[HISTORY: Adopted and amended as indicated
in text.]
[P.L.L., 1888, Art. 10, sec. 104; 1930, sec.
142; 1961 Code, Sec. 148; 1886, ch. 39; 1892, ch. 375, sec. 104; 1904,
ch. 252, sec. 104; 1916, ch. 429, sec. 104; 1920, ch. 698; 1953, ch.
451; 1961, ch. 318, sec. 142; 1966, ch. 599; 1979, ch. 258; 1984,
ch. 655; 1992, ch. 241]
A.
There shall be 5 County Commissioners in Dorchester
County, who constitute the Board of County Commissioners of the County.
B.
(1)
Dorchester County shall be divided into 5 County Commissioner
districts.
(2)
The County Commissioner districts are those prescribed in the consent decree included as Appendix A to this chapter until altered under Subsection C of this section.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included at the end of this chapter.
C.
Establishment of districts.
(1)
Following each decennial census, the County Commissioners,
by resolution, shall establish new County Commissioner districts,
which shall become effective for the term of Commissioners beginning
next after the report of the census.
(2)
The County Commissioners shall establish Commissioner
districts which are substantially equal in population and reasonably
compact and consist of contiguous territory. Due regard shall be given
to demographic characteristics and to natural boundaries and the boundaries
of political subdivisions.
D.
The County Commissioners shall be residents of their
respective County Commissioner districts and of Dorchester County
for 1 year prior to election to office.
[P.L.L., 1888, Art. 10, Sec. 122; 1930, sec.
201; 1961 Code, sec. 195; 1878, ch. 160; 1929, ch. 383; 1933, ch.
359; 1953, ch. 451, sec. 201; 1974, ch. 64, sec. 195; 1978, ch. 143;
1986, ch. 73; 1989, ch. 86; 2002, ch. 214; 5-6-2003 by Bill No. 2003-7; 6-20-2006 by Bill No. 2006-4[1]]
A.
Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the annual salary of each member of the County Council shall be $16,000. A County Council member may not receive any other compensation, except for expenses actually incurred in the performance of the duties of office. Payment of those expenses shall be by voucher submitted by each County Council member.
B.
The annual salary of the President of the County Council
shall be $17,000. The President of the County Council may not receive
any other compensation, except for expenses actually incurred in the
performance of the duties of office. Payment of these expenses shall
be by voucher submitted by the President of the County Council.
C.
County Council members not reelected at Primary Election
or November General Election.
[Amended 5-6-2014 by
Bill No. 2014-5]
(1)
A County
Council member who is not reelected at the Primary Election may not
be reimbursed by the County for expenses incurred after September
1 of such election year without prior written approval from the Dorchester
County Manager.
(2)
A County
Council member who is not reelected at a November General Election
may not be reimbursed by the County for expenses incurred during the
time immediately following the general election and before the newly
elected County Council takes its oath of office without prior written
approval from the Dorchester County Manager.
[1]
Editor's Note: This bill also provided that:
"This Act may not be construed to extend or apply to the salary or
compensation of the members of the County Council or the President
of the County Council in office on the effective date of this Act,
but the provisions of this Act concerning the salary or compensation
of a member of the County Council or the President of County Council
shall take effect at the beginning of the next following term of office."
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 10, sec. 198; 1961 Code,
sec. 192; 1914, ch. 834, sec. 121G; 1933, ch. 362, sec. 198; 1943,
ch. 828, sec. 198; 1957, ch. 411; 1961, ch. 319, sec. 198; 1974, ch.
64, sec. 192(a), (c); 1976, ch. 199; 1995, ch. 23]
A.
Appointment; tenure; compensation. The County Commissioners
shall appoint a County Administrator. The County Administrator shall
serve at the pleasure of the County Commissioners. The County Administrator
shall receive compensation as the County Commissioners may prescribe.
B.
Duties. The County Administrator shall perform all
the duties and services required by law or by order of the County
Commissioners. The County Administrator shall make complete and accurate
minutes of all transactions and proceedings of the Board of County
Commissioners and of all orders passed by the Board and record the
same in suitable and durably bound volumes with an index to facilitate
reference to all such transactions, proceedings and orders. The County
Administrator shall endorse, file, number and index all papers presented
to the Board and acted upon by the same and so arrange, keep and preserve
them that, by reference to the index and number, the papers may be
readily found. The County Administrator shall keep all necessary,
suitable and appropriate books of accounts and therein enter in a
clear, accurate and businesslike manner all the financial transactions
of the county and particularly showing, at all times, the amount of
county money, securities and property in the hands of the County Treasurer
or any other fiduciary officer of the county, the amount of taxes
placed in the hands of the Treasurer but not accounted for, the amount
of each appropriation made by the Board, in the form of a separate
account for each appropriation, and of each warrant drawn by the Board
on each account, with the name of the person to whom the warrant was
drawn, the number, date and amount of the warrant, and its payment
by the Treasurer or any other financial agent of the county on whom
drawn as soon as the payment shall have been reported to the Board.
The County Administrator shall maintain the books so that on any day
the financial condition of the county and the status of any appropriation
may be exactly and truly known immediately on examination of the books
and of the several accounts therein. The County Administrator shall
also keep a warrant book of Dorchester County, from which the County
Administrator shall make out every warrant which shall authorize the
Treasurer of the county or any other financial agent of the county
to pay out to any person or corporation any sum of money. The warrant
book, besides the warrant to be removed therefrom after execution
by the President of the County Commissioners and by The County Administrator,
shall contain a corresponding duplicate or stub on which, at the time
of the filling out the warrant and before its removal from the book,
The County Administrator shall make full entry of the number, date
and the amount of the warrant, the name of the person to whom issued,
upon whom drawn, the appropriation against which drawn, and reference
to the page of the Journal of the Board wherein is the entry of order
for the warrant. No warrant shall at any time be issued, except after
all the aforesaid shall have been done.
C.
Office hours; bond; certification of Treasurer's reports.
The County Administrator shall keep and carefully preserve all books
and papers in the office of the County Commissioners and shall on
any secular day on which county offices are normally open for business,
and not a legal holiday, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,
at the request of any citizen or taxpayer of Dorchester County, exhibit
the same to the person without charge. The County Administrator shall
give bond in the penalty of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.)
for the faithful performance of duties of the office. The bond is
to be secured by a bonding company, and the premium on the bond is
to be paid by the County Commissioners and the bond is to be approved
by the County Commissioners. The County Administrator shall qualify
under the State Constitution. The County Administrator shall countersign
all checks issued by the County Treasurer in payment of warrant for
bills against Dorchester County and shall examine each monthly, quarterly
and annual report made by the County Treasurer and certify to the
correctness of all such reports as soon as practical thereafter.
D.
Notwithstanding Article 25, § 1 of the Annotated
Code of Maryland, in Dorchester County, the Clerk to the County Commissioners
shall be known as the County Administrator. Any reference in the Annotated
Code of Maryland to the Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners
shall mean in Dorchester County the County Administrator. Any reference
to the clerk to the County Commissioners or Administrative Assistant
to the County Commissioners in this Code or in any county acts, ordinances,
bond issues or other county matters shall mean the County Administrator.
[P.L.L., 1888, Art. 10, sec. 123; 1930, sec.
202; 1961 Code, sec. 197; 1872, ch. 281; 1995, ch. 52]
The County Administrator may administer an oath
or affirmation on any claim against the county or on any official
papers connected with the County Administrator's office.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 10, sec. 207; 1961 Code,
sec. 198; 1914, ch. 115]
The Board of County Commissioners of Dorchester
County may and it is hereby empowered to levy, appropriate and use,
in its discretion, under such rules and regulations as it may prescribe,
any sum or sums of money not exceeding six hundred dollars ($600.)
per year for farmers' cooperative demonstration work in Dorchester
County, along the same line as this work is or may be conducted by
the United States Department of Agriculture, and may conduct such
work jointly in Dorchester County with the agents and representatives
of the United States Department of Agriculture upon such terms and
conditions as may be agreed upon between the agent of the Department
of Agriculture of the United States and the Board of County Commissioners
of Dorchester County.
[1961 Code, sec. 199; 1933, ch. 365]
The County Commissioners for Dorchester County
are hereby authorized and empowered to employ, when the public safety
shall demand it, a detective for Dorchester County to serve for such
time as he may be employed and to be paid, only for the time of his
actual services, an amount to be agreed upon by the County Commissioners
at the time of his employment, which amount shall be paid out of the
contingent fund levied by the County Commissioners. He shall operate
under the supervision and direction of the State's Attorney for said
county.
[1980, ch. 247]
The County Commissioners of Dorchester County
are hereby authorized and empowered to acquire, by purchase or otherwise,
all leasehold improvements and all assets of the operator of the Dorchester-Cambridge
Municipal Airport located on the north-east side of the Bucktown Road
in the Linkwood Election District and to make such improvements, renovations
and repairs thereto as they may deem appropriate and to finance all
or any portion of the cost by borrowing money from the United States
of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof upon whatever
terms and conditions and evidenced by whatever obligations the County
Commissioners may by resolution determine to be in the best interests
of the county, provided that the term of such borrowing may not exceed
ten (10) years and the annual interest rate may not exceed six percent
(6%). This borrowing power shall be deemed supplemental and shall
supersede any contrary provisions of law.
[1981, ch. 777]
If an elected or appointed officer or employee
of the county government or an officer or employee of the County Board
of Education not covered under the provisions of Article 78A, § 16C,
or Article 32A, § 12A, of the Annotated Code of Maryland
was acting within the scope of his official duties or employment and
without malice, the county may indemnify the officer or employee for
any judgment, penalty, fine, settlement and reasonable fees and expenses
incurred in connection with any proceeding in which the officer or
employee has been made a party by reason of service as such officer
or employee.
[1990, ch. 100]
A.
The County Commissioners may enact ordinances that
require the owners of real property to meet standards enumerated in
the ordinances for the maintenance of the property.
C.
Work by county.
(1)
If the owner of the real property fails to maintain
that property in accordance with the standards set in the ordinance,
the county may undertake the work itself and assess the owner for
the cost of the work.
[1994, ch. 715[1]]
A.
(1)
In this section, "instrument of writing" means a written
instrument that conveys title to, or a leasehold interest in, real
property.
(2)
"Instrument of writing" includes:
(A)
A deed or contract;
(B)
A lease;
(C)
An assignment of a lessee's interest;
(D)
Articles of transfer;
(E)
Articles of merger or other document which evidences
a merger of foreign corporations or foreign limited partnerships;
and
(F)
Articles of consolidation or other document
which evidences a consolidation of foreign corporations.
D.
Notwithstanding § 13-407 of the Tax - Property
Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the county transfer tax
imposed under this section shall apply to a transfer of land subject
to the agricultural land transfer tax.
E.
(1)
The county transfer tax does not apply to:
(A)
An instrument of writing exempt from the state
transfer tax under § 13-207 of the Tax - Property Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland; or
(B)
The first thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.)
of the consideration payable for an instrument of writing for residentially
improved owner-occupied real property, provided that the instrument
of writing is accompanied by a statement under oath signed by the
grantee that the residence will be occupied by the grantee.
(2)
(A)
Except as provided in Subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph, the exemption provided under Paragraph 1(B) of this subsection
shall be applied against the grantee's transfer tax payment required
under this section.
(B)
If the grantor has agreed, by contract, to pay
the entire county transfer tax, the exemption provided under Paragraph
(1)(B) of this subsection shall be applied against the grantor's transfer
tax payment required under this section.
F.
(1)
The use of the revenues generated by the county transfer
tax is restricted and the revenues shall be used by the County Council
of Dorchester County for solely and only the following purposes:
[2006, Ch. 404]
(A)
To pay the principal of and interest on any
general obligation bonds of Dorchester County issued to pay for capital
improvements to the Court House located at 206 High Street, Cambridge,
Maryland 21613;
(B)
To pay for capital improvements, including maintenance
and repair expenses, to the Court House located at 206 High Street,
Cambridge, Maryland 21613; or
(C)
Subject to Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection,
to pay for costs associated with school buildings, including renovation,
facilities maintenance, and new construction.
(2)
At the end of each fiscal year, the County Council
shall:
(A)
Review the transfer tax account after all bills
for maintenance and debt service for the County Court House have been
paid;
(B)
Determine local school building needs based
on the approved ten-year capital improvement plan for the Dorchester
County Board of Education; and
(C)
Determine the amount from any remaining balance
in the transfer tax account to be dedicated to school building costs.
(3)
(A)
The amount of transfer tax revenues dedicated
to the costs associated with school buildings may not exceed the amount
needed to fund those costs specific to the next fiscal year.
(B)
A public hearing shall be held before any revenues
generated from the County transfer tax are used to pay for costs associated
with school buildings as authorized in this subsection.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Chapter 715 of the Acts of 1994, regarding
the authority of Dorchester County to impose a County transfer tax,
was amended by Chapter 524 of the Acts of 2010 to repeal the sunset
provision that had provided for an effective period of 20 years and
for abrogation, without further action by the General Assembly, at
the end of 6-30-2014.
[Added 5-6-2003 by Bill No. 2003-6; amended 5-6-2014 by Bill No. 2014-5]
A.
A County
Council member who is not reelected at the Primary Election may not
make appointments to County boards after September 1 of such election
year.
B.
A County
Council member who is not reelected at a November General Election
may not make appointments to County boards and/or committees during
the time immediately following the general election and before the
newly elected County Council takes its oath of office.
[Amended 4-17-2018 by Bill No. 2018-1]
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 10, sec. 148; 1961 Code,
sec. 151; 1916, ch. 27, sec. 105B; 1943, ch. 730, sec. 148; 1963,
ch. 825, sec. 13]
The fiscal year of Dorchester County, for the
purposes of this Article, shall begin on the first day of July of
each and every year and end and expire on the 30th day of June.
[1961 Code, sec. 154; 1947, ch. 527; 1961,
ch. 19]
The Board of County Commissioners of Dorchester
County is hereby authorized and empowered to fix and prescribe the
salary or compensation of all appointed officers and employees of
the county whose salaries or compensation are provided for in the
annual levy and budget of said county unless fixed by Public General
Laws, Except as otherwise provided by law, said County Commissioners
shall have the power to prescribe and provide for the traveling and
other expenses of all elected and appointed officers and employees
of the county incurred in the performance of their duties and the
amount to be allowed for the cost of food, supplies and other expenses
of the several offices and departments of the county.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 10, sec. 153; 1961 Code,
sec. 157; 1916, ch. 27, sec. 105G; 1920, ch. 62, sec. 105G; 1933,
ch. 366, sec. 153; 1943, ch. 730, sec. 153; 1945, ch. 317, sec. 153;
1947, ch. 178; 1949, ch. 222, sec. 153; 1955, ch. 237, sec. 153; 1963,
ch. 825, sec. 13; 1965, ch. 166; 1966, ch. 394; 1969, ch. 15; 1995,
ch. 522]
(A)
(1)
In this section the following words have the
meanings indicated.
(2)
"County" means the body politic and corporate
of the State of Maryland known as the County Commissioners of Dorchester
County.
(3)
"Public facility investment" means:
(I)
The construction, improvement, repair, opening,
relocation, grading, resurfacing, widening, extension, and drainage
of any public road, street, highway, or sidewalk in Dorchester County
now or hereafter maintained and operated under the jurisdiction of
the county;
(II)
The acquisition of any necessary right of way,
equipment, or other facility for highway construction, maintenance,
or repair, and of planning and engineering services;
(III)
The planning, design, construction,
and reconstruction of any free bridge constituting part of a Dorchester
County road, street, or highway;
(IV)
The construction, improvement, or repair, or
any related acquisition or service, for the County Airport and related
facilities;
(V)
The acquisition, establishment, design, construction,
reconstruction, expansion, extension, alteration or repair of a building
or structure to house any of the functions, operations, or equipment
of county government or administration, including, but not limited
to, libraries, the court house, school facilities and detention facilities,
and any fixtures, furnishings and appurtenances therefor, or the acquisition
of any vehicle or equipment necessary and proper to the performance
of county governmental powers and duties;
(VI)
The development of public parks, recreational
areas, and recreational facilities, including the acquisition of land,
property and water rights therefor, and the construction, improvement,
and repair of roads, paths, ways, buildings, piers, ramps, bulkheads,
beaches, launching facilities and other appurtenances or improvements
appropriate to the full use of parks and recreational areas; or
(VII)
The acquisition, establishment,
design, construction, reconstruction, expansion, improvement, extension,
alteration, operation or repair of any other public governmental facility.
(B)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the county
shall have power and authority, from time to time, to borrow money
and incur indebtedness in order to finance any public facility investment
or for any other lawful, public purpose as set forth in Subsection
(D) of this section, and to evidence the borrowing or indebtedness
by the issuance of its promissory notes or any other instrument of
indebtedness to any banking institution, or by the issuance of its
tax anticipation notes, its bond anticipation notes, notes in anticipation
of other sources of revenue or its general obligation bonds, without
limitation as to the rate of interest, in accordance with the provisions
of this section.
(C)
Any instrument of indebtedness issued under this section
shall be issued, sold, and delivered in accordance with the terms
and conditions of a resolution or resolutions passed by the county
commissioners, subject to the following provisions, conditions, and
exceptions:
(1)
An issue of notes or bonds pursuant to this
section does not require a referendum, and the provisions of Article
31, §§ 9, 10, and 11 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
do not apply;
(2)
If the resolution or resolutions authorizing
the issuance of notes or bonds shall so specify, the notes or bonds
may be sold:
(3)
If the bonds or notes so state, the issuance
of the notes or bonds shall constitute a pledge of the full faith
and credit of the county to the prompt payment, from ad valorem taxation
and other revenues, which may be described in the authorizing resolution
or resolutions, of the principal of and interest on the notes or bonds.
The county shall annually levy upon all real and tangible personal
property within its corporate limits ad valorem taxes sufficient to
provide for the payment of the maturing principal of and interest
on the notes or bonds, without limitation as to rate or amount, notwithstanding
the limitation of any other law;
(4)
The total aggregate principal amount of borrowing
pursuant to this section may not exceed the sum of $1,000,000 in any
one fiscal year of the county; and
(5)
Any instrument of indebtedness issued under
this section shall mature at a time not exceeding 15 years.
(D)
The county, without limitation to or by its other
borrowing powers, and acting within the applicable provisions of this
section, may borrow money for any lawful, public purpose, on the security
of payment, including taxes, revenues, grants or other stated sources
of funds as the county by resolution determines, including refunding
any obligations outstanding from time to time.
(E)
The borrowing powers granted to the county in this
section are supplemental and in addition to any other borrowing powers
which have been or may be granted to the county.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 10, sec. 154; 1961 Code,
sec. 158; 1920, ch. 62, sec. 105GG; 1933, ch. 366, sec. 154; 1945,
ch. 317, sec. 154; 1949, ch. 222, sec. 154; 1955, ch. 237, sec. 154;
1974, ch. 64, sec. 158; 1988, ch. 32; 1995, Ch. 522]
(B)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the county
shall have power and authority, from time to time, to borrow money
and incur indebtedness in order to finance any public facility investment
or for any lawful, public purpose as set forth in Subsection (D) of
this section, or to pay for any lawful governmental expenses, in anticipation
of the receipt of taxes levied, and to evidence the borrowing or indebtedness
by the issuance of its promissory notes or any other instrument of
indebtedness to any banking institution, or by the issuance of its
tax anticipation notes, notes in anticipation of other sources of
revenue, without limitation as to the rate of interest, in accordance
with the provisions of this section.
(C)
Any instrument of indebtedness issued under this section
shall be issued, sold and delivered in accordance with the terms and
conditions of a resolution or resolutions passed by the County Commissioners,
subject to the following provisions, conditions and exceptions:
(1)
An issue of notes made pursuant to this section
does not require a referendum, and the provisions of Article 31, §§ 9,
10, and 11 of the Annotated Code of Maryland do not apply;
(2)
If the resolution or resolutions authorizing
the issuance of notes shall so specify, the notes may be sold:
(3)
If the notes so state, the issuance of the notes
shall constitute a pledge of the full faith and credit of the county
to the prompt payment, from ad valorem taxation and other revenues,
which may be described in the authorizing resolution or resolutions,
of the principal of and interest on the notes. The county shall annually
levy upon all real and tangible personal property within its corporate
limits ad valorem taxes sufficient to provide for the payment of the
maturing principal of and interest on the notes, without limitation
as to rate or amount, notwithstanding the limitation of any other
law;
(4)
The total aggregate principal amount of borrowings
pursuant to this section, shall not exceed the sum $1,000,000 in any
one fiscal year of the county; and
(5)
The borrowings incurred by the county under
this section shall all be repaid within 4 months from the expiration
of the fiscal year in which the notes are issued.
(D)
The county, without limitation to or by its other
borrowing powers, and acting under and within the applicable provisions
of this section, may borrow money for any lawful, public purpose,
on the security of payment, including taxes, revenues, grants or other
stated sources of funds as the county by resolution determines.
(E)
The borrowing powers granted to the county in this
section are supplemental and in addition to any other borrowing powers
which have been or may be granted to the county.
[1961 Code, sec. 194; 1955, ch. 227; 1993,
ch. 217]
A.
To encourage the location or expansion of factories,
industrial establishments, electric power plants, hotels or any similar
industrial or commercial facility in Dorchester County, the County
Commissioners may exempt, in whole or in part, from county taxes the
land or buildings, machinery and tools of the facility for a period
of not more than twenty (20) years from the date of the location or
expansion of the facility.
B.
Long-term contracts.
(1)
The County Commissioners may enter into a long-term contract with the developer, owner or operator of a facility receiving a tax exemption under Subsection A of this section.
(2)
A contract entered under this section may phase-in
the payment of taxes on a step or graduated basis over a period of
years.
(3)
A contract entered under this section shall bind the
current and future County Commissioners for the term of the contract
and shall remain in force unless modified by the parties to the contract.
