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Rules and
Regulations
for the Civil Service Commission
Table of Contents
Chapter 2. The Civil Service Commission
2.1 Officers
The Commission shall consist of three commissioners who
shall be qualified electors of the Borough of Gettysburg
and shall be appointed by the Gettysburg Borough Council
initially to serve for the terms of two (2), four (4) and
six (6) years and as terms thereafter expire shall be
appointed for terms of six (6) years.
Any vacancy occurring in the commission for any reason
whatsoever shall be filled by the Borough Council for the
unexpired term within the period of thirty (30) days after
such vacancy occurs.
Each member of the Commission, before entering upon the
discharge of the duties of their office, shall take an
oath or affirmation, administered by the Mayor or other
appropriate official, to support the Constitution of the
United States and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and
to perform their official duties with fidelity. No civil
service commissioner shall receive compensation.
2.2 Offices Incompatible with Civil Service
Commissioner
No commissioner shall at the same time hold an elective
or appointed office under the United States government,
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or any political
subdivision of the Commonwealth, except that one member of
the Commission may be a member of the Gettysburg Borough
Council and one may be a member of the teaching
profession.
2.3 Organization of Commission
The Commission first appointed shall organize within
ten days of its appointment and shall elect one of its
members as its chairperson, vice-chairperson and one as
its secretary. The Commission shall thereafter meet and
organize on the first Monday of February of each even
numbered year. Two members of the Commission shall
constitute a quorum and no action of the Commission shall
be valid unless it shall have the concurrence of at least
two members. Unless prevented by facts which constitute a
conflict of interest as defined by Pennsylvania statutory
or case law, a Commissioner must vote "yea" or "nay" on
every motion, decision or adjudication which comes before
the Commission.
For purposes of hiring and promoting police officers
under these rules, each step of the hiring or promotional
process requiring official action by the Commission shall
be considered a separate "matter or case" and each step of
the hiring or promotional process need not be voted upon
or approved by the same composition of commissioners, as
the case may be, provided that the quorum requirement has
been satisfied.
2.4 Duties of Chairperson
The chairperson, or in his absence, the vice
chairperson, shall preside at all meetings and hearings of
the Commission, decide all points of order or procedure
and perform any duties required by law or these Rules. He
may be aided in these duties by a solicitor to the
Commission. Any such solicitor or legal counsel must have
an active license to practice law in Pennsylvania and
cannot also function as the Borough Solicitor or be
affiliated with the law firm of the Borough Solicitor.
2.5 Duties of Secretary
The Secretary shall carry on at the direction of the
Commission all official correspondence of the Commission,
send out all notices required by law and these Rules, keep
a record of each examination or other official action of
the Commission, and perform all other duties required by
law, by these Rules and by the Commission.
2.6 Meetings
Except for the biennial organization meeting, all
non-judicial meetings shall be held either at the call of
the chairperson or at the call of two members of the
Commission. Unless all members shall waive the
requirement, the Secretary of the Commission shall give
each commissioner twenty-four (24) hours notice in writing
of each and every meeting of the Commission. When the
Commission is functioning in a non-judicial capacity, any
official actions and any deliberations by a quorum of the
Commission shall take place in a meeting open to the
public unless closed pursuant to 65 Pa. C.S.A. Section
708. The judicial deliberations of the Commission shall
always be conducted in private. However, official actions
of the Commission, when it is performing in its judicial
capacity, shall take place in a meeting open to the
public. If the individual who has invoked the judicial
authority of the Commission has requested an open hearing,
then the entire decision of the Commission shall be
rendered publicly. If that individual has demanded a
closed hearing, then only the final order of the
Commission shall be rendered in public.
2.7 Quorum
Two members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum
and no action of the commission shall be valid unless it
shall have the concurrence of at least two members. Unless
prevented by a conflict of interest, as that phrase is
defined in Pennsylvania statutory or case law, a
Commissioner must vote "yea" or "nay" on every motion,
decision or adjudication which comes before the
Commission.
2.8 Order of Business
The order of business of all non-judicial meetings of
the Commission shall be as follows:
- Roll Call;
- Approval/disapproval of the minutes of the previous
meeting;
- Unfinished business;
- New business;
- Communications and reports.
2.9 Clerks and Supplies
The governing body shall furnish the Commission with
such supplies and clerical assistance as may be necessary
for the commission to fulfill its duties. In addition, the
Commission may retain counsel, and any other consultants
or experts, including physicians and psychiatrists, as are
necessary. The elected and appointed officials of the
Borough of Gettysburg shall assist the Commission with all
reasonable and appropriate efforts including compensation
for any counsel or experts retained by the Commission.
2.10 Rules and Regulations; Amendment
The Commission shall have the power to prescribe,
enforce and amend the rules and regulations governing the
conduct of its activities by a majority of the Commission
at any properly convened meeting of the Commission. Before
any changes to these rules or regulations become
effective, those changes must be approved by Borough
Council. These rules and regulations and any modifications
or amendments thereto, shall be made available to the
public for distribution or inspection.
2.11 Minutes and Records
The Commission Secretary shall keep minutes showing the
vote of each member upon each question and records of
examinations and other official actions. If a member is
absent, cannot vote due to a conflict of interest or fails
to vote, the Secretary shall indicate that fact in the
minutes. All records of the Commission shall be preserved
and disposed of according to the Retention and Disposition
Schedule for Records of Pennsylvania Municipalities issued
by the Local Government Records Committee under the
authority of the Municipal Records Act, 53 Pa. C.S.A. §
1381 et seq.
Commission records pertaining to all aspects of its
business (except minutes) shall be maintained for five (5)
years after which they shall be destroyed. A record of
Commission minutes shall be permanently maintained.
Records relating to litigation or probable litigation
shall, in no case, be destroyed until such time as the
litigation or litigation threat has been resolved.
Documents and information qualifying as public records
will be available to the public. The Commission adopts the
procedures employed by the Borough, as they may from
time-to-time be modified, relative to responding to
requests for public records.
Any and all records relating to any disciplinary action
filed with the Commission shall be open to public
inspection (which public inspection shall be subject to
reasonable regulation) only in those cases where the
employee who is subject to the discipline has requested an
open hearing before the Commission challenging the
discipline.
2.12 Investigations
The commission shall have the power to make
investigations concerning all matters relating to the
administration and enforcement of these Rules. The
Chairperson of the Commission is authorized to administer
oaths and affirmations for witnesses testifying in
connection with such investigations.
2.13 Subpoenas
The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas
over the signature of the Chairperson, or his/her
designee, to acquire the attendance of witnesses and the
production of records and papers pertaining to any
investigation or inquiry, including any background
investigation conducted pursuant to Section 4.9 of these
Rules. The fees of such witnesses for attendance and
travel shall be the same as for witnesses appearing in the
courts and shall be paid from appropriations for the
incidental expenses of the Commission.
All officers in public service and employees of the
Borough of Gettysburg shall attend and testify when
required to do so by the Commission.
If any person shall refuse or neglect to obey any
subpoena issued by the Commission, upon conviction of such
refusal or neglect in a summary proceeding, that person
shall be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed one hundred
dollars ($100), and in default of the payment of such fine
and cost shall be imprisoned not to exceed thirty (30)
days.
If any person shall refuse or neglect to obey any
subpoena, the Commission may apply by petition to the
Court of Common Pleas of Adams County to enforce that
subpoena, requiring the attendance of such persons before
the Commission or the court to testify and to produce any
records and papers necessary, and in default thereof shall
be held in contempt of court.
2.14 Annual Report
The Commission shall make an annual report to the
Gettysburg Borough Council containing a brief summary of
its work during the year and a full accounting for any
expenditure of public monies. The annual report shall be
available for public inspection.
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