[EDITOR'S NOTE: The Penn Hills Charter was approved by
the voters on November 6, 1973. Dates appearing in parentheses following
a section heading indicate that the section was amended or adopted
on the date given.]
PREAMBLE
We, the citizens of Penn Hills, adopt this Charter as
our framework of government to meet the present and future needs of
the Municipality.
We adopt this Charter with the expectation that it will
further the attainment of the goals toward which we strive:
— A community which emphasizes the development and enrichment
of human life through an environment which recognizes the worth and
dignity of all its citizens, and in which citizens can live in peace
and security.
— A community which is physically stimulating to the eye
and the spirit.
— A community which gives emphasis to, and recognizes
the importance of, cultural and social growth as well as physical
and economic development.
— A community which is alert to progress and which guards
against the forces of decay and decline.
— A community whose government is responsive and demonstrates
a great regarding for the opinions of all citizens, and which instills
confidence, pride and trust.
We adopt this Charter in recognition of our responsibilities
as citizens:
— To remain forthright in our conviction of the essential
rightness of the democratic system and defend it against any forces
which would seek to disrupt or destroy its foundation.
— To be firm in our belief that we can shape our institution
of government to suit our purposes, provided that those purposes are
clear and worthy.
— To avoid an attitude of cynicism or defeatism about
government, and to recognize that any failures of our government are,
in no small means, the failure of citizens to be active participants
in the governmental process.
— To revise upward our expectations of government performance
and service delivery, seeking and supporting excellence in every aspect
of government.
— To elevate to political leadership men and women whose
dedication is to public service, and who have the wisdom and skill
to distinguish between those elements of local Municipal affairs which,
although they may be thoroughly political, are not necessarily partisan.
— To guard against those afflictions of which institutions
can die; complacency; shortsightedness; and unwillingness to serve;
and an unwillingness to lend ourselves to any worthy, common purposes.
We adopt this Charter in the belief that it will strengthen
the government of the Municipality, and in so doing strengthen, generally,
the doctrine of local government which is embodied in the conviction
that the citizens of the community have the intelligence, the honesty,
the wisdom and the self-discipline to govern themselves.
