Section 10.06.970 - Rules of construction and interpretationUnless a provision or the context otherwise requires, the following general provisions and rules of construction govern this chapter:
(1) title, chapter, article, and section headings do not affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of this chapter;(2) when, by the provisions of this chapter, a power is granted to, or a duty imposed upon, a public officer, the power may be exercised or the duty performed by a deputy of the officer or by a person authorized, under law, by the officer, unless this chapter expressly provides otherwise;(3) when a notice, report, statement, or record is required or authorized by this chapter, it shall be made in writing in a manner reasonably calculated to communicate the notice, report, statement, or record to the recipient;(4) a reference in this chapter to mailing means first-class mail, postage prepaid, unless certified mail is specified; certified mail includes registered mail;(5) subject to a specific accounting treatment required by a particular section of this chapter, (A) references in this chapter to financial statements, balance sheets, income statements, and statements of changes in financial position of a corporation and references to assets, liabilities, earnings, retained earnings, and similar accounting items of a corporation mean financial statements or items prepared fairly and reasonably to present the purported matters;(B) financial statements prepared or determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles then applicable are fair and reasonable;(C) references in this chapter to financial statements mean, in the case of a corporation that has subsidiaries, consolidated statements of the corporation and its subsidiaries, and all references to accounting items mean items determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with consolidated financial statements;(6) a reference in this chapter to the time a notice is given or sent means, unless otherwise expressly provided, the time a written notice by mail is deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid; or the time any other written notice is personally delivered to the recipient or is delivered to a common carrier for transmission, or actually transmitted by electronic means to the recipient by the person giving the notice; or the time an oral notice is communicated in person or by electronic means to the recipient or to a person at the office of the recipient whom the person giving the notice has reason to believe will promptly communicate it to the recipient;(7) when reference is made to any portion of this chapter or of any other law of this state, the reference applies to all amendments and additions;(8) "shall" is mandatory, "may" is permissive, and "may not" is prohibitory.