[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of Elsmere 8-10-2006 by Ord. No. 467.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 21, Emergency Preparedness, adopted 11-9-1978 by Ord. No. 139, as amended.
Whenever the Mayor receives information and/or advice that a situation has occurred or exists which in the opinion of the Mayor is sufficient to lead him to believe that a threat exists which has the capacity to pose a significant, imminent, and/or dangerous threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Elsmere, Delaware, its visitors and guests, as well as their real and personal property, the Mayor is authorized to declare a state of general emergency throughout the Town or any part thereof.
Any state of emergency declared by the Mayor shall be in the form of a proclamation and shall include at a minimum the following:
A. 
The event that gave rise to the emergency.
B. 
The fact that the event has the capacity to pose a significant, imminent, and dangerous threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Elsmere, Delaware, its visitors and their real and personal property.
C. 
The beginning date and time as well as the ending date and time for which the state of emergency shall be in effect.
By declaring a state of emergency, the Mayor is given the authority to waive any and all procedures and formalities otherwise required of the Town of Elsmere pertaining to any steps taken in order to prepare for, respond to, or recover from an emergency, such as, but not limited to, the following:
A. 
Performance of public works and any other prudent action necessary to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Town.
B. 
Entering into contracts.
C. 
Incurring obligations.
D. 
Employment of temporary workers.
E. 
Utilization of volunteer workers.
F. 
Rental of equipment.
G. 
Acquisition and distribution, with or without compensation, of supplies, materials, and facilities.
H. 
Appropriation and expenditure of public funds.
By declaring a state of emergency, the Mayor thereby empowers, authorizes, and directs the Town Manager or his designee to exercise, on behalf of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Elsmere, such emergency powers necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter of the code of the Town of Elsmere, including, but not limited to, the powers to direct and compel evacuation of all or part of the population from stricken or threatened areas within the Town, if such action is deemed necessary to reduce the vulnerability of people in the Town to damage, injury, and loss of life and property resulting from the imminent threat, as well as any other powers expressly or implicitly conferred pursuant to the Charter of the Town of Elsmere, and any other provision of law or Town ordinance or code. This authority shall extend only for the period of the state of emergency, as determined by the Town Manager or his designee, or until further action by the Mayor terminates such authority or declares that the state of general emergency has ended.