A. 
Composition. There shall be a Council of seven members elected by the qualified voters of Peters Township. Four Councilmen shall be elected by district and three Councilmen shall be elected at large.
B. 
Eligibility. Only qualified voters of the township shall be eligible to hold the office of Councilman.
C. 
Election and terms. The regular election of Councilmen shall be held at the municipal election in the manner provided by the state election code. At the first election under this charter, two Councilmen shall be elected at large for two years. At the next regular municipal election, five Councilmen shall be elected, four by districts and one at large, for a term of four years. In similar manner thereafter, two Councilmen shall be elected at large, and then five Councilmen, four by district and one at large, at alternate municipal elections.
Each of the Councilmen elected after the initial election shall serve for a term of four years. The terms of Councilmen shall begin on the first Monday of January of the year after their election.
The Council may determine the annual salary of Councilmen by ordinance, but no ordinance increasing such salary shall become effective until the date of commencement of the terms of Councilmen elected at the next regular election, provided that such election follows the adoption of such ordinance by at least six months. Councilmen shall receive no other compensation, direct or indirect, for the performance of their duties: they shall receive no pensions, insurance or other forms of fringe benefits. They shall, however, be entitled to their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
All powers of the township shall be vested in the Council, except as otherwise provided by law or this charter, and the Councilmen shall provide for the exercise thereof and for the performance of all duties and obligations imposed on the township by law.
A. 
No Councilman shall hold any other elective or appointive township office nor be an employee of the township during his term of office as a member of Council.
B. 
In all matters the Council shall act as a body, and it is contrary to the spirit of this charter for any of its members to seek individually to influence the official acts of the township manager or any other officer, or for the Council or any of its members to direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from office, or the interfere in any way with the performance by such officers of their duties. The Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the township manager and shall not give orders to any subordinates of the township manager, either publicly or privately. These prohibitions shall not pertain to the power of Council to approve the appointment of department heads or to make inquiries and investigations as provided in § C-2.05.
The Council may make investigations and inquiries into the affairs of the township and the conduct of any township department, office, commission, authority, or agency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence. Council may seek a contempt citation from the Court if any person refuses to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers of the Council.
The Council shall appoint a township manager. The offices of township manager and of township secretary may be held by the same person.
The Council shall continue or create and determine and define the powers and duties of administrative departments, boards and offices as it may deem necessary for the proper and efficient conduct of the affairs of the township. Any department, board or office so continued or created may, at any time, be abolished by the Council.
A. 
Vacancies. The office of Councilman shall become vacant upon death, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized by law or by this charter or by forfeiture of office.
B. 
Forfeiture of office. A Councilman shall forfeit his office if he:
1. 
Lacks at any time during his term of office any qualifications for the office prescribed by this charter or by law;
2. 
Violates any express prohibition of this charter;
3. 
Is convicted of a crime involving a felony or misdemeanor, as well as murder in the first degree;
4. 
Is absent from three consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by Council.
C. 
Filling of vacancies. Council shall declare the office vacant at least 10 days before the office shall be filled by appointment. The Council shall, by the vote of a majority of its remaining members, fill such vacancy within 30 days therefore, by electing a qualified person to serve until that first Monday of January when his successor, who shall have been elected by the qualified voters at the next municipal election held at least 200 days after such vacancy occurs, is duly sworn into office for the remainder of the term of the person originally elected to said office. If Council fails to fill a vacancy on Council within 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy, then the Council of Common Pleas shall upon petition of 10 or more qualified electors, fill such vacancy by the appointment of a qualified person for the portion of the unexpired term as above provided.
If the number of Councilmen becomes less than four, then the remaining members of Council shall fill the vacancies on Council in the manner set forth in the Charter.
The Council shall be the judge of the qualifications of its members and of the grounds for forfeiture of their office and for that purpose shall have power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and require the production of evidence. A member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of his office shall be entitled to a public hearing on demand, and notice of such hearing shall be published in one or more newspaper of general circulation in the township at least one week in advance of the hearing. Decisions made by the Council under this section shall be subject to review of the courts in accordance with existing law.
A. 
Oath of office. The Councilmen, prior to assuming office, shall take and shall sign an oath of office as shall from time to time be prescribed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B. 
Meetings. The Council shall meet and organize itself during the first week of January of each year. The Council shall meet regularly at least twice in every month at such times and places as the Council may prescribe by rule. The Council shall elect one of their number chairman of Council and one vice chairman for the purpose of the conduct of meetings. All meetings of Council at which any formal or informal vote is taken shall be public. Special meetings may be held upon the call of the chairman or upon the written request of four or more members of Council provided that at least 24 hours notice is given to each Councilman.
C. 
Rules and journal. The Council shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall provide for the keeping of minutes of its proceedings. The minutes of Council shall be a public record. The agenda of business of all meetings of Council shall be made public at least 24 hours prior to the convening of Council. An emergency item may be added to the agenda upon a majority vote, if such item concerns the public health and safety.
D. 
Voting. All voting of Council shall be public. Voting, except on procedural motions shall be by roll call and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in the minutes. Four members of Council shall constitute a quorum for official business, but a smaller number may adjourn from time and may compel the attendance of absent members in the manner and subject to the penalties prescribed by the rules of Council. The action of a majority of the Councilmen present and entitled to vote, unless otherwise stated, shall be binding upon and constitute action of Council.
E. 
Citizens' right to be heard. The Council shall provide reasonable opportunity for interested citizens to address the Council on matters of general or special concern. This opportunity may be afforded the public either at the regular meetings of Council or at meetings held specially for this purpose.
In addition to any other actions required by law or by this charter to be taken by ordinance, those actions of the Council shall be by ordinance which:
1. 
Adopt or amend an administrative code or establish, alter or abolish any municipal department, office or agency;
2. 
Adopt or amend a code establishing a personnel system;
3. 
Provide for a fine or other penalty or establish a rule or regulation for violation of which a fine or other penalty is imposed, except for fines of less than $1 per violation;
4. 
Levy taxes;
5. 
Grant, renew or extend a franchise;
6. 
Establish, alter or abolish rates charged for any utility or other service supplied by the township;
7. 
Authorize the borrowing of money;
8. 
Purchase, convey or lease or authorize the purchase, conveyance or lease of any lands of the township;
9. 
Amend or repeal any ordinance previously adopted unless such previous ordinance action could have been taken by resolution or motion;
10. 
Establish wages, hours, or fringe benefits of employees of the township.
Each ordinance shall be introduced in writing and in the form required for final adoption. An ordinance may be introduced by any member of Council at any regular or special meeting of Council. An ordinance not requiring prior notice may be adopted at the same meeting at which it is introduced. A copy of such proposed ordinance shall be on file with the manager. The Council shall adopt, amend or reject ordinances upon majority vote.
The penalty for the violation of any ordinance shall not exceed $500 for each violation, or 30 days' imprisonment for unjustified default of payment of fine. However, any ordinance may provide that, for continuing violations, each day that a violation exists may be regarded as a separate offense and punishable as such. The limit of fines may be increased by the Council to the extent of the maximum fine that may be levied by any non-charter municipality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as that limit is from time to time established by the General Assembly.
After adoption, all ordinances shall be published one time in a newspaper of general circulation in the township. The full text of the ordinance need not be published; instead the title or a general summary of the substance of the ordinance will be sufficient to meet the publication requirement. Publication shall occur within 30 days of the enactment of the ordinance. The effective date of the ordinance shall be the publication date unless a later date is specified in the ordinance or required by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
All ordinances and resolutions of the township shall be entered verbatim in permanent separate record books for ordinances and resolutions. No ordinance shall be considered in force until the same is recorded in the ordinance book. The ordinance book and resolution book shall be open and available for public inspection at reasonable hours. These books shall be in the custody and control of the manager and all entries made therein shall be at the direction of the manager.
No final action shall be taken on the following types of ordinances and amendments thereto without public hearing thereon pursuant to at least 10 days prior public notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in the township.
1. 
Zoning ordinance and amendments thereto;
2. 
Adoption of the zoning map and amendments thereto;
3. 
Subdivision regulations;
4. 
Land development and land use regulations;
5. 
New taxes or increases in the rates of existing taxes; (No prior public notice shall be necessary for the reenactment of taxes levied annually at the same rate.)
6. 
Administrative code or amendment thereto;
7. 
Adoption with or without amendment of ordinances proposed under the initiative power;
8. 
Ordinances previously adopted or repealed under the referendum power.
The Council may adopt any standard code of technical regulations by reference thereto in an adopting ordinance. Copies of any adopted code of technical regulation shall be made available by the manager for distribution at a reasonable price.
The Council may adopt emergency ordinances in conditions affecting life, health, property or the public peace. Such emergency ordinances shall not levy taxes, grant, renew, or extend a franchise, regulate the rate charged by any public utility, or authorize the borrowing of money except as provided by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. An emergency ordinance shall be introduced in accordance with § C-2.12 of this charter, except that it shall be designated as an emergency ordinance and shall contain a declaration stating the emergency that exists. The emergency ordinance may be adopted, with or without amendment, or rejected at the meeting at which it is introduced. It shall become effective upon adoption or at such later time as it may specify. An emergency ordinance shall automatically stand repealed as of the 61st day following the date on which it was adopted, but this shall not prevent reenactment of the ordinance in the manner specified, if the emergency still exists. An emergency ordinance may be repealed at any time.