[Home Rule Charter, Section 403]
Vacancies in any elected office shall be filled by vote of Council within 45 days after the occurrence of such vacancy. Every person so appointed shall possess the same qualifications as herein set out for persons elected to such office.
Every person appointed to fill any such vacancy shall be entitled to hold such office for the balance of the unexpired term, so long as he shall continue to possess the qualifications to the office, except when the vacancy shall occur within 18 months after the commencement of the elective term, in which case the person appointed to fill such vacancy shall serve only until the first day of January of the first even-numbered year following his appointment. The balance of such unexpired term shall be filled by a person elected by the qualified voters of the Municipality at the municipal election in the year preceding such first day of January.
In any case, where Council shall refuse, fail or neglect or be unable, for any reason whatsoever, to fill such vacancy within the forty-five-day period aforesaid, the Court of Common Pleas shall then, upon petition of Council or of any five citizens of the Municipality, fill the vacancy by the appointment of a qualified voter of the Municipality, who shall hold such office for the same period as if he had been appointed by Council.