Wyoming

Name And Territorial Limits

Section 1.

The municipal corporation of the State of Delaware now known as "The Commissioners of Wyoming" shall hereafter be known as "The Town of Wyoming".

The Boundaries of The Town of Wyoming are hereby established and declared to be as follows:

BEGINNING at a point in the division line of lands of Libby, McNeil and Libby and lands of Joshua Hudson and which point is approximately nine hundred and fifteen (915) lineal feet from the center line of the concrete highway leading from the Town of Wyoming to the Kent County Almshouse; thence running in a northerly direction along said division line, crossing said concrete highway and continuing in a northerly direction along the western boundary line of lands of Lewis G. Jenkins; thence continuing in a northerly direction with the run of a branch to the middle of the channel of an arm of a mill pond, known as "Robert J. Lindale Mill Pond", to a point in the middle of the mouth of said arm of said pond where said arm joins the main body of said pond; thence by a right angle line crossing said mill pond to a point a short distance above the mill dam on the north side of said mill pond near the entrance of the Wyoming Milling Co., mill pond race; thence along the north side of the said mill race and the lands dividing the Wyoming Milling Co., property from lands of Carl B. Scull until arriving at the West side of the public road leading from Wyoming to Dover, said road being on the West side of land of the Delaware Railroad Company; thence along the West side of said road in a southerly direction until arriving at a point in the middle of the Wyoming Milling Co. mill stream; thence with said mill stream following the several meanderings thereof in the direction of Howell's mill pond to a point in the head waters of the said Howell's mill pond in range with the eastern boundary line of lands of George Lundgreen; thence with the said eastern boundary line to the public road leading from Wyoming to the concrete highway leading from Camden to Dover; thence along the north side of said road in a westerly direction until arriving at a point in range with the eastern boundary line of lands of David Harry; thence crossing the last aforesaid road and following the said eastern boundary line of the said David Harry lands to another public road or street called Center Street leading east into the town of Camden; thence along the north line of said Center Street in a westerly direction to a corner of lands of said David Harry; thence in a southerly direction and crossing said Center Street and along the east line of Caesar Rodney Avenue and continuing across Camden-Wyoming Avenue in a southerly direction along the east line of the concrete highway leading from Wyoming to Willow Grove to a point in the south line of a street or, road leading from Camden to Willow Grove being designated by the Highway Department as County Route 194 and in a line of lands of Lizzie S. Allee; thence in a westerly direction crossing said road from Wyoming to Willow Grove and continuing in said direction across lands formerly owned by Fred T. Herbert, Sr., and now owned by The First National Bank of Dover, lands of Thomas C. Downham, lands of John W. Jones, and lands of Libby, McNeil and Libby, and arriving at the point of beginning.

The Council may, at any time hereafter, cause a survey and plot to be made of said Town, and the said plot, when so made and approved by the Council, and signed by the Mayor and Secretary of Council, and sealed with the Town Seal, and when recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of the State of Delaware, in and for Kent County, at Dover, shall be deemed to be a true map and plot of the Town, and the same, or the record thereof or a duly certified copy of said record, shall be evidence in all Courts of law and equity of this State. (49 Del. Laws, c. 248, 7/1/53; 65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87)

General Powers

Section 2.

(A) The inhabitants of the Town of Wyoming, within the limits and boundaries referred to in Section 1 of this Act, or within the limits and boundaries hereafter established, shall be and they are hereby created a body politic and corporate in Law and Equity by the Corporate name of "The Town of Wyoming", hereinafter called The Town, and under that name shall have perpetual succession; may have and use a corporate seal, which may be altered, changed or renewed at pleasure; may sue and be sued; plead and be impleaded in all Courts of law and equity in the State of Delaware, and elsewhere, by said corporate name, may hold and acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease or by condemnation real property and personal property within or without its boundaries for any municipal purposes, in fee simple or for lesser estate or interest, and may sell, lease, hold, manage and control such property as its interest may require, subject however to other sections of this Act.

Section 3. Structure Of Government; Qualifications for Town Council; Compensation

3.1. Structure.

The government of the Town and the exercise of all powers conferred by this Charter shall be vested in a town council composed of a Mayor and four Council members, all of whom shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Town.

3.2. Qualifications.

Candidates for, and members of the Town Council (including the Mayor) must be at least 21 years of age, a citizen of the State of Delaware, and a bona fide domiciliary of the Town for at least one year prior to the date of the election. For purposes hereof, a 'bona fide domiciliary' shall mean that a person: (a) has his/her true, fixed, and permanent home and principal establishment in the Town to which, whenever he/she is absent, he/she has the intention of returning, and (b) physically resides in the Town on a continuing basis; provided that absence for less than ninety days at a time from one's place of domicile for some temporary purpose shall not terminate that domicile so long as the intention to return to that place remains fixed, certain, and constant during the period of such physical absence. No person having been convicted of a felony of any crime involving moral turpitude shall be qualified for the office of Town Council or Mayor.

3.3. Term of Office.

Council members shall each serve a term of two years.

3.4. Compensation.

The Mayor and each member of Council may be compensated for attendance at any regular or special meeting of the Council as provided by resolution of the Town Council. The Mayor and each member of Council shall be reimbursed for their documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in carrying out the responsibilities of their office if approved by resolution of the Town Council. (74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

Election In General

Section 4.

The present commissioners of the Town of Wyoming shall by this Act be appointed to serve and shall act as Councilmen of said Town from and after passage hereof until Councilmen are duly elected. (65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87)

Manner Of Holding Elections And Making Nominations

Section 5.

(A) The annual municipal elections shall be held on the last Saturday in the month of February from one o’clock P.M. until eight o’clock P.M., at such place as shall be determined by the Council, due notices of which shall be given by posting notices thereof in five public places within the limits of the Town of Wyoming, not less than ten days before the day of the annual election. (71 Del. Laws, c. 54, 6/11/97)

(B) Said members of the council shall be nominated as follows:

Nominations shall be filed with the Secretary of the Council no later than 4:00 PM on the last Friday in the month of January immediately preceding the election. Said nominations shall be in writing signed by the nominee or by five other residents of the Town. The Council shall thereafter cause a ballot or ballots to be prepared, and an election to be scheduled and conducted, according to applicable Delaware law. Ballots shall contain, at a minimum, the names of all persons nominated under headings designating the offices for which nominated. (72 Del. Laws, c. 14, 4/12/99; 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

(C) Every election shall be held under the supervision of an Election Board consisting of three qualified voters of said Town to be appointed for that purpose by the Council at least two weeks before the election, but if at the opening of the election there shall not be present the three qualified voters so appointed, or any one of them, in such case, the persons entitled to vote at such election, and then present shall appoint, by viva voca vote, a qualified voter or voters to act. The three persons composing the Election Board shall be Judges of the election and shall decide upon the legality of the votes offered; keeping a list of all voters voting.

(D) Every qualified citizen of the said Town of the age of eighteen (18) years or upwards on the day of the election shall have a right to vote. A qualified citizen must have been a resident of the State and County for at least ninety days and of the said Town for at least thirty days. The voter shall not vote for more candidates than are to be elected and shall mark the ballots with an "X" beside the name of each candidate which he or she desires to vote for. (57 Del. Laws, c. 769, 7/24/70, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

(E) Upon the close of the election the votes shall be read and counted publicly, and the persons having the highest number of votes for each office shall be declared duly elected and continue in office for the term stated or until his successors are duly elected and qualified. In case of a tie, the three persons holding the Election shall, by a majority vote, decide which of the candidates so tied shall be elected.

(F) The Election Board shall enter in a Book to be provided for that purpose, minutes of the election, containing the names of the persons chosen, shall subscribe the same, and shall give to the persons elected certificates of the Election, which Book, containing such minutes, shall be preserved by the Council, and shall be evidence in any Court of Law and Equity. All ballots cast and the records of the Elections shall be preserved in the custody of the Election Board for a period of ten days.

(G) If there is no contest for the election, the qualified nominees shall be declared duly elected for the full term for which he or she filed, and no election need be held. The Election Board shall accordingly record the results in the Book containing the records of the said election. (57 Del. Laws, c. 769, 7/24/70)

Organization And Annual Meeting Of Council

Section 6.

On the first Monday following the annual election each year, the Council shall meet and the newly elected officers shall assume the duties of office. Before entering upon the duty of their office, the newly elected members shall be sworn by a Notary Public, a Justice of the Peace or by a hold-over Member of the Council to faithfully and impartially perform their duties. At this annual meeting the Council shall organize and thereafter shall hold meetings at such time as hereinafter provided.

Special Meeting, Waiver Of Notice

Section 7.

Special meetings shall be called by the Secretary upon the written request of the Mayor or upon the written request of any two members of Council, stating the day, hour and place of the special meeting requested and the subject or subjects proposed to be considered thereat. The Secretary shall thereupon give written notice to the Mayor and to each member of Council of the day, hour and place of such special meeting and of the subject or subjects proposed to be considered thereat. Such notices of the Secretary must be deposited in the U. S. mail in the main post office in the Town of Wyoming at least forty-eight hours prior to the time set for such special meeting, provided, however, that a written waiver of such notice, signed by the Mayor and all other members of Council prior to or immediately upon the convening of such special meeting, shall make such forty-eight hour written notice unnecessary and shall authorize and make valid the holding of a special meeting at any time named in such waiver, and the transaction of any other business at the meeting, if the waiver so states. The Town Council of the Town of Wyoming 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 regular meeting. (65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87)

Quorum

Section 8.

That in the general performance of their duties, the acts, doings and determinations of a majority of the entire Council shall be as good as the acts, doings and determination of all of the members of Council, but if a less number be present at any regular or properly called special meeting, they may adjourn from time to time and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as may be prescribed by ordinance adopted by a majority of the entire Council. No ordinance, resolution, motion, order or other act of Council, except as immediately hereinabove provided for, shall be valid unless it received the affirmative vote of a majority of all members elected to Council.

Rules And Minutes Of Council

Section 9.

The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings and the Yeas and Nays shall be taken upon the passage of every ordinance and resolution, and shall be entered in the Journal with the text of the ordinance or resolution.

Section 10. Vacancies

The office of the Mayor or any Council member shall become vacant upon death, resignation, lawful removal from, or forfeiture of office. The remaining members of the Council and Mayor shall, by majority vote, appoint another qualified person to serve for the remainder of the vacant seat's term provided that if the unexpired term shall be more than one year, the person appointed shall serve only until the next annual town election at which time there shall be elected a qualified person to fill the then-remaining unexpired term of said office. (74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

Section 11 Forfeiture Of Office

11.1 Forfeiture.

A forfeiture of office shall occur when the Mayor or any Council member.

(a) is convicted, or is determined to have been previously convicted, of any felony or crime involving moral turpitude by any court of competent jurisdiction.

(b) fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by a majority of the remaining Council members/Mayor;

(c) lacks at any time during his or her term of office any qualification for the office as prescribed by this Charter or by law; or

(d) knowingly or willfully violates any material prohibition of his Charter.

11.2 Determinations Concerning Forfeiture. Where the conditions set forth in sections 11.1. (a) or (b) occur, forfeiture shall be automatic. Where the conditions set forth in sections 11.1 (c) or (d) are alleged to have occurred, a preliminary determination concerning such forfeiture shall be made by the remaining members of the Council and the Mayor. Discussion concerning such possible forfeiture may be had in executive session, but if a majority of the remaining members of the Council and the Mayor subsequently vote in open session to charge a forfeiture of office, written notice thereof, stating the specific grounds for such preliminary determination, shall be provided to the affected Council member or Mayor who shall have ten days from the date of such written notice to make written demand for a hearing before the Council at which the affected Council member or Mayor may appear with or without the assistance of legal counsel to respond to such preliminary determination. Such hearing shall be open to the public and shall be held within twenty days from the date of the written demand for such hearing. The remaining members of the Council and the Mayor shall, in connection with any hearing held hereunder, have the authority to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of documentary or other physical evidence. If a majority of the remaining members of the Council and Mayor determine, at the conclusion of such hearing, that a forfeiture has occurred, that determination, and the reasons therefore, shall be reduced to writing or recorded in the minutes. Such determination shall be final and effective immediately.

11.3 Failure to Request Hearing As A Bar. Failure of any Council member or the Mayor to demand a hearing as provided above shall be an absolute bar to his/her right to challenge the preliminary determination of the remaining members of the Council and Mayor. (74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

Contracts With Members

Section 12.

It shall be unlawful for the said Council to make or enter into any contract for materials, supplies, work or labor for the use and benefit of the Town of Wyoming with any member of the Council or with any partnership in which any member of Council is a partner, or with any corporation in which any member of Council is a director or stockholder or with any firm or company in which any member of Council is pecuniarily interested, except with the unanimous consent of the entire Council, and such contract shall be absolutely null and void without such unanimous consent.

Regular Meetings Of Council

Section 13.

The Council of the Town of Wyoming shall hold regular meetings once a month at such times as may be prescribed by the ordinance and resolution at the Town Hall, or at such other suitable place in said Town as the Council may select, but in the event of a temporary change in the place of meeting, notice shall be posted in some suitable public place plainly stating the new place of meeting selected by Council, and the day and hour of such meeting.

Officers

Section 14.

(A) The Council shall, at the annual meeting held on the first Monday next following the annual election, organize by electing a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer a Vice Mayor, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Council shall designate a Town Clerk, who shall also be the Collector of Taxes. The Council shall appoint a Town Solicitor, a Board of Assessment, and an Auditor. The President of the Council shall be a member of the Council. The Council shall also elect and appoint any such other officers, employees and agents of the Town which the Council deems proper and necessary for the proper conduct and management of the Town. Any appointed officer may be removed at any time by the Town Council for sufficient cause.

(B) The Council shall by ordinance fix the salaries and compensation of employees, officers and agents of the Town and the time and manner of his or her payment; which salaries or compensations shall not be increased during the terms of said office. No officer employee or agent of the Town shall in any form have, take, or receive from the Town any compensation in any form in addition to the salary or compensation fixed by Council.

(C) The Council shall cause to be kept a full and complete record of all officers appointed and employees and agents hired by the Town containing the names of such officers, employees, and agents, the dates and term of their appointment or employment, the salary or compensation and the date of the termination of service.

DUTIES AND POWERS OF MAYOR

(D) The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of Council; shall serve as the head of the Town government for all ceremonial purposes and for purposes of military law; shall appoint all committees, subject to Council confirmation and shall have general superintendence of all municipal affairs. The Mayor shall receive complaints of nuisances and all complaints of violations of laws or ordinances and present the same to Council at its first meeting thereafter for action of Council.

The Mayor shall sign all warrants on the Treasurer for the payment of any Town money and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by Resolution or Ordinance of Council.

The Mayor shall have the same right as other officers and Council members to vote on all matters and may, at any time, appoint another officer or Council member to preside if he 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 duties as presiding officer. For purposes of establishing a majority vote, the Mayor shall be counted as a member of Council.

If the Mayor be incapacitated from acting by reason of absence, or for any other cause whatsoever, then all powers and duties conferred and imposed upon him by this Act, or any other Law, or any resolution or ordinance now or thereafter adopted or enacted by Council, shall be exercised and performed by the Vice-Mayor chosen by Council as acting Mayor for the period of such incapacity.

The Mayor shall serve a term of two years.

Secretary

(E) The Secretary shall record all the proceedings of the Council and keep a correct journal of the same in a book to be provided for that purpose; and shall file and keep in a safe place the Seal of the Town and all papers, and documents, relative to the affairs of the Town, and deliver the same to his successor in office. The Secretary shall, within ten days of any meeting, provide each Council member with a copy of the minutes of such meeting. The Secretary shall attest the seal of the Town when authorized by Council, and shall perform such duties and have such other powers as may be prescribed by ordinance. All records, books, papers and documents in the custody of the Secretary shall be always open for the inspection of Council and the public under such regulations as Council may prescribe.

Treasurer

(F) The Treasurer shall be above the age of twenty-one years at the time of his appointment.

The Town Treasurer, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall be sworn or affirmed to faithfully and honestly perform the duties of his office, which oath or affirmation shall be administered by the Mayor, or-acting Mayor.

The Town Treasurer, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall also give bond to the Town of Wyoming, with sufficient surety to be approved by Council, in the sum of Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office and for the payment to his successor in office of all sums of money belonging to said Town, which may remain in his hands upon the settlement of his accounts, to which bond and condition shall be annexed a warrant of Attorney for the confession of judgment.

The Treasurer shall pay all orders drawn on him by order of said Council and signed by the President thereof, out of any moneys in his hands belonging to said Town. He shall settle his accounts with said Council annually by the end of the fiscal year, and at such other times as Council may require.

Collector Of Taxes

(G) The Collector of Taxes shall be the Town Clerk, who shall be eighteen years of age or older at the time of appointment. It shall be the duty of the Town Clerk to collect all Town taxes, and to pay the same into the Town treasury. It shall be the duty of the Collector of Taxes to collect all own taxes, and to pay the same into the Town treasury, as herein otherwise provided.

The Town Collector, before entering upon the duties of his offices, shall give bond to the Town of Wyoming, with sufficient surety to be approved by Council, in the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and the payment to the Treasurer' of said Town of all moneys collected by him belonging to said Town from taxes, and for the settlement of his accounts with the Treasurer of the Town at the end of each fiscal year, and at such other times as Council may require, to which bond and condition there shall be annexed the usual full warrant of attorney for confession of judgment for said penalty.

Auditor

(H) An Auditor shall be appointed by the Town Council and it shall be his duty to audit the accounts of the Town and all of its officers whose duty involves the collection, custody and payment of the. moneys of the Town. The Auditor on or before the last business day in the month of April next following his appointment shall make and deliver a detailed report of all and every of the accounts, records and books by him examined and audited, which copies of said report shall be posted in five public places in the Town. The Auditor in the performance of his duties shall have access to all records of Council and records of the officers of the Town; and is authorized and empowered to employ such clerks or accountants as in his judgment may be necessary for the proper performance of his duties.

Town Solicitor

(I) At the annual meeting, the Council shall elect a Town Solicitor for the Term of one year or until his successor shall have been duly chosen and qualified. The Town Solicitor shall be a member of the Bar of Kent County. It shall be his duty to give legal advice to the Council and other officers of the Town, and to perform other legal services as may be required of him by the Council.

Police Officer

(J) The Council may appoint a Police Officer whenever the Council may deem it wise to do so and the Council shall from time to time make rules and regulations as may be necessary for the control of the Police Officer. The Police Officer shall be subject to the direction of the Council, and may be removed by the Council at any time. He shall preserve peace and order, and shall compel obedience within the Town limits to the ordinances of the Town and the Laws of the State; and he shall have such other duties as the Council shall from time to time prescribe and be entitled to the same fees and costs as a Constable of Kent County, in addition to compensation allowed by Council.

The Police Officer shall be vested within the town limits with all the powers and authority of a Constable of Kent County and shall have the power to make arrests for all motor vehicle and traffic violations within the limits of said town. In the case of pursuit of an offender his authority and power shall extend to any part of the State of Delaware. Every person sentenced to imprisonment by the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace of Kent County shall be delivered by the Police Officer to the County Jail of Kent County, or lock-up of the Town, to be there imprisoned for the term of the sentence. In the case of any arrest at a time when the Alderman or a Justice of the Peace shall not be available to hear and determine the charge, the person arrested may be delivered to the Kent County Jail, or to the lock-up of the Town, for imprisonment until such reasonable time thereafter as shall enable the Alderman or Justice of the Peace to hear and determine the charge against such person.

It shall be the duty of the Police Officer to suppress riotous, disorderly or turbulent assemblages of persons in the streets of the Town, or the noisy conduct of any person in the same, and upon view of the above, or upon the view of the violation of any ordinances of the Town, relating to the peace and good order thereof, the Police Officer shall have the right and power to arrest without warrant and to take the offender before the Alderman or any Justice of the Peace of Kent County for hearing. (64 Del. Laws, c. 238, 3/27/84; 65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87)

(K) The Council may appoint a Chief of Police and any number of subordinate police officers, whenever the Council may deem it wise to do so. The Chief of Police shall be subject to the direction of the Council, and may be removed by the Council in accordance with 11 Del. C. §9301 or other applicable law. Subordinate police officers may be removed for just cause, by a majority vote of the Council in accordance with 11 Del. C. Chapter 92.

The police force shall preserve peace and order and shall compel obedience within the Town limits to the ordinances of the Town and the laws of the State of Delaware. The police force shall have such other duties as the Council may from time to time prescribe. Operational control of the daily routine and responsibilities of the police force shall be the responsibility of the Chief of Police. The authority of the Chief of Police shall be subordinate and answerable to the Mayor and the Council. The Council may, from time to time, make rules and regulations as may be necessary for the organization, government, and control of the police force.

Within the Town limits of the Town of Wyoming and one mile beyond said limits, each member of the police force shall have all the powers and authority of a State Peace Officer and shall be conservators of the peace; they shall suppress all acts of violence and enforce all laws relating to the safety of persons and property; they shall compel the enforcement of all ordinances enacted by the Council, and all criminal laws and motor vehicle laws enacted by the State of Delaware; they shall suppress riotous, disorderly, or turbulent assemblages of persons in all public ways and places of the Town; and upon view of the above or upon view of any violation of any ordinance of the Town relating to the peace and good order thereof, the police force shall have the right and power to arrest without warrant. In the case of pursuit of an offender, the power and authority of the police force shall extend outside the territorial limits of the Town and to any part of the State of Delaware.

Board Of Assessment; Assessment Of Taxes

Section 15.

A Board of Assessment shall be appointed by the Town Council, and such Board shall have whatever duties the Council assigns to it.

1. In the year 1942 and every fourth year thereafter, there shall be a true, just and impartial valuation and assessment of all the real property subject to County taxation within the Town; locating each parcel of real property by street and number, or other description, and also an assessment of all the male residents of the Town above the age of twenty-one years, whether owners or not owners of either real or personal property within its limits.

2. All assessments shall be made and completed by the Board of Assessment prior to the first day of April. The assessment made in the year 1942 and in every fourth year thereafter shall be known as the General Assessment. In other years, there shall be made a scrap assessment, as hereinafter provided.

3. The scrap assessment shall value and assess all taxable real property in the Town not already valued and assessed by the General Assessment then in force, and all improvements made upon said real property since said General Assessment and all male residents of the Town above the age of twenty-one (21) years and not already assessed, and said assessment shall omit the names of those who have removed from the Town or who have died. In the year that a scrap assessment is made, the General Assessment then in force as supplemented or modified by the scrap assessment, shall constitute the assessment of the year.

4. The Board of Assessment shall make and deliver to the Council as soon as the assessments are made such numbers of copies thereof as the Council shall direct.

5. The real property of the shall be assessed by the Council.

6. Additions to Tax Bills. The Town Council shall annually, prior to the posting of the assessment list, by resolution, provide for the Town Clerk a list of any and all charges, costs or other assessments owed to the Town, which charges, costs and assessments shall include, but not be limited to the following: water bond sinking funds assessments, curb and gutter assessments, water assessments, weed and grass cutting bills, trash collection bills, past due water rents and any charges incurred by the Town in bringing a property into compliance with the Town Code, following notice and an order to correct any violations to the property owner, any appeal process, and the failure of the property owner to correct the violation within the time allowed. Said amounts, when adopted and set forth by resolution of the Mayor and Council, shall be shown on all the copies of the assessments posted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 7 below.

7. The Council shall, prior to the fifteenth day of April in each year, cause a copy of the General Assessment, or scrap assessment as made in said year, to be posted in two public places, in the Town, and there to remain for the space of ten (10) days for public information. Attached to said copies shall be a notice of the day, hour and place that the Council will sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal; and the notices of the posting of the copies of the assessment and the places where the same are posted and the day, hour and place when the Council will sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal shall be posted in at least five public places in the Town.

8. At the time and place designated in the notice aforesaid, the Council shall sit as a Board of Revision and Appeal to correct and revise the assessment, and to hear appeals concerning the same. They shall have full power and authority to alter, revise, add to, and take from the said assessment. The decision of a majority of the Council shall be final and conclusive with respect to the amount of the valuation; and no member of Council shall sit on his own appeal.

9. The assessment, as revised and adjusted by a majority of the Council, shall be the basis for the levy and collection of the taxes for the Town.

10. The Council shall also have the right to levy and collect taxes upon on all telephone, telegraph, power poles, or other erections of like character erected within the limits of the Town, together with the wires and appliances thereto or thereon attached, that are now assessable and taxable, and to this end, may at any time direct the same to be included in or added to the Town Assessment. In case the owner or lessee of such poles or erections shall refuse or neglect to pay the taxes that may be levied thereon, the said taxes may be collected by the Collector of Taxes as in case of other taxes.

11. Notwithstanding any zoning designation, no farmlands hereby included within the limits of the Town of Wyoming shall be subject to any Town tax unless, and until, the same shall be laid out as building lots, and unless the same shall front upon some public street of the Town of Wyoming which shall be laid out and improved. All farmlands within the limits of the Town of Wyoming which are or become laid out as building lots and which front upon some public street of the Town of Wyoming laid out and improved, shall be subject to be taxed to the depth of three hundred (300) feet from said street line for Town purposes. The Town Council, by majority vote, shall be the sole judges of what lands are, and what lands are not, 'farmlands' within the meaning of this Charter.

12. The General Assessment made and in force under the Charter of the Town of Wyoming and the amendments thereto shall continue in force and effect until the next General Assessment to be made in the year 1942.

13. After passage of the Town's budget, the Council shall determine and fix a rate of taxation which will produce approximately the amount of money necessary to defray the expenses of the Town for the current year, including interest on bonded indebtedness and for redemption of maturing bonds and for maintenance of a sinking fund.

14. The limit of the amount to be raised by taxation under this Section shall not exceed the sum of $250,000 in any one year clear of all delinquencies and expenses of collection; provided, however, that the Council of the said Town, whenever authorized by referendum vote duly held and conducted in all respects as provided for in Section 5 of this Act, may raise by taxation any amount above and exceeding the sum of $400,000. At such referendum one set of ballots used shall have written or printed thereon the words "for increased taxation", and another set of ballots shall have written or printed thereon the words "against increased taxation", and both sets of ballots shall specify thereon the amount proposed to be raised. Any sum authorized by referendum to be raised by taxation pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall become and remain the lawful maximum sum to be raised by taxation in any one year until such time as such maximum sum shall be increased, either by another referendum held under the provisions hereof, or by Act of the General Assembly of the State of Delaware. (51 Del. Laws, c. 40, 4/15/57, 61 Del. Laws, c. 293, 5/23/78, 64 Del. Laws, c. 238, 3/27/84, 65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87, 67 Del. Laws, c. 203, 4/18/90, 70 Del. Laws, c. 206, 7/10/95, 72 Del. Laws, c. 373, 6/30/00, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

COLLECTION OF TAXES AND OTHER CHARGES

Section 16.

The Town Clerk shall prepare the annual assessment list of real property assessments, which list shall be prepared from the warrant otherwise referred to in this paragraph, and such assessment list shall be made part of the minutes of the Town Council meeting in which it was presented. On or before the first day of May in each year, the Council shall deliver to the Town Clerk a list containing the names of the taxables of the Town, opposite the name of each the amount of his/her property assessment, his/her pole assessment, the tax upon the whole of his/her assessment, and the rate per hundred dollars. Such list or assessment shall also include the list of any and all charges, costs or other assessment owed to the Town, including but not limited to water bond sinking funds assessments, curb and gutter assessments, water assessments, weed and grass cutting bills, trash collection bills, past due water rents and any charges incurred by the Town in bringing a property into compliance with the Town Code. Attached to said list shall be a warrant, under the seal of the Town of Wyoming, signed by the Mayor and attested by the Secretary, commanding the Town Clerk to make collection of the taxes and other charges, costs or assessments as stated and set forth in the list.

All taxes laid or imposed under the provisions of this Charter, by the Council of the Town of Wyoming, as well as charges, costs and/or other assessments added to the assessment list as set forth immediately above, shall be, constitute, and continue as a lien upon all the real estate of the taxable against or upon whom such taxes/charges are laid or imposed of which such taxable was seized at any time after such taxes/charges shall have been levied and imposed, situated in the Town of Wyoming, for a period of ten years from the first day of May of the year in which such tax/charge shall have been imposed; provided that if the real estate remains the property of the person(s) who was/were the owner(s) at the time it was so assessed, the lien shall continue until the same is collected in full. The lien of such taxes/charges shall have priority over all other liens except as provided under 25 Del.C. §2906(b) or any future corresponding provision of law.

All taxes when and as collected by the Town Clerk shall be paid to the Town Treasurer and all taxes shall be due and payable at and from the time of the delivery of the tax list to the Town Clerk. A discount shall be allowed by the Town Clerk of three per cent on every tax paid before the first day of July in each year; no discount shall be allowed by the Town Clerk on taxes paid on or after the first day of July, and to every tax paid after the thirtieth day of September in each year, there shall be added and collected one per centum for every month or fraction of a month after the said thirtieth day of September that the tax remains unpaid, which penalty shall also apply to any additional costs, charges and/or assessments added to the tax bill pursuant to this section. Before exercising any of the powers herein given for collection of taxes, notices shall be given to the taxable of the amount due.

Except as provided otherwise herein, the provisions of 9 Del.C. Chapter 87 ("Collection of Delinquent Taxes"), as it may from time to time hereafter be amended, shall be deemed and held to apply to all taxes laid and/or imposed, and all charges, costs or other assessments added to the assessment list delivered to the Town Clerk for collection pursuant to this section.

The Town Clerk shall have all the power conferred by law on the tax collecting authority of Kent County, also known as the Receiver of Taxes in Kent County, by the virtue of the laws of Delaware now in force or hereafter enacted. In the event that the Town Solicitor is employed to bring any legal action in any Court of law or equity on behalf of the Town for the collection of any taxes, or any other costs, charges and/or assessments due to the Town, and if the Town in said action shall recover judgment in any sum, then the Town shall also recover in said action, the costs of the suit, reasonable attorney's fees incurred and other reasonable and necessary out of pocket expenses incurred by the Town in such collection proceeding. Said costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred shall be entered, allowed and paid as part of the decree of judgment in said action, and shall constitute a lien upon all of the real estate of the taxable as allowed by Delaware law, becoming a part of, relating back to, and having the same preference and priority as the lien of said taxes due. (74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

Section 17.

Repealed. (74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

ENUMERATION OF SPECIFIC POWERS OF COUNCIL

Section 18.

The Town Council shall have power to enact ordinances to preserve the health of the Town and to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases, to define, prevent and abate nuisances; to ascertain and fix the boundaries, of streets, squares, lanes, alleys and sidewalks, to repave and improve the same, to alter extend or widen any street square, lane, alley or sidewalk and to open, lay out, improve and repair new streets, squares, lanes, alleys, and sidewalks, subject, however, to the provisions and restrictions in that behalf herein otherwise contained; to regulate and fix the ascents and descents of all streets, lanes, alleys and sidewalks and the drainage, repaving and improvement of foot pavements and to prescribe the width and materials thereof as hereinafter set forth; to regulate and provide for the improvement of existing and the construction of new gutters and curbs, subject, however, to the provisions and restrictions in that behalf otherwise herein contained; to prescribe the extent and nature of and to alter or remove steps, bay windows, porches, awnings, drains, sheds, cellar doors, posts and pillars and all inlets to lots and buildings; to regulate the construction of and repair to chimneys and to provide for the keeping of the same cleaned and in a safe condition as to fire and other hazards; to regulate or prevent the storage of gasoline, naphtha, oil, gunpowder or any other inflammable, combustible or dangerous substance and materials' to define, investigate, prevent, abate and remove fire and explosion hazards, both within and without buildings in the said Town; to improve, extend, construct and maintain water mains, fire hydrants and other proper instruments for the prevention and combating of conflagrations and to expend through its own channels or through those of some fire company in said Town such sum or sums of money from the unappropriated funds of the Town, from time to time, as Council may deem necessary and expedient for the proper protection from fire of the lives and property of the inhabitants of the Town; to enact such ordinances, not in conflict with the Laws of the State of Delaware, as it may deem necessary and beneficial for the safety, regulation and control of pedestrians, automobiles, and animal drawn traffic over the streets, squares, lanes, and alleys and other public places of the Town, including power to make and enforce any and all parking and non-parking regulations; to enact such ordinances and police regulations as it shall deem necessary and beneficial for the order, protection and good government of said Town; to enact ordinances in relation to the keeping of dogs; to provide for a registration fee therefor and to regulate or prevent their running at large; to enact ordinances to regulate or prevent the keeping of pigs and hogs in said Town, or in its judgment, in the more thickly populated parts of said Town; to employ from time to time skilled surveyors to make plots and maps showing the limits of said Town and ascents, descents and limits of all streets, lanes alleys, and sidewalks and the building lines upon the same, to show the location, depth and grade of all sewers and water mains and generally to do and perform all other matter of a cognate nature as may be deemed necessary by Council.

Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary, the Town of Wyoming shall have the power by ordinance to impose and collect a tax, to be paid by the transferor or transferee as determined by Council, upon the transfer of real property within the Town, not to exceed one percent (1%) of the value of the real property as represented by the document transferring the real property. The provisions of Section 5401 and Section 5403 of Chapter 54, Title 30, of the Delaware Code shall apply with respect to any realty transfer tax imposed by the Town of Wyoming pursuant to the authority granted herein. The Town Council of the Town of Wyoming may adopt an ordinance or ordinances to provide for the effective administration and regulation of any realty transfer tax adopted pursuant to the authority granted herein. If the taxing power and authority granted herein shall be exercised by way of a stamp affixed to a document, the Recorder of Deeds in and for Kent County shall not receive for record documents subject to said tax unless stamps provided by the Town of Wyoming are affixed thereto showing payment of tax.

The Town Council shall have superintendence and oversight of all roads, streets, squares, lanes and alleys now opened or hereafter to be opened, within the limits of the Town, and no overseer, or similar official, shall be appointed by the Levy Court of Kent County, but said Levy Court shall annually appropriate for the repairs and upkeep of the roads and streets in said Town the sums of money provided for by the Laws of the State of Delaware now in force or hereafter enacted and said Levy Court shall make orders for the payment therefor to the Treasurer of the Town for the use of said Town.

The Town Council shall have full power and authority to enact ordinances to prevent, suppress and regulate all bonfires, the firing of firearms and the setting off and exploding of fire crackers, fire works, torpedoes and all explosives at any places in said Town.

The Town Council shall have power and authority to levy and collect license fees, annually, for such various amount or amounts as Council shall from time to time, fix, from any individual, firm, association or corporation carrying on or practicing any business, profession or occupation within the limits of said Town and shall have authority to levy and collect license fees upon the property of any person, firm, association or corporation carrying on business in said Town and supplying the inhabitants thereof with any form or manner of services for any valuable consideration; to regulate the operation of public utilities within the Town and the use of the streets in connection with the operation of public utilities outside of the Town, or the use of the streets by common carriers, either passenger or freight or both, and to require that licenses from the Town be secured and to determine the amount or amounts to be paid therefor, provided, that this power shall not be deemed to apply to steam utilities; to levy and collect taxes on gas and water mains, underground conduits, telephone, telegraph, electric current or other poles or erections of like character in said Town, together with the wires thereon strung, and to this end may at any time direct the same to be included in or added to the Town assessment, with the authority of Council to cause such mains, conduits, poles and wires to be removed and suit to be instituted to collect the taxes so levied, in the event the owner or lessee thereof refuse or neglect to pay such taxes; Council has power to enact ordinances to prevent, abate or regulate electrical or other interferences with radio reception in said Town.

Council shall have the power to enact ordinances for fire protection and to this end may prohibit the use of building materials that Council may deem would create a fire hazard in the section to be used and may zone or district the Town and make particular provisions for particular zones or districts with regard to building and building materials, and may forbid any building except for which a building permit therefor has been obtained from and as prescribed by Council. This provision shall be deemed to include new buildings, or rebuildings or additions to or alterations of existing structures of any kind. Council shall have power upon inspection to condemn any existing building or structures that it deems to be a fire menace and to cause the same to be torn down or removed; Council shall have power to establish a building line for buildings to be erected, provided that such building line shall not be established more than ten feet back from front line of the lots.

The Town Council shall be vested with power and authority to prescribe fines, or penalties, or both, for violations of any of the provisions of this Act, or of the ordinances now in force, or which may hereafter be enacted in pursuance of any power hereof or of any power which may not be enumerated herein, provided, that no ordinance or other Act of Council shall provide any fine of more than Five Hundred Dollars, exclusive of costs, nor any penalty by way of imprisonment, in excess of thirty days, but Council may provide for both fine and imprisonment, not in excess of said limits.

As hereinafter provided in Section 22 relating to power to issue Bonds, the Town shall have all other powers and functions requisite to or appropriate, for the government of the Town, its peace and order, its sanitation, beauty, the health, safety, convenience, comfort, and well being of its population and the protection and preservation of property, public and private; and all actions, suits, and proceedings shall be brought in the name of 'The Town of Wyoming". The enumeration of particular powers by this Charter shall not be held to be exclusive, but in addition to the powers enumerated herein, it is intended that the Town of Wyoming shall have, and may exercise, all powers as may be implied therefrom or necessary to the reasonable exercise of such enumerated powers. All powers of the Town of Wyoming shall be exercised as prescribed by this Charter, or if not prescribed herein, by ordinance or resolution of the Town Council. (68 Del. Laws, c. 56, 6/25/91, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/23/03)

USE OF TOWN MONEY

Section 19.

Any proposed use of town money, including all bills presented for payment, shall first be submitted to the Town Council for its approval. Each proposed use of town moneys, the amount thereto, and the action taken by the Council on each proposal shall be set forth in the minutes of the meeting. The Town Council of said Town shall have full power and authority to use the money in the Treasury of said Town or any portion thereof, from time to time, for the improvement, benefit, protection, ornament and best interests of the said 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 Council. In the general performance of its duties and particularly in the expenditure of moneys of the said Town, the acts, doings and determinations of a majority of the entire Council shall be as good as the acts, doings and determinations of all the members of Council. (64 Del. Laws, c. 238, 3/27/84)

FISCAL YEAR, ANNUAL STATEMENT

Section 20.

The fiscal year of the said Town shall begin the first day of May in each year and shall end with the next succeeding last day of April. The Town Council shall cause a full and correct annual statement of the receipts and disbursements of all Town moneys for the fiscal year next preceding to be posted in five public places in The Town of Wyoming, at least ten days prior to the annual Town election. (64 Del. Laws, c. 238, 3/27/84)

EXEMPTION OF PROPERTY FROM TAXATION

Section 21.

The Town Council shall have the power and authority to exempt, by ordinance, such real property from the Town's property tax as, in the opinion of the Town Council, will best promote the public welfare. Without limiting this power by the following enumeration, the Town Council shall have the power to exempt from or reduce the rate of taxation on the real property and improvements:

21.1. of any person, firm, association or corporation engaged in any manufacturing business within the limits of the Town meeting such conditions as the Council shall establish (e.g. number of persons employed, minimum wages, benefits, and hours);

21.2. newly-annexed into the Town, upon such conditions as the Council shall establish (e.g. exemption to terminate upon issuance of building permit, transfer of title, or expiration of specified time limit, not to exceed seven years);

21.3. of any person 65 years of age or older residing on real property owned by such person (or such person's spouse) in the Town in accordance with 22 Del. C. Chapter 10 or any future corresponding provision of law;

21.4. of any person determined to be "totally disabled" (in accordance with such standards of general application as adopted by the Town Council) residing on real property owned by such person (or such person's spouse) in the Town. (74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

POWER TO BORROW MONEY AND ISSUE BONDS

Section 22.

(A) The Council of the Town of Wyoming may borrow money and issue bonds or certificates of indebtedness to secure the payment thereof on the faith and credit of the Town of Wyoming to provide funds for the erection, the extension, the enlargement or the repair of any plant, machinery, appliances or equipment for the furnishing of water, to the public, for the construction or repair or improvement of highways, streets, or lanes or the paving, curbing or erection of gutters along the same; for the construction or repair of sewers or sewage disposal equipment; or to defray the costs of the Town of Wyoming of any permanent municipal improvements, providing, however, that the borrowing of the money therefor shall be authorized by the Town Council and shall have been approved in the manner following:

(B) 1. Council by resolution shall propose to the electors of the Town by resolution that the stated amount of money shall be borrowed for any of the above purposes. The resolution shall state the amount of money desired to be borrowed, the purpose for which it is desired, the manner of securing the same, and all other pertinent facts relating to the loan, and shall fix a time and place for hearing on the said resolution.

2. Notice of the time and place of hearing on the resolution authorizing said loan shall be posted in five public places at least one week before the time set for said hearing.

3. A second resolution shall then be passed by Council ordering a special election to be held not less than thirty (30) days and not more than sixty (60) days after the date of its determination after said hearing to borrow the said money for the purpose of voting for or against the proposed loan.

4. The notice of the time and place for holding the said special election shall be given the inhabitants by posting notices in five public places for two weeks prior to the election. And the special election shall be conducted by a Board of Electors as herein provided in the case of annual elections.

5. The Council shall cause to be prepared, printed and have available for distribution a sufficient number of ballots not less than five (5) days prior to the date of the special election.

6. At the special election, every person who had a right at the next preceding annual Town election shall have one vote for every dollar and fractional part of dollar of tax paid by him or her respectively during the year preceding said election and every owner of property, whether individual, partnership or corporation shall have one vote for every dollar or part of dollar of tax paid by said owner during the year preceding said election and the said vote may be cast either in person or by proxy.

7. The Board of Election shall count the votes for and against the proposed loan; and shall announce the result thereof, shall make a certificate under their hands of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed loan, and shall deliver the same to the Council, which said Certificate shall be entered on the minutes of the Council, and the original shall be filed with the papers of the Council.

(C) The form of Bond or Certificate of Indebtedness, the times of payment of interest, the classes, the time of maturity, and provisions as to the registration shall be determined by the Council. The bonds shall be offered for sale to the best and most responsible bidder therefor after advertisement in a newspaper of Kent County for at least two weeks before offering the same for sale. The Council shall provide, in its budget, and in fixing the rate of tax, for the payment of interest and principal of said bond at the maturity or maturities thereof, and a sinking fund therefor. The faith and credit of the Town of Wyoming shall be deemed to be pledged for the due payment of the bonds and interest thereon issued under the provisions hereof, when the same have been properly executed and delivered for value.

(D) The bonded indebtedness of the Town of Wyoming shall not at any one time in the aggregate exceed the total sum of ten percentum of the value of the real property situate within the limits of the Town as shown by the last assessment preceding the creation of the said indebtedness.

OBSTRUCTIONS, NUISANCES AND UNSANITARY

CONDITIONS

Section 23.

The Town Council shall have power and authority to enact ordinances or adopt resolutions to define, prevent, abate and remove all obstructions, nuisances and unsanitary conditions at any time existing or deemed to be contemplated whether in the street, squares, lanes, or alleys, or on the sidewalks, or in any other public or private place within the limits of said Town either on its own inspection, or upon written complaint of any citizen of said Town, stating the character and location of the obstructions, nuisances or unsanitary conditions, and signed by the citizen making the complaint. If a majority of Council, either upon inspection or upon such information, or both, shall determine that such obstruction, nuisance, or unsanitary condition exists and ought to be removed or abated, as the case may be, Council shall enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution, or both, appropriate to the contemplated or existing condition and Council shall thereupon give notice in writing, signed by the Mayor or acting Mayor to the person or persons contemplating or causing such obstruction, nuisance or unsanitary condition, or to the person or persons who are responsible for its existence or continuance, to remove or abate the same and if such person or persons refuse or neglect for the space of two days after such notice is mailed to remove or abate the stated condition, Council shall have power and authority to remove or abate the same in a summary manner and at the expense of the person or persons responsible therefor. Council shall have the power and authority to enforce, by Ordinance, all the requirements of this section by imposing fines and penalties as shall be in the judgment of Council necessary and proper, which shall be in addition to the expenses incurred (including, but not limited to its reasonable attorney's fees incurred in enforcement and/or litigation, and court costs) and cost of removal or abatement. For all the purpose of this Section, any property, whether dwelling, storehouse, or both, or otherwise, which does not have proper connections with the sewer system of the said Town, if such sewer connections be available for such property, shall be deemed to be in an unsanitary condition under the meaning of this Section, at the discretion of the Council. (65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

STREETS

Section 24.

The Town Council shall have power and authority to locate, lay out, and open new streets and to widen or abandon streets or parts thereof, whenever they shall deem it for the best interest of the said Town. The procedure in every case as aforesaid, shall be as follows: The Council shall, by a majority vote, adopt a resolution favorable to the opening of the new street, or to the widening or altering of a street, or to the vacating or abandoning of a street or any portion thereof, as the case may be, and giving a general description of the street to be opened or widened, or altered, or of the street or part thereof to be vacated or abandoned, as the case may be.

The said resolution shall also state the day, hour and place when the said Council will sit to hear objections and to award just and reasonable compensation to anyone who will be deprived of property. A copy of such resolution shall be posted in five or more public places in the said Town at least five days before the day fixed for the hearing aforesaid.

At the time and place fixed in the said resolution said Council shall hear such residents of the Town or owners of the property affected as shall attend, and it shall at said meeting, or at a subsequent day, as it shall deem proper, adopt a resolution by a majority vote, to proceed with, or to abandon as it shall deem for the best interests of the said Town, the opening of the street or streets, or the widening, altering, vacating or abandoning of the existing street or streets, or part thereof, as the case may be, as contemplated in its prior resolution. And in case the determination of the said Council shall be to proceed with the plan contemplated by the resolution first aforesaid, Council shall award just and reasonable compensation to anyone who will be deprived of property in consequence thereof. Such compensation, if any be awarded, shall be paid by the Treasurer of the Town, on a warrant drawn on him by authority of the Council aforesaid upon delivery of a Deed in fee simple in favor of the Town of Wyoming, and clear of all liens and encumbrances. If anyone who will be deprived of property as aforesaid be dissatisfied with the compensation awarded by the Council aforesaid, he, may, within five days after the award of the Council as aforesaid, appeal from such award by serving written notice to that effect on the Secretary or Mayor. In order to prosecute said appeal such appellant shall within five days, after the expiration of the five days allowed for the appeal as aforesaid, apply to the Judge of the Superior Court for the State of Delaware, resident in Kent County, or in his absence at that time, to the Chief Justice of the said Court, for the appointment of freeholders to hear and determine the matter of compensation to such appellant for any property of which he will be deprived as aforesaid, and thereupon the said Judge or Chief Justice, as the case may be, shall issue a commission under his hand directed to five impartial freeholders of Kent County, commanding them to determine and fix the damages which the said appellant will sustain by reason of being deprived of any property as, aforesaid, taking into consideration the benefits or advantages that will enure to the said appellant from said new street or otherwise, and to make return of their findings to the said Judge or Chief Justice, as the case may be, at a time appointed in said commission. The said freeholders shall give notice of the day, hour and place when they will meet to view the premises and to assess the damages, if any, as aforesaid. Such notice shall be served upon the appellant personally, or by posting a copy on the premises affected at least five days before the day when they are to view the premises as aforesaid and a copy of such notice shall also be served on the Secretary or the Mayor at least five days before the day of such meeting.

The freeholders named in such commission being first sworn or affirmed on the day and at the hour and place stated in the notice aforesaid, shall view the premises and hear the appellant and his witnesses and the Council and its witnesses, and shall without delay, determine and fix the damages, if any, which the said appellant will sustain by reason of being deprived of any property as aforesaid. Thereupon and without delay the said freeholders shall make return in writing of their proceedings in the premises to the said Judge or Chief Justice, as the case may be, who shall cause the said return to be delivered to the said Secretary or Mayor and such return shall be final and conclusive. The said Judge or Chief Justice shall have power to fill any vacancy among the freeholders. The amount of damages being ascertained as aforesaid, the said Council may pay or tender the same to the person or persons entitled thereto, within one month after the same shall be finally ascertained, or may deposit the same to his credit in any Bank in the Town of Wyoming to the credit of the person or persons entitled thereto within the said period of one month, and thereupon the said Council may carry into effect the plan contemplated in their resolutions aforesaid. In the ascertainment and assessment of damages by the freeholders appointed by the Judge or Chief Justice aforesaid, if the damages shall be increased or if the Council shall decide not to take said land, the costs of the appeal shall be paid by the Treasurer of the said Town out of any money in his hands belonging to the Town, but if said damages shall not be increased, the costs of the appeal shall be paid by the party appealing. The fees of the freeholders shall be five dollars per day to each, which shall be taxed as part of the costs. After the damages shall be fixed and ascertained by the freeholders as aforesaid, Council shall have the option of paying the damages assessed within the term aforesaid and proceed with the improvements, or upon the payment of the costs only, may abandon the proposed improvement.

Whenever the land comprehended or included in any street, or part thereof, vacated or abandoned under this Section if owned by the said Town, the Council may, in its discretion, sell such land at public sale and for such consideration as the council shall deem proper, and shall have the right and power to convey to the purchaser or purchasers thereof a good and sufficient title thereto for whatever estate the said Town may have therein.

The word "street" shall be deemed and held to comprehend and include sidewalks, lanes, and alleys for all the purposes of this Section. (65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87)

PAVING, GUTTERING, CURBING

Section 25.

The Council shall have the power to cause to be paved or repaved the sidewalks of the said Town, or any part or portion thereof, and shall have power to have existing curbs or gutters, or both, repaired or relaid, or new curbs or gutters, or both, constructed, or any part of or portion thereof, in said Town, with such material or materials and of such width or size, and subject to such specifications as it shall determine. Before the exercise of said power in any particular instance, the Council shall adopt an ordinance or resolution stating in effect that on a named day and at a named hour and place the Council will meet to consider the question of paving or repaving the sidewalks with a specified material or materials, or repairing existing curbs or gutters, or both, or altering existing curbs or gutters, or both, with any specified material or materials and according to the stated specifications on a named street in front of the property of named owners, and of assessment of the costs thereof against such owners. The said ordinance or resolution shall be published at least one week prior to the meeting aforesaid in at least one issue of a newspaper published in Kent County. The Council shall hold a meeting in said Town in accordance with said ordinance or resolution and thereat shall hear the aforesaid owners of property and other residents of the Town appearing on the question referred to in the said ordinance or resolution.

After such hearing, the Council, either at said meeting or at a subsequent meeting, shall decide whether or not to proceed with the improvements referred to in said ordinance or resolution, and if it shall decide to proceed, it shall determine whether the whole or some specified proportion of the costs of the improvements aforesaid in front of the real property of the owner or owners named in the aforesaid ordinance or resolution shall be borne by said owners. If said determination shall be that the whole or specified proportion of said costs shall be borne by said owners, then and in such case the said owners shall be compelled to pay the whole or specified proportion of the cost aforesaid, as the case may be, the amount to be paid by the owner of each parcel of property affected to be determined by the lineal frontage of the parcel on the sidewalk to be paved or repaved, or in the gutter to be repaired or laid, or on the curb, to be repaired or constructed, or any or all of said improvements, as the case may be.

When the said paving or repaving, curbing or recurbing, guttering or reguttering, or any or all of them, having been done and the costs thereof ascertained, the Council shall ascertain the amount that the owner of each parcel or property aforesaid shall pay as hereinbefore stated, and shall give written notice thereof to such owner, or one of the co-owners, by mailing the same to his last known address. If any such owner shall fail to pay the specified amount within thirty days after the mailing of such notice, the same together with costs may be collected by an action of debt before the Alderman or any Justice of the Peace of Kent County. Writs of execution may issue upon judgment recovered as in like cases of a civil nature and the same proceedings had as on any other judgment before a Justice of the Peace. Upon a return of Nulla bona on an execution issued on said judgment a certified abstract of said judgment shall be filed in the Prothonotary's office for Kent County and said judgment shall become a lien upon the premises affected with same force and effect of any other judgment entered in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware.

The term "Owner" as used in this Section shall be deemed to mean the person or persons who owned the property in question at the time of the adoption or passage of the ordinances or resolutions first in this Section referred to, and any change of ownership thereafter shall not be deemed or held to affect any of the steps or proceedings mentioned in this Section.

CONSTRUCTING, PAVING, REPAIRING OF STREETS

Section 26.

The Town Council of the Town of Wyoming, shall have full power and authority to regrade, redress or otherwise repair and rebuild all existing streets, lanes, alleys, and other public thoroughfares in the Town of Wyoming and to construct, build , pave and in any manner improve all new and existing streets, lanes, alleys and other public thoroughfares now opened or to be hereafter opened for public use in said Town, and in so doing shall use such materials and substances and such methods of construction and shall employ such contractor, engineers, inspectors and others as the Council shall deem expedient and may use different materials and different methods of construction on different streets, or on different parts of the same street, as Council deems advisable. For the purpose of this Section Council shall have full power and authority to expend such part or parts of the money of the said Town in the general fund of the Town not otherwise appropriated.

CONTRACTS

Section 27.

The Council is vested with authority on behalf of the Town to enter into contracts for the rendering of personal service to the Town and/or the purchase of supplies and doing of work for any municipal purpose for the Town, provided:

A. No contract shall be made by Council for any purposes, the contract price of which is in excess of $6,000.00, without public competitive bidding; and

B. The contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, but Council may reject any and/or all bids for any cause by it deemed advantageous to the Town; and

C. All formal contracts shall be signed by the Mayor with the Seal of the Town attached attested by the Secretary. (65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

WATER SYSTEM

Section 28.

The Town Council is hereby vested with full power and authority to provide for the Town of Wyoming an ample supply of pure water and to purchase, lease, erect, construct, maintain, operate and control wells, reservoirs, pumping machines and stations, water mains, fire hydrants and all other instruments for the collection, storage, conveyance and distribution of water, on, over, under or through the lands of any person. The Council shall have power to enact ordinances, rules and regulations in regard to the use for public or private purposes of water furnished by the Town, and the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, and to fix fines, or penalties, or both for any willful or negligent injury or damage to, or interference with the water system of the Town. The Council may, at its option, furnish water from the Town system to places and properties outside the Town limits upon such special terms, charges and conditions as it shall deem wise.

The Council may, by condemnation proceedings, take private land, or the right to use private lands, under, over or on the surface thereof, for the proper operation or extension of the water system. The proceedings by condemnation under this Section shall be the same as prescribed in Section 24 of this Act for the opening and laying out of new streets, and the resolutions referred to in said Section 24 shall be changed and modified to cover the cases contemplated by this present Section.

SEWER SYSTEM

Section 29.

The Town Council is hereby vested with full power and authority to provide, construct, extend, maintain, manage and control a, sewer system for the health, sanitation and convenience of the inhabitants of the said Town, on, over, under or through the lands of any person. The Council shall have power to enact ordinances, rules and regulations regarding the sewers and the sewer system of the Town and the use thereof, and the amounts to be paid by the users thereof, and to fix fines or penalties, or both, for any willful or negligent injury or damage to or interference with the said sewers or sewer system of the Town. The Council may, at its option, furnish, sewer facilities to places and properties outside of the Town limits upon such special terms, charges and conditions as it shall deem wise. The Council may require any property in the Town, for which there is any available sewer, to be connected with the sewer system and may compel the owner of such property to, pay the cost of such connection and the tapping fee therefor.

The Council may, by condemnation proceedings, take private land, or the right to use private land, under, over or on the surface thereof, for the proper operation or extension of the sewers and sewer system of the Town. The proceedings by condemnation under this Section shall be the same as prescribed by Section 24 of this Act, for the opening and laying out of new streets, and the resolutions referred to in said Section 24 shall be changed and modified to cover the cases contemplated by this present Section.

ELECTRIC CURRENT, POWER PLANT, FRANCHISES

Section 30.

The Council shall have power to make contracts for the purchase of heat, light, water and electric current with any responsible persons. firms, or corporations for all municipal purposes.

The Town Council shall also have full power and authority at any regular or special meeting, by a majority vote, to enact ordinances or adopt resolutions granting franchise to any responsible person, firm, association or corporation, and for such terms of years as shall seem wise to said Council, to use the present and future streets, squares, alleys, and lanes of the said Town for purposes of furnishing light, heat, power, gas or water, or any or all of them to said Town and to the persons, firms, or corporations residing therein and for the purpose of transmitting light, heat, power, gas and water, or any or all of them through, over, across or under said streets, squares, alleys and lanes to points outside of the limits of said Town; and such franchise or franchises to contain such restrictions, conditions and stipulations as shall to said Council seem wise, and said Council, by a majority vote, at any regular or special meeting, shall also have full power and, authority to enter into contracts with any responsible persons, firms, associations or corporations for the furnishing of light, heat, power, gas or water, or any or all of them, or for the furnishing of electric current, either at wholesale or retail, to said Town, or to persons, firms, and corporations residing therein, or adjacent thereto.

DRAINAGE

Section 31.

The Town Council of said Town shall have the full jurisdiction and control within the limits of said Town of the drainage thereof, and the right to alter and change the course and direction of any of the natural water courses, runs or rivulets within the limits of the Town, and may pass ordinances for the opening of gutters, drains and sewers within said Town limits and the regulating and maintaining, cleaning and keeping the same and the natural water courses, runs and rivulets within the said Town limits open, clean and unobstructed, and for that purpose may authorize the entry upon private lands and take, condemn and occupy the same in the same manner and by the same condemnation proceedings as hereinbefore provided in case of the water and sewer systems of the said Town and as prescribed by Section 24 of this Act for the opening and laying out of new streets, and the resolutions referred to in said Section 24 shall be changed and modified to cover the cases contemplated by this present Section.

ORDINANCES

Section 32.

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, the health, safety, convenience and comfort of its population, and the protections and preservation of 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.

It shall be the duty of the Council to compile the ordinances of the Town, to have a reasonable number of copies printed for the use of the officials of the Town and for public information; and from time to time, upon the enactment of new ordinances, or the amendment of existing ordinances, to enroll the same in the minutes of the Council, and to keep copies thereof in a book to be provided for that purpose, so that the same may be readily examined; as they are enacted and published. (64 Del. Laws, c. 238, 3/27/84, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

HEALTH

Section 33.

The Town Council may, by majority vote, in their discretion, when deemed necessary and advisable for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the people of the Town of Wyoming, appoint a Board of Health. A. The board of health for said Town of Wyoming shall consist of three members appointed by the Council to serve for one year and one of whom shall be a practicing physician in said Town; they shall report to the Council in writing whatever is deemed by the board to be injurious to the health of the people of the town and shall make recommendations to Council of whatever may contribute to useful, sanitary information.

FIRE

B. The Council shall have the power to adopt all measures requisite or appropriate for protection against fire, and to appropriate money for the purpose of fire equipment, whether owned by the Town or by a Volunteer Fire Company.

ZONING

C. For protection against fire, the Council may adopt ordinances to zone or district the Town and to make particular provisions for particular zones or districts with regard to buildings and building materials; to prohibit the use of building materials that may be deemed to create a fire hazard, and this power shall embrace new buildings or additions to or alterations of existing structures of every kind; to condemn buildings or structures, or portions thereof, that constitute a fire menace, and to require or cause the same to be torn down, removed, or so altered as to eliminate the menace of fire; to prescribe the height and thickness of walls of any building and the kind and grade of materials used in the construction thereof; to establish a building line for buildings to be erected, provided that such building line shall not be established more than ten feet back from front line of the lots.

The Council may adopt zoning ordinances limiting and specifying districts and regulating thereon buildings and structures according to their construction and according to the nature and extent of the business to be carried on therein.

The powers to be exercised under and by virtue of this provision shall be deemed to have been exercised under the police power and for the general welfare of the inhabitants.

BUILDING INSPECTION PERMITS

D. The Town Council shall appoint a Building Inspector, who shall act in accordance with the duties prescribed for him by the Council for its approval. The Council may provide for the issuance of building permits, and may forbid the construction of any new building, or the addition to, or alteration, or repair of any existing building unless a building permit has been obtained therefor.

Should any person, firm or corporation hereafter desire to erect any building or buildings within the corporate limits of said Town for the purpose of conducting therein the business of canning fruits, vegetables, meats, oysters, etc., or for the manufacture or manipulation of phosphate, fertilizers or manures of any kind, he or they before erecting such buildings or building, or engaging in such business, shall make an application in writing for permission therefor to said Council. And should said Council determine that such building will not endanger the other property of the Town, and said business will not jeopardize the health of or be offensive to the citizens thereof, the Council shall have authority to grant a permit to erect such buildings and conduct such business.

The Council shall have full power to fix and determine the placing and replacing of poles or other structures within the Town limits for the carrying of telegraph, telephone, power or other wires, and the attachments thereto, and to cause existing poles or structures to be removed whenever the same shall be deemed to be obstructions or detrimental to the beauty of the Town, or when such poles or structures are so placed as to inconvenience persons or render property less desirable. This power shall extend as well to the location as to the relocation of such poles and structures, wires, and attachments, and may be exercised from time to time as occasion shall arise. (64 Del. Laws, c. 238, 3/27/84, 74 Del. Laws, c. 65, 6/24/03)

LICENSES

Section 34.

The Council shall have the right to grant or refuse licenses for boxing exhibitions and other sports, to circuses, theatrical, or minstrel companies, or like things, and exhibits or parades thereof, or the posting of bills for the advertisement thereof; to pool or billiard rooms and other places of amusement; to peddlers or canvassers; to any person having only a temporary place of business for selling or offering for sale goods, wares and merchandise; to peddlers of meats, fish, oysters or vegetables and the location of wagons or stalls, provided that the Council shall not have the power to permit, by the license, interference with any place of business or with the convenience of public travel; to provide for the payment of taxes, fines, penalties, and forfeitures by performance of labor for the Town by those who may owe taxes, fines, penalties or forfeitures, and to make proper regulations and rules therefor.

TREES

Section 35.

Trees being among the chief beauties of the Town, and their preservation requiring that they be treated with special care, the Council is empowered to take necessary or appropriate action to prevent injuries to trees from electric wires or from any other source or cause whatsoever.

PENALTIES

Section 36.

The Council shall have the power to enact ordinances, rules and regulations and to fix the penalties for violations, thereof relating to the use of streets, highways, lanes, and alleys, the parking of vehicles thereon, with the power to prohibit parking on streets, or portions thereof, entirely or within certain hours, or for certain lengths of time.

FINES AND IMPRISONMENT

Section 37.

No fine shall be imposed in a sum exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) exclusive of costs; and no term of imprisonment shall be imposed for violation of any rules, regulation or ordinance, or other offense or for failure to pay any fine or penalty imposed, in excess of a period of thirty days.

FLOATING DEBT

Section 38.

The Town Council of said Town shall have full power and authority to borrow upon the faith and credit of the Town of Wyoming the sum or sums of money, not exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in any one fiscal year, when in the opinion of the majority of Council the needs of said Town demand it. Said Council may secure said sum or sums of money by promissory notes or certificates of indebtedness of the Town of Wyoming, duly authorized by resolutions of Council, and signed by the Mayor, or by the acting Mayor and by the Secretary, either with or without the corporate seal of the Town, affixed as is requested by the bank or person advancing the money on said notes or certificates, and no officer nor member of Council shall be personally liable for the payment of such notes or certificates because it is signed by them as officers of the Council, and is authorized by the resolution of the Council. Provided, however, any sum or money borrowed on the faith and credit of the Town of Wyoming as aforesaid in any fiscal year shall be paid out of the general funds of the Town, at the minimum rate of twenty-five per centum per fiscal year and shall be paid at the end of four fiscal years following the first fiscal year which said money was borrowed with interest thereon; and provided further, that no borrowing of money shall be authorized by this Act in excess of the Fifty Thousand Dollar ($50,000.00) limitation herein fixed until the total amount borrowed hereunder up to the Fifty Thousand Dollar ($50,000.00) limit shall have been fully repaid, except that should the Town Council deem additional borrowing in excess of the amount herein provided to be for the benefit of the Town the said Town Council may cause a referendum to be held in the manner prescribed for other town elections, in which the qualified and legal voters of the Town, after full explanation and advertisement of the need for additional borrowing may vote for or against the same. If after such referendum, the majority of voters cast their votes for additional borrowing, the Town Council may borrow additional sums beyond the limit of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), notwithstanding repayment of prior borrowing has not been made. (47 Del. Laws, c. 88, 5/16/49, 65 Del. Laws, c. 384, 2/1/87, 72 Del. Laws, c. 373, 6/30/00)

Section 38B.

The Town Council of said Town shall have the full power and authority to borrow from the First National Bank of Wyoming the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) at six and one-half percent (6 ½%) per annum for a period of twenty-five (25) years, for the specific purpose of purchasing from the Delaware Railroad Company the property, land and building, known as "Old Railroad Station", more particularly described as follows:

ALL THAT PARCEL of land with the building and improvements thereon erected, situate in the City of Wyoming, County of Kent and State of Delaware, bounded and described according to a plan of survey made by Mann-Talley, Inc., dated November 2 1977, as follows; VIZ:

BEGINNING at a point marked by a P.K. nail set at the intersection of the northwest line of Railroad Avenue, at 50 feet wide, with the northeast line of Camden-Wyoming Avenue, at 50 feet wide; thence from said point of BEGINNING along the said northeasterly line of Camden-Wyoming Avenue, North 55 degrees 05 minutes 00 seconds West, 51.03 feet to an iron pipe set in the southeasterly line of land which has been conveyed to Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) by The Delaware Railroad Company, at 66 feet wide; thence thereby parallel with the centerline of the southbound track of railroad formerly of said The Delaware Railroad Company, and distant 41.50 feet southeasterly therefrom when measured at right angles thereto, North 46 degrees 28 minutes 00 seconds East, 369.91 feet to an iron pipe set in the southwesterly line of Broad Street, at 70 feet wide, the last described course passing through an existing brick building, said building being the old railroad station; thence along said southwesterly line of Broad Street, South 43 degrees 32 minutes 00 seconds East, 50.00 feet to a P.K. nail in the said northwest line of Railroad Avenue; thence thereby, South 46 degrees 28 minutes 00 seconds West, 359.70 feet to a P.K. nail set in the said northeast line of Camden-Wyoming Avenue, the point and place of beginning.

CONTAINING 18,240 square feet of land, or 0.4187 of an acre, more or less and is further authorized to secure said sum by executing a first mortgage or lien to the First National Bank of Wyoming to secure said debt, duly authorized by Resolution of the Council, with the corporate seal of the Town affixed as is requested by the bank advancing the money on said note or mortgage. Said sum of money borrowed according to this authority shall be paid on an amortized schedule for the term of twenty-five (25) years at six and one-half percent (6 ½%) per annum, by either monthly, quarterly or yearly payments as determined by the Town Council of the Town of Wyoming. (62 Del. Laws, c. 187, 2/8/80)

SURVIVAL OF POWER AND VALIDATING SECTION

Section 39.

That the Act entitled "An Act to reincorporate the Town of Wyoming", passed at Dover, March 30th, 1905, and the several Acts and parts of Acts therein and thereby repealed, all other Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent with or supplied by this Act, are hereby repealed and made null and void saving and excepting, however, from the effect of such repeal all Acts and the parts of Acts relative to The Town of Wyoming, not inconsistent herewith or supplied hereby, and excepting, however, also from the effect of such repeal, and expressly declaring that all the ordinances of The Town of Wyoming, heretofore enacted or adopted and now in force in pursuance of any Laws of this State, shall continue in full force and effect until expressly repealed, altered or amended by the Council of said Town. That all Acts and doings of the Council of said Town, or of any officers of said Town lawfully done or performed under the provisions of any Law of this State or of any ordinances of the Council of said Town, are hereby ratified and confirmed.

That all debts, fines, or penalties and forfeitures due to said The Town of Wyoming, all debts due from The Town of Wyoming to any person or persons whomsoever, or to any firm, association, or corporation, are hereby declared to be wholly unaffected and unimpaired by this repeal and shall continue in full force until the same shall be fully paid and discharged according to the terms thereof. That all powers conferred by Law upon the Collector of Taxes for the collection of all taxes in the said Town, heretofore assessed and uncollected shall continue in full force and effect until all said taxes shall be fully collected and paid, and the official bonds of said Collector, and of all other bonded officers not employees of said Town, shall be unaffected and unimpaired by this repeal, and they and their sureties therein shall continue liable for any breaches of any conditions of said bonds, and that all proceedings theretofore commenced for the collection of any penalty, fine, forfeiture or debt due to the said Town, under any Law or Ordinance, shall not be affected or impaired by the repeal, but the same may be prosecuted to judgment and execution until the sum be fully paid, liquidated and discharged.

Section 40.

If any part of this Act shall be held unconstitutional, such holding shall not in anywise invalidate the remaining provisions of the Act.

Section 41.

This Act shall be deemed and taken to be a public Act.

Section 43.

ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY

In the event it becomes feasible and necessary in the future for the Town of Wyoming to large its then existing limits and territory, such annexation accomplished pursuant to the following procedures shall be lawful:

(a) If all of the property owners of the territory contiguous to the then existing corporate limits and territory of The Town of Wyoming, by written Petition with the signature of each such Petitioner duly acknowledged, shall request the Town Council to annex that certain territory in which they own property, the Mayor of the Town of Wyoming shall appoint a Committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council to investigate the possibility of annexation. Territory which is otherwise contiguous except for its separation from the corporate limits and territory of The Town of Wyoming by public roadway, street, thoroughfare, easement or right-of-way shall be deemed contiguous for purposes of annexation under this Charter. The Petition presented to the Town Council shall include a description of the territory requested to be annexed and the reasons for the requested annexation. Not later than ninety (90) days following its appointment by the Mayor, as aforesaid, the Committee shall submit a written report containing its finding and conclusions to the Mayor and Town Council of Wyoming. The report so submitted shall include the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed annexation both to The Town of Wyoming and to the territory proposed to be annexed and shall contain the recommendation of the Committee whether or not to proceed with the proposed annexation and the reasons therefor. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is advantageous both to the Town and to the territory proposed to be annexed, the Town Council of Wyoming may then pass a second Resolution annexing such territory to The Town of Wyoming. Such Resolution shall be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the elected members of the Town Council. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is disadvantageous either to the Town or to the territory proposed to be annexed, the procedure to be followed shall be the same as hereinafter provided as if the annexation were proposed by five (5) or more property owners but less than all the property owners of a territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of the Town of Wyoming.

(b) If five (5) or more property owners, but less than all of the property owners of a territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of The Town of Wyoming by written Petition with the signature of each such Petitioner duly acknowledged, shall request the Town Council to annex that certain territory in which they own property, the Mayor of the Town of Wyoming shall appoint a Committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council to investigate the possibility of annexation. The Petition presented to the Town Council shall include a description of the territory requested to be annexed and the reasons for the requested annexation; or the Town Council, by majority vote of the elected members thereof may, by resolution; propose that a committee composed of not less than three (3) of the elected members of the Town Council be appointed by the Mayor to investigate the possibility of annexing any certain territory contiguous to the then limits and territory of The Town of Wyoming.

(c) Not later than ninety (90) days following its appointment by the Mayor, as aforesaid, the Committee shall submit a written report containing its findings and conclusions to the Mayor and the Town Council of Wyoming. The report so submitted shall include the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed annexation both to the Town of Wyoming and to the territory proposed to be annexed and shall contain the recommendation of the Committee whether or not to proceed with the proposed annexation and the reasons therefor. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is advantageous both to the Town and to the territory proposed to be annexed, within thirty (30) days after receiving the report, a second resolution shall then be passed by the Town Council proposing to the property owners and residents of both the Town of Wyoming and the territory proposed to be annexed that the Town annex certain territory contiguous to its then limits and territory. In the event that the Committee appointed by the Mayor concludes that the proposed annexation is disadvantageous either to the Town or to the territory proposed to be annexed, within thirty (30) days after receiving the report of the Committee, the Resolution proposing annexation to the property owners and residents of both the Town and the territory proposed to be annexed shall be passed by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the elected members of the Town Council. If the Resolution shall fail to receive the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the elected members of the Town Council, the territory proposed to be annexed shall not again be considered for annexation for a period of one (1) year from the date that the Resolution failed to receive the required affirmative vote. The second Resolution shall contain a description of the territory proposed to be annexed and shall fix a time and place for a public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. The Resolution adopted by the Town Council setting forth the above information shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in The Town of Wyoming at least one (1) week prior to the date set for the public hearing, or, at the discretion of the Town Council, the said resolution shall be posted in four (4) public places both in The Town of Wyoming and in the territory proposed to be annexed.

(d) Following the public hearing, but in no event later than thirty (30) days thereafter, a Resolution shall then be passed by a majority of the Town Council ordering a Special Election to be held not less than thirty (30) nor more than sixty (60) days after the said public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. Passage of this Resolution shall ipso facto be considered the determination of the Town Council to proceed with the matter of the proposed annexation.

(e) The notice of the time and place of the said Special Election shall be printed within thirty (30) days immediately proceeding the date of this Special Election in at least two (2) issues of a newspaper having a general circulation in The Town of Wyoming, or, in the discretion of the Town Council, the said notice may be posted in public places, both in The Town of Wyoming and in the territory proposed to be annexed at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date set for the said Special Election.

(f) At the Special Election, every citizen of either The Town of Wyoming or of the territory proposed to be annexed over the age of eighteen (18) years shall have one (1) vote. Every owner of property within either The Town of Wyoming or in the territory proposed to be annexed who is not a citizen therein; whether an individual partnership or a corporation, shall have one (1) vote. In the cases of jointly owned property the votes of the owners of shares therein shall be in accordance with their respective shares or, if all owners appear at the polls and so consent, all of the votes may be cast by the owner of any share. Life tenants shall have the entire vote as to the property so held and holders of remainder interest only shall have no vote by reason thereof. In no event shall any person be entitled to more than one (1) vote. Property owners whose property is exempt from taxation or is not assessed for taxation shall not be entitled to vote. The books and records of The Town of Wyoming in the case of property owners and citizens of the Town and the books and records of the Board of Assessment of Kent County, in the case of property owners and residents of the territory to be annexed, shall be conclusive evidence of the right of such property owners and citizens to vote at the Special Election.

(g) In the event that an individual holds a Power of Attorney duly executed and acknowledged specifically authorizing the said individual to vote at the said Special Election, a duly authenticated Power of Attorney shall be filed with the Town Council of The Town of Wyoming. Said Power of Attorney so filed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the right of said person to vote in the Special Election.

(h) The Town Council of The Town of Wyoming shall cause voting machines to be used in the Special Election, the form of ballot to be printed as follows:

For the proposed annexation

Against the proposed annexation

(i) The Mayor of The Town of Wyoming shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Elections, at least one (1) of whom shall own property in the Town of Wyoming and al least one (1) of whom shall own property in the property proposed to be annexed. One (1) of the said persons so appointed shall be designated the Presiding Officer. Voting shall be conducted in a public place as designated by the Resolution calling the Special Election. The Board of Special Elections shall have available, clearly marked, two (2) voting machines. All votes cast by those persons, partnerships or corporations authorized to vote as residents or property owners in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be accomplished on one such voting machine and all ballots cast by those persons, partnerships, or corporations authorized to vote as residents or property owners of The Town of Wyoming shall be accomplished on the other such voting machine. The polling place shall be open from one o'clock in the afternoon, prevailing time, until six o'clock of the event, prevailing time, 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 closing of the polls.

(j) Immediately upon the closing of the polling place, the Board of Special Election shall count the ballots for and against the proposed annexation and shall announce the result thereof; the Board of Special Election shall make a Certificate under their Hands of the votes cast for and against the proposed annexation and the number of void votes and shall deliver the same to the Town Council of The Town of Wyoming. Said Certificate shall be filed with the papers of the Town Council.

(k) In order for the territory proposed to be annexed to be considered annexed, a majority of the votes cast both from The Town of Wyoming, and from the territory proposed to be annexed must have been cast in favor of the proposed annexation. In the event that the Special Election results in an unfavorable vote for annexation, no part of the territory considered at the Special Election for annexation shall again be considered for annexation for a period of at least one (1) year from the date of the said Special Election. If a