Title 73, TOWNSHIPS

(a) Post-retirement compensation.--A township may provide, by ordinance, an employee of at least 10 years of satisfactory service and who is at least 60 years of age upon termination of active employment with the township, a proportion of the compensation last paid to the employe…

(a) Authorization.--A State association of township commissioners may be formed. (b) Meetings.--The association shall hold annual meetings and educational conferences at a designated time and place within this Commonwealth for the purpose of addressing the interests of the townsh…

(a) Annual meeting and educational conference.--A township commissioner may attend each annual meeting and educational conference of the State association of township commissioners. The board of commissioners shall, by motion, designate at least one township officer as a delegate…

(a) Payment.--The board of commissioners shall, for each delegate and other officer or employee attending the annual meeting or other conference or educational training of the State association of township commissioners, pay expenses upon receipt of an itemized account of expense…

A county association of township officers may be formed in the respective counties, or the township officers of at least two counties may form a joint county or regional association. The association shall hold annual, semiannual or quarterly conferences or educational training at…

(a) Attendance.--The board of commissioners, newly elected township commissioners prior to officially taking office and other township officers designated by the board shall attend the conferences or educational training if possible. A township officer attending a conference or e…

(a) Composition.--The officers of an association shall consist of a president and other officers as determined by the association's bylaws. Each of the officers, except for a secretary, shall be members of the association and shall hold office as determined by the association's b…

The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Firefighter." An individual who operates fire apparatus and devotes the individual's normal working hours to operate…

(a) Applicability.--This subchapter shall not apply to: (1) A township having a police force of less than three members. (2) A volunteer fire department or company employing their own firefighters. (3) A township having less than three salaried firefighters. (b) Compensation.--Th…

(a) Establishment.--Subject to section 1931.1(a) (relating to appointments of police and firefighters), a civil service commission is established in each township where a police force or paid firefighters force is maintained. (b) Composition and terms.--The civil service commissi…

A civil service commissioner may not hold an elective or appointed office under the Federal Government, the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth, except that one member of the civil service commission may be a member of the board of commissioners.

(a) Initial organization.-- (1) The initial civil service commission appointed shall organize within 10 days of its appointment and shall elect one of its members as the chairperson and one as the secretary. (2) After organization under paragraph (1), the civil service commission…

The township shall provide to the civil service commission, on its requisition, clerical assistance necessary for the work of the civil service commission. The township shall provide a suitable and convenient room for the use of the civil service commission. The civil service com…

(a) Authority.-- (1) The civil service commission may prescribe, amend and enforce rules and regulations for effectuating this subchapter and shall be governed by the civil service commission's rules and regulations. (2) The board of commissioners may not promulgate rules and reg…

The civil service commission shall keep minutes of its proceedings and records of examinations and other official actions. Each recommendation of applicants for appointment received by the civil service commission shall be kept and preserved for a period of five years. Records an…

The civil service commission may conduct investigations concerning matters regarding the administration and enforcement of this subchapter and rules and regulations promulgated under this subchapter. The chairperson of the civil service commission may administer oaths and affirma…

(a) Issuance.--The civil service commission may issue subpoenas over the signature of the chairperson to require the attendance of witnesses and the production of records and papers pertaining to any investigation or inquiry. The fees of witnesses for attendance and travel shall …

The civil service commission shall make an annual report to the board of commissioners containing a brief summary of its work during the year, which shall be available for public inspection in accordance with the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know …

(a) Minimum qualifications and passing grade.--The civil service commission shall make rules and regulations providing for the examination of applicants for positions in the police force and as paid firefighters and for promotions, which shall prescribe the minimum qualifications…

An individual who desires to apply for examination must file with the civil service commission a formal application in which the applicant shall provide under oath or affirmation information required by the civil service commission's rules and regulations showing the applicant's …

(a) Refusal.--The civil service commission may refuse to examine or may refuse to certify after examination as eligible, an applicant who: (1) is found to lack any of the minimum qualifications for examination prescribed in the rules and regulations adopted for the position or em…

(a) Rank.-- (1) The civil service commission shall rank the candidates who have satisfied the minimum requirements for appointment on an eligibility list at the completion of the testing process, including a physical agility or other examination, except for a background investiga…

An individual may not apply for examination unless the individual is at least 18 years of age at the date of application. The board of commissioners may accept applications from nonresidents of the township and may require nonresident police officers and nonresident paid firefigh…

(a) Duration.--An original appointment to a position in the police force or as a paid firefighter shall be for a probationary period of not less than six months and not more than one year, except that during the probationary period an appointee may be dismissed only for a cause a…

(a) Noncompetitive examination.--If there are urgent reasons for the filling of a vacancy in a position in the police force and there are no names on the eligibility list for the appointment, the board of commissioners may nominate an individual to the civil service commission fo…

(a) Basis.--A promotion shall be based on merit to be ascertained by an examination to be prescribed by the civil service commission. Questions relative to a promotion shall be practical in character and fairly test the merit and fitness of an individual seeking promotion. (b) No…

(a) Conditional offers.--An applicant selected from the eligibility list shall receive a conditional offer of employment. The offer of employment shall be conditioned upon the conditional employee undergoing a physical and psychological medical examination and a determination tha…

(a) Police or fire force employees.--An individual employed in a police or fire force of a township may not be suspended without pay, removed or demoted except for the following reasons: (1) Physical or mental disability affecting the individual's ability to continue in service, …

(a) Answers and hearings.--An individual suspended, removed or demoted may make written answers to charges filed against the individual no later than the day scheduled for the hearing. The civil service commission shall grant the individual a hearing which shall be held within a …

All appointments in the police or fire forces of townships, including the chief of police or equivalent official, prior to the creation of a civil service commission, shall continue to hold their positions and may not be required to take an examination under this chapter except t…

(a) Application questions.--No question in a form of application for examination or in an examination or inquiry shall be so framed as to elicit information from an applicant in violation of Federal or State antidiscrimination laws, including 42 U.S.C. Ch. 21 (relating to Civil R…

The following shall be considered a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, the individual shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500 or to imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both: (1) A township commissioner who, by vote, appoints an individual to the police force …