The Council, by a majority vote of its total membership, shall
appoint a City Manager, hereinafter referred to as "Manager," who
shall be a full-time employee to serve under terms established by
the Council. The Council shall, in the Administrative Code or other
ordinance, set the compensation of the Manager.
The Manager shall be chosen solely on the basis of executive
and administrative training or experience with respect to the duties
of the office set forth in the Charter. The Manager need not be a
resident of the city nor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the
time of appointment but as soon as possible thereafter and within
one year shall become and during tenure shall remain a resident of
the city unless otherwise specifically authorized by the Council.
The Manager may be removed from office at any time by a majority vote of the total membership of the Council. Action to remove the Manager may be taken only by a resolution adopted at a public meeting of the Council, which shall set forth the effective date of such removal. The Council shall notify the Manager in writing of its intention to remove the Manager at least five days prior to the date on which such action shall be considered. When a vacancy occurs in the office of Manager by reason of death, resignation or removal, the Council shall appoint a qualified successor in accordance with § 2-401.
The City Manager shall be the chief executive officer and Secretary
of the city and shall be responsible to the Council for executing
all policies established by the Council and for the proper administration
of all affairs of the city placed under the charge of the Manager.
In addition, the powers and duties of the Manager shall include but
not be limited to the following:
A.
Supervise and be responsible for the activities of all municipal
departments and all city employees except as otherwise provided by
this Charter.
B.
Appoint, with the approval of the majority of the total membership
of the Council, all officers and department heads except the Solicitor
and members of boards and commissions.
C.
Approve the hiring and, when necessary, suspend or discharge any
or all employees under the supervision of the Manager except for department
heads or other officers which are appointed by or with the approval
of the Council. Department heads and other officers appointed by the
Manager may be suspended or discharged with the approval of a majority
of the total members of the Council.
D.
Prepare and submit to the Council the proposed budgets of the city
as required by this Charter and be responsible for administration
of the budgets and all other ordinances and resolutions adopted by
the Council.
E.
Keep the Council fully informed as to the conduct of city affairs;
submit monthly reports on the city finances and administrative matters
and such other report as the Council may prescribe; prepare an annual
report to the Council, which shall be available to the public; and
make such recommendations to the Council as the Manager deems necessary
on matters affecting the health, safety, welfare and administration
of the city.
F.
Exercise any additional powers and duties conferred upon the Manager
by this Charter, general laws or by ordinance or resolution of the
Council.
No Council member shall publicly or privately seek individually
to interfere with the official acts of city officers and employees.
However, nothing herein contained shall prevent the Council from establishing
committees of its members to review operations and legislative needs
of the city departments or from assigning individual members to liaison
relationships with boards, commissions and authorities. It is the
intent of this Charter that the Council act as a body in relation
to all administrative matters.
The Manager shall designate, in writing, a qualified member
of the administrative staff of the city to serve as Acting Manager
during the temporary absence or disability of the Manager. The Council,
by a majority vote of its total membership, may at any time revoke
such designation and appoint a qualified employee of the city to serve
as Acting Manager during such temporary absence or disability of the
Manager.
