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.[1] 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Tables I and II, regarding ward descriptions and maps, are included as attachments to this Charter.
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.