[Amended 4-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-8]
A. When not inconsistent with the context of the Rules of Procedure
in this article or unless otherwise expressly stated in this article,
words and terms used in the present tense include the future tense;
words and terms used in the plural number include the singular number,
and the converse; and the masculine gender includes the feminine gender,
and the converse.
B. When used in this article, the word "shall" is mandatory, and the
word "may" is permissive.
C. When a day or a date is prescribed in this article as the day or
date on which a meeting of Council is scheduled to be held, or the
day or date on which an act is to be performed, and if that day or
date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the day or date for the
meeting or for performance of the act shall be the next succeeding
business day.
D. When used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
given.
CONVENING A MEETING OF COUNCIL
Or words of similar import, mean the substantive beginning
of the meeting by the announcement of the presiding officer (made
immediately after the attendance or roll call of the Councilmen has
been taken) that a quorum is present. The words do not mean, and shall
not be deemed to include, any preliminary procedural act or ceremony
such as a call to order, an invocation, the pledge of allegiance,
the introduction of guests, mere administrative announcements, the
taking of attendance or a roll call, or the like.
MEETING OF COUNCIL
A biennial organization meeting, regular meeting, adjourned
meeting, rescheduled meeting or special meeting of Council for the
purpose of transacting business; and, therefore, a meeting which is
a public meeting within the scope and meaning of the Pennsylvania
Sunshine Act, Act 93 of 1998, as amended and supplemented from time
to time (65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq., as amended and supplemented
from time to time). Under the Act, such a public meeting of Council
must be open to the public and the meeting may not be convened and
conducted unless public notice of the meeting has first been given
in accordance with the Act.
PUBLIC NOTICE or NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
Or words of similar import, as such are defined in the Sunshine
Act noted aforesaid, require publication and concomitant posting in
accordance with the provisions of the Sunshine Act. The words do not
mean, and shall not be deemed to include, those types of notices relating
to the availability of a proposed budget for inspection, scheduling
of civil services examinations, hearings on street openings or street
vacations, invitations for bids, or other like subjects for which
the Borough Code makes special provision.
TRANSACTING BUSINESS or TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS
Whether described as business in general or special business,
means the deliberation by Council or the taking of official action
by Council, as those terms are defined in the Sunshine Act, Act 93
of 1998, as amended and supplemented from time to time (65 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 701 et seq., as amended and supplemented from time to
time).
Meetings of Council shall be held in the Council Chamber of
the Lewistown Municipal Building, East Third and North Main Streets,
Lewistown, or at such other place as the Council or the Borough Secretary
may fix after taking into consideration the circumstances or purposes
of a particular meeting and the reasonable accessibility of the meeting
place to Councilmen and to the public.
[Amended 4-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-8]
A. The Borough Secretary shall give written notice of the date, time
and place of the biennial organization meeting of Council to each
newly elected Councilman, each Councilman whose term does not expire
on the first Monday in January, and the Mayor.
B. No notice of the regular meetings of Council scheduled under §
15-4A need be given to Councilmen or the Mayor. However, the Borough Secretary shall give written notice of the date, time and place of any adjourned or rescheduled meeting of Council to each Councilman and the Mayor; shall include in that notice a statement as to whether the adjourned or rescheduled meeting is for the transaction of business in general or for the transaction of special business; and if the adjourned or rescheduled meeting is for the transaction of special business, shall include a general statement of the nature of the special business.
C. When a special meeting of Council is called by the President or by
three or more Councilmen, it shall be the duty of the Borough Secretary
to fix a date, time and place for the special meeting; to give written
notice of the date, time and place of the special meeting to each
Councilman and the Mayor; to include in that notice a statement as
to whether the special meeting is for the transaction of business
in general or for the transaction of special business; and if the
special meeting is for the transaction of special business, to include
a general statement of the nature of the special business.
D. The written notice of a meeting of Council to be given by the Borough Secretary under this §
15-6 shall be mailed by ordinary mail or delivered by hand or by electronic mail to each Councilman and the Mayor at least three days in advance of the date of a regular meeting where such notice of an organizational or regular meeting is required and 24 hours in advance of the time of the convening of a special meeting or a rescheduled regular or special meeting.
E. The presence of a Councilman or the Mayor at a meeting of the Council
shall constitute a waiver of notice of that meeting and shall be deemed
to cure any objection that the meeting was not properly scheduled
or called.
[Amended 4-14-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-8]
A. During the month of January in each calendar year, the Borough Secretary shall give public notice of the dates, times and places of the regular meetings of Council scheduled under §
15-4A for that calendar year. If the notice of that schedule of regular meetings is for an odd-numbered calendar year, the Borough Secretary may include in that notice the date, time and place of the biennial organization meeting of Council to be held on the first Monday in January of the following even-numbered year. The public notice to be given by the Borough Secretary under this Subsection
A shall be published and concomitantly posted not less than three days in advance of the date of the first regular meeting of Council scheduled under §
15-4A.
B. Except in the case where public notice of the biennial organization meeting of Council has been given under Subsection
A, the Borough Secretary shall give public notice of the date, time and place of the biennial organization meeting to be held under §
15-3, Biennial organization meeting of Council. The public notice to be given by the Borough Secretary under this Subsection
B shall be published and concomitantly posted no less than three days in advance of the date of the organization meeting.
C. The Borough Secretary shall give public notice of the date, time and place of any adjourned, rescheduled or special meeting of Council. The public notice to be given by the Borough Secretary under this Subsection
C shall be published and concomitantly posted at least 24 hours in advance of the time of the convening of the meeting specified in the notice.
D. The Borough Secretary shall require that the newspaper in which the public notice is published pursuant to this §
15-7 furnish the Borough Secretary with a notarized proof of publication.
E. In determining the date on which a public notice is to be published
in the newspaper, the Borough Secretary shall take into account the
deadline fixed by the newspaper for the receipt of legal notices or
public notices. As a general rule of practice, the Borough Secretary
should attempt to deliver the public notices to the newspaper at least
three business days before the date on which the public notice is
to be published in the newspaper.
Robert's Rules of Order (Newly Revised), 1970 Edition,
shall govern all matters of parliamentary procedure or councilmanic
procedure not governed by this article or by the Borough Code or other applicable law.
This article and Robert's Rules of Order are intended to
be administrative and procedural in nature, and a failure to comply
with a provision or rule thereof shall not be deemed to constitute
a violation of any right or interest of any elected or appointed official
of the Borough or any right or interest of a member of the public,
if the failure or the effect of the failure is not contrary to the
provisions of the Borough Code or other applicable law.
The biennial organization meeting of Council is the beginning
of a new session of Council which lasts for two years until the next
biennial organization meeting. Because the Rules of Procedure in this
article are a governmental administrative and procedural matter, as
distinguished from being a proprietary or business matter, any succeeding
session of Council might not necessarily be bound to these rules of
procedure — a result which could lead to unnecessary
confusion and uncertainty. Accordingly, to avoid that result and because
this article is a matter of public record and, therefore, a matter
as to which a new session of Council has both constructive and actual
knowledge, unless a new session of Council specifically amends or
repeals this article, in whole or in part, at the biennial organization
meeting of Council, this article shall continue in effect without
change and shall be binding on that session of Council with the same
force and effect as if that session of Council had specifically ratified
or readopted this article at the biennial organization meeting of
Council.