[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Souderton 12-28-1966 by Ord. No.
362 (Ch. 11 of the 1972 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Salaries and compensation — See Ch. 144.
The office of Borough Manager is hereby created by the Borough
of Souderton.
The Manager shall be appointed for an indefinite term by a majority
of all members of Council. The Manager shall serve at the pleasure
of the Council and he may be removed at any time by a majority vote
of all its members. At least 30 days before such removal is to become
effective, the Council shall furnish the Manager with a written statement
setting forth its intention to remove him.
The Manager shall be chosen solely on the basis of his executive
and administrative abilities, with special reference to the duties
of his office as herein outlined. The Manager need not be a resident
of the Borough or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the time
of his appointment, but during the tenure of his office he may reside
outside the Borough only with the approval of Council. If the Council
fails within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days after the appointment,
to approve the Manager's residence outside the Borough, he must
immediately become, and during his tenure remain, a resident of the
Borough.
Before entering upon his duties, the Manager shall give a bond
to the Borough with a bonding company as surety, to be approved by
the Council, in the sum of $10,000, conditioned upon the faithful
performance of his duties, the premium for said bond to be paid by
the Borough.
[Amended 8-7-1972 by Ord.
No. 408]
The salary of the Borough Manager shall be fixed from time to
time by resolution.[1]
The Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the
Borough and he shall be responsible to the Council as a whole for
the proper and efficient administration of the affairs of the Borough.
The powers and duties of administration of all Borough business shall
be vested in the Manager, unless expressly imposed or conferred by
statute upon other Borough officers. Subject to recall by ordinance
of Council, the powers and duties of the Borough Manager shall include
the following:
A.
He shall supervise and be responsible for the activities of all municipal
departments.
B.
He shall hire and, when necessary for the good of the service, shall
suspend or discharge any employee under his supervision, provided
that persons covered by the civil service provisions of the Borough
Code shall be hired, suspended or discharged in accordance with such
provisions, and provided further that the Manager shall report, at
the next meeting thereafter of Council, any action taken by authority
of this subsection.
D.
He shall prepare and submit to Council, before the close of each
fiscal year, a budget for the next fiscal year and an explanatory
budget message. In preparing the budget, the Manager or an officer
designated by him shall obtain from the head of each department, agency
or board, or any qualified officer thereof, estimates of revenues
and expenditures and such other supporting data as he requires. The
Manager shall review such estimates and may revise them before submitting
the budget to the Council.
E.
He shall be responsible for the administration of the budget after
its adoption by the Council.
F.
He shall, in conjunction with the preparation of the yearly budget,
develop long-range fiscal plans for the municipality, such plans to
be presented annually to the Council for its review and adoption.
G.
He shall hold such other municipal offices and head such municipal
departments as the Council may from time to time direct.
H.
He shall attend all meetings of Council and its committees, with
the right to take part in the discussions, and he shall receive notice
of all special meetings of Council and its committees.
I.
He shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of Council and supply
facts pertinent thereto.
J.
He shall keep the Council informed as to the conduct of Borough affairs;
submit periodic reports on the condition of the Borough finances and
such other reports as the Council requests; and make such recommendations
to the Council as he deems advisable.
K.
He shall submit to Council, as soon as possible after the close of
the fiscal year, a complete report on the finances and the administrative
activities of the Borough for the preceding year.
L.
He shall see that the provisions of all franchises, leases, permits
and privileges granted by the Borough are observed.
M.
He may employ, by and with the approval of Council, experts and consultants
to perform work and to advise in connection with any of the functions
of the Borough.
N.
He shall attend to the letting of contracts in due form of law, and
he shall supervise the performance and faithful execution of the same
except insofar as such duties are expressly imposed by statute upon
some other Borough officer.
O.
He shall see that all money owed the Borough is promptly paid and
that proper proceedings are taken for the security and collection
of all the Borough's claims.
P.
He shall be the purchasing officer of the Borough and he shall purchase,
in accordance with the provisions of the Borough Code, all supplies
and equipment for the agencies, boards, departments and other offices
of the Borough. He shall keep an account of all purchases and shall,
from time to time or when directed by Council, make a full written
report thereof. He shall also issue rules and regulations, subject
to the approval of Council, governing the procurement of all municipal
supplies and equipment.
Q.
All complaints regarding Borough services shall be referred to the
office of the Manager. He, or an officer designated by him, shall
investigate and dispose of such complaints, and the Manager shall
report thereon to Council.
With the approval of the Borough Council, the Mayor is hereby
authorized to delegate to the Borough Manager, subject to revocation
by written notification at any time, any of his nonlegislative and
nonjudicial powers and duties.
Neither the Council, its members nor its committees shall dictate
or influence or attempt to dictate or influence the hiring of any
person to, or his discharge from, municipal employment by the Manager,
or in any manner take part in the hiring, suspending or discharging
of employees in the administrative service of the Borough except as
required by the civil service provisions of the Borough Code. Other
than for the purposes of inquiry, the Council or any of its members
or any of Council's committees or its members shall deal with
the administrative service solely through the Borough Manager, and
neither the Council nor any of its members nor any of Council's
committees or its members shall give orders, publicly or privately,
to any subordinate of the Manager.
If the Manager becomes ill or needs to be absent from the Borough,
he shall designate one qualified member of his staff to perform the
duties of the Manager during his absence or disability. The person
so designated shall not perform these duties for a period longer than
two weeks without the approval of the Council.