The Mayor shall be President of Council and, as such, shall
preside at all Council meetings and shall be entitled to all privileges
accorded to other Council members, including being entitled to cast
the last vote. He may, by relinquishing the Chair, introduce motions,
resolutions, ordinances, etc. The Mayor shall be recognized as head
of Borough government.
The Mayor shall appoint members of city commissions, boards
and authorities, subject to Council's advice and approval.
He shall have any emergency powers that the Council may establish
by prior ordinance to suppress mobs, riots and tumultuous assemblies.
Moreover, the Mayor may appoint special police with full police powers
and jurisdiction for the duration of an emergency in which the safety
and welfare of the Borough are endangered. The compensation of the
special police shall be fixed by Council.
The Vice President of Council shall act as Mayor during the
absence or disability of the Mayor.
The Mayor shall be a citizen of the United States, shall have
been a resident of the Borough for at least six months prior to the
primary election in which he is a candidate, shall be a registered
elector of the Borough at the time of his candidacy and during his
term and shall be at least 18 years of age when elected or appointed
to office.
The Mayor 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.
[Amended 7-23-1991 by Ord. No. 1012]
The Mayor shall be elected by the qualified electors of the
Borough at large for a term of four years commencing at 8:00 p.m.
on the first Monday of January following the year in which he is elected
and ending when his successor is certified and assumes office, except
that a Mayor appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only until the
next general municipal election.
A.
The election of a Mayor shall be held on the general municipal election
day as established, from time to time, by the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. The procedure for nomination and election of the
Mayor shall be established by the general laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania for municipal elections.
B.
The first election of a Mayor under this Charter shall be held on
the date of the municipal election in the year 1985 for a term beginning
the first Monday of January 1986. The Mayor elected in 1981 under
prior law shall remain in office for the full term for which he was
originally elected, as provided in § C-116 of this Charter.
A.
The office of Mayor shall become vacant upon his death, resignation,
removal from the Borough, removal from office in any manner authorized
by law or this Charter or forfeiture of his office or for failure
to assume such office, after election thereto, within 45 days after
the commencement of the term thereof. The Mayor shall forfeit his
office if he lacks, at any time during his term of office, any qualification
for the office prescribed by this Charter or by law or is convicted
of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude or is absent from
at least two consecutive regular meetings of the Council without reasonable
cause.
B.
In the case of forfeiture of office, Council shall declare that office
vacant by a majority vote on a resolution duly made and seconded at
a public meeting. Passage of a resolution of forfeiture shall authorize
the Vice President of Council to dispatch written notice of such resolution
to the Mayor at his Borough residence address. The Mayor may request
a public hearing by advising the Vice President of Council, in writing,
within 10 days after receipt of written notice. A hearing shall be
held at the next regularly scheduled meeting and another vote taken
on the resolution of forfeiture immediately after the hearing at the
same meeting. After the hearing or upon failure of the Mayor to respond
within 20 days from dispatch of written notice, the office shall be
declared vacant.
[Amended 7-23-1991 by Ord. No. 1012]
If a vacancy shall occur in the office of the Mayor 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:
B.
Said notice shall contain a schedule of the 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 Manager or his representative within 10 days of publication
of said notice. The Borough Manager 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.
If an incumbent loses election in the last general election, he/she
will not be eligible for appointment to fill a vacancy for a period
of four years thereafter.
The Mayor, 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.
The Mayor shall have the following specific powers, duties and
authority:
A.
He shall preside at regular meeting of the Borough Council and may attend meetings of committees thereof and shall have an equal right with members of Council to participate in their deliberations, as previously stated in § C-42.
B.
He shall have the duty to preserve order in the Borough.
C.
He shall have the power to enforce those ordinances and regulations
in the Borough which are those of a criminal, quasi-criminal, nuisance
or traffic nature.
D.
He shall have the duty to sign such papers, contracts, obligations
and documents that are properly presented to him, as may be required
by law.
E.
He may report to the Council from time to time regarding the state
of affairs of the Borough.
F.
He shall have the authority to appoint and dissolve voluntary committees
of interested citizens to assist and advise him on issues and matters
pertaining to his office. The committee members shall serve without
compensation.
G.
In the event of an emergency in the absence of the Borough Manager,
the Mayor may discharge all the duties of the Borough Manager.
H.
The Borough shall provide the Mayor with a suitable office from which
to conduct the Borough affairs, together with supplies, forms, utilities
and stenographic services. The Mayor shall have authority to appoint,
suspend and remove members of his own staff, as may be authorized
in the budget.
I.
He shall be one of the authorized signers of all Borough checking
accounts.
J.
He shall have the duty to administer oaths and affirmations in all
Borough business, except as otherwise provided by this Charter or
by law.
K.
Council may assign such other rights and duties to the Mayor which
are not contrary to any law now or hereafter enacted or contradictory
of any other provision of this Charter.
A.
The Mayor may receive a salary at the rate of $2,100 per annum or
such other sum as the Council shall, from time to time, establish
by ordinance. No ordinance increasing or decreasing salary shall become
effective for at least four years after the effective date of this
Charter. Any ordinance increasing or decreasing salary shall be adopted
at least six months prior to a municipal election and shall not become
effective before the commencement of terms of the members of Council
elected.
B.
The Mayor shall receive no other compensation, direct or indirect, for the performance of his duties; he shall receive no pensions, insurance or other forms of fringe benefits. However, he shall be entitled to the actual expenses incurred in the performance of his duties and shall be entitled to indemnification as provided in § C-69 of Article XII of this Charter.
