The Council shall constitute the legislative body of the Town
of Elsmere. It shall have power to adopt ordinances relating to the
health of the population of the Town, or to prevent the introduction
or spread of communicable diseases or nuisances affecting the Town.
The Council may also pass ordinances, to ascertain and fix boundaries
of streets, squares, lanes and alleys, or repair and amend the same
and provide for the paving thereof, to alter, extend or widen any
street, square, lane or alley, and to open and lay out new ones subject
to provisions in that behalf hereinafter contained; to regulate the
ascent and descent of all streets, lanes and alleys, and to fix the
building lines on the same; to direct the paving of footways and to
prescribe the width thereof; to direct the laying out of gutters and
prescribe the depth thereof; to prescribe the extent of porches, cellar
doors and other inlets to yards and buildings; to provide police and
lighting of streets at the expense of the Town, and generally to prescribe
and regulate the streets, lanes and alleys of the Town and to have
and exercise control of the same, subject to the provisions in that
behalf hereinafter contained; to provide for the regulation of auctions
and auctioneers and public amusements; to provide for the safety of
the citizens and for that purpose to prescribe the heights and thickness
of walls of buildings and the mode of erecting same in said Town,
and to prescribe rules and regulations directed toward the prevention
of fires and explosions, and make provisions for the enforcement of
said regulations; to adopt municipal zoning regulations; to adopt
traffic regulations, to regulate itinerant peddlers and canvassers
within the Town; to regulate the sale of goods, wares and merchandise
on the streets and sidewalks within the Town and fix the license fee
thereof and to license the conduct license fee which shall be reasonable
in amount; to regulate signs and bill boards and to provide for permits
for the erection and maintenance thereof; and to provide for the measuring
or weighing of coal, lime, grain or other matter sold in said Town.
They shall have the power to lay and collect fines on the owners of
any horse, cow, dog or animal which may be found at large in any of
the streets, squares, lanes, alleys, aforesaid, and in general to
have power to do all those matters and things for the well-being of
the Town and the inhabitants thereof, which shall not be in the contravention
of any existing laws of this State or the Constitution thereof. Except
as hereinafter provided, the Council shall not have the power to exempt
any individual from the operation of any general ordinance or municipal
regulation.
The Council shall have all other powers requisite to and appropriate
for the government of the Town of Elsmere, its peace and order, its
sanitation and beauty, and for the health, safety, convenience, comfort
and well-being of its population, and for the protection and preservation
of public and private property.
Whenever the Council determines it to be in the best interest
of the town, the Council may in the form of a resolution, authorize
any elected or appointed official or any employee, to execute on behalf
of the town, any or all, agreements, contracts, bonds, deeds, checks,
leases and other documents necessary to be executed. (75 Del. Laws,
c. 187, 7/12/05)
In addition to such acts of the Council as are required by this
Charter or by other State Law to be by ordinance, every act of the
Council establishing a fine or other penalty shall be by ordinance.
No ordinance shall be introduced until it has attached a "Fiscal Impact
Statement" which shall be prepared by the Town Manager in consultation
with the Finance Department. Additionally, the Mayor and Council shall
determine on a case by case basis the need for the Town Solicitor
to review and comment on an ordinance prior to its introduction. Additionally,
the enacting clause shall be "BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE
TOWN OF ELSMERE AS FOLLOWS": (75 Del. Laws, c. 187, 7/12/05)
Every ordinance shall be introduced in writing. No ordinance
shall be passed unless it shall have the affirmative vote of a majority
of the members elected to the Council and shall have been considered
at two regular stated meetings. Vote on any ordinance shall be by
voice vote and shall be entered on the record of the Council. Should,
however, a vacancy exist on the Council the majority vote required
for passage shall be a majority of the members of Council seated and
not the majority of members elected to the Council. (75 Del. Laws,
c. 187, 7/12/05)
The Council shall have the power to levy and collect taxes on
real property within the limits of the Town, except that which is
not assessable and taxable by virtue of any law of the State of Delaware;
. The Council shall have the right to grant and refuse, and to charge
fees for, licenses or permits for traveling shows and other businesses
of any description within the limits of the Town. The Council shall
also have the power to collect franchise fees and to impose sewer
rental on sanitary sewers. (The Council must have at least five votes
to increase existing taxes, or to impose new taxes.)
The Council may, in its discretion, exempt from Town taxation
any manufacturing plant hereafter established within the Town of Elsmere
or brought within the boundaries of the Town by virtue of any annexation
for a period of ten years from the time said plant is established
or brought within the boundaries of the Town of Elsmere.
The Council may, by ordinance, exempt from Town taxation any
and all persons over the age of sixty-five (65) years or who are disabled
subject to limitations on income as by such ordinance will be provided.
The Council shall have the power by ordinance to allow for discounts
for early payment of taxes, to impose reasonable penalties, interest
and forfeitures for tax delinquencies, and to review and determine
proper and appropriate properties to be exempt from taxation.
The Council shall have the power to fix the rates for general
utility services operated by the Town and to collect and utilize revenues
from such utility services for the benefit of the Town. (75 Del. Laws,
c. 187, 7/12/05)
Except as prohibited by the Constitution of the State of Delaware
or by this Charter, the Town of Elsmere shall have the right to engage
in any business or enterprise in which a person, firm or corporation
may engage, and shall have the right to purchase, own and maintain,
within or without the corporate limits of such Town, all real estate
for municipal purposes for sites and rights-of-way for public buildings,
parks, sewer systems, sewerage treatment plants, water systems, water
plants, gas, electric or telephone systems, or other municipal purposes,
for the location, erection and maintenance thereon of public facilities
for the uses aforesaid.
In any case where the Council may deem it to be in the best
interests of the people of the Town of Elsmere to acquire properties
of any privately owned sewer system, sewerage treatment plant, water
system, water plants, gas, electric or telephone systems used for
municipal purposes within the present or future boundaries of the
Town, the question shall be submitted to a vote of the residents of
the Town of Elsmere. Council may at that time, call a special election
for such purposes upon thirty (30) days notice. In acquiring said
utility property, the Town of Elsmere shall in all respects adhere
to the general laws of the State of Delaware insofar as they relate
to the purchase of utility properties heretofore described by municipalities.
The Town Council shall be authorized to negotiate the aforementioned
purchase only upon the approval of a two-thirds majority of the voters
of the Town of Elsmere.
(75 Del. Laws, c. 187, 7/12/05; 148 Del. Laws, c. 430, 10/6/16;
149 Del. Laws, c. 7, 4/13/17)
Whenever the needs of the Town shall require more money than
is, at the time, in the Town Treasury from current receipts, the Council
shall be authorized and empowered to anticipate current revenue by
borrowing such amounts as are needed to cover short term cash needs
and in an amount not to exceed the anticipated revenue for the current
fiscal year.
To exercise the power aforesaid, the Council shall adopt a resolution
to that effect. The indebtedness created under this provision shall
be evidenced by notes of the Town, and the faith and credit of the
Town shall be deemed to be pledged thereof.
(148 Del. Laws, c. 430, 10/6/16)
The Town of Elsmere may incur indebtedness by issuing either
general obligation bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness secured
by the full faith and credit of the Town of Elsmere, or revenue bonds,
either in whole or in part of the total amount not to exceed Twenty
Million Dollars in order to provide funds for the erection, extension,
enlargement or repair of any plant, machinery, appliances or equipment;
for the furnishing of water to the public, for the construction, 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 cost of the
share of the Town of Elsmere in the cost of any permanent municipal
improvement.
(148 Del. Laws, c. 430, 10/6/16)
Before the Town of Elsmere may incur indebtedness by the issuance
of bonds, notes or other certificates of indebtedness as aforesaid,
the borrowing of money shall have been authorized by Council and shall
have been approved in the following manner:
(1)Â
The Council shall by resolution propose to the residents of the Town
of Elsmere the purpose or purposes for which the stated amount of
money shall be borrowed. 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, including data on total related debt; shall fix a time
and place for hearing on the resolution; and shall provide for publication
of an announcement of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation
in New Castle County at least one week prior to the hearing date.
(2)Â
A public hearing shall be held at which time all interested persons
wishing to be heard shall be given an opportunity to express their
views. Their testimony shall be considered in evidence by the Council.
(3)Â
The form of the bonds, notes and certificates of indebtedness, the
date of payment of interest, the classes, the dates of maturity, and
the provisions pertaining to the registration shall be determined
by the Council. The Council shall provide in its budget for revenues
sufficient to pay the interest and principal on said bonds, notes
or certificates of indebtedness at the maturity or maturities therefor.
The faith and credit of the Town of Elsmere shall be deemed pledged
for the due payment of the principal and interest of general obligation
bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness.
The Town of Elsmere is hereby authorized and empowered whenever
it shall deem necessary and expedient for any municipal purpose to
obtain and acquire property either within the boundaries of said Town
or outside said boundaries and to obtain legal title to said property
by appropriate conveyances.
The Council shall have the power and authority to lay out, locate
and open new streets, to widen or to alter existing streets or parts
thereof, and to vacate and abandon streets or parts thereof whenever
they shall deem it for the best interests of the Town; provided, however,
that this power shall not be exercised with respect to property owned
by the State of Delaware or any agency thereof without the approval
of the State or State agency. In the event that condemnation of private
property may be necessary in connection with the aforementioned powers
of the Town with respect to streets, the manner and procedure thereof
shall be as set forth in Title 10, Chapter 61, of the Delaware Code
of 1953, as amended.
The Council shall have the entire 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 said Town, and may
pass ordinances for the construction of water mains and the opening
of gutters, drains and sewers within the limits of said Town, and
may pass ordinances for the construction of water mains and the opening
of gutters, drains and sewers within the limits thereof, and the regulating
and maintaining, cleansing, and keeping the same, and the natural
water courses, runs and rivulets within said limits of 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 way
and under the same rules and procedure as hereinbefore provided in
the cast of streets, etc., and by general regulations prescribe the
mode in which they shall be altered, changed, opened, maintained,
cleansed, and keep open and unobstructed, and shall bear the expenses
thereof, and may in its discretion assess the costs of sanitary sewers
upon the property particularly benefited thereby, including such real
estate as would be otherwise exempt from municipal assessment and
taxation by virtue of any law of the State of Delaware, anything to
the contrary herein notwithstanding, and prescribe the mode of collection
thereof; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be
construed to authorize the taking of private property for public use
without just compensation.
Whenever the Council of the Town of Elsmere shall determine,
either on petition by a majority in numbers or in interest of the
property holders abutting a proposed sanitary sewer construction,
improvement, alteration, or repair, or on its own initiative, that
such construction, improvement, alteration, or repair of sanitary
sewers is required, it shall order the Town Engineer to proceed in
accordance with law to undertake work and surveys necessary to make
a report estimating the cost thereof and apportioning assessments
therefor. The Council shall then proceed as hereinbefore described
for street improvements. The Council may perform such construction,
improvement, alteration or repair by contract or municipal agency,
provided that assessment for the construction, improvement, alteration,
repair and operation of sanitary sewers shall be upon the property
abutting upon that portion of the street in which any sanitary sewer
may be constructed under the provisions of this Charter, including
such real estate as would be otherwise exempt from county and municipal
assessment and taxation by virtue of any law of the State of Delaware,
anything to the contrary herein notwithstanding, and shall be based
upon the lineal foot of such property abutting on such street, each
such lineal foot or such assessed alike. In the case of property situated
at the corner of two such streets or otherwise so situated as to be
assessed for the cost of building a sanitary sewer in one of such
streets, only the front of such property shall be liable for such
assessments. The Council on individual appeals, according to rules
established by them, shall in all cases decide what portion of the
corner property shall be considered frontage and what portion side
frontage. Provided that in all corner properties the side frontage,
shall not exceed one hundred and twenty-five (125) feet, and the side
frontage thus determined shall be exempt from payment of any sanitary
sewer assessment unless the owner thereof should, after the side frontage
is fixed as aforesaid, decide to make such side frontage the front
of said property, in which case the owner shall pay such additional
assessment as the Council may determine. No property shall be assessed
for the cost of constructing the sanitary sewer and connecting the
same with the disposal plant, unless such property shall abut and
be bounded by that portion of the street in which a sanitary sewer
has been built, or unless such property has the right of access to
such street, or desires to use such sanitary sewer, and the sanitary
sewer is constructed upon the street upon which the property abuts,
in either of which cases such property shall be liable for the same
assessment as though a sanitary sewer was constructed in the portion
of the street on which such property abuts and the property shall
not be liable for any further assessment for sanitary sewer purposes.
Where any such assessments shall be made upon any land for the cost
of constructing a sanitary sewer and connecting it with a disposal
plant, the Council shall have the right to compel the owner to connect
any building or structure erected as may be prescribed by the Council
from time to time. The word streets shall be deemed and held to comprehend
and include highways, lanes and alleys.
Whenever the Town of Elsmere shall have determined that any paving of the sidewalks, or any or either or all of them shall be done, it shall notify the owner or owners of land in front of whose premises that the same is to be done, particularly designating the nature and character thereof, and thereupon it shall be the duty of said owner or owners to cause paving to be done in conformity with said notice, in the event of any owner neglecting to comply with said notice for the space of thirty days, the Council may proceed to have the same done, and when done, the Treasurer of the Town of Elsmere shall, as soon as convenient thereafter, present to the said owner or owners of such lands a bill showing the expense of paving. If such owner or owners be not a resident in the Town of Elsmere, such bill may be presented to the occupier or tenant of said land, or if there be no occupier or tenant resident in the Town of Elsmere, such bill may be sent by mail to such owner or owners directed to him or them at the post office nearest his or their residence. If such bill be not paid by the owner or owners of such lands within thirty days after the presentation, then it shall be the duty of the Council to issue an order in the name of "Town of Elsmere" under the hand of the Mayor and the seal of said corporation directed to the Treasurer of the Town of Elsmere commanding him to proceed to collect said delinquent assessment as levied in accordance with the authority granted under Article V. Section 501.2, "Collection of Taxes" of this Act. The claim for paving shall be a lien on the premises in front of which said work was done except such real estate as is exempt from county and municipal assessment and taxation by virtue of any law of the State of Delaware, and shall have the same priority and be collectable in the same manner as municipal property taxes. If any new paving is ordered by the Council as aforesaid in front of lot or lots held or owned by a widow or widows as and for her or their dower, such expense incurred as aforesaid shall be paid by the owner or owners of the reversion in fee simple. All subsequent repairs named in this Act are to be kept up at the expense of such tenant in dower. Any notice required by this section to one co-owner shall be notice to all; and, in case no owner shall reside in the Town, notice may be served upon the occupier or tenant of said premises resident in the Town, and if there be no such occupier or tenant, it shall be sufficient to send said notice by mail to any owner of said premises directed to him or her at the post office nearest his or her residence. The provisions hereinbefore contained in this section shall apply to any order made by the Council in respect to any such paving heretofore done, which the Council may deem insufficient or to need repairing. The Council, in addition to the provisions of this section hereinbefore, shall have power and authority to enforce by ordinance all the requirements of this section by imposing such fines and penalties as shall be in the judgement of the Council deemed necessary and proper.
Upon written permission of eighty per cent of the property owners on an unpaved or unopened street the Council may order the paving or opening of that street. One third of the cost shall be paid by the Town, and the remaining two-thirds of the cost shall be paid by the property owners on the street to be opened or paved, except such real estate as is exempt from county and municipal assessment and taxation by virtue of any law of the State of Delaware. When the paving is complete, the Treasurer of the Town of Elsmere shall, as soon as convenient thereafter present to the said owner or owners of such lands a bill showing the expense of paving. If such owner or owners be not a resident in the Town of Elsmere, such bill may be presented to the occupier or tenant of such land, or, if there be no occupier or resident in the Town of Elsmere, such bill may be sent by mail to such owners or owners directed to him or them at the post office nearest his or their residence. If such bill be not paid by the owner or owners of such lands within thirty days after the presentation, then it shall be the duty of the Council to issue an order in the name of "Town of Elsmere" under the hand of the Mayor and the seal of the said corporation, directed to the Treasurer of the Town of Elsmere commanding him to proceed In accordance with the authority granted under Article V, Section 501.2, "Collection of Taxes" of this Act. The claim for Paving shall be a lien on the premises in front of which the said work was done, except such real estate as is exempt from county and municipal assessment and taxation by virtue of any law of the State of Delaware, and shall have the same priority and be collectable in the same manner as municipal property taxes. If any new paving is ordered by the Council as aforesaid in front of lot or lots held or owned by a widow or widows as and for her or their dower, such expense incurred as aforesaid shall be paid by the owner or owners of the reversion in fee simple. All subsequent repairs named in this Act are to be kept up at the expense of the Town of Elsmere. Property owners shall not be assessed under this section for the repaving or repair of streets now paved. Any notice required by this section to one co-owner, shall be notice to all. In case no owner shall reside in the Town, notice may be served upon the occupier or tenant of said premises resident in the Town; and, if there be no such occupier or tenant, it shall be sufficient to send said notice by mail to any owner of said premises, directed to him or her at the post office nearest his or her residence. The provisions hereinbefore contained in this section shall apply to any order made by the Council in respect to any such paving heretofore done, which the Council may deem insufficient or to need repairing. The Council, in addition to the provisions of this section hereinbefore shall have power and authority to enforce by ordinance all the requirements of this section by imposing such fines and penalties as shall be in the judgement of the Council deemed necessary and proper.
The Council may, by ordinance, adopt land use and development
regulations, including, but not limited to zoning and subdivision
regulations.
