THE OFFICE OF CLERK-TREASURER
[Amended 4-26-1991 by Res. No. 91-4; 8-12-2013 by Charter Res. No. 2013-02]
There shall be a Clerk-Treasurer hired by the Mayor and Council.
The Clerk-Treasurer shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and Council.
The Mayor and Council may also hire such Assistant Clerk-Treasurers
as they may deem necessary. They shall serve at the pleasure of the
Mayor and Council. Their compensation shall be determined by the Council.
The Clerk-Treasurer 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 Clerk-Treasurer under the
direct supervision of the Town Manager. Assistant Clerk-Treasurers
shall assist the Clerk-Treasurer in the exercise and administration
of the Clerk-Treasurer's powers and duties under the direct supervision
of the Clerk-Treasurer and the Town Manager.
[Amended 8-12-2013 by Charter Res. No. 2013-02]
Under the supervision of the Town Manager, the Clerk-Treasurer
shall have authority and shall be required to:
A.
Prepare at the request of the Town Manager 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 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
through the Town Manager.
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.
H.
Do such other things in relation to the fiscal or financial affairs
of the town as the Mayor and Council may require or as may be required
elsewhere in this Charter.
The Clerk-Treasurer and the Assistant Clerk-Treasurer shall
provide a bond with such corporate surety and in such amounts as the
Council by ordinance may require. Said bond shall be paid for by the
town.
THE MUNICIPAL BUDGET
The town shall operate on an annual budget. The fiscal year
of the town shall begin on the first day of July and shall end on
the last 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 32 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, open to public inspection by
anyone during normal business hours.
[Amended 7-14-2022 by Res. No. 2022-01]
Before adopting the budget, the Council shall have a public
hearing thereon after two weeks' notice thereof in some newspaper
or newspapers having a 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.
EXPENDITURES
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.
[Amended 12-1-2014 by Charter Res. No. 2014-01]
Any transfer of funds between major appropriations for different
purposes must be approved by the Mayor and 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 or notes, nor the making of contracts of lease or for services
for a period exceeding the budget year in which such contract is made,
when such contract is permitted by laws.
All appropriations shall lapse at the end of the budget year
to the extent that they shall have not been 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.
[Amended 4-26-1991 by Res. No. 91-4; 6-20-2013 by Charter Res. No. 2013-01]
The authorized signatories of all checks issued in payment of
salaries or other municipal obligations shall be the Mayor, the Vice
President of the Council (Vice Mayor), and the Town Manager. All such
checks must be signed by two of the three foregoing individuals in
order to be valid.
[Amended 4-26-1991 by Res. No. 91-4; 3-10-2005 by Res. No. 05-01; 12-1-2014 by Charter Res. No.
2014-01]
Purchases for the town government may be made by the Town Manager,
Clerk-Treasurer and heads of the departments up to a maximum of $1,000
with appropriately approved purchase order. Extraordinary purchases
exceeding this maximum must be approved by the Mayor and Council before
obligating the town to such purchases. The Mayor and Council may provide
by ordinance or resolution 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
$5,000 shall be made on written contract. The Clerk-Treasurer shall
be required to advertise for sealed bids, in such manner as may be
prescribed by ordinance, for all such written contracts. Such written
contracts shall be awarded to the bidder who offers the lowest or
best bid, quality of goods or 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 Mayor
and Council shall have the right to reject any and all bids. All written
contracts shall be protected by such bonds, penalties and conditions
as the town may require.
A.
The Town of Rock Hall shall have the power to borrow money for any
proper public purpose and to evidence such borrowing by the issuance
and sale of its general obligation bonds, notes or other evidences
of indebtedness in the manner prescribed in this section.
B.
As determined by or provided for in the authorizing ordinance or
resolution of the Mayor and Council, the bonds, notes or other evidences
of indebtedness of the town may be issued and sold:
(1)
By private (negotiated) sale without advertisement or solicitation
of competitive bids or by the solicitation of competitive bids at
public sale after publication of the notice of sale in the manner
prescribed by public general law (which competitive bids may be delivered
by electronic or facsimile means or by any other commercially reasonable
manner determined by the Mayor and Council by ordinance or resolution);
(2)
For a price or prices which may be at, above or below the par value
of the bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness;
(3)
At a rate of interest or rates of interest that may be fixed or variable
or may be determined by a method approved or provided for by the Mayor
and Council; and
(4)
For either cash or other valuable consideration.
C.
The ordinance or resolution that authorizes the bonds, notes or other
evidences of indebtedness may provide for their redemption prior to
maturity and for the manner of publishing or otherwise giving notice
of such redemption.
D.
The town may enter into agreements with agents, banks, fiduciaries,
insurers or others for the purpose of enhancing the marketability
of or as security for the bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness
and for securing any tender option granted to holders thereof.
E.
The official signatures and seals affixed to any of the bonds, notes
or other evidences of indebtedness may be imprinted in facsimile.
F.
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 section shall be unlimited and the town shall levy ad valorem
taxes upon all the taxable property within the corporate limits of
the town for the prompt payment of such bonds, notes or other evidences
of indebtedness and interest thereon, without limitation as to rate
or amount. The full faith and credit of the town is hereby pledged
to the payment of the principal of and the interest on all bonds,
notes and other evidences of indebtedness hereafter issued under the
authority of this section, whether or not such pledge be stated in
the bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, or in the ordinance
or resolution authorizing their issuance.
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.
REVENUES
All real property and all tangible personal property within
the corporate limits of the town, 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.
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 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 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.
[Amended 5-28-1988 by Res. No. 88-5]
The taxes provided for in Section 717 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
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 Section 719 of this Charter.
A list of all properties on which the town taxes have not been
paid and which are in arrears as provided in Section 718 of this Charter
shall be turned over by the Clerk-Treasurer to the officials 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.
FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY
All fees and/or charges 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 Section 40 of Article 19 of the Annotated
Code of Maryland (1957 Edition), as amended.
A.
During the first six 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 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 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.
B.
Borrowing on notes. At the time, the town shall have the power to
borrow and to evidence such indebtedness by signing promissory notes.
Such promissory notes shall be authorized by ordinance before being
issued. The Council shall have the power to regulate all matters concerning
the giving of promissory notes and shall not be required to solicit
competitive bids upon the same, but shall be authorized to negotiate
the best rate of interest available, privately, if the Council deems
the same advisable.
