A. 
No person appointed to a position in the Police Department pursuant to these rules may be suspended without pay or removed and no person promoted in rank pursuant to these rules may be reduced in rank except for the following reasons:
(1) 
Physical or mental disability affecting the officer's ability to continue in service, in which case the officer shall receive an honorable discharge from service;
(2) 
Neglect or violation of any official duty;
(3) 
Violation of any law which provides that such violation constitutes a misdemeanor or felony;
(4) 
Inefficiency, neglect, intemperance, disobedience to orders or conduct unbecoming an officer;
(5) 
Intoxication while on duty; or
(6) 
Engaging or participating in or conducting any political or election campaign while on duty or in uniform or while using Borough property otherwise than to exercise the person's own right of suffrage.
(7) 
Engaging or participating in the conduct of a political or election campaign for an incompatible office as provided in these rules.
B. 
No officer shall be removed for religious, racial or political reasons.
C. 
A written statement of any charges made against any officer so employed shall be furnished to the officer within five days after those charges have been filed by the Borough Council. The person so employed shall have 10 days from the date of receiving the notice in which to submit a written request for a hearing to the Civil Service Commission under § 8-43.
If, for reasons of economy or other reasons, it shall be deemed necessary by the Borough of West Conshohocken to reduce the number of full-time police officers in the Department, the Borough of West Conshohocken shall furlough the person or persons, including probationers, last appointed to the force. Such reduction shall be accomplished by furloughing in numerical order commencing with the person last appointed until such reduction has been accomplished. In the event that the appointing authority decides to increase the size of the Police Department, the furloughed officers shall be reinstated in order of their seniority in the Department if the furloughed officer accepts reinstatement, in writing, within 30 days of receiving notice of the opening. These reductions in force provisions are not applicable to the Chief of Police.
A. 
Whenever a police officer is suspended without pay, removed or reduced in rank, the specific charges warranting such actions shall be stated in writing by Borough Council. The charges shall be stated clearly and in sufficient detail to enable the officer to understand the charges and to allow the officer an opportunity to respond to those charges. The charges shall specify the subsection of § 8-40 which provides the basis for the disciplinary action as well as an explanation of the factual circumstances upon which the appointing authority relied in finding a violation of § 8-40.
B. 
Within five days after the Borough Council has voted to impose the disciplinary action, a written statement of the charges shall be delivered to the officer either by personal service or by certified or registered mail. In addition, the charges shall notify the officer of the right to appeal under §§ 8-40 and 8-43 of these rules. A copy of the statement of charges shall also be served upon the members of the Civil Service Commission.
A. 
The officer who has been suspended, removed or reduced in rank may appeal the decision of the appointing authority by written notice to the Secretary of the Commission at 112 Ford Street, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428 requesting a hearing. This request shall be received by the Commission within 10 days after the officer received notice of the discipline. The officer may make written answers to any charges filed not later than the date fixed for the hearing. Failure of the officer to provide written answers to any of the charges shall not be deemed an admission by the officer.
B. 
The Commission shall schedule a hearing within 10 days from the officer's written request for a hearing, unless continued by the Commission for cause at the request of the Commission, the Borough Council, or the officer. At any such hearing, the officer against whom the charges have been made may be present and represented by counsel, may call witnesses and present testimony and documentation in his defense. The Borough of West Conshohocken may also be represented by counsel, call witnesses and present evidence as is necessary to support the charges. A stenographic record of all testimony shall be taken at every hearing and preserved by the Commission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the failure of the Commission to hold a hearing within 10 days shall not result in the dismissal of the charges filed. In the event the charges are dismissed, the record shall be sealed and not be available for public inspection.
C. 
In conducting the hearing, the Commission's standard of review shall be to determine whether sufficient evidence has been presented to support the statutory reason for the disciplinary action. If the Commission finds that sufficient evidence has been introduced to support the charge, the Commission shall not modify the penalty imposed by the Borough Council unless it finds that the penalty imposed was arbitrary, discriminatory or an abuse of the Council's discretion. In considering the appropriateness of the discipline, the Commission shall not substitute its judgment for that of the Borough Council. The Commission may request post-hearing briefs, and shall issue a written decision containing specific findings of fact and conclusions of law within 60 days of receipt of the hearing transcript.
A. 
All testimony shall be given under oath administered by the Chairperson, or in absence of the Chair, by the Vice Chairperson. The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas as set forth in § 8-13. The Council and the person sought to be suspended, removed or reduced in rank shall at all times have the right to employ counsel before the Commission and upon appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. Unless the Council or the person sought to be suspended, removed or reduced in rank requests that the proceedings before the Commission be open to the public, the proceedings before the Commission pursuant to this section shall be held in the nature of a closed executive session that shall not be open to the public. Any such request shall be presented to the Commission before the civil service hearing commences. The deliberations of the Commission, including interim rulings on evidentiary or procedural issues, may be held in private and shall not be subject to a request for being open to the public, the Council or to the person sought to be suspended, removed or reduced in rank. The Commission's disposition of the disciplinary action shall constitute official action which shall occur at a public meeting held pursuant to 65 Pa.C.S.A. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).
B. 
All parties concerned shall have immediate right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of the county, and shall there be determined as the Court deems proper. Such appeal shall be taken to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days from the date of entry by the Commission of its final order and shall be by petition. No order of suspension without pay shall be made by the Commission for a period longer than one year. In the event that the Commission fails to uphold the charges, then the person sought to be suspended, removed or demoted shall be reinstated with full pay for the period of the suspension without pay, removal or demotion, and no charges related to the suspension, removal or reduction in rank shall be officially recorded in the officer's record. A stenographic record of all testimony taken at the hearings shall be filed with, and preserved by, the Commission, which record shall be sealed and not available for public inspection in the event the charges are dismissed.