It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to appear in answer to a summons for a misdemeanor or violation for an offense other than a motor vehicle offense; provided, however, that a peace officer may arrest a person for a misdemeanor or violation for an offense other than a motor vehicle offense if the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person in violation will not appear in answer to a summons.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Delmar, Delaware, as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-7-1991 by Ord. No. 85; amended 6-5-1995 by Ord. No. 105; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 305, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this article shall be fined not more than $100 for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues, or imprisoned for a period of not more than 30 days, or both, and shall also pay the costs of prosecution.
[Adopted 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 139]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated:
Any violation of an ordinance of the Town of Delmar, Delaware, which violation has been declared to be a violation. For the purposes of this article, a violation is a civil offense.
The Town Council of Delmar, Delaware, shall, by official act, declare the violations of which ordinance or ordinances shall be violations and for each such violation, a specific fine shall be established. The fine shall be designated as a specific amount rather than being expressed in terms of maximum or minimum amounts. The authority to declare violations and set fines shall not be delegated by the Town Council to any other administrative or legislative body.
Those code enforcement officials authorized by the Town Council to enforce the codes and ordinances specified in § 345-12C hereof may deliver a citation to any person alleged to be committing a violation. A copy of the citation shall be retained by the Town and shall bear the certification of the enforcing official attesting to the truth of the matter set forth in the citation. The citation shall, at a minimum, contain the following information:
The fine is payable by the recipient of the citation to the Town within 10 calendar days of the receipt of the citation.
The Town shall not conduct a formal hearing for those persons in receipt of a citation. Any offender so cited may pay the fine as indicated in the citation or elect to request trial for the offense. This section shall not prevent an offender from requesting, either personally or through an attorney, additional information concerning the violation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 305, General Provisions, Art. II)]
A person receiving the citation may elect to request a trial for the offense by notifying the Town in writing of his/her intention to request a trial. The notice shall be given at least five days prior to the date of payment as set forth in the citation. Upon receipt of the notice of the request for a trial, the Town shall forward to the appropriate Justice of the Peace Court a copy of the notice from the person who received the citation indicating his/her intention to request a trial. Upon receipt of citation, the Justice of the Peace Court shall schedule the case for trial and notify the defendant of the trial date. All fines, penalties or forfeitures collected by or Justice of the Peace Court for violations shall be remitted to the general fund of the Town, minus any amounts required to be deducted pursuant to Delaware law.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 305, General Provisions, Art. II)]
If a person receiving a citation fails to pay the fine by the date of payment set forth in the citation and fails to file a notice of his/her intention to request a trial for the offense, a formal notice of the violation shall be sent to the offender's last known address. If the citation has not been satisfied within 15 days from the date of the notice, the person cited shall be liable for an additional fine not to exceed twice the original fine. If after 35 days the citation has not been satisfied, the Town may request adjudication of the case through a Justice of the Peace Court. The Justice of the Peace Court shall promptly schedule the case for trial and summon the defendant to appear.
Conviction, whether by a court or by the payment of the fine to the Town, is not a criminal conviction for any person, nor shall it impose any of the civil disabilities ordinarily imposed by a criminal conviction.
In any proceeding for a municipal violation, the accused shall have the same rights as in the trial of criminal cases. Such person shall have the right to cross-examine witnesses, to testify or introduce evidence in his or her own behalf and to be represented by an attorney of his or her own selection and at his or her own expense.
A.
Those persons or departments authorized to administer and enforce this article have the privilege to waive any fine contained herein not imposed by any court if it can be established by uncontroverted evidence that the citation for the offense was issued erroneously and the Town Manager concurs in such waiver.
C.
The violation of the following codes and ordinances are hereby declared to be municipal violations, and the penalty for such violations shall be $50 for each initial offense and $100 for each subsequent offense, and each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense:
D.
The penalty provisions of any of the codes, ordinances or laws referred to in this article inconsistent with the penalty provisions of this article are hereby repealed.