The powers, composition, terms, election, eligibility, authority, prohibitions and other matters concerning the elected Borough Council are set forth in Article II of the Home Rule Charter for the Borough of Malvern.
Each Borough Council member and the Mayor shall receive a salary of $1,200 per year, payable in quarterly installments. This salary may be changed as the Borough Council shall from time to time ordain in accordance with Sections 207 and 405 of the Home Rule Charter. This salary shall be prorated for any partial years served. The Council and the Mayor shall be entitled to have necessary business expenses paid by the Borough. To receive such reimbursement, itemized accounts, together with receipts, shall be submitted to Borough Council.
To protect the Borough Council and the Mayor from personal liability in the performance of their duties, indemnification and personal liability insurance shall be provided by the Borough. The amounts and limits of said insurance will be determined by the Borough Council. Each Council person and the Mayor shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorney's fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection with any adverse action by reason of the fact that he/she is or was a Council member or Mayor, if they acted in good faith and in a manner he/she reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the Borough and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful.
A. 
The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent shall not of itself create a presumption that the Council member or Mayor did not act in good faith and in a manner which he/she reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the Borough and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his/her conduct was unlawful.
B. 
To the extent that the Council member or Mayor has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any adverse action, he/she shall be indemnified against expenses, including attorney's fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection therewith as of right. In all other instances, indemnification should be made by the Borough only as authorized in a specific case upon a determination that the indemnification is proper in the circumstances because he/she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth above. Such determination shall be made by the Borough Council by a majority vote of quorum consisting of Council members who are not parties to the adverse action or, if such quorum is not obtainable or if a disinterested quorum of the Council so directs, by an independent legal counsel in a written opinion.
C. 
Expenses incurred in defending a civil or criminal action suit or proceeding shall be paid by the Borough in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding as authorized by the Borough Council in specific case upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the Council member or Mayor to repay such an amount, unless it shall ultimately be determined that he/she is entitled to be indemnified by the Borough as provided herein.
D. 
The indemnification provided by this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled by any contract or as a matter of law.
E. 
The indemnification shall continue as to such person who has ceased to be a Council member or Mayor and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such person.
The Borough Council shall elect a President and Vice President as provided in Section 212 of the Home Rule Charter. The Mayor shall preside at each reorganization meeting until the Council has a President and Vice President.
A. 
The procedure at the reorganization meeting shall be for the Mayor to administer the oath of office to first any reelected members and then to newly elected members of the Borough Council. The Mayor will then open the floor for nominations for President of Council. Council members may nominate any one of their members, including themselves; however, each nomination will require a second. To be considered, each person nominated must accept the nomination, and, after all nominations have been made, the Mayor shall announce that nominations are closed and call for a vote. The Borough Secretary will poll the Council by roll call vote, and each member will announce the name for which they are casting their ballot. Election of the President of Council shall be by majority vote of Council members present, unless after three ballots no member has obtained a majority vote. A plurality vote will be sufficient on the fourth ballot if necessary. The procedure will be repeated for Vice President of Council.
B. 
The President, at the stated hour for each meeting, shall call the meeting to order, he/she shall preserve order and decorum, decide all questions of order and conduct the proceedings of the meeting in accordance with parliamentary rules contained herein and in Robert's Rules of Order, unless otherwise provided by statute.
C. 
If the President is absent at the designated time for any meeting, the Vice President shall call the meeting to order and preside.
D. 
In the absence of the President and the Vice President, the Borough Council shall elect a President Pro Tem, who shall have all the powers of the President.
E. 
The President of the Borough Council shall have the powers and duties as provided in Section 213 of the Home Rule Charter and, as such, will coordinate with the Borough Manager the activities of the Borough Council.
F. 
The Mayor shall have the powers and duties as provided in Section 401 of the Home Rule Charter and as further defined herein.
(1) 
The Mayor shall select and submit to the Council for consideration and approval candidates for the position of the Chief of Police.
(2) 
Borough Council approval of candidates nominated by the Mayor may be made contingent on the candidates' successful completion of any or all of the following: MPOETC certification, physical examination, psychological examination, drug screening and polygraph examination.
(3) 
In accord with the Home Rule Charter and this Administrative Code, the Mayor, through the Police Chief, shall direct the administration of the Police Department. Accordingly, the Mayor shall have the authority to establish rules, regulations and procedures for the Police Department. The Mayor shall have the authority, which may be delegated to the Police Chief, to take disciplinary action against police officers up to and including suspension in accord with departmental rules, regulations and labor contracts. In addition, the Mayor may recommend termination of a police officer for just cause in compliance with the Malvern Civil Service Regulations, departmental regulations and labor contracts and subject to confirmation by the Borough Council at the next regularly scheduled Borough Council meeting following receipt of the Mayor's written recommendation to terminate.
(4) 
In the case of a legal dispute between the Mayor and Council, or in any other case where representation of the Mayor and Council by the Borough's Solicitor would create a conflict of interest for the Borough's Solicitor, the Mayor is authorized to employ outside counsel at the Borough's expense, in an amount not to exceed $5,000.
Regular public meetings of the Borough Council shall be held in the Malvern Borough Hall or at such location as may be designated by the Council. Adjourned and special meetings shall be called in compliance with Section 214 of the Home Rule Charter.
Standing and ad hoc committees of the Borough Council may be established by the President of the Borough Council or by an affirmative vote of the Borough Council.
Minutes of all voting meetings of the Borough Council and committees of the Borough Council shall be kept. Minutes shall consist of a record of any vote or official action taken by the Borough Council or its committees. Minutes shall indicate the legislation, action or recommendation proposed, the action taken and the results of the vote, including the vote of each participant in a roll call vote when called for. Minutes shall not contain a verbatim record of any proceeding, except in a public hearing where testimony is taken under oath or required by the Home Rule Charter or other laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States.