The Township Board of Supervisors (hereinafter
referred to also as "the Board") shall consist of seven Supervisors,
of whom three shall be elected from districts and four shall be elected
from the township at large.
Supervisors shall serve four-year terms beginning
on the first Monday of January following the year in which they are
elected, except for the first Board to serve under this Charter, the
members of which will serve for staggered terms as provided in § C-71
of this Charter. If the first Monday is a legal holiday, said terms
shall begin the first day following which is not a legal holiday.
A Supervisor shall be a citizen of the United
States, a resident of the township (and in the case of a District
Supervisor, a resident of the district he represents), a qualified
elector of the township at the time of his nomination and not otherwise
disqualified from office by the terms of this Charter of by the laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The procedure for the nomination and election
of Supervisors shall be as provided in the election laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A.
The office of a Supervisor shall become vacant upon
death, resignation, removal of place of residence from the township
(or, in the case of a District Supervisor, from a district represented),
legal certification of mental disability or forfeiture of office as
authorized by law or by this Charter.
B.
The office of a Supervisor shall be forfeited if he
is declared by any court of this commonwealth to lack any qualifications
for the office as prescribed by law or is convicted of any crime classified
as a misdemeanor of the second degree or higher under the laws of
this commonwealth or is convicted of any comparable crime under the
laws of any state or of the United States.
C.
Whenever a vacancy exists in the office of Supervisor,
the vacancy shall be filled under the following procedures:
(1)
At the next election, primary, municipal or general,
which takes place 60 days or more after such vacancy occurs, a special
election to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired term
will be held. The special election shall be conducted in accordance
with the election laws of this commonwealth. The person elected to
fill the vacancy shall assume the office on the day following certification
of the election results.
(2)
The Board shall, at its first regular or special public
meeting after the vacancy occurs, give notice that a vacancy exists
and shall state that it will make an interim appointment to fill the
vacancy at its next public meeting which occurs not less than 30 days
from the meeting at which the vacancy is announced. Following such
notice, the Board by a majority vote of its remaining membership shall
appoint a qualified elector of the township, and in the case of a
vacancy in the office of District Supervisor, a qualified elector
of the district in which the vacancy exists, to fill the vacancy until
a duly elected successor is sworn into office.
(3)
If the Board shall fail to fill a vacancy within 60
days after the vacancy occurs, the Court of Common Pleas of Chester
County, upon petition of any individual Supervisor or upon petition
of 10 or more qualified electors of the township, shall make the interim
appointment to fill the vacancy until a duly elected successor is
sworn into office.
(4)
In the event that sufficient vacancies exist so that
the Board lacks a quorum necessary to do business, the remaining members
of the Board shall immediately make an interim appointment or appointments
to fill sufficient vacancies in the position of Supervisor from the
township at large to form a quorum. Thereafter, the remaining vacancies
shall be filled as otherwise provided herein.
(5)
In the event that all of the positions on the Board
should become vacant, the Court of Common Pleas shall immediately,
upon petition of 10 or more registered voters of the township, make
interim appointments to fill the offices of Supervisor from the township
at large. Thereafter, the remaining vacancies shall be filled as otherwise
provided herein.
Districts shall be formed of compact, contiguous
territory, following distinctive geographical boundaries, and shall
contain as nearly as possible equal numbers of residents as determined
by the latest official census of the United States Bureau of the Census.
No district shall vary by more than 15% from the average of all districts
at the time of establishments or reapportionment.
The establishment of the first districts, three
in number to be known as the "First, Second and Third Districts,"
shall be by the Court of Common Pleas as provided by law. Reapportionment
of Supervisors to districts thereafter shall be made by ordinance
of the Board in the following circumstance:
A.
Within the year following the year in which the decennial
United States Census reports are officially certified, the Board shall
reapportion the districts in accordance with this Charter. If in any
such reapportionment an existing Supervisor is removed from his district,
he shall continue to represent said district until the end of his
term.
A.
Supervisors shall receive compensation at the rate
of $1,500 per annum for the performance of their duties during the
first four years that this Charter is in effect; thereafter, the Board
may, by ordinance, change the compensation for Supervisors, provided
that such change of compensation shall not take effect until the expiration
of the term of office of all incumbent Supervisors at the time the
change is enacted.
B.
Supervisors shall receive no other compensation, direct
or indirect, for the performance of their duties, and shall not be
eligible for any township pensions or other fringe benefits. However,
Supervisors shall be entitled to actual expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties as shall be established in the Administrative Code
or other ordinance.[2]
[1]
Editor's Note: The current ordinance setting
the compensation of the Supervisors is on file in the Township Administrative
Offices.
A.
The Board of Supervisors shall organize on the first
Monday of January of each year by electing one of their members as
Chairman and one of their members as Vice Chairman, who shall hold
such office at the pleasure of the Board. If the first Monday is a
legal holiday, the organization meeting shall be held the first day
following which is not a legal holiday.
A.
The Board shall meet regularly at least once in every
month at such time and place as the Board may prescribe by ordinance
or resolution. At its first meeting each year, the Board shall prescribe
and advertise the calendar of regular monthly meetings for the remainder
of the year.
B.
Special meetings may be held on the call of the Chairman,
or of a majority of Supervisors, by providing notice to each Supervisor
at least 24 hours in advance of such special meeting, which meeting
notice shall be prominently posted at the township office; however,
in the case of an emergency which makes it necessary to convene a
meeting with less than 24 hours' advance notice, this requirement
may be waived.
C.
Official action.
(1)
The Board may take no official action except at an
open public meeting in the presence of a quorum, consisting of a majority
of all the members of the Board. All discussions relating to official
actions should be in open public meetings with the following exceptions:
(a)
Matters in litigation with the township as a party.
(b)
Matters concerning hiring, dismissal, promotion or
discipline.
(c)
Matters which would adversely affect the reputation
of any persons.
(d)
Matters having to do with the acquisition of land
and other subjects which would be likely to benefit a party whose
interests are adverse to the general community.
(2)
Official actions by the Board shall be taken only
by ordinance, resolution or motion. Voting, except on procedural matters,
shall be by roll call vote. A majority vote of all the members of
the Board shall be required to adopt an ordinance. Resolutions or
motions shall be adopted by a majority vote of all the members of
the Board present, except as otherwise provided herein.
D.
It is the intent of this Charter that the Board act
as a body in relation to all administrative matters. No Supervisor
shall publicly or privately seek individually to interfere with the
official acts of township officers and employees. However, nothing
herein contained shall prevent the Board from establishing committees
of its members to review the operations and legislative needs of the
departments or from assigning individual Supervisors to liaison relationships
with boards, commissions and authorities.
A.
The Board shall provide in the Administrative Code[1] for the protection and preservation of its minutes and
other records of its proceedings. Records shall be kept at the township
office and shall be open for public inspection throughout normal working
hours. It is the intent of this Charter that no citizen of the township
shall be denied reasonable access to public records of the township.
Copies of the minutes of the meetings of the Board shall be available
to the public at a reasonable cost.
B.
The Board shall require periodic and meaningful reports
on financial and administrative matters, at least monthly, and an
annual report at the end of each fiscal year.
C.
The Board shall cause to be prepared for each regular
meeting an agenda of matters to be considered by the Board at such
meeting, including pertinent background information, which agenda,
along with a copy of financial and other activity reports, shall be
distributed to the public at the start of the meeting. The agenda
shall be available at least eight hours prior to the start of the
meeting.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of the
Board to:
A.
Establish policy for the guidance of the executive,
administrative and advisory functions of the township government.
C.
Adopt ordinances and resolutions not inconsistent
with or restrained by the Constitution and laws of this commonwealth
or by this Charter and prescribe fines and penalties consistent with
general law for the violation of township ordinances.
D.
Initiate, by resolution or ordinance, and conduct,
by the Board as a body or through committees of the Board and/or township
citizens, inquiries and investigations in aid of its legislative functions.
