A.Â
Actions of the Council shall be by Ordinance which:
(1)Â
Levy taxes or change the fiscal year.
(2)Â
Adopt or amend zoning regulations, a zoning map, subdivision
regulations, or land development and land use regulations.
(3)Â
Establish, alter or abolish rates charged for any
utility service supplied by the Borough.
(4)Â
Authorize the borrowing of money.
(5)Â
Establish a rule or regulation, the violation of which
imposes a fine or other penalty. All fines and penalties, however,
must be authorized by the ordinance.
(6)Â
Grant, revoke, renew or extend a franchise.
(7)Â
Convey, sell, lease or authorize the conveyance, sale
or lease of any lands of the Borough.
(8)Â
Adopt or amend such ordinances and such other codes
as may be required from time to time to protect the safety and welfare
of the citizens; alter or abolish any Borough department, office or
agency, except agencies, boards and commissions related to municipal
planning operating under terms and conditions set forth in the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247), as amended.
(9)Â
Adopt or amend a personnel system for the Borough,
including, but not limited to, a pay plan, personnel policy, not less
than a yearly evaluation, and job descriptions for all Borough employment
positions.
(10)Â
Fix the compensation of Members of Council and
the Mayor.
(11)Â
Amend or repeal any ordinance previously adopted,
except as otherwise provided in Section 903 with respect to repeal
of ordinances reconsidered under the referendum power.
(12)Â
Pursue an action of eminent domain.
(13)Â
Are required by the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
B.Â
Actions other than those referred to in this section
may be done either by ordinance, by resolution or by motion.
A.Â
A proposed ordinance may be introduced by any Member
of Council or the Mayor. A written summary of each proposed ordinance
or a proposed amendment to an ordinance shall be provided for each
Member of Council and the Mayor at the time of its introduction, and
copies shall be made available for the public at that meeting.
B.Â
If the proposed ordinance or amendment is approved
by Council upon introduction and first consideration, the Borough
Secretary shall cause the full text to be prepared. After the full
text is prepared, it shall be advertised and made available for public
inspection in accordance with Section 302(C).
C.Â
Each proposed ordinance, except for temporary 90-day
parking and traffic orders, shall be published in a newspaper of general
circulation within the Borough at least seven (7) but not more than
thirty (30) days prior to its final adoption. The public notice of
any proposed ordinance shall include at least the title and a brief
summary setting forth all of the provisions in reasonable detail,
shall specify the date at which Council proposes to act further on
the ordinance, and shall specify a time and place within the Borough
where copies of the full text of the proposed ordinance may be examined.
D.Â
Persons interested in a proposed ordinance shall be
given an opportunity to speak and be heard before the Council at any
meeting during which Council considers said ordinance, in accordance
with such rules and regulations as Council may adopt.
E.Â
Provided that citizens of the Borough have been given
the opportunity to express their views, the Council may, on the date
of the meeting stated in the advertisement:
F.Â
If the Council amends a proposed ordinance which constitutes
a change in substance, the proposed ordinance as amended shall be
re-advertised as prescribed in Section 302(C) before further consideration
by Council.
G.Â
If the Council postpones action without specifying
the date when further action will be considered, then no further action
may be taken by Council until the proposed ordinance is re-advertised
in accordance with Section 302(C).
H.Â
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the adoption
of a Zoning Ordinance and amendments thereto, and the adoption of
zoning Maps and amendments thereto, the adoption of land development
and land use regulations shall be in accordance with the Municipalities
Planning Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as amended.
I.Â
To meet a public emergency affecting life, health,
property or public safety, the Council may adopt an emergency ordinance
at the meeting at which it is introduced and the Council may make
it effective immediately, except that no such ordinance may be used
to levy taxes, grant or extend a franchise or authorize the borrowing
of money except as provided by this Charter or by General Law. An
emergency ordinance shall be plainly designated as an emergency ordinance
and shall contain, after the enacting clause, a declaration stating
that an emergency exists and describing it in clear and specific terms.
After the adoption of an emergency ordinance, the Council shall have
it publicized in full within ten (10) days in at least one (1) newspaper
of general circulation in the Borough. Every emergency ordinance shall
automatically stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date
on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of
the ordinance in the manner specified in this section if the emergency
still exists. An emergency ordinance may be repealed at any time.
The penalty for the violation of any ordinance
shall be that prescribed by Council for each violation. However, any
ordinance may provide that for continuing violations, each day that
a violation exists may be regarded as a separate offense and punishable
as such. The limit of fines may be increased by the Council to the
extent of the maximum fine that may be levied by any non-charter municipality
in the Commonwealth as that limit is from time to time established
by the General Assembly.
A.Â
All ordinances and resolutions of the Borough shall
be certified by the signature of the Borough Secretary.
B.Â
Every ordinance and every resolution of legislative
character except as herein otherwise provided, adopted by Council,
shall be presented to the Mayor for his or her approval. If the Mayor
approves, he or she shall sign it; but, if he or she shall not so
approve, he or she shall return it with his or her objections to the
Council at its next regular meeting occurring at least ten (10) days
after the meeting at which such ordinance was adopted by the Council,
when the objections shall be entered into the minutes and the Council
shall proceed to a reconsideration thereof either at the meeting at
which the vetoed ordinance was returned, or at any other regular,
special, or adjourned meeting held not later than ten days thereafter.
If, after such reconsideration, a majority of the Council plus one
shall vote to adopt such ordinance or resolution, it shall become
of as full force and effect as if it had received the approval of
the Mayor; but in such case the vote shall be determined by yeas and
nays, and the names and votes of the members of Council shall be entered
in the minutes. If any such ordinance or resolution shall not be returned
by the Mayor at the regular meeting of the Council occurring at least
ten (10) days next succeeding its presentation to him or her, it shall
likewise have as full force as if it had been approved.
C.Â
The enactment date of an ordinance shall be the date
when the Mayor shall approve it, or the date of adoption by the Council
over the veto of the Mayor, or, in the case of any ordinance not returned
by the Mayor at the regular meeting of Council, occurring at least
ten days after the meeting at which such ordinance was adopted by
the Council, the date of enactment shall be the date of such succeeding
regular meeting of Council.
A.Â
The effective date of the ordinance shall be at the
expiration of thirty-one (31) days after the date of enactment of
the ordinance, according to Section 304(C), unless a later date is
specified in the ordinance or the ordinance is enacted as an emergency
measure.
B.Â
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
temporary 90-day parking and traffic orders shall become effective
immediately upon adoption, but shall become automatically repealed
upon the 91st day after the date of their adoption. Any person violating
such temporary 90-day parking and traffic order shall be guilty of
a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay
a fine not to exceed ten dollars ($10) and costs, or to undergo imprisonment
not to exceed five days.
All ordinances and resolutions shall promptly
be entered verbatim in permanent separate record books for ordinances
and resolutions. It shall not be necessary, however, to record in
the ordinance book the full text of any ordinance where there is a
specific provision in General Law permitting adoption and recording
by reference, or in the case of any ordinance adopting, with or without
amendment or modification, any building code, plumbing code or other
code complete in itself, for the regulation of any trade, occupation
or line of activity or undertaking, but the ordinance adopting the
same by reference shall be entered and the entry shall indicate where
the complete code or ordinance is available for record. These books
shall be in the custody and control of the Borough Secretary and all
entries made therein shall be at the direction of the Secretary. A
certified copy of all enacted ordinances shall be forwarded to the
Chester County Law Library.
The general codification of Borough ordinances
and resolutions existing at the time this Charter becomes effective
shall be adopted by the Council by ordinance or incorporated by reference
and shall be updated annually in bound or loose-leaf form, together
with this Charter and any amendments thereto, pertinent provisions
of the Constitution and General Law, and such other rules and regulations
as the Council may specify. This compilation shall be known and cited
officially as the Code of the Borough of West Chester. Copies of this
compilation shall be furnished to Borough officials, and shall be
made available for free public reference within the Borough, and for
purchase by the public at a reasonable price fixed by Council.