[Amended 11-3-1987 by Ord. No. 1464; 4-9-1990 by Ord. No. 1510]
The elected officers of the municipality shall be a Council
comprising seven members elected at large, one of whom shall be elected
by the voters as Mayor. The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of
Council.
All elected officers shall have been residents of the municipality
for at least one continuous year prior to the date of their election
and shall be registered voters of the municipality.
The regular election of all elected officers shall be held on
the municipal election day as established from time to time by the
laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, commencing in the year 1977.
[Amended 11-3-1987 by Ord. No. 1464; 4-9-1990 by Ord. No. 1510]
In 1989 municipal elections, a Mayor and three Council members
shall be elected for four-year terms and three Council members shall
be elected for two-year terms, the latter to be those candidates receiving
the fourth, fifth and sixth largest pluralities; and in the 1991 municipal
elections, three Council members shall be elected for four-year terms;
and continuing in such manner that three Council members be elected
at each municipal election and a Mayor at every other municipal election,
all to serve four-year terms.
Every elected officer, prior to assuming office, shall take
and sign an oath or affirmation to support the United States of America
and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to perform the duties of
the office with fidelity. The oath or affirmation may be taken and
signed before any judge or district justice of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. No person shall be permitted to assume such office until
the oath, in written form, has been filed with the municipality.
A.
A vacancy of an elected officer shall occur upon the death, resignation,
removal from office in any manner authorized by law or this Charter,
or forfeiture of the office, or for failure to serve in such office
after election thereto within 45 days after the commencement of the
term thereof. An elected officer shall forfeit office if he lacks
at any time during the term of office any qualification for the office
prescribed by this Charter, or by law, or is convicted of a crime
more serious than a summary offense as defined by Pennsylvania law,
or is absent from three consecutive regular meetings of Council without
having been excused by Council.
B.
In the case of failure of attendance, the Council shall declare such
office vacant.
A.
Vacancies in any elected office shall be filled by vote of Council
within 30 days after the occurrence of such vacancy. Every person
so appointed shall possess the same qualifications as herein set out
for persons elected to such office.
B.
Every person appointed to fill any such vacancy shall be entitled
to hold such office for the balance of the unexpired term, so long
as he shall continue to possess the qualifications pertinent to the
office, except when the vacancy shall occur within 18 months after
the commencement of the elective term, in which case the person appointed
to fill such vacancy shall serve only until the first day of January
of the first even-numbered year following his appointment. The balance
of such unexpired term shall be filled by a person elected by the
qualified voters of the municipality at the municipal election in
the year preceding such first day of January.
C.
In any case where Council shall refuse, fail or neglect, or be unable,
for any reason whatever, to fill any such vacancy within the thirty-day
period aforesaid, the Court of Common Pleas shall then, upon petition
of a Council member or of any five registered voters of the municipality,
fill the vacancy by the appointment of a qualified voter of the municipality,
who shall hold such office for the same period as if he had been appointed
by Council.
The Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of its
members and of the grounds for forfeiture of their office. A member
charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of the office
shall be entitled to a public hearing upon request within 10 days,
and notice of such hearing shall be published in one or more newspapers
of general circulation in the municipality at least one week in advance
of the hearing. Decisions made by Council under this section shall
be subject to review by the courts in accordance with existing law.
No elected officer shall hold any other compensated municipal
office or municipal employment during the term for which he is elected.
No former elected or appointed officer shall hold any other compensated
appointive municipal office or municipal employment, nor shall he
act as a paid consultant to the municipality until after the expiration
of the term for which he was elected, or until one year after his
resignation from an appointive office.
Each elected officer shall receive compensation, which shall
be determined from time to time by Council, provided each member of
Council shall receive compensation of not less than $100 per month,
except that the Mayor shall receive compensation of not less than
$150 per month. Such compensation, or any change therein, shall not
become applicable to any incumbent officer until the commencement
of a new term of office.
