The powers, composition, terms, election, eligibility, authority, prohibitions and other matters concerning the elected Borough Council are set forth in Article II of the Home Rule Charter for the Borough of West Chester.
{Amended 12-19-2001 by Ord. No. 18-2001]
A.
Salary of
Council members. Each member of Council shall be paid an annual salary
as compensation for the duties imposed by Act No. 581 of 1965, as
amended, known as the Borough Code, as follows:
B.
Salary of
Mayor. The Mayor of the Borough of West Chester shall be paid an annual
salary as compensation for the duties imposed by Act No. 581 of 1965,
as amended, known as the Borough Code, as follows:
To protect the Borough Council and the Mayor
from personal liability in the performance of their duties, indemnification
and personal liability insurance shall be provided by the Borough.
The amounts and limits of said insurance will be determined by the
Borough Council. Each Council person and the Mayor shall be indemnified
against expenses (including attorney's fees), judgments, fines and
amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him/her
in connection with any adverse action by reason of the fact that he/she
is or was a Council member or Mayor, if they acted in good faith and
in a manner he/she reasonably believed to be in the best interests
of the Borough and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding,
had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful.
A.
The termination of any action, suit or proceeding
by judgment, order, settlement, conviction or upon a plea of nolo
contendere or its equivalent shall not of itself create a presumption
that the Council member or Mayor did not act in good faith and in
a manner which he/she reasonably believed to be in the best interests
of the Borough and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding,
had reasonable cause to believe that his/her conduct was unlawful.
B.
To the extent that the Council member or Mayor has
been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any adverse
action, he/she shall be indemnified against expenses, including attorney's
fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection therewith
as of right. In all other instances, indemnification should be made
by the Borough only as authorized in a specific case upon a determination
that the indemnification is proper in the circumstances because he/she
has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth above. Such determination
shall be made by the Borough Council by a majority vote of a quorum
consisting of Council members who are not parties to the adverse action
or, if such a quorum is not obtainable or if a disinterested quorum
of the Council so directs, by an independent legal counsel in a written
opinion.
C.
Expenses incurred in defending a civil or criminal
action suit or proceeding shall be paid by the Borough in advance
of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding as authorized
by the Borough Council in a specific case upon receipt of an undertaking
by or on behalf of the Council member or Mayor to repay such an amount,
unless it shall ultimately be determined that he/she is entitled to
be indemnified by the Borough as provided herein.
D.
The indemnification provided by this section shall
not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking
indemnification may be entitled by any contract or as a matter of
law.
E.
The indemnification shall continue as to such person
who has ceased to be a Council member or Mayor and shall inure to
the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such person.
The Borough Council shall elect a President
and Vice President as provided in Section 212 of the Home Rule Charter.
The Mayor shall preside at each reorganization meeting until the Council
has a President and Vice President.
A.
The procedure at the reorganization meeting shall
be for the Mayor to administer the oath of office to first any reelected
members and then to newly elected members of the Borough Council in
numerical order according to their ward represented. The Mayor will
then open the floor for nominations for President of Council. Council
members may nominate any one of their members, including themselves;
however, each nomination will require a second. To be considered,
each person nominated must accept the nomination, and, after all nominations
have been made, the Mayor shall announce that nominations are closed
and call for a vote. The Borough Secretary will poll the Council by
roll call vote, and each member will announce the name for which they
are casting their ballot. Election of the President of Council shall
be by majority vote of Council members present, unless after three
ballots no member has obtained a majority vote. A plurality vote will
be sufficient on the fourth ballot, if necessary. The procedure will
be repeated for Vice President of Council.
B.
The President, at the stated hour for each meeting,
shall call the meeting to order, he/she shall preserve order and decorum,
decide all questions of order and conduct the proceedings of the meeting
in accordance with parliamentary rules contained herein and in Robert's
Rules of Order, unless otherwise provided by statute. Any member of
the Borough Council shall have the right of appeal from the decision
of the presiding officer. No appeal shall be debated, and the appeal
may be sustained by the majority vote of the members present.
C.
If the President is absent at the designated time
for any meeting, the Vice President shall call the meeting to order
and preside.
D.
In the absence of the President and the Vice President,
the Borough Council shall elect a President Pro Tem, who shall have
all the powers of the President.
E.
The President of the Borough Council shall have the
powers and duties as provided in Section 213 of the Home Rule Charter
and, as such, will coordinate with the Borough Manager the activities
of the Borough Council.
F.
The Mayor shall have the powers and duties as provided
in Section 401 of the Home Rule Charter and as further defined herein.
(1)
The Mayor shall select and submit to the Council for
consideration and approval the Chief of Police, candidates for Police
Department promotions and candidates for police officer appointment,
subject to the candidates for all of the aforementioned positions
having been certified as eligible by the West Chester Civil Service
Commission. Furthermore, in submitting candidates for Council approval,
the Mayor shall abide by Veteran's Preference Law,[1] federal and state statutes and the West Chester Borough
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 51 Pa.C.S.A. § 7101
et seq.
(2)
Borough Council approval of candidates nominated by
the Mayor may be made contingent on the candidates successful completion
of any or all of the following: physical examination, psychological
examination, drug screening and polygraph examination.
(3)
In accord with the Home Rule Charter and this Administrative
Code, the Mayor, through the Police Chief, shall direct the administration
of the Police Department. Accordingly, the Mayor shall have the authority
to establish rules, regulations and procedures for the Police Department.
The Mayor shall have the authority, which may be delegated to the
Police Chief, to take disciplinary action against police officers
up to and including suspension in accord with departmental rules,
regulations and labor contracts. In addition, the Mayor may recommend
termination of a police officer for just cause in compliance with
the West Chester civil service regulations, departmental regulations
and labor contracts and subject to confirmation by the Borough Council
at the next regularly scheduled Borough Council meeting following
receipt of the Mayor's written recommendation to terminate.
Regular public meetings of the Borough Council
shall be held in the West Chester Municipal Building or at such location
as may be designated by the Council. Adjourned and special meetings
shall be called in compliance with Section 214 of the Home Rule Charter.
A regularly stated time for public comments
on matters not included in the agenda is provided in the order of
business for each regular public meeting of the Borough Council. On
matters included in the agenda, citizens and taxpayers will be recognized
for comments during the time the agenda item is under discussion.
Public comments and questions will not be permitted after a motion
has been made but has not yet been disposed. A citizen or taxpayer
who wishes to be heard or to address the Chair shall state his/her
name and address for the record. A member of the public may be asked
by the President, should the orderly procedure of the meeting so require,
to limit his/her remarks to no longer than five minutes.
All rules of procedure shall be in accordance
with the Home Rule Charter and the current edition of Robert's Rules
of Order unless modified by ordinance of the Borough Council.
A.
When two or more members simultaneously seek recognition,
the presiding officer shall name the member who is to speak first.
B.
When a question is under discussion, no action shall
be in order except to adjourn, to lay it on the table, to call the
previous question, to postpone to a certain day, to refer to a committee,
to amend or to postpone indefinitely. These motions shall have precedence
in the order listed.
C.
Any member desirous of terminating the debate may
move the previous question, in which event the presiding officer shall
announce the question as "Shall the main question now be put?" If
the majority of the members present vote in the affirmative, the main
question shall be taken without further debate, its effect being to
put an end to all debate and bring the Borough Council to a direct
vote, first upon any pending amendments and then upon the main question.
D.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order, and
a motion to adjourn, to lay it on the table and a call for the previous
question shall be decided without debate.
E.
The Borough Council may adopt such other rules of
procedures as may be deemed appropriate and are not in conflict with
the Home Rule Charter and this Administrative Code.
Standing and ad hoc committees of the Borough
Council may be established by the President of the Borough Council
or by an affirmative vote of the Borough Council.
Minutes of all voting meetings of the Borough
Council and committees of the Borough Council shall be kept. Minutes
shall consist of a record of any vote or official action taken by
the Borough Council or its committees. Minutes shall indicate the
legislation, action or recommendation proposed, the action taken and
the results of the vote, including the vote of each participant in
a roll call vote when called for. Minutes shall not contain a verbatim
record of any proceeding, except in a public hearing where testimony
is taken under oath or required by the Home Rule Charter or other
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States.
