"When you're elected by the people of Allentown, you have a responsibility and obligation to fulfill that commitment," O'Connell complained.
But Julio Guridy defended Concannon, calling him an
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Concannon, Age 88, Still a No-Show at Allentown City Council
"When you're elected by the people of Allentown, you have a responsibility and obligation to fulfill that commitment," O'Connell complained.
But Julio Guridy defended Concannon, calling him an
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
88? Maybe they should send out a search party. The guy may be a goner and nobody even knows it!
Caring for a sick family member is a trying experience that requires dedication, love and time. It is a stressful experience no doubt, especially for an older gentleman. If that is the case, It is in his best interest to prioritize his responsibilities accordingly and should willfully resign his position on council. Ironically, on nights he was absent from council meetings, he was present at a West End Bar.
Time to retire from public life. Maybe he has no license to drive anymore? Municipal state reg's say he can be removed for nonattendance. What a bunch of misfits over in Atown. Vote the bums out!
Regardless what local law may say, he cannot be removed except in accordance with the state constitution. The legislature wuld have to remove him bc CITY Council has no such authority under the state constitution.
Reference Section 206 of the City of Allentown Home Rule Charter.
Doesn't matter. It is trumped by the state constitution and Reeves v. Hazleton.
Care to provide a link to that case law you cited?
Take a look at the recall provisons in the Xity Gov't Handbook. Reeves (not Reed) is cited in Footnote #50, 665 A.2d 1162 (1995).
http://www.newpa.com/webfm_send/1555
There are only 3 ways an elected official can be legally removed from office: (1) impeachment by General Assembly; (2) Governor after petition by 2/3 of Senate and after full notice and hearing; (3) judicial removal after conviction of an infamous crime.
That's per the Constitution.
Section 206 --- Forfeiture of Office
c) Fails to attend (3) consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the President of Council or a simple majority of remaining Council members. In all cases of fortfeiture , the Member shall be entitled to notice , and a hearing before Council in accordance with administrative procedures to be established by Council
The city shall have the power to exercise any power or t perform any function not denied by the Constitution of the United States, by the Constitution of Pennsylvania, by act of the General Assembly of Pa, or by the Charter.
There shall be (7) members of council elected at large. The President of Council shall be nominated and elected by Council members.
But look at this provision which may limit who may be the President of Council.
In the year the Mayor is elected , four council members shall be elected . In the next municipal election, the President of Council and three Council members shall be elected.
This proviso needs an explanation ...
Dennis Pearson
Dennis, the Constitution trumps everything else.
Tell me the specifics of Reeves vs Hazleton and how the issues there would apply in any City of Allentown.Thus far I have been unable to bring the case up on any computer search.
The only case that comes up involves Hazleton's Anti-immigration law
I may be wrong, but I don't believe that Hazleton has a Home-Rule charter.
And I don't know what provisions were in their Charter about forfeitures of Office ... We are not talking impeachment for wrong doing but simple not carrying out the duties of office by lack of attendance.
Tell me the specifics of Reeves vs Hazleton and how the issues there would apply in any City of Allentown issue .Thus far I have been unable to bring the case up on any computer search.
The only case that comes up involves Hazleton's Anti-immigration law
I may be wrong, but I don't believe that Hazleton has a Home-Rule charter.
And I don't know what provisions were in their Charter about forfeitures of Office ... We are not talking impeachment for wrong doing but simple not carrying out the duties of office by lack of attendance.
This should clear things up.....
Removal from Office
All elected officials in Pennsyl vania, including county, munic ipal and school district officials are subject to an
exclu sive method for removal estab lished in Article VI, Sections 6 and 7of the Pennsyl vania Consti tu tion.6
Elected officials are remov able from office only: (1) by impeach ment in the General Assembly; (2) by the
Governor for reason able cause after due notice and full hearing on the address of two thirds of the Senate, or
(3) upon convic tion of misbe havior in office or of any infamous crime in accor dance with the Consti tu tion. The
Pennsyl vania Supreme Court has ruled that recall proce dures contained in home rule charters are
uncon sti tu tional since they violate Sections 6 and 7, of Article VI. The Court has also overruled the leading
case that had previ ously upheld the judicial removal provi sions in the township and school codes.
2
Resignation and Reappointment
Any public officer who resigns from office shall be ineli gible for reappoint ment to that office during the
remainder of the term for which he was appointed or for a period of one year, which ever is less, if such
reappoint ment would increase his salary. However, nothing would prevent the officer from being reappointed
to the same office if the reappoint ment does not result in a higher salary.7
Incompatibility
Holding of more than one public office is not in itself illegal. Two or more offices may be held concur rently by
the same individual except where the Consti tu tion or the General Assembly have declared the offices
incom pat ible.8 Courts have no power to declare offices incom pat ible as a matter of public policy. Offices are
incom pat ible only if the legis la ture has acted to declare them so. Statu tory decla ra tions of incom pat i bility are
numerous. They gener ally deal with two or more partic ular offices or offices in a partic ular type of polit ical
subdi vi sion.
Family Relationships
There is no provi sion in Pennsyl vania law which prohibits a person from holding elective office in a
govern ment unit where their spouse or other family member is already an elected officer or employee.
However, care must be taken in instances where there is a high poten tial for conflict of interest. For instance,
where a person as elected auditor, is respon sible for auditing the accounts of a family member who is township
secre tary or roadmaster, that auditor should not partic i pate in that portion of the audit.
Likewise, no law prohibits a local govern ment unit from hiring a family member of an elected officer as an
employee. However, the Ethics Act prohibits any public official from using the authority of their office for the
private pecuniary benefit of their immediate family.9 Elected officers thus may not propose, discuss or vote on
the hiring of a family member by the local govern ment unit they serve. The Ethics Act defines “immediate
family” to include a parent, spouse, child, brother or sister.
Reeves is a case that involved an attempted recall of a Mayor pursuant to the provisions of a home rule charter. The Supreme Court rued that, notwithstanding any HRC or local ordinance, an elected official can be removed only pursuant to the provisions of the PA Const.
In this case, an elected official who fails to appear for meetings does not forfeit his office and cannot be removed by fellow council members. Only the General Assembly or the Governor may do so.
People try to wrap your heads around this. Bernie is correct. the State Constitution trumps any and all local Charters, constitutions or anything else, period.
It just is the way it is. This has come up many times in Northampton county when provisions of their Home Rule charter were knocked out because it didn't conform to sate law. You can write whatever shit you want but in a conflict with the state the state wins.
Just to keep the facts correct I have attended every city council meeting since October of 2011 except, funny enough the swearing in of Concannon, anyhow he also showed up for the Delta Thermo vote late and left early but he was there. Plus the comments you attribute to Ray makes it seem like an attack but it was more fore the concern of an official elected to office by the people he is supposed to represent at these meetings it seems the way you word it that it was an attack and that Julio had to come in and defend Frank and that just not how it was worded. Thank You. P.S. I do like your site. Ken Heffentrager
Post a Comment