§ 21.13-1303. Operation.

 A. Each citizens’ group shall elect from its own members its officers who shall serve for terms of one year.

 B. Each citizens’ group shall report its activities to the Board at the times (but not less frequently than annually) and in the manner specified by the Board.

 C. Any citizens’ group which is authorized to purchase goods or services shall do so in accordance with the principles of competitive bidding set forth in Article XII of this Charter.

 D. Any citizens’ group which is authorized to hire employees shall do so solely upon the principles of merit and fitness, and such citizens’ group shall be subject to the principles set forth in §   21.11-1106. Each such citizens’ group may create a personnel system in accordance with the principles established in §  21.11-1105 unless or until its employees are included within the Personnel System created by the Board in accordance with §  21.11-1104. All employees of citizens’ groups, and members of the Zoning Hearing Board, Civil Service Commission and any other quasi- judicial citizens’ group, shall be subject to the prohibition against political activity set forth in §  21.11-1107, except that such prohibition shall not apply to persons who are also elected Township officials.

 E. The members of citizens’ groups and any employees thereof shall be subject to the prohibitions and restrictions regarding conflicts of interest set forth in § §  21.11-1109—21.11-1113 or adopted pursuant to §  21.11-1114 of this Charter.

   Commentary: : Presently each citizens’ group reports to the Board through the committee of the Board which is most interested in its work. It is assumed that this reporting procedure will continue until and unless the Board decrees otherwise. Alternatively, the Board could provide that a particular citizens’ group should report its activities to the Township Manager.

   A citizens’ group may be authorized to purchase goods or services pursuant to a statute or in accordance with an ordinance promulgated as provided in §  21.13-1301. Certainly such a group should not be permitted to purchase goods or services in a manner less restrictive or careful than that mandated for the Board itself.

   The provisions of §  21.13-1303D extend the bar against certain political activity to employees of citizens’ groups because they, too, in reality are employees of the Township and are so perceived by the public. The justification for this limited prohibition is the same as expressed in commentary to §  21.11-1107. Generally, the §  21.11-1107 restrictions are not imposed on elected officials or members of citizens’ groups. Its imposition on members of the Zoning Hearing Board and the Civil Service Commission (other than a member who is also an elected official) is justified by reason of the sensitive quasi-judicial nature of these groups.

   Section 21.13-1303E subjects employees to the conflict of interest provisions of Article XII. It is just as desirable to prohibit, or at least require disclosure of, potential conflicts of interest for members and employees of citizens’ groups as it is for other officers and employees of the Township.