a. 
Each of the following officers, before entering upon his official duties, whether he is elected, appointed or appointed to till a vacancy, shall give and acknowledge a bond to the County.
(1) 
Each member of Council;
(2) 
County Clerk;
(3) 
Executive Director;
(4) 
Controller;
(5) 
Treasurer;
(6) 
Head Department of Judicial Support;
(7) 
Sheriff;
(8) 
Coroner;
(9) 
Recorder of Deeds;
(10) 
Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans Court Division of Court of Common Pleas;
(11) 
Probation and Parole Officers required by order of Court to give bond to the County; and
(12) 
Such other officers as shall be designated by Council.
Every such official bond shall be joint and several, with one or more corporate sureties which shall be surety companies authorized to do business in this Commonwealth and duly licensed by the Insurance Commissioner of the Commonwealth.
b. 
Council shall fix the amount of bonds of offices and employees paid from County funds.
c. 
Each official bond shall comply with all of the requirements as established for official bonds by Commonwealth law applicable to Counties of the Second Class A. The Controller shall be custodian of all official bonds, except that of his own office which shall be held by Council.
By no later than December 31, 1976, Council shall approve and enact a County Administrative Code[1] stating direction and detailed procedures with respect to but not limited to the following:
a. 
Dual compensation arising from dual employment of appointed County officers and employees.
b. 
Designation of positions by pay level subject to merit hiring, and the specific provisions therefor.
c. 
Conflict of interest provisions for appointed officials from the department head level and higher, but also including similar provisions for elected County officers.
d. 
Requirement that all elective and appointive County offices require full time service except as otherwise provided in this Charter or the Administrative Code.
e. 
Financial management procedures which implement reporting of monthly revenue and spending trends by departments and/or programs.
f. 
Organizational structure and general functions of each department in the County government.
g. 
Procedures for annual review of County employee pay scales.
h. 
Employee grievance appeal procedures.
i. 
Procedures for a Board of Merit Review composed of Council Chairman, the Executive Director, Head, Department of County Personnel, County Clerk and representation from the Board of Personnel Grievance and Performance Review. The Board of Merit Review shall be convened when questions arise as to the adequacy of qualifications possessed by an applicant for County employment, or an employee's qualification for promotion or job rotation, or related personnel qualification matters.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 6, Administrative Code.
The County shall continue to own, possess, and control all rights and property, of every kind and nature, owned, possessed or controlled by it when this Charter takes effect, and shall be subject to all its debts, obligations, liabilities, and duties.
All ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations in force when this Charter takes effect, to the extent not in conflict herewith, are hereby continued in force and effect until amended, repealed, superseded, or expired by their own terms. All ordinances and resolutions in continued effect shall be construed as given effect by this Charter, but as of the date of their enactment.
All rights, claims, actions, orders, contracts and legal or administrative proceedings of the County government shall continue, except as modified pursuant to the provisions of this Charter, and in each case shall be maintained, carried on or dealt with by the County officer or officers, department, office or agency appropriate under this Charter.
No officer or employee of the County, elected or appointed, shall direct or compel any other officer or employee of the County to do or perform any private service work outside of his public office or employment. No officer or employee shall perform any such work during the hours he is performing as a County employee; nor shall any officer or employee use or devote any County owned property for any private purpose.
Council, the Controller, the District Attorney, and such other officers, commissions, boards, or agencies of the County as Council may provide by ordinance, shall have the power to administer oaths, to compel the attendance of witnesses, and to require the production of records or other materials in connection with any investigation, inquiry or hearing authorized by law or this Charter.
All references to the County Commissioners in the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall, at such time as the elected members of the first County Council take office, be construed to refer to Council whenever such construction would be consistent with this Charter. Council shall succeed to all legislative powers heretofore residing in the County Commissioner.
If any provision of this Charter shall be held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provisions of this Charter, it being the intent of the electors of this County that the remaining provisions of this Charter be given full force and effect as completely as if such invalid provision had not been included herein. If the application of this Charter or any provision thereof to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the application of the Charter and its provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
This Charter may be amended pursuant to the provisions of the Pennsylvania Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, Act of April 13, 1972, No. 62, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 2901 et seq.
As used in this Charter:
a. 
Masculine pronouns shall be construed to include the feminine pronoun, and the singular number shall be construed to include the plural whenever the context shall require.
b. 
The words "enact" and "adopt" and their derivatives, when used in connection with legislative acts of Council shall mean completion of action by Council in finally approving any item of business.
c. 
The word "members" when used in connection with Council shall mean the whole number of persons duly elected and holding office as members of the County Council.
d. 
The term "public notice" shall mean notice published in at least one newspaper having at least 35,000 net paid circulation per issue in the County. In the case of a public hearing, such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing, and shall be given not more than 30 days and not less than seven days in advance of such hearing.
The County shall be subject to the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 805, as amended,[1] including those provisions that reserve the exercise of planning, zoning, and land development powers to local municipalities.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
The County shall be bound by the debt limit and other substantive provisions of the Local Government Unit Debt Act, Act of July 12, 1972, No. 185, as amended, of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The 1972 Local Government Debt Act was repealed 12-19-1996 by P.L. 1158, No. 177. See now 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8001 et seq.
Positions exempted from merit procedures are: (1) elected officers; (2) members of boards, commissions and committees; (3) the heads of offices, boards and departments appointed by Council; (4) the Executive Director; (5) the heads of departments appointed by the Executive Director; (6) temporary, part time, intermittent or seasonal employees; and (7) employees required to be covered by a Commonwealth merit or civil service system.
In no way shall the provisions of this Charter adversely affect the salary, tenure, retirement, employment, vacation, sick leave or other personnel rights of persons employed by the County on the date this Charter becomes effective. Section 1211 further defines the rights of present and former County employees and officers.
Any local municipality in Delaware County, by action of its governing body or by initiative and referendum, may withdraw from a County exercise of a power or function, in accordance with the requirements and procedures for withdrawal set forth in the Pennsylvania Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, Act of April 13, 1972, No. 62, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 2901 et seq.
All persons in County service shall maintain a high standard of conduct pursuant to the following Code of Ethics for County government officers and employees:
UPHOLD the Constitution, laws, and legal regulations of the United States, and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as the provisions of this Charter, and never be a party to their evasion.
SEEK to employ more efficient and economical ways of accomplishing necessary tasks and functions.
NEVER discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special favors or privileges to anyone whether for remuneration or not, and never accept for oneself or anyone else favors or benefits under circumstances which may be construed by reasonable persons as conflicting with the honest performance of County duties.
ENGAGE in no business with the County, either directly or indirectly, which is inconsistent with the honest performance of official duties.
NEVER use information obtained confidentially in the performance of official duties as a means for making private profit.
EXPOSE corruption wherever discovered.
UPHOLD these principles recognizing that County office is a public trust.
ENTER into no private agreements which could in any way be construed to be adverse to the public interests.