[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Catasauqua as indicated article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-7-1962 (Ch. I, Secs. 11 to 21, of the 1962 Code)]
Regular meetings of the Council of the Borough
of Catasauqua shall be held in the Municipal Building, on the first
Monday of each month, at 7:30 p.m. Provided, such time shall be Eastern
Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Saving Time, as the case may be,
depending upon the standard of time generally observed in the Borough
at the time. Provided further, in any month when a legal holiday shall
fall on the first Monday, the regular meeting of the Council shall
be held on the first Tuesday of such month, at the time and place
herein prescribed.
Special meetings of the Council may be called
by the President of the Council at his discretion and shall be called
by him at the written request of any two or more members of the Council.
All members of the Council shall have at least 20 hours' notice of
any special meetings which may be given verbally or in writing. The
notice of such meeting is to state whether the meeting is to be for
general or special purposes, and, if the meeting is to be for special
purposes, the notice shall contain a general statement of the nature
of the business to be transacted. The presence of any member at a
special meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice.
The Council may adjourn a meeting to any time
agreed upon by a majority of the members present at such meeting,
and, a quorum being present thereat, the said adjourned meeting may
proceed to consider any general business in the case of an adjourned
regular meeting, or special business for which the meeting was called,
in the case of an adjourned special meeting.
At the biennial organization meeting of Council,
the Council shall, as provided by law, elect a President of Council
and a Vice President of Council. In case of the absence of the President
of Council from any meeting thereof, the Vice President may preside
over such meeting, and, in case of the absence of the President of
Council from the Borough, or his incapacity, the Vice President may,
in any situation that he deems necessitates the same, call a special
meeting of the Council.
[Amended 11-2-1981]
A.
Within 15 days after the biennial organization of
Council, the President shall announce his appointments of members
of the standing committees of Council. Such members shall, so long
as they remain members of Council, retain such committee appointments
until successors thereto shall have been appointed following the succeeding
biennial meeting of Council, except that, in any case, the President
of Council, at any time, in his discretion, may remove any member
from any committee or make changes in committee appointments.
B.
All bills for material furnished or for labor done
which are less than $100 shall be signed by the Manager and all bills
over $100 shall be signed by the Central Government Committee. All
petitions, resolutions and other communications presented to the Council
shall be referred to the proper committee for consideration, unless
otherwise ordered by a 2/3 vote of the members present.
[Amended by 12-6-1965; 1-9-1978 by Res. No.
1-78; 1-5-1982 by Res. No. 1-82; 1-7-2002 by Res. No. 3-02]
Every standing committee shall consist of three
members, the first named thereto to act as chairman and the second
as vice chairman, the latter to serve as chairman in the absence or
inability of the chairman to act. The standing committees shall be
as follows: General Government Committee, Public Safety Committee,
Public Utilities Committee (formerly the Public Works Committee),
Planning and Zoning Committee, Recreation, and Public Works Committee
(formerly Streets/Mechanical Committee).
Special committees may be appointed as occasion
may require, by the President of Council, or otherwise if so directed
by Council.
The order of business at the meetings of the
Council shall be as follows, except that, at any meeting, the Council,
on motion, may agree to such changes and modifications of such order
of business for such meeting as the situation may warrant:
A.
Call to order.
B.
Reading of the minutes of the last preceding regular
and special meetings. (The name of the presiding officer and of each
member of the Council present shall appear upon the minutes.)
C.
Reports of the Mayor, Treasurer and any other officers
of the Borough.
D.
Reports of standing committees, in the order of their
appointment.
E.
Reports of special committees, in the order of their
appointment.
F.
Presentation of petitions, memorials or remonstrances.
G.
Business left unfinished at previous meetings.
H.
New business.
Any ordinance or resolution may be passed finally
at the meeting at which it is first introduced, with the exception
of those ordinances which, by law, must be considered at more than
one meeting, or which must be introduced at one meeting and passed
finally at a subsequent meeting.
In the conduct of the meetings of the Council,
the following rules of order shall apply:
A.
Every member, when speaking, shall respectfully address
the chair, and when called to order by him or by any member of the
Council shall take his seat until such point of order shall have been
decided.
B.
No member shall speak more than twice upon any question
open for discussion, without the unanimous consent of the Council.
C.
The President of Council may, on his own motion, enter
into the discussion of any question, after appointing the Vice President
of Council, or another member thereof in the absence of the Vice President,
to preside during the pendency of the question.
D.
In the vote on any question before the Council, the
yeas and nays may be demanded by any member or ordered by the presiding
officer, in which case the names of the members shall be called alphabetically.
E.
When a motion shall have been made and seconded, it
shall be reduced to writing, if desired by the presiding officer or
any member, and then read by the Secretary before being debated.
F.
No member shall leave his seat during the session
without the consent of the presiding officer, nor shall any member
engage in conversation with another member during the transaction
of business.
G.
When a question has been voted upon and decided, it
shall be in order for any two members of the majority, or, when Council
has been divided equally, for any two members upon either side of
the question, to move for a reconsideration of the question, but such
reconsideration shall not be in order unless moved at the same or
the next regular meeting of the Council.
H.
The rules of parliamentary procedure comprised in
Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the meetings of the Borough Council
in all situations in which such rules are applicable and in which
they are not inconsistent with the law or anything in these bylaws.
These bylaws or any provision thereof may be
amended, modified, added to or repealed by a majority vote of the
members of Council present at any regular meeting of the Council or
at any special meeting called for the purpose. Provided, no such change
shall be effective until the following regular meeting of the Council.
Provided further, no rule shall be suspended except with the consent
of 2/3 of the members present.
[Adopted 7-8-2013 by Res. No. 12-13]
The Borough Council hereby authorizes the use of a telecommunication
conference call for attendance of Council members at a public meeting
under the following conditions:
A.
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) must be able to speak
and hear comments and votes of members of Council who are physically
present or also using a telecommunication device;
B.
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) must be able to hear
public comments;
C.
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) must be able to hear
the comments and votes of Council members who are not physically present
at the meeting;
D.
The telecommunication device must allow the transmission and receipt
of sound just as though the absent Councilperson were present at the
meeting; and
E.
The absent Councilperson (or Councilpersons) during an executive
session must follow all rules and regulations that would apply if
such person (or persons) were physically present at the meeting. (The
absent Councilperson must assure that the executive session is private
and not overheard by third parties.)
At the start of each regular or special meeting, a Councilperson who is present by telecommunication device, as set forth in § 15-12 above, shall not count towards the establishment of a quorum. If a quorum of members is physically present at the beginning of the meeting and is thereafter lost for whatever reason, the person participating by telecommunication device shall thereafter count in determination of a quorum.
Council hereby authorizes participation by telecommunication
devices for one or more of the following reasons for physical absence:
