts owed to the Town as set forth on the approved assessment list (each and all of which shall, for convenience, shall hereafter be referred to as ‘taxes’) as hereinafter provided. Whenever a change occurs in the assessed value of any taxable property as a result of a supplemental assessment under Section 11.8, the Town Manager shall issue a supplemental tax bill based upon the revised assessment, pro-rated for the remainder of the then-current tax year. The amount shown on the supplemental tax bill shall be due by the later of July 1st of the year in which the original tax bill was sent, or sixty (60) days from the date of the supplemental tax bill. Any supplemental tax bill not paid by the due date as provided herein shall be delinquent and subject to the same penalties and collection remedies as any other tax bill.
12.3 Savings clause. Nothing contained in this Charter shall be construed to affect or impair in any way the validity of any tax, fee, assessment or other charge lawfully levied, assessed or due the Town of Felton under the existing laws in reference to said town and the same are hereby declared to be valid, binding and vested in the Town of Felton created hereby.
12.4 Limitation on taxes. The total amount of money to be raised by real property taxes and utility fixture taxes shall in no year exceed two percent of the total assessed valuation of all taxable real estate (and improvements thereon) in the town; provided however, that this limit on taxes for general town purposes shall not limit or prohibit the town from levying and collecting such further and additional taxes or sums of money in any year as may be necessary or expedient to pay the interest on, or to retire the principal of, any bonds or certificates of indebtedness issued by the town pursuant to Sections 14.1, 14.2, and/or 14.3 as the same become due, or before they become due; or to create an adequate sinking fund reserve for the retiring of such indebtedness either before or at the time they become due.
12.5 Due Date; Discount for Early Payment; Penalty for Late Payment.
12.5.1 Due Date. On or before July 1 of each year, the Town Manager shall cause the annual property tax bills to be mailed to the taxables of the Town. Such mailing shall be by regular mail, proper postage affixed, to the taxable at the address shown on the Town's tax records. However, the failure of any taxable to receive a tax bill because of incorrect postage, incorrect address, or other cause shall not excuse late payment or nonpaym