§ 3-11. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE IN SUSPENSION OR EXPULSION OF MEMBER.

3-11.1 Procedure. Whenever a member of a Fire Department has been found guilty of any misconduct specified in subsection 3-4.3 or 3-4.4, the following procedure shall be followed for the purpose of disciplining the member:

a.

The Chief, Assistant Chief, Captain, First Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant shall verbally report such misconduct at the next regular meeting of the Company to which the member belongs.

b.

A quorum of the Company shall be sufficient to conduct such a meeting. The Chief, Assistant Chief, Captain, First Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant shall have the opportunity to present information to the Company as to the nature of the misconduct and information which would support the finding that the member committed the misconduct. The member shall be afforded the ability to be present at the meeting and to respond to the information if the member so requests. The membership of the company shall be allowed to discuss the matter in a non-public forum. Following the presentation of information and proper discussion of the matter, the membership of the Company shall vote on the recommended action and shall decide as to whether the misconduct is of such a serious nature as to warrant filing of formal written charges. Said vote may be by open balloting or secret balloting as may be established in the by-laws, rules or regulations of the Company.

c.

If two-thirds ( 2/3 ) of the members of the Company present at the meeting vote in favor of filing formal written charges, the charges shall be prepared by the Secretary of the Company and shall be signed and sworn to by the Chief, Assistant Chief, Captain, First Lieutenant or such other officers with knowledge of the charges. Copies of the charges shall be filed with the Borough Clerk. The member shall be automatically suspended until such time as the charges are disposed of.

d.

A copy of the charges shall be sent to the member who is the subject of the charge(s) by the Secretary of the Company by certified mail, return receipt requested, together with formal notice giving him/her at least fifteen (15) days notice that a formal hearing will be held on the charge(s) by his/her company at its next regular meeting. Unless otherwise provided for in the by-laws, rules or regulations of the Company, a quorum of the membership shall be sufficient to conduct a formal hearing.

e.

At the formal hearing, the complainant(s) and his/her witness(es) shall give testimony under oath before the Company and the member shall be permitted to give testimony and present such evidence and testimony of his/her witness(es) under oath in defense of the charge(s) before the Company. At the conclusion of the hearing, a vote shall be taken. A two-thirds ( 2/3 ) vote of the members of the Company present at the hearing shall determine the guilt or innocence of the member and when the member is found guilty, the suspension or expulsion to be imposed. Said vote may be by open balloting or secret balloting as may be established in the by-laws, rules or regulations of the Company.

f.

The Secretary of the Company shall forward a letter to the member so charged setting forth the decision of the Company. When a member is found guilty, a copy of the letter setting forth the suspension or expulsion recommended shall be mailed to such member and to the Borough Clerk by certified mail, return receipt requested and also by regular mail, postage prepaid.

g.

Upon receipt of a notice of suspension or expulsion, the member shall have the right to file an appeal of the decision of the Company. The Member shall have three (3) days in which to file with the Borough Clerk a notice of appeal from the action of the Company, which notice of appeal shall act as a stay of suspension or expulsion. Should no appeal be filed, the suspension or expulsion shall become final as of the date of the notice of suspension or expulsion. In the event that the member fails to accept or refuses to accept the certified mail but the regular mail is not returned, then the member's right to appeal shall be deemed to have been waived upon the expiration of three (3) days following the date of the return of the certified mail from the Post Office. The Borough Clerk shall notify the Mayor and Borough Council and the Secretary of the Company of the receipt of a notice of appeal or the failure to file an appeal within the time specified herein.

h.

Should a notice of appeal be filed within the required time, the Borough Clerk shall notify the Secretary of the Company and the Mayor and Borough Council of such appeal. The Company shall, at its next regular meeting, appoint an arbitrator to represent it and, on or before that date, the suspended or expelled member shall appoint an arbitrator to represent him and each party shall notify the Councilmember who is in charge of overseeing the Public Safety Department of the appointment. These two (2) arbitrators shall, in turn, have thirty (30) days to select a third arbitrator and these three (3) arbitrators shall constitute a Board of Arbitration to hear the appeal. It shall be the duty of the Board of Arbitration to commence the hearing on the appeal within thirty (30) days of the appointment of the third arbitrator and to render their decision within thirty (30) days of the close of the hearing. The decision of the Board of Arbitration shall be final and conclusive in all respects and shall not be subject to appeal. The Board of Arbitration will be permitted to hold the arbitration in a Borough owned, leased or maintained building if requested. The arbitration appeal process shall be expedited to the greatest degree possible so as to afford the suspended or expelled member and the company with a prompt resolution of the matter. The arbitration shall not exceed six (6) months from the commencement of the initial hearing to the close of the hearing, unless a party evidences a hardship due to illness, absence of witness(es) or other such unforeseen or uncontrollable events as may be deemed sufficient to require an extension of time. The Board of Arbitration shall have the discretion to sanction any party whose acts or omissions result in any unnecessary delay of the arbitration.

(Ord. #1015, § 3-11; Ord. #14-17, § 2; Ord. #1528-85, § 3; Ord. #327-93, § 1; Ord. #551-98)

3-11.2 Procedures Initiated by the Mayor and Borough Council. Whenever it shall appear that a member of the Department may be guilty of the violation of any Department Rule or Regulation, an indictable crime, serious nonindictable crime or other serious misconduct wherein it appears to the Mayor and Borough Council that either immediate steps must be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the community and to insure the ability to provide adequate fire protection services for the community or, in the event it shall appear to the Mayor and Borough Council that appropriate disciplinary procedures have not been conducted by the Company, pursuant to Section 3-11, or the Mayor and Borough Council are called upon to review the disciplinary procedures which have been conducted, the Mayor and Borough Council shall have the following powers and all such other powers as may be granted to the Mayor and Borough Council pursuant to law:

a.

The Mayor and Borough Council shall have the immediate power to suspend any member of the Department from their rights and privileges as active members of the company for such period of time as the Mayor and Borough Council, in their discretion, deem advisable and subject to the disciplinary procedures set forth below.

b.

The Mayor and Borough Council, by resolution, may initiate a Notice of Suspension or Expulsion from active membership. Upon passage of such resolution, a Notice of Suspension or Expulsion shall be mailed to the member by the Borough Clerk by certified mail, return receipt requested and by regular mail, postage prepaid. In the event that the member fails to accept or refuses to accept the certified mail but the regular mail is not returned, then the member shall be deemed to have received the notice upon the expiration of three (3) days following the return of the certified mail from the Post Office. Within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the proof of mailing of the notice, the Mayor and Borough Council shall appoint an arbitrator to represent the Mayor and Borough Council and the Department member shall appoint an arbitrator to represent him/her and shall notify the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee of the appointment. These two (2) arbitrators shall, in turn, have thirty (30) days to select a third arbitrator and these three (3) arbitrators shall constitute a Board of Arbitration to hear the appeal. The Arbitration process shall proceed in the same manner as set forth in subsection 3-11.1 of this section. In a disciplinary procedure initiated by the Mayor and Borough Council, the Mayor and Borough Council may appoint an attorney of their choosing to act as the prosecuting attorney. The attorney for the Mayor and Borough Council shall present such facts and evidence as the attorney or the Mayor and Borough Council, in their discretion, deem appropriate. The attorney for the Mayor and Borough Council shall be charged with the duty of presenting to the Board of Arbitration a fair and accurate record of the incident or incidents which the Mayor and Borough Council believe has necessitated the discipline. At the conclusion of the case presented by the attorney for the Mayor and Borough Council, the Company member shall be permitted to give testimony and present such evidence and testimony of his/her witness(es) under oath. The Board of Arbitrators shall render a decision on the matter within thirty (30) days of the completion of the hearing. The decision of the Board of Arbitration shall be final and conclusive in all respects and shall not be subject to appeal.

(Ord. #1528-85, § 3; Ord. #327-93, § 1; Ord. #551-98)