The legislative body of Haverford shall be known
as the "Board of Commissioners, hereinafter referred to as the -Board."
The Board shall be composed of nine members elected from representative
districts.
Commissioner Districts, nine in number and hereinafter
referred to as "wards," shall be formed of compact, contiguous territory
following distinctive geographical boundaries and shall contain, as
nearly as possible, equal numbers of residents as determined by the
latest official census of the United States Bureau of the Census.
The initial wards for the first Board to serve under this Charter
shall be the wards in effect at the time of the municipal elections
of November 4, 1975.[1]
Changes in districts shall be made in accordance
with the law.
A member of the Board of Commissioners, hereinafter
referred to as "Commissioner," shall be a citizen of the United States,
a qualified voter of the township and a resident of the ward represented
for at least one year preceding nomination, must retain such status
during the term of office for which elected and must not otherwise
be disqualified from office by the terms of this Charter or by the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
However, nothing herein contained shall prevent the
Board from establishing committees of its members to review operations
and legislative needs of the township departments or from assigning
individual members to liaison relationships with boards, commissions
and authorities. It is the intent of this Charter that the Board act
as a body in relation to all administrative matters.
The office of Commissioner shall be forfeited
if he is declared by any court in this commonwealth to:
A.
Lack any qualifications for the office prescribed
by this Charter or laws of the General Assembly.
B.
Have willfully violated any express prohibition of
this Charter.
C.
Be convicted of any crime classified as a misdemeanor
of the second class or higher under the laws of the commonwealth or
of the United States, or be convicted of any comparable crime under
the laws of any other state in the United States.
Commissioners shall serve for four-year staggered
terms beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the first Monday of January following
the year in which they are elected, except for Commissioners appointed
or elected to fill a vacancy, who shall serve for the remainder of
the unexpired term of the member succeeded or as otherwise provided
in § C-211 of this Charter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The reference to § C-C-211
as it pertains to this section is inaccurate. The appropriate reference
should be to C-210, Procedure for filling vacancies.
A.
The procedure for the nomination and election of Commissioners
shall be as provided in the Election Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
At the 1977 election and every four years thereafter,
the Commissioners from the even-numbered wards shall be elected, and
at the 1979 election and every four years thereafter, those from the
odd-numbered wards shall be elected.
The office of Commissioner shall become vacant
upon death, resignation, removal of place of residence from the ward
represented, legal certification of mental and/or physical disability
or forfeiture of office as directed by this Charter or as otherwise
provided by law.
A.
Whenever a vacancy exists in the office of Commissioner,
the vacancy shall be filled under the following procedures:
(1)
The Board, by a majority vote of its total membership,
shall, within 30 days from the time the office becomes vacant, make
an interim appointment of a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
(2)
Should sufficient vacancies exist so that the Board
lacks the necessary majority to make the appointment, the Court of
Common Pleas, upon petition of any Commissioner or any five registered
voters of the township, shall make the interim appointments to fill
the vacancies.
(3)
Should the Board for any reason fail to fill a vacancy
within 30 days after the vacancy occurs, the Court of Common Pleas,
upon petition of any Commissioner or any five registered voters of
the township, shall make the interim appointments to fill the vacancies
which may exist.
B.
The person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve
until the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Board following
a municipal, general or primary election at which his successor shall
have been elected.
C.
At the next regularly scheduled election, municipal,
general or primary, which occurs at least 60 days after a vacancy
occurs, a qualified person shall be elected by special election to
fill the vacancy. A person elected to fill a vacancy shall assume
office at the start of the first regularly scheduled meeting of the
Board following his election and shall serve for the remainder of
the unexpired term.
The compensation of the Commissioners to first
serve under this Charter shall be and is hereby set at $3,000 per
annum. The Board may establish, by ordinance, the annual compensation
of succeeding Commissioners, but no ordinance changing compensation
shall become effective until the expiration of the term of all Commissioners
in office at the time the ordinance is enacted. It is the intent of
this Charter that all Commissioners in office at the same time shall
be paid at the same rate, and that no Board shall change the compensation
of Commissioners then in office during the term for which any of them
were elected. Ordinances affecting the compensation of future Commissioners
shall be enacted prior to the first day of February in municipal election
years in order to apply to Commissioners elected in such years and
to other Commissioners serving at the same time. Commissioners shall
be entitled to fringe benefits on the basis of those authorized for
them at the time of adoption of this Charter or as otherwise authorized
by law. They shall be authorized to receive reimbursement of reasonable
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance
with regulations which shall be set forth in the Administrative Code[1] or other ordinance.
The Board shall organize at a meeting at 7:30
p.m. on the first Monday of January of each year. If the first Monday
is a legal holiday, the organizational meeting will be held on the
first day following which is not a legal holiday. At the organizational
meeting, the Board shall elect from its membership a President and
a Vice President, who shall hold such offices at the pleasure of the
Board. The President or, in the President's absence, the Vice President
shall preside at Board meetings, shall serve as the township's representative
at ceremonial occasions and shall carry out such duties as prescribed
elsewhere in this Charter or in the Administrative Code or other ordinance.
The Board shall meet regularly at least once
in every month at such time and place within the township as the board
may prescribe by ordinance or resolution. At its first meeting each
year, the Board shall designate and advertise the calendar of regular
monthly meetings for the remainder of the year. Special meetings may
be held on the call of the presiding officer by providing notice to
each Commissioner at least 24 hours in advance of such special meeting,
which meeting notice shall be prominently posted at the Township Office.
In the event of an emergency which makes it necessary to convene a
meeting with less than 24 hours' advance notice, this requirements
may be waived. The Board shall, in the Administrative Code or other
ordinance, adopt rules and regulations for its meeting, which shall
be designed to assure full and equal participation in the deliberations
of the Board by all of its members and shall not be inconsistent with
specific provisions of this Charter. All regular meetings of the Board
and any special meetings at which official actions are taken shall
be open to the public, and public notice of such meetings shall be
given.
The Board shall cause to be prepared for each
regular meeting an agenda of matters to be considered by the Board
at such meeting, including pertinent background information, which
agenda shall be distributed to the public in attendance at the start
of the meeting. The agenda shall be available prior to the start of
the meeting. No official action may be taken on any matters not included
in the announced agenda for the meeting except by an affirmative vote
of a majority of the total number of the members of the Board. The
agenda shall include opportunity and reasonable time for public participation
in the meeting.
A majority of the members of the Board shall
constitute a quorum. The Board shall conduct no business except in
the presence of a quorum. The action of a majority of Commissioners
present and entitled to vote shall be binding upon and constitute
the action of the Board, provided that a quorum is present, except
as otherwise stated in the Charter. The phrase "majority of the total
membership of the Board" or similar language is used elsewhere in
this Charter to indicate actions which must be taken by a majority
of the total membership rather than by a majority of a quorum.
All actions of the Board shall be taken by the
adoption of an ordinance, resolution or motion. All legislation shall
be enacted by the adoption of an ordinance. All ordinances and resolutions
shall be in written form and enacted only after reasonable notice,
except as otherwise provided in this Charter. All final action in
adopting ordinances and resolutions shall be by roll call vote, and
the vote of each Commissioner shall be entered in the record of the
meeting.
The Township Secretary shall maintain a written
record of the minutes and proceedings of all meetings of the Board.
All ordinances and resolutions shall be entered, as approved, in the
record books of the township. All records and reports shall be open
and available for public inspection at the Township Office throughout
normal office hours. No citizen of Haverford Township shall be denied
reasonable access to all public records of the township. Copies of
the minutes, ordinances, resolutions and other official reports and
actions of the Board shall be available to the public without charge
or at a reasonable fee established by the Board.
All legislative powers and duties of the township
shall be exclusively vested in and exercised by the Board. The Board
shall provide for the exercise and performance of all legislative
powers and duties imposed on the township by law or this Charter and
specifically, but not limited to, the following:
A.
To adopt the budget, make appropriations for expenditures
for all lawful purposes and levy taxes authorized by law and limitations
thereon imposed by this Charter or general law.
B.
To adopt, amend and repeal an Administrative Code
to create, alter, combine and/or abolish municipal departments, bureaus,
boards and commissions and prescribe procedures not inconsistent with
this Charter or general law.
C.
To make or cause to be made such studies or postaudits
and investigations as it deems to be in the best interest of the township.
D.
To adopt ordinances and resolutions not inconsistent
with or restrained by the Constitution and laws of the commonwealth
or by this Charter and prescribe fines and penalties consistent with
general law for the violation of township ordinances.
E.
To make provision for any matter of the township government
not otherwise provided for in this Charter or general law and inconsistent
therewith.
