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Township of West Goshen, PA
Chester County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of West Goshen 1-3-1967 by Ord. No. 1-1967. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The office of Township Manager is hereby created by the Township of West Goshen.
B. 
Throughout this chapter, reference to the masculine pronoun "he" shall be construed to include the female pronoun "she."
[Added 12-13-1994 by Ord. No. 6-1994]
The Township Manager shall be appointed for an indefinite term by a majority of all members of the Board of Supervisors and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Supervisors and shall be subject to removal by the Supervisors by majority vote.
The Township Manager shall be chosen solely on the basis of his executive and administrative abilities, with special reference to the duties of his office as herein outlined. He need not be a resident of the township or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the time of his appointment, but during the tenure of his office he may reside outside the township only with the approval of the Board of Supervisors. In the event that the Supervisors fail within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days after the appointment, to approve the Manager's residence outside the township, he must immediately become and, during his tenure, remain a resident of the township.
[Amended 4-5-1967 by Ord. No. 2-1967]
Before entering upon his duties, the Manager shall give a bond to the township with approved surety to be approved by the Board of Supervisors in the sum of $10,000, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties, the premium for said bond to be paid by the township.
[Amended 3-5-1970 by Ord. No. 3-1970;12-28-1982 by Ord. No. 9-1982]
The annual salary of the Township Manager shall be fixed annually by resolution of the Supervisors and shall be set forth in the budget, the actual amount to be as fixed in the budget at the beginning of the year or by subsequent resolution of the Supervisors in the event that the Manager is hired after the adoption of the budget. In the event of the dismissal or resignation of the Manager at the request of the Supervisors, the Manager shall be entitled to severance pay computed as follows: one weeks' pay for each full year's service. Such severance pay shall be in addition to any earned vacation due or pay in lieu of such vacation. In like manner, the Supervisors shall annually fix the salary to be paid the Assistant Township Manager in accordance with the procedure set by this section.
A. 
The Township Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the township, and he shall be responsible to the Board of Supervisors as a whole for the proper and efficient administration of the affairs of the township. The powers and duties of administration of all township business shall be vested in the Township Manager, except for any legislative powers and duties, and all duties hereby delegated shall be subject to recall at any time by the Board of Supervisors. This delegation shall not include any powers and duties expressly imposed or conferred by statute upon other township officers.
B. 
Subject to the general supervisory and recall powers of the Board of Supervisors and its legislative discretion to amend the provisions of this chapter, the Township Manager's powers and duties shall include the following:
[Amended 12-13-1994 by Ord. No. 6-1994]
(1) 
Supervise and be responsible for the activities of all municipal departments and their employees; provided that the Chief of Police shall have and retain direct supervisory control over the operations of the Police Department and all police officers serving under the Chief and shall report directly to the Board of Supervisors. As to all municipal departments, the Township Manager shall have and retain supervisory responsibility for the administration of all fiscal matters pertaining to all municipal departments without exception.
[Amended 7-25-2001 by Ord. No. 9-2001; 4-20-2021 by Ord. No. 5-2021]
(2) 
Hire and promote and, when necessary or appropriate, discipline, demote, suspend or discharge any township employee, except uniformed members of the Police Department, whose terms of employment, suspension and termination shall be subject to the direct supervisory authority of the Board of Supervisors, subject to provisions of the Pennsylvania Police Tenure Act[1] and any other applicable statutes and laws of the commonwealth. All such administrative actions taken by the Manager shall be promptly reported to the Board of Supervisors in writing.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 811 et seq.
(3) 
He shall have the power to fix wages and salaries of all personnel under his supervision, within a range previously determined by the Board of Supervisors.
(4) 
He shall prepare and submit to the Board of Supervisors before the close of each fiscal year a budget for the next fiscal year and an explanatory budget message. In preparing the budget, the Manager or an officer designated by him shall obtain from the head of each department, agency or board or any qualified officer thereof estimates of revenues and expenditures and such other supporting data as he requires. The Manager shall review such estimates and may revise them before submitting the budget to the Board of Supervisors.
(5) 
He shall be responsible for the administration of the budget after its adoption by the Board of Supervisors.
(6) 
He shall, in conjunction with the preparation of the yearly budget, develop long-range fiscal plans for the municipality, such plans to be presented annually to the Board of Supervisors for its review and adoption.
(7) 
He shall hold such other municipal offices and head such municipal departments as the Board of Supervisors may from time to time direct.
(8) 
He shall attend all meetings of the Board of Supervisors and its committees with the right to take part in the discussions, and he shall receive notice of all special meetings of the Board of Supervisors and its committees.
(9) 
He shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of the Board of Supervisors and supply facts pertinent thereto.
(10) 
He shall keep the Board of Supervisors informed as to the conduct of township affairs; submit periodic reports on the condition of the township finances and such other reports as the Board of Supervisors requests; and make such recommendations to the Board of Supervisors as he deems advisable.
(11) 
He shall submit to the Board of Supervisors, as soon as possible after the close of the fiscal year, a complete report on the finances and the administrative activities of the township for the preceding year.
(12) 
He shall see that the provisions of all franchises, leases, permits and privileges granted by the township are observed.
(13) 
He may employ, by and with the approval of the Board of Supervisors, experts and consultants to perform work and to advise in connection with any of the functions of the township.
(14) 
He shall attend to the letting of contracts in due form of law, and he shall supervise the performance and faithful execution of the same except insofar as such duties are expressly imposed by statute upon some other township officer.
(15) 
He shall see that all money owed the township is promptly paid and that proper proceedings are taken for the security and collection of all the township's claims.
(16) 
He shall be the purchasing officer of the township. He shall purchase, in accordance with the provisions of the Township Code, all supplies and equipment for the agencies, boards, departments and other offices of the township. He shall keep an account of all purchases and shall, from time to time or when directed by the Board of Supervisors, make a full written report thereof. He shall also issue rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors, governing the procurement of all municipal supplies and equipment.
(17) 
All complaints regarding township services shall be referred to the office of the Manager. He or an officer designated by him shall investigate and dispose of such complaints.
Neither the Board of Supervisors, its members nor its committees shall dictate or influence or attempt to dictate or influence the hiring of any person to or his discharge from municipal employment by the Manager or in any manner take part in the hiring, suspending or discharging of employees in the administrative service of the township, except as required by any civil service provision of state law and except for the appointing or discharging of all department heads and other employees whose appointments by the Board of Supervisors are provided for in the ordinances of the township; provided, however, that the general supervision of such department heads and employees shall be the duty of the Township Manager. Other than for the purposes of inquiry, the Board of Supervisors or any of its members or any of the committees or their members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the Township Manager, and neither the Board of Supervisors nor any of its members nor any of its committees or their members shall give orders, publicly or privately, to any subordinate of the Manager.
If the Manager becomes ill or needs to be absent from the township, the Assistant Manager shall perform the duties of the Manager during his absence or disability.