Sec. 2-351. - Active depository.

The Wilmington Trust Company is hereby designated the active depository of the city through June 30, 2012.

(Ord. No. 92-044, § 1(30-1), 6-4-92; Ord. No. 96-037, § 1, 6-17-96; Ord. No. 00-046, § 1, 5-25-00; Ord. No. 04-025, § 1, 5-20-04; Ord. No. 08-032, § 1, 5-15-08)

Sec. 2-352. - Authorization for depository institution to honor the signatures of city officers and employees duly certified by the city treasurer.

The city's depository institution, designated in section 2-351, shall be authorized to receive, accept and implement, in accordance with this section and with its own procedures, the written authorization of the city treasurer to honor the signatures of city officers and employees who are designated and authorized, generally by virtue of their office or position of employment, to act as signatories on authorized and established city department, board and commission petty cash accounts and such other city accounts as are duly authorized and established from time to time. In all such instances, the subject department head, the city treasurer and the city clerk shall together certify to the depository institution the names of those current city officers and employees in positions of incumbency when, as and if each such person is so authorized to act as a signatory on a specific account. The city treasurer is hereby authorized to adopt and use such forms and procedures deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section with the city's depository institution, including the use of such forms customarily used for similar purposes by the depository institution in the regular course of its business.

(Code 1968, § 30-1.1)

Charter reference— Payments out of city treasury, § 6-201.

Sec. 2-353. - Facsimile signature of city treasurer on city checks.

(a)

The city treasurer is hereby authorized to use a facsimile signature produced through a mechanical device or by an electronic device in place of his handwritten signature whenever the necessity may arise on checks drawn against the accounts of the city, subject to the following conditions:

(1)

The mechanical device shall be of such nature that the facsimile signature may be removed from the mechanical device and kept in a separate secure place.

(2)

The use of the facsimile signature shall be made only under the direction and supervision of the city treasurer.

(3)

All of the mechanical devices shall at all times be kept in a vault, securely locked, when not in use, to prevent any misuse of the same.

(4)

The electronic device shall at all times be kept secure and under the control of the city treasurer.

(b)

The city treasurer shall have custody of and at all times be responsible for the die bearing his signature when the machine is not in operation.

(c)

No provision of this section shall be construed to prohibit the manual signing or countersigning of checks by any of the required officers.

(d)

Nothing contained in this section shall relieve any of the officers required to sign or countersign such checks of or from any of the duties, responsibilities, liabilities or penalties otherwise imposed upon them or any of them by existing laws, provisions of this Code or other ordinances.

(Code 1968, § 30-2; Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 16(a), 7-2-92)

Charter reference— Payments out of city treasury, § 6-201.

Sec. 2-354. - Correction of accounts of sums owed to the city.

(a)

Authorization. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code to the contrary, the department of finance in its administration of accounts of property taxes, earned income and net profit taxes, water and sewer billings, parking ticket fines and any other sums due and owing to the city is hereby authorized to make corrections to the amounts of such sums stated in such accounts, whether such error is in crediting, or debiting, or a combination thereof, when the department is making a correction of an error in an account and the error was attributable to the city government and not to the person who or which is the taxpayer, or customer, or regulation violator, or other responsible party. In all instances, the correction of the account without imposition of interest and penalties is specifically approved by the director of finance, or his duly authorized designee, and the auditing department is advised of the action taken and is provided access to all records and information relied upon in authorizing the correction. This section shall be applicable to any instance of omission by which a billing for taxes, or water and sewer charges, or unpaid fines, or other sums due and owing to the city had not been sent to the taxpayer, or customer, or violator, or other responsible party.

(b)

Rules and regulations. The director of finance, after consultation with the city auditor, shall promulgate rules and regulations, or amendments at any time to existing rules and regulations, as may be deemed necessary; provided that any such rules and regulations, or amendments, are subject to approval by the administrative board in accordance with the applicable provisions of the city charter.

(Code 1968, § 20-5.6; Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), §§ 1(d), 3(b), 7-2-92)

Sec. 2-355. - Income tax information.

(a)

The director of the department of finance of the city is hereby authorized and designated by the council to receive and examine information from the state division of revenue relating to the income or number of employees of any person filing a state tax return, who either lives in the city or works in the city.

(b)

Any information obtained by the director of the department of finance, however, shall be treated as confidential information and shall be used only for collection purposes.

(c)

Any person who obtains information from the state division of revenue as stated above and who intentionally makes known any information imparted by any income tax return or permits any income tax return or copy thereof to be displayed or used for any purpose other than the collection of the city wage tax or employee head tax shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $500.00 or a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days.

(d)

The director of the department of finance is hereby authorized to reimburse the state tax department to the extent of the true cost incurred by the state division of revenue in furnishing such information to the director of the department of finance of the city.

(Code 1968, § 30-2.2; Ord. No. 92-053(sub 1), § 16(c), 7-2-92)

Cross reference— City earned income tax, § 44-106 et seq.

Sec. 2-356. - Transfers of funds between enterprise funds and the general fund.

The transfer to or from the city's general fund of any amount of funds, or sums of money, or revenues received, out of or into any of the city's enterprise funds, including but not limited to the water/sewer fund and the commerce fund, shall be authorized for amounts not to exceed the amounts that are so provided in the annual operating budget ordinance for each fiscal year and in an annual reconciliation ordinance to be enacted within a reasonable time after the close of each fiscal year. This section shall be implemented beginning with the submittal by the mayor to the council of the annual operating budget for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1993.

(Ord. No. 92-039, §§ 1(30-2.9), 3, 5-21-92)

Charter reference— Budget transfers, § 2-300(4).

Sec. 2-357. - Mayor-elect transitional fund.

(a)

Establishment of mayor-elect transitional fund. There is hereby established in the city's general fund a fund to be known and designated as the mayor-elect transitional fund. All moneys in the mayor-elect transitional fund shall be appropriated and dedicated for the purposes set forth in this section in the annual operating budget for the fiscal year during which an election for the office of mayor is to occur.

(b)

Certification of election of mayor. As soon as possible after every general election at which a mayor has been elected, the city clerk shall certify to the budget director, finance director, city treasurer, and the auditor the fact and results of such election as certified by the board of elections.

(c)

Facilities to be furnished to mayor-elect. The budget director, in cooperation with the mayor shall, upon request of the mayor-elect, furnish the following services and facilities to the mayor-elect from moneys set aside in the mayor-elect transitional fund:

(1)

Suitable office space, furniture, fixtures and equipment.

(2)

Payment of salaries and expenses of staff personnel designated by the mayor-elect.

(3)

Payment of travel expenses for the mayor-elect and his staff personnel.

(4)

Payment of incidental office expenses, including postage, communications and supplies.

(d)

Time during which available to mayor-elect. The moneys authorized for use of the mayor-elect as provided in this section shall be available from the date of certification as provided in subsection (b) of this section until the mayor-elect officially assumes the office of mayor.

(e)

When fund not to be used. In the case where the mayor-elect is the incumbent mayor, there shall be no expenditures of funds for the provision of facilities to such incumbent pursuant to this section.

(f)

Appropriation. The amount of the funds appropriated for the mayor-elect transitional fund shall be that amount that is provided for such purpose in the mayor's office contingency fund account in the annual operating budget enacted for the fiscal year during which the election of a mayor is to occur. In the event that the mayor-elect is the incumbent mayor, such funds shall revert to the general fund.

(Ord. No. 92-081, § 1(20-5), 12-3-92)

Sec. 2-358. - Annual reconciliation of operating budget accounts.

Pursuant to the requirements of the City Charter, the city council shall enact an annual reconciliation of accounts ordinance (the "ordinance"). The ordinance shall provide for the transfers of funds between or among the accounts in the annual operating budget so that the accounts for the fiscal year that has ended may be reconciled. The purpose of the annual reconciliation of accounts ordinance is to approve transfers of funds that were necessitated during the course of the fiscal year that has ended but which were not separately approved by amendments to the annual operating budget ordinance for that fiscal year. To that end, the annual reconciliation of accounts ordinance shall incorporate the recommendations of the mayor through the office of the director of finance and shall be enacted by the council prior to March 1, of the year following the ending of the fiscal year on the prior June 30.

(Ord. No. 93-048, § 1, 7-8-93)

Sec. 2-359. - Authorization to invest funds in the Delaware local government investment pool.

(a)

The city treasurer, the director of finance and the city auditor shall be and are hereby authorized to take all actions necessary and proper when, as and if deemed appropriate from time to time to invest city funds the in the state local government investment pool authorized by 29 Del C. ch. 27.

(b)

The authorization to participate in the state local government investment pool as deemed appropriate by the city's financial officers set forth in subsection (a) authorizes, but does not obligate nor in any way require such participation.

(Ord. No. 93-081, § 1, 11-4-93)

Sec. 2-360. - Executive expenditure review board.

(a)

There is hereby established and authorized an executive expenditure review board. The members of the executive expenditure review board ("board") shall be the administrative assistant to the mayor, the city treasurer, the city auditor, the finance director, the budget director, and the chair of the city council's finance committee. In the event there is a vacancy in any such position, the duly designated person who is the acting officer in such position shall be a member of the board.

(b)

The board shall meet not less than quarterly for the purpose of reviewing the expenditures of each department of the city government. Such review shall be conducted as to all city funds in each department, whether general fund, commerce fund, or water and sewer fund. The board shall have the authority to advise and recommend that each department take such measures as the board deems appropriate to control expenditures in order to seek to assure that each such department will, in fact, maintain its expenditures within the limits delineated in the annual operating budget for the fiscal year in which the board is conducting such review and recommending such measures.

(Ord. No. 94-047, § 1, 7-14-94; Ord. No. 02-114, § 1, 11-21-02)

Sec. 2-361. - Expenditure controls.

Beginning in the fiscal year 2002, the following provisions shall be applicable to city departmental budget accounts and expenditures.

(1)

Each department head shall be required to monitor his or her total departmental character line item spending in all account groups, including personal services but excluding internal services and debt services to ensure that spending does not exceed the character line item limits of the budget. For the purpose of this section, "character line item" means the sum of line items in an account grouping on the general ledger report.

(2)

Any department which spends more than the amount of any character line item limit shall be required to request from the office of management and budget a transfer from other sources from within the same budget ordinance category sufficient to balance the character line item for the remainder of the fiscal year.

(3)

The budget director shall be authorized and required to monitor departmental expenditures by all departments in order to ensure compliance with subsections (1) and (2) hereof.

(4)

Based upon the monitoring of department expenditures pursuant to subsection (3) hereof, the budget director shall be required to bring a department's expenditures for review before the executive expenditure review board (the "board") in all instances in which a department's character line item spending is projected to exceed, or does in fact exceed, the character line item limit and advise the board as to whether that character line item can be balanced from other sources from within the same department's budget for the remainder of the fiscal year.

(5)

In any matter referred to it pursuant to subsection (4) hereof, the executive expenditure review board (the "board") may recommend to the mayor's office such transfers from the operating budget contingency fund as deemed necessary in order to balance over-expended character line items which cannot otherwise be balanced with any department's account for the remainder of the fiscal year, or the board may recommend that council take action by amendment to the fiscal year operating budget ordinance in order to transfer allocations between or among budget ordinance categories.

(6)

The budget director shall be required in a timely manner, to notify city council and the executive expenditure review board whenever there is a projected revenue shortfall of five percent or more of budgeted revenues in any fiscal year.

(7)

The accounting manager shall be required to submit to the city council and to the executive expenditure review board a monthly statement reflecting departmental expenditures to date for the current fiscal year and a monthly statement reflecting actual revenues received to date for the current fiscal year.

(Ord. No. 95-048(sub 1), § 1, 8-24-95 Ord. No. 02-114, § 2, 11-21-02)

Sec. 2-361.1. - Wilmington Economic and Financial Advisory Council (WEFAC).

The WEFAC as heretofore constituted shall continue with the composition of ten members appointed by the mayor to serve as economic and financial review and advisory council members. WEFAC membership shall include the director of finance, the chair of council's finance committee and the city treasurer. The WEFAC shall meet not less than quarterly and shall provide advice and assistance to the mayor and council. The WEFAC shall produce or cause to be produced periodic reports and shall provide critical oversight of revenue projections during each fiscal year as well as multi-year revenue projections for not less than five years beyond each current fiscal year. The WEFAC shall receive notice of all audits and an executive summary of the results of all audits, properly redacted to protect the anonymity of those named in the audit, and the WEFAC shall not participate in the audit process. The WEFAC may from time to time recommend budgetary and administrative changes as well as proposed city code amendments regarding economic and financial issues, fiscal controls and oversight.

(Ord. No. 03-059(sub 1), § 1, 9-22-03)

Section 2-362. - Limitation on participation in amnesty programs and city time-to-pay agreements.

(a)

Limitation on participation. No taxpayer who owes unpaid city real property taxes or city earned income taxes or net profits taxes and no city water and sewer customer of water and sewer services provided inside or outside the city and no person, corporation, firm or partnership or other legal entity ("person") of any kind who or which owes any other debt, fine, fee or other amount of money to the city shall be eligible more than once for participation in any city amnesty program or shall be permitted to enter into any time-to-pay agreement for scheduled payments of any delinquent amounts without payment of any and all applicable penalties and interest nor if any terms or conditions of any such amnesty program or time-to-pay agreement have been violated by such person. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to any person who has entered into or participated in any amnesty program or time-to-pay agreement with the city at any time, whether before or after March 1, 1996, in or under his, her or its current name or a previous name, or as any predecessor corporation, firm, partnership or other entity.

(b)

Violations and penalties. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of not less than $100.00.

(Ord. No. 96-027, § 1, 4-12-96)

Sec. 2-363. - Grant application proposals and approvals.

(a)

All city-sponsored grant applications or proposals for grant funds shall be approved by resolution of city council prior to submission of the same to the agency constituting the grantor reviewing the application or proposal for grant funds.

(b)

In the event of a severe time constraint, in any situation in which the city administrative office or department is required to file an application or proposal for grant funds prior to the next regular meeting of city council, or in any event, prior to the approval by resolution of council of such grant application or proposal, then and in that event, the administrative office or department of city government may provide notice to the president and members of council of the intent of the office or department to file the application for the specific grant or the proposal for grant funds. In such event, the administrative office or department shall submit the notice to council and seek council approval at the next regular meeting thereafter, ratifying the application or proposal that has been submitted.

(c)

The administrative office or department of city government that has submitted a grant application or proposal and has received notice of approval of the grant application or proposal for funding, shall promptly thereafter notify the president and members of council of such approval and determine if a city council committee review will be forthcoming.

(d)

All city administrative office and departmental personnel who administer grant applications shall meet on a regularly scheduled basis, not less than quarterly, to review and coordinate the overall grant application process for city government.

(Ord. No. 97-051, § 1, 7-10-97)

Sec. 2-364. - Monitoring of reports of non-city fund programs.

Any person acting on behalf of city government in city-initiated programs to whom is addressed a monitoring report relating to the performance of programs funded by non-city funds must provide a copy of each such report to each member of city council within 15 days of its receipt by that person. Copies of any reports dated 1997 and received by any such person prior to enactment of this section shall be provided immediately to each member of city council by the person to whom the monitoring report was addressed.

(Ord. No. 97-114, § 1, 1-8-98)

Sec. 2-365. - Fees for use of right-of-way pursuant to underground installation agreements.

(a)

Applicability. Underground cable installations in the public right-of-way have increased in recent years and the city council deems it necessary and proper to codify the fees for such use. The provisions of this section shall be applicable from the effective date of this section to all existing underground installation agreements for fiber optic cable in the public right-of-way and all such future agreements. Such fees have been anticipated in agreements entered into by companies and the city for use of the public right-of-way.

(b)

Annual fees. From May 1, 1998 and until revised by ordinance of council, the annual fee for underground fiber optic cable installed in the public right-of-way pursuant to agreement with the city shall be $0.50 per linear foot of such underground fiber optic cable installed in the public right-of-way. Such annual fees shall be paid on or before July 1 of each calendar year, commencing on or before July 1, 1998, and shall be equal to $0.50 per linear foot of cable occupying the city's right-of-way by each such company as of May 31 of each calendar year.

(c)

Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall be defined to mean:

(1)

"City" shall mean the City of Wilmington, Delaware, a home rule municipality.

(2)

"Company" shall mean each fiber optic cable company, its successors and assigns, operating pursuant to an agreement between itself and the city, pursuant to which it installs or has installed fiber optic cable in the city's public right-of-way.

(3)

"Public right-of-way" shall mean all of the public streets, alleys, highways and public thoroughfares of the city, as they exist as of May 1, 1998, or may hereafter be constructed, opened, laid out, or extended within the present boundaries of the city, or in such territory as may hereafter be added to, consolidated, or annexed to the city by ordinance of council.

(4)

"System" shall mean all of each such company's fiber optic cable installed underground pursuant to agreement with the city in the city's public right-of-way within the boundaries of the city.

(d)

Administrative easement fee. The administrative easement fee, which is a one-time fee for administrative costs incurred by the city when a company or other entity that is subject to the provisions of this section enters into an agreement with the city for use and occupancy of the city's public right-of-way, shall be $1,500.00. Such fee shall be payable to the city within 30 days following execution of the agreement and approval by the council and the mayor. The administrative easement fee shall be in effect and shall be applicable to all entities which have heretofore or hereafter enter into such agreements for the use and occupancy of the city's public right-of-way. The fee herein established shall be in effect until or unless amended by ordinance of council.

(Ord. No. 98-061, § 1, 6-4-98; Ord. No. 99-050, § 1, 6-3-99)

Cross reference— Cable communications, ch. 6; Streets, sidewalks and other public places, ch. 42.

Sec. 2-366. - Survivor's

educational fund.

There is hereby established a "survivor's educational fund." This fund has been created for the purpose of administering college scholarship funding to any child residing in the city who has lost a parent as a direct result of intentional violence that was committed on or after January 1, 1997.

(Ord. No. 00-014, § 1, 5-25-00)

Sec. 2-367. - Requirements for transfers of enterprise funds to the general fund.

(a)

Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish the minimum and maximum limits on transfers of funds that are in the two enterprise funds, comprised of the water and sewer fund and the commerce fund, to the city's general fund for annual operating budget purposes.

(b)

Limitations. The authorized minimum transfer to the general fund in any fiscal year from the enterprise funds, as defined, assuming that the total of enterprise funds has a surplus of at least one million dollars for any given fiscal year, shall be one million dollars. The maximum amount of any transfer to the general fund from the enterprise funds, as defined, for any given fiscal year shall be not more than ten percent of the city's overall annual budget for that fiscal year, comprised of the total of the general fund and the two enterprise funds, as defined.

(c)

Nonconforming transfers. Any transfer to the general fund from the enterprise funds, as defined, that is proposed and that is not in compliance with the requirements of this section shall first be recommended by the mayor and approved by a specific ordinance of city council, otherwise it shall be of no force and effect.

(Ord. No. 02-038, § 1, 4-18-02)

Sec. 2-368. - Allocation of grants.

Any grant applicant seeking funding from the city in an amount that exceeds $5,000.00 must agree to the following:

(1)

To submit a letter of request outlining the intended uses of the funds.

(2)

To submit adequate proof, as determined by the director of finance, that there are no delinquent fees, taxes or other monies that are owed to the city. No grant funds shall be disbursed by the city to any grantee until all delinquent fees, taxes or other monies owed to the city by such grantee have been paid in full, unless the applicant has a payment agreement with the city. No applicant shall be eligible for a grant who is delinquent in payments under a current payment agreement with the finance department's revenue enforcement division.

(3)

To identify a contact person of the applicant who can answer questions regarding information submitted on the application.

(4)

To submit to the city auditor any budget or financial statements (audited when available) and all required attachments thereto.

(5)

To return to the city any grant funds remaining as a direct result of the termination of all or part of the program/activity for which the city funding has been provided.

(6)

Not to dispose of any surplus funds without the prior written approval of the city department providing the grant program.

(7)

To submit to the city auditor and the department overseeing the grant program a brief quarterly report identifying how the program/activity met its goals and objectives and to provide a financial accounting of the grant program funds. Such reports must be submitted during the grant program and at the conclusion when all funds have been expended.

(8)

Grantee shall acknowledge, via signature, its understanding of and intent to comply with the provisions of this section.

(9)

Failure to comply with the provisions of this section may result in revocation of the grant.

(Ord. No. 02-014, § 1, 5-16-02)

Secs. 2-369—2-375. - Reserved.