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.
D. Employment of temporary workers.
E. Utilization of volunteer workers.
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.