The municipality shall be divided into four (4) wards. The boundaries
of these wards are defined in Table I at the end of this section. There shall be a Municipal Council of four (4) Council
members and a Mayor. The Council members are to be elected by the
registered electors of the ward the member is to represent.
The terms of all members of Council shall be for four (4) years,
commencing on the first Monday of January following the year in which
they were elected.
The Councilmen shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
They shall have been residents of the ward they represent throughout
one (1) year before their election and shall reside therein throughout
their term of service.
At the municipal election to be held in the year 1989 there
shall be elected two (2) members of Council to serve for a term of
four (4) years, the aforesaid two (2) members of Council to be elected
one (1) from each of Wards Two (2) and Three (3), those wards not
represented by members of Council whose terms expire on the first
Monday of January 1991.
At the municipal election to be held in the year 1991, there
shall be elected two (2) members of Council to serve for a term of
four (4) years, the aforesaid two (2) members of Council to be elected
one (1) from each of Wards One (1) and Four (4), wards which did not
elect Councilmen in the year 1989.
Thereafter, members of Council shall continue to be elected
at each municipal election for terms of four (4) years and from the
wards represented by members whose terms expire in the January next
succeeding.
The procedure for nomination and election of members of Council
shall be established by the general laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
for municipal elections.
Each member of Council shall receive for their services compensation
as received by Council members of the City of Clairton on the day
before the effective date of this Charter or such other sum as set
by Council by ordinance from time to time. The compensation to be
received by a Councilman shall not be increased or decreased during
the term for which any member of Council was elected or appointed.
No such increase or decrease shall be accomplished by ordinance adopted
less than six (6) months prior to election of any member of Council
affected thereby.
Members of Council 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. When, however,
Council shall in a public meeting direct certain activities to be
performed, members of Council shall be entitled to actual and necessary
documented expenses incurred in the performance of these functions
and activities.
No individual member of Council shall have any authority whatsoever
under this Charter unless such authority is specifically delegated
by the Charter or by Council acting as a body.
Council and the Mayor shall organize on the first Monday of
January at 7:30 p.m. of each even-numbered year. If the first Monday
of January is a legal holiday, the meeting shall be held the following
day. However, nothing in this Charter shall be construed to prohibit
Council from reorganizing if it so chooses. The Mayor shall be the
President of the Council and a member thereof and shall have the same
rights and duties as pertain to Councilmen. The Mayor shall appoint
all Councilmanic committees.
The Council shall elect one (1) of their number as Deputy Mayor,
who shall hold office until a successor is elected and qualified.
The Deputy Mayor shall exercise the powers and duties of the Mayor
during the Mayor's temporary absence or disability.
The Mayor or, if absent, the Deputy Mayor, shall preside at
all meetings of Council and perform such other duties as are specified
in this Charter or as may be prescribed by ordinance. In the absence
of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Council, by ordinance, shall determine
further succession.
The organization meeting may be considered as a regular meeting
for the transaction of business.