The government of the Town and the exercise of all powers conferred by this Charter, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be vested in the Town Council. The Town Council shall be composed of four (4) Ward members and a Mayor, each of whose terms shall be for a period of two (2) years commencing at the Annual Meeting of the Town Council following their election and continuing until their successor is duly elected and qualified. Each member of the Town Council shall be elected by the voters at large. The Mayor of the Town of Georgetown and each Town Council member shall receive as compensation such amount as shall be determined by the Town Council by ordinance or resolution for attendance at any regular meeting, special meeting or workshop meeting. The time of payment is to be determined by the Town Council, but in no event shall such compensation be paid less frequently than annually and at no time shall the compensation to be received by the Mayor during any fiscal year be more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) and no Ward member of the Town Council shall receive during any fiscal year more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00).
(a) 
The Mayor of The Town of Georgetown, with the concurrence of a majority of all the elected members of the Town Council, may appoint a Town Manager who shall be the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town at such compensation as shall be determined by the Town Council.
(b) 
The Town Council of the Town of Georgetown shall impose such qualifications for Town Manager as may be deemed necessary; provided however, that no person holding the office of Mayor or Town Council member shall be chosen to be Town Manager during his/her term of office as Mayor or Council member.
(c) 
The Town Manager shall hold office for an indefinite term and may be removed by a majority vote of the Town Council of the Town of Georgetown. At least thirty (30) calendar days before such removal shall become effective, the Town Council shall, by a majority vote of all the elected members thereof, adopt a preliminary resolution stating the reasons for his/her removal. The Manager may reply in writing and may request a public hearing which shall be held not earlier than twenty (20) calendar days nor later than thirty (30) calendar days after the filing of such request. After such public hearing, if one be requested, and after full consideration, the Town Council, by a majority vote of all the elected members thereof, may adopt a final resolution of removal. By the preliminary resolution, the Town Council may suspend the Town Manager from duty with or without pay but shall in any case cause to be paid him/her forthwith any unpaid balance of his/her salary.
(d) 
In case of the absence or disability of the Town Manager, the Town Council may designate some qualified person to perform the duties of such office during his/her absence or disability. The compensation which the Town Manager shall receive for the performance of his/her duties shall be fixed by the Town Council of The Town of Georgetown.
(e) 
The Town Manager shall be responsible to the Town Council for the proper administration of the affairs of the Town placed in his/her charge and to that end he/she shall have the power to make such appointments and to hire such employees at such compensations as are authorized by the Town Council, subject to such rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Town Council. All employees shall be hired for an indefinite term and may be suspended with or without pay, demoted or dismissed by the Town Manager at any time unless otherwise provided by resolution of Council and shall report all such suspensions, demotions or dismissals to the Town Council at the next meeting of such Town Council whenever such meeting be a regular meeting or a special meeting. The Town Council of the Town shall sit as a Board of Appeal for the protection of Town employees at those times when the majority of all the Town Council are agreed that a review of the action of the Town Manager would be in the best interest of the Town. The decision of the Town Council in such case shall be final and conclusive.
(f) 
It is the intention of this Charter that, in the performance of his/her duties, and in the exercise of his/her powers, the Town Manager shall not be influenced by any matters whatsoever of a political or fractional nature. It is the intention of this Charter that the Town Manager shall be guided solely by matters of expediency and efficiency in the administration of the affairs of the Town placed in his/her charge. Except for purposes of inquiry, the Town Council shall deal with that portion of the administrative service for which the Town Manager is responsible solely through the Town Manager.
(g) 
It shall be the duty of the Town Manager to supervise the administration of the affairs of the Town under his/her charge and to make such reports to the Town Council as are required by the Town Council. The Town Manager shall make such recommendations to the Town Council concerning the affairs of the Town as may seem to him/her desirable; keep the Town Council advised of the financial condition and future needs of the Town; prepare and submit to the Town Council the annual budget estimate; render to the Town Council at the regular monthly meeting of each and every month a true, accurate and detailed account of all the moneys collected or received by him/her in the performance of his/her duties and shall promptly turn the same over to the Town Council.
(h) 
In conjunction with the Mayor, he/her shall sign warrants pursuant to appropriations or resolutions theretofore made for the Town Council; prepare and submit to the Town Council such reports as may be required by the Town Council; and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or required of him/her by Ordinance or Resolution of the Town Council.
(i) 
The Town Manager and such other officers of the Town as may be designated by vote of the Town Council shall be entitled to a seat in the meetings of the Town Council, but shall not vote therein.
(j) 
The Town Manager shall have charge of the water plant operated by the Town, and of the water and sewer systems of the Town. The Town Manager shall have charge of the supervision of the streets, gutters, curbs and sidewalks of the Town and of all work relating thereto. The Town Manager shall have charge of the administration of all provisions of this Charter and ordinances and regulations of the Council relating to affairs of the Town, when not otherwise provided for by this Charter or by any ordinance or resolution of the Council. The Town Manager shall ex officio be the collector of taxes for the Town. It shall be his/her duty to collect all water rents and fees for the tapping of water mains and sewers, and all Town revenue from any source whatsoever.
(k) 
The Town Manager shall keep a full and strict account of all moneys received and all disbursements made by him/ her and such accounts shall, at all times, be open to inspection to the Town Council.
(l) 
The Town Manager shall give to the Town a bond, if required by the Town Council, in such sum and in form with security satisfactory to the Town Council for the faithful performance of the duties of his/her office and the restoration to the Town, in case of his/her death, resignation, or removal from office all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in his/her possession belonging to the Town.
(m) 
In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Town Manager for any reason or reasons whatsoever, the duly appointed and qualified successor to that office shall succeed to all the rights, privileges and powers theretofore reposed in his/her predecessor or predecessors in office in the same manner as though all acts, deeds and steps theretofore taken by any such predecessor or predecessors with respect to any matter or thing pertaining to said office had been taken or performed by the successor to such office.
(n) 
Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of the Town Manager, the Town Council shall appoint some suitable person, who may be an elected or appointed official of the Town, to perform the duties of Town Manager; provided, however, such person shall not serve for a period exceeding ninety (90) calendar days from the date of his/her appointment.
(a) 
The Town Council shall be responsible for the establishment of a police department and adoption of a workforce level. The Town Council shall, from time to time, make such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the organization, government and control of the police force. The Town of Georgetown police force shall exercise primary jurisdiction within the boundaries of the Town, to include annexed properties not specifically identified within this Charter. Each sworn member of the police force shall have police powers and shall be conservators of the peace throughout the Town of Georgetown. They shall suppress all acts of violence and enforce all laws relating to the safety of persons and property. They shall compel the enforcement of all laws enacted by the Town Council of the Town of Georgetown. The police force shall preserve peace and order and shall compel obedience within the Town limits to the ordinances of the Town and the Laws of the State of Delaware. Each officer of the Georgetown Police Department shall take an oath to protect, defend, and obey the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution and Laws of the State of Delaware and ordinances of the Town of Georgetown. In the case of a pursuit of an offender, the power and authority of the police force shall extend beyond the territorial limitations of the Town of Georgetown. It shall be the duty of the police force to suppress riotous, disorderly or turbulent assemblages of persons in the streets of the Town or the noisy conduct of any person in the same, and upon the view of the above or upon the view of the violation of any ordinance of the town relating to peace and good order thereof, the police force shall have the right and power to arrest without a warrant.
(b) 
The Chief of Police shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of a majority of all elected members of the Town Council at such compensation as shall be determined by the Town Council. The Chief of Police shall be solely responsible for the day to day operational control of the police department. The Chief of Police shall make rules and regulations governing the operational control of the police department. The Chief of Police will be responsible for the good order and discipline of the department. The Chief of Police will be responsible for the hiring of qualified persons to be employed by the police department. The Chief of Police will be responsible for the promotion and demotion of employees in accordance with the written policies of the police department. The Chief of Police or his/her designee is authorized to suspend, dismiss or discipline any employee of the police department for violations of the Laws of the State of Delaware, ordinances of the Town of Georgetown or written policies of the Town of Georgetown of the Police Department. The Chief of Police shall be subject to the direction of the Town Manager acting for the Town Council. The Chief of Police shall have such other duties as the Town Manager may from time to time prescribe. All members of the police force shall be paid such compensation as shall be determined by the Town Council.
(c) 
The Police Chief shall hold office for an indefinite term and may be removed by a majority vote of the Town Council of The Town of Georgetown as in compliance with 11 Del.C. § 9301.
(d) 
Every person sentenced to imprisonment by the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman or a Justice of the Peace, as the case may be, shall be delivered by a member of the police force to the correctional institution located in Sussex County to be there imprisoned for the term of his/her sentence.
(e) 
In the case of an arrest at any time when the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman of the Town of Georgetown shall not be available or if no such Alderman or Assistant Alderman has been appointed, the person arrested may be taken before the nearest Justice of the Peace with offices in Sussex County who shall hear and determine the charge, and who, in such case, is vested with all the authority and powers granted by this Charter under the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman. In the case of an arrest at a time when the Alderman or the Assistant Alderman or the Justice of the Peace shall not be available to hear and determine the charge, the person arrested may be delivered to the correctional institution located in Sussex County for imprisonment until such reasonable time thereafter as shall enable the Alderman or Assistant Alderman or the Justice of the Peace to hear and determine the charge against such person.
The Mayor of The Town of Georgetown, with the advice and consent of a majority of the elected members of the Town Council, shall select and appoint a Town Solicitor for an indefinite term who shall be removable at the pleasure of the Town Council of The Town of Georgetown either with or without due cause stated. The Town Solicitor shall be a member in good standing of the Bar of the State of Delaware. It shall be his/her duty to give legal advice to the Town Council and other officers of the Town and to perform other legal services as may be required of him/her by the Town Council.
The Town Council is authorized to establish an Alderman's Court in a manner consistent with the Constitution and laws of the State of Delaware.
(a) 
Appointment. An Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall be recommended by the Town, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Delaware State Senate. Once confirmed the Alderman and/or Assistant Alderman shall be sworn into office by the Mayor, and evidence of his or her appointment shall be recorded at the Recorder of Deeds in Sussex County.
(b) 
Appointment and Reappointment Nomination. When a vacancy occurs the Town Council shall by majority vote, submit a list of one or more qualified candidates and the application(s) and supporting documentation to the Governor for consideration of appointment. Not less than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date of an Alderman's or Assistant Alderman's term, the Town Council shall by majority vote, determine whether or not to recommend reappointment of the Alderman or Assistant Alderman for an additional term. The Town shall submit a letter of recommendation to the Governor for consideration of reappointment, or alternatively, its written recommendation of one or more qualified candidates along with their applications and supporting documentation to the Governor for consideration of appointment.
(c) 
Term of Office. The Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall serve a two - year term and shall remain in office until either reappointed or a successor is duly qualified.
(d) 
Removal. An Alderman or Assistant Alderman may be censured or removed subject to the provisions of Article IV, Section 37 of the Delaware Constitution of 1897 and the Rules of the Court on the Judiciary. An Alderman or Assistant Alderman may also be replaced upon expiration of a term, following Senate confirmation of a new Alderman or Assistant Alderman. If any Alderman or Assistant Alderman has been removed from office by Senate confirmation of a new nominee or by action of the Court on the Judiciary, he/she shall, within five (5) days of the Senate confirmation or Court on the Judiciary action, deliver to the Mayor all the books and papers belonging to the Town, and shall within five (5) days pay over to the Town Manager all moneys in his/her hands. Immediately after the receipt of the books and papers belonging to the office of either the Alderman or Assistant Alderman, the Mayor may require the auditor of the Town to make an audit of the books and papers of the official who has been replaced. Upon the neglect or failure to deliver all the books and papers to the Mayor within the time specified by this Charter, or to pay over all of the moneys to the Town Manager within the time specified, the Alderman or Assistant Alderman, so replaced, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100) for each day that he or she fails to deliver the books and papers to the Mayor or to pay over all moneys to the Town Manager.
(e) 
Vacancy. In the absence of the Alderman, or when a vacancy occurs in the office of Alderman, the Assistant Alderman shall exercise all the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Alderman as set forth in this Charter. When a vacancy occurs for an Alderman and there is no Assistant Alderman to act as Alderman, and the Delaware State Senate is recessed for more than 6 weeks, the Town may elect to have a retired Magistrate act as Alderman pending the confirmation of a nominee with the Delaware State Senate. Such retired Magistrate must meet the appointment qualifications of 10 Del. C. Section 9211(a) to serve in such capacity, and shall receive such compensation as may be established by the Town Council. A retired Magistrate acting as Alderman shall have all powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Alderman as set forth in this Charter.
(f) 
Qualifications. Any person appointed to serve as Alderman or Assistant Alderman shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age, a United States citizen, of good character and reputation, shall live within Sussex County, and shall not be a member of the Town Council or otherwise an officer or employee of the Town of Georgetown.
(g) 
Oath of Office. Within 14 days of Senate confirmation the Alderman or Assistant Alderman shall be sworn or affirmed by the Mayor to perform the duties of office honestly, faithfully, diligently, and to uphold and enforce the Charter of the Town of Georgetown and ordinances duly enacted by the Town Council of the Town of Georgetown.
(h) 
Duties. It shall be the duty of the Alderman and Assistant Alderman to adjudicate actions brought under any ordinances legally enacted or established by the government of the Town and to carry into effect all legally binding orders and directions of the Town Council made pursuant to any law of this State or its Constitution. In carrying out the duties of the office, an Alderman or Assistant Alderman shall comply with the ethical responsibilities required of Aldermen in this state and shall operate the court in accordance with the Criminal Rules of Procedure for the Alderman and Mayor Courts of the State of Delaware.
(i) 
Compensation. The compensation of the Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall be fixed by the Town Council and approved in conjunction with the Town Council's adoption of the Town operating budget. If no change is proposed and approved by the Town Council, the previously established compensation rate shall continue in effect until revised by a majority vote of the Town Council. Such compensation shall not be contingent upon or related to the amount of any civil or penal fines imposed or collected through the Alderman Court and shall not be reduced during the term of office.
(j) 
Alderman's Docket. The Town Council shall procure suitable records for the use of the Alderman and the Assistant Alderman. Such records shall be known as the 'Alderman's Docket'. The Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall record all official acts and proceedings in the Alderman's Docket. All criminal matters, but not civil matters, shall be entered into the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS) as required by law.
(k) 
Jurisdiction. The Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall have jurisdiction and cognizance of all breaches of the peace, offenses and violations of any civil or criminal ordinance of the Town committed within the corporate limits of the Town of Georgetown. As to such offenses or violations over which they are given jurisdiction by this Charter or by any other law of the State of Delaware, the Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall be authorized and empowered to hold for bail, set bail, impose fines, or imprison, for each offense or violation in accordance with the penalties provided by this Charter, by any Town Ordinance enacted hereunder, or as provided by any law of the State of Delaware; provided however, that the maximum fine which the Alderman or Assistant Alderman may impose shall never exceed the limits established by this Charter.
(l) 
Civil and Criminal Penalties; Costs. Neither the Alderman nor the Assistant Alderman shall impose any penalty in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500) exclusive of costs nor imprison any offender for more than thirty (30) days, or both, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Charter or by state statute; but the Alderman and Assistant Alderman may, in addition to any other fine or term of imprisonment permitted to be assessed or imposed, impose and collect such costs as are set by ordinance or resolution of the Town Council.
(m) 
Monthly Report to Town Council. The Alderman and Assistant Alderman shall prepare and submit a written monthly report to the Town Council reporting all fines and penalties imposed during the preceding calendar month and shall pay to the Town Manager of the Town all such fines and penalties at such times as the Town Council shall direct. Neither the Town Council nor the Mayor may establish or communicate an expected revenue budget for the Alderman Court.
(n) 
Alderman Court Facilities and Staff. The Town of Georgetown shall provide adequate and appropriate facilities and staff to facilitate the independent judicial operations of the Alderman Court. Facilities shall be separate from conflicting town operations, including, but not limited to, police agency functions. The town may house the Alderman Court in a common municipal building, so long as the Alderman's Court is provided space physically separate from other town functions and is further situated in such a manner to foster public confidence in the independence of the Court. Likewise, staff assigned to the Court shall not be shared with conflicting town government operations.