Township of Cheltenham, PA Article IV Operation and Procedures of the Board

§ C401 Organization of the Board.

A. The Board shall organize at 8:00 p.m. on the first Monday of January of each year (or on the following day if such Monday is a legal holiday) and shall elect by an absolute majority vote one (1) of its members as President and one (1) of its members as Vice President. In the event that the Board does not elect a President within thirty (30) days, the Commissioner with the most seniority in office shall become the Temporary President until such time as the Board shall elect a President. If two (2) or more Commissioners share highest seniority, whichever of those Commissioners received the highest percentage of the vote cast in his last election contest for Commissioner shall act as Temporary President. The same procedure shall be utilized to select a Temporary Vice President if the Board does not elect a Vice President within thirty (30) days.

B. The Board by resolution shall create standing committees which shall continue until dissolved or changed by subsequent Board resolution. Special committees may be created by Board resolution or by the President's designation for such term as the creator determines.

C. The President, with the advice and consent of the Board:

(1) Shall appoint the members of all standing committees promptly after his election, and the members of all special committees upon their creation, and shall fill vacancies as they occur.

(2) Shall designate the Chairman and Vice Chairman of each committee.

(3) May remove any member of any committee or add additional members to any committee at any time.

D. In making appointments of Commissioners to committees and in nominating Commissioners as members of citizens' groups pursuant to § C1302, the President shall, to the extent practicable, allocate such memberships equitably among the other members of the Board.

	Commentary: Under this Charter, the President has been given new responsibilities for initiating planning and budget suggestions to the Board. See Article VI. He is nevertheless given only a one-year term for several reasons. First, the Board must be content with the direction in which the President is moving, and a one-year term permits periodic reaffirmation. Second, there has been a tendency to automatic election of the most senior Board member as President. While this was understandable when the President's function was essentially to preside, it is a less desirable tradition given the President's expanded role. The Board may certainly want to elect or reelect its senior member President, but hopefully for qualities other than mere longevity. Requiring election of a President each year permits frequent and regular appraisal of the President's performance.
	The present Board has developed the salutary practice of utilizing committee review prior to Board action wherever such is feasible. It is anticipated by the GSC that this practice will be continued.

§ C402 Meetings.

A. The Board shall meet officially at least once a month at a stated time and place. At its organizational meeting, the Board shall establish and shall promptly thereafter advertise the calendar of regular monthly meetings for the following twelve (12) months. If no quorum is present at a meeting, a majority of those who do meet may agree upon another date for a meeting and may continue to so agree until the meeting is held. Additional official meetings may be called by the President upon his own motion and shall be called by the President upon the written request to him of at least one-third (1/3) of the Commissioners then in office, within ten (10) days following the delivery of such request.

B. All members shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours' written notice of all meetings of the Board and of its committees, except where an emergency makes such notice impractical the members shall receive such notice as it is possible to give. At the same time a copy of such notice shall be given the public by posting it prominently in the Township Building. The notice shall contain a statement of the nature of each item of business then expected to be proposed for consideration.

C. All meetings of the Board at which official action is to be taken, and all meetings of its committees at which a vote to recommend official action is to be taken, shall be open for public attendance. At such time as otherwise permitted by state statute, the foregoing shall not limit the right of the Board or its committees to engage in private discussions of matters upon which a vote to recommend or take official action is subsequently taken at a public meeting.

	Commentary: Posting notice of a meeting is a new requirement and is one (1) of the several vehicles used to provide additional public notice of the Board's prospective activities. The first sentence of § C402C follows the state's present Sunshine Law. The second sentence of that subsection could not presently be followed because the Sunshine Law with limited exceptions does not permit executive sessions even if the actual action is taken at subsequent public meetings. However, it was the GSC's desire to enumerate in § C402C the principles which should apply to township meetings if the Sunshine Law were repealed or changed to permit such procedures.
	The GSC believes a proper balance must be struck between the beneficial effect of "sunshine" and the modesty of expression which such public exposure often requires of normally careful politicians. In order to encourage free expression among the Commissioners of what might be easily misconstrued views, the rule is adopted that the Board and its committees may meet privately without restriction as to the subject matter of such private meetings, provided that an opportunity for public expression of views by the Commissioners is required prior to an official action or a committee decision leading to such Board action. The Sunshine Law permits such private meetings only as to limited subject matters which the Legislature expects might be sensitive, e.g., labor negotiations, while the principle incorporated in the foregoing text recognizes the possibility of such sensitivity as to any subject matter.

§ C403 Rule of procedure.

A. The Board, by ordinance, shall adopt rules of procedure for the meetings of the Board and its committees, and until it does so, the then current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall apply. In either event, the applicable rules of procedure must include the following:

(1) No second shall be required for any Commissioner to propose any action specified in § C405 hereof.

(2) All votes of the Board on all proposed ordinances, and on any other matter when requested by any Commissioner, shall be taken by roll call.

(3) The citizen's right to be heard, as provided in § C1406, may not be limited or contravened.

(4) Such other rules as are necessary to implement the procedural provisions of this Charter.

B. The Board may, by ordinance, adopt rules of procedure for meetings of citizens' groups of the township or may delegate that responsibility to those bodies. Until such rules have been adopted by the Board or a particular citizens' group, rules in use by the Board pursuant to § C403A shall apply.

Commentary: Under this Charter, any Commissioner may make a motion which requires further action by the Board, even if only a refusal to consider it further. It was felt that the requirement of a second is inappropriate for a small legislative body. Thus, any Commissioner can require the Board to take a position on a matter. It should be noted that in most legislatures any legislator may introduce a bill without a second.

§ C404 Quorum and majority action.

A majority of the Commissioners then in office shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall take no official action except in the presence of a quorum. The action of a majority of the Board present and entitled to vote, unless otherwise provided, shall be binding upon and constitute the action of the Board.

§ C405 Form of action by the Board.

A. Official action by the Board shall be taken only by an affirmative or negative vote on the proposed adoption of an ordinance, a resolution, an administrative directive or a procedural motion, or by an election. Official action may be taken only by the Board at an official meeting. While this exclusive right to take official action may not be delegated to any one (1) or more members or committees of the Board, each member and committee of the Board nonetheless shall have the absolute right to seek and obtain information at any time from any employee of the township.

B. An administrative directive is any instruction or suggestion to the Township Manager or township personnel not contained in an ordinance or resolution.

C. All actions of a legislative character shall be taken by ordinance or resolution which must be presented to the Board in written form prior to enactment. In addition to any other actions required by law or by this Charter to be taken by ordinance, those actions of the Board shall be taken by ordinance which:

(1) Provide for a fine or other penalty, or establish a rule or regulation for violation of which a fine or other penalty is imposed.

(2) Levy or enact taxes, fix tax rates or collect taxes.

(3) Grant, renew or extend a franchise.

(4) Establish, alter or abolish rates or charges for any utility or other service supplied by the township.

(5) Authorize the borrowing of money except for revenue anticipation or emergency loans.

(6) Exercise the power of eminent domain.

(7) Amend or repeal any ordinance previously adopted.

(8) Establish, alter or amend any zoning ordinance, comprehensive plan, subdivision or land development ordinance.

(9) Approve or authorize any intergovernmental agreement that transfers the exercise of any township power or function to any other governmental body or which transfers to the township the exercise of any power or function of any other governmental body.

(10) Open or vacate streets.

(11) Ordain the construction or assessment for sewers, streets, curbs, sidewalks or other assessable public capital improvements.

(12) Authorize the promulgation of regulations by the Township Manager, township staff or citizens' groups if permitted by § C1301C. Each such ordinance shall provide for an appeal from the promulgation or enforcement of any regulation so authorized, unless the Administrative Code[1] provides a general appeal procedure for such matters. Such appeal procedures may include a right of appeal to the Manager and must include a right of appeal to the Board.

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 5, Administration of Government.

(13) Adopt or amend the operating or capital budget as provided in Article XII.

	Commentary: This section defines how the Board acts. An administrative directive is the method by which the Board tells the Manager or township staff what to do. Legislative action can be by ordinance or perhaps by resolution. Ordinances are more formal actions, requiring procedural formality and notice. Resolutions of celebration, congratulations, etc., need not meet the procedural requirement of ordinances, nor need they be in writing prior to adoption as is required for resolutions of a legislative character.
	The reference in § C405C(8) to subdivision and land development ordinances refers to such ordinances as defined in Section 503 of the Municipalities Planning Code.[2] Under this Charter, as under the current practice, where an individual plot is rezoned it will require an ordinance, but the subdivision of such individual plot may be approved by resolution, provided that the procedural requirements of the subdivision ordinance have been followed.

[2] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10503.

§ C406 Minutes.

The Board shall cause accurate minutes of its meetings and committee meetings to be made and preserved. There shall be recorded in the minutes the vote or abstention of each member on a roll call vote and the reason why a Commissioner has disqualified himself pursuant to § C1110 if requested by such Commissioner. These minutes shall be open for public inspection and copying at cost during business hours.

§ C407 Inquiries and investigation.

A. The Board shall have power, by resolution, to authorize inquiries and investigations to be conducted by the entire body or by any of its committees in aid of its legislative, appropriating, policy-determining and governing powers and functions. The President of the Board or the Chairman of any of its committees shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses.

B. The Board shall have power to issue subpoenas over the signature of the President to require the attendance of witnesses and the production of records and papers pertaining to any investigation or inquiry. The fees of such witnesses for attendance and travel shall be the same as for witnesses appearing in the courts. If any person shall refuse or neglect to obey any subpoena issued by the Board, the Board may petition the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County for an order requiring the attendance of such person before the Board or the Court, there to testify and to produce any records and papers necessary, and in default thereof he shall be held in contempt of court.