[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the Borough of West Chester:
Art. I, 10-28-1968 as Ord. No. 16-1968; Art. II, 7-21-1972 as Res. No. 14-1972.
Sections 16-5 and 16-6A(14) amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1,
General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Officers and employees — See Ch. 20.
[Adopted 10-28-1968 as Ord.
No. 16-1968]
The office of Borough Manager be and the same is hereby created, subject
to the right of the borough by ordinance at any time to abolish said office.
As soon as practicable after the passage of this Article, the Borough
Council shall elect, by vote of a majority of the members, one (1) person
to fill said office, who shall serve until the first Monday of January of
the even-numbered year succeeding his election and until his successor is
elected and qualifies. The office shall be filled biennially thereafter. In
case of a vacancy, the Borough Council shall, by a vote of a majority of members,
fill said office. The Borough Manager shall, however, be subject to removal
by the Council at any time by a vote of a majority of members.
The Borough Manager shall be chosen solely on the basis of his executive
and administrative abilities, with special reference to his actual experience
in or his knowledge of accepted practices in respect to the duties of his
office as herein outlined.
Before entering upon his duties, the Borough Manager shall give a bond
to the borough with corporate surety to be approved by the Borough Council,
in the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000.), conditioned for the faithful
performance of his duties. The premium shall be paid by the borough.
[Amended 5-10-1989 by Ord.
No. 11-1989]
The salary of the Borough Manager shall be fixed from time to time by
the Borough Council.
The Borough Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of the
borough, and he shall be responsible to the Council as a whole for the proper
and efficient administration of all the affairs of said borough. His powers
and duties shall relate to the general management of all borough business
not expressly by statute imposed or conferred upon the Borough Council.
A.
Subject to recall by ordinance of the Council, the power
and duties of the Borough Manager shall include the following:
(1)
He shall supervise and be responsible for the activities
of all municipal departments.
(2)
He shall hire and, when necessary for the good of the
service, shall suspend or discharge all employees, provided that persons covered
by the civil service provisions of the Borough Code shall be hired, suspended
or discharged in accordance with such provisions, and provided further that
the Borough Manager shall report at the next meeting thereafter of the Council
any action taken by authority of this subsection.
(3)
He shall prepare and submit to the Council before the
close of the fiscal year or on an alternate date as the Council shall determine
a proposed budget for the next fiscal year, together with his explanatory
comments thereon. In preparing the budget, the Borough Manager shall obtain
from the head of each department, agency, board or officer estimates of revenues
and expenditures and other supporting data as he requests. The Borough Manager
shall review such estimates and may revise them before submitting the budget
to the Council.
(4)
He shall be responsible for the administration of the
budget after its adoption by the Council.
(5)
He shall hold such other municipal offices or head one
(1) or more of the municipal departments as the Council may from time to time
direct. The Borough Manager or his duly authorized agent shall perform the
duties of Secretary of the Borough Council.
(6)
He shall attend all meetings of the Council and of Council
committees and shall receive notice of all special meetings of the Council
or its committees.
(7)
He shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of the Council
and supply facts pertinent thereto.
(8)
He shall keep the Council informed as to the conduct
of borough affairs, submit periodic reports on the condition of borough finances
and make such other reports as the Council requests. He shall also make such
recommendations to the Council as he deems necessary.
(9)
He shall submit to the Council, as soon as possible after
the close of the fiscal year, a complete report on the financial and administrative
activities of the borough for the preceding year.
(10)
He shall see that the provisions of all franchises, leases,
permits and privileges granted by the borough are observed.
(11)
He may employ, by and with the approval of the Council,
experts and consultants to perform work and to advise in connection with any
of the functions of the borough.
(12)
He shall attend to the letting of contracts in due form
of law, and he shall supervise the performance and faithful execution of the
same except insofar as such duties are expressly imposed upon some other borough
officer.
(13)
He shall see that all money owed to the borough is promptly
paid and that proper proceedings are taken for security and collection of
all the borough's claims.
(14)
He shall be the Purchasing Officer of the borough, and
he shall purchase, in accordance with the provisions of the Borough Code,
all supplies and equipment for the various agencies, boards, departments and
other offices of the borough; provided, however, that the cost of no single
article purchased by the Manager may be in excess of four thousand dollars
($4,000.). He shall keep an account of all purchases and shall from time to
time, or when directed by the Council, make a full written report thereof.
He shall also issue rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the
Council, governing the requisition and purchasing of all municipal supplies
and equipment.
[Amended 5-10-1989 by Ord.
No. 11-1989]
(15)
All complaints regarding service or personnel of the
borough shall be referred to the Borough Manager. He, or an officer designated
by him, shall investigate and dispense with such complaints, and the Borough
Manager shall report thereon to the Council.
The Mayor is hereby authorized to delegate to the Borough Manager, subject
to recall by written notification at any time, any of his nonlegislative and
nonjudicial powers and duties in conformance with the provisions of the Borough
Code.
Neither the Council nor any of its committees or members shall dictate
or attempt to dictate the hiring of any person or the discharge of any person
from employment, or in any manner take part in the hiring, suspending or discharging
of employees in the administrative service of the borough, except as required
to do so by the civil service provisions of the Borough Code. Except for the
purpose of inquiry, the Council, its committees and its members shall deal
with the administrative service solely through the Borough Manager, and neither
the Council nor any of its committees nor any of its members shall give orders,
publicly or privately, to any subordinates of the Borough Manager, except
in case of emergencies.
If the Borough Manager becomes ill or needs to be absent from the borough,
he shall designate one (1) qualified member of his staff who shall perform
the duties of Borough Manager during his absence or disability. The person
so designated shall not perform these duties for a period longer than two
(2) weeks without the approval of the Council.
[Adopted 7-21-1972 as Res.
No. 14-1972]
The Borough Manager is authorized to negotiate for the sale or disposal
of all surplus or otherwise unusable property of the borough of an estimated
sale value of less than two hundred dollars ($200.) on such terms and conditions
as he considers to be in the best interest of the borough, without advertisement
and approval of the Council, provided only that the Borough Manager obtains
the written approval of one (1) member of the Borough Council.
