Authority or Private Operator.
Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-803
in effect§ 5-803. Authority or Private Operator.
This Chapter shall not be construed to prevent the City from creating an authority under any applicable statute or from contracting with a private operator to perform any or all of the operations and to render any or all of the services provided for herein and from contracting with any such authority or private operator to supply such services to the City. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this charter, the Council may, by ordinance, abolish the Water Department if all of its functions shall be turned over to an authority or to a private operator. If some but not all of its functions are so turned over, the Council may, by ordinance, assign the functions which remain to another department and abolish the Water Department, if the Council shall determine that the continuation of a separate Water Department is not warranted.
ANNOTATION
Sources: No specific source.
Purposes: While a Water Department is created by the Charter to deal with the water problem, it is not intended to preclude the City from creating, pursuant to an appropriate statute, an authority to take over any or all of the services of the Department or from contracting with a private operator to do so, if either course of action would be of advantage to the City and beneficial to its citizens.
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Source: City of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Code and Home Rule Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-265080Fetched: 10/27/2026