The following persons, before entering upon the duties of their
offices, shall make oath before the City Clerk that they will diligently
and faithfully, without partiality, favor or prejudice, and well and
truly perform the duties of their offices: members of the Council,
the City Manager, City Solicitor, heads of all offices, departments
and agencies of the city government and the members of the Board of
Election Supervisors. The City Clerk shall be sworn in by the President
or Vice President of the Council. Each oath shall be recorded by the
City Clerk in a book kept for this purpose, and a notation thereof
shall be recorded in the minutes of the next ensuing meeting of the
Council. A certified copy of such oath under seal may be used as evidence
in any court in the state.
No officer or employee of the city who serves the city in an
executive capacity shall enter into or make any contract for doing
work or furnishing supplies or materials for the city, nor shall they
in any manner participate in the profits of any contract made by or
entered into by them for the city with any person, firm or corporation.
Any such contract shall be null and void and funds due thereunder
shall not be recoverable at law by the officer or employee of the
city. This section shall not apply to any stockholder of a corporation
who is not an officer of the corporation.
The City Treasurer, Deputy Treasurer and such other officers
or employees of the city as the Council or this Charter may require
shall give bond in such amount and with such surety as may be required
by the Council. The premiums on such bonds shall be paid by the city.
No deed or deeds conveying real estate or chattels real, situated
or located within the corporate limits of the City of Fruitland shall
be admitted to record among the land records of Wicomico County, Maryland,
until the property thereby conveyed or assigned has been duly transferred
upon the city assessment books in the office of the City Treasurer
to the grantee or assignee named in such deed. Before any such property
shall be transferred on the assessment books, all city taxes, special
assessments, water rents and sewer charges and all other public charges
due the City of Fruitland on such property for the current year and
all prior years must be paid, and as evidence of such payment the
City Treasurer shall stamp upon the deed his certificate thereof.
The City Treasurer shall further certify the fact of the transfer
upon the deed, and the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall not record
or accept for recording any deed without the certificates of the City
Treasurer as prescribed by this section.
All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations in effect
in the city at the date of final adoption hereof and which are not
in conflict with the provisions of this Charter shall be effective
and remain effective until amended, altered or repealed according
to the provisions of this Charter.
Every act or omission designated as a misdemeanor in this Charter,
unless otherwise provided, shall be punishable upon conviction before
any Judge of the District or Circuit Court of the county within which
the offense is committed by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars
($100.) or imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or
both, in the discretion of the Court. The party aggrieved shall have
the right to appeal as is provided under the general laws of the state.
Where the act or omission is of continuing nature and is persisted
in, in violation of the provisions of this Charter or of any rules
or regulations formulated hereunder, a conviction for one (1) offense
shall not be a bar to a conviction for a continuation of the offense
subsequent to the first or any succeeding conviction.