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ARTICLE III:
Township Council
Section
301. Name
The
legislative branch of the government of
Upper Darby Township shall consist of an
elective governing body which shall be
known as the "Upper Darby Township
Council". As used in this Charter, the
word "Council" shall apply to the
legislative body of Upper
Darby.
Section
302. Powers of Council
A.
 All
legislative powers of the Township shall
be exclusively vested in and exercised by
the Council except as otherwise provide by
law or by this Charter, and the Council
shall provide for the exercise thereof and
for the performance of all duties and
obligations imposed on the Township by
law.
B. Council
shall have the power to make and adopt
ordinances and resolutions consistent with
the Constitution and laws of this
Commonwealth and with this Charter, and to
prescribe fines and penalties for the
violation thereof.
Section
303. Composition
Except
as provided in Article XI, Council shall
be composed of eleven (11) members. Seven
(7) members shall be elected from
districts. Four (4) members shall be
elected at-large. District Council members
shall be nominated and elected by the
qualified voters of their respective
districts; Council members-at-large shall
be nominated and elected by the qualified
voters of the
Township-at-large.
Section
304. Qualifications for Member of
Council
Council
members shall be citizens of the United
States and qualified electors of their
district, or of the Township if they are
Council members-at-large. District Council
members shall have been residents of their
respective districts for at least one (1)
year preceding the date on which they
shall assume office and shall remain
residents of their districts throughout
their term of office. Council
members-at-large shall have been residents
of the Township for at least one (1) year
preceding the date on which they shall
assume office and shall remain residents
of the Township throughout their term of
office.
( Return
to Section
307B
)
Section
305. Terms for Members of Council
A.
Except
as provided in Article XI, Council members
shall be elected to serve staggered four
(4) year terms. Three (3) District Council
members and two (2) Council members-at
-large shall be elected at the same
municipal election at which the Mayor is
elected. The remaining Council members
(including four (4) from districts and two
(2) at-large)) shall be elected at the
next municipal election. Election of
Council members shall continue to
alternate in this manner.
B.Members
appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve
until the expiration of the original
Council member's term.
[
Return
to Section 1103B
]
Section
306. Prohibitions
A.No
Council member, during his term, shall
hold any other compensated position in the
government of Upper Darby
Township.
B.Council
shall in all matters act as a body, and it
is contrary to the spirit of this Charter
for any member of Council to publicly or
privately interfere with the
administration of the Township.
Section
307. Vacancies: Forfeiture of Office;
Filling
of Vacancies
A.
Vacancies.
The office of a Council member shall
become vacant upon death, resignation,
removal from office in any manner
authorized by this Charter or by law, or
forfeiture of office. The office of a
Council member who is President of Council
shall not become vacant during the time
such Council member assumes the office of
Mayor pursuant to Section
405,
until and unless such Council member
notifies Council that he intends to serve
out the unexpired term of the Mayor or the
expiration of the time limit set forth in
Section
405D
(relating to notification if the President
of Council decides not to
serve).
B.
Forfeiture
of Office. A Council member 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.
Willfully
violates any express, substantive
prohibition of this Charter;
3.
Is
convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude; or
4.
Fails
to attend more than four (4)
consecutive Council meetings without
being excused by the President of
Council.
C.
Filling
of Vacancies. A vacancy in Council
shall be filled by the remaining members
of Council who shall by a majority vote of
all its remaining members appoint a
qualified person for the remainder of the
unexpired term. If Council shall refuse,
fail or neglect, or be unable for any
reason whatsoever to fill a vacancy within
forty-five (45) days after the vacancy
occurs, whether declared by Council or
not, then the Court of Common Pleas shall,
upon petition of Council, of any
individual member of Council, or of
twenty-five (25) qualified electors of the
Township, fill the vacancy in such office
by the appointment of a qualified elector
of the Township. Any person appointed to
fill a vacancy shall possess all the
qualifications of members of Council as
set forth in this Charter.
Section
308. Judge of Qualification
The
Council shall be the judge of the election
and qualifications of its members and of
the grounds for forfeiture of their office
and for that purpose shall the 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 newspapers 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 by the
courts.
Section
309. Compensation of Council Members
A.
Each
Council member shall receive an annual
salary of five thousand dollars ($5,000.)
or such other sum as the Council may from
time to time ordain; provided, however,
that no ordinance increasing such salary
shall become effective until the date of
commencement of the terms of Council
members elected at the next municipal
election and provided that such election
follows the adoption of such ordinance by
at least six (6) months and that said
salary increase shall not exceed a rate of
five per cent (5%) compounded per annum
for each year since the last salary was
adopted.
B.
In
addition to the compensation provided to
Council members pursuant to Section 309A,
Council members shall be entitled to
receive the same health care insurance,
life insurance and pension benefits as are
made available from time to time to the
Chief Administrative Officer pursuant to
Section
503.
C.
Except
as provided in Sections 309A and 309B,
Council members shall not receive from the
Township other compensation, direct or
indirect, except for reimbursement of
actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred in
the performance of their duties. Such
reimbursement shall be pursuant to
procedures established by resolution of
Council.
Section
310. Organization of Township Council
A.
The
Township Council shall organize at 7:30
p.m. on the first (1st) Monday of January
of each year following the municipal
election by electing one of their number
as President and one of their number as
Vice President. If the first Monday is a
legal holiday, the meeting shall be held
on the first day following.
B.
The
President of Council, or in his absence,
the Vice President, shall preside at
Council meetings. In the absence of both
the President and Vice President, the
members of Council shall elect, by
majority vote of the members comprising
the quorum then present, a chairman pro
tem, who shall hold office during that
meeting of Council, unless such office
shall be terminated by the entrance of the
President or Vice President. The President
and Vice President shall on all questions
have and may exercise the vote to which
each is entitled as a Council
member.
C.
The
Council may organize in any manner it
deems useful to the exercise of its
responsibilities and powers provided that
such organization is not inconsistent with
this Charter or law.
Section
311. Procedures
A.
Meetings.
Council
shall meet regularly at least twice in
each month at such times and places as
Council may prescribe by rule. Meetings
shall be held with such notice as
prescribed in the Pennsylvania
Sunshine Act
or successor statute.
B.
Public
Meetings.
1.
Public
meetings shall be held regularly at
least once in each month at such times
and places as Council may prescribe by
rule.
2.
Up
to the first one-half (1/2) hour of all
public meetings shall be devoted to a
public forum where concerned persons
may address the Council. Persons who
wish to address the Council at such
public forum shall be given the
opportunity to sign their names to a
sign-in sheet which Council shall make
available immediately preceding its
public meeting. Persons who wish to
address the Council shall be recognized
in the order in which they have signed
their names to the sign-in sheet.
Council may, by majority vote, extend
the time of the public
forum.
3.
At
all public meetings, Council may recess
for the purpose of discussing in an
executive session limited to its own
membership any matter which may be
discussed at an executive session held
in compliance with the provisions of
the Sunshine
Act
or successor statute.
C.
Special
and Emergency Meetings
1.
Special
meetings shall be held on the call of
the Mayor and/or the President of
Council and/or a majority of the
members of Council. Whenever
practicable, Council members shall
receive notification of special
meetings at least twenty-four (24)
hours in advance. Public notice of each
special meeting shall be given of the
place, date and time such meeting is to
be convened in accordance with the
Sunshine
Act,
as amended from time to time.
2.
Emergency
meetings may be held without public
notice on the call of the Mayor and/or
the President of Council and/or a
majority of members of Council, for the
purpose of dealing with a real or
potential emergency involving a clear
and present danger to life or
property.
D.
Quorum.
Council
shall conduct no business except in the
presence of a quorum which shall be
constituted by a majority of the members
of Council then in office.
E.
Rules
of Procedure. Council
shall, by ordinance, adopt rules of
procedure for its members which shall be
designed to assure orderly procedure and
full and equal participation in the
deliberations of Council by all of its
members.
F.
Official
Actions. Official
actions by Council shall be taken only at
a public meeting by the adoption of an
ordinance, a resolution, or by a
motion.
1.
Voting
on ordinances shall be by roll call
vote. Voting on resolutions and motions
shall be by roll call vote only at the
request of any Council member. The vote
of each Council member who actually
votes on any official action must be
publicly cast and, in the case of roll
call votes, recorded.
2.
Except
as provided in subsection 3, the
approval of a simple majority of those
present and entitled to vote shall be
required to adopt ordinances,
resolutions and motions. If a tie vote
occurs, the Mayor shall cast a vote to
break such tie.
3.
The
affirmative vote of six (6) Council
members shall be necessary to approve
ordinances proposing amendments to this
Charter and ordinances amending the
Township's Administrative Code adopted
pursuant to this Charter.
[
Return
to Section 403D
]
G.
The
Mayor shall have the right to be present
at and to participate in all meetings of
Council. He shall not have the right to
vote except as otherwise herein provided.
The Chief Administrative Officer shall
have the right to be present at all
meetings of Council.
H.
Journal.
Council
shall provide for the keeping of a journal
of its proceedings, which shall include,
but need not be limited to, written
minutes and other records required to be
maintained by the Township pursuant to the
Sunshine
Act
or successor statute. This journal shall
be a public record.
I.
Electronic
Recordings. Council
shall provide for electronic recordings of
all public meetings. These recordings
shall be preserved for a period of at
least two (2) years, open to the public
for inspection during reasonable hours,
and kept at the office of the
Township.
J.
Agendas.
The
agendas of public meetings shall be made
available to the public by noon of the day
preceding the public meeting.
Section
312. Reports
The
written record of the minutes and
proceedings of the Council, all ordinances
and resolutions as approved, and all
reports received by Council shall be open
and available for public inspection during
reasonable hours at the Township's office,
except, however, that reports which may
tend to defame or prejudice the character
or reputation of any person may be
excluded by Council from public
inspection. The provisions of this Section
do not apply to records and reports
relating to matters which may be discussed
at an executive session of the Council. No
citizen of the Township or other
interested person shall be denied
reasonable access to public records of the
Township. Copies of minutes, ordinances,
resolutions and other official reports and
actions of the Council shall be available
to the public without charge or at a
reasonable fee established from time to
time by the Council by
resolution.
Section
313. Council
Districts
A.
Councilman
districts shall be formed of compact,
contiguous territory with boundary lines
following the center line of streets or
natural or man-made barriers or dividing
lines which shall contain as nearly as
possible the same number of residents as
determined by the 1970 official census
with no more than a ten percent (10%)
variance from the mean in any such
district.
B.
At
least once in each decade in conjunction
with the census of the Federal Government,
Council shall review Council districts to
see that they meet the criteria set forth
in this Charter and in law. If districts
do not meet these criteria, Council shall
adopt, by ordinance, new boundary lines
for Council districts.
Section
314. Investigations
The
Council may, by majority vote, make
investigations into the affairs of the
Township and the conduct of any Township
department, office, or agency and for this
purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer
oaths, take testimony, and require the
production of evidence.
Section
315. Independent
Audit
The
Council shall provide for an independent
annual audit of all Township accounts and
may provide for such more frequent audits
as it deems necessary. Such audits shall
be made by a certified public accountant
or firm of such accountants who have no
personal interest, direct or indirect, in
the fiscal affairs of the Township
government or any of its officers. The
Council may, without requiring competitive
bids, designate such accountant or firm
annually or for a period not exceeding
three (3) years, provided that the
designation for any particular fiscal year
shall be made no later than thirty (30)
days after the beginning of such fiscal
year.
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