[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Shaler 1-2-1968 by Ord. No.
1155. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following rules of order and procedure shall govern the
deliberations and meetings of the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Shaler and of the committees thereof.
[Amended 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 1739]
A.
The
Township Commissioners shall organize on the first Monday of January
of each even-numbered year. If the first Monday is a legal holiday,
the meeting shall be held the first day following. They shall assemble
for such purpose at their place of meeting at 7:30 p.m.
B.
The
Board shall organize by the election of one of its number as President
and one as a Vice President, who, as long as they continue to be Commissioners,
shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified.
The President or, in his absence, the Vice President shall preside
at all meetings of the Board and shall perform such other duties as
are specified in this chapter or which may be prescribed by ordinance.
[Amended 1-27-1998 by Ord. No. 1754; 9-14-2004 by Ord. No. 1827]
Regular meetings of the Board of Commissioners shall be held
on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m., prevailing time,
in the Township building. If said second Tuesday is a legal holiday,
the meeting shall be held on the first day following at the same time
and place. Said meeting may, from time to time, be advanced to the
first Tuesday or postponed to the third Tuesday by the President upon
five days' written notice delivered to the home of each Commissioner.
A.
Special
meetings of the Board of Commissioners may be called at any time by
the President or by any three Commissioners.
(1)
At such time, it shall be the duty of the Secretary to call a special
meeting of the Board of Commissioners, to be held in the Township
building, at such time as the Secretary may fix but not less than
one day nor more than three days after the Secretary's receipt
of the request. If the Secretary shall neglect or refuse to issue
such call, the person or persons making the request may do so.
(2)
Written notice of all such special meetings, stating the purpose
thereof and the person or persons calling such special meeting, shall
be given to each Commissioner by the person or persons issuing the
call as promptly as possible by delivery of such written notice to
the home of each Commissioner.
(3)
Special meetings may be held without such call and written notice
if all Commissioners are present at such special meeting or if all
Commissioners consent to such special meeting in a writing containing
the purpose of such special meeting filed with the Secretary prior
to such special meeting.
B.
At
all special meetings of the Board of Commissioners, the only business
that may be considered is that stated in the written notice thereof
or in the consent in writing.
A majority of the Commissioners in office shall constitute a
quorum at all regular, special and organizational meetings of the
Board of Commissioners. The Commissioners present at a duly organized
meeting can continue to do business until adjournment, notwithstanding
the withdrawal of enough Commissioners to leave less than a quorum.
The Board of Commissioners may, by a majority vote of the Commissioners
present at any meeting, adjourn said meeting from time to time to
a specific date and hour.
A.
Organizational
meetings of the Board of Commissioners shall be conducted with the
Secretary presiding as Acting Chairman and the Assistant Secretary
as Acting Secretary until such time as the President and Secretary
are elected. The following items of business shall be taken up in
the following order:
(1)
Oath of office of newly elected members.
(2)
Call to order.
(3)
Roll call and announcement of presence of quorum.
(4)
Election of President.
(5)
Election of Vice President.
(6)
Election of Secretary, Manager and Earned Income Tax Collector.
(7)
Election of Solicitor.
(8)
Election of Township Civil Engineer.
(9)
Appointment of Assistant Secretary.
(10)
Appointment of Water Engineer.
(11)
Selection of official depository.
(12)
Selection of official newspaper.
(13)
Appointment of standing committees.
(14)
Appointments to fill vacancies in various special committees and
commissions of the Township.
B.
Regular
meetings.
(1)
Regular meetings of the Board of Commissioners shall be conducted
in the following order:
(a)
Call to order by the President or, in his absence, by the Vice President.
(b)
Roll call of members and announcement of presence of quorum.
(c)
Approval or correction of minutes of previous regular or special
meetings.
(d)
Opening of bids.
(e)
Petitions and complaints.
(f)
Reports of special committees.
(g)
Unfinished business.
(h)
New business.
(i)
Receipts.
(j)
Authorizations.
(k)
Ordinances.
(l)
Resolutions.
(m)
Reports of standing committees.
(n)
Miscellaneous.
(o)
Adjournment.
(2)
The foregoing order may be varied from time to time by the President
or, in his absence, the Vice President.
[Added 1-13-1976 by Ord.
No. 1375]
A.
The
President or, in his absence, the Vice President shall call all meetings
of the Board of Commissioners to order at the stated hour and preside
thereover. He shall preserve order and decorum, decide all questions
of order and precedence of motions and conduct the meetings in accordance
with Robert's Rules of Order Revised, unless otherwise provided
by statute or by these rules. Any Commissioner may appeal a ruling
by the presiding officer immediately after such ruling is made; this
appeal is not subject to debate and may be sustained by a majority
of the Commissioners present.
B.
The
presiding officer may speak upon any question without vacating the
chair.
C.
The
presiding officer shall be entitled to vote in all cases where his
vote would change the result. Any Commissioner, including the presiding
officer, upon request, shall be entitled to have a roll-call vote
on any matter to be voted on by the Board of Commissioners. In the
absence of such request, all votes shall be by voice or by roll call
as directed by the presiding officer.
[Amended 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 1739]
[Amended 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 1739]
In addition to the provisions of 53 P.S. § 56502,
all ordinances shall be introduced and passed in accordance with the
following procedures:
A.
Regular
procedure.
(1)
Each ordinance shall be approved as to form by or drafted by the
Solicitor and shall be in writing.
(2)
At the time of its introduction at a meeting of the Board of Commissioners,
a brief description of the ordinance and the reasons for its introduction
shall be given the Board.
(3)
The proposed ordinance shall thereupon automatically be tabled, and
the Secretary shall assign to it a temporary number, without the necessity
of a tabling motion, until presented for consideration and passage
at the next regular meeting.
(4)
As soon as possible after such introduction, but not later than three
days prior to said next regular meeting, each Commissioner shall be
given a copy of such proposed ordinance; and, additionally, copies
shall be kept on file in the Secretary's office for examination
by the public.
(5)
At said next regular meeting, any Commissioner may move the adoption
of such proposed ordinance. If such motion for adoption is seconded
by another Commissioner, the presiding officer shall direct the Secretary
to call the roll of the Commissioners and record their oral vote.
(6)
All ordinances shall be adopted by a majority vote of the Commissioners
present, unless a greater vote is required by law or other ordinance.
(7)
It shall not be necessary to have such proposed ordinance read prior
to its submission to the vote of the Commissioners unless such reading
is requested by one of the Commissioners.
(8)
After passage, the ordinance shall be given a permanent number by
the Secretary.
B.
Special
procedure.
(1)
If it is desired to adopt an ordinance at the same meeting at which
it is introduced, the Commissioner introducing the ordinance shall
move its adoption specially, and if such motion receives a second,
said ordinance may be passed by a vote of 2/3 or more of the Commissioners
present.
Committees of the Board of Commissioners shall be of three types:
standing committees, special committees and committees of the whole
Board.
A.
Standing committees.
[Amended 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 1739]
B.
The Secretary shall cause to be distributed to all Commissioners
at least three days prior to each regular meeting of the Board of
Commissioners minutes of all committee meetings held since the last
regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners, minutes of the last
meeting of the Board of Commissioners and a tentative agenda for said
regular meetings.
C.
All committee meetings shall be held after notice thereof is filed
with the Secretary, and each meeting shall be open to the public.
Any committee may require a Township officer or employee to attend
its meetings and supply to it information needed in connection with
any matter pending before the committee.
Any recommendation of a committee requiring action by the Board
of Commissioners shall be submitted to the Board of Commissioners
in the form of a motion made by a Commissioner who is a member of
that committee.
The deliberations of the Board of Commissioners shall be conducted
in the following manner:
A.
Any Commissioner may require the reading in full of any ordinance,
resolution or other matter at any time it is before the Board.
B.
No Commissioner shall address the Board until he has been recognized
by the presiding officer. He shall confine his remarks to the question
under discussion and avoid all personalities or offensive remarks.
C.
No person other than a Commissioner, the Secretary, the Solicitor
or a person whose business is listed on the agenda for a meeting shall
address the Board except with the consent of the presiding officer.
D.
No motion shall be discussed or acted upon unless and until it has
been seconded, unless the rules provide otherwise. No motion shall
be withdrawn or amended without the consent of the Commissioner making
the motion and the Commissioner seconding it.
E.
When a question is under discussion, no action shall be in order
except to adjourn, to table, the previous question, to refer to a
committee and to amend. These motions shall have precedence in the
order listed.
F.
Any Commissioner desirous of terminating the debate may move the
main question, in which event the presiding officer shall announce
the question as "Shall the main question now be put?" If a majority
of the Commissioners present vote in the affirmative, the main question
shall be taken without further debate; the effect of such vote being
to end all debate and bring the Board to an immediate vote, first
upon any pending amendments and then upon the main question.
G.
A motion to fix the time at which to adjourn and to adjourn are privileged
motions and always in order. These motions and motions to lay on the
table or the main question are not debatable.
H.
It shall be in order for any member voting in the majority on any
particular question, provided that he has not changed his vote after
the result has been announced, to move for a reconsideration of that
question at the meeting at which the vote was taken or at the next
succeeding regular meeting.
These rules may be temporarily suspended in whole or in part
by a vote of 2/3 of the Commissioners present at any meeting.
[Amended 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 1739]
The Chair of the Board must refuse to allow an individual to
address the Board at a monthly meeting on a subject not listed in
that meeting's agenda unless that individual has filed a written
notice to the Township Manager at 300 Wetzel Road, Glenshaw, Pennsylvania,
15116, at least five days before the meeting, stating his intention
to speak and identifying the subject of his speech.
[Amended 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 1739]
The Board will be available 15 minutes prior to each meeting,
in the second-floor meeting room, to answer any questions by those
present on agenda items.
