[Amended 5-19-2014 by Res. No. 05-19-14]
There shall be a Clerk-Treasurer appointed by
the Mayor with the approval of the Council. He or she shall serve
at the pleasure of the Mayor. Compensation shall be determined by
the Council. The Clerk-Treasurer shall be the chief financial officer
of the Town. The financial powers of the Town, except as otherwise
provided by this Charter, shall be exercised by the Clerk-Treasurer
under the direct supervision of the Mayor.
Under the supervision of the Mayor, the Clerk-Treasurer
shall have authority and shall be required to:
A.
Prepare, at the request of the Mayor, an annual budget
to be submitted by the Mayor to the Council.
B.
Supervise and be responsible for the disbursement
of all moneys and have control over all expenditures to assure that
budget appropriations are not exceeded.
C.
Maintain a general accounting system for the Town
in such form as the Council may require, not contrary to state law.
D.
Submit at the end of each fiscal year, and at such
other times as the Council may require, a complete financial report
to the Council through the Mayor.
E.
Ascertain that all taxable property within the Town
is assessed for taxation.
F.
Collect all taxes, special assessments, license fees,
liens and all other revenues, including utility revenues of the Town
and all other revenues for whose collection the Town is responsible
and receive any funds receivable by the Town.
G.
Have custody of all public moneys belonging to or
under the control of the Town, except as to funds in the control of
any set of trustees, and have custody of all bonds and notes of the
Town.
H.
Do such other things in relation to the fiscal or
financial affairs of the Town as the Mayor or the Council may require
or as may be required elsewhere in this Charter.
The Clerk-Treasurer shall provide a bond with
such corporate surety and in such amount as the Council by ordinance
may require.
The Town shall operate on an annual budget.
The fiscal year of the Town shall begin on the first day of July and
shall end on the last day of June in each year. Such fiscal year shall
constitute the tax year, the budget year and the accounting year.
The Mayor on such date as the Council by ordinance
shall determine, but at least 32 days before the beginning of any
fiscal year, shall submit a budget to the Council. The budget shall
provide a complete financial plan for the budget year and shall contain
estimates of anticipated revenues and proposed expenditures for the
coming year. The total of the anticipated revenues shall equal or
exceed the total of the proposed expenditures. The budget shall be
a public record in the office of the Clerk-Treasurer, open to public
inspection by anyone during normal business hours.
Before adopting the budget, the Council shall
hold a public hearing thereon after two weeks' notice thereof in some
newspaper or newspapers having general circulation within the municipality.
The Council may insert new items or may increase or decrease the items
of the budget. Where the Council shall increase the total proposed
expenditures, it shall also increase the total anticipated revenues
in an amount at least equal to such total proposed expenditures. The
budget shall be prepared and adopted in the form of an ordinance.
A favorable vote of at least a majority of the total elected membership
of the Council shall be necessary for adoption.
No public money may be expended without having
been appropriated by the Council. From the effective date of the budget,
the several amounts stated therein as proposed expenditures shall
be and become appropriated to the several objects and purposes named
therein.
Any transfer of funds between major appropriations
for different purposes by the Mayor must be approved by the Council
before becoming effective.
No officer or employee shall, during any budget
year, expend or contract to expend any money or incur any liability
or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure
of money for any purpose in excess of the amounts appropriated for
or transferred to that general classification of expenditure pursuant
to this Charter. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation
of this Charter shall be null and void. Nothing in this section contained,
however, shall prevent the making of contracts or the spending of
money for capital improvements to be financed in whole or in part
by the issuance of bonds nor the making of contracts of lease or for
services for a period exceeding the budget year in which such contract
is made, when such contract is permitted by law.
All appropriations shall lapse at the end of
the budget year to the extent that they shall not have been expended
or lawfully encumbered. Any unexpended and unencumbered funds shall
be considered a surplus at the end of the budget year and shall be
included among the anticipated revenues for the next succeeding budget
year.
[Amended 11-3-2010 by Res. No. 11-03-10]
All checks issued in payment of salaries shall
be issued and signed by the Clerk-Treasurer and shall be counter-signed
by the Mayor or his or her designee.
All real property and all tangible personal
property within the corporate limits of the Town or personal property
which may have a situs there by reason of the residence of the owner
therein shall be subject to taxation for municipal purposes and the
assessment used shall be the same as that for state and county taxes.
No authority is given by this section to impose taxes on any property
which is exempt from taxation by any Act of the General Assembly.
From the effective date of the budget, the amount
stated therein as the amount to be raised by the property tax shall
constitute a determination of the amount of the tax levy in the corresponding
tax year.
[Amended 11-3-2010 by Res. No. 11-03-10]
Immediately after the levy is made by the Council
in each year, the Clerk-Treasurer shall give notice of the making
of the levy by posting a notice thereof in some public place or places
in the Town. He or she shall cause to be made out and delivered in
person to each taxpayer or his agent at his last known address a bill
or account of the taxes due from him. This bill or account shall contain
a statement of the amount of real and personal property with which
the taxpayer is assessed, the rate of taxation, the amount of taxes
due and the date on which the taxes will bear interest. Failure to
give or receive any notice required by this section shall not relieve
any taxpayer of the responsibility to pay on the dates established
by this Charter all taxes levied on his property.
[Amended by Res. No. 1997-3R]
The taxes provided for in § C7-13 of this Charter shall be due and payable on the first day of July in the year for which they are levied and shall be overdue and in arrears on the first day of the following November. They shall bear interest while in arrears at the rate of 2/3 of 1% for each month or fraction of a month until paid. All taxes not paid and in arrears after the first day of the following January shall be collected as provided in § C7-16.
A list of all properties on which the Town taxes
have not been paid and which are in arrears as provided by § C7-15
of this Charter shall be turned over by the Clerk-Treasurer to the
official of the county responsible for the sale of tax delinquent
property as provided in state law. All property listed thereon shall,
if necessary, be sold for taxes by this county official in the manner
prescribed by state law.
All fees received by an officer or employee
of the Town government in his official capacity shall belong to the
Town government and be accounted for to the Town.
The financial books and accounts of the Town
shall be audited annually as required by § 40 of Article
19 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1951 Edition, as amended).
During the first six months of any fiscal year,
the Town shall have the power to borrow in anticipation of the collection
of the property tax levied for that fiscal year and to issue tax anticipation
notes or other evidences of indebtedness as evidence of such borrowing.
Such tax anticipation notes or other evidences of indebtedness shall
be a first lien upon the proceeds of such tax and shall mature and
be paid not later than six months after the beginning of the fiscal
year in which they are issued. No tax anticipation notes or other
evidences of indebtedness shall be issued which will cause the total
tax anticipation indebtedness of the Town to exceed 50% of the property
tax levy for the fiscal year in which such notes or other evidences
of indebtedness are issued. All tax anticipation notes or other evidences
of indebtedness shall be authorized by ordinance before being issued.
The Council shall have the power to regulate all matters concerning
the issuance and sale of tax anticipation notes.
[Amended by Res. No. 1997-3R]
A.
General borrowing power. The Town may borrow money
for any public purpose, including refinancing of any indebtedness
of the Town outstanding from time to time, and may evidence such borrowing
by the issue and sale of its general obligation bonds or bond anticipation
notes. Such bonds or notes may be issued and sold in the manner prescribed
in §§ 31 to 39 inclusive, of Article 23A of the Annotated
Code of Maryland 1996 Edition, as amended and replaced), entitled
"Corporation-Municipal," subtitled "Creation of Municipal Public Debt,"
provided that if any ordinance authorizing the issue and sale of any
of such bonds or notes shall so specify, the bonds or notes may be
sole at private sale, without advertisement or publication of notice
of sale or solicitation of competitive bids.
B.
Public works. In order to carry out the meaning and
intent of this section, the Mayor and Council are empowered to do
all things and to take any action, by ordinance or otherwise, deemed
necessary for the regulation, efficient operation and maintenance
of any work, plant or system or any part thereof, any portion of the
cost of which may be financed pursuant to the authority of this section.
C.
Powers supplementary. The authority and powers contained
in this section shall be supplementary to existing law and may be
exercised in whole or in part by the Town notwithstanding any other
provision or limitation of law.
The power and obligation of the Town to pay
any and all bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued
by it under the authority of this Charter shall be unlimited and the
Town shall levy ad valorem taxes upon all the taxable property of
the Town for the payment of such bonds, notes or other evidences of
indebtedness and interest thereon, without limitation of amount. The
faith and credit of the Town is hereby pledged for the payment of
the principal of and the interest on all bonds, notes or other evidences
of indebtedness hereafter issued under the authority of this Charter,
whether or not such pledge is stated in the bonds, notes or other
evidences of indebtedness or in the ordinance authorizing their issuance.
All bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness
validly issued by the Town previous to December 13, 1960, and all
ordinances passed concerning them are hereby declared to be valid
legal and binding and of full force and effect as if herein fully
set forth.
[Amended by Res. No. 1997-3R; 5-19-2014 by Res. No. 05-19-14]
All purchases and contracts for the Town government
shall be made by the Clerk-Treasurer. The Council may provide by ordinance
for rules and regulations regarding the use of competitive bidding
and contracts for all Town purchases and contracts. All expenditures
for supplies, materials, equipment, construction of public improvements
or contractual service involving more than $10,000 shall be made on
written contract. The Clerk-Treasurer shall be required to advertise
for sealed bids in such manner as may be prescribed by ordinance for
all such written contracts. Such written contracts shall be awarded
to the bidder who offers the lowest or best bid, quality of goods
and work and time of delivery or completion, the responsibility of
bidders being considered. All such written contracts shall be approved
by a majority of the Council before becoming effective. The Mayor
or the Clerk-Treasurer shall have the right to reject all bids and
readvertise. The Town at any time in its discretion may employ its
own forces for the construction or reconstruction of public improvements
without advertising for or readvertising for or receiving bids. All
written contracts may be protected by such bonds, penalties and conditions
as the Town may require. All contracts involving professional services
such as accounting, architecture, auditing, computer system services,
engineering, law, planning and surveying shall not be on a bid basis,
but shall be negotiated by the Clerk-Treasurer and/or the Mayor with
the approval of a majority of the Council.
