[Amended 2-16-1987 by Ord. No. 1576, approved 5-19-1987; 12-18-1989 by Ord.
No. 1661, approved 5-15-1991; 11-11-1991 by Ord.
No. 1747, approved 4-28-1992; 6-8-2009 by Ord. No.
2776, approved 11-3-2009]
The executive branch of the government of the Township shall
be vested in and administered by an elective executive, hereafter
known as the Mayor, who shall be the chief executive and administrative
official of the Township the official head of the Township. He or
she shall have such authority and perform such duties as are assigned
to him or her under this Charter and shall have such further authority
as may, from time to time, be delegated to the Mayor by ordinance.
A.
The Mayor shall be elected at large by the qualified electors of
the Township for a term of four years.
B.
The election of a Mayor shall be held at a municipal election at four-year intervals, except for when a vacancy occurs as provided in Subsection F of this section, below.
C.
The term of an elected Mayor shall commence at 8:00 p.m. on the first
Monday of January following the year in which he or she is elected.
D.
The term of an elected Mayor shall end at the commencement of the term for which his or her successor is elected, or when the office of Mayor becomes vacant, as provided in Section 5.06 of this Charter, as amended from time to time.
E.
If a vacancy in the office of Mayor occurs, the term of the appointed Mayor shall commence upon his or her appointment, as provided by Section 5.07 of this Charter, as amended from time to time, and shall end at the commencement of the term of an elected successor Mayor, or when a vacancy in the office of Mayor again occurs.
F.
If a vacancy occurs, a successor Mayor shall be elected at the next
municipal election, for which the closing date for filing for the
primary election is eight weeks or more after the office of the Mayor
becomes vacant.
Transition: This amendment shall become effective with the commencement
of the term of the next Mayor elected at a municipal election following
approval of this amendment by referendum.
[Amended 7-13-2015 by Ord. No. 3016, approved 11-3-2015]
The Mayor shall be a qualified voter of the Township, shall
be at least 25 years of age when elected to office, shall have been
a resident of the Township continuously for one year preceding his
or her election and shall reside in the Township throughout his or
her term of service. An appointed Mayor shall be a qualified member
of the same party as the person vacating the seat, or, if the person
vacating the seat had no party affiliation, a person of any party
affiliation as appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
[Amended as approved 4-23-1996; 6-9-2008 by Ord. No.
2727, approved 11-4-2008]
The Mayor shall devote full-time to the office. Except where
authorized by law or by this Charter, the Mayor, during his or her
term of office, shall not hold any other Township governmental office
or Township governmental employment in which he or she receives salary,
compensation or emolument. During the period of the term for which
he or she was elected or appointed, even if he or she does not complete
such term, he or she shall not hold any other compensated Township
governmental office until one year after the expiration of the full
term for which he or she was elected or appointed to serve as Mayor,
unless he or she is duly elected to such new position by the citizens
in a municipal election.
The Mayor shall receive a salary at a rate established from
time to time by the Board; provided, however, that no increase in
the compensation of the Mayor shall become effective until the commencement
of the term of the Mayor elected at the municipal general election
following the authorization by the Board, and only then if the authorization
preceded the election by at least 6 months; and further provided that
a decrease in the compensation of the Mayor may only be accomplished
by referendum (the authorization of which shall not require the approval
of the Mayor).
The Mayor shall receive, in addition to salary, such additional
fringe benefits as are extended to other managerial employees in the
employ of the Township and such other fringe benefits as are authorized
from time to time by the Board.
The office of Mayor shall become vacant upon his or her death,
resignation, removal from or forfeiture of office or failure to assume
office after election thereto within 45 days after the commencement
of the term thereof. The Mayor shall forfeit his or her office if
he or she:
The Board shall, by appointment by a majority vote of the total
number of the Board, fill any vacancy in the office of Mayor. Should
the Board fail, for any reason whatsoever, to fill a vacancy within
45 days after the vacancy occurs, then the Court of Common Pleas of
Lehigh County shall, upon petition of any member of the Board or any
five citizens of the Township, fill the vacancy in such office by
appointment. Any person appointed to fill the vacancy shall possess
all the qualifications required of the Mayor as set forth in the Charter.
The Mayor, in addition to any other powers, duties and authority
provided elsewhere in this Charter, by law or by Board action, shall
have the following powers, duties and authority:
A.
He or she shall attend meetings of the Board and have the right to
attend committees thereof and have an equal right with Commissioners
to participate in deliberations. He or she shall have no right to
vote on any matter before the Board or committee thereof.
C.
He or she shall have the duty to preserve order in the Township.
D.
He or she shall have the duty to execute and enforce all ordinances
and resolutions of the Board.
E.
He or she shall have the duty to sign, on behalf of the Township,
such papers, contracts, obligations and documents that are properly
presented to him or her as may be required by law.
F.
He or she shall report to the Board at the first regular meeting
of each month regarding the state of affairs of the Township.
G.
He or she shall have the authority to represent the Township in deliberations
with other governmental bodies.
H.
He or she shall supervise, appoint, suspend or remove all Township
employees.
I.
He or she shall supervise the administration of all agencies of the
Township over which he or she has appointive power.
J.
He or she shall cause to be prepared and shall submit to the Board
the annual budget and the capital improvement program for the Township.
K.
He or she shall submit to the Board and shall make available to the
public a complete report on the finances and administrative activities
of the Township as of the end of each fiscal year, but not later than
February 15th of the following year.
L.
He or she shall have the authority, subject to the final ratification
of the Board, to negotiate intergovernmental cooperation agreements
pursuant to law.
M.
He or she shall have the authority from time to time to appoint and
dissolve voluntary committees of interested citizens to assist and
advise him or her on issued and matters pertaining to his or her office.
N.
He or she shall be empowered to exercise any emergency powers that
the Board may establish by ordinance to suppress mobs, riots and tumultuous
assemblies.
O.
He or she shall have the power to veto any item of appropriation made by the Board in adopting or amending the budget or in authorizing any expenditure of funds. This power shall be subject to the same procedural requirements and the same right of the Board to override vetoes as is found in Article III, § 3.21, of this Charter.
P.
He or she shall serve as head of the Department of Public Safety.
Q.
He or she shall present to the Board from time to time such information
concerning the business and affairs of the municipality as he or she
may deem necessary, or as the Board by resolution may request, and
to recommend such measures for legislative action as may be in the
best interest of the municipality.
R.
He or she shall 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 him or her.
The Mayor shall appoint a Deputy Mayor with the approval of
the Board. The Deputy Mayor shall serve as head of the Department
of Administration, shall administer the Township's finances (upon
receipt from the Township Treasurer), and shall have such other duties,
powers and authority relating to the office of Deputy Mayor as may
be determined by the Board by ordinance. His or her appointment shall
be in writing filed with the Secretary of the Township. The Deputy
Mayor shall exercise all of the powers and discharge all of the duties
of the Mayor during any absence or disability of the Mayor, except
the power to appoint, suspend or remove employees, staff or professional
consultants, and except such powers, duties and authority which the
Board may, by resolution, determine shall not be exercised by the
Deputy Mayor during any absence or disability of the Mayor. The Mayor
may suspend or remove the Deputy Mayor at any time, with or without
cause.
