There shall be a Borough Council of seven members elected by
the qualified voters of the Borough at large plus a Mayor elected
at large.
A member of Council shall be a citizen of the United States,
and shall be a registered elector of the Borough at the time of his
candidacy and during his term.
A member of Council shall not hold any other compensated Borough
office or be employed by the Borough or act as a paid consultant to
the Borough either during his term of office or until after the expiration
of his term of office if, for any reason, he does not complete said
term.
The terms of all members of Council shall be four years, commencing at 8:00 p.m. on the first Monday of January following the year in which they are elected, except that a member of Council appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the balance of the unexpired term. Members of Council shall serve successive staggered terms beginning with those set forth in §
C-9.
[Amended 7-23-1991 by Ord. No. 1012]
If a vacancy shall occur in the office of a member of Council
for any reason as set forth in this Charter, the Council shall fill
said vacancy by observing the following procedure:
A. Notice of the vacancy shall be read aloud at the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the Council following the occasion of the vacancy and,
within 10 days of this meeting, shall be:
(1) Posted in conspicuous places in the Borough offices.
(2) Published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough.
B. Said notice shall contain a schedule of times and places Council
will conduct public interviews of all qualified candidates and shall
include an invitation to any qualified Borough resident who desires
consideration to schedule a public interview with Council by informing
the Borough Secretary or his representative within 10 days of publication
of said notice. The Borough Secretary shall inform the President of
Council or the Acting President of Council of all candidates to be
interviewed.
C. At a regularly scheduled meeting, held within 60 days after publication
of said notice, Council shall fill the vacancy by appointing from
the candidates interviewed that candidate who receives the majority
of votes of the Council members present and voting. In the event of
a hopeless deadlock, the matter shall be presented to the Court of
Common Pleas within 30 days after this meeting, and the Court shall
fill the vacancy by appointing a qualified resident of the Borough.
D. Council members who have been appointed to fill vacancies must stand
for reelection at the next general municipal election.
E. If an incumbent loses reelection in the last general election, he/she
will not be eligible for appointment to a vacant Council position
for four years.
A member of Council, prior to assuming office, shall take and
shall sign an oath of office as shall, from time to time, be prescribed
by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Such oath may be
taken and signed before any Judge, District Magistrate or notary public
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and no person shall be permitted
to assume such office until the oath, in written form, is filed with
the Borough.
All councilmanic authority shall be asserted by the councilmanic
body only. No individual member of Council shall have any authority
whatsoever under this Charter, unless such authority is specifically
delegated by the Charter or by the Council acting as a body.