The legislative body of Chester shall be the City Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council. The Council shall be composed of five members, one of whom will be elected under the title of Mayor. The Mayor will participate as a member of Council, with full voting rights thereon, and shall be the presiding officer of Council. All references to Council members in this Charter shall include the Mayor. Council members shall be elected from the City at large.
A member of the City Council, including the Mayor, hereinafter referred to as a Council member, shall be a citizen of the United States; a qualified voter of the City; must retain such status during the term of office for which elected; should not have been convicted of any crime classified as a misdemeanor of the second class or higher; must have been a resident of the City of Chester for at least one (1) year prior to filing a petition for election; and must not otherwise be disqualified from office by the terms of this Charter or by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
No Council member shall, during the terms of office of the Council member, hold any other compensated position in the City of Chester government. This prohibition shall not preclude a nonpaying position with any local, state, or federal board or authority. Reimbursement of expenses shall not be considered compensation.
The office of Council member shall be forfeited if the Council member is declared by any court in this Commonwealth to:
A. 
Lack any qualifications for the office prescribed by this Charter or laws of the General Assembly;
B. 
Have willfully violated any express prohibition of this Charter;
C. 
Be convicted of any crime classified as a misdemeanor of the second class or higher, under the laws of the Commonwealth or of the United States, or be convicted of any comparable crime under the laws of any other state in the United States.
Council members shall serve for four-year staggered terms beginning at 10:00 a.m. of the first Monday of January following the year in which they are elected except for Council members appointed or elected to fill a vacancy, who shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of the member succeeded or as otherwise provided in Section 208 of this Charter.
The procedure for the nomination and election of Council members shall be as provided in the election laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The office of Council member shall become vacant upon death, resignation, removal of place of residence from the City, legal certification of mental and/or physical disability, or forfeiture of office as directed by this Charter, or as otherwise provided by law.
The compensation of the Council members under this Charter shall be as set by City Council. Council may establish by ordinance the annual compensation of succeeding Council members. It is the intent of this Charter that all Council members, except the Mayor, elected to office at the same time shall be paid at the same rate and that the Council shall not change the compensation of Council members then in office for the remainder of their present term. They shall be authorized to receive reimbursement of reasonable expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with regulations which shall be set forth in the Administrative Code or other ordinance.
The Council shall organize at a meeting at 10:00 a.m. on the first Monday of January of each year. If the first Monday is a legal holiday, the organizational meeting will be held on the first day following which is not a legal holiday. At the organizational meeting the Council shall elect from its membership a Deputy Mayor to serve at the pleasure of the Council. The Deputy Mayor shall serve as presiding officer of Council during any temporary absence of the Mayor and shall serve as the City's representative at ceremonial occasions during any temporary absence of the Mayor or at such other times as the Mayor may request. The Council shall also appoint a City Clerk to maintain records of Council and perform such other duties as prescribed for City Clerks by general law, this Charter, the Administrative Code, or other direction of Council.
The Council shall meet regularly at least once in every month at such time and place within the City, as the Council may prescribe by ordinance or resolution.
At its first meeting each year, the Council shall designate and advertise the calendar of regular monthly meetings for the remainder of the year. Special meetings may be held on the call of the presiding officer by providing notice to each Council member at least twenty-four hours in advance of such special meeting, which meeting notice shall be prominently posted at the City Hall. In the event of an emergency which makes it necessary to convene a meeting with less than twenty-four hours' advance notice, such notice requirement may be waived, provided all reasonable effort is made to provide Council with direct notice. The Council may, in the Administrative Code or other ordinance, adopt rules and regulations for its meetings which shall be designed to assure full and equal participation in the deliberations of the Council by all of its members and shall not be inconsistent with specific provisions of this Charter. All regular meetings of the Council, and any special meetings at which official actions are taken, shall be open to the public and public notice of such meetings shall be given.
A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. The Council shall conduct no business except in the presence of a quorum. The action of a majority of Council members present and entitled to vote shall be binding upon and constitute the action of the Council, provided a quorum is present, except as otherwise stated in this Charter. The phrase "majority of the total membership of the Council" or similar language is used elsewhere in this Charter to indicate actions which must be taken by a majority of the total membership rather than by a majority of a quorum.
All actions of the Council shall be taken by the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or motion. All legislation shall be enacted by the adoption of an ordinance. All ordinances and resolutions shall be in written form and enacted only after reasonable notice, except as otherwise provided in this Charter or the Administrative Code. All final action in adopting ordinances and resolutions shall be by voice vote unless a roll call is required by a member of Council, and the vote of each Council member shall be entered in the record of the meeting.
The City Clerk shall maintain a written record of the minutes and proceedings of all meetings of the Council. All ordinances and resolutions shall be entered, as approved, in the record books of the City. All records and reports shall be open and available for public inspection at City Hall throughout normal office hours. No citizen of Chester shall be denied reasonable access to all public records of the City. Copies of the minutes, ordinances, resolutions, and other official reports and actions of the Council shall be available to the public at a reasonable fee established by Council.
All legislative powers and duties of the City shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by the Council. The Council shall provide for the exercise of and performance of all legislative powers and duties imposed on the City by law or this Charter, and specifically, but not limited to, the following:
A. 
To adopt the budget, make appropriations for expenditures for all lawful purposes and levy taxes authorized by law and limitations thereon imposed by this Charter or general law;
B. 
To adopt, amend, and repeal an Administrative Code to create, alter, combine, and/or abolish municipal departments, bureaus, boards, and commissions, and prescribe procedures not inconsistent with this Charter or general law;
C. 
To make or cause to be made such studies or post-audits and investigations as it deems to be in the best interest of the City;
D. 
To adopt ordinances and resolutions not inconsistent with or restrained by the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth or by this Charter, and prescribe fines and penalties consistent with general law for the violation of City ordinances;
E. 
To make provision for any matter of the City government not otherwise provided for in this Charter or general law, and not inconsistent therewith.