The Mayor, in addition to any other powers and
duties provided in this Charter, shall be recognized as head of the
Borough government for all ceremonial purposes and shall:
A.
Select and submit to Council for approval the Chief
of Police and supervise the administration of the Police Department
and its employees, subject to the provisions of the Administrative
Code.
B.
Select and submit to Council for approval candidates
for police officer and candidates for promotions, subject to the provisions
of the Administrative Code.
C.
Have the power to preserve order in the Borough, and
enforce all resolutions and ordinances that do not delegate enforcement
authority to other individual(s) in which case enforcement be secured
through said individual(s).
D.
Prepare and submit to Council through the Borough
Manager for inclusion in the annual Borough budget, the Police Department
operating budget and capital program for the ensuing year.
E.
Report monthly to the Borough Council on matters related
to the activities of the Police Department.
F.
Attend meetings of the Council with an equal right
to participate in its deliberations, subject to any restrictions applicable
to Members of Council contained in the Council procedures, rules and
regulations. The Mayor shall have no right to vote except to break
a tie vote of Council or to vote in or veto matters as otherwise specifically
authorized by this Charter.
(1)
In all cases where, by reason of a tie or split vote,
the Council shall be unable to enact or pass any ordinance, resolution,
or motion, or to declare or fill any vacancy in its membership, or
in any other Borough office, or to take any action on any matter lawfully
brought before it, the Mayor, if in attendance at the meeting, may
at his or her option cast the deciding vote, or request that the matter
be tabled until the next regular or special meeting of Council held
within not less than five (5) days, at which time the matter shall
be reconsidered by Council and, if a tie or split vote still exists,
it shall be the duty of the Mayor at that time to cast the deciding
vote.
(2)
If such a tie or split vote shall occur at any meeting
when the Mayor is not in attendance, the matter shall be tabled to
the next regular or special meeting held within not less than five
(5) days, for which the Mayor shall be given at least five (5) days'
notice of such meeting, at which meeting it shall be the duty of the
Mayor to cast the tie-breaking vote.
G.
Have power to administer oaths and affirmations in
matters pertaining to Borough affairs.
H.
Have necessary and incidental powers to perform and
exercise any of the duties and functions as set forth in this Charter
or lawfully delegated to the Mayor.
I.
Until appropriate action can be taken by Council,
to declare a state of emergency, when a serious threat to life, health,
or safety of the citizens of the Borough shall occur within the Borough,
and to take appropriate actions in such circumstances. Any person
violating such proclamation of emergency shall be guilty of a summary
offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not
to exceed three hundred dollars ($300) and costs, or to undergo imprisonment
not to exceed thirty (30) days.
A.
The term of the Mayor shall be four (4) years, commencing
on the first Monday in January following the calendar year in which
he or she was elected, except that a Mayor 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.
The Mayor shall be nominated and elected every four
(4) years, so that he or she shall be elected in 1997 and every four
years thereafter.
C.
Any vacancy shall be filled by a qualified resident
of the Borough.
No Mayor shall consecutively serve more than
two (2) complete four-year terms and the balance of an unexpired term.
Thereafter, no such person shall be elected or appointed to serve
as Mayor for at least two (2) years.
The Mayor shall be a qualified voter of the
Borough and shall have been a resident continuously in the Borough
for at least one (1) year preceding his or her election or appointment,
and shall remain a continuous resident of the Borough during his or
her term of office.
A.
The Mayor may receive compensation to be fixed by
ordinance, which shall be enacted prior to the fifteenth day of February
of any year in which the Mayor is normally elected, as prescribed
in Section 402(B). Such compensation shall not exceed the maximum
established by Section 1025 of the Borough Code. No ordinance shall
change the salary of the Mayor after his or her election or appointment.
B.
The Mayor shall receive no other compensation from
the Borough, direct or indirect. He or she may, however, receive reimbursement
of expenses actually incurred in the performance of his or her duties.
The Administrative Code shall prescribe the procedure for the authorization
and approval of such expenses.
The same prohibitions set forth in Section 208
relating to Members of Council shall apply to the Mayor.
The office of Mayor 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 Mayor,
the vacancy shall be filled under the following procedures:
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 404 to fill
the vacancy.
B.
Should the Council, for any reason, fail to fill a
vacancy within thirty 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 an interim appointment of a qualified
person per Section 404 to fill the vacancy.
C.
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.
D.
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 Mayor shall be forfeited, for cause,
if the Mayor:
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 Mayor has been forfeited for cause.
(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
Mayor not less than thirty (30) days prior to the hearing. The Mayor
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, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Members of Council, render its decision as to whether or not it has
been demonstrated and proven that the office of Mayor 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 Mayor 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 Mayor
or any interested party.
