Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised, including
small group rules, shall govern the determination of matters of parliamentary
procedure during meetings of the Board.
A quorum shall be three Commissioners present
at a meeting. No business shall be transacted at a meeting without
a quorum, but the Commissioners at such a meeting may adjourn to another
time.
The President shall preside at all meetings
of the Board. In the absence, disability or disqualification of the
President, the Vice President shall act instead; if neither person
is present, a Commissioner shall be elected President Pro Tempore
by a plurality of those present to preside at the meeting only. The
act of any person so designated shall be legal and binding.
Notice of all open public meetings of the Board,
including committee meetings and discussion sessions, shall be given
by the publication of the date, place and time of such meetings in
the newspaper(s) of general circulation designated by the Board and
the posting of such notice at the Township office.
A.
Notice of regular meetings shall be given by the publication
and posting of a schedule showing the date, place and time of all
regular meetings for the calendar year at least three (3) days prior
to the time of the first regular meeting.
B.
Notice of all special meetings shall be given by publication
and posting of notice at least 24 hours prior to the time of the meeting,
except that such notice shall be waived when a special meeting is
called to deal with an actual emergency involving a clear and present
danger to life or property.
C.
Notice of rescheduled meetings shall be given by publication
and posting of notice at least 24 hours prior to the time of the meeting.
D.
Notice of all recessed or reconvened meetings shall
be given by posting a notice of the place, date and time of meeting
and sending copies of such notice to interested parties.
E.
Notice of all public meetings shall be given to any
newspaper circulating in Cumberland County or a radio or television
station which so requests. Notice of all public meetings shall be
given to any individual who so requests and who provides a stamped,
addressed envelope for such notification.
F.
Notice of all regular and special meetings of the
Board shall be given to Commissioners by mail or telephone not later
than 24 hours prior to the time of the meeting.
G.
Notice of executive sessions, if not previously announced,
shall be provided in writing or by telephone to members of the Board
at least 24 hours prior to the executive session.
A.
Regular meetings of the Board shall be public and
shall be held at least once every month.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary/Manager
and the Board President to prepare an agenda of the items of business
to come before the Board at any regular meeting. The agenda, together
with all such reports as can be completed, shall be provided each
Commissioner at least three days before the meeting.
C.
The order of business shall be as follows, unless
altered by the presiding officer or a majority of those present and
voting:
[Amended 3-15-2023 by Ord. No. 824]
(1)
Call to order.
(2)
Pledge of allegiance.
(3)
Roll call.
(4)
Consideration/approval of minutes of previous meeting
occurring a minimum of 28 days prior.
[Amended 4-5-2023 by Res. No. 1084]
(5)
President's announcements.
(6)
President's
recognition of visitors.
(8)
Public
Safety Committee.
(9)
Planning and Zoning Committee.
(10)
Public Improvements Committee.
(11)
Sanitary Sewer System..
(12)
Administrative Committee.
(13)
Park and Recreation Committee.
(14)
Miscellaneous.
(15)
Public comment.
(16)
Executive session.
A.
Special meetings shall be public and may be called
for special or general purposes.
B.
The President may call a special meeting at any time
and shall call a special meeting upon the presentation of requests,
in writing, of two Commissioners. Upon the President's failure or
refusal to call a special meeting, such meeting may be called at any
time by a majority of the Commissioners.
A member of the public present at a meeting
of the Board may address the Board in accordance with the Board's
rules.
A.
All motions shall require for adoption a majority
vote of those Commissioners present and voting.
B.
All votes on taxing ordinances and municipal borrowing
ordinances under the Local Government Unit Debt Act shall be taken
by roll call.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
The Board shall cause to be made and retain as a permanent
record of the township minutes of all open meetings of the Board.
Note: only roll call votes must be recorded under Section 705 of the
Sunshine Act. Said minutes shall be comprehensible and complete and
shall show:
[Amended 3-15-2023 by Ord. No. 824]
(1)
The date, place and time of the meeting.
(2)
The names of members present.
(3)
The presiding officer.
(4)
The substance of the discussion preceding the taking
of all official actions.
(5)
Actions taken.
(6)
Recorded votes and a record by individual members
of all roll call votes taken.
(7)
The names of all citizens who appeared officially
and the subject of their testimony.
B.
The Secretary shall provide each Commissioner with
a copy of the minutes of the last meeting no later than three days
before the next regular meeting.
C.
Tape recordings shall be made of each meeting of the
Board as an administrative aid and shall be destroyed when said purpose
has been served.
D.
The minutes of Board meetings shall be approved at
the next succeeding meeting occurring a minimum of 28 days thereafter.
[Amended 4-5-2023 by Res. No. 1084]
E.
The approved minutes shall be signed by the Secretary
of the Board.
The Board may at any time recess or adjourn to an adjourned meeting at a specified date and place upon the affirmative vote of a majority of those present. The adjourned meeting shall take up its business at the point in the agenda where the motion to adjourn was acted upon. Notice of the rescheduled meeting shall be given as provided in § A252-11.
A.
The Board may hold an executive session, which is
not an open meeting, before, during or at the conclusion of an open
meeting or at some other time. The presiding officer shall announce
the reason for holding the executive session. The announcement can
be made at the open meeting prior to or after the executive session.
B.
The Board may hold an executive session for discussion
on any one or more purposes permitted under the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 701 et seq., and in accordance with the procedures and
limitations set forth therein. Those purposes may include but are
not limited to the following:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(1)
Employment and employee issues.
(2)
Conduct of collective bargaining.
(3)
The purchase or lease of real estate.
(4)
Consultation with an attorney or other professional
advisor regarding potential litigation or identifiable complaints
which may lead to litigation.
(5)
Matters which must be conducted in private to protect
a lawful privilege or confidentiality.
C.
Official actions based on discussions held in executive
sessions shall be taken at a public meeting.
A.
The Board may meet as a committee of the whole in
an open meeting to discuss issues to be acted upon at a subsequent
regular or special meeting of the Board, except that no official action
may be taken at the discussion meeting. Public notice of such meetings
shall be made.
A.
Committee meetings may be called at any time by the
committee chairperson with proper public notice.
B.
A majority of the total membership of a committee
shall constitute a quorum. Where the committee is composed of two
persons, one person in attendance shall constitute a quorum.
C.
Unless held as an executive session, committee meetings
shall be open to the public, other Board members and township officials
and employees.
D.
The committee chairperson may invite employees, contractors
or other persons who may have special knowledge of the area under
investigation.
E.
Board members who are not committee members but who
attend committee meetings may not vote on committee matters.
F.
A regularly scheduled committee meeting may be canceled
by posting a notice of cancellation at the Township office.
