[Amended 5-28-1980 by Res. No. 158; 2-13-1985 by Ord. No. 190]
There shall be a Clerk-Treasurer appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Council for a term of four years or until his successor is appointed and qualified. Compensation shall be determined by the Council. The Clerk-Treasurer shall be the chief financial officer of the City. The financial powers of the City, except as otherwise provided by this Charter, shall be exercised by the Clerk-Treasurer under the direct supervision of the Mayor and City Manager.
Under the supervision of the Mayor, the Clerk-Treasurer shall have the 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 City 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 City is assessed for taxation.
F. 
Collect all taxes, special assessments, license fees, liens and all other revenues, including utility revenues, of the City and all other revenues for whose collection the City is responsible and receive any funds receivable by the City.
G. 
Have custody of all public moneys belonging to or under the control of the City, except as to funds in the control of any set of trustees, and have custody of all bonds and notes of the City.
H. 
Do such other things in relation to the fiscal or financial affairs of the City as the Mayor or the Council may require or as may be required elsewhere in this Charter.
[Amended 1-24-1979 by Res. No. 147]
The City shall operate on an annual budget. The fiscal year of the City shall begin on the first day of July and shall end on the 30th 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 20 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 and open to public inspection by anyone during normal business hours.
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 shall 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 for services for a period exceeding the budget year in Which such contract is made when such contract is permitted by law.
All checks issued in payment of salaries or other municipal obligations shall be issued by the Clerk-Treasurer and shall be countersigned by the Mayor.
[Amended 7-23-2008 by Res. No. 359]
A. 
All real property and all tangible personal property within the corporate limits of the City 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.
B. 
The property tax levied upon any real property in the City of Crisfield that is owned by and used as the principal residence of an individual who is at least 70 years old shall, upon application of that individual, be reduced by $100 per tax year, subject to such regulations and procedures for the application and uniform processing of requests, and for the imposition of any additional eligibility criteria, as the Mayor and City Council of Crisfield shall by resolution adopt.
C. 
The property tax levied upon any real property in the City of Crisfield that is not eligible for the Homestead Property Tax Credit under Section 9-105 of the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, which is improved by a structure used for commercial purposes, and which employs one or more full-time workers on site, shall, upon application of the owner, be reduced by the amount from which the current year's taxable assessment exceeds the prior year's taxable assessment by more than 20%, subject to such regulations and procedures for the application and uniform processing of requests, and for the imposition of any additional eligibility criteria, as the Mayor and City Council of Crisfield shall by resolution adopt. However, no property owner shall be eligible for a tax credit under this paragraph if the increase of the owner's property assessment results from a revaluation under Section 8-104C of the Tax Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
D. 
The property tax levied upon any real property in the City of Crisfield that qualifies as "Commercial Waterfront Property," within the meaning of Section 9-248 of the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, shall, upon application of the owner of that property, be reduced by $0.05 per $100 of assessed value, per tax year, subject to such regulations and procedures of the application and uniform processing of requests, and for the imposition of any additional eligibility criteria, as the Mayor and City Council of Crisfield shall by resolution adopt.
E. 
During a single tax year, the owner of real property in the City of Crisfield may take advantage of the credit afforded by Subsection C or D, above, but may not take advantage of both.
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.
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 City. 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 date established by this Charter all taxes levied on his property.
[Amended 1-24-1979 by Res. No. 148]
The taxes provided for in § C6-13 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 October. They shall bear interest while in arrears at a rate of 0.66 2/3% for each month or fraction of a month until paid. All taxes not paid and in arrears after the first day of the following July shall be collected as provided in § C6-16 of this Charter.
A list of all property on which the City taxes have not been paid and which are in arrears, as provided by § C6-15 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 City government in his official capacity shall belong to the City government and be accounted for to the City.
The financial books and accounts of the City shall be audited annually as required by § 44 of Article 19 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1951), as amended.
During the first six months of any fiscal year, the City 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 City 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.
The power and obligation of the City 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 City shall levy ad valorem taxes upon all the taxable property of the City 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 City 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 City 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.
[Amended 6-26-1985 by Res. No. 191; 2-9-1994 by Res. No. 243; 5-12-1999 by Res. No. 285]
All purchases and contracts for the City 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 City purchases and contracts. All expenditures for supplies, materials, equipment, construction of public improvements or contractual service involving more than $4,000 shall be made on written contract. The Clerk-Treasurer shall be required to seek or solicit sealed bids, in such manner as may be reasonably calculated to give notice to prospective bidders, whether by posting, distribution, advertisement, dissemination through the Internet or otherwise, 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, 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 Clerk-Treasurer shall have the right to reject all bids and readvertise. The City, at any time in its discretion, may employ its own forces for the constriction 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 City may require.