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In the event the respondent refuses or fails to comply with any order of the Human Relations Commission or violates any of the provisions of this Part, the Commission shall certify the case and the entire record of its proceedings to the City Solicitor, who shall invoke the aid of an appropriate court to secure enforcement or compliance with the order or to impose the penalties set forth in § 23-514, or both.
A. In addition to any other remedies provided herein, upon a finding of a violation of any provision of this Part relating to unlawful discriminatory housing practices, or any rule or regulation pertaining thereto adopted by the Human Relations Commission, or any order of the Commission, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than: [Amended 7-11-2011 by Ord. No. 31A-2011]
(1) Sixteen thousand dollars if the respondent has not been adjudged to have committed any prior discriminatory housing practice in any administrative hearing or civil action permitted under the Fair Housing Act or any state or local fair housing law, or in any licensing or regulatory proceeding conducted by a federal, state or local governmental agency.
(2) Thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars if the respondent has been adjudged to have committed one other discriminatory housing practice in any forum set forth in Subsection A(1), hereof and the adjudication was made during the five-year period preceding the date of filing of the charge.
(3) Sixty-five thousand dollars if the respondent has been adjudged to have committed two or more discriminatory housing practices in any forum set forth in Subsection A(1) hereof, and the adjudications were made during the seven-year period preceding the date of filing of the charge.
B. Respondent shall also be responsible for costs and shall be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year. The Commission, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party other than the Commission a reasonable attorney's fee and costs. Monetary awards may be given under appropriate circumstances the amount of which shall be based on the record made before the Commission and may include damages caused by humiliation and embarrassment.
Part 6
Charter Board
Charter Board
[Adopted 7-25-2005 by Ord. No. 46-2005 (Ch. 1, Part 5L, of the 2001 Code of Ordinances); amended 1-23-2023 by Ord. No. 7-2023]
A. Title. The title of this Part shall be the City of Reading Charter Board Ordinance.
B. Purpose of ordinance. The purpose of the City of Reading Charter Board Ordinance is to provide, through the institution of the City of Reading Charter Board ("Board"), for the implementation of Amendment I of the Reading City Charter, which is entitled "Enforcement of Charter."
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6. Editor's Note: Amendment I, Enforcement of Charter, of the Reading City Charter is located at the end of the Home Rule Charter.
A. Composition and structure of Board.
(1) Composition. The Board established under Amendment I of the City of Reading Home Rule Charter ("Charter") shall be composed of five residents of the City of Reading. Board members shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of City Council.
(2) Terms of service. Members of the Board shall serve for terms of five years, except that the members shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. The terms of the initial members shall be staggered, with members serving terms of one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively.
(3) Vacancy. An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring other than by the expiration of a term of office shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member he/she succeeds and is eligible for appointment thereafter according to the terms herein.
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7. Editor's Note: Former § 1-599.22D, Removal of members, added 8-23-2010 by Ord. No. 59-2010, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 3-26-2012 by Ord. No. 39-2012.
(4) Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. The Board shall elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson upon seating of the members and thereafter annually at a meeting held in July of each year. The Vice Chairperson shall act as the Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson or in the event of a vacancy in that position.
(5) Quorum. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and the votes of a majority of the members present are required for any action or recommendation of the Board.
(6) Staff. The Board shall appoint a Solicitor, an investigative officer, a hearing officer, a secretary, and such other staff as may be deemed necessary. The Solicitor, investigative officer, a hearing officer, secretary, and such other staff as may be necessarily appointed shall not be members of the Board.
(7) Meetings. The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairperson or at the call of a majority of its members.
(8) Investigative Officer.
(a) The Board shall appoint an investigative officer ("Investigative Officer") who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Investigative Officer is charged with determining jurisdiction, conducting preliminary and full investigations, issuing written findings reports, prosecuting complaints before evidentiary hearings, and performing such other duties as set forth herein. The Investigative Officer shall conduct his/her work independently and without comment or inquiry from the Board, except as provided in Subsection A(8)(d) below.
(b) The Investigative Officer shall be a member in good standing of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and shall have so been for at least five years. The Investigative Officer need not be a resident of the City of Reading and shall not be a Board member. The Investigative Officer is authorized to retain the services of an investigator and other professional staff and/or consultants, and shall only delegate nondiscretionary functions.
(c) The Investigative Officer shall not be the current or former Solicitor to the Board and the Investigative Officer shall not serve in the future as Solicitor to the Board on any matter investigated or prosecuted by the Investigative Officer. Furthermore, the Investigative Officer shall not seek the advice of the Solicitor to the Board, and the Solicitor to the Board shall not seek the advice of the Investigative Officer, on substantive aspects of any complaint or referral before the Board.
(d) In addition to all other responsibilities of the Investigative Officer, he/she shall provide to the Board every six months a summary of any complaint dismissed or otherwise resolved during the investigatory stage.
B. Prohibitions. Due to the nature of their appointment, Board members have a duty to avoid any known conflicts of interest, especially actions or behaviors in violation of the City Charter or its full and impartial enforcement. The prohibitions in this section are in addition to all other duties, responsibilities, and obligations imposed upon Board members.
(1) No member may hold or campaign for any other public office.
(2) No member may hold office in any political party or political organization or political committee.
(3) No member may hold a position of employment with City government or appointment to any other board, authority, or commission formed by the City of Reading.
(4) No member may actively participate in or contribute to any political campaign in the City of Reading for a candidate running for the office of Mayor, President of Council, Council member, or Auditor. This does not abridge the right of a member to vote or attend a debate, speech or similar event that is held primarily for the purpose of communicating a candidate's platform or position on issues of public concern.
(5) No member shall receive compensation but shall be reimbursed by the City for documented expenses actually incurred.
C. Mandate to fund. City Council shall appropriate sufficient funds for the Board to perform its enforcement and educational duties, including expenses for independent counsel, investigative personnel, investigations, hearings, appeals, staff, any other necessary personnel, and professional educational programming. City Council may place reasonable restrictions to limit the funding to an amount that is necessary to meet the Charter requirement to provide funding that is sufficient. These limits may include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Limiting travel time to either one-way or limit the billable rate to 50% for the overall trip to and from City Hall or anywhere else Charter Board business (meetings, hearings, etc.) occurs.
2. Limits on fees to an amount that is consistent with general municipal work, City Council may require the Charter Board to follow the City's purchasing procedures to determine whether funding for the Charter Board is sufficient.
D. Right to a defense. City officials and employees who are the subject of a complaint are entitled to a defense. Defense counsel fees may be limited to an amount that is consistent with general municipal work. Defense counsel shall be selected from a panel of attorneys/firms who have been procured in accordance with the City's Purchasing Policy.
A. Charter enforcement powers. The Board shall have the following powers and duties with respect to Charter enforcement. It shall:
(1) Serve as an administrative body to hear and decide all complaints alleging violations of the Charter and Administrative Code, except that its jurisdiction shall not extend to cases arising under the Ethics Code or the Personnel Code of the City of Reading.
(2) Impose penalties and administrative fines for failure to comply with an order of the Charter Board. The Board may also refer matters to law enforcement, regulatory, or other authorities with jurisdiction over these matters.
(3) Initiate preliminary investigations on its own motion. In the event that the Board approves an investigation it shall direct the Investigative Officer to conduct a preliminary investigation and the Investigative Officer shall have standing to initiate proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas to enforce the Charter if the Investigative Officer reasonably believes a Charter Board violation exists. Board-initiated investigations shall not be heard by the Board itself.
(4) Appoint an Investigative Officer to conduct investigations and to issue findings reports where appropriate.
(5) Hold hearings, issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, require evidence on any matter under investigation before the Board, and issue orders rendering a final determination on the Charter violations alleged in the complaint and issue penalties for failure to comply with any order or final determination of the Charter Board.
(6) Adopt rules and regulations to administer, implement, enforce and interpret the Board ordinance.
(7) Have all other powers necessary and appropriate to effectuate the purposes set forth herein and in Amendment I of the Charter.
B. Charter advisory powers. Upon written request of any board or commission that does not have its own independent legal counsel or a City Employee or City Official who has a reasonable and good faith belief that the Solicitor or Council Solicitor has a conflict of interest, the Board may authorize the Board Solicitor to render advisory opinions concerning interpretation of the Charter or Administrative Code related to a potential or proposed course of action or pending decision involving the requester. All advisory opinions shall be issued in writing. The costs related to an advisory opinion shall not exceed $1,000 per opinion unless a higher amount is reasonably necessary to adequately answer the question and the additional expenditure is approved by a unanimous vote of the Board.
C. Charter educational powers. The Board shall have the following powers and duties with respect to Charter education. It shall:
(1) Direct and administer, with professional assistance, the required orientation of all newly elected City officials at the commencement of their initial full term of office.
(2) Be responsible, proactively and on an ongoing basis, for educating the public and members of City government as to their rights, duties, and obligations under the Charter and Administrative Code.
Interpretation of the Charter shall follow the provisions of the Statutory Construction Act, 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1501 et seq., which is binding for the interpretation of all home rule charters through Cottone v. Kulis, 460 A.2d 880 (Pa. Commonwealth, 1983), and for the interpretation of all municipal ordinances through Ciavarella et ux. Appeal, 484 A.2d 420 (Pa. Commonwealth, 1984).
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