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Proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter relating to the election of the Council President by the voters at large (and reducing the number of other at large Councilmembers from seven to six), the filling of vacancies in the offices of Mayor and Council President, specifying the Council President’s powers and duties, and permitting Councilmembers and an Acting Mayor to be candidates for certain other City offices without first resigning their positions, and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.
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WHEREAS, Under Section 6 of the First Class City Home Rule Act (53 P.S. §13106), an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter may be proposed by a resolution of the Council of the City of Philadelphia adopted with the concurrence of two-thirds of its elected members; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the following amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter is hereby proposed and shall be submitted to the electors of the City on an election date designated by ordinance:
ARTICLE II
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Council -- Its Election,
Organization, Powers and Duties
CHAPTER 1
THE COUNCIL
§2-100. Number, Terms and Salaries of Councilmen Councilmembers.
The Council shall consist of a President who shall be elected from the City at large, and sixteen other seventeen members, of whom ten shall be elected from districts and seven six from the City at large. The terms of councilmen councilmembers shall be four years from the first Monday of January following the year in which they were elected except that a councilman councilmember elected to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the balance of the unexpired term. Each councilman councilmember shall receive a salary at the rate of $9,000 per annum, or such other sum as the Council shall from time to time ordain, and the President of Council shall receive in addition a salary at the rate of $1,000 per annum, or such other sum as the Council shall from time to time ordain.
§2-101. The Election of Councilmen the President and Other Members of Council.
(1) At the municipal election held in 1951 2007, and in every fourth year thereafter, a President of Council shall be elected from the City at large, one councilman councilmember shall be elected from each councilmanic district and seven six councilmembers shall be elected from the City at large. Each elector shall have the right to vote for a Council President, for one district councilman councilmember and for five four councilman-at-large councilmembers-at-large. To this end not more than five four candidates for councilman-at-large councilmember-at-large shall be nominated pursuant to law by any party or other political body. Should a vacancy occur in the office of any councilman councilmember, the President of the Council shall issue a writ of election to the board of elections having jurisdiction over elections in the City for a special election to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired term, which election shall be held on a date specified in the writ, but not less than thirty days after its issuance. The President of Council may fix as the date of the special election, the date of the next primary, municipal or general election. Should a vacancy occur in the office of President of Council, the President Pro Tempore shall serve as President until the vacancy is filled, and the President Pro Tempore shall issue a writ of election for a special election to fill the vacancy in accordance with all provisions of this Section relating to the filling of vacancies in other councilmanic offices. If the President of Council serves as Acting Mayor under Section 3-500 because of the Mayor’s temporary disability, the President Pro Tempore shall serve as President until the President has resumed the office of President in accordance with the provisions of Section 2-101(2).
(2) Except in the case of the Mayor’s temporary disability, if the President of Council (or President Pro Tempore) becomes Acting Mayor under Section 3-500, the office of President of Council (or the office of the councilmember serving as President Pro Tempore, as the case may be) shall be deemed vacant, and the provisions of Section 2-101(1) shall apply with respect to such vacancy. If the President of Council (or President Pro Tempore) becomes Acting Mayor because of the Mayor’s temporary disability, the President (or President Pro Tempore) shall not serve as a member of Council while serving as Acting Mayor, but the office of President (or the office of the councilmember serving as President Pro Tempore, as the case may be) shall not be deemed vacant, and the President (or President Pro Tempore) shall resume such office when the Mayor is no longer disabled.
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§2-104. Powers and Duties of the President of Council; Organization of the Council; Other Officers; Rules; Employees.
(1) In addition to possessing the powers and duties of any other member of Council elected at large, the President of Council shall also have the power and duty to:
(i) preside over all sessions of the Council, preserving order and decorum and enforcing all rules adopted for the government of the Council;
(ii) certify ordinances to the Mayor for the Mayor’s approval, and certify orders, petitions, and resolutions adopted, and leases and contracts required to be authorized by the Council, and all writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by the request of the Council, except that Council may delegate such power to the Chairpersons of Committees with respect to any writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by any Committee;
(iii) appoint, at the President’s discretion, all committees of Council and the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson thereof, and fill all vacancies that may occur from time to time therein;
(iv) appoint and dismiss, at the President’s discretion, the employees of the Council except the Chief Clerk of Council, who shall be elected or removed by a majority vote of the members of the Council, and except that Council may by rule provide that any employees of the Council serving individual Councilmembers shall be appointed or dismissed as directed by the Councilmember being served;
(v) have general direction of the Councilmanic chambers, the committee rooms and administrative offices of the Council;
(vi) determine, at the President’s discretion, the committee to which a bill will be referred, except that if the President shall neglect or refuse to refer a bill to committee within two (2) stated meetings of the Council, Council as a body shall have the power to refer such bill to an appropriate committee, and provided that Council may by rule provide for the discharge of a bill from a committee that has unduly delayed reporting the bill; and
(vii) exercise such other powers and perform such other duties, not inconsistent with this Section, as Council by rule may provide.
(2) The Council shall meet for organization at 10 o’clock a.m., on the first Monday of January following its election, at which time it shall elect a president from among its members and a chief clerk who shall not be a member. The chief clerk shall be the secretary of the Council. Prior to such organizational meeting, the Councilmembers who are members of the political party to which the greatest number of Councilmembers belong shall caucus to appoint a Majority Leader. The Majority Leader shall serve as President Pro Tempore of Council. In the event of the President’s absence or disability, the Council shall elect from among its members a the President Pro Tempore shall serve as president pro tempore. The Council shall adopt rules providing for a finance committee and other Council committees, defining the any additional duties of its President and President Pro Tempore, defining the duties of its chief clerk and employees, and otherwise providing for its own organization. It shall employ and fix the salaries of such persons as may be necessary for the proper discharge of its business.
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ARTICLE III
EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH - ORGANIZATION
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CHAPTER 5
VACANCIES
§3-500. Mayor.
An election to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in the office of Mayor shall be held at the next municipal or general election occurring more than thirty days after the vacancy occurs, unless the vacancy occurs in the last year of the term, in which event a Mayor shall be chosen by the Council by a majority vote of all its members. Until the vacancy is filled, or in case of the Mayor’s temporary disability, the President of the Council shall act as become Acting Mayor; and if the President of the Council should resign or be unable to act, then the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Council or, if the office of President of Council is also then vacant, the President Pro Tempore of Council shall act as become Acting Mayor.
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ARTICLE X
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES OF COUNCILMEN COUNCILMEMBERS, CITY OFFICERS,
EMPLOYEES AND OTHERS, AND PENALTIES
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§10-107. Political Activities.
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(5) No officer or employee of the City, except elected officers running for re-election, shall be a candidate for nomination or election to any public office unless he such officer or employee shall have first resigned from his such officer or employee’s then office or employment, except that an Acting Mayor may become a candidate for a seat on Council (including President of Council) or may become a candidate for Mayor without first resigning as Acting Mayor. For purposes of this paragraph (5), a member of Council who becomes a candidate for a different seat on Council (whether as President of Council, district Councilmember, or Councilmember-at-large) shall be considered to be an elected officer running for re-election who need not resign from Council to run for such different seat on Council.
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Explanation:
Strikethrough indicates matter deleted.
Italics indicate new matter added.
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