[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Pennsburg 5-2-2017 by Ord. No.
3-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There is hereby created a Civil Service Commission (hereinafter
referred to as "Commission"), in and for the Borough of Pennsburg.
The Commission shall consist of three members who shall be qualified
electors of the Borough and shall be appointed, initially, to serve
for a term of two, four and six years, respectively; and as terms
thereafter expire, said Commissioners shall be appointed for a term
of six years. Any vacancy occurring in the Commission for any reason
whatsoever, shall be filled for the unexpired term within the period
of 30 days after such vacancy occurs.
[Amended 12-5-2017 by Ord. No.
10-2017]
In addition to the three regular members of the Commission,
Council may appoint not more than two alternate members of the Commission
whose terms shall be six years. The alternate members shall be qualified
electors of the Borough. The alternate members shall be entitled to
participate in all proceedings and discussions of the Commission to
the same and full extent as provided by law for Commission members.
While alternate members may participate in any proceeding or discussion
of the Commission, the alternates may not vote as members of the Commission
unless designated as a voting alternate, as permitted by the State
Borough Code.
A.
Each
and every appointment to and promotion in the police force or as fire
apparatus operators paid directly by the Borough shall be made only
according to qualifications and fitness, to be ascertained by examinations
which shall be competitive as hereinafter provided. Said examination
shall be under the control of the Civil Service Commission.
B.
No
person shall be suspended, removed or reduced in rank as a paid employee
on the police force of the Borough of Pennsburg or as a paid operator
of fire apparatus of the Borough of Pennsburg except in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter and of state law applicable thereto.
The Borough shall supply to the Commission such necessary stationery,
postage, printing and supplies as shall be reasonable and proper and
shall provide such clerical assistance as shall be necessary for the
work of the Commission. The Civil Service Commission shall incur expenses
only when authorized by Borough Council.
The Commission shall have power to prescribe, amend and enforce
rules and regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this
chapter and shall be governed thereby. Before any such rules and regulations
are in force, the same shall first be approved by the Council of the
Borough. When such rules and regulations have been so approved, they
shall not be annulled, amended, or added to, without the approval
of the said Council.
The Commission shall keep minutes of its proceedings and records
of examinations and other official actions. The Commission shall have
power to make investigations concerning all matters touching the administration
and enforcement of the civil service provisions of this chapter and
rules and regulations adopted thereunder and of the civil service
provisions of the Borough Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A.
The
Commission shall make rules and regulations, to be approved by Borough
Council as above provided, providing for the examination of applications
for positions in the police force and as paid operators of fire apparatus
and for promotions, which rules and regulations shall prescribe the
minimum qualifications of all applicants to be examined and the passing
grades. All examinations for positions or promotions shall be practical
in character and shall relate to such matters and include such inquiries
as will fairly test the merit and fitness of the persons examined
to discharge the duties of the employment sought by them. All examinations
shall be open to all applicants who have the minimum qualifications
required by the rules and regulations. Every applicant shall be subject
to the regulations adopted by the Commission and shall be required
to submit to a physical fitness or agility examination that is job
related and consistent with business necessity. Every applicant, if
made a conditional offer of employment, shall be given a physical
and psychological medical examination in accordance with the regulations
of the Commission.
B.
Public
notice of the time and place of every examination, together with information
as to the kind of position or place to be filled, shall be given by
publication once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough,
or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough, at least
two weeks prior to each examination, and a copy of the notice shall
be posted in the office of the Commission or other public place.
C.
At
the completion of the testing process, including any background, physical
agility or other examination, with the exception of any physical and
psychological medical examination, the Commission shall rank the candidates
who have satisfied the minimum requirements for appointment on an
eligibility list. The eligibility list shall contain the names of
individuals eligible for appointment listed from highest to lowest
based on their scores on the examinations administered by the Commission
and any points for which the applicant was entitled by virtue of 51
Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 71 (relating to veterans' preference). The
eligibility list will be valid for one year from the date the Commission
ranks all passing applicants, assigns veterans' preference points
and formally adopts the eligibility list. The Commission may, at its
sole discretion before the original expiration date, by a vote of
the majority of the Commission at a duly authorized Commission meeting,
extend the eligibility list up to an additional 12 months. In the
absence of a lawful extension by the Commission, the list shall expire.
The Commission may, at its sole discretion, void any eligibility list
at any time for any reason.
Each person desiring to apply for examination shall file with
the Commission a formal application in which the applicant shall set
forth such information as may be required by the rules and regulations
of the Commission and as may otherwise be required by law.
A.
The
Commission may refuse to examine, or, if examined, may refuse to certify
as eligible after examination, any applicant who is found to lack
any of the minimum qualifications for examination prescribed in the
Commission's rules and regulations. Additionally, the Commission
may refuse to examine, or, if examined, may refuse to certify as eligible,
any applicant who is physically or mentally unfit to perform the full
duties of the position to which he or she seeks employment or who
is illegally using a controlled substance, as defined in Section 102
of the Controlled Substances Act (Public Law 91-513, 21 U.S.C. § 802),
who is guilty of a crime involving moral turpitude, or of infamous
or notoriously disgraceful conduct, or who has been dismissed from
public service for a delinquency or misconduct in office, or who is
affiliated with any group whose policies or activities are subversive
to the form of government set forth in the constitutions and laws
of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
If
any applicant or person is aggrieved by refusal of the Commission
to examine or certify the applicant as eligible after examination,
the Commission shall, at the request of the applicant, within 10 days,
appoint a time and place for a public hearing, with or without counsel,
at which time the Commission shall take testimony and review its refusal
to provide examination or certification. The decision of the Commission
shall be final.
A.
Certification of eligibility list; conditional appointment.
(1)
When a vacancy is to be filled, the Borough Council shall submit
a written request to the Commission for certification of an eligibility
list. In making the request, the title of the position to be filled
and the compensation to be paid shall be specified.
(2)
Upon receipt of a request from the Borough Council, the Commission
shall first certify from the eligibility list the names of those individuals
who were furloughed because of a reduction in force. In filling a
vacancy from the furlough list, the Commission shall certify the top
name only. If more than one vacancy is to be filled, the Commission
shall certify from the top of the list a number of names equal to
the number of vacancies to be filled.
(3)
The Commission shall certify for each existing vacancy from the eligibility list the names of the three persons, or a fewer number where three are not available, who have received the highest average. The Council shall make a conditional appointment from the three names certified, based solely on the merits and fitness of the candidates, unless Borough Council makes objections to the Commission regarding one or more of the certified persons for any of the reasons stated in § 6-9 herein, or the conditional appointee is determined to be unqualified in accordance with the Commission's rules, the Commission shall strike the name of the person from the eligibility list and certify the next highest name for each name stricken from the eligibility list. As each subsequent vacancy occurs in the same or another position, the same procedure shall be followed.
B.
In the case of a vacancy in the office of Chief of Police or Chief
of the Fire Department, or equivalent official, the appointive power
may nominate a person to the Commission. It shall thereupon become
the duty of the Commission to subject such person to a noncompetitive
examination; and if such person shall be certified by the Commission
as qualified, he may then be appointed to such position, and thereafter
shall be subject to all the provisions of this chapter.
Whenever there are urgent reasons for the filling of a vacancy
in any position in the police force and there are no names on the
eligibility list for such appointment, the Council may nominate a
person to the Commission for noncompetitive examination; and if such
nominee shall be certified by the Commission as qualified after such
noncompetitive examination, he may be appointed provisionally to fill
such vacancy. It shall thereupon become the duty of the Commission,
within three weeks, to hold a competitive examination and certify
an eligibility list, and a regular appointment shall then be made
from the name or names submitted by the Commission; provided, however,
that nothing herein contained shall prevent the appointment, without
examination, of persons temporarily as police officers in cases of
riot or other emergency or of operators or fire apparatus in emergency
cases.
Promotions shall be based on merits to be ascertained by examinations
to be prescribed by the Commission. All questions relative to promotions
shall be practical in character and such as will fairly and reasonably
test the merit and fitness of persons seeking promotion. The Council
shall have power to determine in each instance whether an increase
in salary shall constitute a promotion.
No person employed in the police or fire force of this Borough
shall be suspended, removed or reduced in rank except in conformance
with the applicable provisions of the Borough Code and in accordance
with the process and procedures set forth in the Commission's
rules and regulations. Any person suspended, removed or reduced in
rank may demand a hearing, and a hearing shall be granted by the Commission
as provided by law. In the event the Commission shall sustain the
charges and order the suspension or removal or reduction in rank,
the person suspended, removed or reduced in rank shall have immediate
right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County
as provided by law.
All appointments in the police or fire forces in the Borough of Pennsburg, including the Chief of Police, prior to the creation of the Civil Service Commission shall continue to hold their positions and shall not be required to take any examination under the provisions of this chapter, except as they may be required for promotion; provided, however, that this § 6-14 shall not be construed to apply to persons employed temporarily in emergency cases.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
chapter is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter,
the Pennsburg Borough Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this chapter, any section, subsection or clause or phrase thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional.
This chapter shall become effective immediately upon enactment
with the creation of a Civil Service Commission as of 12:01 a.m. on
June 1, 2017.
