A Treasurer shall be elected by the members of the Council of
Commissioners, who may or may not be a member of the Commissioners.
His compensation shall be determined by the Council. He 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 Treasurer under the direct supervision of the Council of Commissioners.
Under the supervision of the Commissioners, the Treasurer shall
have authority and shall be required to:
A.
Prepare in conjunction with the President of the Commissioners an
annual budget to be submitted to the Council of Commissioners.
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.
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.
The Treasurer shall provide a bond with such corporate surety
and in such amount as the Council by ordinance shall require.
The town shall operate on an annual budget. The fiscal year
of the town shall begin on the first day of July in any year and shall
end on the last day of June in the following year. The fiscal year
constitutes the tax year, the budget year and the accounting year.
The Treasurer shall no later than the regular May meeting of
the Commissioners submit to the Council of Commissioners the proposed
budget. 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 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 (2) 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. If the Council increases the total proposed expenditures
it shall also increase the total anticipated revenues in an amount
at least equal to the 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
is 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 may be made by the President of the Commissioners only during
the last quarter of the fiscal year and only then with the approval
of the Council.
No officer or employee during any budget year may 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
is null and void. Nothing in this section contained, however, prevents
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 the contract is made, when the contract is
permitted by law.
All appropriations lapse at the end of the budget year to the
extent that they are not 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.
All checks issued by the town in payment of municipal obligations
shall be issued and signed by the Treasurer and shall be countersigned
by such other person or persons as the Council shall direct.
[Amended 3-21-1983 by Res. No. 2-83]
A.
All real property and all personal property which may have a situs
which the corporate limits of the town by reason of the residence
of the owner therein is subject to taxation for municipal purposes,
and the assessement used shall be the same as that for state and county
taxes.
B.
Tangible personal property located within the corporate limits of
the town shall be entitled to the following exemptions from taxation
for municipal purposes:
(1)
To encourage industrial expansion in the Town of Pittsville, all
manufacturing machinery shall be totally exempt from taxation by the
Town of Pittsville. For the purposes of this section, "manufacturing
machinery" shall be defined to include all machinery and equipment
at a fixed location within a manufacturing plant which performs a
function in the process of turning the raw material into the finished
product, which shall include canning, bottling and labeling machinery
and equipment, but shall not include machinery or equipment used for
transportation of products or raw materials unless said transportation
equipment forms an integral part of an assembly line.
(2)
To encourage industrial and warehousing expansion in the Town of
Pittsville, all tangible personal property held within the limits
of Pittsville, the sole purpose of which is to be incorporated into
and become a part of a manufactured product, whether or not such product
shall be manufactured within the limits of Pittsville, shall be totally
exempt from taxation by the Town of Pittsville.
(3)
To encourage commercial development within the limits of Pittsville
or to encourage the annexation of adjacent properties or sites into
the town, twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessed valuation of all
tangible personal property not totally exempt as hereinbefore provided
held within the limits of Pittsville shall be exempt from taxation
from and after the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1983.
C.
Notwithstanding any other language herein contained, the Commissioners
of Pittsville, in order to encourage industrial expansion in the town
or to encourage the annexation of adjacent industrial plants and/or
sites into the town, are authorized to exempt from taxation for corporate
purposes the buildings owned and operated by any manufacturing company
or association newly established within or newly annexed within the
town limits. Such exemption may also be granted by the Council for
newly enlarged, remodeled or rehabilitated buildings to the extent
that the assessment exceeds the assessable basis of any building or
structure on which an exemption has expired. Such exemptions shall
in no case exceed a maximum of five (5) years.
D.
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.
The Town of Pittsville shall not tax property for all general purposes
other than servicing bonds or notes at a rate greater than one dollar
($1.) on each one hundred dollars ($100.) of assessed valuation.
From the effective date of the budget, the amount stated therein
as the amount to be raised by the property tax constitutes a determination
of the amount of the tax levy in the corresponding tax year.
Immediately after the levy is made by the Council in each year,
the 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 shall
make out and mail or deliver 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.
The taxes provided for in § PC-45 of this Charter are due and payable on the first day of July in the year for which they are levied and are overdue and in arrears on the first day of the following October. They shall bear interest while in arrears at the rate of three-fourths of one percent (3/4 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 § PC-48. The Treasurer shall collect front foot assessments and utility bills along with taxes and shall refuse the payment of one without the other for any fiscal year.
A list of all property on which town taxes, utility bills and
front foot assessments have not been paid and which are in arrears
as provided by § PC-47 of this Charter shall be turned over
by the Treasurer to the official of the county responsible for the
sale of tax delinquent property as provided in state law. All property
listed thereon, if necessary, shall 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 (1957 Edition, as amended). (1955, ch. 258; 1966,
ch. 572.)
During the first six (6) months of any fiscal year, the town
may borrow in anticipation of the collection of the property tax levied
for that fiscal year, and may 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 (6) 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 fifty per centum (50%) of the property
tax levy for the fiscal year in which the 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.
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 ther[1] evidences of indebtedness issued under the authority of
this Charter, whether or not such pledge be stated in the bonds, notes
or other evidences of indebtedness or in the ordinance authorizing
their issuance.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original. Probably should read "other."
All bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness validly
issued by the town previous to the effective date of this Charter
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.
All purchases and contracts for the town government shall be
made by the 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 one thousand dollars ($1,000.) shall be
made on written contract. The Treasurer shall advertise for sealed
bids, in such manner as may be prescribed by ordinance, for all such
written contracts. The written contracts shall be awarded to the bidder
who offers the lowest or best bid, quality of goods and work, time
of delivery or completion and responsibility of bidders being considered.
All such written contracts shall be approved by the Council before
becoming effective. The Council may 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.
