ARTICLE 131
Board of Health

131.01 Establishment; members.
131.02 Powers and duties.
131.03 Meetings.
131.04 Secretary.
131.05 Director.
131.06 Administration.
131.07 Repealer.

CROSS REFERENCES

Board of Health - See 3rd Class §2301 et seq. (53 P.S. §37301 et seq.) Local Health Administration Law - (16 Pa. C.S.A. §12001 et seq.) Department of Community Development - See ADM. Art. 107.05
Health Nuisances - See HLTH. Art. 1161

131.01 ESTABLISHMENT: MEMBERS.

A Board of Health is hereby created in the City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to consist of five (5) members.

The members of the said Board shall serve without compensation and shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Council. No member of City Council shall be appointed as a member of the Board of Health. All of the members shall be residents of the City of Bethlehem. At least two (2) of them shall be reputable physicians of not less than two (2) year's experience in the practice of their profession, one (1) shall be either s chemist, bacteriologist or sanitary engineer and the other two (2) shall be chosen from other businesses or professions.

At the first appointment the Mayor shall designate one (1) of the members to serve for one (1) year, one (1) for two (2) years, one (1) for three (3) years, one (1) for four (4) years, and one (1) for five (5) years, from the first Monday of April succeeding their appointment and thereafter one (1) member of the said Board shall be appointed annually to serve for the term of five (5) years from the first Monday of April succeeding his appointment. The Mayor may remove any or all of the members of said Board for official misconduct or neglect of duty and fill any vacancy for any unexpired term with the approval of the Council.

131.02 POWERS AND DUTIES.

It shall be the duty of the Board of Health to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the ordinances of the City of Bethlehem enacted for the protection of the public health. It shall exercise all the rights and perform all the duties and obligations conferred and imposed upon like Boards of Health in cities of the Third Class of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by all Acts of Assembly which may now be in force or hereafter passed in reference to the same. The Board of Health shall have power to make and enforce such orders and regulations as may be necessary to carry out its aforesaid duties and obligations so long as the Council shall approve such regulations. (Ord. 2693 §3 Passed 12/18/79.)

131.03 MEETINGS.

The Board of Health shall meet at such regular times as it designates and at such places where the general public has unhampered access to such meetings, and said Board shall keep regular minutes of its meetings. It shall have power to adopt rules and by-laws to govern its meetings and organization. (Ord. 2693 §4 Passed 12/18/79.)

131.04 SECRETARY.

The Secretary of the Board shall be an individual qualified in the secretarial arts and shall keep the minutes of meetings and perform such other duties as the Director may direct. (Ord. 2693 §5 Passed 12/18/79.)

131.05 DIRECTOR.

The Board of Health shall choose a Director. The Director shall not be a member of the Board of Health, but shall be an individual who meets the qualifications established for such position by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Board of Health. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Director, the Board of Health shall convene at the earliest possible time for the purpose of filling that vacancy. The salary of the Director shall be fixed by the Board of Health subject to the approval of City Council. The Director shall execute the orders of the Board and shall have and exercise for this purpose all the powers and authority of a policeman. (Ord. 2990 §1. Passed 4/16/85.)

131.06 ADMINISTRATION.

(a) The City of Bethlehem shall exercise the power to employ personnel in conformity with 16 P.S. §12012 (b), which for this purpose shall be held applicable to the Health Board, and the Charter and Administrative Code of the City of Bethlehem. All such employees shall be entitled to participate in the benefits of employment conferred on employees of the City of Bethlehem with regard to pension, social security coverage, medical and hospitalization benefits, vacation and sick leave. Such employees shall be subject to removal for misconduct in office or neglect of duty, excepting that where positions are covered by civil service, civil service laws shall apply.

(b) The Director shall be the Administrator of the Health Board. All administrative actions and procedures incident to the operation of the Health Board, including but not limited to financial administration and the making of contracts, shall be governed by the Charter and the Administrative Code of the City of Bethlehem. (Ord. 2990 §2. Passed 4/16/85.)

131.07 REPEALER.

That Ordinance No. 2320, as amended, creating the Bi-City Board of Health, and all other ordinances and parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith be, and the same are hereby repealed. (Ord. 2693 §9. Passed 12/18/79.)