[Adopted 5-11-1992 by Ord. No. 423]
The office of Borough Manager is hereby created
by the Borough of Lehighton.
The Manager shall be appointed by a majority
of the members of the Council and shall be subject to removal by the
Council at any time by a vote of the majority of all the members.
[Amended 12-15-2008 by Ord. No. 565-2008]
The Manager shall be chosen on the basis of
his executive and administrative abilities, with special preference
to a college degree in administration or engineering or to actual
experience in or knowledge of accepted practices in respect to the
duties of the office as herein outlined.
Before entering upon his duties, the Borough
Manager shall give bond to the Borough with a bonding company as surety
in such sum as is set by resolution of Borough Council, conditioned
for the faithful performance of his duties, the premium for said bond
to be paid by the Borough of Lehighton.
The Borough Manager shall receive such compensation
as shall be fixed from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council.
A.
The Manager shall be the chief administrative officer
of the Borough, and he shall be responsible to the Council as a whole
for the proper and efficient administration of the affairs of the
Borough. His powers and duties shall relate to the general management
of all Borough business not expressly by statute imposed or conferred
upon other Borough officers.
B.
Subject to recall by ordinance of the Council, the
powers and duties of the Borough Manager shall include the following:
(1)
He shall supervise and be responsible for the activities
of all municipal departments.
(2)
Employees.
(a)
The Borough Manager shall be responsible for
interviewing applicants for all positions under his supervision and
for making recommendations to the Borough Council concerning the hiring
for such positions. The Borough Council may thereupon either accept
or reject such recommendations and shall make all decisions concerning
the hiring of such applicants.
(b)
The Borough Manager shall also be responsible
for making recommendations to the Borough Council of discharge for
all employees under his supervision. The Borough Council may thereupon
either accept or reject such recommendations and shall make all decisions
concerning the discharge of such employees.
(c)
The Borough Manager, in his or her discretion,
may suspend employees under his or her supervision when he or she
deems it necessary only until the next meeting of the Borough Council,
at which time the Borough Manager shall formally report said suspension
to the Borough Council so that the Borough Council, in its sole discretion,
may make a determination whether to continue or discontinue said suspension
or discharge the employee.
(d)
To the extent that the provisions of this subsection
in any particular situation may conflict with any prevailing collective
bargaining agreement in force between the Borough and its employees,
the provisions of this subsection shall not apply and the provisions
of the collective bargaining agreement shall control.
(e)
Nothing contained in this subsection shall affect
persons covered by the civil service provisions of the Borough.
(3)
He shall prepare and submit to the Council, before
the close of the fiscal year or on such alternate date as the Council
shall determine, 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 each officer and from the head
of each department, agency or board estimates of revenues and expenditures
and other supporting data as he requests. The Manager shall review
such estimates and may revise them before submitting the budget to
the Council.
(4)
He shall be responsible for the administration of
the budget after its adoption by the Council.
(5)
He shall hold such other municipal offices or head
one or more of the municipal departments as the Council may from time
to time direct.
(6)
He shall attend all meetings of the Council and its
committees with the right to take part in the discussion, and he shall
receive notice of all special meetings of the Council or its committees.
(7)
He shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of the
Council and shall supply facts pertinent thereto.
(9)
He shall submit to the Council, as soon as possible
after the close of the fiscal year, a complete report on the financial
and administrative activities of the Borough for the preceding year.
(10)
He shall see that the provisions of all franchises,
leases, permits and privileges granted by the Borough are observed.
(11)
He may employ, by and with the approval of the Council,
experts and consultants to perform work and to advise in connection
with any of the functions of the Borough.
(12)
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 upon
some other Borough officer by statute.
(13)
He shall see that all money owed the Borough is promptly
paid and that proper proceedings are taken for the security and collection
of all the Borough's claims.
(14)
He shall be the purchasing officer of the Borough,
and he shall purchase, in accordance with the provisions of the Borough
Code, all supplies and equipment for the various agencies, boards,
departments and other offices of the Borough; provided, however, that
any nonbudgeted item in excess of $4,000 must be first approved by
the Council. He shall keep an account of all purchases and shall,
from time to time or when directed by the Council, make a full written
report thereof. He shall also issue rules and regulations, subject
to the approval of the Council, governing the requisition and purchasing
of all municipal supplies and equipments.
[Amended 6-30-2003 by Ord. No. 520]
(15)
All complaints regarding services of personnel of
the Borough shall be referred to the office of the Manager. He or
an officer designated by him shall investigate and dispose of such
complaints, and the Manager shall report thereon to the Council.
The Mayor is hereby authorized to delegate to
the Borough Manager, subject to recall by written notification at
any time, any of his nonlegislative and nonjudicial powers and duties.
None of the powers expressly reserved to the
Borough Council in this Article shall be exercised by any individual
member or members or any committee or committees thereof, and such
powers may only be exercised by a quorum of the Borough Council.
If the Manager becomes ill or needs to be absent
from the Borough, he shall designate one qualified member of his staff
to perform the duties of the Manager during his absence or disability.
The person so designated shall not perform these duties for a longer
period than two weeks without the approval of the Council.
