Emmitsburg:
The Municipal Corporation
Joseph
S. Welty
Part 2
The first major supplement to
the town's charter came with passage of Chapter 107 of
the 1831 Session of the General Assembly. By this act,
the commissioners were empowered to pass ordinances to
prevent introduction of contagious diseases; to pave and
keep in repair side or foot walks; to regulate party
walls and partition fences; to provide for, regulate,
and fix rates for sweeping or burning of chimneys; to
regulate and keep in repair all streets and alleys; to
restrain or regulate gaming; to provide for regulating,
licensing, or restraining of theatrical or other public
exhibitions and amusements; to enact by-laws for the
prevention and extinguishment of fires; to regulate and
prevent dogs from running at large, and to tax them; to
prevent hogs and horses from running at large; to punish
corporally any servant or slave violating town
ordinances unless their master or mistress pays the
fine; to collect taxes at the rate of not more than $.20
per hundred dollars of taxable property, and to make a
new assessment in this connection as often as needed;
and, finally, to pass ordinances to carry these powers
into effect.
In addition to these new powers,
the commissioners were authorized to appoint a constable
to enforce the ordinances and to appoint such other
corporate officers as may be needed. The burgess was
appointed a justice of the peace within the town limits
by virtue of his office with all jurisdiction and power
accompanying the office except for the collection of
small debts. He was charged with faithful execution of
the ordinances and he was to report the condition of the
town, financial and otherwise, to the commissioners.
Chapter 222 of the 1833 Session
of the General Assembly provided that, in the case of
death, resignation, disqualification, or removal from
the town limits of the burgess, the commissioners shall
elect a suitable person to fill the office until the
next election.
The government of the Town of
Emmitsburg ran into difficulties in April 1843. Chapter
270 of the 1843 Session of the General Assembly
indicates that no election was held in Emmitsburg that
month as was required under the original act
incorporating the town. Chapter 270 directed that an
election be held on the first Monday of May 1844 for
burgess and commissioners of the town. A voter was
required to be a resident for a full twelve months
preceding the election instead of the six months
required in the earlier act. In addition, this act
changed the voting day to the first Monday in May.
This election, however, involved
much more than an election of town officials, for the
very existence of Emmitsburg as a separate corporate
entity was put to question. The act stated as follows:
"That the free white male citizens of Emmitsburg
aforesaid be authorized to elect, provided, a majority
of the voters at the first election held under this law,
shall signify their consent to the incorporation of said
town, and for the purposes of ascertaining whether a
majority of the votes of said town are in favor of this
act, the judge holding said election shall inquire of
each voter, as he may come to cast his ballot, whether
he is for or against the incorporation of said town, and
shall make a return of the respective number of votes
cast for or against and if a majority of voters shall
declare themselves in favor of this act, then this act
shall have full force and effect; or otherwise be null
and void, a burgess and six commissioners for the said
town."
An election must have been held
and the corporation approved because later legislation
speaks of Emmitsburg as if it had been constantly and
without interruption a corporate entity. The very next
act passed by the General Assembly affecting Emmitsburg
gave the "burgess and commissioners of the town of
Emmitsburg" power at their discretion to purchase
or build an engine house, a fire engine, and other
apparatus for use in the town. Acts subsequent to this
also recognize the corporate status of the town. Thus,
it appears that the referendum on continued
incorporation was approved.
An act was passed in 1954 which
repealed many of the acts passed by the General Assembly
prior to that time, most notably the original act
incorporating the town. This act did not eliminate
Emmitsburg as a corporate entity, but was, more than
anything, an updated version of the charter for the
town, merging the original charter with the many
amendments made to that date. However, this act also
added certain provisions to the charter.
For instance, one of the
provisions of the new charter allowed the corporation to
own property, but this particular power was limited to a
value ceiling of $10,000. In addition, a blanket
approval was given by the General Assembly to all acts
and proceedings taken by the "Burgess and
Commissioners of Emmitsburg" pursuant to the
authority vested in them by the original incorporating
act and all amendments thereto, and those acts were made
binding in law.
As far as I can tell, this seems
to be the first time that the burgess was given any
power of veto over actions taken by the commissioners.
The original incorporating act did provide that all
ordinances and by-laws of the corporation were to be
signed by the burgess but that could have been for many
reasons, particularly to safeguard proper procedure in
the passage of ordinances.
However, nothing in the wording
of the original act indicates that the burgess could
prevent an ordinance from becoming effective by refusing
to sign it, as long as passage of the ordinance by the
commissioners was regular in procedure. There is no way
to tell whether this question was ever tested in
Emmitsburg since I did not have access to town minutes
for meetings held prior to 1878. However, the new act
was more precise in its wording and provided as follows:
"And they [the commissioners] shall have all power
and authority to enact and pass, subject to approval of
the Burgess, all laws and ordinances necessary to
preserve the peace and good order of the town, to
preserve the health thereof."
Additional power was given to
the town for the purpose of installing and maintaining
sidewalks. The earlier charter authorized the burgess
and commissioners to provide for streets, alleys,
footways, and sidewalks. Under the new charter, the
burgess and commissioners were given authority to set
the standards for sidewalks and to require the property
owners to do the work. If a property owner refused, the
town could authorize the work at the owner's expense.
If the owner refused to pay the
bill, the commissioners were given power to enforce
payment by distress if necessary. Town minutes as early
as September 9, 1890, indicate that the commissioners
were well aware of their powers in this particular area
and that they asserted this authority. On September 9,
1890, seventeen property owners, including
St. Euphemia's School, were directed to repair or make
certain alterations to their sidewalks.
Another provision provided for
the contingency that the town might miss another
election, as it had in the past. It provided
specifically that lack of an election on the proper date
would not affect the power of the town to hold an
election or to continue as a corporation. In case an
election was not held on the proper date, the incumbent
burgess and commissioners held office until an election
was held. An interesting provision of this charter
allows the burgess to act as a justice of the peace with
respect to violations of the corporation's by-laws and
ordinances. He was given power to issue warrants, try
cases, impose penalties and fines for violation, and
direct incarceration if the fines were not paid.
In looking over the docket of
the cases of the burgess in the only volume I could find
in the town office, I found that, at least sporadically
in the town's history, the burgess took his duty as
enforcer of the town's ordinances very seriously. The
docket indicates that for the years between 1911 and
1937, the burgess heard approximately 287 cases
involving violations of the town's ordinances. Of the
287 cases heard during that period, and of which we have
written records, it appears that the burgess was
diligent in not only hearing cases but also in finding
for conviction of ordinance violation.
During this period of time the
various burgesses rendered 276 decisions for conviction,
which, for those not mathematically inclined, amounts to
a conviction rate of over 96 per cent. In many of the
cases heard, a guilty plea was entered by the defendant.
The town charter was not amended
or changed substantially until 1908 when the burgess and
commissioners were authorized "to borrow money
necessary for the improvements of streets, alleys, and
crossings of said town, not exceeding the sum of
twenty-five hundred ($2,500.00) dollars, and to issue
bonds therefore." A bond issue was discussed
specifically by the Burgess and Commissioners on March
2, 1908.
That night it was resolved that
the town seek authority to borrow this amount from the
General Assembly. The General Assembly approved the bond
issue, so long as it was approved by town voters. It was
reported to the commissioners that a referendum on the
bond issue was held on September 25, 1916, and that it
had been approved, 81 to 21. Town minutes indicate that
the money raised by the bonds was used to contribute
toward payment of work performed by the State Roads
Commission in paving Frederick Street from the fountain
on the square to town limits, and Gettysburg Street from
the fountain on the square to the corporate limits.
The next major revision of the
town charter came about in 1910. One can find several
references to the "New Charter" in the town
minutes. For instance, on May 13, 1910, the first
ordinance was passed under the "New Charter"
setting monthly board meetings for 8:00 to 9:00 P.M.
every second Tuesday in each month, and opening the
meetings to the general public. On May 16, 1910, the
board discussed the possibility of starting a new
ordinance book which would contain the "New
Charter" and the town ordinances. On December 13,
1910, the Commissioners entered into a contract with E.
H. Rowe "to codify the charter and rewrite same in
new book rewrite the ordinances and to have $25.00 for
services of same."
The town still has in its
possession the handwritten copy of "Charter of the
town of Emmitsburg in Frederick County, Maryland,
Codified and Corrected to December 15, 1910 for the
Burgess and Commissioners of Emmitsburg by Edward H.
Rowe." This charter contained the most
comprehensive powers clause for the municipal
corporation up to that time. It gives the commissioners
power to tax and regulate use and construction of
electrical plants, electrical wires, telegraph and
telephone lines, gas pipes, electric light conduits,
railroad tracks, and drains. Veto power is specifically
granted to the burgess, and the commissioners are
required to muster a 100 percent vote in order to
override a burgess' veto.
The power to regulate utilities,
however, had been exercised by the burgess and
commissioners prior to this time. On February 26, 1903,
the town minutes indicate that Mr. Uhler and Mr. Knode
appeared before the board "to advocate the placing
of Telephone Poles on the Main Street." The result
of that meeting was passage of Ordinance No. 104 (a copy
of which I have been unable to find), which allowed for
and regulated the placing of telephone or telegraph
poles and wires in the streets or alleys of the town.
The ordinance, according to town minutes, specifically
prohibited poles on the main street of the town.
After passage of the charter
amendments, town minutes from November 14, 1911, also
indicate that the town taxed the C&P Telephone
Company on the basis of telephone and telegraph poles it
owned within corporate limits. The commissioners also
asserted their power when approached for permission to
construct facilities for the production and transmission
of electric heat, light, and power. The franchise in the
town was granted to B. M. Kershner, his heirs and
assigns, and later to the Emmitsburg Electric Company.
The ordinance in each case
provides as follows: "But the right to control and
determine the location of any or all poles, lines,
wires, cables, fixtures and appliances is hereby
specially reserved to the Burgess and Commissioners of
said town of Emmitsburg, Maryland."
Anyone aware of recent events in
Frederick City knows that the municipal corporation is
now wrestling with the problem of beautifying its main
street by burying its utilities underground. We are
fortunate in that our previous municipal administrations
had the foresight to restrict utilities, where possible,
to the alleys and away from the main streets, thus
saving us from the cost and disruption of rectifying
this unsightly problem.
The next act passed by the
General Assembly on behalf of this municipality was to
again authorize the corporation to issue a bond for
street improvement. Town counsel Vincent Sebold was
directed by the Board of Commissioners "to draft a
bill and have the same passed by the Session of the
Legislature for 1918 to empower the Burgess and Board of
Commissioners to have the right to issue another bond to
not exceed $7,500.00." On July 19, 1920, an
ordinance was passed by the Board of Commissioners in
response to a proposal from the State Roads Commission
to pave some streets in Emmitsburg only on the condition
that the town make a substantial contribution to the
project. This ordinance submitted to the town voters the
question of whether or not to issue these bonds. These
street improvement bonds were issued after a visit to
the governor of Maryland by Mrs. Andrew Annan. In
response, the governor wrote her a letter which was
entered into the town minutes on June 1, 1922:
"Mrs. Andrew A. Annan
Emmitsburg, Maryland
Dear Mrs. Annan,
I had a long talk with Mr.
Mackall yesterday about the Emmitsburg Street. It is
pretty difficult to work out anything, because of the
fact that the State Roads Commission has already built
more streets in Emmitsburg than any other town of the
State.
I am most anxious to see
something more done, however, and after a great deal of
discussion as to the possible ways, Mr. Mackall said
that the town of Emmitsburg had authorized $7,500 bonds
for street paving purposes, of which $6,500 was, he
thought, unissued. If the town will issue these bonds
and contribute this amount of money, then the State
Roads Commission will contribute the balance of the cost
of paving with concrete the street indicated on the
little map you left with me, as being 5/10th miles in
length. The total cost, Mr. Mackall said, would be
something over $12,000.
The result of this would be that
city would pay half and the State half. If this is done,
then there will be no town in the whole state for which
the State Roads Commission had done anything like as
much in street paving as it will be doing for
Emmitsburg, and Mr. Mackall feels that it would simply
not be possible for the State to do anything more. Do
you think this plan could be worked out?
With kindest regards, I am Very
Truly Yours
Albert C. Ritchie Governor"
That very night the state's
offer was accepted. Another agreement was later reached
between the town and the State Roads Commission whereby
the town would contribute $7,500 to have the Roads
Commission pave West Main Street from the fountain on
the square to the town limits.
Read
Part 1,
3
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