There shall be seven members of Council elected at large. The
President of Council shall be nominated and elected by the Council
members.
A. Only qualified voters of the City, as established by the general
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for municipal elections,
shall be eligible to run for City Council.
B. All Council members and the Council President must retain residence
in the City during their term of office. If, during a term of office,
a Council member moves out of the city, he or she must resign from
his or her position on City Council.
A. The regular election of Council members shall be held on the General
Municipal Election Day as established by the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. The terms of Council members shall begin at noon
(12:00 p.m.) on the first Monday of January next following the municipal
election and shall be four years.
B. In the year the Mayor is elected, four Council members shall be elected.
In the next municipal election, three Council members shall be elected.
A. Each Council Member elected at the first election under this Charter
and in subsequent elections, or already in office when this Charter
takes effect, shall receive an annual salary in the amount of $15,000.
The President of Council shall receive $1,000 in addition to the salary
of a regular City Council member. Increases in the salary of City
Council members may be attained only by referendum.
[Amended 11-7-2023 (7-19-2023 by Ord. No. 15916)]
B. In addition to their salary, Council members may, at their own expense,
purchase into the existing health care plan for city employees for
themselves and for their families at the group rates, charged by the
health care provider, to the City, available to City employees. City
Council members shall be reimbursed for their legitimate expenses
related to the office of Council, and shall receive no other benefits.
The Office of Council Members shall become vacant upon death
of the Member, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized
by law or forfeiture of office.
A Member of Council shall forfeit office if the Member:
A. Lacks, at any time during the term of office, any qualification for
the office prescribed by this Charter or by law;
B. Violates any express prohibition of this Charter;
C. Fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Council
without being excused by the President of Council or a simple majority
of remaining Council members;
D. Is convicted of any crime classified as a misdemeanor of the second
degree or higher, under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or of the United States, or be convicted of any comparable graded
crime under the laws of any other state in the United States.
In all cases of forfeiture, the Member shall be entitled to
notice and a hearing before Council in accordance with administrative
procedures to be established by Council.
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A vacancy in the Council shall be filled by a majority vote
of the remaining Members of Council. If the Council fails to act within
30 days following the occurrence of the vacancy, the court of Common
Pleas of Lehigh County shall, upon petition of three Members of Council
or 10 qualified voters of the City, fill the vacancy in such office
by the appointment of a qualified resident of the City. The replacement
Council member shall be a qualified voter 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 political party as appointed
by Council. The individual appointed will remain in office until the
first Monday in January following the next municipal election. At
such municipal election, a qualified person shall be elected to serve
from the first Monday of January following the election for the remainder
of the term of the person originally elected to such office or, if
such term would otherwise expire on the first Monday following, for
a new full term.
All powers of the City not otherwise provided for in this Charter
shall be exercised in a manner to be determined by Council. Council
shall provide for the exercise and performance of any such other powers
and duties in a manner consistent with the terms of this Charter.
A. No Council Member shall hold any compensated appointive City office
or City employment.
B. No Council Member shall serve as a compensated elected official in
any other office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or political
subdivision thereof.
C. No Council member shall hold any compensated appointive City office
or City employment until one year after his or her resignation or
one year after the expiration of the term for which the member was
elected to the Council.
D. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its Members shall
deal with all departmental and bureau employees through the Mayor
or a designee of the Mayor.
E. Neither the Council nor any of its Members shall, in any manner,
dictate the appointment or removal of any City administrative offices
or employees whom the Mayor or subordinates of the Mayor are empowered
to appoint except as otherwise provided in this Charter.
F. No Council Member shall serve as an employee of any municipal authority,
which is created solely or jointly by the City with one or more political
subdivisions until one year after the expiration of the term for which
the Member was elected to Council.
G. Any Council Member who has a financial interest, direct or indirect,
or by reason of ownership of stock in any corporation in any sale
of land with the City or in any contract with the City, shall immediately
make publicly known their interest and shall refrain from voting upon,
or otherwise participating in the sale of such land or making of such
contract. A statement of such interest shall be filed with the City
Clerk. Any Council Member who willfully conceals such interests shall
be guilty of malfeasance in office.
Violation of this section with the knowledge expressed or implied
of the person or corporation contracting with or making a sale to
the City shall render the contract or sale voidable by the City.
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A. In addition to the authority of the City Controller to conduct audits
under Section 403D of this Home Rule Charter, Council shall have the
power, by ordinance, to make or cause to be made investigations, audits
or studies of the City and the conduct of any City department, office
or agency, and, for this purpose, may retain professional and technical
assistance, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony,
require the production of evidence and provide funds for such investigation,
audit and study.
[Amended 5-18-2021 (1-6-2021 by Ord. No. 15668)]
B. The subjects of such investigation, audit or study shall be specifically
stated in the authorizing ordinance.
A. Council shall have the power to remove from office for cause set
forth in this section, any person appointed to the office by Council.
B. Council may, at its discretion, remove the City Solicitor if six
Members of the City Council vote in favor of a motion to do so.
C. Council shall have the power to remove any elected official or appointed
department head from office, if Council finds such person guilty of
malfeasance in office. Malfeasance in office means an unlawful act
committed willfully by an elective public officer in his or her capacity
as an elected official.
A. Rules. The Council shall determine its own rules and Order of Business.
B. Meetings. Council shall hold a regular meeting at least twice each
month in the evening on a day and place as the Council may prescribe
by rule. Council may, by resolution, cancel a meeting in the advent
it is deemed not necessary due to lack of business.
[Amended 11-6-2001]
C. Special meetings. Special meetings may be held on the call of the
President of Council or at least four Members of Council at such time
and place and under such conditions as the Council may prescribe by
rule.
D. Meetings open to the public. All meetings shall be open to the public,
except executive sessions as authorized by law. The Chambers shall
be arranged in such a way as to have all Members of Council facing
the public.
E. Voting. All action shall be at a public session and shall require
a majority full vote of Council, except in the case of a vote to override
a veto which shall require an affirmative vote of five Members, and
in the case of passage of an ordinance which shall require a majority
vote of Council as a whole unless otherwise specified in this Charter
or State Law. Voting shall be by Roll Call vote, and the vote of each
Member of Council shall be entered in the Minutes of the Meeting.
F. The Council shall provide for keeping of minutes of its proceedings.
The Minutes shall be a public record and shall be maintained in City
Hall and a copy in the Allentown Public Library and in the Lehigh
County Law Library.
The Council must provide reasonable opportunity for interested
citizens and taxpayers to address the Council on matters of general
or special concern. Citizens' right to be heard shall be the first
order of business at all public meetings and before a vote on any
Council business. The public shall be granted the opportunity to comment
at Council meetings without time limitations, except when the Council
President, imposes a reasonable time limitation deemed necessary.
Council members, by a vote of a majority plus one, may override the
Council president's time limitation.
A Quorum of Council shall consist of a majority plus one of
qualified Council members.
Council may legislate by passage of an ordinance. All ordinances
introduced shall be kept in a place accessible to the public at all
reasonable times. Final action on all ordinances shall take place
during public meetings.
Every ordinance shall have a title clearly expressing its subject
and every ordinance shall contain only one subject.
A. An ordinance shall be introduced by any two Members of City Council
at any regular or special meeting of the Council without vote.
B. After the first reading, the City Clerk shall distribute a copy of
the proposed ordinance to each Council Member and to the Mayor and
shall file and make available a reasonable number of copies in the
office of the City Clerk.
A minimum of 14 days must intervene between introduction and
passage of an ordinance unless Council finds and declares a public
emergency posing a sudden, clear and present danger to life or property.
However, Council may by the affirmative vote of six of its seven members
reduce or eliminate the fourteen-day period between introduction and
passage of any ordinance.
Subject to the provisions of Section 221 Submission to Mayor
and Veto Power, every adopted ordinance except emergency legislation
shall become effective at the expiration of 30 days after passage
by Council and approval by the Mayor, or repassage by Council over
the Mayor's veto, or at a date specified therein, but not less than
10 days after adoption.
An emergency ordinance may be adopted to meet a public emergency
posing a sudden, clear and present danger to life or property. An
emergency ordinance shall be introduced in the form and manner prescribed
for an ordinance generally, except that it shall be plainly designated
as an emergency ordinance and shall describe in clear and specific
terms the nature of the emergency. Every emergency ordinance shall
automatically stand repealed as of the 91st day following the date
on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of
the ordinance if the emergency still exists.
A. Before any ordinance takes effect, it must first be submitted to
the Mayor for approval. The Mayor shall sign the ordinance within
10 days if approved, but if not, shall return it to Council stating
objections in a written message, except in the case of budget or levy
ordinances for which said period shall be reduced to five days. Council
may at its next meeting, reconsider the ordinance and may pass it
over the Mayor's veto by the affirmative vote of five members of City
Council.
[Amended 11-6-2001]
B. If the Mayor fails within 10 days after any ordinance is submitted
to him to sign the ordinance and/or return it to Council, such ordinance
shall be considered adopted at the expiration of the ten-day period,
except in the case of budget or levy ordinances, such ordinances shall
be considered adopted at the expiration of the five day period.
[Amended 11-6-2001]
C. The veto power of the Mayor shall not apply to ordinances adopted
by initiative or referendum.
The Clerk shall record all ordinances, resolutions and City
Council minutes in accordance with the Retention and Disposition Schedule
for Records of Pennsylvania Municipalities. No later than three months
after the close of each year, the codification and index of ordinances
shall be compiled. After they are passed, all ordinances shall be
open and available for public inspection at the Allentown Public Library.
Nothing in this Article is intended to preclude Council from
taking appropriate action by resolution or motion.
City Council shall appoint an officer of the City who shall
have the title of City Clerk. The City Clerk shall give notice of
Council meetings to its members and the public, take the minutes of
all City Council meetings, keep the minutes of its proceedings, be
a notary public, shall serve as secretary to the Council and perform
such other duties as are assigned by the Administrative Code, the
Council, or state law.