The legislative branch of the government of
the Borough shall consist of an elected governing body which shall
be known as the Borough Council, and hereinafter in this Charter may
also be referred to as "Council." The Council, when lawfully convened,
shall constitute the legislative, appropriating, policy-making and
governing body of the Borough.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter,
the Council shall have and exercise all powers and duties now or hereafter
conferred or imposed on said Council by this Charter and by applicable
General Law, including but not limited to the power and duty to:
A.
Exercise all legislative powers of the Borough.
B.
Amend or repeal all ordinances and resolutions inconsistent
with this Charter or with applicable General Law.
C.
Make appropriations, incur indebtedness and adopt
budgets.
D.
Adopt and/or amend an Administrative Code.
E.
Create, alter, combine or abolish municipal departments,
committees, administrative units, boards and commissions not chaired
by elected officials.
F.
Create and abolish authorities in accordance with
the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Act, as amended.
G.
Levy taxes.
H.
Fix the amount of bonds to be given by officers and
employees.
I.
Make or cause to be made such studies, audits and
investigations as it deems to be in the interest of the Borough.
J.
Appoint or remove the Manager.
K.
Receive and accept all gifts or donations of real
or personal property, or any interest therein in the name of the Borough.
L.
Appoint or remove the Borough Solicitor and members
of all authorities, boards and commissions which may exist or which
may from time to time be established by the Council, except as otherwise
provided by applicable General Law or this Charter.
M.
Adopt by ordinance a personnel system, including,
but not limited to, a pay plan for all Borough employment positions.
N.
Adopt procedures which shall provide for the purchase
of products, goods and services; the making of contracts; and the
sale or lease of personal or real property of the Borough. Such procedures
shall provide for negotiated contracts, competitive biddings, detailed
bidding procedures, assurance of controls on aggregate spending and
safeguards against the influence of special interests.
O.
Exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions,
and participate in the financing thereof, jointly or in cooperation,
by contract or otherwise, with the United States of America or any
agency thereof, and/or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and any political
subdivision or agency thereof. The Borough shall have authority to
cooperate with other municipalities and governmental units, to furnish
services to them and to accept services from them.
P.
Adopt by ordinance in the Administrative Code all
necessary rules and regulations for its conduct and procedure. Such
rules shall be designed to assure full and equal participation in
the deliberation of the Council by all of its members.
Q.
Make provision for any matter of Borough government
not otherwise provided for, including but not restricted to any necessary
matter involved in the transition to the form of government provided
by this Charter.
The Council shall be composed of seven members.
All Members of Council shall be elected by district, one from each
ward of the Borough.
A.
The terms of all Members of Council shall be four
(4) years, commencing on the first Monday in January following the
calendar year in which they were elected, except that a Member of
Council appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only until the first
regularly scheduled meeting of the Council at which an elected successor
assumes office.
B.
Members of Council shall be nominated and elected
each four (4) years in a staggered and alternating fashion so that
three (3) Members of Council shall be elected in 1995 and every four
years thereafter, and four (4) Members of Council shall be elected
in 1997 and every four (4) years thereafter.
C.
Any vacancy shall be filled by a qualified resident
of the ward represented by the outgoing Member of Council.
No Member of council shall consecutively serve
more than two (2) complete four-year terms and the balance of an unexpired
term of a vacant Council seat. Thereafter, no such person shall be
elected or appointed to serve as a Member of Council for at least
two (2) years.
Members of Council shall be registered voters
of the Borough and shall have been residents continuously in their
ward for at least one (1) year preceding their election, or appointment,
and must remain continuous residents of their wards during their terms
of office.
A.
Each Member of Council may receive compensation to
be fixed by ordinance, which shall be enacted prior to the fifteenth
day of February of any year in which Members of Council are normally
elected, as prescribed in Section 204(B). Such compensation shall
not exceed the maximum established by Section 1001 of the Borough
Code. No ordinance shall change the salary of any Member of Council
after his or her election or appointment.
B.
Members of Council shall receive no other compensation
from the Borough, direct or indirect. They may, however, receive reimbursement
of expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.
The Administrative Code shall prescribe the procedure for the authorization
and approval of such expenses.
C.
In no case shall the compensation for any Member of
Council exceed that of the Mayor. However, wherever the Mayor's compensation
exceeds that authorized by this section for Members of Council, the
President of Council may receive compensation not to exceed that of
the Mayor.
A.
No Member of Council shall hold any other employment
by the Borough in which he or she receives any salary or other form
of compensation.
B.
No Member of Council may serve as a paid consultant
to the Borough for a period of at least one year following resignation
from Council or the expiration of his or her term of office.
C.
No Member of Council shall in any manner dictate the
appointment or removal of any Borough officer or employee whom the
Manager or any of the Manager's subordinates are empowered to appoint,
but Members may express their views and fully and freely discuss with
the Manager anything pertaining to the appointment and removal of
such officers and employees.
D.
Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations,
the Council shall deal with Borough officers and employees who are
subject to the direction and supervision of the Manager solely through
the Manager; it shall not give orders to any such officer or employee,
either publicly or privately.
E.
No Member of Council shall individually exercise or
attempt to exercise any power of Council unless such authority shall
be specifically delegated to the Member by Council or by this Charter.
F.
No individual shall at the same time hold more than
one elected Borough office.
The office of a Member of Council shall become
vacant upon his or her death, legal incompetency, resignation, forfeiture,
or removal from office in any manner authorized by this Charter or
General Law.
Whenever a vacancy exists in the office of a
Member of Council, the vacancy shall be filled by the following procedure:
A.
The Council, by a majority vote of its total membership,
shall within thirty days from the time the office becomes vacant make
an interim appointment of a qualified person per Section 206 to fill
the vacancy. If the Council shall refuse, fail or neglect, or be unable,
for any reason whatsoever, to fill any vacancy within thirty days
(30) after the vacancy occurs, then the Mayor may vote on the appointment.
B.
Should the Council, for any reason, fail to fill a
vacancy within forty-five days after the vacancy occurs, the Court
of Common Pleas, upon petition of any Member of Council or any five
registered voters of the Borough, shall make the interim appointments
to fill the vacancies which may exist.
C.
Should sufficient vacancies exist so that the Council
lacks the necessary majority to make the appointment, the Court of
Common Pleas, upon petition of any Member of Council or any five registered
voters of the Borough, shall make the interim appointments to fill
the vacancies, one by one until a majority of seats are filled.
D.
The person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve
until the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Council at which
an elected successor assumes the office following a municipal, general,
or primary election at which the successor shall have been elected.
E.
If there would remain at least four months of the
unexpired term after the date of the next regularly scheduled primary,
general, or municipal election which occurs at least ninety (90) days
after the vacancy occurs, then at that election a qualified person
shall be elected. A person elected to fill a vacancy shall assume
office at the start of the first regularly scheduled meeting of the
Council following certification of election, and shall serve for the
remainder of the unexpired term.
A.
The office of a Member of Council shall be forfeited,
for cause, if Council determines, in accordance with the procedure
set forth in paragraph B hereof, that the Member of Council:
(1)
Lacks any qualifications for the office prescribed
by this Charter or by General Law;
(2)
Willfully violates any express prohibition of the
Charter;
(3)
Is convicted for an offense which would disqualify
an individual from holding public office pursuant to Section 6 of
Article II of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, or, any conviction
for a violation of state or federal laws relating to misapplication
of entrusted property and property of government, or, conviction for
a violation of state or federal laws relating to bribery and corrupt
influence, or, conviction for a violation of state or federal laws
relating to falsification and intimidation, or, conviction for a violation
of state or federal laws relating to obstructing governmental operations,
or, conviction for a violation of state or federal laws relating to
abuse of office, or any other violation of General Law for which an
individual has been convicted within the preceding ten (10) years
and which is classified as a felony, and any similar violations of
the laws of any other state or the Federal Government, or;
(4)
Habitually fails or neglects to perform the duties
of a Member of Council, or, fails to attend three (3) consecutive
regular meetings of the Council without reasonable excuse.
B.
The following procedure shall be followed to determine
whether a forfeiture has occurred:
(1)
Council shall hold a public hearing and decide thereat
by resolution whether the office of the Member of Council has been
forfeited for cause. The Member of Council named shall not be eligible
to vote upon such resolution.
(2)
Notice of such public hearing with the purpose, date,
time and place thereof shall be advertised at least once in one (1)
or more newspapers of general circulation in the Borough not more
than thirty (30) days or less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing.
Council shall cause such notice to be sent by registered mail to the
named Member of Council not less than thirty (30) days prior to the
hearing. The Member of Council and other interested parties shall
be given an opportunity to testify at such public hearing.
(3)
Within ten (10) days following the completion of the
hearing, Council shall at a public hearing, by the affirmative vote
of a majority of the remaining Members of Council, render its decision
as to whether or not it has been demonstrated and proven that the
office of Member of Council has been forfeited for cause. Copies of
the written decision shall be mailed within forty-eight (48) hours
of the date of said decision, to the Member of Council and to other
interested parties who filed a written request therefor during the
hearing. The decision of Council shall be subject to review by the
Court of Common Pleas of Chester County, Pennsylvania, on appeal filed
within thirty (30) days of the date of said decision by the Member
of Council or any interested party.
A.
The Council shall organize on the first Monday of
January of each even-numbered year. If the first Monday is a legal
holiday the meeting and organization shall take place on the first
day following which is not a legal holiday. The Council at this organization
meeting shall elect from its membership a President and a Vice President,
who shall hold such office at the pleasure of the Council. The President,
or in his or her absence the Vice President, shall preside at all
meetings of the Council. The President and Vice President shall exercise
the vote to which each is entitled as a Member of Council on all questions
before the Council. Council shall, at its organizational meeting,
establish a schedule of regular meetings of the Council. Newly elected
Members of Council shall attend an orientation session conducted by
the Borough staff prior to taking office.
B.
The Mayor shall preside over the organization of Council
until it has elected a President. In the case of the absence of the
Mayor at the organization meeting, Council shall choose one of its
members to preside.
A.
The President of Council shall preside over the meetings
of Council in accordance with the rules and procedures agreed to by
Council.
B.
The President of Council authenticates with his or
her signature the actions of Council.
C.
Appoint all committees of Council.
D.
Have no power to bind Council, but in all administrative
functions shall be bound by policies established by Council.
E.
Have all necessary incidental powers to perform and
exercise any of the duties and functions as set forth in this Charter
or legally delegated to the President of Council.
F.
Whenever the Mayor is absent, only the emergency duties
described in Section 401(I) shall be temporarily discharged by the
President of Council, or in his or her absence, by the Vice President
of Council. If the Mayor is incapacitated or there is a vacancy in
the office, all duties of the Mayor shall be temporarily discharged
by the President or Vice President of Council. Only when discharging
all duties of the Mayor shall the President or Vice President of Council
have the power to veto any ordinance or to break any tie vote, but
shall not be able to vote as a Member of Council.
A.
The Council shall convene in regular meetings not
less than once a month at such times and places in the Borough as
the Council may prescribe, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
The dates of regular meetings of Council shall be published at least
annually in a newspaper of general circulation within the Borough.
At its first meeting each year, the Council shall designate and advertise
the calendar of regular monthly meetings for the remainder of the
year.
B.
Council may adjourn to a stated time for general business
or for special business.
C.
Special meetings may be called by the President of
Council or upon written request by at least three (3) of the Members
of Council. Members shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours
written notice of special meetings. The notice shall contain a statement
of the nature of the business to be considered. Presence at a meeting
constitutes waiver of notice.
D.
All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public,
except that the Council may discuss matters as permitted by the Pennsylvania
Sunshine Law (Act 84, as amended) in executive session. It is the
intent of this Charter that all provisions of the Pennsylvania Sunshine
Law shall be adhered to by Council, including, but not limited to,
open meetings and public notice.
E.
Council shall provide reasonable and timely opportunity
for interested citizens and taxpayers to address the Council on matters
of general or special concern. Citizens' right to be heard shall be
an order of business at all public meetings.
F.
An agenda of all regular meetings shall be posted
in the Manager's office and at such other locations in the Borough
as may be prescribed in the Administrative Code or other ordinance,
by noon at least three (3) business days before the meeting. In the
case of a special meeting, such agenda shall be posted at least twenty-four
(24) hours in advance of the meeting, at the locations prescribed
for regular meetings, except in the case of an emergency meeting,
for which this requirement shall be waived. In addition to this notice,
copies of the agenda shall be supplied, upon request, to any interested
party who provides to the Borough Secretary a stamped, self-addressed
envelope prior to the meeting, in accordance with the Sunshine Law
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as amended.
A majority of the Members of Council shall constitute
a quorum. The Council shall conduct no business except in the presence
of a quorum. If no quorum is present at a regular or adjourned meeting,
a majority of the Members of Council who are present may agree upon
another date for a meeting, and Members so present may continue so
to agree until a meeting can be held with a quorum in attendance.
The action of a majority of the Members of Council
present and entitled to vote shall be binding upon and constitute
the action of the Council, except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
A.
All official actions of the Council shall be taken
by the adoption of an ordinance, resolution or motion. All legislation
shall be enacted by the adoption of an ordinance. All ordinances and
resolutions must be in written form and enacted only after reasonable
notice to Members of Council, except as otherwise provided in this
Charter. All final action in adopting ordinances or resolutions shall
be by roll call vote and the vote of each Member of Council shall
be entered in the record of the meeting.
B.
All Members of Council present at the meeting shall
be required to vote in either the affirmative or the negative on all
issues and questions put to a vote of the Council, except as restricted
by this Charter, or unless a Member of Council shall have a conflict
of interest in the matter, in which case the Member of Council shall
abstain and inform the Council in public session of the reason for
abstaining.
