CHARTER
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board
of Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
6-4-1986 by Res. No. 86-3. Amendments noted where applicable.]
ARTICLE
I
Incorporation
and Boundaries
~ C-1. Incorporation.
The citizens of the village formerly known as "Mechanicstown"
are created a body politic by the name of "The Town of Thurmont,"
with all the privileges of a body corporate and as such shall have succession,
by their corporate name may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, grant,
receive and do all other acts as natural persons, purchase and hold real,
personal and mixed property or dispose of the same for the benefit of the town
and have and use a common Seal, which they may change at pleasure.
~ C-2. Boundaries.
The corporate bounds of the Town of Thurmont for all purposes shall be
as follows: beginning at a concrete monument at the junction of the east side
of State Road No. 550 leading from Thurmont to Creagerstown and on the south
side of State Road No. 77 leading to Rocky Ridge; thence, by true bearing,
across the lands of Albaugh and Powell south 73° 30' west a distance of
1,972.36 feet; thence south 28° 8' 47" east a distance of 364.17 feet to
an eighteen-inch walnut tree; thence south 21° 41' 48" east a distance of
445.20 feet to a five-eighths-inch rebar found on a fence-line intersection on
the northwest corner of the S.N. Lawyer property as recorded in Liber No. 452,
Folio No. 33; thence with said property 2 courses south 21° 48' 25" east a
distance of 571.07 feet to a planted stone found on a fence-line intersection
referred by an SBC; thence south 70° 48' 24" west a distance of 676.98
feet to a planted stone found referenced by an SBC on the north corner of the
K.M. Angleberger property as recorded in Liber No. 766, Folio No. 490; thence
with said property 2 courses south 70° 56' 13" west a distance of 701.83
feet to a fencepost on the north side of Moser Road; thence south 70° 56'
13" west a distance of 26.39 feet to a point in the center of Moser Road;
thence with the center of said road north 31° 23' 46" west a distance of
1,790.31 feet; thence south 82° 55' 13" west a distance of 310.03 feet to
a monument placed along the west edge of the H. and F. Railroad right-of-way
about 200 feet from the south side of Moser Road; thence across the lands of
Robert Humerick north 73° 28' west a distance of 1,321.80 feet to intersect the
line of division between Robert Craft and Nicholas Divados and Robert Humerick
properties; thence, along and with the line of division with the aforesaid properties,
south 50° 48' 26" west 190.00 feet; thence south 52° 36' 21" west a
distance of 524.16 feet; thence south 56° 38' 33" west a distance of
889.78 feet; thence north 71° 59' 51" west a distance of 302.58 feet to
the eastern State Highway Administration right-of-way line along Route No. 806;
thence, along aforesaid right-of-way line, north 2° 6' 23" east a distance
of 61.24 feet; thence north 1° 31' 45" east a distance of 287.76 feet;
thence north 82° 1' 13" west a distance of 50.00 feet to a T-bar on the
west side of Maryland Route No. 806; thence north 82° 1' 13" west a
distance of 199.62 feet to a T-bar; thence, running with property conveyed from
Lester L. Moser and wife Virginia L. Moser to the vestry of Catoctin Parish of
Frederick County by deed dated January 13. 1975, recorded in Liber No. 954,
Folio No. 582, north 66° 42' 59" west a distance of 262.55 feet to the
State Highway Administration right-of-way, Plat No. 13732 and Plat No. 46850 to
an iron pipe; thence north 29° 34' 38" east a distance of 659.02 feet with
said right-of-way through highway to a point 100.00 feet right of station
112+52.00 and passing over an iron pipe at the end of 456.51 feet; thence north
73° 47' 17" east a distance of 206.49 feet to a point on the west side of
Maryland Route No. 806 as shown on the State Highway Administration of Maryland
Plat No. 13732 and Plat No. 46850; thence north 88° 55' 33" east a
distance of 58.03 feet to the northerlymost corner of Lot No. 1, Thurmont
Business Park, as shown on plat recorded in Plat Book 23, page 38; thence
across Maryland State Highway Administration right-of-way Plat No. 47699 and
Plat No. 46851 north 19° 30' west to lands of Thomas J. and Cleta D. Toomey for
a distance of 897.68 feet to a concrete marker; thence running with and binding
on said west right-of-way line as shown on said Maryland State Highway
Administration Plat Nos. 46850, 46851 and 47699, the following 6 courses and
distances: south 52° 48' 10" west a distance of 129.76 feet to a point;
thence south 28° 7' 7" west a distance of 101.30 feet to a point; thence
44° 46' 5" west a distance of 176.49 feet to a point; thence 44° 45'
41" west a distance of 25.21 feet to a point; thence south 39° 21'
24" west a distance of 134.94 feet to a point; thence south 38° 45'
3" west a distance of 349.58 feet to a point; thence leaving said west
right-of-way line of United States Route No. 15 and running with and binding on
the outlines of said plat recorded in plat book 19, page 168, the following 6
courses and distances: north 66° 51' 57" west a distance of 48.23 feet to
a point; thence south 44° 6' 42" west a distance of 316.72 feet to a
point; thence north 63° 13' 19" west a distance of 596.64 feet to a point;
thence north 14° 31' 9" each a distance of 462.00 feet to a point; thence
north 74° 52' 19" west a distance of 570.90 feet to a point; thence north
8° 48' 30" east a distance of 997.83 feet to the northwesterly corner of
Lot No. 3, as shown on plat of Altogether, and running by and with the easterly
and northerly outline of said Lot No. 3 north 85° 57' 49" east a distance
of 286.50 feet; thence, with the easterly and northerly outlines of said Lot
No. 3, north 9° 38' 7" east a distance of 160.00 feet; thence south 85°
57' 49" west for a distance of 254.62 feet; thence south 47° 47' 58"
west a distance of 30.90 feet to a point on the easterly line of Pryor Road and
at the end of the north 90° 38' 7" east a distance of 140.35 feet a line
as shown on a plat of subdivision for Section 1, Lot Nos. 1, 2 and 3 of the Altogether,
as recorded among the land records, Liber No. 11, Folio No. 104; thence,
running with the continuation of the last said line and with the aforesaid
easterly and northerly outlines of said Lot No. 3 north 9° 38' 7" east a
distance of 52.92 feet; thence leaving Pryor Road and running south 42° 12'
7" east a distance of 39.31 feet; thence north 85° 57' 49" east a
distance of 242.46 feet; thence north 9° 38' 7" east a distance of 298.06
feet; thence with a line of division between the lot owner by Gary L. Seiss in
Yellow Hills Subdivision, Section 1, Lot No. 3, and a lot owned by Gary L.
Clabaugh in Altogether Subdivision, Section 1, Lot No. 1, and running with a
line of division south 84° 44' 42" west for a distance of 75.54 feet;
thence with a line of division between a lot owned by Strafford H. Lawyer in
Yellow Hills Subdivision, Section 1, Lot No. 1, and a lot owned by Gary L.
Clabaugh in Altogether Subdivision, Section 1, Lot No. 1, and running with
aforesaid line of division north 80° 8' 41" west a distance of 193.48 feet
to a concrete marker located along the east side of Pryor Road; thence running
along the east side of Pryor Road north 15° east to a concrete marker located
along Maryland Route No. 77; thence and with the existing State Highway
Administration right-of-way line on the south side of Maryland Route No. 77,
north 77° 13' 11" east a distance of 585.00 feet to a concrete marker;
thence and with the state right-of-way line north 88° 44' east a distance of
330.06 feet to a concrete marker; thence with the state right-of-way line along
the south side of Maryland Route No. 77, north 69° 14' 7" east a distance
of 308.33 feet to a concrete marker; thence crossing Maryland Route No. 77,
north 10° 45' 31" west a distance of 1,313.64 feet to a concrete marker
located near an old cherry tree; thence along the lands of the recreational
demonstration projects, Catoctin area, Frederick County, Maryland Tract No.
80Am Option No. 2, as shown on Drawing No. 3L D-MD4 dated June 11, 1936;
Drawing No. AC-42, the following 11 courses and distances: north 59° 28' west a
distance of 290.4 feet; thence north 72° 13' west a distance of 115.5 feet;
thence north 18° 17' east a distance of 198.0 feet; thence north 74° 28' west a
distance of 356.4 feet; thence north 3° 47' east a distance of 825.0 feet;
thence south 78° 13' east a distance of 655.4 feet; thence north 3° 47' east a
distance of 363.0 feet; thence south 78° 13' east a distance of 412.5 feet;
thence north 35° 47' east a distance of 1,008.1 feet; thence south 76° 43' east
a distance of 115.5 feet; thence north 23° 32' east a distance of 544.5 feet to
a corner of the recreational demonstration projects land heretofore mentioned,
such corner being marked by a concrete monument; thence north 34° 37' east a
distance of 1,570.67 feet, such line crossing the tracks of the Western
Maryland Railway Company and ending where said line intersects the eastern
right-of-way of the above railroad; thence with said right-of-way, north 15°
15' 53" west a distance of 1,308.53 feet; thence with the northern
boundary of the Elmer D. Bollinger property, the following 2 courses and
distances: north 67° 7' 19" east a distance of 604.43 feet; thence north
55° 52' 22" east a distance of 287.26 feet to the land of Edgar Robinson;
thence with the Robinson land south 14° 50' 14" east a distance of 439.00
feet to the southwest corner of said land; thence north 77° 7' 44" east a
distance of 494.62 feet to the northwest corner of the Philip L. Zentz lot;
thence with the western boundary of the Zentz lot and others south 11° 15'
31" east a distance of 674.65 feet; thence south 1° 17' 44" west a
distance of 474.71 feet to a point on the western boundary of the Frank P.
Gaither lot; thence south 70° 13' 13" east a distance of 340.00 feet, which
line crosses State Road No. 550 leading to Sabillasville to a concrete
monument; thence north 0° 34' 58" east a distance of 395.0 feet; thence
north 89° 25' west a distance of 150.00 feet to a point along State Road No.
550; thence north 0° 34' 58" east a distance of 60 feet parallel along
State Road No. 550 to a concrete monument; thence south 89° 25' 2" east a
distance of 150.00 feet to a concrete monument also being the southeast corner
of C. Myers lot; thence north 0° 34' 58" east a distance of 46.00 feet to
the Board of Education property; thence with a line of division with the Board
of Education property south 46° 4' 56" east a distance of 373.00 feet to
the lands of the Maryland State Highway Administration; thence with a line of
division with the Maryland State Highway Administration lands south 63° 5'
25" west a distance of 114.14 feet; thence south 65° 32' 51" west a
distance of 47.99 feet; thence north 85° 25' west a distance of 104.01 feet to
a concrete monument; thence south 0° 34' 58" east a distance of 165.00
feet; thence south 70° 13' east a distance of 1,034.36 feet and terminating at
a concrete monument on the west side of Route No. 806 leading from Thurmont to
Emmitsburg; thence south 45° 17' east a distance of 111.14 feet, such a line
being roughly parallel to and north of an old county road; thence north 20°
14" east a distance of 77.20 feet; thence north 68° 37' 25" west a
distance of 69.04 feet to the right-of-way line on Route No. 806; thence north
25° 20' 53" east a distance of 100.00 feet, said line being parallel with
the western right-of-way line of Route No. 806; thence with a line of division
of the Albert L. Staub property south 68° 37' 25" east a distance of
677.80 feet to a concrete monument; thence north 43° 3' 5" east a distance
of 887.97 feet; thence with a line of division of the J.D. Lawler property
south 56° 15' 3" east a distance of 819.05 feet; thence with a line of
division of the J. J. Simmers property south 33° 22' 56" west a distance
of 494.89 feet; thence north 59° 17' west a distance of 298.41 feet; thence
south 50° 51' 34" west a distance of 685.66 feet; thence south 21° 45'
east a distance of 691.88 feet; thence south 70° 25' 48" west a distance
of 107.32 feet to a concrete monument; thence south 80° 26' east a distance of
1,592.50 feet to a monument placed at a distance of 185.60 feet from the east
side of Apples Church Road and 357.4 feet from the north side of the county
road leading from the Thurmont and Emmitsburg Pike (Route No. 15); thence
across the lands of Zentz and Simmers south 1° 42' west a distance of 2,178.28
feet; thence south 76° 2' east a distance of 526.75 feet to a corner fencepost;
thence south 3° 26' 58" east a distance of 133.72 feet to a T-bar bearing
Cap No. 7541; thence south 29° 28' 59" east a distance of 695.62 feet to a
T-bar; thence leaving the last said line of division and continuing with said
plat outlines; thence south 54° 31' 1" west a distance of 91.01 feet to a
T-bar found in the aforesaid railroad line; thence running with the same for
the next 2 lines 359.70 feet along the arc of a curve deflecting to the left,
said curve having a radius of 1,461.63 feet; said arc subtended by a chord
bearing north 78° 47' 18" west a distance of 358.79 feet long and north
85° 50' 18" west a distance of 460.95 feet; thence along the south side of
Western Maryland Railway right-of-way 4 courses and distances; south 85° 52'
4" east a distance of 274.17 feet to a point; thence by chord bearing
south 71° 51' 30" east with a chord of 1,022.88 feet and an arc distance
of 1,033.23 feet to a point; thence south 58° 23' 2" east a distance of
626.84 feet to a point; thence south 61° 2" east a distance of 353.61 feet
to a concrete monument; thence south 50° 25' 58" west a distance of 188.00
feet to a concrete monument; thence south 21° 40' 58" west for a distance
of 371.25 feet to a concrete monument; thence south 1° 32' 2" east a
distance of 151.45 feet to a concrete monument; thence south 84° 53' 58"
west a distance of 482 feet to a concrete monument; thence south 13° 31'
36" west for a distance of 463.70 feet to a planted stone; thence south
22° 35' 26" east to a stone; thence south 65° 36' 32" west a distance
of 1,146.22 feet to a center line of Route No. 77; thence with the center line
of Route No. 77 north 82° 17' 31" west a distance of 448.86 feet; thence
north 7° 49' 28" west a distance of 14.85 feet to an iron pipe; thence
north 78° 19' 28" west a distance of 83.90 feet to the place of beginning.
~ C-3. Police limits.
The police limits of the Town of Thurmont
shall extend one-half (1/2) mile in all directions beyond the corporate limits
of the town or as requested by appropriate law enforcement officials for
emergencies.
ARTICLE
II
Powers
of Board of Commissioners
~ C-4. Meetings.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
may meet together at such times as occasion may seem to require, upon the
business of the town, not less than once in every three (3) months.
~ C-5. Promulgation of laws.
A. The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont shall have the
power to make bylaws, regulations and ordinances not in conflict with the
Constitution and laws of the state. All ordinances shall be entered by the Town
Clerk-Treasurer in a book kept by him for that purpose and shall at all times
be open for the inspection of any person interested. Copies of all ordinances
shall be put up in the most public places of the town.
B. No ordinance shall be passed at the meeting
at which it is introduced. At any regular or special meeting of the
Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont held not less than six (6) nor more than
sixty (60) days after the meeting at which an ordinance was introduced, it
shall be passed, or passed as amended, or rejected, or its consideration
deferred to some specified future date. In cases of emergency, the provision
that an ordinance may not be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced
may be suspended by the affirmative votes of all members of the legislative
body present at that meeting, provided that a quorum exists.
C. Every ordinance shall become effective with
its passage.
~ C-6. Enforcement; general
penalty; disposition of moneys.
A. To ensure the observance of the ordinances of
the town, the Commissioners shall have the power to provide that violation
thereof shall be a misdemeanor or an infraction and shall have the power to
affix thereto penalties as provided in and pursuant to Subsection B. Any person
subject to any fine, forfeiture or penalty by virtue of any ordinance or
resolution passed under authority of the Town Charter shall have the right of
appeal within ten (10) days after the conviction thereof to the County Circuit
Court. The Commissioners may provide that where
the violation is of a continuing nature and is persisted in, a conviction for
one (1) violation shall not be a bar to a conviction for a continuation of the
offense subsequent to the first or any succeeding conviction.
B. General penalty.
(1) Misdemeanors. Every act or omission which, by
ordinance, is made a misdemeanor under the authority of this Charter, unless
otherwise provided, shall be punishable, upon conviction thereof before any
Trial Magistrate sitting in Thurmont or in the County Circuit Court, by a fine
not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.) or by imprisonment for ninety (90)
days in the county jail in the discretion of the court or Trial Magistrate. The
party aggrieved shall have the right to appeal as is now provided under the
general laws of the state. Where the act or omission is of a continuing nature
and is persisted in, a conviction for one (1) offense shall not be a bar to a
conviction for a continuation of the offense subsequent to the first or any
succeeding conviction.
(2) Municipal infractions. The Town Commissioners
may provide that violations of any municipal ordinance shall be a municipal
infraction within the terms of Article 23A, ~ 3(b), of the Annotated Code of
Maryland, as the same may be amended from time to time, and is further
empowered to provide for same by ordinance.
C. Disposition of moneys.
(1) The Commissioners of Thurmont may impose and
appropriate fines, penalties and forfeitures for the breach of their
ordinances.
(2) All fines, fees and costs shall go to the town
and shall be appropriated as directed by ordinance.
D. The county sheriff shall receive and keep
safe in the county adult detention center all persons who shall be committed
thereto for a breach of any of the laws or ordinances of the town, according to
the tenor of the commitment, and in the same manner and under the same
regulations as persons committed for a violation of laws of the state.
~ C-7. Ordinances.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
may pass all ordinances necessary to:
A. Preserve the health of the town.
B. Prevent the introduction of contagious
diseases.
C. Prevent and remove nuisances.
D. Preserve the peace, order and quiet of the
town.
E. Prevent drunkenness.
F. Promote the good order and welfare of the
town, provided that such ordinances are not contrary to the laws or
Constitution of the state.
G. Open, close and widen or narrow and to grade,
regrade, pave and keep in repair the streets, lanes, roads, alleys and bridges
within the limits of the town.
H. Prevent horses, wheelbarrows and other
vehicles from passing on or over the footwalks or pavements within the taxable
limits of the town.
I. Tax any particular part or district of the
town for improvements which may appear for the particular benefit of such part
or district.
~ C-8. Building standards.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
shall have the power, by ordinance, to adopt a Building Code to govern and
control the erection and repair of buildings within the corporate limits of the
town and to prescribe penalties for the violation of such code.
~ C-9. Zoning.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
shall have the power, by ordinance, to adopt a Zoning Code to govern the use of
buildings for residential, commercial and industrial purposes and to prescribe
penalties for the violation thereof. The Commissioners shall also have and exercise
the powers as to zoning granted by Article 66B of the Annotated Code of
Maryland, and amendments thereto.[1]
~ C-10. Water supply.
The Commissioners shall provide for the adequate supply of safe water.
Fireplugs shall be erected and kept in repair as the Commissioners deem
necessary.[2]
~ C-11. Sidewalks, curbs and
gutters.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont shall have full power and
authority to designate the line, width and location of all sidewalks and
gutters within the town and to grade and pave the same and compel parties on
streets already graded within the town to pave such sidewalks or gutters and
shall have full authority to designate the material with which such sidewalks
or gutters, including curbing, are to be constructed or require the owner to
reconstruct the same, out of such material as the Commissioners may designate.[3]
~ C-12. Parks.
A. The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont are authorized
and empowered to own in their name, for the benefit of the town, and to acquire
such real estate, either by gift or donation, for the purpose of creating and
maintaining a memorial park, dedicated to those residents of the Thurmont
District who gave their services to the nation. When such real estate has been
so acquired by the town, the real estate shall be deeded to the town in fee.
B. The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont are authorized
and empowered to own in their name, for the benefit of the town, and to acquire
real estate, either by purchase, gift or donation for the purpose of
establishing and maintaining public parks, playgrounds and other recreational
facilities and programs to promote the health, welfare and enjoyment of its
citizens.
~ C-13. Railroad franchises.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont shall have the power and
authority to authorize, permit and by ordinance to grant to any railroad
company whose road enters or is intended to enter the corporate limits of the
town the right and privilege of laying down and constructing its tracks and of
building and grading its road along, through and over any of the streets, lanes
or alleys of the town, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed in the
ordinances granting such right and privileges of laying down and constructing
such track and building and grading such road along, over and through any
street, lane or alley of the town.
~ C-14. Parking and parking
meters.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
are authorized to install parking meters on the streets of the town at such
places as they shall determine and to prescribe by ordinance regulations for
the use thereof. The Commissioners shall have power, by ordinance, to prescribe
penalties for the violation of any ordinance relating to parking on the streets
of the town or for violating any regulation which the Commissioners are
authorized to ordain as to the use of such parking meters. All fines imposed
for the violation of such ordinances shall be paid to the Town Clerk and be
used for such purposes as the Commissioners shall determine.Editor's Note: As
to vehicles and traffic generally, see Ch. 126.
~ C-15. Thurmont Municipal Light
Company.
A. The Commissioners of Thurmont are hereby
granted full power and authority to own, operate and maintain the Thurmont
Municipal Light Company and to make all such contracts as may be necessary to
light streets, lanes, alleys and public properties of the town and furnish
light and power to its citizens.
B. Extension of service. The Commissioners of
Thurmont are hereby authorized to extend the use and operation of the electric
light plant owned by the town on the same terms and conditions the plant is
operated in the town. Nothing in this section is intended or shall be taken or
construed as relieving the Commissioners from any and all provisions of Chapter
180 of the Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland of 1910, known as the
"Public Service Commission Law," or any amendment thereto.
~ C-16. Police Department.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
are hereby authorized to create and establish a Police Department, with such
number of officers as they shall determine.
~ C-17. Retirement system.
The town may do all things necessary to include its officers and
employees or any of them, within any retirement system or pension system under
the terms of which they are admissible, and to pay the employer's share of the
cost of any such retirement or pension system out of the general funds of the
town.
~ C-18. Additional offices.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
may, from time to time, under such conditions and terms as they may by
ordinance direct, appoint such other offices as they may deem necessary to
carry into effect the ordinances of the town and may fix the terms and
conditions and compensation of each. They may remove, for cause, any of such
appointees but not without due notice and a fair hearing of such causes before
such action is taken.
ARTICLE
III
Elections
and Appointments
~ C-19. President and
Commissioners.
A. Terms of office. All legislative powers of
the town are vested in the President and four (4) Commissioners. The term in
office of the President and Commissioners shall be four (4) years. The terms
shall be staggered. Elections shall be held every odd-numbered year; i.e., the
next election for President and two (2) Commissioners shall be on the fourth
Monday in October 1985, and the next election for the two (2) remaining
Commissioners shall be on the fourth Monday in October 1987. All elected
officials are to assume office on the first day of November. Each Commissioner
shall hold office until his or her successor has been duly elected and
qualified.
B. Qualifications of Commissioners and voters.
The President and Commissioners of Thurmont shall have resided within the
taxable limits of the town for one (1) year next preceding the election. All
citizens of the United States,
eighteen (18) years old and older, who reside within the taxable limits of the
Town of Thurmont
shall be entitled to vote after proper voter registration.
C. Compensation. The President and Commissioners
shall receive as compensation for their respective services an annual salary
which shall be as specified from time to time by a resolution passed in the
regular course of business. Any salary increase will be passed upon the
affirmative vote by the President and two (2) Commissioners whose terms are to
expire and shall be effective for the full Board of Commissioners upon the
election of the President and two (2) Commissioners. Any proposed salary
increase will be accommodated in the budgetary process of the town.
~ C-20. President Pro Tempore.
The Board of Commissioners, at their first meeting after each municipal
election, shall select one (1) of their own number as President Pro Tempore.
The President Pro Tempore shall act as President in the case of the temporary
absence or indisposition of the President and shall have and exercise all the
powers of the President conferred by this Charter.
~ C-21. Removal from office.
The holder of any elected office in the Town of Thurmont may be removed after the date of his
or her election by the electors qualified to vote for a successor of such
incumbent. The procedure for the removal of an incumbent of an elected office
shall be as follows:
A. A petition signed by not less than twenty percent
(20%) of the qualified voters of the town must be filed with the
Clerk-Treasurer no sooner than six (6) months after the election. The petition
will name the elected official to be recalled and will request that the
official's name be placed on the ballot of the next municipal election. The
signatures on this petition must be in the same form as those on the voter
registration records.
B. Within ten (10) days from the filing of such
petition, the Clerk-Treasurer shall certify to the Board of Commissioners as to
the validity of the petition. To determine validity, the Clerk-Treasurer shall
compare the signatures on the petition against those signatures on the voter
registration records. If the petition is certified as valid, the Board of
Commissioners shall cause the name of the official to be recalled to be placed
on the ballot of the next municipal election. If the petition is found to be
invalid, the Clerk-Treasurer will so certify and return the petition to the
filer.
C. The successor of any official removed by
recall shall hold office during the unexpired term of his or her predecessor.
~ C-22. Appointment of Judge.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
shall annually appoint some person to act as Judge of each town election who
shall open the polls at the corresponding times of federal, state and county
elections. Said times of opening and closing shall be Eastern standard time or
Eastern daylight saving time, as the same may be in effect in the Town of Thurmont. The candidates
who shall have the plurality votes shall be declared elected.
~ C-23. Tie votes; new
elections.
If, at any election for Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont, it shall
appear by the certificate of the Judge of Election that any two (2) or more
persons voted for as Commissioners have received the same number of votes, so
that there is no choice for an entire Board but a vacancy in one (1) or more
seats, if there shall be as many as three (3) duly elected, the incumbent Board
of Commissioners, or any three (3) of them, shall assemble immediately and
shall proclaim a new election to supply the vacancy occasioned by the failure
to elect, giving at least five (5) days' notice of such election.
~ C-24. Filing vacancies.
If during this year for which they are elected, any Commissioner shall
die, resign, remove from the town or for any cause be disqualified, an election
to fill the vacancy, on ten (10) days' notice being given by the Commissioners,
shall be held at which all persons qualified as specified in this Charter shall
be entitled to vote.
~ C-25. Failure to hold
elections.
If the inhabitants of the Town of Thurmont at any time neglect to make
an election as directed in this Article, the power of electing the
Commissioners shall not thereupon cease but shall continue as though such
election had been made, and the President and Commissioners for the time being
shall remain in office until such annual election shall be needed.
ARTICLE
IV
Finance
~ C-26. Fiscal year.
The town shall operate on an annual budget. The fiscal year of the town
shall begin on the first day of July in any year and shall end on the last day
of June in the following year. The fiscal year constitutes the tax year, the
budget year and the accounting year.
~ C-27. Budget.
The President, on such date as the Board of Commissioners by ordinance
determines, but at least thirty-two (32) days before the beginning of any
fiscal year, shall submit a budget to the Board of Commissioners. The budget
shall provide a complete financial plan for the budget year and shall contain
estimates of anticipated revenues and proposed expenditures for the coming
year. The total of the anticipated revenues shall equal or exceed the total of
the proposed expenditures. The budget shall be a public record in the office of
the Clerk-Treasurer, open to public inspection by anyone during normal business
hours.
~ C-28. Adoption of budget.
Before adopting the budget the Board of Commissioners shall hold a
public hearing thereon after two (2) weeks' notice thereof in some newspaper or
newspapers having general circulation within the municipality. The Board of
Commissioners may insert new items or may increase or decrease the items of the
budget. If the Board of Commissioners increases the total proposed expenditures,
it shall also increase the total anticipated revenues in an amount at least
equal to the total proposed expenditures. The budget shall be prepared and
adopted in the form of an ordinance. A favorable vote of at least a majority of
the total elected membership of the Board of Commissioners is necessary for
adoption.
~ C-29. User charges.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
are hereby authorized and empowered to impose and collect a charge for the use
of water, sewer and electricity of the town. Such charges shall be collected on
a regular basis and shall be liens on the property served by such.
~ C-30. Assessments for
improvements.
The Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont
shall have the power to provide for the payment of damages and expenses of
opening, widening, laying out and grading the streets, lanes and alleys in the
town by levying and assessing the same generally upon the whole of the
assessable property or especially upon the assessable property of persons
benefited thereby.
~ C-31. Fees.
All fees received by an officer or employee of the town government in
his official capacity shall belong to the town government and be accounted for
to the town.
~ C-32. Audit.
The financial books and accounts of the town shall be audited annually
as required by ~ 40 of Article 19 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1957
Edition, as amended).
~ C-33. Levy of taxes.
The President and Commissioners of the Town of Thurmont are hereby
authorized and empowered to levy, annually, with full power to provide by
ordinance for the collection of the same, upon the taxable property of the
town, such taxes as, in their judgment, may be necessary and proper to pay all
expenses and debts of the town and all obligations lawfully incurred in pursuance
of the power conferred by this Charter. Such levy shall not be in gross but
shall designate the particular purposes for which the levy is made and the
amount levied for each particular purpose. Such taxes, when levied, shall be a
lien on the property on which they are levied, in the same manner as state and
county taxes are liens on property on which such taxes are levied.
A. Overdue taxes. The taxes provided for in this
section of this Charter are due and payable on the first day of July in the year
for which they are levied and are overdue and in arrears on the first day of
the following October. They shall bear interest while in arrears at the rate of
one-half of one per centum (1/2 of 1%) for each month or fraction of a month
until paid. All taxes not paid and in arrears after the first day of the
following January shall be collected as provided in this section.
B. Sale
of tax-delinquent property. A list of all property on which the town taxes have
not been paid and which are in arrears as provided by this section of this
Charter shall be turned over by the Clerk-Treasurer to the official of the
county responsible for the sale of tax-delinquent property as provided in state
law. All property listed thereon, if necessary, shall be sold for taxes by this
county official, in the manner prescribed by state law.
