Delaware Code (Titles 8, 9, 25, 30)
9 Del. C. § 7002 — County government
(a)
Number and term. — The county government shall consist of 5 members. Unless otherwise provided by law, elected officials of the county governing body shall serve a term of 4 years, or until their successors have been elected and take office. Such officials shall take office on the first Tuesday in January following their election.
(b)
Qualifications. — Such officials shall be citizens of the United States and qualified electors of the County. They shall be residents of the district from which they are elected or, in the event of redistricting of the district as adjusted, for at least 1 year prior to their election. The county government shall be the judge of the qualifications of its members.
(c)
Prohibitions. — Except where authorized by law, no such official shall hold any other county or state office or employment by the county or state government during the term for which such official was elected to the county government. No former official shall hold any compensated appointed county office or employment until 1 year after the expiration of the term for which the official was elected to the county government.
(d)
Salary and expenses. — The annual salary of each elected official shall be set and determined by the county government during the consideration and adoption of the annual operating budget ordinance. Such officials shall receive their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office.
(e)
Officers of county government. — The county government shall elect annually at its first regular meeting in January, among its members, officers of the county government who shall have the titles of President of the county government and Vice-President of the county government. The President of the county government shall preside at meetings of the government and shall be recognized as head of the county government for all necessary purposes. The Vice-President of the county government shall act as the President of the county government during the absence or disability of the President.
(f)
Powers of county government. — All powers of the County shall be vested in the county government, except as otherwise provided by this title or other laws of this State, and the county government shall provide for the exercise thereof and for the performance of all duties and obligations imposed on the County by law.
(g)
Vacancies. — (1) The office of an elected official of the county governing body shall become vacant upon the elected official’s death, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized by law, or forfeiture of the elected official’s office in a manner set forth below.
(h)
Clerk of county government. — The county government shall appoint and fix the salary of a Clerk of the county government who shall keep the journal of its proceedings, and perform such other duties as are assigned to the Clerk by this title or by the county government. The county government may provide for employees to serve in the office of the Clerk of the county government.
(i)
Investigations. — The county government may make investigations into the affairs of the County and the conduct of any county department, office or agency, and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of pertinent evidence of any kind. Any person who fails or refuses to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the county government shall be punishable in accordance with a schedule of fines and imprisonment established by the county government.
(j)
Independent audit. — The county government shall provide for an independent annual audit of all county accounts and may provide for such more frequent audits as it deems necessary. Such audits shall be made by a certified public accountant or firm of such accountants who have no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the county government or any of its officers. The county government may, without requiring competitive bids designate such accountant or firm annually or for a period not exceeding 3 years, provided that the designation for any particular fiscal year shall be made no later than 30 days after beginning of such fiscal year.
(k)
Procedure. — (1) The county government shall meet regularly. The place and dates of such meetings shall be established by the county government as a part of the rules of procedure adopted for the conduct of its meetings. Special meetings may be held on the call of the President of the county government or of a majority of the members of the county government in accordance with rules adopted as a part of the rules of procedure of the county government.
(l)
Actions required by ordinance. — All actions of the county government which shall have the force of law shall be by ordinance.
(m)
Ordinances generally. — (1) Every proposed ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption. No ordinance, except those relating to the budget or appropriation of funds and those relating to the adoption or revisions of the County Code shall contain more than 1 subject which shall be clearly expressed in its title. The enacting clause shall be “The County of Sussex hereby ordains.” Any ordinance which repeals or amends an existing ordinance or part of the County Code shall set out in full that part of the ordinance, sections or subsections to be repealed or amended, and shall indicate the matter to be omitted by enclosing it in brackets and shall indicate new matter by underscoring or by italics.
(n)
Consideration and adoption of the annual operating budget ordinance. — (1) The county government, upon receipt of the proposed operating budget from the County Administrator, shall immediately publish a notice in all newspapers of general circulation in the County, setting forth:
(o)
Emergency ordinances. — To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property or the public peace, the county government may adopt emergency ordinances, but such ordinances may not levy taxes, grant, review or extend a franchise, or authorize the borrowing of money except to issue emergency notes as provided by law. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed for ordinances generally, except that it shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms. An emergency ordinance may be adopted with or without amendment or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced. After its adoption, the ordinance shall be published and printed as prescribed for other adopted ordinances. It shall become effective immediately upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify. An emergency ordinance may be repealed by adoption of a repealing ordinance in the same manner specified in this section for adoption of emergency ordinances.
(p)
Budgets of revenues. — (1) The county government, at the meeting at which the annual operating budget ordinance is adopted and within the limits of its power and subject to other provisions of this title, shall ordain such taxes and other revenue measures as will yield sufficient revenue which, together with any available surplus, will balance the budget.
(q)
Official map of the County. — (1) There is established an official map of Sussex County. The Planning and Zoning Commission as provided in subsection (a) of § 6809 of this title shall be the custodian of such map. The map shall show the location and lines of the public roads, easements, water courses, public lands and zoning districts within the County presently existing or established by law at the time of the preparation and setting up of the map and shall also show the location of the lines of the roads, easements, watercourses, public lands and zoning districts which have been approved by the county government.
(r)
Authentication, recording, codification and printing of ordinances. — (1) The Clerk of the county government shall authenticate by the Clerk’s signature and record in full, in a properly indexed book kept for that purpose, all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the county government.
(s)
Adoption of pay plans. — (1) All persons employed by the County or by any of its boards, whether as officers or otherwise, and paid either in part or in whole from appropriations made by the county government, except those whose compensation is fixed by state law, shall be compensated only in accordance with pay plans adopted by the county government.
(t)
Creation of debt; authorization, procedures, debt limitation and anticipation borrowing. — (1) The county government shall exercise all powers heretofore vested in the county government of Sussex County in connection with the creation of debt, and shall have the power to authorize the issuance of bonds and notes of Sussex County to finance the cost of any object, program or purpose for which Sussex County, or any officer, department, board or agency thereof, is, by this title or by any other law, authorized to raise, appropriate or expend money, or for the implementation and performance of functions, programs and purposes specified in this title or in any other law applicable to Sussex County; provided however, that the county government shall not have authority to create or to authorize the creation of any bonded indebtedness for any of the following purposes: The payment of any operating expenses; the payment of any judgment resulting from the failure of the County to pay any item of operating expense; or the payment for any equipment or any public improvements of a normal life of less than 3 years. The foregoing limitations shall not apply should the county government unanimously declare the existence of any emergency due to public calamity. The term “bonded indebtedness” shall not include the promissory notes issued pursuant to lines of credit for short-term borrowing purposes. “Short-term borrowing purposes” shall include borrowings with a term of not to exceed 5 years from date of such note, or a note that is payable upon demand of the obligee.
(u)
Districts. — There shall be 5 councilmanic districts. Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are established as follows:
(v)
Redistricting. — (1) In the event that by a redistricting of the senatorial or representative districts of Sussex County, the numbers of representative districts shall be reduced in number from 6 to 5, then it shall be the mandatory duty of the county government to redistrict Sussex County into 5 councilmanic districts for the election of the county government and the boundaries of each of said districts shall coincide with the boundaries of 1 of the said representative districts. To accomplish the redistricting, the county government, within 3 months after the reapportionment of the Sussex County representative districts, shall appoint 5 qualified voters of the County who shall comprise the redistricting commissioners. The commissioners shall be appointed, 1 from each of the 5 representative districts, as they would have been reapportioned, and, they shall not be employed by the County in any other capacity. No more than 3 of the members shall be affiliated with the same political party. It shall be the duty of the redistricting committee to submit to the county government a report, which shall set forth the boundaries of each councilmanic district, which shall coincide with the boundaries of a respective representative district, and shall assign to each a number from 1 to 5, and a map thereof. The report shall be in the form of a proposed ordinance. Once filed with the Clerk of the county government, the report shall be treated as an ordinance introduced by a member of the county government, to be considered by them as other proposed ordinances, provided that a map and a description of the proposed districts shall be published in addition to the other requirements of publication connected with enacting ordinances.
(w)
Election of county government officials. — (1) In order to stagger the terms of the elected officials, councilmanic districts shall be divided into 2 categories: the first category shall consist of Districts 1, 2, and 3, and the second category shall consist of Districts 4 and 5.
(x)
Creation of departments and agencies. — The county government may by ordinance establish county departments, offices or agencies in addition to those created by this title and may prescribe the functions of all departments, offices and agencies, except that no function assigned by this title to a particular department, office or agency may be discontinued or, unless this title specifically so provides, assigned to any other.
Source: official text