A.
All powers and duties of the Municipality, including those set forth
in § 41.2-201 of this Charter and those in existence or
hereafter conferred on the Municipality by the Constitution of Pennsylvania,
or general law shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by Council
except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
B.
Council shall be the legislative body of the Municipality charged
with the responsibility and duty to:
1.
Establish the policies, goals and objectives for the legislative,
executive, administrative and advisory functions of the Municipality;
and
2.
Make and adopt ordinances and resolutions consistent with the Constitution
and laws of this commonwealth and this Charter, and to prescribe fines
and penalties for the violation thereof;
3.
To appoint and remove the Municipal Administrator, the Solicitor,
the Director of Finance, the Municipal Engineer, the Director of Public
Safety, the Director of Planning and Municipal Development, and the
Director of Public Works, subject to the provisions of this Charter;
4.
To appoint and dissolve, from time to time, voluntary committees
of citizens of the Municipality;
5.
To appoint all members of authorities, boards, commissions and agencies,
if not otherwise required by this Charter or by general law;
6.
To have all necessary incidental powers to perform and exercise any
of the duties and functions as set forth in this Charter or lawfully
delegated to the office by this Charter or by general law.
The Council shall consist of seven members. Three members shall
be known as "Council Members at Large" and shall be nominated and
elected by the qualified voters of the Municipality at large. Four
members shall be known as "District Council Members" and shall be
nominated and elected by the qualified voters of their respective
districts. Unless otherwise indicated in this Charter, Council Members
at Large and District Council Members shall be individually or collectively
called "Council Member" or "Council Members."
A.
A Council Member shall:
1.
Be a citizen of the United States of America;
2.
Be a qualified voter of the Municipality;
3.
Have been a resident of the Municipality for at least three years
prior to nomination;
4.
In the case of a District Council Member, be and remain a resident
of the district in which he or she is elected to represent during
his/her elected term;
5.
Not have been convicted of embezzlement of public monies, bribery,
perjury or other infamous crime; and,
6.
Not otherwise be disqualified from office by the terms of this Charter
or by general law.
B.
The qualifications set forth herein shall apply to any person appointed
to fill a vacancy in the office of Council Member. [Cross References:
This section cited in 346 Pa. Code § 41.3-310 (relating
to filling vacancies).]
A.
Holding other office. No Council Member, during his or her term of
office, shall:
B.
Appointments and removals. The Council and its Council Members shall
not in any manner dictate the appointment or removal of administrative
officers or employees of the Municipality for whom the Municipal Administrator
or any of his or her subordinates are empowered to appoint or remove,
without approval of Council.
C.
Interference with Administration. Except for the purpose of official
investigations under § 41.3-322 of this Charter, Council
and its Council Members shall deal with Municipal officers and employees,
who are subject to the direction and supervision of the Municipal
Administrator, solely through the Municipal Administrator. Council
and its Council Members shall not give orders or directions to any
such officers or employees at any time. However, Council may express
its views regarding the conduct, orders or directions, policies, goals
or objectives of any Municipal officers or employees.
A.
Council Members shall serve a term of office of four years commencing
at the organizational meeting of Council under § 41.3-313A
of this Charter following the year in which they are elected.
B.
A Council Member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve until the
earlier of the first regularly scheduled meeting of Council following
the certification of election under § 41.3-310C of this
Charter or until the expiration of the original Council Member's term.
However, if a Council Member is appointed within 18 months of the
end of the original Council Member's term, such Council Member shall
serve the balance of that term.
C.
A Council Member elected to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the
balance of the unexpired term.
D.
No Council Member shall be elected for more than two consecutive
four-year terms and the balance of one unexpired term of a vacated
Council seat. Thereafter, no such person shall be elected or appointed
to serve as Council Member for at least two years. [Cross References:
This section cited in 346 Pa. Code § 41.3-310 (relating
to filling vacancies); and 346 Pa. Code § 41.12-1203 (relating
to council members).]
A.
Each Council Member other than Council President shall receive an
annual salary of $4,000. The Council President shall be paid an annual
salary of $6,000. All such salaries shall be paid in equal monthly
installments or such other sum as Council may from time to time ordain;
provided, however, that no ordinance increasing such salary shall
become effective until the date of the commencement of the terms of
Council Members elected at the next municipal or general election
occurring at least six months after the effective date of such ordinance.
B.
The Municipality shall not pay Council Members any other compensation,
current or deferred, direct or indirect, except for expenses described
in § 41.3-308 of this Charter and authorized by resolution.
Council shall, by resolution, annually determine the amount
of an expense account for the Council Members. The amount of such
expenses shall be limited to the actual and necessary expenses incurred
in the performance of their duties in accordance with regulations
set forth in the Administrative Code or other ordinance. [Cross References:
This section cited in 346 Pa. Code § 41.3-307 (relating
to salary).]
The office of a Council Member shall become vacant upon the
death, legal incompetency, resignation, forfeiture, or removal from
office in any manner authorized by this Charter or general law.
A.
If a vacancy shall occur in the office of a Council Member for any
reason set forth in this Charter, the remaining members of Council
shall, by simple majority vote, within 30 days following the vacancy,
appoint a person qualified to hold such office and to serve therein
as provided in §§ 41.3-303 and 41.3-305 of this Charter.
If Council shall refuse, fail or neglect or be unable, for any reason
whatsoever, to fill a vacancy within 30 days after the vacancy occurs,
then the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
shall, upon petition of the Council, of any individual Council Member
or of any 25 qualified voters of the Municipality, fill the vacancy
in such office by the appointment of a qualified voter of the Municipality
to hold and to serve in such office as provided in §§ 41.3-303
and 41.3-305 of this Charter.
B.
In case vacancies should exist whereby the offices of a majority
or more of the Council Members become vacant, the remaining members,
or the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, as
the case may be, shall fill such vacancies, one at a time, giving
each new appointee such reasonable notice of appointment as will enable
the appointee to meet and act with the then qualified Council Member
or Council Members in making further appointments until a bare majority
of Council Members have been qualified, whereupon such members shall
fill the remaining vacancies at a meeting attended by the said majority
Council Members, such appointees to receive a majority of the votes
of the Council Members present at any such meeting. The person or
persons selected to fill such vacancy or vacancies shall hold and
serve in such offices as provided in §§ 41.3-303 and
41.3-305 of this Charter.
C.
If the unexpired term of a Council Member appointed to fill a vacancy
is more than 18 months, then at the next regularly scheduled primary,
municipal or general election occurring at least 60 days after the
vacancy occurs, a qualified person shall be elected to fill the vacancy
by special election as provided in the election laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. A person so elected shall assume office at the beginning
of the first regularly scheduled meeting of Council following certification
of his or her election and shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired
term.
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[Cross References: This section cited in 346 Pa. Code § 41.3-305
(relating to term of office).]
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Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, a Council
Member shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support
the Constitution of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
and to perform the duties of his or her office with fidelity, together
with such loyalty oath as is prescribed and required by general law.
The oath or affirmation may be taken before any Judge of the County
or before any District Justice having a magisterial district within
the Municipality, and shall be filed with the Municipal Secretary
and be preserved among the records of the Municipality for a period
of six years.
A.
The office of a Council Member shall be forfeited, for cause, if
the Council Member:
1.
Lacks any qualifications for the office prescribed by this Charter
or by general law;
2.
Violates any express prohibition of the Charter;
3.
Is convicted of embezzlement of monies, bribery, perjury or other
infamous crime;
4.
Fails or neglects to perform the duties of a Council Member; or
5.
Misbehaves in office.
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 Council Member has been forfeited for cause.
The Council Member 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 or more newspapers
of general circulation in the Municipality not more than 30 days or
less than 10 days prior to the hearing. Council shall cause such notice
to be sent by registered mail to the named Council Member not less
than 10 days prior to the hearing. The Council Member and other interested
parties shall be given an opportunity to testify at such public hearing.
3.
Within 10 days following the completion of the hearing, Council shall,
by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining Council Members,
render its decision as to whether or not it has been demonstrated
and proven that the office of Council Member has been forfeited for
cause. Copies of the written decision shall be mailed to the Council
Member and to other interested parties who filed a written request
therefor during the hearing, within 48 hours of the date of said decision.
The decision of Council shall be subject to review by the Court of
Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on appeal filed within
30 days of the date of said decision by the Council Member or any
interested party.
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Council Procedure
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A.
The Council shall organize at a public meeting at 7:30 p.m. on the
first Monday of January of each year. If the first Monday is a legal
holiday, the organizational meeting shall be held on the first day
following which is not a legal holiday.
B.
At the organizational meeting, Council shall elect from its membership,
by the affirmative vote of at least four Council Members, a President
and Vice President, who shall serve at the pleasure of Council. If
the Council Members are unable, within five ballots, to elect a President
or Vice President of Council, then the Council Member who, in the
election for members of the Council received the greatest number of
votes, shall be the President of Council and the person receiving
the next highest number of votes shall be Vice President of Council.
Should such persons decline to accept such offices, then the persons
receiving the next highest votes shall be the President and Vice President,
respectively, and so on until the offices are filled. The President
of Council or the Vice President in the President's absence shall
preside at all meetings of the Council and shall have a voice and
a vote in its proceedings.
C.
Council shall appoint a Clerk of Council who shall be the secretary
for Council and shall keep minutes of its meetings and its records,
and shall perform such other duties as Council may prescribe. Council
may appoint any other officers and employees to assist in the duties
of Council, if not inconsistent with other provisions of this Charter.
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[Cross References: This section cited in 346 Pa. Code § 41.3-305
(relating to term of office); and 346 Pa. Code § 41.5-501
(relating to election, term and qualifications).]
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Council shall appoint a Municipal Secretary and an Assistant
Municipal Secretary who shall have the authority to act on behalf
of the Municipal Secretary in his/her absence who shall be responsible
for transcribing and preserving the ordinances, rules and regulations
of the Municipality and who shall have custody of the Corporate Seal.
The Municipal Secretary or Assistant Municipal Secretary shall certify
copies of all official documents of the Municipality and, when so
certified, such documents shall be admissible in evidence in any court
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Municipal Secretary or Assistant
Municipal Secretary shall attest the execution of all instruments
and ordinances of the Municipality and shall file proof of service
of all notices required by this Charter, the Administrative Code,
other ordinance and general law.
A.
Council shall meet regularly at least once every month at such time
and place as Council may prescribe by ordinance or resolution. At
the organizational meeting, Council shall prescribe and advertise
the calendar of regular monthly meetings for the balance of the year.
B.
Special meetings of Council may be held on the call of the President
or of a majority of Council Members. Notice and the agenda of such
meeting shall be given to each Council Member at least 24 hours in
advance of a special meeting.
C.
Council may, in the event of a substantial public emergency affecting
the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the Municipality,
hold emergency meetings without the aforesaid 24 hours advance notice.
D.
An agenda of all regular meetings shall be posted in the office of
the Municipality and at such other locations in the Municipality as
may be prescribed in the Administrative Code or other ordinance at
least five calendar days in advance of the meeting. In the case of
a special meeting, such agenda shall be posted at the locations prescribed
for regular meetings, at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
However, in the case of an emergency meeting, this requirement shall
be waived.
E.
Council shall, in the Administrative Code or other ordinance, adopt
Council procedures and rules and regulations which shall be designed
to assure full and equal participation in the deliberations of Council
by all Council Members.
A.
A majority of all members of Council shall constitute a quorum.
B.
Council shall conduct no business except in the presence of a quorum.
C.
The action of a majority of the Council Members present and entitled
to vote shall be binding upon and constitute the action of the Council,
except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
A.
Official action of the Council shall be taken by the adoption of
an ordinance or resolution at a public meeting and must be in written
form.
B.
Resolutions of Council shall be passed upon the affirmative vote
of a majority of the Council Members present and entitled to vote.
C.
Ordinances of Council shall be adopted by the affirmative vote of
at least four Council Members.
Administrative officers may appear before Council to request
legislation, to report on the condition of the Municipality, or to
advise Council on matters of public interest.
A.
All meetings of Council, and any committees thereof shall be open
to the public, and public notice of all such meetings shall be given.
B.
It is the intent of this Charter that the public shall have the right
to be heard at all meetings of Council at which official actions are
taken. Council shall, in the Administrative Code or other ordinance,
establish rules providing the opportunity and reasonable time for
public participation at its public meetings.
A.
Council shall, in accordance with this Charter and general law, make
and preserve minutes and records of its proceedings. These records
shall be open for public inspection during normal Municipal office
hours.
B.
Council shall provide for the electronic recording of all public
meetings. These recordings shall be available to the public at the
Municipal office and shall be retained as a part of the Municipal
records.
C.
All public records, including but not limited to agendas of meetings,
minutes of all meetings, this Charter, the Administrative Code, and
all other ordinances shall be made available to the public electronically.
Council Members shall provide the President of Council with
reports as required under the Administrative Code or other ordinance.
Council shall have the power to:
A.
Make inquiries and investigations into the affairs of the Municipality
and the conduct of any department, office, board or agency in aid
of its powers and functions under this Charter or general law.
B.
Issue subpoenas over the signature of the President, to require the
attendance of witnesses and production of records and papers pertaining
to any such inquiries and investigations, including, but not limited
to, subpoenas to compel the production of evidence in the control,
custody, and possession of the executive branch. If any person shall
refuse or neglect to obey any subpoena issued by the Council, 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 Council
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.
Council shall, in the Administrative Code or other ordinance, provide
for a fine or penalty for the refusal or neglect to obey any subpoena
issued by it.
C.
Administer, by its President, oaths or affirmations in connection
with such inquiries and investigations.
D.
Take testimony in connection with such inquiries and investigations.
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[Cross References: This section cited in 346 Pa. Code § 41.3-304
(relating to prohibitions).]
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