Penn Hills charter: acting or interim manager appointment

The question asks Penn Hills voters whether to clarify how an Acting or Interim Municipal Manager is appointed. The charter now lets the Manager appoint an Acting Manager from staff for an absence of up to 30 days, but does not cover other situations. Under the change, Council could designate an Acting or Interim Manager if the Manager has not, or if an absence exceeds 30 days or becomes a vacancy. For a vacancy, Council could appoint a temporary Manager, but no Council member or elected officer could serve as Manager. A YES vote approves the change, and a NO vote rejects it.

Penn Hills’ charter currently allows the Municipal Manager to appoint an Acting Manager from within the municipality staff in the event of a temporary absence of the Manager of not more than 30 days. It does not address what should happen if the Manager fails to designate an acting surrogate or if a temporary absence goes beyond 30 days or becomes a vacancy. The proposed change allows the council to designate an Acting Manager from within the municipality staff if the Manager has not done so, or if the Manager’s absence from the office extends beyond 30 days or becomes a vacancy. Any Manager-designated Acting Manager’s 30-day appointment will terminate on occurrence of a vacancy but may be extended if reaffirmed by a vote of the Council. If the office of Manager is vacant because of resignation, removal, death, disability, or refusal to act, the Council may appoint a temporary Manager to serve until a permanent Manager is appointed. No Council member or elected officer may serve as Manager in any capacity. Appointment of a permanent Manager remains the responsibility of the Mayor.