Editor's Note: This ordinance also noted that it replaces Art. VI with the text of the Pennsylvania Model Civil Service Rules. Complete copies of this ordinance and the 2009 language are on file in the Township offices.
No person appointed to a position in the Police Department pursuant
to this chapter may be suspended without pay or removed and no person
promoted in rank pursuant to this chapter may be reduced in rank except
for the following reasons:
Physical or mental disability affecting the officer's ability to
continue in service, in which case the officer shall receive an honorable
discharge from service;
No officer shall be removed for religious, racial or political reasons.
A statement of any charges made against any officer so employed shall
be furnished to the officer within five days after those charges have
been adopted by the appointing authority.
If for reasons of economy or other reasons, it shall be deemed necessary
by the Township to reduce the number of full-time police officers
in the Department, then the Township shall apply the following procedure:
If there are any employees eligible for retirement under the terms
of any retirement or pension law, then such reductions in numbers
shall be made by retirement of such employees starting with the oldest
employee and following in order of age respectively;
If the number of full-time police officers eligible for retirement
is insufficient to effect the necessary reductions in numbers, or
if there are no persons eligible for retirement, or if no retirement
or pension fund exists, then the reductions shall be effected by furloughing
the person or persons, including probationers, last appointed to the
force.
Such removal shall be accomplished by furloughing in numerical order
commencing with the person last appointed until such reduction has
been accomplished. In the event that the appointing authority decides
to increase the size of the Police Department, the furloughed officers
shall be reinstated in order of their seniority in the Department
if the furloughed officer accepts reinstatement in writing within
30 days of receiving notice of the opening. These reduction in force
provisions are not applicable to the Chief of Police.
Whenever a police officer is suspended without pay, removed or reduced in rank, the specific charges warranting such actions shall be stated in writing by the appointing authority. The charges shall be stated clearly and in sufficient detail to enable the officer to understand the charges and to allow the officer an opportunity to respond to those charges. The charges shall specify the subsection of § 32-46 which provides the basis for the disciplinary action as well as an explanation of the factual circumstances upon which the appointing authority relied in finding a violation of § 32-46.
Within five days after the appointing authority has voted to impose
the disciplinary action, a written statement of the charges shall
be delivered to the officer either by personal service or by certified
and registered mail.
In addition, the charges shall notify the officer of the right to appeal under § 32-49 of this chapter. A copy of the statement of charges shall also be served upon the members of the Civil Service Commission.
The officer who has been suspended, removed or reduced in rank may
appeal the decision of the appointing authority by written notice
to the Secretary of the Commission at 2325 Darby Road, Haverford,
Pennsylvania 19083-2251, requesting a hearing. This request shall
be received by the Commission within 10 days after the officer received
notice of the discipline. The officer may make written answers to
any charges filed not later than the date fixed for the hearing. Failure
of the officer to provide written answers to any of the charges shall
not be deemed an admission by the officer.
The Commission shall schedule a hearing within 10 days from the officer's
written request for a hearing, unless continued by the Commission
for cause at the request of the Commission, the appointing authority
or the officer. At any such hearing, the officer against whom the
charges have been made may be present and represented by counsel,
may call witnesses and present testimony and documentation in his
defense. The Township may also be represented by counsel, call witnesses
and present evidence as is necessary to support the charges. A stenographic
record of all testimony shall be taken at every hearing and preserved
by the Commission. In the event the charges are dismissed, the record
shall be sealed and not be available for public inspection.
In conducting the hearing, the Commission's standard of review shall
be to determine whether sufficient evidence has been presented to
support the statutory reason for the disciplinary action. If the Commission
finds that sufficient evidence has been introduced to support the
charge, the Commission shall not modify the penalty imposed by the
appointing authority unless it finds that the penalty imposed was
arbitrary, discriminatory or an abuse of the appointing authority's
discretion. In considering the appropriateness of the discipline,
the Commission shall not substitute its judgment for that of the appointing
authority. The Commission may request post-hearing briefs, and shall
issue a written decision containing specific findings of fact and
conclusions of law within 60 days of receipt of the hearing transcript.
All testimony shall be given under oath administered by the chairperson, or in absence of the chair, the vice-chairperson. The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas as set forth in § 32-17. The hearing shall be open to the public unless, prior to the commencement of the hearing, a written or oral request to close the hearing is made by either the charged officer or the Township and the Commission decides to honor that request.
If the Commission sustains the charges, the officer who was suspended,
removed or reduced in rank may file an appeal with the Court of Common
Pleas within 30 days from the date of entry by the Commission of its
final order. No order of suspension without pay shall be made by the
Commission for a period longer than one year. In the event that the
Commission fails to uphold the charges, then the person sought to
be suspended, removed or demoted shall be reinstated with full pay
for the period of the suspension without pay, removal or demotion,
and no charges related to the suspension, removal or reduction in
rank shall be officially recorded in the officer's record.