West Deer's 42-year-old home rule charter may be due for some updates.

But doing that will be neither quick nor easy. Any changes will have to be approved by voters in a referendum.

Supervisors recently approved having township Manager Daniel Mator and Solicitor Sam Happel explore methods for updating the charter. They will present their findings to supervisors for possible action.

Who will review the charter, or how it will be reviewed, are among the questions that will be answered, Happel said. Options could include him reviewing it and making recommendations, the township forming a committee or bringing in an outside party.

Happel said part of the work will be to figure out how long it will take and how much it will cost to update the charter. Updating a home rule charter is “not an inexpensive venture,” he said.

But in response to a question from Supervisor Gerry Vaerewyck, Happel said his costs at this point would not be much and that Mator would be doing the bulk of the work.

Mator said the township could reach out to the state Department of Community and Economic Development for assistance at no cost to the township.

Supervisor Richard Di-Santi said he likes the idea of having a third party look at the charter and make recommendations. That could help alleviate concerns of any “back-room deals” being made, he said.

The charter, the township's governing document, was adopted in 1974. It has been amended five times.

Supervisor Jeff Fleming said the charter is outdated and contains provisions that conflict with modern township requirements and administration.

“Members of the board and the township manager have brought up this concern many times over the past few years, and the conflicts are becoming more and more frequent as the charter becomes more and more outdated,” Fleming said.

An example cited was the charter's requirements for the township to make supervisor meeting agendas available to the public before a meeting and to have a summary available one week after.

“The problem is the charter doesn't say how we should go about doing that — it says we ‘may' use a newspaper — and does not define what a summary entails,” Mator said. “We cannot post the minutes as a form of a summary because the board does not approve them until the following meeting.”

Using the township's website, which is soon to be updated, is a possible alternative. A summary of motions and votes is contemplated to be included.

“This is a good example of why the charter needs updated,” Mator said. “There were no personal computers or Internet services in 1974, let alone smartphones and tablets.”

Any proposed amendments would have to be presented to voters in separate referendums.

Happel said the community would be involved in any changes.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach him at 724-226-4701 or brittmeyer@tribweb.com.

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