[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Municipality of Kingston: Art. I, 7-11-1977; Art. II, 3-6-1995 as Ord. No. 1995-12. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-11-1977]
All municipal boundaries of parties entering
into this agreement shall remain in force, and all territorial jurisdictions
of the police departments which come within the terms of this agreement
shall remain the same as those presently in existence.
The Luzerne County police information records
and retrieval system shall be under the general supervision of a Joint
Commission, consisting of one representative from each municipality
party to this agreement; provided that when additional municipalities
become part of the Joint Police Commission, each such joining municipality
shall have the same membership on the Commission as the municipalities
then members of the Commission. The joining municipalities may determine
the appointees by resolution and so notify the Commission at its organizational
meeting.
The governing bodies creating the Luzerne County
police information records and retrieval system shall appoint their
member of the Commission for a term of one year, said term to commence
on the date of appointment.
The officers of the Commission shall be Chairman,
Vice Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer.
The Commission shall meet on the second Monday of the month following the appointment of its members, as provided in § 8-3, for the purpose of electing officers for a term of one year, and in the event that such day is a legal holiday under the laws of the Commonwealth, then the organizational meeting of the Commission shall be held the next succeeding secular day not a legal holiday under the laws of the commonwealth, or at such other times as may be determined by resolution of the Commission.
The members of the Commission shall meet on
the first Monday of every month for the purpose of conducting the
business of the Commission, and in the event that such day is a legal
holiday under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, then such
meeting shall be held the next succeeding secular day not a legal
holiday under the laws of the commonwealth, or at such other time
as may be determined by resolution of the Commission.
Special or rescheduled regular meetings of the
Commission may be scheduled by appropriate resolution of the Commission,
fixing the date, time and place of such meeting. Special or rescheduled
meetings may be called by the Chairman or, if more than two municipalities
are parties to this agreement, at the written request of any two or
more members of the Commission. The call and the request, if any,
shall state the purpose of the meeting. The meeting shall be held
at such date, time and place as shall be designated in the call of
the meeting. Written notice of each such special or rescheduled meeting
shall be given at least one day prior to the day named for the meeting
to each member of the Commission who does not waive such notice in
writing.
A majority of the members of the Commission
shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,
and the acts of a majority of the members present at a meeting at
which a quorum is present shall be the action of the Commission. Voting
on all questions shall be taken by a show of hands or voice vote;
provided, however, that the Chairman may, on his own motion or shall
at the request of any member, cause a vote to be taken by roll call.
The parliamentary procedure of the Commission shall be governed by
Robert's Rules of Order, Revised Edition.
The Commission shall maintain an accurate record
of the minutes of the meetings, regular or special, and other records
and, provided, further, that such minutes and records shall, at reasonable
times, be open for inspection by any citizen of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
The Joint Municipal Commission shall apportion
the annual budget appropriations among the municipalities parties
to this agreement as follows: 100% on the basis of the percentage
its population, as determined by each decennial United States census,
bears to the total combined population of the municipalities parties
to the agreement.
The Joint Municipal Commission shall prepare
an annual budget which shall be submitted for consideration and approval
to each of the participating governing bodies not later than October
1, and if such approvals have not been consummated, the prior year's
budget shall be operative until such approvals are given to the Commission.
Each municipality party to this agreement shall release to the Commission
proportionate shares of the annual budget appropriations quarterly
by the first day of January, April, July and October of each year.
All moneys of the Commission, from whatever
source derived, shall be paid to the Treasurer of the Commission.
Said moneys shall be deposited by the Treasurer in a special account,
to the extent the same is not insured, it shall be continuously secured
by a pledge of direct obligation of the United States of America,
or of the commonwealth, having an aggregate market value at all times
at least equal to the balance on deposition of such an account. The
moneys in said account shall be paid out on the warrant or other order
of the Treasurer on the Commission, or of such other person as the
Commission may authorize to execute such warrants or orders. The Treasurer
of the Commission shall give bond in such specific amount as approved
by the Commission and shall be reissuable at each election of Commission
officers, and the premiums shall be paid by the Commission.
The Commission shall file an annual written
report covering its police work with the Department of Community Affairs
and with the municipalities creating the Commission by February 15
of each year. The Commission shall have its books, accounts and records
studied annually by a certified public accountant and a copy of his
audit report shall be attached to and be made a part of the aforesaid
annual report. A concise financial statement shall be publicized annually,
at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the joining
municipalities. If the Commission fails to make such an audit, then
the Comptroller, auditors or accountants designated by any one or
all of the joining municipalities shall be authorized from time to
time to examine the books of the Commission, including its receipts,
disbursements, sinking funds, investments and any other matters relating
to its financing and affairs. The Attorney General of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania shall have the right to examine the books, accounts
and records of the Commission.
The Joint Municipal Commission shall supervise
and direct all of the Luzerne County police information records and
retrieval system.
All appointments, removals, promotions and suspensions
shall be made by the Joint Municipal Commission.
Additional municipalities may become parties
to this agreement upon application to the Joint Municipal Commission,
approval of all the then-participating municipalities and upon proper
acceptance of the provisions of the agreement by the applicant municipality.
All differences arising out of interpretation
of the agreement shall be resolved by the Joint Municipal Commission,
if the dispute over interpretation is not resolved within 60 days,
by a vote of the participating municipalities, each body casting one
vote as determined by majority in each governing body.
A.
Withdrawal from this agreement by any single party
to it shall not terminate this agreement among the remaining parties.
B.
Withdrawal from this agreement can only be effected
upon written notice by any party of not less than six months and setting
forth the date of termination.
C.
Should the budget liability of the Municipality of
Kingston appear to be endangered beyond the sum of $2,500 for the
first year, withdrawal from this agreement can be effected in writing
on 10 days' notice.
[Adopted 3-6-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-12]
This Article shall be known as "the Civil Service
Ordinance for the Municipality of Kingston" and apply in all aspects
dealing with the Police and Fire Department effective upon becoming
law in the municipality. Furthermore, this Article shall not apply
to the police force of the municipality, if at any time hereinafter
it has fewer than three members, or if the police force has three
or more members if those members in excess of two are appointed on
a temporary basis through a federally funded program. This Article
shall not apply to a volunteer fire department or companies employing
their own operators or to the fire department if it has fewer than
three salaried operators of fire apparatus. This Article is subject
to the municipality to determine compensation of the police and firemen.
[Amended 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-3]
Hereinafter each and every appointment to and
promotion in the police force or as fire apparatus operators paid
directly by the municipality shall be made only according to qualifications
and fitness to be ascertained by examinations which shall be competitive
as hereinafter provided. No person shall hereafter be suspended, removed
or reduced in rank as a paid employee in any police force or as a
paid operator of fire apparatus except in accordance with the provisions
of this Article as hereinafter specified. However, nothing in this
Article shall apply to retirement, nor shall anything herein prevent
the municipality from adopting a compulsory retirement age for its
employee or for any class or classes thereof, and from retiring all
such employees automatically when they reach such age. Nothing in
this article shall contravene the power of the Mayor set forth at
Charter § 303F.
A.
There is hereby created a Civil Service Commission,
hereinafter referred to as "Commission," in the Municipality of Kingston.
The Commission shall consist of three Commissioners who shall be qualified
electors of the municipality and shall be appointed by the Town Council
initially to serve for the terms of two, four and six years and, as
terms thereafter expire, shall be appointed for terms of six years.
B.
Any vacancy occurring on the Commission for any reason
whatsoever shall be filled by the Town Council for the unexpired term
within the period of 30 days after such vacancy occurs.
C.
Each member of the Commission created by this subsection,
before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his or her office,
shall take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the
United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to perform
his or her official duties with fidelity, together with such loyalty
oath as is prescribed and required by law. The Civil Service Commissioners
shall receive no compensation.
No Commissioner shall at the same time hold
an elective or appointed office under the United States Government,
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any political subdivision of the
Commonwealth, except that one member of the Commission may be a member
of the Town Council of the Municipality of Kingston and one may be
a member of the teaching profession.
The Commission first appointed shall organize
within 10 days of its appointment and shall elect one of its members
as Chairman and one as Secretary. The Commission shall thereafter
meet and organize on the fist Monday of February of each even-numbered
year. The Secretary of the Commission shall give each Commissioner
24 hours' notice, in writing, of each and every meeting of the Commission.
Two members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, and no action
of the Commission shall be valid unless it shall have the concurrence
of at least two members.
The municipality shall furnish to the Commission,
upon its requisition, such clerical assistance as may be necessary
for the work of the Commission. The municipality shall provide a suitable
and convenient room for the use of the Commission. The Commission
shall order from the municipality the necessary stationary, postage,
printing and supplies, and the elected and appointed officials of
the municipality shall aid the Commission in all proper ways in carrying
out the provisions of this article relating to Civil Service.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
The Commission shall have the power to prescribe,
amend and enforce rules and regulations for carrying into effect the
provisions of this article, and shall be governed thereby. Before
any such rules and regulations are enforced, the same shall be first
approved by the Mayor and Town Council of the Municipality of Kingston.
When such rules and regulations have been so approved, they shall
not be annulled, amended or added to without the approval of the Mayor
and Town Council of the Municipality of Kingston. All rules and regulations
and modifications thereof shall be made available by the municipality
for public distribution or inspection.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The current rules and regulations,
adopted 7-6-1999 by Ord. No. 1999-6, as amended in its entirety 7-1-2002
by Ord. No. 2002-3, are on file in the Office of the Administrator.
The Commission shall keep minutes of its proceedings
and records of examinations and other official actions. All recommendations
of applicants for appointment received by the Commission shall be
kept and preserved for a period of five years, and all such records
and all written causes of removal filed with the Commission, except
as otherwise provided herein, shall be open to public inspection and
subject to reasonable regulation.
The Commission shall have the power to make
investigations concerning all matters touching the administration
and enforcement of this article and rules and regulations adopted
hereunder. The Chairman of the Commission is hereby given power to
administer oaths and affirmations connected with such investigations.
A.
The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas
over the signature of the Chairman, to require the attendance of witnesses
and the production of records and papers pertaining to any investigation
or inquiry. The fees of such witnesses for attendance and travel shall
be the same as for witnesses appearing in the courts and shall be
paid from appropriations for the incidental expenses of the Commission.
B.
All officers in public service and employees shall
attend and testify when required to do so by the Commission.
C.
If any person shall refuse or neglect to obey any
subpoena issued by the Commission, he shall, upon conviction thereof
in a summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed
$100, and in default of the payment of such fine and costs, shall
be imprisoned not to exceed 30 days.
D.
If any person shall refuse or neglect to obey any
subpoena issued by the Commission, it may apply by petition to the
Court of Common Pleas of the County for its subpoena, requiring the
attendance of such persons before the Commission or the Court there
to testify and to produce any records and papers necessary, and, in
default thereof, shall be held in contempt of court.
A.
The Commission shall make rules and regulations, to
be approved as provided in this article, providing for the examination
of applicants for positions in the police force and as paid operators
of fire apparatus and for promotions, which rules and regulations
shall prescribe the minimum qualifications of all applicants to be
examined and the passing grades. All examinations for positions or
promotions shall be practical in character and shall relate to such
matters and include such inquiries as will fairly test the merit and
fitness of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the employment
sought by them. All examinations shall be open to all applicants who
have the minimum qualifications required by the rules and regulations.
Each applicant shall be subject to the regulations adopted by the
Commission and shall be required to submit to a physical examination
as provided for hereinafter.
B.
Public notice of the time and place of every examination,
together with the information as to the kind of position or place
to be filled, shall be given by publication once in a newspaper of
general circulation in the municipality, at least two weeks prior
to each examination, and a copy of the notice shall be prominently
posted in the office of the Commission or other public place.
C.
The Commission shall post in its office the eligible
list, containing the names and grades of those who have passed the
examination. Persons, male or female, who served in the military or
naval service of the United States during any war in which the United
States has been, is now or shall hereafter be engaged and who have
honorable discharges from such service, who have successfully passed
the examination, shall be given additional credits and preference
in appointment and promotion provided for by law.
Each person desiring to apply for examination
shall file with the Commission a formal application in which the applicant
shall state under oath or affirmation:
A.
His full name and residence or post address;
B.
His citizenship, place and date of birth;
C.
His condition of health and physical capacity for
public service;
D.
His business or employment and his residence for the
past five years; and
E.
Such other information as may be required by the Commission's
rules and regulations, showing the applicant's qualifications for
the position for which he is being examined.
A.
The Commission may refuse to examine, or if examined,
may refuse to certify after examination as eligible, any applicant
who is found to lack any of the minimum qualifications for examination
prescribed in the rules and regulations adopted for the position or
employment for which he or she has applied, or who is physically disabled
and unfit for the performance of the duties of the position to which
he or she seeks employment, or who is addicted to the habitual use
of intoxicating liquors or narcotic drugs, or has been guilty of any
crime involving moral turpitude, or of infamous or notoriously disgraceful
conduct, or who has been dismissed from public service for delinquency
or misconduct of office, or who is affiliated with any group whose
policies or activities are subversive to the form of government set
forth in the constitutions and laws of the United States and Pennsylvania.
B.
If any applicant or other person feels aggrieved by
the action of the Commission, in refusing to examine him or her or
to certify him or her as eligible after examination, the Commission
shall, at the request of such person, within 10 days, appoint a time
and place where he or she may appear personally and by counsel. Whereupon
the Commission shall then review its refusal to make such examination
or certification and take such testimony as may be offered. The decision
of the Commission shall be final.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
A.
Except as provided in Subsection B, every original position or employment in the police force or as paid operators of fire apparatus, except that of Chief of Police or Chief of the Fire Department, or equivalent position, shall be filled only in the following manner: the Mayor shall notify the Commission of any vacancy which is to be filled and shall request the certification of a list of eligibles. The Commission shall certify for each existing vacancy from the eligible list, the names of three persons thereon, or a lesser number where three are not available, who have the highest average. The Mayor shall thereupon, with sole reference to the merits and fitness of the candidates, make an appointment from the three names certified, unless they make objections to the Commission as to one or more of the persons so certified for any of the reasons stated in § 8-31 of this Article. Should such objections be sustained by the Commission, as provided in said section, the Commission shall thereupon strike the name of such person from the eligible list and certify the next highest name for each name stricken off. As each subsequent vacancy occurs in the same or another position, the same procedure shall be followed.
B.
Any vacancy in an existing position in the police
force or as a paid operator of fire apparatus which occurs as a result
of retirement, resignation, disability or death may be filled by the
Mayor by the reappointment or reinstatement of a former employee of
the police force or Fire Department who had previously complied with
the provisions of this section. No examination, other than a physical
examination as directed by the Civil Service Commission, shall be
required in any case of reappointment or reinstatement.
C.
In the case of a vacancy in the office of the Chief
of Police or Chief of the Fire Department, or equivalent official,
the Mayor may nominate a person to the Commission. It shall thereupon
become the duty of the Commission to subject such person to a noncompetitive
examination, and if such person shall be certified by the Commission
as qualified, he or she may then be appointed to such position, and
thereafter shall be subject to all provisions of this subdivision.
[Amended 4-3-1995; 7-20-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-4]
No person shall be eligible to apply for examination unless
he or she is at least 21 years of age at the date of application.
An applicant need not be a resident of the municipality. The Mayor
may authorize the Commission, by rule or regulation, to require policemen
and firemen to become residents of the municipality after appointment
to such positions.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
All original appointments to any position in the police force or as paid operators of fire apparatus shall be for a probationary period of not less than six months, and not more than one year, but during the probationary period an appointee may be dismissed only for a cause specified in § 8-31 of this Article. If at the close of a probationary period the conduct or fitness of the probationer has not been satisfactory to the Mayor, the probationer shall be notified, in writing, that he will not receive a permanent appointment. Thereupon, his appointment shall cease; otherwise his retention shall be equivalent to a permanent appointment.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
Whenever there are urgent reasons for the filling
of a vacancy in any position in the police force and there are no
names on the eligible list for such appointment, the Mayor may nominate
a person to the Commission for noncompetitive examination, and if
such nominee shall be certified by the Commission as qualified after
such noncompetitive examination, he or she may be appointed provisionally
to fill such vacancy. It shall thereupon become the duty of the Commission
within three weeks to hold a competitive examination and certify a
list of eligibles, and a regular appointment shall then be made from
the name or names submitted by the Commission; provided that nothing
herein contained shall prevent the appointment, without examination,
of persons temporarily as police officers in cases of riot or other
emergency or as operators of fire apparatus in emergency cases.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
A.
Promotions shall be based upon merit to be ascertained
by examinations to be prescribed by the Commission. All questions
relative to promotions shall be practical in character and such as
will fairly test the merit and fitness of persons seeking promotion.
B.
The Mayor shall have the power to determine in each
instance whether an increase in salary shall constitute a promotion.
C.
Nothing in this article shall contravene the power
of the Mayor set forth at Charter § 303F.
[Added 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-3]
All applicants for examination shall undergo
a physical examination, either before or after the written examination,
which shall be conducted under the supervision of a physician appointed
by the Commission. No person shall be eligible for appointment until
such physician certifies that the applicant is free from any bodily
or mental defect, deformity or disease that might incapacitate him
for the discharge of the duties of the position desired.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
A.
No person employed in the police or fire shall be
suspended, removed or reduced in rank except for the following reasons:
(1)
Physical or mental disability affecting his or her
ability to continue in service, in which cases the person shall receive
an honorable discharge from service.
(2)
Neglect or violation of any official duty.
(3)
Violation of any law which provided that such violation
constitutes a misdemeanor or felony.
(4)
Inefficiency, neglect, intemperance, immorality, disobedience
of orders or conduct unbecoming an officer.
(5)
Intoxication while on duty.
(6)
Engaging or participating in conducting of any political
or election campaign otherwise than to exercise his own right of suffrage.
B.
A person so employed shall not be removed for religious,
racial or political reasons. A written statement of any charges made
against any person so employed shall be furnished to such person within
five days after the same are filed with the Civil Service Commission.
C.
If for the reasons of economy or other reasons it
shall be deemed necessary by the municipality to reduce the number
of paid employees of the police or fire force, then the municipality
shall apply the following procedure if there are any employees eligible
for retirement under the terms of any retirement or pension law, if
the party to be retired exceeds the maximum age as defined in the
act of October 27, 1955 (P.L. 744, No. 222), known as the "Pennsylvania
Human Relations Act,"[1] then such reduction 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 paid employees in the
police force or fire force eligible for retirement is insufficient
to effect the necessary reduction in numbers, or if there are no persons
eligible for retirement, or if no retirement or pension fund exists,
then the reduction shall be effected by furloughing the person or
persons, including probationers, last appointed to the respective
force. Such removal shall be accomplished by furloughing in numerical
order commencing with the person last appointed until such reduction
shall be accomplished. In the event that the said police force or
fire force shall again be increased, the employees furloughed shall
be reinstated in the order of their seniority in the service. The
provisions of this subsection as to reductions in force are not applicable
to a Chief of Police or Fire Chief.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 43 P.S. § 951,
et seq.
D.
Nothing in this article shall contravene the power
of the Mayor set forth at Charter § 303F.
[Added 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-3]
[Amended 4-3-1995]
A.
If the person suspended, removed or reduced in rank
shall demand a hearing by the Commission, the demand shall be made
to the Commission. Such persons may make written answers to any charges
filed against him or her not later than the day fixed for hearing.
The Commission shall grant him or her a hearing which shall be held
within a period of 10 days from the filing of charges, in writing,
unless continued by the Commission for cause at the request of the
Mayor or the accused. At any such hearing, the person against whom
the charges are made may be present in person and by counsel. The
Mayor may suspend any such person, without pay, pending the determination
of the charges against him or her, but 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
during which he or she was suspended, removed or demoted, and no charges
shall be officially recorded against his or her record. A stenographic
record of all testimony taken at such hearings shall be filed with,
and preserved by, the Commission, which record shall be sealed and
not be available for public inspection in the event that the charges
are dismissed.
B.
All parties concerned shall have the immediate right
of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of the County, and the case
shall there be determined as the Court deems proper. No order of suspension
made by the Commission shall be for a longer period than one year.
Such appeal shall be taken within 30 days from the date of entry by
the Commission of its final order and shall be by petition. Upon such
appeal being taken and docketed, the Court of Common Pleas shall fix
a day for a hearing and shall proceed to hear the appeal on the original
record and such additional proof or testimony as the parties concerned
may desire to offer in evidence. The decision of the Court affirming
or revising the decision of the Commission shall be final, and the
employee shall be suspended, discharged, demoted or reinstated in
accordance with the order of Court.
C.
The Mayor and the person sought to be suspended, removed
or demoted shall at all times have the right to employ counsel before
the Commission and upon appeal to the Court of Common Pleas.
All appointments in the police or fire forces
of the municipality, including the Chief of Police or equivalent official,
prior to the creation of this Commission, shall continue to hold their
positions and shall not be required to take any examination under
the provisions of this Article, except such as may be required for
promotion; provided that this section shall not be construed to apply
to persons employed temporarily in emergency cases.
A.
No question in any form of application for examination
or in any examination shall be so framed as to elicit information
concerning the political or religious opinions or affirmations of
any applicant, nor shall inquiry be made concerning such opinion or
affiliations, and all disclosures thereof shall be discountenanced.
B.
No discrimination shall be exercised, threatened or
promised by any person against or in favor of any applicant or employee
because of political or religious opinions or affiliations of race,
and no offer or promise or reward, favor or benefit, directly or indirectly,
shall be made to or received by any person for any act done or duty
omitted or to be done under this Article.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
Any person who causes to be appointed any person
to the police force, Fire Department or as a fire apparatus operator
contrary to the provisions of this Article, or if the Mayor or any
member of the Commission willfully refuses to comply with, or conform
to, any provisions of this Article, he or she shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced
to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000, or suffer imprisonment not exceeding
three months, or both.
A.
"Police force," as used in this Article, shall mean
a police force organized and operating as prescribed by law, the members
of which devote their normal working hours to police duty or duty
in connection with the bureau, agencies and services or compensation
for protection work, and who are paid a stated salary or compensation
for such work by the municipality. "Police force," as used in this
Article, shall not include:
(1)
Any special police appointed by the Mayor to act in
emergencies;
(2)
Any person appointed solely for parking meter enforcement
duties;
(3)
Any special school police;
(4)
Any extra police serving from time to time or on an
hourly or daily basis; or
(5)
Any auxiliary policemen appointed under the act of
January 14, 1952 (P.L. 2016).
B.
"Fire apparatus operators," as used in this Article,
shall mean any person who operates fire apparatus and devotes his
or her normal working hours to operating any piece of fire apparatus
or other services connected with fire protection work, and who is
paid a stated salary or compensation for such work done by the municipality.
[Amended 4-3-1995]
A.
The power to suspend, remove or reduce in rank a police
or Fire Department employee/fire apparatus operator covered under
this Article shall be vested in the Mayor. In addition, the Mayor
may, for cause and without pay, suspend any policemen or firemen/fire
apparatus operators. Prior to suspending a person without pay, the
Mayor shall give written notice to the individual of the charges or
accusations that will serve as a basis for the suspension without
pay and afford the person the opportunity to explain or respond to
the charges which will serve as a basis for the suspension without
pay prior to imposing the same.
B.
The Mayor shall have power to delegate all powers
under this Article to the Municipal Administrator as provided for
in Section 303F of the Home Rule Charter.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting
with any of the provisions of this Article are hereby repealed as
to their applicability to police and firemen only.
