[Adopted 9-7-1984 as Ch. 1 of the 1984 Code]
A. 
In any case in which it is lawful for a peace officer to arrest without a warrant, he may instead issue a written summons in substantially the same form as established by 11 Del. C. § 1907.
B. 
If the person fails to appear in answer to the summons, or if there is reasonable cause to believe that he will not appear, a warrant for his arrest may issue.
C. 
Whoever willfully fails to appear in answer to the summons shall be fined for the first offense not less than $10 nor more than $100.
[Amended 6-12-1982 by Ord. No. 19]
[Amended 12-12-1987 by Ord. No. 105; 12-16-1989 by Ord. No. 168; 5-12-1990 by Ord. No. 175; 5-11-1991 by Ord. No. 210; 12-14-1991 by Ord. No. 222; 5-9-1992 by Ord. No. 231; 7-10-1992 by Ord. No. 236; 5-8-1993 by Ord. No. 263; 7-8-1994 by Ord. No. 305; 12-9-1995 by Ord. No. 339; 2-10-1996 by Ord. No. 341; 5-10-1997 by Ord. No. 372; 4-12-2008 by Ord. No. 624; 2-14-2009 by Ord. No. 647; 6-12-2009 by Ord. No. 663; 4-9-2011; 3-10-2012 by Ord. No. 692; 11-9-2013 by Ord. No. 707; 4-9-2016 by Ord. No. 728; 5-14-2016 by Ord. No. 730; 10-15-2021 by Ord. No. 772; 4-21-2023 by Ord. No. 809; 2-16-2024 by Ord. No. 832; 7-19-2024 by Ord. No. 842; 2-21-2025 by Ord. No. 852]
It is hereby provided that the payment of a voluntary assessment for the disobedience of any ordinance of the Town of Dewey Beach, unless otherwise provided for specifically in an ordinance, shall be $200. Furthermore, the voluntary assessment for violations of § 80-6 (Alcoholic beverages in public) and violations of § 80-13 (Urinating in public) shall be $200; voluntary assessment for any other civil violation is $50. The voluntary assessment for § 85-1315A (Offenses concerning minors), Subsections (1) through (5), shall be $200, and the voluntary assessment for violations of § 177-13 (Crossing at other than crosswalks), and § 177-14 (Pedestrians on highways) shall be $50.
A. 
Parking fines.
(1) 
A fine of $60 shall be imposed for each parking violation involving:
(a) 
No parking permit.
(b) 
Parking or stopping on wrong side of street.
(c) 
Perpendicular in parallel parking zone.
(d) 
Parallel in perpendicular parking zone.
(e) 
Parking in bus zone.
(f) 
Double parked.
(g) 
Blocking mailbox.
(h) 
Parked on roadway.
(i) 
Parked in an expired meter zone.
(j) 
Failure to park head-in to an angled or perpendicular parking space with the front of vehicle toward the curb or edge of pavement and within 12 inches thereof.
(2) 
A fine of $80 shall be imposed for each parking violation involving:
(a) 
Fire hydrant violation.
(b) 
No stopping, standing, parking zone.
(c) 
Timed parking zone.
(d) 
Parked too close to stop sign or intersection.
(e) 
Parked in prohibited zone, sidewalk, loading zone, lifeguard zone.
(f) 
Illegal access to property violation.
(g) 
Blocking driveway.
(h) 
Fire lane violation.
(i) 
Obstruction of three-foot-wide vehicle-prohibited safety zone as provided in Chapter 158, § 158-10.
(j) 
Other.
(3) 
A fine of $100 shall be imposed for handicapped zone violations.
(4) 
In lieu of a $60 fine, an administrative fee of $5 to cover administrative costs shall be imposed if a vehicle is legally parked and paid in full for parking but the person entering the registration failed to enter the full correct vehicle registration information and as long as the individual is able to provide proof that they paid.
B. 
(Reserved)
C. 
Upon the accumulation of two or more delinquent parking fines attributable to any one vehicle, such vehicle’s license plate number shall be entered into the Police Department’s electronic scanning system for automatic identification. The vehicle may be towed or booted when so identified.
(1) 
Before a vehicle may be released to its owner from custody after being booted, a release fee of $80 will be charged by the Town and all outstanding tickets issued must be paid in full.
(2) 
Before a vehicle may be released to its owner from custody after being towed by reason of violation of any provisions of the Municipal Code of the Town of Dewey Beach or of the State of Delaware, all outstanding tickets issued to the owner and/or parking citations issued to the vehicle must be paid in full. The owner or driver of the vehicle may request a hearing before the Alderman’s Court on the parking violation that resulted in the towing of the vehicle; and, if the violation is dismissed, the Town will refund the fine and towing charges.
(3) 
Any ticket not paid after 10 days from the date of issuance shall be considered delinquent.
D. 
Late fees for unpaid parking fines. The Town of Dewey Beach shall make it a policy to charge late fees for any unpaid parking fines according to the following schedules:
$30 to $80 Fines
Days Post Issue Date
Additional Late Fine
Total Late Fines
15
$15
$15
30
$25
$40
60
$35
$75
120
$50
$125
$100 Fines
Days Post Issue Date
Additional Late Fine
Total Late Fines
15
$20
$20
30
$35
$55
60
$45
$100
120
$50
$150
[Amended 7-15-1988 by Ord. No. 124; 9-10-1988 by Ord. No. 127; 4-21-1990 by Ord. No. 172; 11-10-1990 by Ord. No. 188; 12-12-1992 by Ord. No. 251; 12-15-2001 by Ord. No. 461; 2-14-2009 by Ord. No. 642; 6-12-2009 by Ord. No. 662[1]]
A. 
Applicability. Any duly constituted police officer, lifeguard captain, lifeguard lieutenant or building official, who is authorized to enforce any provision of the Municipal Code of the Town of Dewey Beach, may, in addition to other penalties afforded by law, issue a summons for a violation of any such offense and afford the offender the opportunity to dispose of the charge without the necessity of personally appearing in the Alderman's Court for the Town of Dewey Beach, by remitting payment by mail or in person by cash, money order, check, debit or credit card.
B. 
Definitions.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Pursuant to Ord. 724, adopted 1-9-2016, all definitions throughout the Code were transferred to Ch. 1, Art. III, Definitions.
C. 
Place and time of payment. The payment must be received by the Town at its regular place of business within 10 days from the date of issuance (excluding Saturday and Sunday) and shall be paid by cash, check, money order, a debit or credit card. Any payment received by the Town which is uncollectible due to insufficient funds, closed account, a stop-payment order or other effect resulting in nonpayment shall result in an additional cost, penalty or court assessment which shall be added to the total payment required.
D. 
Jurisdiction. Section 1-14 shall apply to any resident of the state; and to those out-of-state residents who, in the discretion of the officer or official, are deemed to be reliable prospects for a payment of fine and assessment by voluntary assessment.
E. 
Offer and acceptance of voluntary assessment; withdrawal of acceptance; request for hearing.
(1) 
At the time of making an arrest or the issuances of a summons for any offense, the issuing officer or official may offer the alleged violator the option of accepting a voluntary assessment. The offender's signature on the summons, detailing the voluntary assessment constitutes an acknowledgment of guilt or nolo contendere to the offense stated on the summons and an agreement to pay the fine as therein provided, together with costs and any assessment, within 10 days from the date of issuance (excluding Saturday and Sunday), during which time payment must be received by the Town. In lieu thereof payment of the Voluntary Assessment.
(2) 
An offender refusing the voluntary assessment or who, after receiving and signing the voluntary assessment, elects to withdraw acceptance of the voluntary assessment may request a hearing on the charge stated in the summons, provided that the offender shall, within 10 days from the date of issuance (excluding Saturday and Sunday), notify the Town that he or she wishes to withdraw acceptance of the voluntary assessment and thereby request a hearing on the charge stated on the summons. If the alleged offender notifies the Town of such withdrawal and requests a hearing as aforesaid, no prejudice shall attach, and the offender shall be prosecuted for the charge stated on the summons as if such voluntary assessment had not been issued.
F. 
Penalty; failure to answer a summons. If an alleged offender is offered and elects the option of accepting a voluntary assessment in accordance with Subsection E(1) of this section, payment shall be specified on the summons. If a hearing is requested, under Subsection E(2), the offender may be subject up to the maximum penalty allowed by law for the violation of the offense, at the discretion of the court. Fines and assessments may be cumulative if more than one offense is charged. If an offender neither pays the voluntary assessment nor requests a hearing on the charge in the summons within the allotted time, failure to do either one or the other may be considered a failure to answer a summons, punishable under § 1-12 of the Code of the Town of Dewey Beach.
G. 
Court costs; applicability of Delaware Victim Compensation Law. Provided an offense is not subject to other proceedings under this section, each fine for an offense under this section shall be subject to court costs in an amount proscribed by a fee schedule of the court. Each fine for a violation for commission of an offense shall also be subject to the assessment which is or may be provided for in the Delaware Victim Compensation Law, Chapter 90 of Title 11, and any other assessment as provided by laws of the Town or the State of Delaware.
H. 
Agreement to accept voluntary assessment; procedure. Whenever a person is in violation for commission of an offense of the Town Code and has elected to make payment as herein provided, the issuing officer or official, using a summons, shall complete the information section and acknowledge the voluntary assessment provision by indicating the amount of the fine, assessments and costs and have the person sign the summons, provide one copy of the summons to the person and release him or her from further custody. The issuing officer or official shall also inform the person summoned of the place to which payment shall be submitted or how notice of rejection of the voluntary assessment is to be made. The offender's signature on the summons shall be conclusive evidence of the notice requirement. No officer or official shall receive or accept custody of a payment. An offer of a voluntary assessment does not preclude the officer or official from making any other lawful arrest with or without a warrant following the procedure for arrest as set forth in 11 Del. C. Chapter 19.
I. 
Payment of fine as complete satisfaction; repeat offenders; prosecution.
(1) 
Payment of the prescribed fine, costs and assessment, under a voluntary assessment, is a complete satisfaction for the violation, except as provided in Subsection I(2), but does not waive any administrative penalty which may be lawfully charged to the violator's driving record by this or any other state Division of Motor Vehicles.
(2) 
In the event that following compliance with the payment provisions of this section it is determined that, within a one-year period immediately preceding the current violation, the offender was convicted of, made a payment pursuant to this section in satisfaction of a violation of the same section of this Town Code, or violated a probation before judgment, a personal appearance before the court to which the summons was returnable may be required. Notice of the time and place for the required appearance shall be sent to the offender, at the last known address, by the court to which the summons for the offense would be returnable.
(3) 
If a payment due pursuant to this section is not received by the Town within 10 days from the date of issuance (excluding Saturday and Sunday), the offender shall be prosecuted for the offense charged in a manner as if a voluntary assessment had not been offered. Upon conviction in such prosecution, the court to which the summons is returnable may impose penalties as provided by the Town Code or other laws for the particular violation charged, and the provisions of this section as to the offer of payment of fines under a voluntary assessments shall not apply.
J. 
Administrative procedure. The officer or official of the Town shall, after the issuance of a summons for a violation, deliver the summons, indicating a voluntary assessment agreement, to the court to which the summons is returnable. The summons need not be sworn to at the time of delivery to the court; provided, however, that the charge recorded on the summons may be dismissed by the court, upon a motion, if said summons is not sworn to by the officer or official prior to trial if one has been requested.
K. 
Nonexclusive procedure. The procedure prescribed is not exclusive of any other method prescribed by law for the arrest and prosecution of persons violating any section of the Town Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided that "the amount of the fine for payment of a voluntary assessment, unless otherwise provided for specifically in an ordinance for a violation of a civil, criminal or traffic ordinance of the Town of Dewey Beach, shall be established by the Commissioners of the Town of Dewey Beach, from time to time, by ordinance at a regular meeting of the Commissioners in order to provide reasonable and necessary revenue for the Town and for the protection of the health, safety, welfare and peace and good order of the Town in establishing such penalties."